Teaching and Learning | EduFilms

ACTOR EduFilms

ACTOR EduFilms are a six-part series of animated videos designed to foster knowledge, awareness, and curiosity in timbre and orchestration as they interact with our everyday lives. Produced by Matthew Zeller and Ben Duinker, animated by Thomas Francois and Patrick Hart, and written by an assortment of ACTOR collaborators, these videos explore topics such as cross-modal perception, timbre and culture, timbre and cover songs, timbre and gender, and the mysteries of orchestration.

This series was produced with support from the ACTOR Partnership, the Schulich School of Music, McGill University, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Click on the thumbnails below for each video.

What is ACTOR? | Learn about timbre and orchestration with the ACTOR project! In EduFilm # 1, Stephen and his assistant Cameron Chameleon explore what goes on inside the ACTOR labs.

  • Writer, Producer, Director: Matthew Zeller

  • Narration: Stephen McAdams

  • Animator, Editor, Sound Designer: Thomas Francois

  • Music Supervisor, Assistant Editor, Assistant Sound Designer: Kit Soden

  • Executive Producer: Stephen McAdams

Cross Modal Cameron | In EduFilm #2, Lab partners Cameron Chameleon and Stephen McAdams explore cross-modal correspondences between sound and colour.

  • Writer, Producer, Director: Matthew Zeller and Ben Duinker

  • Narration: Stephen McAdams

  • Animator and Editor: Thomas Francois

  • Music Supervisor: Ben Duinker and Jason Noble

  • Executive Producer: Stephen McAdams

Timbre and Culture | In EduFilm 3 we explore the roles of timbre and culture in determining how we respond to the music we love.

  • Written by: Lena Heng and Ben Duinker

  • Narration: Ben Duinker

  • Animation and Sound Design: Patrick Hart

  • Producer: Ben Duinker

  • Executive Producer: Stephen McAdams

Timbre and Cover Songs | Ever wonder how Weezer's cover songs sound nearly identical to the originals, yet unmistakably like Weezer? EduFilm 4 explores this question, and the answer, naturally, has something to do with timbre.

  • Written by: Jeremy Tatar and Ben Duinker

  • Narration: Jeremy Tatar and Ben Duinker

  • Animation, Editing, and Sound Design: Patrick Hart

  • Producer: Ben Duinker

  • Executive Producer: Stephen McAdams

Does Gender Have a Timbre? | Timbre is a pretty complicated concept when it comes to the sound of the singing voice. The way we perceive vocal timbre has much to do with our visual perception of the vocalist's appearance. What perceptual biases are entwined in this process, and how can we combat them?

  • Written by: Jay Marchand Knight and Ben Duinker

  • Narration: Jay Marchand Knight and Ben Duinker

  • Animation, Editing, and Sound Design: Patrick Hart

  • Producer: Ben Duinker

  • Executive Producer: Stephen McAdams

The Mysteries of Orchestration | Orchestration is a tricky business. How do composers take a simple melody and harmony and spin it into an orchestrated web of multitudes of instruments? What techniques are available, and what effects do they achieve?

  • Written by: Kit Soden and Ben Duinker

  • Narration: Kit Soden, Ben Duinker, and Stephen McAdams

  • Animation, Editing, and Sound Design: Patrick Hart

  • Producer: Ben Duinker

  • Executive Producer: Stephen McAdams