Visual Music Composition with Electronic Sound and Video

Abstract
This research project investigated techniques for composing visual music and achieving
balance in the relationship between sound and image. It comprises this thesis and a
portfolio of compositions. The investigation began with an interest in the relationships
between colour and sound and later expanded to include form and motion, the
remaining factors of Thomas Wilfred’s lumia (1947). Working with a cohesive theme,
such as lumia, proved to be an effective way of creating a coherent aesthetic in portfolio
pieces. Other themes were therefore investigated including composing with visual and
audio materials recorded from the single source of Thailand, the wave phenomena of
refraction and diffraction and a filmed natural sunset interpreted in electroacoustic
music.
Two distinct compositional techniques were used, material transference, where qualities
were transferred between sound and image, and compositional thinking, which assisted
in creating audio-visual compositions that possessed musical qualities. Material
transference proved to be the most productive technique during composing and it was
discovered that effectuating it algorithmically created a strong bond between sound and
image. Compositional thinking assisted in creating the form of the portfolio pieces and
was found to apply to both video and music. Compositional thinking was found to be
useful at the macro level, where structural form was designed, and material transference
worked at a finer micro level, transferring individual qualities between sound and video
objects.