Week 12 - Final Thoughts

Last class and we are in lockdown again. Another quick semester spent educating at home. Nevertheless, I have immensely enjoyed this class and the opportunity to explore different pieces of writing, writing exercises and exploring different perceptions and themes within research.

Artifact 1: Vibrations Around Bodies

This is my initial Precursor 2 experiment that looks at an imagining of sound and vibrations felt within an earthquake. I wondered what it would feel like to be a body in a big earthquake. I went looking for earthquake recordings, and subsequently came up with the idea to make a creative response exploring the idea of replicating an earthquake experience. The following video was found via Youtube, and was chosen to remix as you can clearly see the effects of earthquake vibration waves. (See original here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5nf6Wl5TVI) 

The audio for this video was created from an adjustment of a meditation track I have been making I have used in my 2nd Artefact track. The audio used has the additioanl focus of low vibration frequencies within the human hearing threshold 20-40Hz.  I was interested in the justapostion with this track and the more violent footage on screen. I was interested in exploring and reflecting upon the expereince of feeling the earth rumble so violently.
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According to the Australian Seismology centre, earthquake vibrations are between 0 - 20 Hz, which is below the normal range of audible sound. For more information about earthquakes see: www.src.com.au

Artifact 2: Waves in time

My 2nd artifact is a music/vibration/visual experience in the form of a video work, based off a multi-sensory experience I set up in a room. This experience utilised video projection, an audio/visual syncrhonator, and a vibration sub pack. The audio was composed to create feelings of relaxtion, combined with ocean sounds playing on headphones in conjunction with a vibration or 'subpack' attached to an office chair, which translates low frequency audio into felt vibrations.

The idea behind the video was to create a work which emulated the idea of relxation in the body from a subjective experience of me creating the work. The audio was created via the use of a subpac, witth compostional emphasis on using audio under 300HZ in order to tie in to my findings from the research. 

I adjusted the video and audio as I sat with the Sub-Pac Vibrations in order to get direct feedback on my subjective feelings of relaxation. The ocean video was chosen for its relaxing and reflective qualities, which was then layered in with synchronator triggered audio. 

*As you can see in the picture above, this is a Sub-Pac attached to an office chair, similiar to that which I used for my experiment.

Artifact Development 

These two videos portray development and filming in construction of my vibration music/experience 'artefact 2'.
The first video was trying to show the vibrating door and sound of the music outside of the studio.
Whilst the video below shows the audio triggered synchcronator been projected onto the wall.
I sat in the chair with the sub-pac during this experience, as I composed and tweaked the audio track in an attempt to intensfy feelings of subjective relaxation.

Waves in time: Audio

Below you can hear versions of backing track I made for my precursor video. The visuals for the video as seen above, were triggered by the audio via a visual generator called a syncrhonator. 

The audio is constructed with the intentionalty of creating feelings of relaxation by utlising a bpm of 80 and  soft dynamics (Elliot, Remco, and McGregor 2011), drones, binaural beats to reduce arousal (Choi, Bang and Yoon 2020), and a fundamental bass vibration frequency of 40Hz, which translates well to sensations in the sub vibration pack attached to the chair. The sounds of the ocean were also added as they have been found to lessen feelings of anxiety and tension (Munro & Searchfield 2019) 

I also used the steady repetition of a rhythmic heartbeat to root the expereince in a comforting  and familiar structure, which also alludes to the nature of the beating heart of the particpant listening/watching the work. Belwo I have also added the original 1hr version of the audio track, I made with the intention of been used in an experiment looking at rhythmic entrainment over time. There is also an abandoned version that I created that has the addition of singing bowls.
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​Which version do you find the most relaxing?

Waves in time (5 min version)

​Waves in time (1hr version)

Waves in time (Singing bowl version)

After a vibration/music experience such as above, a participant may be interviewed and asked the following questions.

Participant Questionare
*Below are a series of questions that I would possibly ask a Vibration/Music experience participant. Such a questionare may be used to help assess the level of relaxtion in relation to positive mood and physiolgical arousal. In order to undertake such an assement, questions are construtced to help discover the levels of valance and physiological arousal within a participant.

How do you feel in your body?
How did you find this experience?
What was your favourite aspect of the experience?
What did you like/dislike about the music?
What was an aspect of the music which seemed the most important in making you feel relaxed?

In order to further monitor physiological arousal levels, biometric tracking of data could be used such as heart rate monitoring, or measuring cortisol levels from galvanic skin response. The methods subseqeuntly detailing the level of bodily arousal via heartrate montoring, and an indication of valance via the asssement of cortisol levels, which are indicative of levels of stress/relaxation..

​References
Choi, H, Bang, Y, & Yoon, I, 2020. 0505 insomnia: Entrainment of binaural auditory beats on subjects with insomnia symptons, Sleep, vol.43, doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.lib.rmit.edu.au/10.1093/sleep/zsaa056.502

Elliott, D, Remco, P, McGregor, R 2011,’Relaxing Music for Anxiety Control’, The Journal of music therapy, vol.48.3, pp. 264–288 
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Munro, B, Searchfield, G 2019, The short-term effects of recorded ocean sound with and without alpha frequency binaural beats on tinnitus perception, Complementary Therapies in Medicine,Volume 44, pp. 291-295,, ISSN 0965-2299,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2019.05.005.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0965229919300184)