Our Picks: Cacophony by Melody Shih
“Cacophony” is a 2D animation and motion graphics video that combines illustrations, abstract textures and color to create patterns that visualize unseen daily sounds. Through the eyes and ears of a young girl, the viewer can escape the harsh sounds of the urban environment and find solace in a serene inner world.
We are surrounding by too much information and noises sometimes we feel overloaded.
But don’t lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Find balance in life and just move on!
Director’s Notes
In my motion graphic work Cacophony, color and rhythm find harmony. I believe each color and sound has a personality and my job is to connect them in a story that evokes a vibrant energy.
My work has been deeply influenced by the experimental sound visualization program and electronic music. Both allow me to combine illustrations, abstract textures and color to create patterns that visualize daily sounds that are normally unseen.
My early years were spent in rural Taiwan. When I was 10, my family moved to the noisy capital city of Taipei. This sudden change in environment was a big challenge for me. I was shocked by the speed and anonymous nature of the city. Now, as a New York City resident, I am once again experiencing a constant cacophony of sounds. I feel assaulted aurally as I struggle to find a personal equilibrium in these urban environments. Cacophony is a temporal experimental video to confront and find a resolution to this sound overload.
For me, paying attention to surrounding sounds, allows an appreciation of clear and unadulterated thoughts through a visual style that emphasizes a graphic and Pop Art sensibility.
