The metamorphosis of feelings: Approaching a sensorial visual design based on audible perceptions

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THE METAMORPHOSIS OF FEELINGS

APPROACHING A SENSORIAL VISUAL DESIGN BASED ON AUDIBLE PERCEPTIONS

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The Royal Institute of Technology

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ABSTRACT

Atmospheres, events, feelings, every sensation has its own music. And the human being has been highly educated to feel the glamour of them through the hearing sense. We know how a terrifying situation sounds like; what would be the musical accompaniment for a warzone scenario or what is the perfect piece for getting into a state of relaxation. Thanks to music design it has been possible to immerse the spectator into a deeper sensorial perception experience. Users close their eyes, and feel. What if we close our ears, and feel?

This thesis aims to transport the qualities of sound that produces feelings into people, to visual values communicated by an approach to architectural lighting design into architectural spaces.

A music example is chosen according to the intended emotion to be transposed. It is analysed, evaluated and related to a series of theoretical fundamentals based on visual psychology, human experience, multisensorial connections and lighting design. Laws of correlation are stablished and applied to a case study which ends as a theoretical concept design of an architectural lighting design installation.

Closing the document, a statement of guidelines for the conversion of subjective emotional qualities perceived from musical examples is stablished and discussed the use of it in architecture.

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TABLE OF FIGURES

FIGURE 3.1.2-1QR-CODE LINKED TO THE MUSIC EXAMPLE "SAVAGES" BY P.MOTTRAM ...22

FIGURE 3.1.3-1CONCEPTUAL SPACE...22

FIGURE 3.2.1-1CONCEPTUAL DIAGRAM OF THE PERCEIVED MOOD INTENSITIES OF THE MUSICAL EXAMPLE SAVAGES BY P.MOTTRAM. ...23

FIGURE 3.2.1-2PERCEPTUAL PROGRAMME OF THE MUSICAL EXAMPLE "SAVAGES" BY P.MOTTRAM ...24

FIGURE 3.2.3-1ANGER PEAK IN "I'M UPSET" SCENE,WHIPLASH,2014 ...26

FIGURE 3.2.3-2CALM CONTRAST IN THE ANGER SITUATION IN "I'M UPSET" SCENE,WHIPLASH,2014 ...26

FIGURE 3.4.1-1TABLE OF RULES OF ASSOCIATION FOR SAVAGES ...27

FIGURE 3.4.2-1LISTENING SCORE OF PHASE 2 OF SAVAGES ...27

FIGURE 3.4.2-2LISTENING SCORE OF PHASE 2 OF SAVAGES:STRUCTURE ...28

FIGURE 3.4.2-3OUTPUT DATA FROM LISTENING SCORE OF THE PHASE #1 IN SAVAGES ...29

FIGURE 3.4.2-7OUTPUT DATA FROM LISTENING SCORE OF THE PHASE #5,#6,#7 AND #8 IN SAVAGES ...29

FIGURE 3.4.2-8HARMONIC RHYTHMS IN PHASE #4 IN SAVAGES...29

FIGURE 3.4.3-1DIAGRAM OF WAVEFORM OF SAVAGES.OBTAINED FROM ADOBE AUDITION ...30

FIGURE 3.5.1-1UPGRADED TABLE OF RULES OF ASSOCIATIONS IN TERMS OF GESTALT FOR SAVAGES EXAMPLE ...31

FIGURE 3.5.2-1UPGRADED TABLE OF RULES OF ASSOCIATIONS IN TERMS OF GESTALT AND RELATED TO LIGHTING POSSIBILITIES FOR SAVAGES EXAMPLE ...32

FIGURE 3.5.2-1EXPLORING INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTION, GENUINE SYNAESTHESIA OF ANGER BY DANIEL GALLARDO ...33

FIGURE 3.6.1-1ACCURATE COLOUR PALETTE REFERED TO PERCEPTIONAL BACKGROUND FROM THE BOOK COLOUR PSYCHOLOGY ...33

FIGURE 3.6.2-1RULES OF ASSOCIATION ATTENDING TO FORM CONNECTORS OF SAVAGES ...34

FIGURE 3.6.3-1INTERACTIVE LIGHTBOXES IN LIGHTACT HEADQUARTERS,LJUBLJANA,SLOVENIA. WWW.ILLUMNI.CO ...35

FIGURE 3.7.2-1DIAGRAM OF THE STATEMENT OF ELEMENTS OF VISUAL COMPOSITION ...37

FIGURE 3.7.2-2CONCEPTUAL REPRESENTATION OF THE COLOUR ASSESSMENT ...38

FIGURE 3.7.3-1BRIEF OVERVIEW DIAGRAM OF THE STRUCTURAL COMPOSITION OF THE PIANO OF SAVAGES.PROPOSED PHYSICAL DISPOSITION OF THE ELEMENTS FOR CREATING THE PATH ACCORDING TO HARMONIC RHYTHMS.CONCEPTUAL SECTION OF THE PATH. ...39

FIGURE 3.7.3-2CORRELATION BETWEEN SIZES AND PITCHES IN THE ELEMENTS OF SPHERES ...40

FIGURE 3.7.3-3MINIMUM DIAMETERS AND DISTANCES...40

FIGURE 3.7.3-4SPHERE'S DIAMETERS ACCORDING TO THE PITCH VALUE ...40

FIGURE 3.7.3-5STRUCTURAL OPTIMIZATION ...41

FIGURE 3.7.3-6OPTIMISED FULL STRUCTURE FOR PHASE 1 ...42

FIGURE 3.7.3-7CONCEPTUAL OVERVIEW OF THE PHASE 1 ...43

FIGURE 3.7.4-1MATERIAL DISPOSITION FOR THE PHYSICAL INSTALLATION ...44

FIGURE 3.7.4-2EXAMPLE OF LIGHTING ACRYLIC OBJECTS ENHANCING BORDERS, ALLOWING LOOK THROUGH THE SURFACE. SOURCE:WWW.VALLEYDESIGNSND.COM ...45

FIGURE 3.7.4-3LIGHTING STATEMENT AND VISUAL CONNECTIONS ...45

FIGURE 3.7.4-4DYNAMIC CONTROL SYSTEM ...46

FIGURE 3.7.4-1OVERVIEW OF THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN ...47

FIGURE 3.7.3-1PIANO PERCEPTUAL STRUCTURE OF HARMONIC RHYTHMS OF SAVAGES ...57

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1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Motivation

I have personally been very interested in the emotional experience that music produces on me. Every time I listen to some music example, I feel how emotions go over my entire body, producing shuddering, raising my mood, wistfulness or even sadness. The magic of music for enveloping the listener into atmospheres and imaginative invisible scenarios is, for me, one of the most amazing things in life. Creative dreams.

On the other hand, I am fascinated with the power of light as a transmitter of feeling.

Whenever I attend an exhibition that includes a light show, or even when I go to the theatre, light communicates me different emotions than music, abstracts, and sometimes, I cannot describe them, or the feelings produced.

Additionally, I consider patterns as a magic tool. I am often delight with the structures that patterns create, mostly in architecture.

As the icing on the cake, architecture is my life and spaces are the media of my profession.

When I was asked to establish the topic of this master thesis, the ambition to merge all the things I like took me to a general statement: I wish I could see what I feel by the sense of hearing; I wish I could physically experience it.

This desire founded the idea of making it real, and it encouraged me to define a logical fundament for the development of a master thesis: As patterns create structures, perhaps the internal patterns of music are the carriers of feelings. Therefore, if I could define and locate these patterns, I might be able to transform them into visual values to be represented in physical spaces, communicating in some way what the musical example was aimed to transmit.

It was beautiful.

1.2 Aims and research questions

The aims of this thesis are to create a compelling link between audible and visual perceptions, where visual design expresses the subjective interpretation of the feelings that music can produce in people. Through an interpretative analysis of the qualities of sounds, paying particular attention to human perceptual factors, these effects will be translated into physical spaces, as the basis of an approach to architectural lighting design.

With a foundation in discourse, a theoretical design statement will be established which could lead to further development. This will be discussed at the conclusion of the experiment, and the adaptation of this concept as a functional or artistic component in architectural spaces will be evaluated.

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1.3 Method

The following guidelines defined the direction of the development of this thesis:

 Researching solid connections between emotions, psychology, human experience and perception, visual and lighting design, synaesthesia and multisensorial design, and sound.

 Subjective monitoring and perceptual interpretations.

 Identifying correspondences between subjective data and researched information.

 Establishing a basis for the design statement

 Concept design development

1.4 Delimitations

The aim of this master thesis is very wide. During the process of development, I was forced to remove many of the obtained data from the musical piece and connections to visual design, as well as technical examples of the frequencies of the example or links to the historical practice of colour organs, among others.

The relational possibilities could potentially be infinites. This thesis is narrowed down and the material exposed was considered as the most interesting and suitable to the selected emotion regarding in reliable background information with respect to the theoretical design experiment.

It should be pointed out that the development of the design experiment is founded a perceptual and subjective interpretation. This means that it is personal and non-transferrable, so the final statement and outcomes might be different in order to the designer who uses the material settled in this thesis

1.5 Thesis structure

Chapter one introduces to the student background, goals to achieve, methods followed during the design experiment and delimitations during development.

Chapter two presents the theoretical background which has been used for the correct

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Chapter three writes up the design experiment of the case study of anger:

 In section 3.1 sources and the theoretical space are defined.

 A monitoring of the musical example shows up the qualities obtained by the listening in section 3.2.

 Section 3.3 compares the data to reliable information by verifying it against the good subjective interpretations.

 Section 3.4 collates the interrelation parameters to be used as connectors between sound and visuals.

 Associations to gestalt qualities and properties of light to be used for representing the pre-set features are presented in section 3.5.

 In section 3.6, light qualities are presented and related to the emotional background.

 The development of the theoretical design concept is presented in section 3.7.

 Section 3.8 provides an evaluation and overview of the multisensorial experience.

 Conclusions and further discussion are introduced in the section 3.9.

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2 BACKGROUND

2.1 Emotions and feelings. Psychological statement.

It should be noted that feelings are a result of a complex process of information treatment which starts when individuals experience an emotion. This experience produces stimulus which can trigger automatic reactions, starting in the brain and getting reflected in the body, internally or externally. At this point, the person projects ideas which are related with these reactions and the object that formed them. At this point, when we perceive all of this, we have a feeling. Therefore, it is possible to define that feelings are the result of an emotion. But not everyone interprets the same feelings since we all have different backgrounds and life experiences. So the process of feeling development is bounded to the personal reasoning.

(Damasio, 1994)

“What is a feeling? Why do I not use the terms “emotion” and “feeling”

interchangeably? One reason is that although some feelings relate to emotions, there are many that do not: all emotions generate feelings if you are awake and alert, but not all feelings originate in emotions. I call background feelings those that do not originate in emotions [...].

[...]there are many varieties of feelings. The first variety is based on emotions, the most universal of which are Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, and correspond to profiles of body state response [...] When the body conforms to the profile of one of those emotions we feel happy, sad, angry, fearful, disgusted. When we have feelings connected with emotions, attention is allocated substantially to body signals, and parts of the body landscape move from the background to the foreground of our attention.

A second variety of feelings is based on emotions that are subtle variations of the five mentioned above [...]. This second variety of feelings is tuned by experience, when subtler shades of cognitive state are connected to subtler variations of emotional body state.”

(Damasio, 1994)

“The feeling, is for Carlson and Hatfield, the subjective experience of the emotion. So feeling is the combination of the instinctive and brief emotion with the rational thought of this emotion.” (Corbin)

“Anger is an emotional reaction that impacts the body. A person experiencing anger will also experience physical conditions, such as increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, and increased levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline.” (MedicineNet.com, 2016)

“Anger or wrath is an intense emotional response. It is an emotion that involves a strong uncomfortable and hostile response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.”

(Videbeck, 2006)

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“Anger is used as a protective mechanism to cover up fear, hurt or sadness. Anger becomes the predominant feeling behaviourally, cognitively, and physiologically when a person makes the conscious choice to take action to immediately stop the threatening behaviour of another outside force”. (Raymond DiGiuseppe, 2006)

“Anger is a Latin term related to fury and violence. It is a conjunction of negative feelings which generates rage and indignation. [...] In general, anger is closely related to frustration because it emerges as the response to the impossibility of solving an issue”. (Gardey &

Pérez Soto, 2009)

2.2 Musical background

“Because of the close relation between music and religion in the past, it does not seem strange that the word of anger takes place in many masterpieces of great composers such as Vivaldi or Handel. In this case, it makes use of diverse tools for its expression, as increment of velocity and intensity, ornamental situations and contrasts that reach high and low peaks in every musical instrument in a violent and unexpected way”. (Gardey &

Pérez Soto, 2009)

“There are a number of specific musical features that are highly associated with particular emotions.Within the factors affecting emotional expression in music, tempo is typically regarded as the most important, but a number of other factors, such as mode, loudness, and melody, also influence the emotional valence of the piece. [...]

Anger is related to fast tempo, loudness and clashing harmonies”. (Gabrielle & Stromboli, 2001)

2.3 Visual background

“The effect of every colour is determined by its context, that means, the connection of meanings that is the reason for perceiving the colour. The colour of a dress is evaluated in a different way than the colour of a room or an artistic object.

[...]

The colour of anger: Red 52%, Black 21%, Orange 8%, Green 8%

The colour of aggression: Red 37%, Black 21%, Orange 8%

The colour of excitement: Red 37%, Orange 18%, Purple 11%, Yellow 8%

[...]

The colour of circular: Red 18%, Orange 16%, Yellow 15%, Gold 12%

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The colour of triangular: Yellow 18%, Green 13%, Black 11%

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The colour of solitude/emptiness: Grey 34%, Black 28%, White 16%, Blue 9%”

(Heller, 2000)

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“Gestalt psychology attempts to understand psychological phenomena by viewing them as organised and structured wholes rather than the sum of their constituent parts [...].

In the 30s and 40s Gestalt psychology was applied to visual perception, most notably by Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Köhler, and Kurt Koffka who founded the so-called gestalt approaches to form perception. Their aim was to investigate the global and holistic processes involved in perceiving structure in the environment (e.g. Sternberg 1996). More specifically, they tried to explain human perception of groups of objects and how we perceive parts of objects and form whole objects on the basis of these. The investigations in this subject crystallised into "the gestalt laws of perceptual organization."

Law of proximity

The law of proximity posits that when we perceive a collection of objects, we will see objects close to each other as forming a group. [...].

Law of similarity

The law of similarity captures the idea that elements will be grouped perceptually if they are similar to each other. [...].

Law of Prägnanz (figure-ground)

The phenomenon captures the idea that in perceiving a visual field, some objects take a prominent role (the figures) while others recede into the background (the ground).

The visual field is thus divided into these two basic parts. [...].

Law of symmetry

The law of symmetry captures the idea that when we perceive objects we tend to perceive them as symmetrical shapes that form around their centre. [...]

Law of closure

The law of closure posits that we perceptually close up, or complete, objects that are not, in fact, complete.” (Soegaard, 2012)

“The key ideas behind Gestalt Theory [...]

Emergence (the whole is identified before the parts) [...] Reification (our mind fills in the gaps) [...] Multi-stability (the mind seeks to avoid uncertainty) [...] Invariance (we’re good at recognizing similarities and differences)”. (Bradley, Design Principles: Visual Perception And The Principles Of Gestalt, 2014)

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“Shapes have an endless variety of characteristics, each communicating different messages to your audience. [...]

Often the meaning behind shapes is cultural (a red octagon as a stop sign), particularly as shapes are combined. [...]

Circles have no beginning or end. They represent the eternal whole and in every culture are an archetypical form representing the sun, the earth, the moon, the universe, and other celestial objects between. Circles are used to suggest familiar objects such as wheels, balls, many kinds of fruit. They suggested well-roundedness and completeness.

Circles have free movement. They can roll. Shading and lines can enhance this sense of movement in circles. Circles are graceful and their curves are seen as feminine. They are warm, comforting and give a sense of sensuality and love. Their movement suggests energy and power. Their completeness suggests the infinite, unity, and harmony.

Circles protect, they endure, they restrict. They confine what’s within and keep things out. They offer safety and connection. Circles suggests community, integrity, and perfection.

Because they are less common in design they work well to attract attention, provide emphasis, and set things apart.

Squares and rectangles are stable. They’re familiar and trusted shapes and suggest honesty. They have right angles and represent order, mathematics, rationality, and formality. They are seen as earthbound. Rectangles are the most common geometric shape encountered. The majority of text we read is set in rectangles or squares.

Squares and rectangles suggest conformity, peacefulness, solidity, security, and equality. Their familiarity and stability, along with their commonness can seem boring. They are generally not attention getters, but can be tilted to add an unexpected twist.

Triangles can be stable when sitting on their base or unstable when not. They represent dynamic tension, action, and aggression. Triangles have energy and power and their stable/unstable dynamic can suggest either conflict or steady strength. They are balanced and can be a symbol for law, science, and religion.

Triangles can direct movement based which way they point. They can be used to suggest familiar themes like pyramids, arrows and, pennants. Spiritually they represent the religious trinity. They can suggest self-discovery and revelation.

The strength of triangles suggests masculinity. Their dynamic nature make them better suited to a growing high tech company than a stable financial institution when designing a logo. Triangles can be used to convey progression, direction, and purpose.

Curved shapes offer rhythm and movement, happiness, pleasure and generosity. They are seen as more feminine than sharp shapes which offer energy, violence and, anger. Sharp shapes are lively and youthful and are seen as more masculine”. (Bradley, The Meaning Of Shapes: Developing Visual Grammar, 2010)

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“In 2005, Irena Pavlova, Arseny Sokolov, and Alexander Sokolov made the first study of emotions and dynamics in single shapes: they showed participants triangles, ovals, and lines in a variety of orientations, and asked them to rate the figures for the emotions they conveyed.

The triangle balanced on its point (Number 1 in the above figure) or lying on its side was viewed as the most stable, and similarly, the oval balanced on either its end or its side was seen as stable as well. Instability correlated significantly in these figures with perceived suffering and fear.

For the triangle, the oval, and the line, there was a significant negative correlation between joy and the degree of rotation from vertical: the more vertical, the more joyous the figure appeared. This correlation held for anger as well, but only in the case of the oval and the line.

Pavlova and her colleagues argue that the implied imbalance in the pictures of static objects is what leads individuals to attribute emotion to them”. (Pavlova, 2005) (Anon & Anon, 2013)

2.4 Lighting background

(Joels, 2006)

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(Joels, 2006)

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“Knowledge of the behaviour and properties of light can help explain vision and human perception. The lighting designer is especially interested in how the properties of light affect the eye/brain process and cause feelings and emotions. An understanding of the physical properties of light can also help explain optics, lenses, colour theory, lighting and projection equipment and much more.

The laws and applications of reflection, refraction and absorption are encountered and used every day by the stage lighting designer and these concepts must be thoroughly understood both in theory and in practice.

These basic qualities of light are; INTENSITY, FORM, COLOR, DIRECTION and MOVEMENT. These are the lighting designer’s tools.”

(Williams, Qualities of Light) (Williams, Part 1 - An Introduction to Stage Lighting, 1.09 Direction and Movement, 1997-1999)

2.5 Multi-sensorial background

“Every perceptual process is supported by stored patterns which are established in the course of learning processes and serve as a supplementation of the fragmentary or incomplete information received via the sensory modalities. [...]

Vision enables the recognition of objects. Colours and forms are thus among the more important subjective perceptual qualities. [...]

An image of the auditory spectrum is processed as a spatial structure of stimulation.

This is in contrast to the projection of the retinal image onto the visual cortex, which is dependent upon the spatial – and not spectral – properties of stimuli. [...]

Perception is fundamentally of multisensory nature. [...]

The cognitive development of perceptual objects encompasses the following areas of responsibility:

 Reconstruction of the sketchy signals of the sensory organs: recognition of patterns.

 Reconstruction of concealed areas: gestalt formation

 Compensation of fluctuations of the environmental parameters: establishing constancy.

 Determination of the context parameters, such as size, position in space, relative movement: context analysis.

 Determination and reconstruction of the multisensory properties: Evaluation of the perceptual experience.

[...]

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Perception is a process of communication: stimuli are processed and evaluated with respect to the information significant to humans.

[...]

The useful application of established forms in a new design requires, however, that the perception and experience of the customer are known and connected to precisely those emotions which already resulted in the successful marketing”. (Haverkamp, 2013)

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3 DESIGN EXPERIMENT

3.1 Definition of the case study parameters

3.1.1 Emotion

To accomplish the aims of this Master Thesis and be able to demonstrate a theoretical conversion of feelings, it is imperative to understand both the psychological and the biological processes in humans to determine a solid foundation for the proposed theoretical design experiment¹.

Attending to Feelings of Basic Universal Emotions and Feeling of Subtle Universal Emotions², both categories are based on the evolution of the primitive form of emotions, and therefore also on an elemental form of human perception.

As a personal reflection, Feelings of Basic Universal Emotions are related to the elemental emotions, while Feelings of Subtle Universal Emotions develop an interpretation of these basic emotions. Individuals define the level of performance and establish the links according to his experience. By analogise, it works as a database, as we are born perceiving initially feelings produced from primitive emotions, a reduced repertoire. Throughout the course of life, we feed it, increasing our corporal and emotional states with empirical information which produces stimulus in the being.

Regarding to the discussion stated above, I found working on the category of Feelings of Basic Universal Emotions more interesting. I think, therefore that focusing on elemental emotions might be better perceived by persons of all ages and backgrounds.

As a result, Anger was selected as the emotional source to be researched.

3.1.2 Musical example

The desire for a solid research object encouraged me to consider into professional material in music design. Used for sound tracking in the industries of film, television, radio, etc., professional library music³ was considered as the most suitable material to be analysed.

This material is specifically designed to transmit specific qualities (in this case, emotions) which people already have the capacity to understand from their own experience. That assessment should mean that professional library music is a solid source, which could be analysed for obtaining reliable sensitive patterns for a further conversion between media.

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Making use of keywords⁴ and structural features of music⁵ related to anger, and after a wide monitoring of musical examples, I discovered one piece which I perceived as the most suitable work for representing the emotion from Audio Network⁶ an online professional library of production music.

The selected musical example was therefore Savages, developed by the classical and jazz composer Paul Mottram. The sample is available by the following QR-Code in Figure 3.1.2-1.

Figure 3.1.2-1 QR-Code linked to the music example "Savages" by P. Mottram

3.1.3 Space

Regarding to the proposed theoretical design statement which will be discussed in section 3.7, a one-hundred-and-twelve-meter long straight path, in square cross section of six by six meter was considered appropriate to define the physical space.

The room is provided with two openings at its end, each of which connecting to the exterior through a transitional space - a dark hall. Wall faces, ceiling and floor will be treated in black colour. A detailed specification of the materials will be presented in Section 3.7.

Figure 3.1.3-1 Conceptual space

4 Chapter 2.1, Anger - Hostile – Provocation – Hurt – Threat – Adrenaline – Fear – Sadness – Fury – Violence – Frustration – Abuse – Distress. (Gardey, 2009)

5 Chapter 2.2, Fast tempo – Loudness – Clashing harmonies (Gabrielle & Stromboli, 2001)

6 “Independent global music company. World class catalogue of original music spanning every conceivable style,

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3.2 Perceptive interpretations of the example

3.2.1 Monitoring of the structure and fundamental qualities

As the basis for the comprehension of the musical piece and an approach to obtaining qualities of design, a subjective monitoring was made. This was based on my own personal evaluation of the sensations that the example transmitted to me.

Distinguishing between variations in rhythms, structure and dynamic peaks, among other factums; the example was broken down in eight phases, some of which were similar and repeated at different times of the piece. These were simultaneously grouped into three isolated episodes according to the divergence of perceived mood intensities. This is conceptually represented in Figure 3.2.1-1.

In addition, the experienced features were written down as keywords. The resultant programme is shown in Figure 3.2.1-2.

Figure 3.2.1-1 Conceptual diagram of the perceived mood intensities of the musical example Savages by P. Mottram.

-5 -3 -1 1 3 5 7 9

Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode 3

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SAVAGES PERCEPTUAL STRUCTURE

EPISODE #1: FURY EPISODE #2:

DISTRESS EPISODE #3: ANGER

PHASE #1 00:00

PHASE #2 00:36

PHASE #3 01:00

PHASE #4 01:24

PHASE #5 02:00

PHAS E#6 02:23

PHASE #7 02:34

PHASE #8 02:45 Similar to

Phase #1

Similar to Phase #3

Similar to Phase #1

THREATEN, ATTACK FURY, ANGER

STRESS

DROP DISTRESS

ESCAPE MOVEMENT DESPERATION

THREATEN’s BACK, HARD STRESS, INTENSITY FURY, +ANGER, POWERFUL ATTACK, EXPLOSION, VIOLENCE

Figure 3.2.1-2 Perceptual programme of the musical example "Savages" by P. Mottram

3.2.2 Instrumental diversification and overview

Savages is an instrumental composition, scored for two instruments, the piano and violin, conceived for telling a story where each instrument plays a different role. Overall it is possible to perceived transition, contrast, intensities and imbalance in instrumental composition.

In general terms, the piano is perceived as a background element, which uniformly accompanies the listener through the work. It implies strength by the use low pitches. The structure is regular, maintaining continuity and proportions, but also making use of contrasts for distinguishing between episodes.

On the other hand, the violin plays a foreground role with the main melody. Making use of higher pitches, its character is both sharp and harmonic. The violin part produces movement and velocity through its dynamic peaks. It presents well-perceived contrasts and changes in rhythm. It often feels like a needle poking the listener.

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3.2.3 Structures, movements and pattern diagrams

Subjective graphical representations for the musical example were developed during the personal monitoring, as additional information to that stated above. The relationship between episodes and phases is visually proportional and equitable.

With reference to Appendix A, B and C, the interrelationship between the harmonic content, pitch differences, compositional structure and rhythm of the piano and the violin in each phase is proven.

3.3 Data result comparison and verification

After realising a subjective interpretation of the example Savages, the compiled information presented above might belong to a singular and personal perception of the piece, and therefore might differ from the understanding of the majority of people. In order to continue working with reliable material, I aimed to compare the collected features with Anger qualities presented in Section 2.1, and an extra source based on an anger situation experience⁷ which is the cinematographic scene “I’m upset” from the movie Whiplash.

Fury and violence are related to the Latin terminology of anger which appear several times as well as threat and distress in Figure 3.2.1-2 Perceptual programme of the musical example

"Savages" by P. Mottram. On the other hand, hurt, provocation and abuse can be subjectively related to attack and desperation. Fear and frustration connect to drop, distress and escape.⁸

Additionally, the cinematographic scene was subjectively analysed as was done for the Savages example, where it was possible to find many similitudes with the features obtained from the music work.

In the following lines, the perceptual structuration of I’m upset are displayed below:

 Phase #1: fury, continuity, repetition, movement, change of rhythm, threat

 Phase #2: threating, attack, retractable, defensive, uniform

 Phase #3: threating, fury, sharp

 Phase #4: escape, movement, distress, desperation

 Phase #5: threat, enclosing

 Phase #6: sharper attack

 Phase #7: threat

 Phase #8: climax, explosion, end

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With reference to Figure 3.2.1-2 Perceptual programme of the musical example "Savages"

by P. Mottram, it is possible to read the connection with the eight phases of Whiplash. These phases can also be combined in three main episodes attending to the keywords in the movie scene as in the piece Savages.

Figure 3.2.3-1 Anger peak in "I'm upset" scene, Whiplash, 2014 Figure 3.2.3-2 Calm contrast in the anger situation in "I'm upset" scene, Whiplash, 2014

In my opinion, the material obtained from the subjective interpretation of the music work can be trusted and used as reliable patterns for the next stage in the design experiment.

3.4 Recognition of obtained patterns and qualities from the audible source

3.4.1 Rules of association

In section 3.2.2 of the present document, I found individual qualities related to the instrumental composition of Savages. These were the piano as the background, violin as the foreground and the aggrupation of them as the piece. In a subjective approach to a visual- spatial situation, it is possible to translate the musical instruments into elements of spatial composition, where diverse virtual features act as background and foreground elements defining the space which performs as the holistic medium.

Therefore, if an interrelationship exits between audible and visual compositions, it should follow that qualities belonging to single features of musical pieces would fit into visual spaces.

According to this assessment, I suggest a direct translation between qualities, working with the media of background and foreground elements as well as with the whole piece. I named this Rules of Association, which is shown in Figure 3.4.1-1.

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INSTRUMENTAL COMPOSITION

INTERRELATION QUALITIES

ELEMENTS OF VISUAL COMPOSITION

RULES OF ASSOCIATION

PIECE

 CONTRAST

 IMBALANCE

 INTENSITY

 TRANSITION

SPACE

PIANO

 CONTINUITY

 REPETITION

 UNIFORMITY

 LOW PITCH

BACKGROUND

VIOLIN

 DISCONTINUITY

 PEAKS

 SHARP/HARMONIC MOV.

 VELOCITY

 HIGH PITCH

FOREGROUND

Figure 3.4.1-1 Table of rules of association for Savages

3.4.2 Listening score

Specific subjective design patterns were obtained as a result of monitoring the work Savages. Following lines explains the extracted features, its characteristics and connections in phase 2 of Savages as an example. For a further discussion of the other phases, material is detailed in Appendix A, B and C.

Figure 3.4.2-1 Listening score of Phase 2 of Savages

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In Figure 3.4.2-01, harmonic rhythms of the piano are represented in blue colour by straight lines. On the other hand, the violin appears in red colour spots. Under/above each harmonic rhythm, a number in a scale from 0 to 8, represents the variation of the pitch. When two or more harmonic rhythms are played at the same time, a chord is created.

In Figure 3.4.2-02, green coloured frames limit the pattern of rhythms. It is possible to see that there is a clear repetition of them, as for example AA or AB. In orange colour, the amount of times that the structure is repeated until a new phase appears is displayed.

Figure 3.4.2-2 Listening score of Phase 2 of Savages: Structure

This interpretation is applicable to all phases. After completing the analysis of these features, it was possible to obtain an overall view of the structure of the musical example, and the number of “chords” played in each phase. This is shown in Figure 3.4.2-3, Figure 3.4.2-4, Figure 3.4.2-5, Figure 3.4.2-6 and Figure 3.4.2-7. Red colour represents the violin, blue colour the piano, and green colour the amount of chords.

Regarding the information stated above, phases 4 and 8 present “SOLO” parts. In this case, the representation of the harmonic rhythms vary, as we can see in Phase 4, introducing softer harmonic material which is also as seen in Figure 3.4.2-8.

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PHASE #1

AB AB AB

18 18 18

Figure 3.4.2-3 Output data from listening score of the Phase #1 in Savages

PHASE #2

AB AB AB AB

AA BB AA BB

12 12 12 12

PHASE #3

AB AB

18 18

PHASE #4

AB AB AB AB AB AB A SOLO A SOLO

AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB AB

16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 16

PHASE #5 PHASE #6 PHASE #7 PHASE #8

AB AB AB A SOLO

18 18 18 21

Figure 3.4.2-7 Output data from listening score of the Phase #5, #6, #7 and #8 in Savages

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3.4.3 Technical patterns

Seeking for additional visual patterns, making use of the professional digital audio design software Adobe Audition, the complete diagrams of waveforms was obtained for each sound channel.

Figure 3.4.3-1 Diagram of waveform of Savages. Obtained from Adobe Audition

3.5 Theoretical connection 1: audible resources and visual values

3.5.1 Gestalt association

As solid guidelines for developing a good visual design, Gestalt principles⁹ were chosen for connecting the obtained interrelation qualities from the musical example to the elements of visual composition as displayed in the rules of association table in the Figure 3.4.1-1.

Firstly, an imperative relation for the whole piece to the whole space was established which included the principles with reference in section 2.3:

 Closure, where the space should be perceived as a whole, regardless of missing or uncompleted internal elements of the work.

 Common Fate, where the further design should trace a common pattern for elements moving in the same direction, as a unique organism.

 Good Gestalt, where the holistic form is a regular, simple and orderly pattern.

 Past Experience, where the human background should be taken into consideration while designing the space.

9 Section 2.3, Gestalt principles, Closure, Common Fate, Good Gestalt, Past Experience, Proximity, Similarity,

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Secondly, as a connection for the piano/background part, it felt that this was best suited to the principles of:

 Proximity, related to quality of uniformity, as an elements aggrupation.

 Similarity, associated to repetition feature, where objects with similar characteristics should be perceptually perceived as groups.

 Symmetry, as a composition of continuity, repetition and uniformity.

 Continuity, intrinsically related to itself.

It should be noted that there is not a direct relation between violin/foreground element to Gestalt principles. The qualities of discontinuity, peaks, sharp/harmonic movements and velocity, break the structure of a good visual design. This incident might mean that the violin could produce discomfort, crashing the piece, and therefore acting in the same way for representing foreground elements in the space.

In conclusion, Figure 3.5.1-1 shows an upgraded table of Rules of association related to the terms of Gestalt.

GESTALT PRINCIPLES

PIECE

 CONTRAST

 INBALANCE

 INTENSITY

 TRANSITION

SPACE

 CLOSURE

 COMMON FATE

 GOOD GESTALT

 PAST EXP.

PIANO

 CONTINUITY

 REPETITION

 UNIFORMITY

 LOW PITCH

BACKGROUND

 PROXIMITY

 SIMILARITY

 SYMMETRY

 CONTINUITY

VIOLIN

 DISCONTINUITY

 PEAKS

 VELOCITY

 HIGH PITCH

FOREGROUND  DISCOMFORT

 CRASHING

Figure 3.5.1-1 Upgraded table of Rules of associations related to the terms of Gestalt for Savages example

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3.5.2 Connections to lighting possibilities

After stating the links with gestalt parameters in the previous section, creating interrelationships with light was properly considered. Light will perform as the communicator of the translated features, and therefore, according to available lighting possibilities¹⁰, a connection was established.

As a result, the following assessments were proposed:

 In an overall statement, lighting is used for creating contrasts, which will reveal differences between the stages of the example, while guiding the user in a direction, and showing the boundaries of the phases.

 In a theoretical representation of the piano, lighting is used for creating continuity and rhythm in the structure, enhancing harmony and similarity in features related to the qualities of repetition and uniformity.

 On the other hand, the violin makes use of lighting for enhancing shapes and asymmetry as a form of crashing and discomfort. Furthermore, attending to the contrast between sharp and harmonic movements, lighting is used to accentuate details and creates sequences within the course of the experience. Textures are revealed by lighting as well.

As a consequence of this discussion, a new column was added to the Rules of Association which is displayed in Figure 3.5.2-1.

GESTALT PRINCIPLES

LIGHITNG POSSIBILITIES

PIECE

 CONTRAST

 INBALANCE

 INTENSITY

 TRANSITION

SPACE

 CLOSURE

 COMMON FATE

 GOOD GESTALT

 PAST EXP.

 CONTRAST

 DIFFERENCE

 DIRECTION

 BOUNDARIES

PIANO

 CONTINUITY

 REPETITION

 UNIFORMITY

 LOW PITCH

BACKGROUND

 PROXIMITY

 SIMILARITY

 SYMMETRY

 CONTINUITY

 RHYTHM

 SIMILARITY

 HARMONY

 CONTINUITY

VIOLIN

 DISCONTINUITY

 PEAKS

 VELOCITY

 HIGH PITCH

 CRASHING

 SHAPES

 ASYMMETRY

 ACCENT DETAILS

 SEQUENCE

 TEXTURE

Figure 3.5.2-1 Upgraded table of Rules of associations in terms of Gestalt and related to lighting possibilities for Savages example

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3.6 Theoretical connection 2: emotions and visual perceptions

Lighting qualities¹¹ are used as common denominators in the interrelationship between emotions and visual perceptions. Through its features, light affects the emotional state of people and provides different stimuli which the body reacts to.

Figure 3.5.2-1 Exploring individual perception, genuine synaesthesia of anger by Daniel Gallardo

3.6.1 Colour

Regarding to Colour Perception¹², a “colour chord” was established according to the research information of two-thousand people in different ages and backgrounds. This offers a connection between the perceptual information related to anger, and the feeling of excitement which shares the same roots as the study case. As the result, the obtained colour chord is displayed in the Figure 3.6.1-1.

Additionally, colour variation can produce movement perception and transitional states in people.¹³

RED ^BLACK ^ORANGE ^PURPLE ^GREEN ^YELLOW

Figure 3.6.1-1 Accurate colour palette refered to perceptional background from the book Colour psychology

3.6.2 Form

Generally, triangles, diagonal lines, sharp forms and unbalanced shapes are the main shapes which people use to refer to anger according to diverse researches related to the

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interdisciplinary relations between how humans perceive shapes and forms, and their interpretations of these with emotion and feelings¹⁴.

With respect to the properties and meaning of shapes, related to the previous paragraph, and with the use of its keywords from interrelation qualities, forms that best represent the three elements of visual composition were established.

Furthermore, the background qualities of continuity, repetition, uniformity and low pitch are relatable in terms of circles and curved shapes for energy and power in terms of movement, infinity, unity and rhythm.

On the other hand, the foreground which presents discontinuity, peaks, sharp/harmonic movements, velocity and higher pitch, suited better to the categories of triangles and sharp shapes, because of their features of unstable, dynamic tension, action, aggression, energy, movement by pointing, violence and literally anger.

The space element is related to the shapes of squares and rectangles because of their meanings of no attention getters and solidity was appropriated.

In conclusion, a new upgraded table of Rules of association was delivered attending to form connectors which it is shown in Figure 3.6.2-1.

GESTALT PRINCIPLES

LIGHITNG POSSIBILITIES

SHAPES &

FORMS

PIECE

 CONTRAST

 INBALANCE

 INTENSITY

 TRANSITION

SPACE

 CLOSURE

 COMMON

FATE

 GOOD GESTALT

 PAST EXP.

 CONTRAST

 DIFFERENCE

 DIRECTION

 BOUNDARIES

SQUARE RECTANGLE

PIANO

 CONTINUITY

 REPETITION

 UNIFORMITY

 LOW PITCH

BACKGROUND

 PROXIMITY

 SIMILARITY

 SYMMETRY

 CONTINUITY

 RHYTHM

 SIMILARITY

 HARMONY

 CONTINUITY

CIRCLE CURVE

VIOLIN

 DISCONTINUITY

 PEAKS

 VELOCITY

 HIGH PITCH

 CRASHING

 SHAPES

 ASYMMETRY

 ACCENT DETAILS

 SEQUENCE

 TEXTURE

TRIANGLE SHARP SHAPE

Figure 3.6.2-1 Rules of association attending to form connectors of Savages

14 Section 2.3, (Pavlova, Sokolov, 2005) (Ellen Anon, See It: Photographic Composition Using Visual Intensity,

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3.6.3 Intensity and brightness / Direction and movement

In a dynamic situation where intensity and brightness cooperate¹⁵ simultaneously, these are capable of e.g. communicating strength, contrast or even creating movement and revealing directions. As a result, harmony, continuity, sequence or rhythm are some of the qualities which can be utilized in performance.

Attending to the keywords of lighting possibilities, related to principles of Gestalt in Figure 3.5.2-1, the space, background and foreground might make use of these two features to approach a translation of the emotion.

Regarding this information, it was properly considered to pay special attention to these features in the resulting design.

Figure 3.6.3-1 Interactive lightboxes in LightAct headquarters, Ljubljana, Slovenia. www.illumni.co

3.7 Cognitive development of the theoretical design statement

3.7.1 Recognition of patterns 1: elements of composition

The piano was defined as the background element for visual composition where circles and curved forms were related to it by the research documentation. On the other hand, the violin was chosen for foreground representation and associated to triangles and sharp shapes. The space, representing the whole, was connected to squares and rectangles. ¹⁶¹⁷

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The conceptual proposal is performing in a physical three-dimensional stage; therefore, the following connections are suggested:

 Space is represented by a cubic volume as a parallelepiped.

 Piano is represented by spheres.

 Violin is represented by linear diagrams in sharp and triangular shapes. The technical image of the waveform, shown in section 3.4.3, will be used for the representation of the violin.

These objects are used for the visual materialization of the instrumental elements of the musical example of Savages. They are shown in Figure 3.7.1-1.

3.7.2 Recognition of patterns 2: Colour assignment

Anger can take place in a lonely situation of emotional impressions. Looking back to representation and perceptions of isolation¹⁸, this is related to black and darkness events/experiences. As a consequence, black colour from the presented palette¹⁹ is chosen for the visual element of space (whole).

Attending to the main keywords of episodes 1 and 3 (fury and anger²⁰), these are intrinsically related to colour red²¹. As red is the predominant colour displayed in the palette, (also associated to circular forms²²), and background elements tend to be bigger elements of composition, and also they are spheres, the intrinsically association is direct. The result is reddish spheres.

18 Section 2.3, Visual background

19 Section 3.6.1, Colour

20 Section 3.2.1, Figure 3.2.1-2

21 Section 3.6.1, Colour

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Additionally, with regard to episodes 1 and 3, the foreground features aim to be produced by lighting creating contrast, accentuation and perception of shapes²³. Paying special attention to the contrast quality and using it as a reference for further development, if red is the main colour for background elements, then foreground should be the complementary one: green.

Now, regarding to the already used colour from our colour chord, the available colours for episode 2 are orange, green, purple and yellow. As purple and yellow are complementary colours, and attending to lighting uses discussed above, these colours will represent this episode. As triangular shapes are perceived as yellow²⁴, foreground elements will be represented by yellow and background elements by purple.

As a result of colour assignment, Figure 3.7.2-2 displays a conceptual representation of the assessment.

Figure 3.7.2-2 Conceptual representation of the colour assessment

23 Section 3.5.2, Lighting possibilities connections

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3.7.3 Gestalt formation

Narrowing down the structural representation of the piano in Savages, which is shown in Appendix D, a brief overview presents the virtual visual development of a perceived basis structure. This is displayed in Figure 3.7.3-1.

Attending to the overview diagram, the episodes are clearly differentiated by where the sharp changes of harmonic rhythms are placed. The overall visual contrasts of the proposal will be settled according to them using the colour assignation presented in the previous section.

The diagram also transmits a path. From a regular movement in episode one which changes radically the episode two plays, until it becomes uniform again in episode three where the level of alertness raises because of its higher pitches. It culminates in a climax situation of reaching the highest point of the piece.

As a reflexion of this subjective perception, the music example forces the user to follow the path. Therefore, I suggest to using the overall structural diagram as the denominator of structural physical development as disposed in Figure 3.7.3-1. The user will walk through the background objects while the foreground elements are deployed in the spheres (as shown in Figure 3.7.2-2).

The size of the background elements (spheres) are defined according to pitch variation of the harmonic rhythms and the amount of chords (Figure 3.7.3-2) paying attention to the human scale. An evaluation for sizes and transition distances for the further development design is displayed in Figure 3.7.3-3 and Figure 3.7.3-4.

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Figure 3.7.3-2 Correlation between sizes and pitches in the elements of spheres

Figure 3.7.3-3 Minimum diameters and distances

Pitch Diameter in meters

0 3,00

1 3,25

2 3,50

3 3,75

4 4,00

5 4,25

6 4,50

7 4,75

8 5,00

Figure 3.7.3-4 Sphere's diameters according to the pitch value

Attending to the number of played chords in each phase ²⁵ and applying the sizes for each sphere based on Figure 3.7.3-4, the total length of the path would be around 520 meters.

Considering this as an uncommon conceivable project, I decided to optimise the installation, grouping the harmonic rhythms by packages which share same pitches, as shown in Figure 3.7.3-4. As a result, the optimised length of the path is five times shorter than the original one, defining a total walk of 112 meter.

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The metamorphosis of feelings: Approaching a sensorial visual design based on audible perceptions