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Catherine Bennett highlights the trends in the performing arts world today.
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Heslington East has a new toy. It is home to the Creative Technology Centre, whose beating heart is The Cave; a space with state-of-the-art projectors facing every wall and surround sound making 360 degree, immersive visual and aural presentations possible. There could not be a better setting for Black Noise, Music student Leo Plunkett’s final assessed performance. Fusing recorded and live music with film, Leo presented a 360 degree salvo on the senses.
Black Noise opened calmly: guitarist Tom Adams with a white mask covering his face let out a resonating caterwaul from his electric guitar and the first film began. Time-lapse photography showed the passage from day to the crepuscular to night. Its atmospheric, wintry aesthetic and ambient score gave way to a booming, more stentorian sound. An impressive maelstrom of sharply cut shots of cars on a motorway and a series of industrial beats gave it a frenetic edge.
The second film in contrast focussed on natural landscapes, using synth sounds to recreate a murmuring wind. The shots were salubrious, from green fields to a lush forest, and the music was appropriately tranquil. At the denouement, however, electronic sounds and fish-eye lens shots detracted from the natural. It seemed too artificial, typified by extreme close-ups of sheep. A thunderous soundtrack disingenuously made the sheep intimidating as they loomed ominously like Big Brother.
The start of the third film, however, was extremely striking. Shots of telegraph wires created a mesh on the walls, poignantly trapping the audience. Exploring the corybantic nature of human movement, overlapping images of people walking through a town centre and cars passing by were complemented by a lively, even canorous techno score. Leo’s symbiotic creation of visual and aural was best demonstrated in the final film. A black background with blocks of white jumping on screen in time with the spasmodic, futuristic music formed the abstract concept. Think a barcode being scanned one strip at a time. Strobe lights, techno and a metallic atmosphere made it exciting and uncomfortable – in a good way. The fulgurating lights and sporadic beats made it visceral and engaging.
Leo Plunkett, despite his complex brief, displayed a real understanding of the technical musical elements – ambiance, noise, minimal techno and glitch. Although some elements seemed rather perfunctory and the use of film was not always as powerful as it could have been, there were sequences demonstrating real talent and ambition. He used The Cave to great effect and the final film particularly was delivered with aplomb.
Leo Plunkett will be exhibiting Black Noise at a public performance aimed at those with an interest in the creative on 15 June in the Cave at The Ron Cooke Hub, University of York.
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