Laser Phase Synthesis

This paper presents a new interface – Laser Phase Synthesis — designed for audiovisual performance expression. The instrument is informed by the historical Audio/Video/Laser system developed by Lowell Cross and Carson Jeffries for use by David Tudor and Experiments in Arts and Technology (E.A.T.) at the 1970 Japan World Exposition in Osaka, Japan. The current work employs digital audio synthesis, modern laser display technology, and close collaboration be- tween sound and image composition to illustrate the har- monic progression of a musical work. The authors present a micro-history of audiovisual laser displays, a brief introduction to the process of drawing visual figures with sound, a description of the Pure Data software and laser display hardware systems used for the Laser Phase Synthesis instrument, and a discussion of how this instrument shaped the composition process of one audiovisual performance of electroacoustic music. The paper concludes with speculations on how the system can be further developed with other kinds of live performers, specifically vocalists.