Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1261193
38 I M PS E . O R G experiencing the director's vision through the lens of the camera. So we had already started to see that sort of shift in both creative and technical thinking, and so that's the language and the vocabulary that I can build off of when I present something like a fully interactive, non-timeline based product to a traditional sound editor or designer. Now we just have variable timing in between the scenes or the sequences." Bolen continues, "There's not a lot of people who can work on a single asset in Pro Tools that is a component of a much larger system and anticipate how that will translate into VR. Variables such as binaural positioning, 2D vs 3D panning, or even a subjective amount of spread to make a certain sound more enveloping in a certain experience, these are things that are not often, or even entirely, considered in linear storytelling, but instead come from a game-sound aspect. But if you move to an entirely game- centric point of view, you risk losing the emotional resonance that is typically associated with film sound. So you begin to think about the informational reasoning as to why you're hearing sounds from certain directions versus the emotional understanding of how the sounds relate to the story at hand." Developed by ILMxLAB, the VR episodic saga premiered in May of 2019. On January 19, 2020, the impressive work of Vader Immortal: Episode 1 took home the Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing: Special Venue Award at the 67th Annual Golden Reel Awards. Under consideration for the award were the dialog, ADR, sound effects, Foley, and music editing. All of which earned top notches with our judges for their ability to ground you in the experience, envelope you with information, and engage you on an emotional level that propels you through this chapter and eager for the next episode. When you don the headset for Episode I, you find yourself playing the part of a smuggler aboard your ship in the midst of a run near Mustafar, the fiery planet that Darth Vader calls home. After being unexpectedly pulled out of hyperspace, you and your droid copilot, ZO-E3, find yourselves uncovering an ancient mystery at the behest of the Sith Lord himself. This brief synopsis already uncovers a bevy of sound concerns; ships, planets, droids, and one of the most recognizable antagonists in the galaxy, wielding one of the most sonically identifiable weapons in the galaxy. But before the process of tackling assets begins, Bolen and his team had to start at the very beginning … of production. Significant strides have been made in VR over the past few years. The Wild West nature of this new creative frontier has been a boon for independent and experimental storytellers. As sound professionals from the game audio and film sound world converged on VR, workflows and practices varied widely in the burgeoning field. Unlike how typical live- action narrative storytelling puts sound editing at the tail of post production, it doesn't take too much discussion to recognize that putting sound at the end of the process is an inefficient use of resources when considering a VR soundscape. "You have to be there from the beginning, and you have to iterate every aspect." explains Bolen. For instance, consider that there is a feature film's worth of dialog and no picture department. Vader Immortal: Episode 1