Nigel Stanford’s new music video called “Cymatics” blends the art of music with the science of physics. Before I get too far into the review, you should take a moment and watch Nigel’s music video below so you will have a frame of reference.
See the full video below:
Cymatics (from Greek: κῦμα “wave”) is the study of visible sound co vibration, a subset of modal phenomena. Typically the surface of a plate, diaphragm, or membrane is vibrated, and regions of maximum and minimum displacement are made visible in a thin coating of particles, paste, or liquid.
Australian musical artist Nigel Stanford collaborated with video director Shahir Daud to make an innovative video illustrating sound waves through various methods. Nigel’s music is eerily reminicent of the music played by the aliens in the movie Close Encounters of The Third Kind.
Both Stanford and Daud talk about the various techniques used to capture the sound waves visually in the behind the scenes videos below. They talk about musical techniques as well as various filming techniques (i.e. timing camera shutter speed with rate of music frequency). The behind the scenes videos are just as interesting as the music video in that they show how the film was actually accomplished.
Behind the scenes videos:
Chladini Plate:
Ferro Fluid:
Speaker Dish:
Ruben’s Tube:
Hose Pipe:
Tesla Coil:
