[Image above] Credit: Nigel Stanford
April already established, by way of a University of Washington study and ceramics, that science rocks (see here and here). But just how hard was up for debate—until now.
Be prepared to spend the next five minutes and 52 seconds admiring the work of Nigel Stanford, whose music video “Cymatics” (the science of visible audio frequencies) blends science and sound.
Credit: Nigel Stanford; Vimeo
Stanford explains the inspiration for the short film (directed by Shahir Daud) on his website.
“The most unusual part of making Cymatics was the fact that the music was written after the video was filmed,” he writes. “In 1999 I watched a documentary on synesthesia—a disorder that effects the audio and visual functions of the brain. People with the disorder hear a sound when they see bright colors, or see a color when they hear various sounds. I don’t have it (I don’t think), but I have always felt that bass frequencies are red, and treble frequencies are white. This got me thinking that it would be cool to make a music video where every time a sound plays, you see a corresponding visual element.”
If 5:52 isn’t enough to quell your curiosity, then dig deeper into the science Stanford showcases in the video. In “Behind the Scenes,” he details the experience and experiments (Speaker Dish, Ferro Fluid, and Tesla Coil among them) that bring Cymatics to life.
This won’t be Stanford’s only cymatic offering. The song is the first single from his album Solar Echoes, available for purchase here.
What do you think of his work? Does the movement move you?