This text is part of the special Higher Education notebook
This year, master’s students in music at the University of Montreal (UdeM) and emerging artists are undertaking training offered by the Society of Arts and Technology (SAT) in advanced immersive musical creation. During a session, 20 participants dive into the study of sound, visual, haptic and sensory dimensions and share their thoughts on artistic research, their learning and their practices.
Many students and artists have dreamed of having easier access to the Satosphere, the SAT’s first immersive theater dedicated to artistic creation, to share their immersive musical creation. Myriam Boucher and David Ledoux are among them. “We noticed, Myriam and I, when we were students, that we did not necessarily have access to the SAT, or that we lacked time to learn the basic functions when we were there,” explains David Ledoux, who became immersive audio manager and trainer at the SAT. “This training is an opportunity for artists who want to experiment and learn to play with devices to which we do not have much access,” he explains.
Myriam Boucher, for her part, has become an assistant professor in composition and sound creation at the Faculty of Music of UdeM and a regular at the SAT, where she shares her music videos. According to her, this training is aimed at anyone who wants to work on a global immersion experience. “At university, we have access to studios, to rooms, so I would say that the biggest challenge is more in terms of creation, working with space in this case,” believes She.
The Satosphere is a large playground, which must be taken into account during the creative process, adds Mme Butcher. “Working with space should lead students to think about it before thinking about the technologies used, and to take into account this space and the experience we have of it. You have to take the time to think about the script, where to place the audience, and see what that brings to the artistic process,” she emphasizes.
Discussions and creative project
The training is made up of 12 sessions at UdeM and three workshops in the SAT dome. The first sessions are mainly theoretical, with discussions on the concept of space, the different known techniques, the existing repertoire of works. “The objective is to verify that we all have the same language,” explains Mr. Ledoux. Then, teams are formed to begin creative projects.
Twenty people, ten from the SAT and ten students from UdeM, are participating, the objective being to mix approaches and get the participants to work collaboratively. It is also an opportunity for networking between the academic and artistic communities. “Artists can in particular come face to face with the realities of production, time issues, the availability of devices, an audience, and take a moment to reflect on their art,” underlines David Ledoux.
Experience design
On the program, various themes are addressed, such as modes of perception, multimedia design, non-standard projection modes, multi-speaker sound spatialization or even the form and economy of attention. “It’s important not to overstimulate the senses, so as not to lose attention to the sound,” recalls Mr. Ledoux.
Video music expert, Myriam Boucher knows a thing or two about it. According to her, you have to think about images at the same time as music. “It’s like in an orchestra, the composer doesn’t create his piece just for the violins and then for the other instruments, it’s simultaneous,” she says. Very often, adds the professor, it is the lack of time that leads certain artists to arrive in a space that they have not had the time to invest in the right formats, both musical and visual.
Spatial layout, multisensory scenography and experience design are therefore the key words of this unique training. The final work that will emanate from it will have to invest the place, the dome of the SAT. “The form of the work becomes a little like the space occupied,” explains Mr. Ledoux.
Halfway through the course, the students will present their work at UdeM, which also has numerous immersive studios, but the final result will be presented at the SAT. According to the trainers, it is important to have a “ deadline » for the participants, but also to prepare them to present their work to an audience, to come into contact with the realities of distribution when you are an artist. “It is not only the device that must be taken into account, but also the way in which we create a coherent work,” concludes David Ledoux.
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