Experiential visual storytelling with sound at ‘TheतानConnection’

By Khushbu Gupta

Hear from your eyes and see from your ears!

I just played the sound of water and someone said, “I was transported to the sea on a peaceful island.” Someone else mentioned a mysterious water reservoir. And someone even smelled Petrichor with paper boats floating around. You won’t believe it, but she/he was enjoying Chai-Pakode in a traffic jam with those raindrops.

This is the power of sound, accompanied by the human mind. Just mere immersion into the sound of water, visualised stories of childhood in hill stations and fantasies for the soulful dreamers.

When you haven’t been to Goa, how do you fantasise about the fun of the trip for adventure lovers? You may have seen the movie, “Dil Chahta Hai“. Or, you are just as excited to live the experience you imagine after hearing the stories of your friends. Well, your answer is going to be relatable to many.

What if, I played the 5 sounds of nature at once, in a unique combination – Wind, Fire, Water, Sand and Space! Where would you go Mr. Traveller? “Don’t underestimate the power of the human brain.”

The examples I’ve shared and I will be sharing are all experiences of ‘TheतानConnection’ – a music therapy band, we created for the event #BrandCultureGully at Apeejay Institute of Mass Communication (AIMC).

As an attender who had this “तान” experience quoted his visualisation as,

“Felt somewhere in between the centre of the earth, nestled between the rivers and the forest, fire. It put me into a unique position where I haven’t ever been to.”

It is all like a story that is created with beats of different sounds to match the imagination. In fact, it is all about the experience that keeps us here. In a world where people are rushed into logical content like a flood, all they wish for is to be slowed into stories. But I must say, words are heavy and too much to handle. However,  sound is all about soothing and holding our attention.

Behind this initiative, all we believe to be true is, “When you stop listening and seeing what’s obvious, you get to envision and hear the unsaid, the unexplored tune of life. Some unheard voices of your soul, or some unseen facets of your world.”

TheतानConnection was a team effort of 6 students with  the guidance of Dr Pijush Dutta, Professor at AIMC.

As we were seeing our beliefs turn into reality through these worksheets, we discovered 28 storytellers sharing their inner world of dreams, fantasies and memories.

I agree, this is not something new. But, you see something new with every experience. We want to encourage those new imaginations for new dreams and discoveries, fulfilled experiences of life, and new avenues of thought to cherish the art of reinvention.

Besides, isn’t it a better way to live your dreams with sound until they turn into reality? For instance, you are listening to “Yeh Haseen Vadiyan, Yeh Khula Aasmaan….” at your window and sipping coffee.

Okay! This was all about life. Now, let’s talk about marketing…

The one-word people use in place of ads and sponsored content is ‘disruptions’. We, as marketers, want to change that – not just for our clients, but for some beautiful messages that we want them to imbibe. ‘Experiential Marketing’ is booming today, as it interests consumers in exciting entertainment. The more we use sound in place of words, we add to visual appeal, and have a mere probability of connecting with our audiences on a deeper level.

So, why does the audience not like to be disrupted? Because they’re enjoying the sensual experience of the content consumed. And our content needs to beat that experience to willfully attain their attention. The films,  OTT, and now,  Metaverse are all creating a sensual experience with varying usage of the 5 elements of nature. We need to work for our  consumers as we craft our client’s message into a desired sensory experience.

The one tool that connects humans with content is emotion – “the nav ras“. Sound can make the second-hand experience of a situation to  cause love, laughter, sorrow, anger, courage, fear, disgust, wonder or peace. You are not  part of the story, but you are.

Whether you want to inspire first-hand wilderness, or empathy in a story of a specific sort, Sound is the invisible narrator.

We leave you with your ambience and instrumental gallery with our idea of “Sangeetmay chintan” (as we call it). So use your active listening alongside a bit of sensory deprivation to indulge in a unique sound from ambience or earphones. Thus, let these musical beats open your way of creative expression and introspection effortlessly.