SoundStage

 by  Brett Murphy

SoundStage is an ambisonic surround sound mixer easy enough for a three year old to use. By moving “sound objects” around the table, users are able to pan audio around the room and immerse themselves within a soundscape of their own creation. For example, take a classic like Old MacDonald’s Farm. Depending on where children place a cow on the table, they can make a “moo-moo here, a moo-moo there, here a moo, there a moo, everywhere a moo-moo.”

My goal is to make surround sound fun and accessible to kids.

Last year I took a class in the Music Technology department and got to work with 3D audio and was blown away by the rich and immersive soundfield. The problem is that most of the tools for this kind of audio are expensive and very difficult to use.

Before coming to ITP, I worked as a sound designer, and think that audio plays a huge role in film and can bring a story to life. When I read to my niece and nephew, who are 5 and 3 years old respectively, I am always using lots of my own added sound effects to enhance the story.

My goal was to see if I could create a tool for children to play with sound, giving them contrl and making it accessible and fun. I wanted to create an interface that was easy enough for a 3 or 4 year old to use. To do this I set out to create a tangible interface, where objects look like what they sound like, making it intuitive for a child.