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Sound for the Moving Image

The B.Des in Sound for the Moving Image is a two-year Degree programme, which welcomes students with an HND in a relevant subject area, or relevant experience. This programme recognises the importance of sound and moving image as part of the creative cultural and commercial landscapes, and the increase in audio-visual content production for an increasingly diverse and divergent audience through multiple platforms – from installations and film through to computer and video games.

The students showcasing here are from a diverse range of backgrounds, including touring musicians, dance club artists, facilitators of underground radio plays and documentary makers. The attribute they share in common is a deep fascination for capturing and designing sounds. The students have wholeheartedly embraced The Glasgow School of Art studio ethos, generously sharing their work as a class, sensitively communicating their distinct rationales. You may be surprised by the way the sound will seem to move around your head when listening to “binaural mixes” – thankfully the innovative spatial audio works can be experienced on headphones too.

Please enjoy this intriguing, challenging and profoundly emotive selection of works: generative music; familial bonds; inner city subculture; sonifying Kafka; simulating dyspraxia; soundtracking diaspora documentary; personal songs about lockdown; and sonic rollercoasters of emotion.

Events

Simulation & Visualisation – Live Viewing

Live: 29 May 2020 at 20:00

Join Daniel Livingstone, Head of Academic Programmes at the School of Simulation & Visualisation, for a live viewing of The Glasgow School of Art Digital Showcase 2020. Daniel will be →

Nine

This is an audio and visual exploration of the urban landscape. It processes street culture, skateboarding and music through a psychedelic lens, and opens up an alternative look into the city. repurposing spaces to bring people together across the asphalt jungle

Cube Audio Implementation Demo

This piece is included to demonstrate my experience using the game audio middleware ‘Wwise’, using its in-built demo game ‘Cube’. This type of software is designed to enable sound designers to implement audio in an interactive environment, while still having access to some of the tools and the familiarity of a traditional digital audio workstation. Using a combination of synthesis, Foley recording and sound FX libraries, I began accumulating sound assets that I felt suited the visual appearance of the game, that being a retro, low-res form. Once I had sourced and/or recorded the required sounds, I arranged and assigned them to create an interactive soundscape within the framework of Wwise. There are some issues caused by audio triggers from the game itself, namely the speed of footsteps and the type of underfoot surfaces, but despite this I am happy with the progress of this piece, and it has served as an invaluable learning exercise into the process of implementing sound in games.

Meta

This piece was inspired by the Franz Kafka novella ‘The Metamorphosis’, a story in which the main character, Gregor Samsa, awakens in his bed to discover that he has transformed into a giant insect. The story conveys a number of thematic messages, including those of isolation, disease and alienation. It can be read as a comment on the fragility of the mind and body, with emphasis given to the description of Gregor’s transformed state and the effect it has on him. For this work I produced and combined sound and visual imagery to represent the opening scene of the story, when Gregor awakens to the melancholy-inducing sound of rain on his window, before slowly realising what has happened to him. In this piece my primary aim was to create and use sound to convey Gregor’s shifting emotions, gradually moving from a subdued, melancholic state to one of dawning panic and horror. The visuals are intended to supplement these emotional connotations, while also helping to enhance the impression of claustrophobia and isolation.

Bosco Regina

"Bosco Regina" is a portrait of a man and his dogs as they hunt for the ultimate prize, the woodcock - also known as the queen of the forest. This visually spectacular documentary is a meditation on the coexistence of predator and prey and the beauty to be found between the lines of pursuit and action. It is a peaceful film about hunting, where the only shots fired are from a camera. Sean directed, filmed, edited and wrote voiceover and music for the film.

Not To Need You

“Not To Need You”, by Scottish act Dancing on Tables, is an example of Sean’s innovative and ambitious approach to filmmaking. The video was filmed in a single continuous take to help capture the songs building tension, and complex choreography was used to achieve the impression that the band were disappearing and reappearing, meant to visually represent the themes of loss and separation explored within the song. Sean directed, filmed and edited the video, with the help of a single assistant on the day to ensure he didn’t fall over when walking backwards.

Showreel

This showreel features work which has all been filmed and edited by Sean De Francesco between 2019-20. The musical accompaniment “Breaking Or Broken (Instrumental)” was composed by Sean as part of the band Moonlight Zoo.

Filming "Bosco Regina"

Taken during the filming of "Bosco Regina", which was shot entirely with a Sony a6300 + kit lens, mounted on an electronic gimbal.

Filming at the SSE Hydro

Dada Is Everywhere

A short documentary about the Dada art movement. This film recounts the beginnings and later influences of the early 20th century European art movement. The film contains interviews, sound design and original music that pays homage to the movement itself.

Cymatics

A short film that demonstrates the visual effects of sound frequencies on matter. The film features a series of materials that react physically to the phenomenon of Cymatic frequencies. Cymatics is a branch of acoustics that observes the effect of standing waves created by low vibrations through natural materials. Certain frequencies create unique patterns only found in nature. The visuals in this film are accompanied by original music.

Tranquility & Disruption

This short film assignment was my first experience making a film with entirely original content. Within this piece I explore the diversity of the out door world, looking at Scotland and the industrial City of Glasgow. I wanted to draw attention to the 2 different worlds we live in; experimenting with tension and surprise in order to emphasise the contrast between the natural and the manmade. Blending progressive sounds, field recordings and harmonic tones, I attempted to compliment the rushes of the vast landscapes; slowing time and creating space for contemplation. This is disrupted by the glitchy scenes of the city, where industrial noises intensify the lights and brutal architecture.

Scotlands Not So Secret Places

This is a short documentary I created about a well-known visually pleasing and picturesque site called Finnich Glen, otherwise known as The Devil's Pulpit. Located in the beautiful and scenic town of Stirling, The Devil's Pulpit is a popular site which is visited frequently by locals and those travelling far and wide. I wanted to create this documentary to not only highlight the beauty of the land, but to introduce some stories and background that is woven into the water and rocks that lay home to it. I really enjoyed creating this documentary as it was my first try at camera work and using Final Cut Pro X which were both new skills for me to learn. Some advice if you're going to visit - be careful!

Scotlands Not So Secret Places

An image taken at the bottom of the rocky and dangerous steps that lead down to the heart of The Devil's Pulpit.

Experimental, Situational, Phenomenal

This is a short documentary that was created by myself and my classmate Lucius about the Light and Space Art Movement. This was in interesting yet difficult documentary to create as there was little to no archived footage which meant it had to consist mostly of stills. However, we had some help from artists who we got in touch with such as Olafur Eliasson and an independent light show team called Squidsoup who allowed us to use some of their images and videos which was very kind of them. All of this teamed up with the relaxing soundtrack created by Lucius and an illustrative and informative voice over created by myself allowed us to produce this piece that we are both proud of. The most interesting part about creating this documentary was strangely all of the research. It was amazing to explore an art movement that neither myself or Lucius were familiar with and we enjoyed the plethora of unique art work that we found. Most of the pieces that we found impactful were added to the documentary, but sadly there were just too many to include them all.

Great Animal Orchestra by the United Visual Artists used in Experimental, Situational, Phenomenal.

This is an image by the United Visual Artists that was used in our film. used in Experimental, Situational, Phenomenal. All copyright goes to original artist.

VO Showreel '19/20

This is my Voice Over Showreel that was created by myself and my lecturer Paul Wilson. I found a real passion for Voice Acting during my time at GSA and it has allowed me to work with professionals outside of university that enjoy my work. It's also a nice escape to create some voice overs and spend some time doing some simple editing with them. I really enjoyed making this showreel to showcase my different accents and styles and hope it leads to more work in the future! Please note all copyright belongs to the original advertisement.

Dust Binaural

surround(binaural) radio drama where I have created my own sound design to give the audience a spatially enhanced listening experience to draw them closer to the action.

My Brain and Me

is a 360 film based from my personal experience what it is like to have dyspraxia. The film immerses the audience in a world where voices and strange drone-like sounds move back and forth between the foreground and the background layered to give the listener/viewer a subjective perspective of my inner voice.

This item is for sale, please contact for more information.

The Real St Peters Seminary

Film Documentary detailing the rise and fall of a grade A listed building in Scotland