For this weeks post I want to discuss ASMR, because it’s fascinating from an audio production perspective. I know that some people find it strange, but I think what makes it strange is the roleplaying (I mean, “giving birth ASMR” is pretty weird), but concept-wise it’s not that different from airport music and baby music. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response and refers to the tingly feeling cuased by triggers such as whispering, crinkling, and slow movements. Below I will go over different recording and audio techniques used in ASMR
This is an “old-school” ASMR video published by the popular YouTuber Gentle Whispering ASMR. The video was recorded using the camera and microphone of an iPhone 3. The background hum is quite loud, but the hum is also present in her newer videos, just less noticably. The older microphone has a harder time picking up sounds, which are futher away, and makes nearby sounds harsher. At the end of the day, a lot of people prefer this kind of classic audio recording, compared to newer microphones, as it sounds more authentic. Like I found out in the StoryCorps assignment, good content makes up for audio quality.
Another popular form of ASMR recording is binaural audio, which allows for a surround listening expirience. The shape of our ears and the duration it takes for sound waves to reach them are key factors in determining the direction from which a sound originated. Some people may like the sound of this type of recording because they can imagine how someone is talking on their left side or is making a sound to the right. Althogh I may be wrong, from what I understand stero recordings can sound like binaural recordings, made with manequine microphones. Similar recording techniques are used to record music, so that when headphones are used, it sounds like a concert.
Sometimes ASMR does not mean whispering into a microphone. There are a lot of examples of ‘unintentional asmr’, which is footage from other videos, film, and recordings, which calm people in one way or another. I think what sets apart ASMR recording and produciton from that of music is that almost anything goes. Sort of like white noise, people can be calmed and relaxed by something as simple as frequencies. The Edward Scissorhands makeup scene is so famous in the ASMR community, that many people choose to roleplay the scene.