AUDIOVISUALISATION: Reviving the Spectre of Optical Sound and Structural/Materialist Film

The term ‘audiovisualisation’ describes the simultaneous sonification and visualisation of the same source of data. Whilst the technique originates from the field of auditory display, it has also been used in an artistic context and may be found in a subset of audiovisual practice. This chapter explores historical precedents to audiovisualisation where the same data and process generate both the sound and the moving image and how they may inform the practice today. The most significant precursors to audiovisualisation are experimental abstract films which took advantage of the inclusion of the optical soundtrack in film where equivalent patterns were used in audio and visual media including structural and materialist films from the 1960s and 1970s. A number of examples are analysed and a typology of audiovisual relations used is proposed, with their relevance to audiovisualisation discussed. In addition to formal similarities between audiovisualisation and the tradition of optical sound and experimental abstract film, affinities may be found in their ethos towards art and media. The stance taken by proponents of structural/materialist films against narrative, illusion, and representation is revisited as a possible point of reference for audiovisual practice today and its further development. © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Marc Estibeiro, Dave Payling, and David Cotter; individual chapters, the contributors.