This is a one take recording of my MFZ set that I created for Reading's Doubledotbash in July 2011.
It combines sound effects, spoken word, soundscape and song to create an atmospheric and apocalyptic vision.
I recorded it in one take as performed at the Festival to give a clear record of how it sounded.
The mixing is done live as is the looping, this means that I'm switching betwen playing the guitar, adjusting levels, picking the guitar up, putting the guitar down, recording, playing and stopping loops, starting soundscapes, effects and spoken word on Jingle Pallette and singing!
This is the first part of a larger set.
The second act will follow soon...
Enjoy!
Very cool, I have made an atmospheric piece called "Follow the Toys" that takes this key scene from the film as a starting point. The main theme of CE3K (you know the one) forms the backbone of the piece (but it is slowed and effected to the nth degree)...
Been working on this for a few months now.
Very simple, sum up a film with your face!
Quick snappy reviews, nearly at 200!
Dave Yates of Dolly Dolly has kindly joined the mission, more to come.
Click for Filmface goodness!
Over the last few months I have been working for Hogarth Productions supporting their MASSIVE PUPPET project through sound...
Ed Harcourt approached me following our collaboration on the Spirit of Saint Mary as part of the Whitley Arts Festival and asked me if I could make a soundscape for these massive puppets from Kensington Palace that were part of an installation there.
I met the puppets first in Kensington Park (strange coincidence) in Reading. Took some photographs and recorded sound on my mobile phone. They gave me the names for each of the puppets and I established that they were a family once trapped in a palace now given free reign, I started considering their characteristics.
First is Fauna, the smallest and youngest - dainty... a ballerina. You can see her here with the chief puppeteer.
Flora is senior to Fauna, once a successful ballerina but faded and bitter. And here she is with two former students of mine that I got this gig for... Bradley and Carl.
Aurelia - the big sister, bossy and a gossip. Carl was inside her at this point.
Lillio - the mother, creaky (the puppet is big and heavy so will have to be carried in a rickshaw)...
The first thing I did was create a base sound which was a combination of ticking, a distorted sound of a fireplace and the strange creaking I recorded (from the inside of Lillio - her creaking bamboo joints) on my mobile. And here it is...
This is the sound for the older sister puppet, because I imagined her as a nag bag from the dark distant past I took a scathing review of Mr Bensley's performance as Glanville from "The Devil's Copybook" (1789) as quoted in No Turn Unstoned , read this in the style of an over the top Miss Haversham. Then upped the speed pitch, added echo, played it backwards to get this.
The point of making these is that when they played on a longer soundscape it would give the puppeteers an impetus and inspiration to move. I added these to the base soundscape and before each puppet sound also added a cue sound,
Fauna=Windchimes (again a sweet sound)
Flora=A sad choral sound
Aurelia=A cockerel
Lillio=A Foghorn
The short extract below gives an idea of how it would all work together.
This short video gives an idea of how the puppets worked both at the Caversham Festival and as part of the Outside Inside Festival - I used this and the sounds at school to help explain devising in drama.
Did any of you see the puppets in Reading, give us a shout and tell us what you thought.
Ed is now thinking of moving on with this into a more stationary show for the Whitley Arts Festival - so watch this space.
This has been an invigorating and exciting project and I hope to work with Lillio, Aurelia, Flora and Fauna again.
This might take a while to write-up so final prep first
This is my lunch - please note script on the left. I was working. Thursday is Curry day at The Monk's Retreat.
Set dressing compared to the previous watchman there is much more for the audience to do.
We now have wind-chimes, a rainstick a whirly thing, a flute organ thing...
Look an atmospheric shot of the script!
Okay this is a scene in which the Watchman imagines a romantic meal (but there's no-one there!)
Spooky Watchman in face mask about to go outside.
And there he is up a ladder!
Right, the way the play worked (or was it an art and sound installation with some guy poncing in and out now and again?) was thatin the room were various objects that the audience needed to use (these objects would make a noise) when I hear the noise it acts as a cue for an action or a scene - this means that the audience control the flow of the narrative, they can also cause sections of it to repeat.
I had worked out the scenes and practiced the next element was for it to be seen. That follows next...
Ah this is how I feel! Trapped in a room, putting up polythene! But you know what working on your own you tend to get a lot done and it cuts down on the arguments.
Of course I forgot the string and so had to go into town and get some.
So that took more time.
But how did I get that polythene up there?
Did I use a ladder?
Well maybe.
But mainly I used...
An AMAZING THROWING SKULL that I bought from the 99p Store last year for Halloween and the Lovecraft think in December.
I attached the string to the throwing skull and threw it over the rafters.
It's amazing, I should go on Dragon's Den.
Anyway over the course of an hour and a bit (taking a break to nurse a cut finger - remember scissors are sharp)
I managed to construct the polythene room.
It does look a bit like one of Dexter 's murder rooms.
As you can see the more that goes up the more atmospheric it gets.
Eventually I made a corridor to the "room".
At lunchtime over a delicious Beer and a Burger from The Monk's Retreat , I wrote three speeches.
Now the thing is this show has boomeranged from pure installation where the audience bring their own narrative...
...to a play with a fully constructed narrative...
...and now back in the control of the audience...
...sort of...
There are various objects/letters/sound making devices for the audience to engage with some of these will act as cues for either other sounds or for scenes...
Therefore these scenes could be played in any order.
I need a few more scenes but I'm happy with what I have so far...
Should have a couple of people to see it tomorrow, it needs a very small audience as it's a small space.
The riots in London are so depressing and weirdly chime with all the bizarre end-times reading I've been doing. So to cheer us up take a look at this Chick Tract Parody on Lovecraft. Genius (taken from rationalwiki )...
I was thinking of having some Lovecraft in this and now I am certain! Work it out tomorrow!
Another exciting thing I have found is "I wish we'd all been ready" by Larry Norman, there are loads of versions of this including one by Sir Cliff. I loved this song when I was a kid, weridly I still do, when I was a kid it was all about being chosen whilst everyone else died! Mu ha ha ha! Now it's the beautiful and weird apocalyptic imagery it leaves us with. Also we'd get the place to ourselves!
Check out these two terrifying videos!
Larry Norman (with a really scary video!)
Sir Cliff (Wants us to die!)
I've taken a groovy instrumental break from Cliff and turned it into this (reminds me of a Shamen track "Scientas " off Boss Drum, remember that 90's kids?
