Remote sound acquisition has been of great interest in recent years for surveillance and security purposes. Existing approaches that reconstruct sound from the vibration of objects at a distance are active in nature, requiring a laser beam or pattern to be projected onto the vibrating surface. The Inventors have proposed a method of passive audio recovery that uses high-speed cameras to obtain vibration data from video footage. This process is desirable as cameras are not only cheaper and more accessible than lasers, but it is easier to capture surround sound with a single video camera than with multiple laser readings. Moreover, this method does not require vibrating surface be retroreflective and can therefore work with virtually any everyday object (potted plant, bag of chips, etc.).