Synthetic Electro Replicant

Part of the Sound-Image Conference at the University of Greenwich
Sound/Image Colloquium: Exploring sonic and audio-visual practice session

Synthetic Electro Replicant is a CGI animation which plays with synchronisation between image and sound. Most of the motion occurs over durations which are integer multiples of 0.2 seconds (0.2, 0.4, 0.8… etc). A shape can move from one point to another in 0.8 seconds for example. Some timings are occasionally offset (0.8 x 1.5 = 1.2 sec) to create syncopation between image and music, which is sequenced at a fixed rate of 150 bpm. The intention is to discover how a rigid musical timing structure interacts with tightly synchronised imagery. All the visual forms are created with a video synthesis instrument which generates vector based geometric shapes or points. These can be replicated circularly in space to form complex forms and dynamically changing geometries. Colour is used to enhance the visceral quality of the video and interacts with the abstract forms to create richly coloured imagery. Visual inspiration for this piece is taken from John Whitney’s Matrix films and Wassily Kandinsky’s discussion on the use of point and line in visual composition.

Comments on the Soundtrack
Inspired by trance and other dance music genres a fixed 4/4 timing structure and tempo is the foundation of the soundtrack. It is primarily a beat based composition but the rhythm is preceded with a more textural introduction. Initially the textural sonic elements accompany the video in a loose and complementary fashion. The 150 bpm tempo grid is gradually revealed as the instruments become tightly locked to the beat as the music progresses and the shapes respond in kind.