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January 8, 2020 15 mins

François Fripiat has been a sound engineer for over 12 years. He worked in many different fields such as sound design, audio mix, and he's been a sound supervisor for many different animation films, feature films, documentaries, etc... Passionate about spatial sound for a decade, François Fripiat founded the company Demute, a creative sound studio dedicated to new media (XR / Video Games / Immersive experiences). Demute is focusing on tech by developing new technological tools to improve immersion through sound. Our VRTL podcast host Pieter Van Leugenhagen will dig deeper to learn the different aspects within spatial sound and how it contributes to the storytelling of a cinematic VR experience.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hi everyone, this is Peter from virtual and we are
ready for a new podcast serieswith me here.
Francois PR, uh, founder and CEOof the mute.
Hello.
Welcome to our show friends.
So how are you and how's themuse doing?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Actually quite good.
It's a, it's Friday, so I'mthinking about my weekend.
I, we'll go to the, to theBelgian coast this weekend.
So no, anyway, uh, we are doingpretty well.
We are, uh, creating quitedifferent, uh, exciting sound
for different production andmaking also, uh, innovation.
So yeah, three going well.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Uh, can you tell us a little bit more about a
particular project that you'reworking on?

Speaker 2 (00:43):
So, uh, for a moment we are working on, um, on
project.
We are finishing some Playmobile, uh, VR experiences that were,
uh, VR companions to, um, to the[inaudible] build the movie.
Uh, we are working on motioncapture of VR animation.
Uh, also we are working forvideo games, so some video games

(01:05):
that appeals sought out becausewe are working for VR and, uh,
video games.
So our focus is immersion andinteraction.
And uh, yeah, that's pretty muchthat.
We, there is also a, a great,great VR game.
The real sold out[inaudible] islike a street fighter of
fairytales to treat fighter inVR.
It will be exciting in, uh, andthe result out in six months or

(01:26):
something like that.
And uh, and yeah, that's aboutthat.

Speaker 1 (01:30):
Nice.
Sounds good.
So you're working now as a soundengineer or in the sound space
for more than 12 years.
Uh, so how did you end up in aspatial sound and where does the
passion come from?

Speaker 2 (01:41):
And it's a, that's a good question actually.
Uh, I'm, uh, I worked in thecinema industry and uh, I made
like all the difference, uh,rulings, samples, production, so
they'll being in advertising ina, in a mixing and create
studios or run the role, etcetera.
And um, actually that was my,my, my thesis at the end of my

(02:02):
school.
It was about ambition examinedand then I went to, uh, to the
business, so in the soundbusiness and nobody were talking
about that.
And then boom, VR just came out.
So these people that, uh, werein the same building as the
company I was working for, uh,people from, uh, no zones.
So they created a system for usin prisons and anyway, and they

(02:22):
just, uh, knocked the door andsaying, okay, can you do me some
special sound for VR?
And I was like, what does VR, so, uh, and of course, uh, I
learned about that and I, I canI check that, um, one of the
technology was ambisonic soundso special sound and yeah, I was
like, okay, let's, let's launcha business about that because

(02:43):
it, that was something that waspretty exciting, uh, already for
, for 12, 12 years.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
Is there actually a difference between spacial and
binaural sound?

Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yeah, actually the, there's not a difference, but we
have to, to compare that toimage because image is really
more clear than sound.
So you to see[inaudible] it'slike binocular.
So binocular clear.
It's just seeing that you arelooking with two eyes.
So my role is just saying thatyou are here with two hears.
So that's it.
So by the role as nothing abouttechnology inside that so

(03:13):
special sound is the fact too,to have sound all around you.
And then thanks to decoding andthings to um, to special
computing thing to, to, tocomputer, uh, to computing.
Uh, thanks to computing, youwill be able to um, to decode
the sound in binaural.
So binaural is all we hear soundin real life actually.

(03:33):
So by the role is the, the handof the, of the system.
Uh, if we have a barrel.
So I compare that special soundin fixed by NREL.
So by fixed by neurol issomething that is orally
pre-calculated.
So it's like if you have animage, a treated image, and
where did you turn around yourevery time seeing the same
image.
So buying fixed binaural soundis not interesting actually in

(03:57):
what we do in VR.
What's interesting is, isspecial sound and that will
thanks to the position of thehead, we decode that to bind
role.
But it is important for VR.
Yeah, indeed.
Because actually we have tothink that sound is the, is the
sense of danger because in thereal life you hear all around
us, but we see only in onedirection.

(04:18):
And so sound is what, uh, givesus the, the intention to turn
the head and to look atsomething.
So sound is every time open.
You don't have any, uh, any, youcannot blink with, uh, with, uh,
with years actually.
So you have to, um, to bereally, really smart about sound
and this is what gives you alsoa very interesting emotional

(04:38):
triggers.

Speaker 1 (04:39):
Okay.
So actually unique.
Think a lot about, um, how tointegrate sounds in VR
experiences.
It's not just stupid.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah.
And a, and not only in term oftechnical purposes because
actually techniques behind thespecial Odo exists for already
two to at least 20 years.
It's how it's implemented andhow, it's interesting to hear
that sound more than anotherone.
When I'm looking at something,do I hear this sound on the

(05:08):
higher the, the sound, just uh,uh, next to him.
Uh, and all of that.
It's also interesting in term ofcreativity.
So just don't think that you puta sound in unity attached to a
graphic design and that's, we'llmake the job.
That's interesting to have to gofurther than that and saying,
okay, what sounds give in termsemotional triggers or Oh, sound

(05:28):
can help me to be immersedinside of your chill world.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Are you also exploring augmented reality
projects?
Three years ago

Speaker 2 (05:36):
we had an ID that was okay that, that's not very usual
to have a, have a headset infront of her or of our eyes
because, uh, we are not used to,to be blind somehow, but we use
Walkman for four years now.
So every people is listening tomusic inside a sang
transportation.
So we were thinking, so why notthinking about seeing the

(05:59):
reality, but hearing virtuality,and this is how we are building
now a system that's called[inaudible], this augmented
audio a Realty.
So it's a device, an audiodevice.
So[inaudible] phones, I distracton the room track depending the
position of your head.
So a twist, six Duff, uh,augmented reality experiences.

(06:19):
So you see something real, butyou hear something, a, something
, a virtual.
So one of the key, uh, the keyuse case that we can think
about, it's a Bruegel, uh,painting.
So you have big Bruegel paintingand when you are, uh, looking at
the regular painting, justwalking around the, the
painting, you are hearing everydifference, uh, characters in

(06:41):
there.
And if you are looking at thepainting from far, you are
listening to the wall, to thewall picture itself.
So that's, that's things thatare possible with that.

Speaker 1 (06:50):
So, uh, I think the last time we saw charter was at
gun X, our sort of come filmfestival

Speaker 2 (06:56):
quite, quite late February, remember?

Speaker 1 (06:58):
Yeah, it was a very interesting time.
Um, but I, I, I attended yourtalk about the opportunity for
spatial sound and podcasting.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about that?

Speaker 2 (07:08):
Yeah, actually it's a, it's how we can bring, um,
also augmented reality to simpledevices because no, we need, uh,
complicated visuals.
So forget the visuals.
But even what we are buildingright now is still a net set
with different device on it.
How we can have a Naga mountedreality experience just with a

(07:30):
smartphones.
And so special, a specialpodcast.
So actually it's quite simpleto, to, to create somehow
because you just need a realgood sound that is special and
things to do.
Gyroscope of the telephone, youcan be in another reality.
So you can think about podcaststhat are, uh, triggers depending
on where you are in the map.

(07:51):
So let's go now we go to a[inaudible] or we go to, uh, uh,
regs, museum, whatever, and justgo in front of the building.
And then the post gas in thereis sound is just triggers and
that and where the sound isprecisely located, uh, where the
building are.
So you can actually justtraveling time, for example,

(08:12):
just thanks to sound in thingsto your imagination.
And there is podcasts.
So, uh, triggering the soundexactly where they are in the
real life.
So that's, that's anopportunity.
For example, the only thing withspecial podcasts, uh, you need
at least one of these twothings.
Either you need to be able towork around because you need to

(08:33):
turn the head.
So it's something that youprobably don't do inside your
car or inside the Metro, uh,that is to place where you, uh,
listen to podcast.
So either you have to walkthere, you have to, to be able
to interface to, um, to, to bewith.
So let's say you can have aninteractive story.
Uh, you choose option B oroption a inside your phone and

(08:57):
you can be inside the virtualaudio world thanks to an
application.
That's also something that couldbe possible in term of special
podcast.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
So, um, the mute is one of the leading sound studios
or agencies in Europe, uh, areany projects that you're proud
of and that our listeners canwatch somewhere somehow?

Speaker 2 (09:16):
Uh, yeah, there is actually a, for a moment we
worked on, on very differentprojects.
Somehow it's secret project orwe can not communicate on it,
but a project that I can talkabout, it's a probably construct
that is pretty exciting project,uh, cause it's a robot fighting
all around in a six Duff'scinematic experience.
So in term of a sound design, uh, that was pretty exciting.

(09:38):
So sometimes for a sounddesigner it's exciting to make
sound that was really noisysomehow.
Uh, we worked also on videogames, more regular ones, but
it's actually the sametechniques because we use, we
can use special sound not onlyfor VR but also for, uh, for
video games, uh, regular ones.
Uh, so we are working on a, aFlemish project.

(09:59):
We finished that floats, Sam andthe RA and the secret of seasons
that will be a Zelda.
Like that will be probably oneof the biggest in the game, uh,
of Belgium also.
And uh, yeah, we, we'll havepretty exciting projects coming
in, uh, in 2020.

Speaker 1 (10:13):
Nice.
So actually on a, on a, on ascale, uh, of one to 10, how
important is spatial sound forimmersive experience?

Speaker 2 (10:21):
I have to ask me to do the kind of question, you
know, whether what I willanswer, actually I think, uh, I
think it depends on theproduction in cinematic.
It's, it's, it's crazy how it'snot a understand yet, uh, or, or
unnecessary.
It is because actually thissound that is really projecting
you inside another, uh, anotherworld just in terms of emotion.

(10:44):
Just think about, um, you are,you are, you're just writing,
you are in the car and you'rejust listening to music.
Depending on the music that youare listening, you have a
complete different emotional uh,behavior inside the road.
Socio.
My Spotify playlists.
Yeah.
So that's completely crazy.
You are thinking stuffdifferently.
You are then you are in the reallife, but you are immersed in

(11:05):
the, in other emotional stateand the that's that's how, I
mean there's just a sillyexample to say whole sound is
inter important in terms ofimmersion, but it's, it's when
it's become, to be really beingin another world, a sound can
help you like lot.
And so think about more aboutthe sound.
It's pretty exciting andsomething that is really

(11:26):
important to say.
Is that recording sound?
A sound field recording for VRis kind of tricky.
It's complicated because youdon't have boom microphone.
You don't have people that canhave handle the microphone
because you see all around you.
So it's you have time,microphones.
We have a small microphone thatyou can have on people, but
that's not sounding very well.
So the best, we have a real goodexperience in term of sound,

(11:50):
it's rerecord people afterwards

Speaker 1 (11:52):
how that work.
So

Speaker 2 (11:54):
actually it's like, um, it's funny because, uh,
it's, it's really something thatis used in mainly old, um, all
the American movies it's used.
So every Marvel movies use thatkind of stuff.
So they record onsets, the soundjust to have the information of
what the[inaudible] said andthat the actors is rerecording

(12:18):
we call that ADR in a, inEnglish, uh, rerecording the,
the, the, the voice that you wasdoing on the set to have the
perfect voice with a reallyclean, uh, sound booth.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
Can you tell us something more about the heart
and software that you're using?

Speaker 2 (12:33):
So actually, uh, it's um, there is a bunch of
different software, uh, allaround.
So there is the Facebook three60, uh, there is a Google
resonances.
So actually the big guys ispositioning on that.
We are more using stuff from, um, from people call the blue
ripple sound because we reallydo like that for, uh, I mean for

(12:54):
a cinematic experience.
When it's more interactive, wego to a unity.
Indeed and real are we wise.
We are the only wise ambassadorsin a, in Belgium.
So it's really the soundinteractive sound for VR and
video games, uh, dedicated tosoft software.
So you connected that to your,um, to your a game engine.

(13:16):
Uh, so yeah, that's pretty muchthat.
And for creating the sound, weuse a Reaper.
Uh, so pro tools is the main,uh, the main digital G
workstations.
So the main software inside the,the, the, the industry.
But we use Reaper.
That is really much moreinteresting because you can
parameter everything insidethat.

(13:36):
And so because we are in theinnovation, we need to have a
software that can, can, can beadapted on, on, on our needs.

Speaker 1 (13:45):
Uh, so very exciting.
What you're all working on.
Um, and what, uh, has the futureto bring, um, for the mute.

Speaker 2 (13:52):
So a, I think for us, the future will be definitely to
have more and more creative thatcan helps us to the different
creation that we have.
And we are a really exciting topush our creation or devices
that we create.
So we are creating hardware,software and we really would
like to, uh, put that on thehands of creators so they can

(14:13):
build amazing sound experiencesthat we can, the experiences in
museum, in exhibitions, in, uh,in the, in music, in a
aquariums, in zoos, uh, everytime a all around.
So having the sound that canbring you in a, in another
world.
Uh, and I'm pretty excited tosee how the Republic will react

(14:33):
to that.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
Cool.
Does, does that this mean thatyou are actually transforming
from a service company to moreproduct company?

Speaker 2 (14:39):
Exactly.
Actually relation, uh, it's a,it's exactly that.
It's not easy to explain that toinvestors sometimes because this
, yes, like a service company,but we are really innovative
company and we a productcompany, a Maura and that's,
that's, there's the drift thatwe are, we are doing for the
moment.
So really focusing on creating aproduct, uh, innovative
products.

(15:00):
And the exciting part of it,saying, okay, why a small SME in
Belgium in Brussels can inventsomething new.
And you have big guys in Koreain United States.
It's by being lean in, by beingreally creative and by having
amazing talent in the studiothat are really focused on sound
and innovation.
Okay.

(15:20):
So thank you very much, Francois, for this conversation.
As much pleasure, you're morethan welcome to come.
Cheers.
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