An Audio-Driven System For Real-Time Music Visualisation
This work addresses the need for streamlined tools to create novel audiovisual experiences for audiences, but it is incremental as it builds on existing audio-visual mapping techniques.
The authors tackled the problem of creating audio-driven music visualizations by developing a modular system with audio feature extraction and mapping interfaces, and found that visualizations generated with their system significantly better complemented music than a baseline, with a Creativity Support Index of 68.1 and System Usability Scale of 58.6.
Computer-generated visualisations can accompany recorded or live music to create novel audiovisual experiences for audiences. We present a system to streamline the creation of audio-driven visualisations based on audio feature extraction and mapping interfaces. Its architecture is based on three modular software components: backend (audio plugin), frontend (3D game-like environment), and middleware (visual mapping interface). We conducted a user evaluation comprising two stages. Results from the first stage (34 participants) indicate that music visualisations generated with the system were significantly better at complementing the music than a baseline visualisation. Nine participants took part in the second stage involving interactive tasks. Overall, the system yielded a Creativity Support Index above average (68.1) and a System Usability Scale index (58.6) suggesting that ease of use can be improved. Thematic analysis revealed that participants enjoyed the system's synchronicity and expressive capabilities, but found technical problems and difficulties understanding the audio feature terminology.