Robert Bell 09/05/1980

This site is dedicated to experiments in audio-visual moving image and constructions in 3D virtual space. It contains notes on surrounding theories and processes.

Wednesday 23 April 2008

Stylistic approaches



This test piece animation shows how I could display a musical sequence in three dimensions taking advantage of the perception of depth through the computer models use of x,y,z co-ordinates.

If increased amplitude in a soundwave denotes increase in volume we could say that as objects move away from the x axis they increase in volume also. Therefore the rotating concrete blocks are smoothly getting quiter and louder. Care must be taken to get the lighting correct to reinforce this (not successful in this animation).

To take this further, each time the blocks rotate round to the front this will correspond to a period of compression in the sound wave, when lying flat along the horizontal plane this will relate to a state of equilibrium in the wave and when situated furthest away from the camera a period of rarefraction.

Devices to show volume increase could also include variations in colour (warm to cold) or in luminance/glow (light to dark), the latter shown here by the varying glow of the yellow areas.

In terms of a sounds frequency (how often it goes through its cycle per unit of time), this relates to the objects x dimension and how often the object appears in a set x distance. We can introduce ratios of frequencies (2:1 etc) that relate to musical composition.

Further to this a given frequency must be situated logically on the z axis, with higher frequencies at the top and lower frequencies (i:e bass) at the bottom . Higher frequencies with the same volume as low frequencies however usually appear louder so may be pushed forward towards the camera.

I believe this will give my compositions a unified feel and an interesting 'weighting'. This will determine choice of material also, with denser materials (concrete) used at the base.

Interference here is indicated by the shadow variations caused as the result of the motion of two separate elements. This is an element of the process which interests me greatly but is hardest to plan for.

VISUAL RESEARCH 1:Related Practitioners

Some interesting pieces of sound controlled 3D modelling/virtual worlds, cheers Pete!


SEMICONDUCTOR:
http://www.semiconductorfilms.com/root/sonic_inc/sonic_inc.htm

Wow!
....this is the ideal. I just want to have a go myself. I like the real-time aspect of the work and the way that the technology is there not to produce slick photo realistic forms but to be effective and natural. The audio is something which feels intrinsically linked, not a soundtrack but a recording. By dealing with simple audio (resonance) they can achieve a conceptually sound outcome.

ALEX RUTTERFORD:
  • His most well-known works include the videos for "Gantz Graf" by Autechre, "Verbal" by Amon Tobin and "Go to Sleep" by Radiohead. All these videos consist of 3D computer generated imagery, and feature visuals that follow the rhythm of the music very closely.

GANTZ GRAF:











Gantz Graf at the official Warp discography (features audio clips).
http://www.warprecords.com/ography/release.php?cat=WAP256#

NME review of Gantz Graf
http://www.nme.com/reviews/autechre/6602
  • The music video for "Gantz Graf" reached a cult status in underground computer-generated imagery art circles. The video features an abstract object (or an agglomeration of objects) synchronized to the sounds in the music as it morphs, pulsates, shakes, and finally dissolves.
  • The visuals contain the same amount of richness and detail as the soundtrack does, having a visual counterpart to every little sound or frequency range in the song.
Interview with Alex Rutterford in making the "Gantz Graf" video.
http://www.warprecords.com/news/?ti_id=512

Reading the above interview was very valuable to me, with many insights into the process Rutterford took, notably how long and repetitve it was, not relying on a computer algorithym to do the work. It has given me confidence and motivation to attempt something similar.

He also warns that the creative process is a bit like a drug and that the buzz can wear off half way through a project, but that when you finish you want to start all over again. This is the feeling I want at the end, this is the beginning of something, and therefore what is most important is to develop a method of working that excites me and works for me!


Sound based light installation:
http://www.aether.hu/images/distributedprojection/index.html

This guy must be so hard working, his methodical approach to experiments is to be admired.
http://www.carstennicolai.com/?c=works&w=bitwave
http://www.carstennicolai.com/?c=works&w=fades
http://www.umatic.nl/tonewheels_historical.html

Project Brief: Related quotes

Interaction in the perception ("process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensoryinformation ") and cognition ("understanding and trying to make sense of the world") of musical beats and visual beats.

"Beats are the
periodic and repeating fluctuations heard in the intensity of a sound when two sound waves of very similar frequencies interfere with one another."

"Music is a complex organization of sounds harmonizing together to produce a single composition. Similarly,
architecture is a complex yet harmonious organization of space."

"My goal was to explore the physiological (
the compositional) and the psychological (the emotional) implications of designing space around aural perceptions to create a harmonized environment."

"SOUND HAS PHYSICAL SIZE, DIMENSIONS, DENSITY, VIBRANCY, RHYTHMS AND TEXTURES." -BRANDON LABELLE

"THE IDEA IS TO CREATE A WORLD FOR THE AUDIENCE TO ENTER WHERE ARCHITECTURE MAGNIFIES THE EXPRESSIVE DIMENSIONS OF MUSIC AND SOUND."
-ELIZABETH MARTIN

"THE RESULT IS NEITHER PURELY MUSICAL NOR ARCHITECTURAL, BUT A
HYBRID THAT FALLS BETWEEN THE TWO DISCIPLINES."
-ELIZABETH MARTIN

"A moving image is a signal that continuosly change in time. More than forms, figures and volumes, it is made of
dimensions, frequencies, intensities. On a digital medium image and sound share the same substance: electronic coded impulses."

"A new kind of connection is emerging. Now it is possible to create
interactions, driven by mathematical rules, between the audible and the visible media in a way that erodes the barrier between the two fields of sound and image."

"The composer chooses a body of
raw materials (in this case, the bass line that implies melody, harmony, rhythm and gesture), and deepens the understanding of that material by exaggerating, expanding, coloring, limiting, twisting, breaking or reframing the original material, in a series of ordered sequences."

Sound theory Revision



To start this project off it is back to school for me with some 'science of sound' revision, reminds me of the old GCSE days!

To understand the nature and make up of sound I have found it useful to do some research into the theory behind soundwaves (pitch, frequencies, intensity and Decibel levels).

This led to further research into the phenomenon of interference (constructive and destructive) and its relevance to the composition of music most notably beat patterns.

I will not repeat all of the science on this blog but have linked the sites used and pasted some of the diagrams included that I found useful.

I feel that this initial research will prove the foundation of future investigations and am confident that now I have a much better understanding of what it is I am actually trying to replicate in vision and motion.

Wave theory and sound characteristics:
http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/sound/u11l1a.html
http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/sound.htm

Musical Intervals and scales:
http://kaibd.com/music.html#Intervals