Sound, the First Rule of Immersion

Some say sound is 50% of immersion in VR but also AR and XR. How does it translate to new platforms? How should we think of music, sound, audio and texture in immersive media productions? With its patented sound design, HeadSpace Studio has been designing sound spaces and 360 environments for the pioneering experiences of Felix&Paul.

Jean-Pascal Beaudoin is a sound director, immersive audio re-recording mixer, and music score producer based in Montreal. He is Co-founder & President, Headspace Studio and Head of Sound, Headspace Studio Montreal.

With extensive experience in the world of audio post-production and driven by a combined passion for cinematic storytelling through sound and immersive audio technology, he established himself as a key pioneer in the emerging field of 3D positional audio for cinematic 360 videos and virtual reality.

Along with long time collaborators Felix & Paul Studios, a recognized creative and technology leader in cinematic VR, he co-founded Headspace Studio, the first sound studio entirely focused on virtual reality content. In 2018, the studio expanded to Los Angeles.

With Headspace Studio, Jean-Pascal has worked with important partners on projects such as the Daytime Emmy® Award-winning Cirque du Soleil’s Inside the Box of Kurios, Jurassic World: Apatosaurus, the Primetime Emmy® Award-winning The People’s House: Inside the White House with Barack and Michelle Obama, Space Explorers, a VR series made in collaboration with NASA and SpaceX, as well as Isle of Dogs: Behind the Scenes (in VR) in collaboration with Wes Anderson to be released early 2018.

Viktor Phoenix is a creative and technical audio director with expertise in interactive audio, sound design, and 3D positional audio for immersive media and a passion for non-linear and reactive storytelling. He is Partner & Head of Sound, Headspace Studio Los Angeles.

Viktor has collaborated with talented partners at companies like MPC, Sony Pictures, The Mill, MAP Design Lab, Annapurna Pictures, With.in, The New York Times, Kite & Lightning, ETC@USC, TNT, Lionsgate, Cloudhead Games, and ThreeOneZero on a number of VR projects in recent years, including Documentary Emmy®-nominated The Click Effect, ADR1FT – winner of the 2016 award for Sound Mixing in VR from The National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers, and Insurgent – Shatter Reality VRE – nominated for Best Sound Design at the 2015 Proto Awards.

Phoenix was previously Sound Supervisor for the Sound Lab at Technicolor and held senior positions at AAA game developers Pandemic Studios, an Electronic Arts-owned developer, and Turtle Rock Studios.