Research Background: The interpretation and representation of music via colour, form, and movement has been central to abstract animation since the invention of cinema. Inspired by 20th C abstract animation giants Oskar Fischinger, Mary Ellen Bute, et al, this piece of creative research - Ascendance - seeks to explore the possibilities of using Virtual Reality to visually represent music in a VR/360-degree space using animated abstract imagery. This is a step that these aforementioned animation pioneers could only have dreamt of. By applying their historical approaches and philosophies using present-day VR and CGI technologies, we can gain further insight into the relationships between colour, light, sound and music.

Research Contribution: Advancements in 3D and 2D animation software and hardware drive experimentation into new techniques and creative approaches to creating animation to accompany music. The creation of Ascendance is such an experiment – it explores and evaluates the creative possibilities afforded in the latest iterations of a selection of cutting-edge animation software. In particular, its impact lies in the use of VR/360 media (the animation) and spatial sound technology. This forms a highly immersive environment in which to visually represent music as moving abstractions of shape and colour. This project makes an important contribution to the wider discourse of designing effective abstract animation to music in a VR/360 space.

Research Significance: Ascendance won the Best New Media Prize at the 2021 Women in Film and Television (WIFT) Australia festival. This international competition showcases the work of women in the film industry. The winning films tour to partnering film festivals around Australia including The Gold Coast Film Festival and St Kilda Film festival. These screenings prompt insightful discussion across the musical and animation disciplines, inciting further creative ideas and collaborations locally and internationally.