The London Symphony Orchestra opened in 1904 and since then they have achieved more digital recordings than any other orchestra in the world. This has progressed from gramophone recordings to digitized film scores and now we see them move into new territory by forming a visual identity through motion capture technology.
At a Barbican rehearsal in June last year, Sir Simon Rattle, the music director of the LSO, stepped into a motion suit and put on a pair of gloves to conduct a performance of Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, ‘Enigma’. He used a conductor’s baton that had been specially modified with reflective markers so that a motion capture team from the University of Portsmouth could track his upper body, arm, hand and finger movements throughout the 45 minute performance. Over the course of the performance, 12 motion capture cameras recorded 120 frames per second and using these recordings, digital artist Tobias Gremmler transformed the data into films that brought the music to life through color.
This transformation is a perfect example of how data visualization can project visual emotions onto a certain piece of music. As soon as Rattle’s arms sway to the string instruments, the spirals designed by Gremmler turn looser and grow calmer in color. When the music reaches it’s dramatic climax, we see a set of squares that pulsate and collapse like dominoes.
The performance has also been used to produce two custom typefaces for the orchestra. Each letter has a particular swipe at the point where Rattler’s baton has cut through the air.
The animated films from this project will form a “visual language” that will introduce the LSO’s 2017/2018 season and will demonstrate the colorful and passionate motion of each of the orchestra’s performers.
