PRESENCE EFFECTS IN THE IMMERSIVE BINAURAL AUDIO EXPERIENCES

Starting from the presence effect as an aesthetic notion, we propose to address some immersive theatre performances in which part of the spectator’s experience is entrusted to binaural recordings. These performances involve both live actions of the actors and presumed actions, i.e. listened to by multi-channel wi-fi radio headphones, provided to each participant: the fusion of sounds suggesting acoustic landscapes, voices, music, along with the active exploration of spaces, allows a not indifferent engagement with the environment. In fact, these recordings aim to evoke presence effects in each participant, thus dissolving the boundary between illusion and reality. This is a concept of “global listening”: not only the ear is involved but the whole sensory body.