net - UK (2020-05)

GALLERY

Inspirational sites

THE TURN OF THE SCREW

http://www.operanorth.co.uk/turn-of-the-screw-immersive-trailer

Opera can be something of an acquired taste, which can make enticing

new and perhaps younger audiences into theatres to see performances

somewhat tricky; a problem that this innovative website hopes to address.

The Turn of the Screw is an “immersive trailer” for Opera North’s 2020 actual

stage production of Henry James’ novella, featuring compositions by

Benjamin Britten. Built by the UK’s real-time development studio Lusion, the

desktop-only project was a collaborative effort with York University’s

AudioLab, XR Stories and sound artist James Bulley. What we get therefore is

a wonderfully cinematic 3D experience featuring music recorded using spatial

audio techniques. This is cued to interactive WebGL graphics and a narrative

timeline, sweeping viewers through five spooky scenes. These place ghostly

figures within haunted landscapes, enabling users to hover-zoom and control

how closely each operatic vocal is heard. The effect is naturally most

prominent with headphones, conjuring an atmospheric and often unsettling

sense when the sound floats eerily behind. Thoughtfully, for true aficionados,

there is also a choice between low, medium and high versions available, with

the latter employing 100MBs of uncompressed FLAC audio for best results.

HOUDINI FX, THREE.JS, WEB AUDIO API

SITE OF

THE MONTH