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Things That Go Bump in the Night Captured on 3-D Audio, Thanks to Rainforest Expeditions’ Recording Technology Deep in the Peruvian Jungle

Story by Rainforest Expeditions

Posted: December 30, 2013
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Thanks to new, ground-breaking 3-D recording techniques, the clear sounds of creatures that go bump in the night – and day – can now surround you, thousands of miles away from the Peruvian rainforest.

Macaw Clay Lick

At Rainforest Expeditions’ string of three riverside eco-lodges deep in the Peruvian Amazon, very high tech equipment has begun recording the sounds of the jungle in a way that has never been done before. This is thanks to the application of binaural microphones to record the sounds in 3-D. For recorded examples of resident howler monkeys, Lawrence's Thrush and bats, please visit here.

“This is the next best thing to being here! State-of-the-art sound recordings in the jungle around our Refugio Amazonas and Tambopata Research Center lodges let future travelers hear what’s in store,” says Jeff Cremer, marketing director.

The recording technique is the brainchild of Gordon McGladdery, a musician and sound designer from Vancouver, Canada.  McGladdery brought special audio equipment to record the jungle while on a recent visit. Put into use were binaural recording techniques, a method of recording sound that uses two microphones arranged with the intent to create a 3-D stereo sound sensation for the listener. The result is a realistic 3-D recording that accurately mimics human hearing.See: Here

McGladdery is the winner of the international Soundcloud / Vancouver Film School Full Scholarship Challenge and a recent graduate of the Sound Design for Visual Media program. He composes for the YouTube channel “Smarter Every Day” and is co-composer for the hit iOS game “Shellrazer”.  He has released three albums as A Shell in the Pit and one with the Victoria rock band Oh Snap!.

“While most come for exceptional wildlife viewing and the world-famous Macaw clay lick, our visitors end up on mountain bikes, kayaks, paddle boards, river cruises and experiencing local herbal treatments at our spa. Their vacations transport them far beyond what they ever imagined. Now the exotic sounds that stop them in their tracks can follow them home,” notes Cremer. See: https://soundcloud.com/perunature-com

Rainforest Expeditions is a Peruvian company that through conservation and ecotourism is helping to protect some of the last untouched lowland and premontane tropical humid forests in the Amazon.

Guests of three Rainforest Expedition eco-lodges have added value to the region’s standing tropical rainforest. A sensitively conceived and managed (in some cases by native communities) touristic infrastructure creates a competitive alternative to such unsustainable economic uses as clear cutting the forest for timber or for cattle grazing. The partnerships Rainforest Expeditions has forged with local people eager to share Amazonian traditions with guests provide connection, expertise, adventure and access to wildlife in the jungles of Tambopata. Rainforest Expeditions has been verified and certified “a sustainable tourism business” by the Rainforest Alliance.

Rainforest Expeditions’ string of three jungle lodges is accessed from Puerto Maldonado airport with flights arriving daily fromLimaorCusco. Motorized wooden canoes then take guests on a 45-minute trip to the first lodge, Posada Amazonas. Refugio Amazonas, the second lodge, is a 3.5-hour boat trip from Puerto Maldonado. The third and most remote isTambopataResearchCenter, requiring a 4-hour additional upriver boat ride from Refugio Amazonas.  Each lodge is only a few minutes on foot from the river bank.