Recordist Greg Simmons used Holophone surround sound technology in producing his recent "Surrounding the World" video/audio project.
The objective of "Surrounding the World" is to create a sonic experience for the listener, one in which aural content works independently of visual content. Simmons has traveled to a number of remote locations in connection with the project, including the Himalayan regions of Nepal and Tibet. After attempting to create his own surround sound microphone, he was introduced to a commercial product, the Holophone H2-PRO.
"The Holophone has been ideal for this project because it makes direct-to-5.1 recordings that are vital to the listener's sonic experience," Simmons said. "The point and shoot simplicity of the Holophone is far preferable to having to fiddle around with a bunch of individual microphones and cables. The H2-PRO is faster and easier to set-up than other surround microphones, which was especially important for the spontaneous recordings we encountered."
Simmons was particularly impressed with the sound quality and durability of the multichannel microphone.
"The Holophone held up under a variety of rugged environments such as the cold of Mount Everest and the rattling around in buses," he said. "The chance of something going wrong with the Holophone is slim-to-none, provided you treat it with respect."
His global-themed audio recordings will be teamed with still images to "set the scene," with the composite "Surrounding the World" project being released in DVD format.
