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Firstly, I ordered the videos and photos so that it would be a sequence of Chihuahua, Irish Wolfhound, Chihuahua, Irish Wolfhound… and another one for just the deaf dog and another for the blind dog.
After many trials, I could say that I mastered the art of creating a deuteranopia effect in Photoshop. Sadly, we decided to add some videos to the mix, which meant switching to Premiere Pro for editing, as Photoshop does not support videos.
The difference between Photoshop and Premiere is that in Photoshop, there is a filter you can use to help with the process of converting a photograph into deuteranopia. Meanwhile, in Premiere Pro, there is none, so I had to create my own.
This meant adjusting the Lumetri colours myself until I could create a yellow and blue scale image; luckily, I found a way to achieve it.
Once I got the colour down, I played with the brightness and darkness of every photo or video to ensure they were as similar as possible, once that was done, I proceeded to work on the blind dog files, I started blurring the image, then added a dark vignete in the center of the eye to simulate cataracts, after I darkend the image altogether.
In the following images, you can see the change that the images underwent:
After testing the videos with the phone and the VR headset I realized we needed to make some changes as it was a dizzy and nausea inducing experience, for that we took a screenshot of the actual vr headset example experience and used it to scale our own images.
After adjusting the images, the videos were ready to go.
Experiencers head to the spots near the brink of the hill — not quite falling off, but close enough for a great view of the city and Arthur’s Seat. They plop down on the blanket, put on some cardboard VR headsets, and dive into the world as seen and heard by an Irish Wolfhound and a Chihuahua — one tall, one tiny, both dramatic. Next, they move a bit closer to the hill’s edge — still safe — and can choose to sit down again or stay standing, depending on how brave or cold they’re feeling. Then, it’s headset time again, this time to experience the world like a slightly confused Labrador: vision a bit blurry, hearing a bit off (or on), but vibes? We think it is matched.
⭐️Blanket (For experiencers to sit/ kneel down to fully be engaged in the dogs’ perspectives)
⭐️Dog chewer (For immersive decoration)
⭐️Dog treat ball (why we choose the blue one—blue and yellow are the colours that dogs see most clearly. )
⭐️Laminated cue boards
3. Presentation Purpose
In this experience, people will see the world through the eyes (and ears) of three very different breeds of dogs. Ever wondered how a tiny Chihuahua, a giant Irish Wolfhound, or a slightly confused Labrador makes sense of things? Well, now’s your chance.
4. How Human Beings Are Connected to the Dogs?
5. Lovely Moment—Warm Group Photo
Zixuan：
Today, we officially held our immersive exhibition on Calton Hill. The event went smoothly overall, and we received many valuable pieces of feedback that gave us a lot to reflect on.
This exhibition was divided into two main sections:
The first section focused on the auditory differences between large and small dogs. We set this part up on the grass, where we laid out a picnic blanket so participants could choose to sit or lie down—bringing their physical perspective closer to that of a dog. To enhance immersion, we also placed real props—the same balls and dog toys shown in the video—on the lawn. This allowed participants to see the objects from both a dog’s perspective (in VR) and their own, deepening the contrast between the two and reinforcing the immersive effect.
The second section took place near the edge of the hill, where participants had a clear view of Arthur’s Seat and the surrounding landscape. The scenery was stunning, and we found that the natural beauty of the environment made the contrast with the “sensory impairment” content (blind/deaf dogs) even more striking and poignant.
To maintain immersion, we scheduled the presentation at nearly the same time of day as when we shot our footage. This ensured that the lighting and sun angle matched, providing a consistent and believable visual experience.
One fun and unexpected moment during the exhibition was when a dog that happened to be playing on the hill ran off with one of our toy props—a treat ball from the setup. It seemed to really enjoy it, and the moment brought a smile to everyone’s face, making the experience feel even more alive.
🎧 Feedback & Reflections
After the participants finished the experience, we had short conversations with many of them to gather feedback. Based on their responses, I reflected on a few aspects that could be improved:
VR Headset and Accessibility Some participants had vision issues, such as nearsightedness or astigmatism, which made it uncomfortable for them to use the cardboard VR headset. Those with astigmatism saw double images, while nearsighted users reported dizziness. This made me realize that we hadn’t fully considered the diversity of user needs during the design phase, and future iterations should take this into account.
Video Transition Breaks Immersion In the second part of the experience, participants had to manually switch videos between two segments. This broke the sense of immersion for a few people. I’m considering changing it to automatically play both videos in sequence, which would create a smoother, uninterrupted experience.
Headphone Isolation Issue Our headphones weren’t effective in blocking out ambient noise. Some of the more delicate audio details we designed were lost in the background noise. In the future, we may need to use more closed or noise-cancelling headphones to preserve the full quality of the soundscape.
Insightful Feedback from Professor Jules Professor Jules offered some thoughtful suggestions after experiencing the work. He recommended experimenting with bone conduction audio to simulate a more realistic, first-person auditory experience. He also noted that the sense of depth in the hearing experience—especially between large and small dogs—could be more pronounced. This was a detail I hadn’t fully considered before, and I plan to improve this in the next version of the sound mix.
Carly:
On the 2nd of April, we presented our project to the world at the top of Calton Hill. We met 2 hours before the presentation so we could have enough time to get up there, reserve the specific spot and set everything up for the presentation. When 16.00 arrived, I went to the top of the stairs to meet Jules and Andrew. Jules was the first one to experience our presentation, while Andrew checked the other group’s presentation. When finished, they exchanged, and Andrew experienced our presentation.
We got some great feedback from our professors, classmates, colleagues and friends. Some said they felt like a dog, some would have loved more movement, some said that it was really interesting that the sun placement was the same as the one we were showing them…
In the “large dog vs small dog” section of the video, since the camera perspective switches back and forth between the two dogs, I applied a similar approach in the sound design. Specifically, I alternated between the two pre-recorded and processed environmental ambience tracks, matching the shift in perspective. This allows the audience to clearly perceive the difference in spatial hearing between the two dogs.
Beyond the environmental ambience, my main focus during the sound design process was adjusting all sound elements except for the dogs’ own vocalisations, especially the EQ and tonal treatment of sound effects and human speech.
From a dog’s perspective, language is not fully comprehensible—what they pick up on are mainly tones, short commands, and key phrases. So, I used AI to generate a segment of human dialogue. I preserved the parts that sounded like clear commands or recognisable short phrases, while processing the rest to obscure the words. The result is a voice that maintains intonation and emotional tone, but becomes unintelligible, simulating how a dog might hear someone speaking without understanding the language.
Additionally, I made a clear distinction between the owner’s voice and the voices of other people in the environment. In a dog’s world, the owner’s voice holds unique emotional weight and should sound different from everyone else.
For the owner’s voice, I used a combination of Phat FX and Step FX. This blend created a sound that is partially unintelligible yet emotionally expressive, preserving the rhythm and tone without full clarity. It contrasts with the later segments where commands are delivered unprocessed, helping to distinguish the emotional impact of meaningful phrases.
For ambient crowd voices and general human chatter, I applied only Phat FX. This gives the sound a more distorted, less emotionally direct quality, where the language becomes vague and the tone more abstract, creating a sonic contrast to the owner’s voice.
Finally, I adjusted the EQ of all non-dog-originated sounds (environment, effects, and speech) based on the dog’s size and presumed hearing characteristics:
For larger dogs, I boosted low frequencies and reduced highs, creating a broader, fuller sense of hearing.
For smaller dogs, like Chihuahuas, I enhanced the high frequencies and cut some lows, narrowing the sound field to make it sharper and more focused.
Through all of these audio decisions, my goal was to ensure that the audience not only sees the world through each dog’s eyes but also hears the world as each dog might—highlighting how size, focus, and emotional connection shape the canine listening experience.
Today, we recorded environmental sound using the Sennheiser AMBEO VR microphone. We captured three separate recordings at the same location, with the only difference being the recording height, to simulate how dogs of different sizes perceive their surroundings.
Since the Chihuahua is very small, we couldn’t find a mic stand low enough to match its ear level. So we rested the microphone directly on the mic stand at a low angle to approximate its actual height.
For the Labrador and the Irish Wolfhound, we recorded at approximately 60 cm and 120 cm from the ground, respectively, to match their standing ear positions.
After recording, I processed the environmental sound recordings for the large dog and small dog perspectives, making adjustments based on their body size and likely auditory characteristics.
Larger dogs (such as the Irish Wolfhound) have larger body sizes and ear membrane areas, which make them generally more sensitive to low frequencies and less responsive to high frequencies. So, in post-processing, I boosted the low frequencies and slightly reduced the highs while also widening the stereo image to create a broader, fuller auditory space.
Smaller dogs (like the Chihuahua) are typically more sensitive to high frequencies but less responsive to lows. Therefore, I enhanced the high frequencies, reduced some of the lows, and narrowed the overall sound field to create a more focused, sharper listening perspective.
With these adjustments, we aim to authentically simulate how dogs of different sizes hear the world, enhancing the immersive quality of the experience and reinforcing the concept of “listening from a dog’s perspective.”
Ruiqi:
That was what I did on atmos for Labrador. Dogs typically hear frequencies from 40 Hz to 45,000 Hz, way far exceeding human hearing (20 Hz–20,000 Hz). They are most sensitive to higher frequencies (2k–45 kHz), which are critical for detecting sounds like prey movements, high-pitched whistles and orders. And I think amplifying 4k Hz can make sounds like human footsteps and verbal commands more perceptible.
Carly:
When recording the the ambience I made sure of having a measuring tape so we could get the correct size, the thing is that while recording the ambience it was still the plan to use the photos taken with the camera rather than the phone, which is the reason we had the measuring tape too so we could have the correct height.
Aha! We used the Play-Doh to make three dog heads in different sizes.
Just look at how much Play-Doh’s been consumed (And that’s just a start)
We’ve recorded what dogs may notice or do in a binaural format, including human footsteps, dog’s footsteps, toy ball rolling (in various perspectives), squeezing the toy ball, dog sniffing (actually Ruiqi…) and collar shaking and so on.
Zixuan：
Today, Ruiqi and I went to the studio to record sounds using our dog head microphone setup. Since it’s just before our presentation, it was really difficult to book a recording space—but luckily, we managed to find an available slot and got in!
Our main recording equipment was a pair of AKG C414 XLS microphones, chosen for their excellent sensitivity and clarity, perfect for capturing the subtle environmental sounds we need for this simulation project. To make the recordings feel as close as possible to a dog’s hearing experience, we tried to replicate the physical characteristics of a dog’s head and ear position as accurately as possible.
One challenge we faced was with the Chihuahua model. It’s such a small dog with a very low shoulder height, and we couldn’t find a regular mic stand that worked at that level. In the end, we placed the Chihuahua model on a flat trolley, which turned out to be the perfect height, around 15 cm, very close to a real Chihuahua’s ear position.
Another issue was that the dog heads couldn’t be mounted directly onto a mic stand. So, we borrowed a speaker stand tray from the music store and used it to support the dog head models. This worked really well, keeping everything stable and secure during the recording.
We recorded at different heights according to the breeds:
– Chihuahua: about 15 cm
– Labrador: about 60 cm
– Irish Wolfhound: about 120 cm
These heights correspond roughly to each dog’s natural ear position when standing, helping us better simulate spatial hearing differences between breeds.
One problem with the studio environment was the flooring. Our video scenes are set on grass, but the studio had a carpeted floor. To recreate the sound of footsteps on grass, we improvised: we layered a sheet of hard plastic underneath a sheet of soft plastic, then placed both under the carpet. The result was surprisingly convincing—when stepped on, the layered surface produced a sound quite similar to walking on grass.
As for sound content, we followed the details from our storyboard and recorded specific elements, including:
– Human footsteps (to simulate off-screen presence)
– Dog footsteps (running, turning, stepping on grass)
– Dog tag jingling sounds
– Toy ball rolling sounds
– Toy ball being squeezed or bitten
Originally, we had also hoped to record background crowd noise and bird sounds to enrich the ambient layers. However, since the dog head models are fragile and not very portable, we decided to skip outdoor recording for now.
All in all, the recording session was really productive. Despite some limitations in space and materials, we managed to recreate the environment and capture the sounds we needed. Once the recordings are sorted, we’ll move on to editing and mixing. I can’t wait to hear how the world sounds from inside a dog’s head!
Today, as planned, we went to Calton Hill to capture photos and video materials for our project. In order to make the final piece feel more rhythmic and narrative-driven, we did some initial planning before heading out, designing two simple scene-based storylines to make the “dog’s perspective” feel more natural and immersive.
We chose to shoot in the afternoon because the lighting at that time is softer and more vibrant. The scenery at Calton Hill during this time also fits well with the atmosphere we wanted to convey.
🎬 Scene One: “Distraction by Choice”
In the first scene, we set up a playful moment where a dog is chasing a ball but suddenly gets distracted by another toy. To enhance the audience’s sense of immersion, we decided to film the ball-throwing and the dog’s gaze following the ball as video, while the rest of the sequence would be presented through photographs. We believe that photos give more space for the sound design to come forward, allowing audio to take the lead in crafting an immersive experience。
🐶 Scene Two: “A Quiet Moment”
In the second scene, the dog looks around before quietly lying down in front of its favourite toy. The movement is subtle but emotionally more contained. Here, too, we chose to film the moment of the dog lying down to strengthen the feeling of presence while using photographs to complement the setting and visual composition.
📷 Shooting Method & Lens Choices
We started with the “big dog vs. small dog” group. To ensure visual consistency in composition, we kept the camera position fixed and adjusted the height of each dog model so that both appeared to be at the same eye level. This allowed for a clearer comparison of their sizes and perspectives.
We also made specific choices regarding lens focal lengths to simulate the field of view from each dog’s perspective:
The Chihuahua was shot with a 24 mm lens, which offers a narrower field of view to match its small size.
The Irish Wolfhound was captured using a 14 mm wide-angle lens, highlighting the broader perspective granted by its larger body.
– The Labrador Retriever, as the mid-sized reference, was shot with a 19mm lens, striking a balance between the two and representing a “medium perspective.”
With this setup, we hope the audience can not only observe the dog’s behaviour but also visually experience how dogs of different sizes perceive the world differently.
Overall, today’s shoot was quite compact but very productive. The whole team worked smoothly together. From choosing the right lighting and adjusting lenses to positioning the dog head models, every detail brought us one step closer to realising the final vision. Next, we’ll move into organising the materials and starting the sound design phase—we’re excited to see what comes next!
Carly:
I really enjoyed today’s shooting, it also felt a little bit “new” in a sense as we changed the medium from a camera to an iPhone, we changed from only photos to photos and videos and we also added two different dog toys (which is an excellent thing specially with my dogs back in Spain as they are gonna get a new toy).
I am delighted with the results from the images taken, not only because they look good and are going to make wonders when edited, but also because it was really amazing seeing that, with the previous organisation and communication, we took the pictures and videos we needed really fast – not rushed, but efficient. Can’t wait to edit them!
Today we completed the first round of making our dog head microphone. In terms of materials and structural design, we did a bit of experimentation in order to simulate the physical shape and auditory perspective of a real dog’s head using simple materials. This will help us more accurately capture sound from a “dog’s point of hearing” for our project.
📐 Dog Head Sizes and Breed Categories
Based on the three types of dogs featured in our project, we created head models of different sizes:
– Chihuahua (small breed): The actual head diameter is about 6–8 cm. We chose 8 cm as our reference.
– Labrador Retriever (medium breed): Scaled up to a 20 cm head diameter.
– Irish Wolfhound (large breed): For the greatest contrast, we made the head about 35 cm in diameter.
By creating models with these size differences, we aim to simulate how dogs of different breeds and sizes might experience sound spatially. This gives us a physical foundation for our sound design.
🔧 Materials and Construction Approach
We used three main materials to build the dog heads:
– Cardboard: Served as the skeletal framework—lightweight, easy to cut and shape, yet strong enough for structure.
– Plasticine: Simulated the “muscle layer” and soft tissue of a dog’s head, giving weight and flexibility to the shape.
– White glue (PVA): Brushed on the outside as a sealing layer to strengthen the structure, prevent deformation, and add texture.
An unexpected bonus of this combination is the tactile and acoustic feedback—when you tap the completed dog head, it produces a sound somewhere between soft flesh and solid form, very similar to striking actual animal tissue. This quality gave us ideas for using these models not only for microphone placement but potentially as physical sound sources for future sampling.
🛠 Challenges and Solutions During Construction
During the process, we ran into a shortage of cardboard. To make the most of what we had, we carefully selected the best pieces and **patched them together using transparent tape** to form the frame.
Initially, we were concerned about whether the taped structure would hold, but once the clay was added over it, the overall form became much more solid and stable, more than we expected.
In terms of practical functionality, we also designed the heads with recording in mind. We left microphone slots on both sides of the head, aligning roughly with where a dog’s ears would be, and created openings at the bottom and side for cable routing. This setup allows us to mount mics easily and connect them to recording devices, achieving a binaural recording experience that closely mimics a dog’s hearing position.
Despite the simplicity of the materials, this handmade process gave us valuable insights into structural design, texture, and acoustic response. It also laid a solid foundation for the next phase of our work—testing how the different-sized dog heads affect recorded sound in the same environment, and further exploring the relationship between body structure and auditory space.
Ruiqi:
I hate to say this, but… I’ll never forget how embarrassing it was, running into every single shop on South Clerk Street asking for cardboard.
Carly:
It was a shock to discover that the plasticine here is different from the one in Spain. I think one of the biggest problems we encountered was how long the heads took compared to how long we actually planned them to take. We started at 10 am, thinking we would finish around 2 pm or 3 pm. We didn’t even finish that day…
