Sound and Vision

At the University of Plymouth, researchers in the Computer Music Research Laboratory are developing new tools to aid the film composer. Their research is creating programmes that can analyse and re-create the style of the great composers – or learn emotional response to music and compose accordingly.

And animation students at the University of the West of England, in nearby Bristol, are involved in an exciting collaboration with students from the Royal Academy of Music to investigate how the creative process develops and to learn the importance of professional collaboration.

Partnered at random the students have just five weeks to produce a 1 minute film complete with soundtrack. Unlike traditional approaches where the composer creates music to fit a film, or as sometimes happens in animation, the film is drawn to fit in with the music, neither partner is pre-eminent, creating a truly collaborative experience.