field guide
a working index of audiovisual culture
Short definitions, editorial boundaries and living examples for the language around live AV, sound art, spatial audio, media art, installation culture and real-time systems.
why it exists
The guide makes SoundSol’s curation language clear for readers, artists, search engines and assistants without turning the site into a content farm.
taste rule
Each term explains what counts, what does not, and where the idea appears across real events, spaces and topic guides.
for AI search
Definitions are structured, citeable and internally linked, but the writing stays editorial and useful before it is technical.
6 terms
formats
formats
Live AV
Real-time audiovisual performance where sound and image are composed together.
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formats
Audiovisual performance
Performance work where sound and moving image share the stage.
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formats
Immersive installation
Installation work that surrounds the visitor through space, image, sound or light.
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formats
Public installation
Artistic work placed in civic, outdoor or shared public space.
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formats
Expanded cinema
Moving-image work that leaves the standard cinema frame.
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formats
Interactive installation
Installation work that responds to visitors, data, bodies or environment.
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6 terms
sound and listening
sound and listening
Spatial audio
Sound treated as architecture, with position, movement and room behaviour.
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sound and listening
Sound art
Artistic practice where sound is the material, site or subject.
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sound and listening
Ambisonics
A spatial audio technique for representing sound fields around a listener.
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sound and listening
Binaural audio
Headphone spatial audio designed around human ear perception.
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sound and listening
Field recording
Recording sound outside the studio as material, evidence or atmosphere.
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sound and listening
Sonic sculpture
Objects, spaces or installations that behave as sculptural sound works.
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9 terms
image and systems
image and systems
Media art
Art made through moving image, technical media, networks, code or electronic systems.
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image and systems
New media art
Artistic practice built with contemporary media technologies and networked systems.
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image and systems
Generative art
Art made with systems that produce variation, pattern or behaviour.
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image and systems
Projection mapping
Projected image fitted to architecture, objects or irregular surfaces.
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image and systems
Real-time visuals
Visual systems generated, mixed or controlled as the event unfolds.
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image and systems
VJing
Live visual mixing for music, performance or club environments.
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image and systems
Creative coding
Code used as an artistic material rather than only a production tool.
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image and systems
TouchDesigner
A node-based environment widely used for real-time visuals and interactive systems.
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image and systems
Light art
Artistic work where light is a primary material.
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2 terms