aFX Global's Spatial Audio with Iosono Wraps the Legacy of Leonardo da Vinci

Grande Experiences y The Lume Melbourne have created the exhibition 'Leonardo da Vinci – 500 years of genius', offering an immersive tour supported by the sound design of aFX Global and in Iosono audio playback, composed of Encircled.

Technological innovation and art come together in the recently inaugurated exhibition Leonardo da Vinci – 500 years of genius, in The Lume Melbourne, the oldest multisensory gallery so far in the world, in collaboration with Great Experiences.

The exhibition uses the Iosono technology to offer a spatial sound single, created with the producer Des O’Neill, of aFX Global, composed of Encircled, that immerses the public during its journey through the life and work of the original representative of the Renaissance.

Leonardo da Vinci – 500 years of genius spreads across the four floors (3.000 m2) from The Lume Melbourne gallery inviting visitors on a multi-sensory and unique journey, since it is the first time that the Codex Atlanticus by Da Vinci goes on display in Australia, after more than ten years working on it.

“When several years ago we were looking for a spatial audio rendering solution para The Lume Melbourne, aFX Global and Encircled were among the first companies we spoke to – remember Craig Smith, production director, Grande Experiences operations and technology. “Iosono became our solution due to its versatility and ease of integration with existing audio systems”.

Unlike the listening positions defined in other galleries, The Lume Melbourne's immersive space has a more than 3.000 m2 “to guarantee a spatial experience for all guests, regardless of your location, while remaining in context with the video, crucial for project planning”, underlines.

The music for the exhibition has been selected by Grande Experiences' in-house musical director, Ben Crook, in collaboration with Des O’Neill, co-founder of aFX Global and sound designer, to create custom spatial audio for each surface.

The speaker layout developed by Grande Experiences and Des O’Neill was realized in a comprehensive configuration by Encircled for the Iosono rendering., which forms the basis for The Lume Melbourne sound engineers and technicians to design customized experiences for each exhibition.

A key requirement was that all audio processing be managed by Iosono using the system's integrated tuning via individualized speaker filters, as well as locating all audible elements dynamically using the content production software plugin Spatial Audio Workstation.

How do you explain Jan Langhammer, director general de Encircled, “a 'global map' allows quick access to all the speakers in the gallery. However, The configuration also provides for separate zones, called 'spaces', such as locations in the main screening room, the mezzanine and a 360° room, so that each one has its own arrangement of immersive speakers”.

From a content point of view, “we can control the audio playback in all these areas: some share the same content, others reproduce individual sound designs - adds Langhammer -. Thanks to the flexibility of the Iosono renderer and the cutting-edge configuration of the speaker layout, everything was implemented directly by the Grande Experiences technical staff, without the need for additional support from Encircled”.

To Max Röhrbein, director general de Encircled, “This project has taken immersive exhibitions to a new level thanks to the vision of Grande Experiences, aFX Global's brilliant sound design and Iosono's pioneering audio processing. Maybe 'Leonardo da Vinci – 500 years of genius’ be the best yet from The Lume Melbourne, But it is also just the latest part of an important trend that equates audio to visual experience, giving it new expression and providing astonishing insights into this Renaissance master.”.