Whispers of Light

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The project combines elements of photography, digital technology, and sound design to generate real-time sound based on light input from the camera. The core inspiration behind “Whispers of Light” is the idea of “upside-down cities”: seeing (or hearing) cities from a whole new perspective, uncovering an often overlooked layer of the urban fabric.
This content contains flashing lights that may trigger seizures for those with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.

This project is not just passive observation, but active exploration, turning the city into a canvas for a sonic journey. It is a testament to the beauty hidden in our everyday surroundings and an invitation to hear the world in a new way.

Process

A test at sonification was conducted as the first experiment. Images of London’s city lights, spanning the skyline to Greenwich, were captured and connected to a MIDI map to produce the sounds of these lights. However, this method was deemed too subjective. Therefore, other possible methods were explored.

The original image was processed by a frame difference method for computer recognition. The video was converted to grayscale and the flashing lights were extracted. The sound generation effects were simplified to a sine wave with different frequencies.

 

The sound transformation of the city lights led to an intriguing possibility – reversing this process. These audio representations could be transmuted back into visual form, influencing the original image. The idea was to create a visual echo of the lights, a sonic portrait, adding another dimension to this exploration.

 

This concept generation approach was unsatisfactory. It failed to express the project’s essence through visual means effectively. The sound-to-image translation did not capture the desired magic.

 

A deeper exploration of the sound generation of the lights was conducted. It was discovered that real-time image capture could be utilized to produce instant auditory feedback of the lights. This method enhanced the auditory representation and established a direct link between the visual and sonic aspects of the city’s light. The sound-generation system, based on camera input, allowed for the audible perception of the normally inaudible elements of the environment. It was analogous to acquiring a new sense, revealing a concealed layer of the everyday world.

Outcome

A nocturnal exploration was conducted with an unconventional ‘instrument’ to reveal the sound concealed within the lights of London at night. A short film, a visual diary that records every distinctive sound and sight encountered, is being created to capture this journey of discovery.

Bibliography

Boag, J. (2015). The James Boag Meteorphonium – Symphony from an unexpected place. [online] www.youtube.com. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vUju43BI30&ab_channel=JamesBoag.

Carlowicz, M. (2017). Earth at Night. [online] earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Available at: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/NightLights.

Hadfield, Nasa. (2013). English: London at night photograped from the ISS. [online] Wikimedia Commons. Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISS_London_at_night.jpg.

Meir, J. (2019). https://twitter.com/Astro_Jessica/status/1199344457482526727/photo/1. [online] Twitter. Available at: https://twitter.com/Astro_Jessica/status/1199344457482526727/photo/1.

Ryan, N. (2015). The James Boag Meteorphonium. [online] nickryanmusic. Available at: https://www.nickryanmusic.com/blog/james-boags-meteorphonium.

Ryan, N. (2023). The VoiceLine sound installation, The Strand, London. [online] nickryanmusic. Available at: https://www.nickryanmusic.com/blog/the-voiceline-sound-installation-the-strand-london.

文化局/林忠宪/27208889#3543 (2020). 2021台北白昼之夜. [online] 台北旅游网. Available at: https://www.travel.taipei/zh-cn/event-calendar/details/25316

Wilkinson, J. (2016). London at Night. [online] earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Available at: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/87551/london-at-night.

This project, whether presented as a work, video, or research article, is committed to upholding the principles of diversity, inclusion, and cultural sensitivity. All individuals and communities are represented with respect, recognizing the importance of diverse perspectives and the value that different backgrounds bring to scholarly work. Care is taken to approach any references to racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, or other identities with sensitivity, avoiding misrepresentation, stereotyping, or bias.

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