WYSAHIWYG (What You See And Hear Is What You Get): Learning from photocartography in mapping the cross-modal features of the soundscape

“Measuring” the soundscape is like trying to measure the ocean, the forest, or the city—one dimensional metrics and color-coded maps are inadequate to meaningfully describe the myriad complex conditions, relationships, and effects which comprise the soundscape’s impact upon us, and our impact upon it. In order to better understand the subjective experience of the soundscape, we need new methods to capture and represent the multisensory extents of the sonic environment. Much can be learned from the recent revolution in photocartography—which uses various forms of satellite and street view photography to generate interactive online maps. Photocartography is the new WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) interface, and has rapidly proven to be more data-rich and more broadly accessible than conventional symbolic maps. This project proposes an interdisciplinary method to integrate multi-directional Ambisonic audio recordings of an environment with high dynamic range (HDR) spherical panoramic photography in the form of interactive maps and virtual tours. Case studies from both urban and park environments will demonstrate how this cross-modal mapping method can capture and reveal specific soundscape phenomena which elude conventional acoustic measurements.