VIDEO : Nature Visuals Soothe the Savage Breast : Need to unwind? Put on a cassette featuring tranquil wildlife scenes--’the audio-visual equivalent of owning a fish tank.’

Want to be soothed after a hard day? How about a visual-aid for meditation? Or maybe you just want sumptuous audio-visual background for a party. This being the video age, just put on what’s known in the trade as a nature visual.

Business is booming for these long-form music videos, which feature beautiful, tranquil footage of rivers, trees and wildlife accompanied by serene instrumental music--usually classical or New Age. There’s no obtrusive narratives to spoil the mood.

Prominent titles include “Canyon Dreams” (Miramar), “Rain Forest Voices” (Nature Science Network, Inc.), “Eagles” (Peter Roberts Productions) and “The Wonderful Planet” (Malibu Video Inc.). The prices of these videos, which run from 30 to 60 minutes, range from $20 to $30.

The increased business for nature visuals is partly due to the surge of interest in pop-music videos.

“Retailers have taken a bigger interest in music videos and, as a byproduct, some are finally starting to stock nature visuals,” said Allan Kessler, whose Ark Group is the biggest distributor in the genre. His company’s business, he said, has doubled in the past year.

Dann Moss, who produces videos for Paramount, said that music is the big attraction of these videos. In some cases, he added, people buy them because of a specific artist. So for his Tapestry series, which expands the genre to include architecture and landscapes, he uses music by performers such as trumpet star Wynton Marsalis (“Portrait of England”) and Vangelis (“Portrait of Africa).”

Vicky Mehring, product manager for the Tower chain, cited two other reasons for the popularity of nature visuals: “The increased concern about environmental issues is part of it. Also, the increased popularity of New Age music in the past few years has helped too. People who like that music also like to have visuals to go with it.”

The stress-reducing capabilities of nature visuals, Mehring concluded, may be their biggest attraction. “People go home from work and listen to the music and get absorbed in the visuals and forget about everything for a while,” she said. “It’s so soothing--the audio-visual equivalent of owning a fish tank.”

Sometimes, though, finding these videos can be a stressful experience. Most video stores don’t carry them. Mostly, though, they’re sold in nature-gift shops and some book stores. They can also be ordered by mail--through a catalogue or contacting Kessler’s distribution company, The Ark Group, in San Francisco.

There are about a dozen companies that put out these nature visuals, which date back to the early ‘80s. The only major company to market a significant number of titles is Paramount, which has 12, all produced by Moss.