I produced an ambisonic 16 speaker surround soundtrack for panoramic film of Hong Kong Airport commissioned by Foster and Partners as well as a short film of the women who sit under Hong Kong HSBC on their only day off. The soundtrack was exhibited with a film of the airport at the British Museum and the Sainsbury Centre for visual arts, as part of the Norman Foster Studio retrospective. Exploring the City Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts UEA (2000) at the Wellcome Gallery, British Museum, London (2001) it also toured Denmark and Boston (2001-3).
One of the exhibition’s highlights was a specially commissioned panoramic film capturing the atmosphere of Hong Kong’s international airport, Chek Lap Kok, Ambisonic
The sound was recorded on location at the airport with a soundfield microphone, before they were portable, so I had a fullsize mic and wheeled it about in a large shopping trolley to make it portable. The airport were really helpful with the project and even allowed us to record on the runway as planes were taking off. Painstakingly with my collaborator Tom Wallace we edited it together to make a seamless 16 speaker surround soundtrack for the film.
There is a very informative review of the soundtrack by Richard J Williams in his book the Anxious City. Williams described the soundtrack for the Hong Kong Airport as “extraordinary and rich”. This soundtrack was part of a unique curved panoramic film for Foster and Partners. An excerpt of the film and a stereo mix of the soundtrack can be seen via Foster and Partners.
There is a very informative review of the soundtrack by Richard J Williams in his book the Anxious City.
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Magz Hall 
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