Sound 101: What you should know to keep up with trends

What are the main trends in the field of art, sound and IT at the moment?

First, the world is becoming more audiovisual. And now we notice more often that if a picture is hanging, then at least it is finished with light, it means that there is a task for lighting artists who correctly design the space and this is work not only with the material, but also with the context.

It is clear to everyone that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but nevertheless, a greater number of creative units are involved in any installation: designers, sound designers, lighting artists, decorators. If there is an opportunity to influence a person not only through an image, but also through sound, why not take advantage of this. And the installations themselves have become more complex, artists are increasingly using new technologies, not only a living texture, but also various mechanisms, because the artist is always exploring the space, the world around him, and everything that he can use.

Sound design can help an artist to tell their story. If we talk about trends, installations become interactive. We are moving from static jobs to those that you can get in touch with. We live in the era of interactive art, when you can become a part of it. As an example, immersive theatre.

The artist has a huge number of different technological solutions in his arsenal: from small microcontrollers and microcomputers, to which light, temperature, and motion sensors can be connected, which can be easily controlled literally with a touch or a wave of the hand.

What is sound-art and what does an artist need to know to work in this field?

Sound-art is a process of investigating our world through music through the eyes and hands of an artist. Here it is important for an artist to explore and operate with modern technologies: to learn audio programming, engineering, to understand physics and electronics, because a huge number of installations use WWISE, FMOD and other specialised programs for working with audiovisual content.

What is generative music and sound?

Generative music is music that is created by algorithms. It can be generated based on data entered by a person or a neural network. Now generative music is usually called all music created by a computer or a program. Nevertheless, creating a musical landscape that will be pleasant to listen to is still the work of sound designers and composers.

Who is responsible for the audio installation if it was generated by algorithms?

It is difficult to answer the question, because there are quite a large number of “pitfalls". On the one hand, an artist is responsible for his work because he influences other people. And on the other hand, the artist is the most irresponsible person, because he just creates, while others rejoice, hate, or enjoy his work. In this regard, the worst art is emotionless art.

How studio SoundDesigner.PRO works with sound art?

For us it`s important to create art through design tools. We organise creative meetings and collaborations with independent artists, as well as students in the field of audiovisual installations. We constantly keep up with new technologies and participating in their creation and implementation. Creativity can be guided. And we explore together with artists how modern technologies can affect a person, how it is possible to achieve a certain emotion through this toolkit and all the cultural baggage accumulated in cinema, theater and music.