A Musical Visualisation through Colour, Form and Movement

This project, undertaken during our third semester of Audiovisual Design, involved groups of four students systematically and methodically creating an abstract graphical representation of a chosen song. We also designed a promotional poster for the semester exhibition.

This project, undertaken during our third semester of Audiovisual Design, involved groups of four students systematically and methodically creating an abstract graphical representation of a chosen song. We also designed a promotional poster for the semester exhibition.

After careful consideration, our group selected the song "Former Mat." Its 8-bit sound profile, echoing classic video game music, presented more compelling avenues for visual interpretation than other songs we considered. The distinct electronic sounds and instrument separation further enhanced its suitability for translating audio into visual components.

Listen to "Former Mat" on Musicfox

Our visualisation process for "Former Mat" was structured and methodical, unfolding over several months. It began with mind-mapping to associate words and images with the song, followed by a deconstruction of the musical piece to understand the interplay of instruments. This analysis led to a graphical "notation" that served as a blueprint for our animation attempts.

Our self made Notation of the music piece, allowing us to understand the music fully.

The animation phase initially presented challenges as individual group members held different ideas on how to proceed. This led to the production of several distinct animation concepts. Following a thorough evaluation of these prototypes, we collectively decided on a cohesive visual style that most effectively captured the spirit of the music. With this unified vision in place, we developed a comprehensive storyboard, allowing us to efficiently animate each instrument of our song, assigning specific shapes, colours, and movement patterns to each sound element.

Early storyboard detailing the first ideas we wanted to add to the animation.

Inital concept storyboard for the first act of the animation.

Final storyboard for the first act of the animation.

Animation Exploration

For our promotional poster, rather than simply listing exhibition details, we sought to create something unique and distinctive. We incorporated key visual elements from our animation, presenting a static snapshot of our dynamic work. The poster combined standard information with unexpected details and a compelling visual extracted from our animation, providing viewers with a visual entry point into our audiovisual concept before the full experience.

Our project was a resounding success, wowing attendees at the semester exhibition through its strong visual narrative and its innovative use of simulated 3D effects. My contributions were integral, ranging from the initial stages of song selection and deconstruction to the creation of the visual notation system, and extending to the animation process itself, where I contributed to storyboarding and the development of key animated sequences that made it into our final piece.

Promotional poster for the Former Mat visualization

Our promotional Poster for the exhibition, showcasing a "sneak peak" of the animation to come.