Portfolio of Original Compositions

Abstract

In everyday language, optimisation refers to the process of finding the best possible solution to a given problem. Mathematical optimisation has been at the epicentre of numerous research fields for decades, with notable examples in economics, engineering, operations research and AI. This portfolio explores optimisation algorithmic processes as a source of narrative for audiovisual composition. Although some of the algorithms used in this portfolio are not strictly defined as optimisation algorithms in the literature, they all involve an optimisation process as a structural element of their operation. In this research, these processes are used to construct audiovisual narratives through the combination of established data visualisation practices, data sonification techniques which convey the progress or the end result of optimisation into sound, and the interplay of those with freely composed audiovisual elements. The research outcome includes five audiovisual works, an open-source application created in MAX (SonOpt) and two accompanying published papers. The portfolio is comprised of three fixed media and two live performance works. The fixed media part of the portfolio includes Latent Spaces (2021), Symbiosis as a Metaphor (2021) and Exhibits (2022). The live performance pieces include Cartographic (2023), a piece for a solo laptop performer based on the improvisation with a real-time audiovisual system, and Rift (2023), a collaborative performance between a physical theatre performer and a real-time interactive audiovisual system.

Date of Award	1 Aug 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Ricardo Climent (Supervisor) & Richard Allmendinger (Supervisor)