Woooo ! very impressive indeed.
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It's been a long road, but as you're about to see, it's been more than worth it! When we invited Nick Ryan and Daniel Brown to interpret Nick Knight’s photographs of Nicolas Ghesquière’s diaphanous garments for S/S ’06 Balenciaga, we had absolutely no idea of the scale of the operation that would ensue. Thirty-six recordings later and many experiments to delicately marry each sound with its respective part of the image and the final work is complete! Use your mouse to unleash the full cacophony in Brown and Ryan’s magical and extraordinarily beautiful, fashion interactive.
For full details of the long and winding process, here's Nick Ryan: "First of all, the photograph of the garment and its wearer was divided into 36 separate zones according to the various visual textures in the image. Although the final sound appears as one audio experience, the process of composing of the piece involved creating two layers of audio for each of the 36 zones:
The first layer accounts for the texture, weight and colour of the fabric. To achieve these synaesthetic audio interpretations I used various tools to create sound effects ranging from low rumbles (for soft billowing textures) to high frequency crackles and shimmers (for intricate details). Pre-existing sound effect recordings (e.g. static interference) were blended with composed and synthesised sounds for each zone to account for their unique visual properties.
The second layer of sound aims to bring emotion and narrative to the photograph by way of musical melody and harmony. First, I composed a melodic theme for the piece (which could be reiterated throughout the garment and body in various forms). I then devised a story about the fictional wearer to create a linear structure for the music. I mapped this story onto the photograph such that different pictorial areas tell different aspects of the tale. The harmonic properties of each zone are determined by this emotional map.
The instrumentation is determined by the visual identity of each zone in order that frequency and timbre of instruments alluded, synaesthetically, to properties of the fabric (mirroring the sound effects) for example, the melody is played by low brass instruments in an area of low visual detail and by high trem. violins in an area with fine patternation.
Instruments of the orchestra we chosen for their versatility in playing styles and ability to represent visual texture whilst also suiting the aesthetic of the image. The aim was to create a cinematic aesthetic of antiquity and heartfelt emotion to match the story I imagined.
Finally, each zone was mixed, re-mixed and recomposed to allow movement from one zone to another to be as smooth as possible and harmonically correct regardless of the path the audience chooses".
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Absolutely stunning! wierd and beautiful. Well done Showstudio for a fantastic project! Nobody does it like Showstudio.
