QSketcher: an environment for composing music for film

ABSTRACT

We describe QSketcher, a new environment for composing music for film. The main focus is the support of early stages of the creative workflow, from idea conception through realization, rather than the order and synchronization of musical fragments with film. This paper describes the design process and rationale, the system, the user environment, and how they relate to one another. Novel aspects of the system include a free-form 'idea space', a main workspace that can be configured to individual needs, an "idea capturing" facility, a workflow tracking mechanism through which previous workspace states can be examined and restored, and the ability to create a variety of relationships among musical elements.

REFERENCES

• 1: Abrams, S, Oppenheim, D., Pazel, D., Wright, J. 1999. "Higher-level Composition Control in Music Sketcher: Modifiers and Smart Harmony", Proceedings of the ICMC, Beijing, China.
• 2: Abrams, S., Fuhrer, R., Oppenheim, D., Pazel, D., Wright, J. 2000. "A Framework for Representing and Manipulating Tonal Music." Proceedings of the ICMC, Berlin, Germany.
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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human factors

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.2 User/Machine Systems
          Subjects: Human information processing; Software psychology
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.1 Multimedia Information Systems
          Subjects: Audio input/output
      H.5.2 User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
          Subjects: Graphical user interfaces (GUI); Screen design (e.g., text, graphics, color); Evaluation/methodology; Windowing systems; User-centered design; Interaction styles (e.g., commands, menus, forms, direct manipulation)
      H.5.5 Sound and Music Computing
          Subjects: Systems; Methodologies and techniques

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
HCI, creativity, music composition, music representation, software design