Synopsis
This collaboration between OpenEndedGroup’s digital artists Paul Kaiser and Marc Downie and avant-garde film filmmakers Ken and Flo Jacobs yields a 'picturing of sound' in 3D. A recording of Ken’s journey through the New York subway is transformed into a spellbinding vision through the use of sound-analysis algorithms and intricate montage. The past invades the present when Thomas Edison’s 1905 film of the same path through the subway makes a fleeting appearance.
Director
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Marc Downie and Paul Kaiser (OpenEndedGroup)Detroit Transect (2012-14)
Saccades (2104)
All Sides of the Road (2013)
plant (2012)
Loops (2002-2011)A picturing of sound in 3D.
We hear a recording of Ken’s subway ride up to 42nd Street, his wanderings in the Times Square station, his ride downtown on the A train, and his return to street-level on Chambers Street. Finally, his climb to the 5th floor loft where Flo (Penelope) awaits him.
Sound-as-image turns fleeting presences (voices, footsteps, a steel-drum performance) into epic visual events. A still image may linger, allowing our gaze to wander through the complex particularities of a moment of ordinary noise.
This richness of imagery reflects the fact that for every 1/24th of a second, there are 2000 audio samples recorded. Each frame, then, is built from these 2000 sources; constructed, that is, in 3D from more than 21 different ways of algorithmically analyzing and visualizing sound. So while the sound is always pictured accurately, the way it's pictured can change dramatically.
Past intrudes on present as Edison’s 1905 film of this very path through the NY subway appears, also rendered in 3D. Longgone passengers on the Grand Central platform connect to sounds of passengers today. Near the end, Betty Boop also puts in an appearance. -
Ken and Flo Jacob'sSeeking the Monkey King (2011)
America At War (2011)
Another Occupation (2010-11)
What Happened on 23rd Street in 1901 (2009)
Brain Operations (2009)A picturing of sound in 3D.
We hear a recording of Ken’s subway ride up to 42nd Street, his wanderings in the Times Square station, his ride downtown on the A train, and his return to street-level on Chambers Street. Finally, his climb to the 5th floor loft where Flo (Penelope) awaits him.
Sound-as-image turns fleeting presences (voices, footsteps, a steel-drum performance) into epic visual events. A still image may linger, allowing our gaze to wander through the complex particularities of a moment of ordinary noise.
This richness of imagery reflects the fact that for every 1/24th of a second, there are 2000 audio samples recorded. Each frame, then, is built from these 2000 sources; constructed, that is, in 3D from more than 21 different ways of algorithmically analyzing and visualizing sound. So while the sound is always pictured accurately, the way it's pictured can change dramatically.
Past intrudes on present as Edison’s 1905 film of this very path through the NY subway appears, also rendered in 3D. Longgone passengers on the Grand Central platform connect to sounds of passengers today. Near the end, Betty Boop also puts in an appearance.
Credits
- Director Marc Downie and Paul Kaiser (OpenEndedGroup), Ken and Flo Jacob's
- Producer Paul Kaiser
Contribution & Sales
- Contribution & Sales OpenEndedGroup
- Phone 1 646 641 7841
- E-Mail paul@openendedgroup.com