Sound design in VR filmmaking: Opportunities and challenges in a new medium

Cinematic sound design workflows are well-established and refined over many years of practice and scholarly review, and the creative and technical approaches resulting from this are widely adopted and used. Until recently, these approaches were partially dictated by the conventions and limitations of the underlying visual medium: the cinematic screen. Nevertheless, the ongoing technological revolution brings radical changes in the way we approach and consume creative media content and the accompanying soundtracks. Long-established cinematic sound design conventions are challenged and transformed, as emerging cinematic sound systems allow for greater creative freedom and more precise sound spatialisation. At the same time, advanced virtual reality (VR) systems provide an opportunity to break the boundaries of the screen and allow filmmakers to explore new ways of creative expression. With this comes an increased demand for specialised audio content that utilises the unique technological and creative characteristics of the VR medium. Through discussions and commentary based on secondary research and a series of interviews with sound design and filmmaking practitioners, this study aims at identifying some of the creative and practical opportunities and challenges sound designers may encounter when working in VR projects with a cinematic narrative structure and orientation. Ultimately, the study seeks to assist sound designers, VR filmmakers, and immersive media practitioners in better contextualising and defining the potential roles of the soundtrack in VR filmmaking and the associated workflows, contributing to the ongoing dialogue as the language of the new medium is being developed.