View source for SonicVision

'''''SonicVision''''' is a [[Computer animation|digitally animated]] [[planetarium]] music show featuring 38 minutes of music from 17 different musical artists. The content of the animation includes visions of [[astronomy]] and [[Spaceflight|space travel]] as well as [[abstract art|abstractions]], [[mandala|mandalic]] imagery, and [[visual pun]]s.  It is a descendant of the [[laser]] light shows popular at planetariums in the 1980s and 1990s. As a fully digitally animated music show in a planetarium half-sphere video format, ''SonicVision'' is likely the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

In association with [[MTV2]], several [[VJ (media personality)|VJ]]s and many animators worked to create the visual content for the 7-projector [[Digital data|digital]] projection system at the [[Hayden Planetarium]] in [[New York City|New York's]] [[American Museum of Natural History]].  Software used to animate ''SonicVision'' included [[Maya (software)|Maya]], [[SoftImage]], [[FilmBox]], [[Adobe After Effects]], and [[Shake (software)|Shake]]. Sponsorship from [[Sun Microsystems]] included the donation of much of the computing power necessary to render the animation.

The [[creative director]] of ''SonicVision'' was Chris Harvey, who drew on cosmic, mystical, and mandalic imagery as well as visions of alien civilizations and distant worlds to bring the half-sphere format to life.  Other contributing artists and animators include [[Benton C Bainbridge]], [[Madame Chao]], [[V. Owen Bush]] (also Lead Compositor of SonicVision), [[Mark Bajuk]], [[Carter Emmart]], [[Ed Manning]], [[Bruce Gionet]], [[Matt Pursley]], [[Joshua Minges]], [[Andrew Harper (animator)|Andrew Harper]], [[Doug Vitarelli]], and [[Erik Wesselak]].  [[Curious Pictures]], [[Bionic Dots]], and [[Atmospherex]] also created animations for the project.  Imagery from [[Alex Grey]]'s painting "Collective Vision" appears in one scene.

Although no longer playing at the American Museum of Natural History, ''SonicVision'' shows at the [[Reading Public Museum]] in [[Reading, Pennsylvania]]. On June 2, 2011 it started showing in the Tel Aviv Planetarium in the [[Eretz Israel Museum]] produced by [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz796T2LCQA Jonathan and Itamar Riftin].

==Songs==
Songs from ''SonicVision'' and the artist or band credited for each:

* "[[Everything in Its Right Place]]" &ndash; [[Radiohead]]
* "[[Cochise (song)|Cochise]]” &ndash; [[Audioslave]]
* "[[Elevation (song)|Elevation]]” &ndash; [[U2]]
* "Into the Blue (Spiritual Mix)” &ndash; [[Moby]]
* "Metronomic Underground" &ndash; [[Stereolab]]
* "Blood, Milk & Sky” &ndash; [[White Zombie (band)|White Zombie]]
* "[[Utopia (Goldfrapp song)|Utopia]]" &ndash; [[Goldfrapp]]
* "Ladies & Gentleman We Are Floating in Space" &ndash; [[Spiritualized]]
* "Mea Culpa" &ndash; [[Brian Eno]] & [[David Byrne (musician)|David Byrne]]
* "[[Heroes (David Bowie song)|Heroes]]" &ndash; [[David Bowie]]
* "[[Clocks (song)|Clocks]]" &ndash; [[Coldplay]]
* "[[Emerge (song)|Emerge]]" &ndash; [[Fischerspooner]]
* "[[Firestarter (The Prodigy song)|Firestarter]]" &ndash; [[The Prodigy]]
* "[[First It Giveth]]" &ndash; [[Queens of the Stone Age]]
* "Julie and Candy" &ndash; [[Boards of Canada]]
* "[[We Are All Made of Stars]]" &ndash; Moby
* "[[Do You Realize??]]" &ndash; [[The Flaming Lips]]
* "Honestly" &ndash; [[Zwan]]
* "God Moving Over the Face of the Waters" &ndash; Moby

Moby is also credited with mixing the soundtrack.

== External links ==
* [https://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,60645,00.html ''Wired News'' article about ''SonicVision'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629181907/http://www.sonicvision.co.il/ The Official SonicVision site for Israel.]

[[Category:Planetarium shows]]