In this episode of the Immersive Audio Podcast, Oliver Kadel is joined by the lead R&D audio engineer at the BBC Chris Pike via Zoom from London, UK.
Chris leads the audio team in BBC R&D and the BBC Audio Research Partnership. He is passionate about using technology innovation to enable new creative possibilities in sound production and storytelling. Chris has led the BBC’s work on spatial audio for several years, which has led to productions on major brands such as Doctor Who, Planet Earth II and the BBC Proms. He was director of sound on the BBC’s first public VR app, The Turning Forest, and worked with Björk to create an augmented reality audio guide for her exhibition at MoMA in New York. As part of his role at the BBC, Chris is active in standardisation bodies, working to ensure open interoperable technology for spatial audio production. He’s also completed a PhD with the Audio Lab at the University of York during his work at BBC R&D, on binaural technology and its perceptual evaluation. His thesis is available online.
In this episode, Chris talks about research and development work at the BBC, touching on a number of exciting projects, a collaboration between the industry and academia and his personal journey whilst completing a PhD program.
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Show Notes
Chris Pike Profile – https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/people/chris-pike
BBC R&D Audio Research – https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/work_streams/audio-research
Audio Research Partnership – https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/projects/audio-research-partnership
S3A Spatial Audio – http://www.s3a-spatialaudio.org/
VISR- Versatile Interactive Scene Renderer Framework – https://www.s3a-spatialaudio.org/visr
Sounding Special: Doctor Who in Binaural Sound – https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/blog/2017-05-doctor-who-in-binaural-sound
Björk’s Songlines and VR album – https://www.thirdspace.co/innovation
The EBU’s Next-Generation Audio – https://tech.ebu.ch/nga
Pike, Christopher William (2019) Evaluating the Perceived Quality of Binaural Technology. PhD thesis, University of York – http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/24022/
Audio Orchestrator Tool – https://www.bbc.co.uk/makerbox/tools/audio-orchestrator
BBC Together – https://www.bbc.co.uk/taster/pilots/bbc-together
Sounds Amazing 2020: Celebrating Innovation in Audio – Day 1 – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sounds-amazing-2020-celebrating-innovation-in-audio-day-one-tickets-113794155382
Sounds Amazing 2020: Celebrating Innovation in Audio – Day 2 – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sounds-amazing-2020-celebrating-innovation-in-audio-day-two-tickets-113796191472
Sounds Amazing 2020: Celebrating Innovation in Audio – Day 3 – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sounds-amazing-2020-celebrating-innovation-in-audio-day-three-tickets-113797033992
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Credits
This episode was produced by Oliver Kadel and Michelle Chan with the help of Emma Rees and included music by Knobs Bergamo.