Poems, as written expressions, encapsulate myriad emotions, offering an open-ended canvas for diverse interpretations. In this audio-visualization video, each verse corresponds to a shifting image, providing a window into the poet’s thoughts. The beauty lies in the subjective nature of these interpretations, with individuals forming unique opinions about the same poem.
In this design methodology study, I discovered the efficacy of combining investigating and cataloguing methods. I aim to enhance my proficiency by systematically using this combination in future projects.
This poem, written by the famous Chinese poet Hai Zi, left a lasting impression on me. I read it a long time ago and instantly fell in love with its beauty. The poem resonated strongly with me, and I believe that each reader, experiencing the same verses, will have unique insights and emotions.
Through my translation, I aim to convey my understanding and the emotions evoked by this poignant piece.
WEEK 1, 31 OCT – 1st NOV
01 _ Pronunciation translation
As there’s no official English translation for this Chinese poem, I find that its original romantic and free tones are lost in translation. To convey its essence, I focus on teaching Chinese reading, emphasizing the importance of mastering correct pronunciation, akin to learning any language.
I recorded my reading of the entire poem, pronouncing each word, and read with 212 words to explore various nuances in pronunciation.
I substituted the words in the poem with corresponding mouth positions.
02 _ Illustration
I illustrated my mental imagery for each paragraph of the poem, employing shapes and lines to create a concrete poem.
03 _ Audio-visualization
I altered the medium to convey a distinct interpretation of the poem through a combination of audio and visuals.
I integrated the sound into TouchDesigner to generate the initial animation and subsequently employed After Effects for effect editing.
Feedback
To enhance the understanding of non-Mandarin speakers, valuable suggestions have been offered on integrating sound visualization graphics and illustrations. The primary goal of my next step is to effectively convey the emotions of the Chinese poem through this combination.
WEEK 2, 7 Nov – 14 Nov
In order to give the non-mandarin audience a better understanding of what I’m talking about, I’ve taken the suggestion you all gave me last week, and I’ve made a combination of sound visualisation and illustrations.
Each changing image corresponds to each verse, and you can read what I’m thinking through these images. Also, based on last week, I changed the background of the video, as you can see, the background is sometimes white and sometimes black. These are my interpretations of the poem. When the black collar background appears, I read despondency and loneliness in the poem. And when white appears, it is seeing hope.