A virtual swarm comes alive, shifting between calm, chaos, and the pull of the collective.
Our Role Sound concept, Sound Design, Generative Music Engine, Implementation // Client Humboldt Forum Berlin // Contractor schnellebuntebilder // Year 2021
In the foyer of the Humboldt Forum’s inaugural exhibition After Nature, thousands of digital fish inhabit a semi-transparent projection surface. Their movements are guided by the classic rules of swarm behavior — cohesion, alignment, and separation — expanded by a fourth: panic.
As visitors move through the space, the swarm senses their presence. Gentle gestures draw the fish closer, inviting a moment of calm connection. But sudden motion triggers cascading waves of flight, spreading collective panic across the group.
Our generative soundscape mirrors these dynamics in real time. Water ambiences translate the swarm’s flow into an immersive underwater atmosphere, while algorithmic composition and sound design convey curiosity, tension, and release. Together, sound and movement form a living system — a fragile equilibrium between human behavior and digital life.
