My research interests revolve around sound, primarily sound and moving image. Recent projects and collaborations include: Improving of the detection of volcanic events by applying audio post techniques to volcano infrasound. The representation of cultural heritage in VR. Sound and image memory in narrative film, specifically do we create visual memories for events that were only heard and not seen. I’m also interested in the pedagogy of sound/music in filmmaking. I started an initiative called sound across the curriculum (SATC) which investigates and encourages ways of better integrating sound in all areas of filmmaking. See also – ResearchGate and ORCID profiles.
In 2022 a founded and co-chaired the Sound and Screen conference which was held at NTU with researchers and practitioners from around the world. Papers from this conference will be published in 2024 in an edition of the International Journal of Film and Media Arts that I have co-edited (Vol. 8, No. 3).
Publications
Journal Papers
| 1. | Williams, R.A., Campbell, K. Sound, Screen & Research. International Journal of Film and Media Arts. Vol. 8, No. 3 Special Edition Sound and Screen. (in print 2024) | |
| 2. | Williams, R.A., Perttu, A. & Taisne, B. Processing of volcano infrasound using film sound audio post-production techniques to improve signal detection via array processing. Geoscience Letters. 7,9 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-020-00158-4. | |
| 3. | Perttu, A., Taisne, B., De Angelis, S., Assink, J., Tailpied, D., & Williams, R.A. Estimates of plume height from infrasound for regional volcano monitoring, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, Volume 402, (2020), 106997, ISSN 0377-0273. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2020.106997. | |
| 4. | Williams, R.A, “Sound As Equal Partner in Film Production: Can Academic Instruction Change Industry Practice” Ars et Praxis, No. VI, Sept. 2019, pp. 183-189. http://žurnalai.lmta.lt/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Ars-et-praxis-VI_Williams.pdf |
Book Chapters
| 1. | §Seide, B., Williams, R. & Reinhuber, E (2020). Yunnan Garden VR: Re-creation of a Tropical Garden as Virtual Cultural Heritage. In (Israel, J., Kassung, C., Sieck, J. & Hülsbusch,W. Eds.) Kultur und Informatik Extended Reality.pp.25-38. Berlin, Germany: Glückstadt Hülsbusch. ISBN: 978-3-86488-169-5 |
Conference Keynote Presentations
Where is the Sound? Challenges and Strategies in Enhancing the Status of Sound in Media Pedagogy, (Williams, R & Kuklowsky, V) 3rd Music and Sound Design in Film and New Media Conference 2019, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Conferences Proceedings
| 1. | §Reinhuber, E., Seide, B & Williams, R. (2021) Flux Garden – a Poetic Memory of a Lost Garden in VR. Art Machines 2: International Symposium on Machine Learning and Art 2021. Proceedings of ISCMA 2021. School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, HK. https://www.cityu.edu.hk/sites/g/files/asqsls5796/files/2021-05/Flux%20Garden—a%20Poetic%20Memory%20of%20a%20Lost%20Garden%20in%20VR.pdf |
| 2. | §Reinhuber, E., Williams, R. & Seide, B (2020) The Garden of Changes: VR Experience as Meditative Divination Device. SIGGRAPH ASIA 2020. https://doi.org/10.1145/3415256.3421498 |
| 3. | # §Williams, R., Seide, B & Reinhuber, E. (2020). An Evaluation of Different Strategies to Represent Performance in a Tropical Garden for Immersive Environments. Proceedings of Electronic Visualization in Arts and Culture (EVA) conference, British Computer Society, London, UK, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.14236/ewic/EVA2020.56 |
| 4. | # §Seide, B., Williams, R., & Reinhuber, E. (2019). The Gone Garden VR Experience – An Impressionistic Representation as Virtual Heritage Reconstruction. Proceedings of ISEA 2019, 25th International Symposium on Electronic Art, Gwangju, Sound Korea, June 2019. https://www.isea-archives.org/docs/2019/ISEA2019_Proceedings.pdf. ISEA is a premier international platform for artists, scientists, technologists, and scholars to gather and explore the intersections of art, science, and technology. |
| 5. | §Reinhuber, E., Seide, B., & Williams, R. (2019). The 360° video Secret Detours as case study to convey experiences through immersive media and the method of presentation. Proceedings of ISCMA 2019. School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, HK, January 2019 |
| 6. | §Reinhuber, E., Williams, R. & Seide, B (2018). The Scale of Immersion: Different audio-visual experiences exemplified by the 360° video Secret Detours. Proceedings of Electronic Visualization in Arts and Culture (EVA) conference, British Computer Society, London, UK, 2018, (pp. 236-243) 10.14236/ewic/EVA2018.45 |
| 7. | §Reinhuber, E., Seide B. & Williams R.(2018), Secret Detours: A Garden in Singapore. IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR), Tuebingen/Reutlingen, Germany, 2018 pp. 838-838. doi: 10.1109/VR.2018.8446390 |
Conference Presentations
| Animation Without Music: Implications for Sound Design Aesthetics and Production Practice. Valleys Deep.Mountains High The Peaks and Troughs of Animation Practice. Cilect Asia Pacific Conference 2023, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia. (online) |
| “Bird Sounds”, Sightlines Festival, Australian Screen Production and Research Association Conference 2023. University of South Australia, Australia. |
| Sound and Visual Memory in Narrative Film, The Society of Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference 2023, University of North Carolina, Wilmington. U.S.A. |
| Off-Screen Sound and Visual Memory in Narrative Fiction Film, The Society of Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference 2022, Universitat Politècnica de València in Gandia, Spain. |
| # Real or Rendered: Designing Soundscapes for Virtual Cultural Heritage,HCI International: 23rd International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction 2021 (online) |
| Unheard, Unseen: Sound Design, Off-Screen Sound and Visual Memory in Narrative Film, Williams, R. The Society of Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image Conference 2021 (online) |
| Academy Practice = Industry Practice: Sound in Media Pedagogy, Sightlines: Screen Production and the Academy 2019, RMIT Melbourne, Australia. |
| Frame No Frame: Sound Design Practice in 360° Film and Virtual Reality,Williams, R. Music and Sound Design in Film and New Media Conference 2019, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania. |
| The effect of listening to self-selected music on the effectiveness of robotic motor training to enhance motor control in Hemiplegia, Singapore Music Research Symposium 2019, National University of Singapore. |
| Insufficient Data as Artistic Impression, Exemplified by the Gone Garden VR Experience, Seide, B., Reinhuber, E. & Williams, R. ITFS SAS 2019 – 26thFestival of Animated Film (ITFS) and Society of Animation Studies (SAS) – International Symposium Animation and Science. Stuttgart, Germany. |
| 360° Video Secret Detours, Seide, B., Reinhuber, E. & Williams, R. IM-ARCH ASIA – Immersive Architecture Asia: Conference on Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality for Architecture and Culture 2019 SUTD, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore. |
| # Be The Centre Of The Universe – Strategies and Concepts to Experience Immersive Media, Seide, B., Reinhuber, E. & Williams R. ZKM Beyond: Future Design Festival 2018, ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany. |
| Sound Across the Curriculum, Williams, R & Kuklowsky, V. CILECT North America, Sound Conference: Sound and Storytelling 2018, Chapman University, Orange County, California, U.S.A. |
| Flat Screen, Round Screen, No Screen: Sound Design in Multiple Modalities, Multiversal Experiences Symposium 2018, School of Art Design and Media, NTU, Singapore. |
| Real Time Spatial Sonification: The Nature of Furies, Imagining Science: Beyond Visibility Symposium 2018, School of Art Design and Media, NTU, Singapore. |
| Pedagogy of Sound Design: Teaching film sound analysis to filmmakers, Williams R. 2nd Music and Sound Design in Film and New Media Conference 2017, Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania. |
| Real and Rendered: Immersive Soundscapes and Experience in Virtual Systems, Williams R. International Conference on Virtual Systems and Multimedia 2016, Sunway University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. |
| What Sound Where: Aesthetics of Sound Design in Socrates of Kamchatka, A Hybrid Documentary, Visible Evidence Conference 2016, Montana State University, Bozeman Montana. |
| Experimental Film: A Sound Designer’s Perspective, University Film and Video Association Conference 2016, University of Nevada, Las Vegas U.S.A. |
| Soundscapes as Cultural Heritage, Singapore Heritage Science Conference 2015, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. |
Invited Talks
| Sound Design in Virtual Reality, School of Screen Arts, Kyungsung University, Busan, South Korea (2019) |
| Real Time Spatial Sonification: The Nature of Furies, Department of Earth Sciences and Centre for Applied Mathematical Sciences, University of Southern California, U.S.A (2018) |
| Urban Soundscapes as Cultural Heritage in Virtual Systems,Yale-NUS College, National University of Singapore. (2017) |
| Sound and Time, Parson’s School of Design, New School, New York City, U.S.A (2015) |