Interactive Audio Drama

Faculty of Environment and Technology
Computer Science and Creative Technologies
Audio and Music Technology
Final Year Project
13011699
2016
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INTERACTIVE MEDIA CONTROL VIA
EXTERNAL INTERFACING
BY JACOB HEALEY
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Summary
This project assesses and investigates the principles and processes involved in creating
high quality interactive audio drama from the ground up, including the creation of an
emotionally and sonically engaging script and plot line, the capture and post processing of
professional broadcast standard audio components such as dialogue, effects and
ambiences and the manipulation and handling of the resulting audio to achieve immersive
interaction.

This report also documents the creative process undertaken in forming a fully immersive
artefact in the form of an audio drama, from the justification for linguistic and lexical features
to generate emotional standing and challenge, to the physical arrangement and processing
of audio to create dramatic effect;; and explains the thoughts and inspiration behind the
chosen plot and characters and their given roles.

Specific areas of research include the origins of radio drama and its progression to the 21st

century, the qualitative and quantitative descriptions of the world soundscape in general and
the investigation of commercially available products of similar nature and potential. The
project then focuses on the adaptation of the discovered techniques and principles into an
iOS application formed of Objective C/C++ code integrated with the FMOD API.
Acknowledgements
I would like to sincerely thank my supervisor Martyn Harries for his wealth of support,
guidance and knowledge given through this process and my studies.

I would also like to dearly thank everyone who has contributed to the production of the audio
drama and application, including Adam Austin, Bethan Thomas, Pete Haddrell, Richard
Jones, George Demner, Jamie Morris, Josh Pardoe and Angus Burgess, for their co-
operation and availability during intense periods.

Finally, I would like to thank my closest family, Mum, Dad and Joe for their unending and
limitless support throughout the length of my studies and particularly in the closing months.
Lastly, but not least, my amazing girlfriend Georgia for accommodating my stress and
putting up with me during this final year.

Table of Contents
1. Abstract ................................................................................................. 1

2. Introduction ........................................................................................... 2

3. Background Research ......................................................................... 3

3.1 An Exploration of Radio Drama ............................................................... 3

3.1.1 The History of Radio Drama ....................................................................... 3

3.1.2 Construction of Radio Drama ..................................................................... 4

3.1.3 Capturing Audio for Drama ......................................................................... 6

3.2 The Soundscape;; Acoustic Ecology in Media ....................................... 7

3.2.1 The Quality of the Soundscape .................................................................. 7

3.2.2 Constituents of the Audible World .............................................................. 8

3.2.3 Immersion and Envelopment Qualities ..................................................... 10

3.3 Existing Materials ................................................................................... 13

3.3.1 Object-Based Audio .................................................................................. 13

3.3.2 The ‘39’ Project (Platthaus & Fell) ............................................................ 15

4. The Investigation ................................................................................ 17

4.1 Background ............................................................................................. 17

4.2 Work Flow ................................................................................................ 17

4.3 Creative Process ..................................................................................... 19

4.3.1 Plot ............................................................................................................ 19

4.3.2 Character .................................................................................................. 20

5. Recording and Post Processing ....................................................... 21

5.1 Background ............................................................................................. 21

5.2 Components ............................................................................................ 21

5.2.1 Atmospheres ............................................................................................. 21

5.2.2 Dialogue .................................................................................................... 23

5.2.3 Foley & Spot Effects ................................................................................. 25

5.3 Binaural Versus Stereo .......................................................................... 26

6. Interactivity and Application Development ...................................... 26

6.1 Background ............................................................................................. 26

6.2 Interactivity .............................................................................................. 26

6.3 Prototyping .............................................................................................. 27

6.4 Wireframing ............................................................................................. 31

6.5 Application Design ................................................................................. 33

7. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 37

8. References .......................................................................................... 39

9. Appendices ............................................................................................ I

Appendix A: Project Proposal ............................................................................... I

Appendix B: Progress Report ........................................................................... VIII

Appendix C: Gantt Charts ................................................................................... XI

Appendix D: Audio and Image Sources ............................................................. XV

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1. Abstract
David Mamet declares “Radio Drama can be produced by anybody with a microphone
and a tape-recorder” (1986). This project takes the form of a generalised approach to
the creation and analysis of radio drama, adapting for drama, techniques and
terminology coined by Schafer and Truax in their founding of acoustic ecology.
Furthermore, explores the factors involved in creating convincing sonic landscapes,
credible audio drama (from the script through to post processing) and control using
suitable interfacing, evaluating the concepts involved and abilities of innovative audio
formats such as object-based broadcast.

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2. Introduction
What we perceive as the audible world is an amalgamation of certain quantifiable
constituents. This project aims to investigate, dissect and evaluate these qualities and
recreate and present them in the form of critically analysed audio drama. Exploring
areas from binaural recording and mixing, to the principles involved in generating
soundscapes personal to the listener. In recent times, radio drama has seen a revival
thanks to interesting use of technology and formats such as multichannel and object-
based audio “with affordable digital production tools and the inexpensive distribution of
podcasts over the internet” (Bottomley, 2015), this project also attempts to utilise some
of these methods to create immersive audio drama with interactive qualities for the user
to control the media pace.
The major aims for the project include creating credible audio drama, controlling
elements of it in an intuitive manner and exploring techniques to improve the produced
immersion and authenticity.
Breaking the process down to manageable objectives, the main components are as
follows:
- Create a suitable, topical and engaging script.
- Research and determine what it takes to create credible audio drama.
- Research what an effective and realistic soundscape requires (ambience,
effects, direction, context).
- Employ a range of professional recording techniques as well as more unusual
practices to achieve differing effects.
- Weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of different external interfacing
options.
- Gain insight and knowledge into the restrictions and applications of iOS
interfacing, Max/MSP and FMOD Studio.
- Create balanced and optimised systems (within Max/MSP, FMOD or Xcode
depending on research).
- Create a user friendly and ergonomic UI arrived at through research of existing
materials.
- Carry out bug fixing and optimisation sessions to improve fluidity of the system
and device.

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3. Background Research
3.1 An Exploration of Radio Drama
3.1.1 The History of Radio Drama
Radio drama has been a popular form of entertainment from as early as the 1920’s. At
the beginning of the 20th century radio was predominantly utilised for advertising,
whereas the BBC, founded in 1922, saw it as a medium through which to educate,
inform and entertain. “Radio drama was born in 1927, when networks began adapting
short stories, and even writing original scripts, for broadcast” (balancepublishing.co.uk,
1998). In the same way that people are invested in television series’ nowadays, up until
the 50’s and before the advent of television, this was very much the case with radio.
It is believed that radio drama was first invented in America, with reports suggesting
that this was the location of the first English speaking play. In 1923, Richard Hughes
was commissioned by the BBC to write the first drama for radio, which he called ‘A
Comedy of Danger’. This is credited with being the first account of drama written for the
sole objective of being broadcast via radio. ”In the early 1940's, radio programmes
reflected America's involvement in World War II. During this time, evening dramatic
programs exploded in number” (balancepublishing.co.uk, 1998). This trend resulted
from the amount of war talk aired, as people wanted something different to occupy their
minds. “The forms that offered the most escape were comedy-variety, comedy drama,
and thriller drama” (balancepublishing.co.uk, 1998).
At the turning of the 50’s, colour television was invented which provided a whole new
and more visual way to be entertained, although initially with slow uptake. This
ultimately proved unhealthy for the radio drama scene and hence ended the golden age
of radio. “Many of the successful radio series went directly to television. Gunsmoke, an
extremely successful western drama, was one among several that could be heard on
radio and seen on TV” (balancepublishing.co.uk, 1998).
The Archers is arguably the most famous and undeniably the longest standing British
radio drama in history, with its inception dating back to 1951. Its longevity proving that
radio drama is and has always been a valid, engaging form of entertainment. The
Archers “was first broadcast as a trial programme on the Midlands Home Service to
promote good agricultural practice” (BBC, 2013).

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“It is true that television has decimated the audience for radio drama. But it latter
continues to be an interesting, if insufficiently regarded and remunerated, form of
playwriting” (Brandt, 2002). Despite radio drama’s stint of reduced demand for around
four to five decades;; modern times have seen a resurgence in the popularity of audio
drama due to the instant availability of media through the internet. Moving away from
the radio domain and into the digital, this trend is not likely to diminish in the near future
and never has David Mamet been more accurate than now in saying that “the time is
auspicious for rebirth of American Theatre, and radio could be a good place for it to
happen” (1986).
3.1.2 Construction of Radio Drama
“In a radio play, the listener creates his own “Sound world”, and if this is effective, the
play will have been a success” (Sawaguchi, M. et al. 1987). In essence, in order to
create credible radio drama, the listener needs to be provided with sufficient information
such that they can form their very own ‘sound world’. “They should be given enough
ideas to work on but never so many that they become restricted or confused.” (BBC,
1981).
This is not limited merely to the sonic character of the media, but also the descriptive.
This includes: a solid plot line in which there is a flow and direction;; believable
characters with whom the listener can empathise, sympathise and emotionally engage
with and comprehendible settings with which the listener can relate;; all of which are
convincingly projected.
In structuring radio drama, the beginning is considered the most important section as
this sets the benchmark for the subsequent scenes and more often than not,
determines whether the audience will continue to listen. “An important consideration in
crafting your opening scene is to begin thinking about and crafting the end” (Bates,
2010). A method like this will help in ensuring the plot is not lost along the way, it helps
to focus character’s intentions and motivations.
There are principally two ways of scripting for drama;; the first being ‘heightened’
dialogue. “Heightened language is the language of the theatre;; high octane, poetic,
philosophical, charged” (Crook, 2015). The other form is naturalistic, which is more
focussed on replicating conversational dialogue than dramatic. “There is now a
tendency for more naturalism. Radio producers like to go out on location and explore

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realism” (irdp.co.uk, 2015). Naturalistic speech needs to be accompanied by naturalistic
environments such that the dialogue has a fitting surrounding, hence it is important that
the two aspects complement each other suitably.
Tim Crook explains in his “ground rules” (2015);; “background and sub-text of previous
histories is better explored through revelation in dramatic action”, in other words, it is
important to not reveal too much plot too early on, and rather leave it to be explained by
the interactions, scripting and language of the characters. Crook goes on to explain
“There has to be an emotional, financial, human, moral, physical struggle so your
listeners can laugh or cry” (irdp.co.uk, 2015). There need to be obstacles for the
protagonist to overcome, which are ultimately resolved to reward the listener with a
sense of fulfilment. Alternatively, in different genres such as horror or thriller, it may be
advantageous to leave the listener deliberately distressed or confused.
“Crook's golden rule is that every word, every line, every scene must serve a dramatic
purpose in terms of characterisation and plot development” (irdp.co.uk, 2015). The only
thing that determines how characters are portrayed to the listener, aside from the
quality of the acting, is the dialogue. Dialogue forms the basis on which the story is
propagated, without convincing and intriguing interaction between characters, there is
no direction within the play and the listener will disengage.
Another of the most important aspects of drama is character;; they must be relatable
and enjoyable yet flawed in some way. “Your main character must have the sympathy
of the audience” (Crook, 2015). This is necessary to give the listener something to
fixate upon and urge to succeed. Along with a strong main character, there must be
accompanying supporting characters;; friends, interests or antagonists, without which
there is no objective for the main character.
Accompanying characters should also have depth of their own, there are a number of
techniques useful for doing this. Crook explains (2015) one method for helping
characters stand out, which is particularly useful in drama with light and shade -
emotional depth along with humorous effect. ”Keep one character who uses humour to
deal with difficult situations. Make sure the humour is verbal.”

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It is important when creating the character however, to ensure the comedic aspects are
tastefully incorporated “slapstick belongs to a different type of play or entertainment”
(Crook, 2015). This technique is just one example of a method to employ a difference in
tact between the characters, engaging the listener by providing different personalities
which they can love and hate.
There are a few topics that are relatively unexplored in audio drama, specifically the
abstract and immaterial. These settings usually call for more creative use of effects to
generate and emulate unnatural environments. For example;; “the inner existence”, “the
tension and conflict between interior and exterior”, “internal as well as external
changes” and “time transposition and translocation. Flashbacks, flashforwards, different
ages” (Crook, 2015). Each of these describe the inner perspective of the characters as
opposed to the real world situations they find themselves in and assist in making the
linear chronology of the play more dynamic, a combination of both inner and outer
aspects leads to a diverse and engaging drama, largely unfamiliar to the listener.

3.1.3 Capturing Audio for Drama
When capturing audio for drama, there are a number of factors that need to be
considered, the first of which is the nature in which the main body of audio is recorded.
The most common method is in a studio environment, which generally promises
controlled conditions, a broad selection of microphone types, audio professionals
present and actors more inspired and inclined to give better performances. “The
traditional way of recording a radio drama involves actors, one or more microphones,
and a device that’s either recording the dialogue or broadcasting it live” (Greenhalgh,
2011). This is usually the favoured option, as the recording quality is also likely to be
higher overall, however for the vast majority of recordists and drama enthusiasts, a
professional recording studio is an unrealistic resource, hence a lot of modern radio
drama is created in ‘bedroom studios’;; as explained further on.
Other less traditional methods are favourable in different circumstances, such as to
achieve differing sonic quality or general feel. For example, to achieve higher
authenticity, recording a live stage performance is likely to warrant a greater sense of
fluidity and naturalism as the performers interact with one another in the presence of an
audience.

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This has its advantages over studio recordings as the play is more likely to be
performed in a single take as opposed to fragmented, scene by scene. Furthermore,
there is likely to be a presence of content that could potentially be unsuited to studio
recordings, such as audience reaction noise and chatter. However, complexity arises
from this technique as explained by Frederick Greenhalgh;; (Radiodramarevival.com,
2011) “you need to account for a variety of mics (up to 4 for the performers, 2 or more
for sound effects, then you’ve got live music, perhaps, and probably a computer for
supplementary sound effects”, absolute organisation is critical to success.
Another method, which has only come around in modern times is the idea of recording
remotely. With amateurs having access to affordable professional standard equipment
such as digital audio workstations and reliable recording technology, almost anyone can
create radio drama, almost anywhere. This also has its advantages as it does not
require the physical presence of each actor, hence costs are reduced. Additionally,
there is more freedom to choose actors preferentially, and they could feasibly be
anywhere in the world. However, this technique does come with the issue that there is
no physical interaction of the characters, hence the resulting performances could seem
disjointed and unnatural.

3.2 The Soundscape;; Acoustic Ecology in Media
3.2.1 The Quality of the Soundscape
The audible world is ever-changing. With the advent of new and noisy technology, the
sonic landscape morphs and accommodates as it needs, creating acoustic
environments previously unheard;; the leading argument being that this is not
necessarily for the better. Schafer personally summarises (1977, p.3) that “the world
soundscape has reached an apex of vulgarity”, alluding to the notion that civic or urban
soundscapes are invalid or somehow lesser.
In considering a common soundscape such as a busy city street, this would be deemed
by Schafer a “lo-fi” (low fidelity) soundscape as prevalent throughout is likely to be a
wash of vehicle noise and other man-made partials, leading to a smearing and blurring
of noise;; a masking of lower amplitudes and higher frequencies. Contrary to this, a “hi-
fi” soundscape is one that demonstrates what Schafer terms (1977, p.4) “clairaudience”;;
the ability to hear frequencies independently of each other, something that might be
experienced in a rural or pastoral setting, where there is less of an overlap of partials.

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The different ‘qualities’ of soundscape are fitting for media in that they are each
individually specifically environmental and significant in providing the listener with
valuable situational information. Within a piece of audio based media, the only
information the listener receives is either the lingual content (be it news headlines,
dialogue, narration etc) or the environmental. Therefore, it is important that the
embodying environment is true to life and reflects the exact ‘timbre’ of the soundscape it
is emulating. All of this falls under the blanket term “acoustic colouration” (Wrightson,
1999), which can be used to describe the constituents of a setting, all of which are
important for an individual in building an image of a location, purely aurally.
When attempting to emulate or synthesise a soundscape, “aural signposting” is a useful
tool that can be employed to instantly give the impression of location. For example, if
the intention was to create a beach soundscape;; to give an immediate impression of
this location, the sound of waves, wind and seagulls would be more than enough of a
sonic clue to drive the listener's imagination, however this must be implemented in a
manner that is not overpowering or obvious. “Presenting the signpost is often a task
that demands clarity above subtlety or art. It must be immediately 'read' by the listener”
(Beck, 2016).
3.2.2 Constituents of the Audible World
While Schafer and Truax are predominantly credited with forming the basis of
understanding and categorisation for the soundscape relating to the environment and
listener, there is much more that defines what an individual recognises as a personal
soundscape. This includes all the things that are exceptional to an individual, such as
the voices, people, events and situations encountered.
A characteristic of external soundscapes, regardless of location, is weather. Both wind
and rain are fundamentally noisy occurrences, and in much the same way as traffic or
crowd noise, occupy a wide frequency band. Natural acoustical phenomenon such as
reverberations and echoes also create similar effects to that of weather but in a
reduced, incidental manner, as the reflections are only induced after a sound is
provided.

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A soundscape can be envisaged to have what is called by Barry Truax (2001) an
“acoustic horizon”. “We may speak of the acoustic horizon as comprising the most
distant sounds that may be heard in a soundscape”. This is a useful consideration as it
is prevalent in almost every soundscape that there is ‘bleed’ from unknown and alien
sources, hence without this there may be a sense of a falseness.
Figure 1: The acoustic profiles of two soundmarks, the pipe band and the church bells,
in Dollar, Scotland. Adapted from Five Village Soundscapes, R.M. Schafer, ed.,
Vancouver, British Columbia, A.R.C. Publications, 1977)
Figure 1 is an illustration by Schafer (1977) which shows the relative radiation regions
of the different sound sources. It's clear from the image that at certain positions in the
area, different intensities of each sound source will be audible. Two people at different
positions within the acoustic horizon are likely to have two different impressions of the
soundscape of this particular location.
It’s easy in sonic landscapes for the impression to be affected by unsuited content. “If
the acoustic horizon of a community includes sounds that originate outside it, they act
as a reminder of such links to the outside world” (Truax, 2001). Therefore, it is vital in
creating or emulating certain soundscapes that these elements are as reduced as

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possible or excluded entirely, for example if the media involved a generic city street
ambience, which is deliberately ambiguous and unspecific in its location, then it is
necessary to take care in avoiding content that links it to a location such as regional or
foreign dialect.

3.2.3 Immersion and Envelopment Qualities
Rumsey, Berg and Mason (1999) produced a method of describing the main attributes
of subjective sound. Breaking down spatial impression in to two key areas;; “source” and
“environment”. Source was assigned a “position” characteristic, whereas environment
was assigned an “envelopment” characteristic. The two types of sound were also
assigned “dimension” and “diffuseness” attributes.

The term ‘envelopment’ is widely used in the field of spatial audio and is often
construed to mean different things in different academic situations. For the purposes of
this project, the term is being taken to describe the encompassing nature of audio,
concerning individual isolated sounds, and broad spectrum sound walls.
“Each sonic image relates a part of the recorded event and together these sounds
compose a wrap-around soundstage that envelopes the listener” (Anon, 2016).

‘Immersion’ is also hotly debated amongst practitioners and professionals, yet the most
common description is that of systems which aim to enhance or replicate a sonic picture
in as close detail as possible. Immersion can also be aptly applied to wider practices,
and is useful in describing assets which determine an individual’s connection to a
medium;; for instance, in socially engaging material such as a television programme, the
acting standard, plot lines, cinematography and stylistic choices all affect the audiences
ability to become engrossed.

Within media, both immersive and enveloping aspects need to be carefully considered
as they go some way in describing the two main incarnations of sound (post and pre
recording), with the former referring more to the destination of the sound (i.e. the
playback system) and the latter applying to the impression and evident location
portrayed by the sound. The execution of each of these qualities determines the overall
success of the created media. “An audio system should reproduce virtual images of
each recorded sound presenting the listener with its apparent source location in a three-
dimensional space” (Anon, 2016).

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Sound quality is a term used to analyse audio comparatively and quantifiably. Above all,
a given sound article should retain clarity in order for the listener to favour it. As a
general outlook, Acousticfrontier.com states of clarity (2016): “of paramount importance
is dialogue intelligibility in movies, but one must be able to understand musical lyrics,
detect quiet background details, and distinguish the timbre of each instrument”. More
specifically, clarity refers to the ability of the audience to track and understand sonic
aspects, not restricted to specific dialogues or instruments for example, it should be
easy for the audience to pin-point and centre themselves on many different aspects of
the scene.

When attempting to broadcast a balanced recorded or synthesised environment, it’s
important that clarity is maintained as discrepancies instantly cause the illusion to be
broken. “Proper envelopment requires that the soundstage be seamless left to right,
without interruption by holes or hot spots caused by speaker level imbalance or poor
placement” (Anon, 2016). To enhance the immersive properties of a system, the
predominant method is to provide the listener with sound horizontally and vertically,
“one approach is to surround the listener with a huge array of loudspeakers, each fed
with its own audio channel”. (Hirst, 2006).

In an investigation by Power et al. (2014), different listening systems playing a set of
ambisonic recordings were tested and analysed by a set of unbiased users. The
objective of this investigation was to see if the subjects could notice audible differences
between the different setups. It was concluded by Rumsey (2015) “For some types of
audio material, particularly where there is obvious overhead content, listeners can hear
clear differences between immersive and conventional surround mixes. The increase in
envelopment though, seems relatively marginal compared with the best horizontal
surround”. Returning to the ideas of clarity and focus, it is apparent from the
experiments that “localization of sound objects seems to be improved the more
speakers are added” (Rumsey, 2015). Therefore, it could be said that envelopment is
only enhanced to relative degrees, in that large systems do not generally help the
overall impression of depth and width, only height is noticeable;; however the isolation of
pin-point sound objects is more tangible in bigger speaker systems.

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In domestic settings, these types of systems are not a realistic expectation as a large
amount of audiences do not have the means to achieve them. Hirst also goes on to say
(2006) “this is not a practical approach” and instead “spatial audio systems usually rely
on other methods to produce ‘phantom images’ which are sound sources that emanate
from a point in space where there is not a loudspeaker.” Hence it is commonplace that
audio systems remain stereoscopic due to ease of use and familiarity.

Binaural audio is an extremely convincing technique that aims to replicate the exact
sonic impression personal to a listener. “Standard binaural technology involves the
encoding of a source signal using either microphone recording or convolution. The
encoded signals are then replayed through headphones so that ideally the listener can
be presented with the same ear signals as if they were actually there” (Hirst, 2006). The
benefit of binaural recording is that there is positional information that is just entirely
absent in standard stereo;; there is more of an impression of depth in binaural audio, the
resulting recording sounds a lot less ‘flat’ than stereo. “The resulting recorded signals
will contain cues that are essential to human spatial hearing (Interaural time and level
differences and head related transfer functions)” (Begault, 1991).

As a result of the specificity and individualism of binaural audio, there are drawbacks to
the method. Firstly, the audio can be perceived differently by different people due to the
personal nature of the HRTFs present in the recording stage, as everyone’s heads and
ears are shaped differently. “The realism of spatial perception in binaural reproduction
can be variable. This is mainly due to variations in individual pinna shapes” (Begault,
1991).

Secondly, the typical reproduction of the audio content is ideally through headphones,
in order to give as close to the exact replication of the soundscape as possible,
playback on speaker systems does not provide the same results as headphones.
However, “it is possible to replay binaural signals over loudspeakers;; this technology is
known as transaural audio. The problem that transaural reproduction attempts to
overcome is that when binaural signals are played over loudspeakers, crosstalk occurs”
(Griesinger, 1989). Crosstalk is an artefact of stereo playback, where one audio
channel interferes with the other in the form of an attenuated and slightly delayed
version of itself. “Unlike stereo where crosstalk is essential to the process” (Hirst, 2006).

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3.3 Existing Materials
3.3.1 Object-Based Audio
In recent times, there has been call for the delivery of audio to move on from
multichannel formats (stereo, 5.1, 7.1 surround etc.) due to the never before wide
availability of media at the push of a button. “The term ‘object-based media’ has
become commonly used to describe the representation of media content by a set of
individual assets together with metadata describing their relationships and associations”
(Armstrong et al., 2014). This delivery format sends audio information encoded along
with logistical data to the playback system which then builds the mix and outputs it to
the speaker system.
The development of technology, mobile in particular, has resulted in the consumption of
media to change drastically in recent years. “Today the number of different devices that
can be used to consume linear content (TV and Radio) is very large” (BBC 2015), this
means that listeners are using an ever-growing variety of technologies to experience
media;; ranging from smartphones and smart TV’s to even watches.
In addition to playback devices, listening devices also vary vastly nowadays. The field is
dominated by headphone listeners due to ease of use and affordable cost. “Thanks to
improved mobile technology and the popularity of headphone listening, the
environments in which audiences consume linear content also vary widely” (BBC,
2015). As such, it is important that broadcasters cater to personal device choice, by
delivering audio that is customisable and can be manipulated to fit the chosen device or
purpose best.
The BBC describes (2015) four ways in which object-based broadcast extends and
enhances user experience:
• The first is by adapting to suit the particular device or system. “Someone
viewing content on a mobile phone is likely to want a different version of the
programme to someone viewing on a large screen”. With object-based audio,
the mix could be altered to work better on the user’s system.
• Adapting to suit the user’s environment. One example being “in the presence of
a lot of background noise the viewer might need the dialogue to be louder in
the mix.” Something that is largely unachievable in multichannel audio yet
quite feasible in object-based.

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• Adapting to suit the person specifically. Purely down to personal preference, an
individual may prefer a different balance between sonic aspects, such as thicker
ambiences or louder sound effects. “Or perhaps a viewer of the news is very
interested in a particular sports team. An object-based approach could allow a
viewer to have the programme content tailored to their taste or mood”.
• Finally, full interaction. The BBC likens this to game audio, as a form of object-
based audio that has been around for many years. “In order to interact with a
computer game the whole experience has to be driven by mutable data”.
The same principles apply for the future of broadcast where each aspect of a
piece of media could be interacted with and manipulated.
Figure 2: Traditional Broadcasting Vs Object-Based Broadcast (Cox, 2015).

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The illustration shown in figure 2 describes the ‘before and after’ of media broadcast
and highlights the key differences and features in both traditional and object-based
broadcasting.
The capabilities of object-based systems do not stop at audio;; the principles also
extend to fields such as interfacing. A more specific example is in web development
with the use of ‘responsive design’, where each user is given the same data however it
is formatted differently on their device. “The same information is provided to web
viewers, but the design and layout is adapted in response to device the viewer is using
to look at the page” (BBC, 2015).

3.3.2 The ‘39’ Project (Platthaus & Fell)
The ‘39’ Project is a mobile application for iOS and Android designed and realised by Dr
Isabel Platthaus and Achim Fell. It is a form of audio drama in which the user is
immersed through interactive and audiovisual means. The story follows a singular
protagonist through an engaging and thrilling plot with the listener in the ‘driving seat’.
According to Isabel Platthaus (2015), the application “works on the principle that you
(the listener) release an audio clip by interacting”. This is situational and is used to
generate and drive story orientated content, be it in response to a character or
circumstance. This technique is useful as it allows the player to control the pace of the
audio drama, and explore the outcome at their own discretion;; however, it is notable
that the storyline is predetermined and not defined by the interaction.
The most prominent feature is the gamification of the audio and visual elements, this
constitutes the main body of the application as its’ primary function is to get the user
more involved with immersive media through the combination of 3D audio, physical
interaction and engaging plotlines. In the creation of the application, it was ensured that
the game elements did not detract from or make inaccessible, any narrative content.
Meaning it is not necessary for the user to consistently interact for them to receive a
whole and fulfilled experience;; the concept of user interaction merely enhances the
playback, rather than dictates it.

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One method through which the ‘gameplay’ was augmented was through mini-game
type instances, in which the user would complete a time based challenge or manipulate
an object for example, in order to access deeper narrative and denser plot. Achim Fell
explained the design of the ‘wheel of thoughts’;; a circulating object that when spun at
specific tempos, unlocks monologue content in the perspective of the protagonist - not
vital to the plot, yet adding a layer of subtext.
Paraphrasing Fell (2015), “the aim was interaction, not participation”. In other words,
the importance is focussed on getting the user involved, yet not depending on the user
to propagate the media solely. He goes on to say that “interactivity can also disrupt an
immersion to a story”, therefore it is important to consider the balance at which the
interaction methods are implemented. There should be suitable means for the user to
experience the media with zero interaction, should they choose it. The project features
this in that a linear radio play version is also available for those who prefer to passively
experience multimedia rather than engage personally.
The experience is intensified by the inclusion of audiovisual techniques as means for
“another form of immersion into the story”. Fell declares that “we try to give the visuals a
kind of gap, to give an emptiness yet room for imagination, and of course for listening to
the story". The visual content is not so vivid that it drastically affects the user’s
impression of the story, or so lacking that it is unnecessary;; the purpose for aesthetic
aspects is to embellish the non-visual, and as Fell terms it “highlight the immersive and
suggestive potential of sound".
Platthaus summarises (2015) that this application only scratches the surface of the
potential of object-based audio, it is “only one step”, it is “time consuming, expansive,
elaborate, much more than a conventional radio play” and that technology and society
must “move with radio, and beyond radio”.

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4. The Investigation
4.1 Background
It was decided from the outset that the investigation would take the form of a radio
drama due to the wide spectrum of creative aspects that can be implemented and
controlled via interaction. Another reason for this choice was due to the familiarity of the
processes and principles involved, including recording, post processing, sound design
and the creation of applications and systems in Objective-C++ and Max programming.

4.2 Work Flow
The first stage was to determine the type of radio play that should be created, one of
the important factors that decided this was the facilities available, for example, the most
straightforward and appropriate method for recording the dialogue and foley effects was
to record in studios as the means were readily available for use and the technology was
of professional quality, as opposed to recording a live performance as the resulting
drama would include crowd chatter and other sounds such as laughter, which would be
undesirable artefacts. Also, recording this way allowed for complete control over the
recording environment and hence eliminated the chance for intrusive sonic aspects.

Once the drama type was determined and the script created (as discussed later), the
next stage was to begin the recording of the media such that enough content was
produced in order to begin prototyping. The main focus was on the dialogue, leaving
atmospheres and foley effects to the later stages. The specifics of the recording
process are detailed in latter sections, however it was important to capture the dialogue
of the main characters, particularly that of which the actors were available for limited
periods of time, this is because the main dialogue is the dominant driving force in the
delivery of the plotline.

Next came the prototyping stage. At this point it was decided that the interactive
aspects would control the audio content itself by panning realistically, according to a
series of rules and algorithms determined in the program and hence the system was
implemented in Max, utilising a third-party iPhone application called c74;; however, this
changed further on in the process due to Max and c74’s inability to handle the amount
of audio needed consistently and convincingly.

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Alongside this, other audio and effects were recorded for the drama, comprising of the
less vital audio used for more textural and contextual purposes, such as foley effects
which add important information to a scene but do not generally determine its outcome,
only enhance its dramatic effect;; and also the soundscape beds and atmospheres,
helping in providing a realistic expectation of how the final audio drama would sound.

The next planned stage was to receive user feedback of the working prototype created,
however, it was at this point that it was decided that the interaction methods would
change. The reasoning for this was that during the prototyping process, as the system
developed and grew larger, the latency induced by the sheer number of active sections
caused the audio playback to be drastically lagged by the ongoing process.
Consequently, it was decided that the interactive elements should control the
progression as opposed to panning the audio.

As a result of this change of direction and the therefore delayed development of the
application, the user feedback process was not conducted. This was also a reason as
to why the original objective of surround sound playback was not achieved, however
these aspects do not detract from the overall achievement as established in the
research, headphones are the predominant method of consumption. It was concluded
that surround sound is not available to a lot of the consumer hence would potentially be
a wasted resource.

Once the application played back the audio in the required manner, with the looping
and transitions functioning as intended, the remaining factor was the user interface. The
thought behind this aspect was to keep it as simplistic as possible such that it is familiar
to the user like other audio based applications such as media and music players. As
supported in the research, visual aspects help in stimulating imagination without
dictating it, therefore it was necessary to include basic images to provide a conceptual
outline, the stylistic approach to this was to use silhouettes in order to leave more to the
user’s mind.

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4.3 Creative Process
4.3.1 Plot
Deciding on a fitting plot line was difficult in the sense that there are limitless
possibilities in terms of creativity with radio drama, the only restrictions are the actors
available and audio content achievable. In the end it was decided that the plot would
follow a young man through meeting a girl to eventually dating her, and along the way
are different tasking and some dangerous, social situations. This plot line was chosen
because the most readily available actors were of that age range and were also
unprofessional, hence to create a plot that was technically difficult to perform would
lead to an obviously amateur attempt. As the BBC implores (2016);; “write about a world
you know”, this ensures that the perspectives and approach are likely to be the closest
they can be, and also makes the process more personal and enjoyable.

As an additional aspect to make the radio drama and plot more engaging, the lead
character was made to have sight problems resulting from a freak accident in his
younger days. Blindness however is not a new concept, but one that is proven to work
as “plays such as MacNeice The Dark Tower (1946), Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood
(1954), Pinter’s A Slight Ache (1959) and Barry Bermange’s No Quarter (1962) – to
mention but a few have all used the theme of blindness” (Dramaonlinelibrary.com,
2016).

This paves the way for creative and interesting use of processing and effects in order to
create a sonically intriguing flashback scene to justify his problems, to reiterate Tim
Crook (2015), relatively unexplored areas for radio drama include: “time transposition
and translocation. Flashbacks, flashforwards, different ages” and “the inner existence”,
and hence considering this it was also decided that there would be a conflict within the
main character’s mind, portrayed by two arguing halves of the brain which begin the
story and interject periodically to comment on the actions of the main character. The
beginning was intended to be deliberately ambiguous so that the listener starts off
unsure and guessing ahead as to what the mind voices are referring and alluding to.

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4.3.2 Character
The characters were largely designed to cater for the skill level and professionalism of
the actors available as previously explained. The main character, Keith, was written to
attract sympathy and empathy from the listener as is made imperative by Tim Crook’s
ground rules, this was done not only by having physical disadvantages, but also by
being somewhat of a social pariah. This personality was chosen due to the familiarity of
awkward social situations by people of a similar age range, and therefore to potentially
attract more empathy in that respect.

The main supporting character was Keith’s love interest, Suzie. Suzie was intended to
come across as very outgoing and laid back so as to provide a complete contrast to
Keith. Suzie was also made intentionally motherly in attempt to consolidate the
audience’s feelings towards Keith, that of pity and compassion, and provide the caring
role that is needed in response to such a flawed main character.

As mentioned, accompanying the main character were his mind’s voices. These two
were designed to be very contrasting, one being logical, methodical and innocuous, and
the other being bolshie, outgoing and somewhat obtuse to reflect the two conflicting
personalities within Keith, and ultimately be the reason for his innate social problems.
The two mind voices were also intended as a kind of narrator role, interjecting
sporadically to summarise and guide the storyline. One of the voices in particular was
also intended to add an increased sense of humour into the drama, in accordance with
Crook’s guidance (2015) of having “one character who uses humour to deal with difficult
situations”, of which there numerous.

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5. Recording and Post Processing
5.1 Background
When creating radio drama, one of the most important considerations is how the audio
should sound. This comes down to a few key things. Firstly, the purpose of the audio;;
whether it is ambient or direct, or personal or generic. Secondly, the desired tonality of
the audio, for example for a main dialogue, be it present and obvious or distant and
subtle. Finally, the setting of the audio, the impression the audio is intended to portray
and how this is achievable.

5.2 Components
5.2.1 Atmospheres
Atmospheres are an important feature of a scene, as they are key in issuing aural
signposting, and almost individually determine the spatial impression of the given
location. Without this there is limited immersive quality, with the sole reliance being on
the descriptive dialogue instead.

A particular challenge within the audio drama was creating a soundscape that is a
representation of something entirely abstract - the human mind. It was decided
immediately in the plot creation stage that there would be scenes that feature two
contrasting voices within the main character’s mind, to imply a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides.
The challenge came in determining what their environment would sound like.

It was weighed up that it could perhaps be a very ethereal sound with high reverbs and
alien tones, but this would detract from the immediacy and closeness desired. Or it
could simply be the general world soundscape but attenuated each time the mind
voices spoke through ducking, yet this could become confusing and cluttered.
Ultimately the most favoured option was to bring the listener into the mind by creating
its own idiosyncratic environment. This choice was justified by the inclusion of the
opening scene which occurs solely in the main character’s head, it was necessary to
engineer a particular sound world as a reference for each occasion in which the mind
voices speak.

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The way this was carried out was by creating low frequency rumbling sounds to
generate a finger-in-ear-like impression. Accompanying this, every point at which the
mind soundscape interjects, the pre-existing soundscape can be heard but as a
muffled, attenuated version of itself. This is so the listener is not completely removed
from the location at each interruption, and retains ever-important situational information.

Another challenging scene was the club scene as this takes place in a notoriously loud
environment, somewhere where it would be virtually impossible to get a suitable
recording without encountering distortion and copyrighted music. The solution to this
was to source some fitting music and engineer it to sound as if it was coming from
multiple speakers in a suitably sized and populated room. The method for this was to
induce stereo width where there was none, using Logic Pro X’s stereo spread plug-in.
“Stereo Spread extends the stereo base by distributing a selectable number of
frequency bands from the middle frequency range to the left and right channels” (Apple
Inc, 2009).

An example plug-in setup of one of the three constituent tracks is shown in figure 3, it
shows that the low frequencies are largely left alone, yet the middle and upper
frequencies are spread. This gives a pseudo impression of width, as if the club’s high
frequency speakers are surrounding the characters, yet the low frequency are more
broad – similar to that of a surround sound system where the sub is omnipresent but
the other speakers are more positional. Aside from this, other similarly affected music
tracks were added to thicken the mix along with crowd and bar noise.
Figure 3: Screenshot of the Stereo Spread plug-in in Logic Pro X (2013).

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5.2.2 Dialogue
Arguably the most important aspect of a radio drama is the dialogue being performed.
Given its importance, it is necessary to take extra care in the production of it. The
prosody of speech and it's encompassing sonic landscape are vital in ensuring vocal
characteristics fit suitably and create immersive and authentic media. The ear is
naturally fine tuned to human speech such that the most minute discrepancies can be
glaring to the listener and detract from the overall achievement irreparably. It is
therefore so vital that main dialogue is unblemished by pops, clicks and the like, that it
remains naturally rhythmic and that extra care and close monitoring is used in order to
detect inappropriate attenuation or frequency imbalances.

Within the drama there are two main contrasting dialogue types used. The first of which
is in the mind scenes, where the two characters are intended to sound close and
immediate (figure 4). It was decided that they would be recorded isolated from the ‘real
world’ dialogue actors as they warranted a completely different tone, and hence a
different microphone set up.

Figure 4: The arrangement of two AKG C414’s positioned around 8 – 10 inches from
the actors.

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This close mic setup allowed for complete control over each character’s dialogue and
captured a warmer, more direct sound as a result of the short microphone distance, yet
provided the means to retain the fluidity and naturalism necessary for a convincing
performance, by allowing eye contact and communication. This also helped in
developing ad-libbed dialogue, further adding to the more conversational approach.

The second type of dialogue was that of the main characters, this was intended to be
more indirect and spaced sounding. The above technique was unfavourable due to the
fact that day to day conversation rarely sounds as present as that audio captured. The
final decision was to have all the actors work around one configuration of microphones
so that they could communicate in the same way as the previous setup, but with a
suitable distance so that the timbre of the audio capture was appropriate.

For example, in the club scene, the actors have raised voices to compete with the
music, the distance benefited this as it allowed for a more genuine representation of the
conflicting and inaudible frequencies of the voice and music in this environment. Figure
5 shows the arrangement used for the restaurant scene, this gives the actors free reign
to interact with one another in a ‘round table’ type setting, aiding the conversational
approach once more, with more means to interject in a less robotic manner;; an
important attribute in the busier scenes of the play.

Figure 5: The arrangement of two AKG C414’s in a Blumlein pair setup.

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5.2.3 Foley & Spot Effects
Sound effects are also vital in delivering and enhancing authenticity;; a scene without
them is likely to sound hollow, lacking and shallow. There were a variety of different
effects required throughout the play, some of which are easiest to source from sound
libraries such as heart-rate monitors and explosion sounds, and others which required
specific performance such as cutlery and footstep sounds.

One importance of foley effects is in creating a sense of movement within a scene.
Without any form of footsteps or clothing rustling, there is no audible indication that the
characters are changing locations other than the dialogue panning in to position, and
with just dialogue moving, the impression tends to be that the character is ‘floating’
which sounds unrealistic and false. In particular scenes, the motion of the characters is
necessary to present the correct impression, for example in the flashback scene, the
footsteps and rustling noises indicate that the soldiers are moving in to position, not
only reinforcing the feeling that something is being built up to, but also injecting more
flow into an otherwise static scene.

There is no scene in which effects are more important than the flashback as the whole
soundscape is built up almost entirely of sound effects and dialogue, there is no specific
atmosphere recorded other than some room tone to indicate the interior location. This is
because the stylistic approach was to make the content very blurred and unfocused
sounding to indicate that it is in the past, and there is no general atmosphere to do this,
like there is with a city street for example. One reason for which this scene was difficult
to create was due to dealing with the idea of deafness resulting from the explosions, the
methodology behind this was to add in a tinnitus style noise as this is ubiquitous to all
listeners that there is a clear loss of sense and helps in making the scene quite
uncomfortable to listen to.

Another instance where the success of a scene is dependant on foley effects is in the
restaurant. During the confrontation of the waiter, the main character is punched, and
this in itself is a notoriously troublesome effect to implement due to the ease of which it
can come across as slapstick or ‘cheesy’, but moreover the difficulty came with getting
a convincing balance of plate rattles and table and chair scrapes so as to not sound too
forced and deliberate. Foley effects added to sonify actions rather than movements are
used to enhance the dramatic effect of a character’s motion or activity.

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5.3 Binaural Versus Stereo
Within the research it is established that binaural audio is generally perceived as a
more immersive and enveloping medium of, due to its ‘real world’ representation of a
soundscape;; and with the intention that the play is experienced via headphones, it only
made sense to utilise this technique for the most convincing results possible.

As a part of making interactive audio drama, the immersion is obviously of utmost
importance, and hence standard stereo formatting, while convincing, does lack a certain
sense of depth that is more easily achievable with binaural, which provides a more
‘transparent’ type of soundscape for the listener.

6. Interactivity and Application Development
6.1 Background
There are a wide variety of interactive media nowadays, and with object-based
approaches the possibilities are ever expanding. When deciding upon the possible
interaction methods for the audio drama, it was necessary to weigh up the achievable
against the worthwhile and create an immersive experience with suitable user familiarity
such that there is no learning curve or other lengthy processes involved. As a result, it
was concluded that the means for interaction will utilise a pre-existing device and hence
iPhone was chosen due to its popularity and application customisability.

6.2 Interactivity
It was stated from the outset that the radio drama needed the interactive element to
push the user on from the ‘sit back and listen’ mentality. Originally it was decided that
the interactive element would come from the user physically modifying the sonic
character of the drama by panning certain aspects as if the user was turning the head
of the main character, however, coming back to Achim Fell’s point that “interactivity can
also disrupt an immersion to a story” (2015), it was concluded (and from the prototyping
stage) that this did not sound natural or convincing and seemed more of an intrusive
gimmick than a feature. Hence it was decided that in a similar fashion to The ’39’
Project, the user would be given control of the pace of the experience rather than the
sonic character.

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When controlling the pace of the media, it was important that the immersive aspects
were disrupted as little as possible, therefore it was determined that the background
ambiences and reoccurring sound effects would loop endlessly and convincingly, and
that the user would simply press the ‘skip’ (as indicated by a fast forward icon) button in
order to proceed with the drama, which would in turn cease the playback of that scene’s
atmosphere. A consideration that has been made is that some listeners may not want to
be so involved with the propagation of the media, and may just want to listen to the play
linearly and continuously. Consequently, a ‘play all’ feature was implemented which
would allow the user to listen to a set version of the play which transitions automatically.

The reasoning for the interactive aspects was to utilise ideas put forward by Isabel
Platthaus, that by interacting, extra content is revealed. Not content that is crucial to the
development of the story, but content that assists with the listener’s immersion.
Platthaus explains (2015), that the application “works on the principle that you (the
listener) release an audio clip by interacting”, and this is the same principle on which
the application and drama is based – the listener releases the scene audio by pressing
play on each app screen.

Utilising a principle of object-based audio, it is stated previously that “in the presence of
a lot of background noise the viewer might need the dialogue to be louder in the mix”
(BBC, 2015), as a result of this it was decided that this would be a very apt feature for
an application of this nature. However, these methods were to be implemented such
that the user has control of the volume on each scene, yet retaining the immersive
atmosphere generated.

6.3 Prototyping
Originally it was decided that the interaction methods would be via the user controlling
the audio itself. The system was initially developed and showcased in Max due to its
familiarity, ease of use and visual nature. When determining what the physical interface
would consist of it was clear that an XY interface would be more suitable than a simple
slider, at the risk of being less intuitive for the user. As a result of this decision it was
necessary to find a means to achieve this and eventually it was settled on using a third-
party application called c74 (nr37, 2010) as the bridge and interface between the user
and Max.

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Figure 6: A screenshot of Max, showing the full initial prototype, one of the more
complex scenes in the drama.

The system worked by playing different audio tracks that represent each character or
atmosphere within the drama. A certain amount of these, for example the girl’s
dialogue, were ‘pannable’ to an extent. This was to give the impression that the main
character was turning his head. In the scene shown, the panning audio could only be
moved by a limited degree – for the girl it was around 90° as she was located directly in
front of the main character in this scene and 90° was the realistic extent.

Figure 7: The metering and mixing section of the prototype system

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Figure 7 shows in more detail the metering and mixing element of the patch, this is
used to load and play the audio. Working with the mind-set of having channel strips for
each element making it simpler and more familiar to visualise and implement, and
ensuring that all the samples began playback at the same point. This would also help in
setting final levels to achieve and convincing and appropriate mix.

Figure 8 shows the XY pad interface used in the prototyping stage as a form of
emulation for the real interface. An XY pad was chosen because it allows the user to
visualise what their effect on the audio is as they use the system.

Figure 8: An XY pad used to emulate the end interface, an iPhone screen.

As previously explained this was ultimately unfavourable as the given impression did
not suit the nature of the drama and the overall effect was not desirable. The next stage
was to implement a method for the user to control the pace of the audio. Initially this
was also going to be controlled through Max/c74, with the interface design shown in
figure 9.

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Figure 9: A screenshot of c74, showing three buttons used to control the playback
(nr37, 2010).

Having re-evaluated the interaction options, as the c74 application could only make
very basic aesthetics, it was settled that an iPhone would remain the device used, but
an Objective-C/C++ application integrated with FMOD studio would be vastly more
customisable and work more consistently. The advantages of FMOD/iOS integration
heavily outweighed the sole reliance on Max due to its inconsistency in handling the
real-time manipulation of large quantities of high fidelity audio;; furthermore, the c74
application had a tendency to disconnect during use causing the whole system to
become unstable and unpredictable. Whereas an iPhone application is much easier for
the common user in terms of usability, CPU friendliness and familiarity.

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6.4 Wireframing
The application structure was an extremely important aspect in the design process, due
to the need to make it as user friendly and intuitive as possible in order for the user to
get the most from the system. The overview of the whole application structure is shown
below in figure 10, it shows eight scene screens, each accessible from the main menu,
as shown by the iPhone graphic. Left of the iPhone graphic is a ‘play all’ screen, which
is also accessed from the main menu and is used to play all scenes chronologically and
consecutively. The arrows connecting each screen indicate (in the direction of the
arrow) the ability to proceed to that screen from a corresponding button. For example,
scene 2 is accessible from the main menu and scene 1.

Figure 10: The overall
application structure
as a wireframe,
showing the amount of
scene screens and
menu screen.

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The screen shown in figure 11 shows the main
menu, which provides the user with the opportunity to
either choose to play individual scenes via the ‘select
scene’ button, the individual scenes include the
interactive element. The alternative choice is the ‘all
scenes’ button, this transitions to a screen that allows
the user to play all the content chronologically and
uninterrupted as was stated in the research was
necessary.

Figure 11: The menu screen from the wireframe overview.

Figure 12 shows a single screen as taken from the
overview. Within this screen there are three
separate buttons, play, pause and skip. The pause
button stops the playback until the user taps the
play button again to resume it. Skip is used to
proceed to the next scene once the dialogue has
finished and the loop has been instigated;; it also
functions without audio to move to the next screen
should the user desire it.

Upon the transition triggering between each scene,
the application ceases the playback of the FMOD
events such that there is ultimately no overlapping
audio to cause confusion.

Figure 12: A single screen from the
wireframe overview.

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6.5 Application Design
The interactive media ultimately took tangible form as an iPhone application, generated
through the integration of FMOD studio with Objective-C/C++ code. This was the
favoured method after initial testing and prototyping within Max/MSP revealed
weaknesses in such a system.

One notable feature is that the interaction methods are the same each time (in that the
user presses a button to proceed), but the underlying content is not always necessarily
that varied. This purely comes down to the nature of the play’s plot lines and scene
development. For example, after the dialogue finishes in the club scene, a selection of
songs play, which is a lengthy amount of ‘hidden’ content with varied amounts of
engagement, whereas in the street at night scene where the main character gets hit by
a car, the looping content is only his heartbeat. It is appreciated that this is not likely to
be something the listener particularly enjoys hearing for an extended period of time
compared to a few different musical pieces;; and hence it is within the users prerogative
to proceed with the drama as they see fit.

Figure 13: The street night scene within the FMOD project.

The looping system was implemented in FMOD by simply applying a seamless loop to
the desired section (figure 13), this was then set to be released from the corresponding
method and button press within the application. The loop is signified by the light blue
bar in the logic track above the audio tracks. The playhead will never leave this region
until the application tells it to do so, after which it fades out and the application
transitions to the next scene.

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The iOS application itself uses a multi screen format to show each scene with a
corresponding graphic element, as shown in figure 14. This method was favourable
compared to a single screen with a functionally changing play scene button, as it
provided the means for specific images and illustrations to accompany the playback in
order to add more interest to an otherwise plain looking application.

Figure 14: The overview of the scene and selection screens showing the mutli-screen
format.
At the bottom of each screen a slider is shown, these are used for control over the
dialogue level, allowing the user to customise the scene according to their listening
environments, in some cases (dependent on the playing environment and scene), the
user may want the speech louder or quieter to account for their listening situation, this
was implemented due to the research stating the importance of responsive design in
modern systems.

The aesthetics of the application were inspired by the necessity for some visual aspect
accompanied by the need to retain simplicity. Hence, the main stylistic approach was to
use silhouettes and line drawings to portray a sense of location and populous without
directly dictating what the user’s mind conjures.

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As previously mentioned, it was necessary to cater for those who don’t wish to
experience the play by interacting and hence a ‘play all’ feature was added. This was as
simple as creating a separate event within FMOD that contains the whole drama audio
and playing it in response to a button press on a separate screen. As shown in figures
15 and 16.

Figure 15: FMOD event showing the eight scenes in order.

Figure 16: iOS application main menu with transition segue to ‘all scenes’ screen.

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Figure 17 shows the dialogue track of the flashback scene, below this is the associated
automation track, this is controlled by a parameter called ‘s5volume’ (shown in figure
18), this allows the user to adjust the level of the speech to their requirement. The user
is directly impacting the automation track as they interact with the application interface
in real time. The nature of the method means that the user must interact with the
volume control specific to the scene it is associated with each time they choose to affect
it. One notable feature is that the dialogue cannot be completely muted, only reduced in
level by around 8dB, this is so the immersive quality is not lost

This is advantageous as it means the effect is not global to the system, such that the
dialogue will not be overpowering in further scenes if set preferentially in a previous
one. This is also potentially disadvantageous in some respects as it means the user
must keep setting their own preference, when in actuality they may want to set it and
leave it alone.

Figure 17: Screenshot of the flashback scene in FMOD, showing the dialogue track
and automation lane.

Figure 18: The volume control parameter for the flashback scene in FMOD.

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7. Conclusion
The principle aims of the project fall in to three main sections, the creation of credible
audio drama, implementation of interactive elements and generation authentic and
immersive media. Overall these aims were achieved in the manner desired. Piece by
piece, the credibility of the drama was amassed through the combination of realistic and
approachable scripting and plot lines;; broadly high acting standard and professionally
recorded and processed soundscapes. The interactive elements were employed in
close accordance with the methods and knowledge ascertained through research into
existing materials and provide an immersive quality comparable to that of pre-
established, commercially available media.

Originally it was stated that the project would ultimately be a surround sound article and
the interactive elements would be geared more towards creative effect, rather than
procedural. However, it was established through the processes of system design and
research that these concepts were unrealistic and unachievable, and hence the
approach shifted toward the development of the system used to propagate the media
instead, and the delivery of broadcast standard audio for consumption by the wider
prospective audience.

There were a number of ways in which the whole project could have been enhanced
and improved, not limited to the sonic, but also the physical attributes. For example,
granted more time, a substantial way the system could be improved would be to
integrate multi-choice endings, in order to keep the listener engaged and augment the
application’s replayability by providing the user with direct control over their narrative
path. Another method in which the experience and application could be developed
would be by adopting more of the principles of object-based audio, and allowing the
user more control over the physical playback of the audio. In addition to this, the volume
control function could be made to affect every scene at once, rather than just the single
scene it is assigned to. A further way in which the system and application could be
improved is by utilising the auto-layout feature within Xcode to ensure that the
application scales appropriately to fit differently sized devices.

Interactive Audio Drama

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