Today, I attended a guest lecture by sound artist Byron Scullin, who introduced several projects combining experimental sound, technology, lighting and physical space. I was particularly interested in Bass Bath, an installation built around extremely low sound frequencies. Although these works may be very different from my practice in their style, scale and medium, I think some design principles can still be shared across different styles and media. For me, one of these principles is that the audience’s body can also become part of the design of an experience.
For Bass Bath, Byron played low sine waves in an empty room and observed where different frequencies affected his body, including his feet, chest, back and head. He mapped these sensations and then composed a progression from one bodily effect to another. The audience could also feel the building vibrating and had to sign a waiver before entering. Their bodily response was not something added after the work was finished. It was already part of how the experience was designed.
This reminded me of an experience I had at Robin Fox’s PRESENCE during Now or Never at Melbourne Town Hall. The work used powerful lasers and sound to transform the interior space. After a period of intense light, the space would sometimes become dark for a few seconds. I could still see the previous laser patterns as afterimages. When new beams appeared, they seemed to combine with the residual light in my vision and created a very spectacular visual effect.
At the time, I understood that this was a kind of retinal persistence, and I could feel that those few seconds of darkness were important. However, I had not thought about it clearly as a way of bringing the audience’s body into the design. The previous light was no longer physically there, but my eyes allowed the image to continue. Byron’s lecture did not give me this effect itself. Instead, his explanation gave me a clearer way to understand something I had already experienced.
However, both Bass Bath and PRESENCE are still quite different from my animation. The main point is not simply whether a work uses sound or visuals. A 2D animation can also use low frequencies, and when it is played in the Black Box, sound could create some physical resonance in the space. I may later test a subtle low-frequency background sound, but this is not the main focus of Stranded Fish. The animation is quiet and based on everyday environments, with only a slight sense of the uncanny gradually appearing. It does not depend on an overwhelming physical or spectacular visual effect.
Therefore, instead of copying the sound of Bass Bath or the lasers of PRESENCE, I began to think about what I could do through the visual language that already exists in my animation. Stranded Fish uses black line work on a mostly white background. During most of the animation, the audience will be looking at a screen that is mainly white, while the black lines occupy a much smaller area. In a dark space, their eyes will gradually adapt to this brightness.
This gave me a possible response to the ending, which I had already been thinking about for some time. In the final scene, the protagonist stands in front of a mirror and their head becomes a fish head. What I really need at this moment is not another obviously uncanny action. The character could remain completely still, or perhaps slowly raise a hand to touch their face. I want the final image itself to remain with the audience for a little longer.
In this final moment, the fish-headed protagonist is looking into the mirror, but I also want it to feel as if they are looking back at the viewer. This creates something similar to breaking the fourth wall. The question for me was how to strengthen this feeling and let the gaze remain in the audience’s mind for a few more seconds.
I am now considering holding the final image and then suddenly cutting to black for approximately two or three seconds before the white credits appear. Because the audience will have been looking at a mostly white screen, the sudden darkness may allow some of the final black lines to remain as an afterimage. The character would no longer be visible on the screen, but the outline of the fish head and its gaze might continue faintly in the viewer’s vision.
In this way, I would not need to add a larger action to make the ending feel more uncanny. The audience’s own visual response would allow the final image to continue. This also extends the movement of the fish through the animation. It first leaves the protagonist’s body, appears on the bodies of other people and finally returns as the protagonist’s own face. Through the afterimage, it may move once more—from the character, beyond the screen and into the viewer’s visual system. The audience would not only watch the transformation but briefly carry part of it themselves.
I have not decided to use this ending yet because the effect will depend on the room, projection brightness, contrast and timing. It may work in the darkness of the Black Box but look like an ordinary pause on a laptop, so I still need to test it in the actual projection environment. However, Byron’s lecture has helped me understand more clearly what I want the ending to do. I want the image to disappear from the screen without immediately disappearing from the audience’s experience.
AI acknowledgement
ChatGPT was used to help organise my notes and draft, and refine the clarity of the English writing.