AMEN: VISUAL INTERPRETATIONS OF MUSIC 2

As well as looking at some static visual interpretations of music for inspiration I also wanted to look at some moving image ones. The static images were hard to appreciate how they could work in a moving image context so I researched some moving image examples to deepen my appreciation and create some food for thought.

One of the pieces I really liked was the animated sheet music mini film for "Giant Steps" by John Coltrane. These really bring the song to life and are animated in time following the score for the song. I loved the hand-drawn quality, the briskness of the movement and the energy it created. I did like the way the camera followed the score but felt it did get too busy at times and did not give a good overview and impression of how it worked as a whole. This is definitely an idea I want to pursue but possibly correct this in my version. Colour of the notes as they are hit could also add impact and even make the notes bigger to emphasise them when they are played. I think I also love the formality of the simple use of musical notes as it makes it less gimmicky and gives the animation real credibility.




On a completely different level and at the opposite end of the spectrum is Mario Composer. This is a piece of very child friendly software that substitutes images for notes in musical scales. As you can see i the clip below planes, ghosts, boats and even Mario himself take the place of normal notes and these all represent sounds that play as the bar rolls over them. I do not feel that this would work for Amen as it is as it is too basic but I love the idea and basic premise of images representing sound is something I will certainly look into further and consider testing.




Lastly I have used this app and really loved it and especially its dynamic use of shape, movement and colour to represent music and indeed let you compose it. The app is called Node Beak and you make music by choosing elements or notes on the screen and you can adjust their frequency, timing and structure by pulling them around the screen. The end result is really interesting, dynamic and creative visually and could be adapted and mimicked somewhat to represent the notes and sounds of the Amen Break in my work.