WarnerMedia's The Prow
Generative Sound Sculpture
Multinational media and entertainment conglomerate WarnerMedia tasked us with providing audio solutions for various atria and public spaces in their Hudson Yards location. Among other deliverables, we developed a generative, constantly evolving composition to accompany a 12-story light and sound sculpture called 'the Prow.'
Designing the Sound Architecture
Our challenge was to craft a beautiful musical solution that was robust, durable and would remain relevant and adaptive for years to come. Working with ESI Design and the art-tech wizards at Rare Volume, we conceived a system based on color, motion and source audio from WarnerMedia film and TV assets. We designed an architecture and logic, first prototyping in Max/MSP and then implementing in Cinder (an extension of C++ for advanced visualization).
We developed 18 unique compositional systems that are manipulated and influenced by Warner streaming content, yielding nearly infinite possibilities for ambient music in the space. In addition to using color hue and intensity to inform composition, we built a custom audio convolution tool that turns any audio stream into an ambient bed, integrating with the larger composition.
Spatialized Audio
By placing speakers vertically throughout the Prow (at the top, bottom and embedded in the stairwells) we designed a system where sound moves up and down the sculpture with the visuals. Each color is represented by unique musical and textural elements, and different modes of visualization influence various aspects of the music.
