Proposal

Proposal
What do you intend to do?

My main aim is to investigate the relationship between sound and image by producing sounds and images that compliment each other. I plan to produce a set of three sounds that each have a different character or shape. I will also produce 3 short animated clips with differing qualities. By the end of the project I will have 6 animations, 3 where the image is based on the sound and another 3 where the image existed before the sound was produced.

This will be part of my research towards the masters project the aim being to inform my working practice by ascertaining the best methods to use. This should give me a good idea of what working processes will best suit the project and how to divide my time. The Masters project will be concerned with the relationship between sound and image with a view to producing an animated triptych.

This segment will entail some audience research, gathering information on the way that sound and image is perceived by different individuals, looking for commonality. This segment of research will involve surveying a group and asking what kind of sounds they can imagine going with certain images, and what images would best suit the sounds. My artist research will consist of moving image by Norman McLaren and others who have explored synchronizing animation to music. Although I am only looking at individual sounds for this unit, as apposed to looking at music, I will be composing music for the Masters project so this research is relevant.

The animation that I will produce will be using traditional 2D methods mostly using materials manipulated on a light-box, filmed from above. The animations will be of varying length, ranging from fleeting to lingering. I would like to use different materials (sand, wet things, hard things etc) to compliment the sounds and vice verse. It will be interesting to see if the sound made by ‘hard’ objects will evoke an image produced using ‘hard’ materials etc. In this sense I would like to see if the relationship is literal or if there is something more subtle at the root of our perception.

Assessment work

6 animated clips of varying length (3 x sound > image, 3 x image > sound)

Research (including audience research)

Development work

Evaluation

Resource requirements

Access to MA sound room and recording facilities

Access to animation facilities (for 2D animation)

Various materials for sound recording and animating