If you’re in the publishing or audiobook industry, you’ve likely heard the phrase “immersive audiobook experience” mentioned a handful of times in conversations. It sounds impressive, for sure, but you may or may not know the depths of what this actually means in practice and how to cultivate this type of experience for you or your authors’ audiobook productions. 

So, if you are an author looking to make your next audiobook an experience to remember or are a member of a publishing or production company– stick around because this article is for you! Today, we’re going to give you a closer look at what an immersive audio experience actually looks (and sounds!) like and why this style of audiobook only continues to rise in popularity!

But, first…

What is an immersive audiobook experience?

An immersive audiobook experience goes far beyond merely having a book read aloud, which is why we tend to opt for the phrase ‘immersive listening experiencing’ over ‘audiobook’. Especially when it comes to Full-Cast Audiobooks – How to bring out the best in your voice actors When audiobooks first became a thing, it was simply one individual (either the author or a hired narrator) standing in front of a microphone, reading the book word for word. While the story has remained, you will still hear every word of your book read aloud; it is presented much more like a live show or cinematic experience. 

For example, some of us grew up listening to the likes of Badjelly the Witch on CD, read and presented by Spike Milligan. Obviously, this was created for children, but listening to it now, it still holds up and is quite ahead of its time. Listen to this, and you will hear Spike put on an array of voices for different characters, so much so that it sounds like there are multiple people in the studio (this has evolved, and we will get more into this soon). You will hear sound effects, both from Spike and added sounds by the production team, and swells of music to create an atmosphere. The story plays out in your head; the whole experience is so all-encompassing and captivating that it places you right in the shoes of the characters!- This is what an immersive listening experience is!

The components of an immersive audiobook 

There is a collection of tools that audio production teams use to create an immersive audio experience. Let’s take a closer look at them here.

Voice actor(s) and narrators

Now, in the example above, one man created the presence of multiple characters by using different voices. However, now, we’ve gone a step further and created immersive audiobooks by casting multiple voice talents to fulfill the roles of the characters. Depending on the structure of a book and the extent of the characters, you may find that you have a narrator and then five additional voice actors to bring the characters’ stories to life. But, we have gone beyond that, having a different actor for every single character, even minor roles, with only a few lines each. This mimics what you would experience on the big screen, in a live theatre, or in real life- what’s more immersive than real life!?

Immersive Audio Experience – Music

Music is a powerful tool that we use in our daily lives to help us focus, set a mood, calm us down, bring our energy up, connect to one another, and so much more. The sense of sound is stronger and faster than the human eye, meaning your ears will take an auditory cue like a particular song and invoke a specific memory or emotion in your brain faster than your eye would if it were to see this cue. As a result, music creates an unrivaled ambiance, even if mildly present in the background. Therefore, curating a soundtrack for audiobooks is extremely important in crafting an immersive listening experience. 

Sound effects

Sound effects bring an element of realism to any experience. Think about the last time you watched a horror movie and heard a door creakily swing open. All of a sudden, your heart starts pounding, you hold your breath, and you are locked in on that moment! During our audiobook productions, we have a team of foley artists finding the perfect sounds to bring that level of realism to your immersive audio experience. If they don’t have the perfect sound on file, they will create it!

Multidimensional sound

Multidimensional sound is the result of years of audio-engineering technology being worked on to create a sound experience that feels like you have been dropped right in the midst of a scene. The sound surrounds you in a way like never before. This is partly due to the evolution of sound technology, which has been developed to wrap the sound around the human ear better than ever before, regardless of the device (headphones, AirPods, speakers, etc.). The use of an array of directional speakers allows the listener to feel as if they are hearing what one would if they were living out the experience in real life!

Why Canarit is a step above the rest

• We don’t just pull songs off Spotify. Our team creates an original score and soundtrack for all audiobooks we produce!
• We are skilled and experienced at casting, hiring, and managing an entire cast of voice actors 
• We have an extensive library of sound effects that we are continually adding to! We are dedicated to finding the exact right sound effect for an authentic, immersive audio experience. We will source, create, and record the sound effects to bring your story to life! 
• Our team has produced over 40 immersive audiobooks, and the list only continues to grow!

If you want to transform your book into a memorable and engaging auditory experience, reach out to us at Canarit Audiobooks.

Canarit is so much more than an audiobook company; we are about creating listening experiences that rival live-action theatre or the cinematic experience. 

Let’s create an immersive listening experience together, from casting to pre-production to recording!