Michel Van der Aa's 'Up Close'

Eyeskreen  takes a close look at Michel Van der Aa’s Video Opera Up Close, performed at Floriana as part of the Malta Arts Festival.

In a time where the strength of an electronic medium depends entirely on its potential to converge with other media, cinema seems to struggle, and it is this limitation which Michel van der Aa’s video opera Up Close, featuring soloist Konstanze van Gutzeit, indirectly addresses.

It has been debated over and over again by numerous directors how the structure of cinema is at a standstill, failing to reinvent itself with time, unlike say, television, which has smoothly integrated and reshaped its structure with the advent of the internet.

Film after film, we wait for something new to happen, something dynamic beyond 3D or digital projection that will once again shackle and revive the concept of cinema. I had partially experienced that feeling with the recent screening of the film Under the Skin by Jonathan Glazer at St James Cavalier.

But it wasn’t until I witnessed Up Close that I understood that cinema really has the possibility to reinvent itself with time, if only producers think hard outside the box.

Up Close was presented last Saturday at the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Floriana, as part of the Malta Arts Festival programme. The interdisciplinary performance Up Close features soloist Konstanze van Gutzeit under the direction of Pavel Snajdr and supported by the string orchestra of the Malta philharmonic orchestra. It merges cinema and contemporary classical music in a manner which I probably won’t witness again locally for quite some time.

Soloist Konstanze, and the elderly woman on screen. Photos by Darrin Zammit Lupi – Malta Arts Festival

Before I go on, let’s make it clear that sound and film are of course no strangers to each other. The struggle to couple the two together dates back to the dawn of cinema itself in 1895, which is way before sound was formally introduced in film through Al Jonson’s The Jazz Singer in 1927. From that point onwards though, the visual medium of film could no longer be thought of independently from sound even though ironically, sound in film generally took the backseat in terms of importance.

The traditional performance between soloist and ensemble in Up Close is extended to include the medium of film. From then on, we ask ourselves if the film images are supporting the music or vice versa. The inability to answer this question is what really makes the mysterious Up Close shine.

The mysterious older woman’s actions seen on the screen seem to run parallel to the action happening on stage, and also seem to represent the older version of the wonderful soloist. Throughout the video opera, the screen and the stage interact in what felt to me like a struggle between the different media. What is important and completely exclusive to this haunting, yet abstract work by Michel van der Aa, is how meaning may be derived through the interconnection rather than the simple automatic interdependence between sight and sound.

The use of a lampshade by both the actress on screen and the soloist on stage created a parallel between the two realities or dimensions. Photos by Darrin Zammit Lupi – Malta Arts Festival

A fascinating aspect from Up close was how both the visuals on screen and the live music seemed to be conscious of one another, constantly struggling to remain in the limelight. Other elements introduced later in the video opera were the use of an electronic soundtrack, as well as a performance by soloist Konstanze van Gutzeit.

Despite the abstract nature of the music, all these separate elements seemed to work in unison, while maintaining their strength as separate artistic methods. This is truly a remarkable contemporary act.

You may leave perplexed if you ever manage to witness Up Close, or any other inerdisciplinary work by Michel van der Aa (he is known as a composer who includes other media in his work). It is highly unlikely though, that you will ever forget such an experience.

The day the moon stood still

On Friday the 13th of June, The Chateau served as a home for Ultimae records’ ‘A panoramic Friday the 13th’, organised in collaboration with local music producer Mario Sammut, aka Cygna, featuring French act Vincent Villuis aka Aes Dana.

Situated in the midst of Buskett Gardens, Malta, ‘The Chateau’ is surrounded by mother nature’s finest. Apart from offering the perfect natural backdrop for such events, our senses were treated to a massive, honey-coloured moon. Such a rare occurrence gave an eerie look to the huge trees surrounding the club and helped enhance the overall mood of the event. This was not the first time that Mario teamed up with Ultimae records French founder Vincent Villuis to to give us avant-garde events. Two years ago they came up with another unique concert, Oracle, at Hagar-Qim temples.With a line-up that makes every ambient music aficionado tremble in excitement, the event featured some of the top local ambient/dub artists, and the highlight of the night, Aes Dana himself.Well known in the ambient/psychedelic spheres, The French guru’s first flirtation with music came as a bass player in various industrial and coldwave bands. Later on, he took a leap of faith into electronic music, and together with Charles Farewell, founded the well-known psychedelic act ASURA.The event kicked in at around 22.30, with Cygna and Claire Tonna giving us the first instances of aural delight. Together, they managed to pull off an ethereal introduction. Soon after, they were joined by local MC Digby from Chapter Zero. Being accustomed to listen to Digby in heavier acts like Deadly Intentions & band Club Murder, he managed to blend really well with Cygna’s and Claire’s music.

Duncan F’s downtempo dj set continued setting the mood, until Rhys Celeste (aka Microlith) and his trademark drum loops and riffs took over. I was particularly taken by one track, Golana Rewind, which had a very distinctive pad, a mildly abrasive 303 riff and a melody reminiscent of a dark and twisted lullaby.

Keith Farrugia’s brainchild, ‘Stimulus Timbre’ took up with tracks like Indigo, a beautiful eerie piece with a break in the middle that vaguely reminded me of early 1990s trance.

Next was the man behind Haar Records, Sonitus Eco. He  gave us a taste of his upcoming album, ‘Stillness’,  starting his set with some spooky atmospheres building up to his distinctive dub-techno sounds.Up next were Keith Said & Simon Grech (Fabricka) with their project Across Borders. With Simon Grech on the midi keyboards & Keith Said  pushing the tubes in the EMX-1 to its limits, they managed to pull out one hell of a warm-up set

At around 02.00 a.m, Aes Dana started his set. Sporting only a Macbook, an Ipad and an M-audio UC33 controller, he managed to live up to all the hype that surrounds him. What started as a very downtempo and mellow set quickly gained momentum as his trademark basslines hit us like an avalanche. His set was one hell of a roller coaster ride playing some of his old time favourites and also new tracks from his upcoming album, whilst occasionally throwing in tracks with broken beats and escalating to trippy drum ‘n’ bass (the latter evoking the memory of an old time favourite album of mine, Blunt Instruments by Deviant Electronics).

On the visual side of things, the organizers really went to town. Being the official photographer of the event , on Thursday I popped in to take some photos of the set-up. A huge, 20,000 lumens projector was mounted at the back to project a live projection mapping on the stage. The projections were made up of two large triangles on each side, a smaller one in the middle, a huge projection behind the DJ and another directly in front of the DJ booth. At times, the dj booth looked as if it was engulfed in an ocean of fractal flames.

The lighting setup consisted mainly of moving heads scattered across the yard and two black lights on stage. The amount of lighting was a bit overdone at times, neutralizing the effect of the projector, especially when the moving heads hit the stage. This happened mainly when bright colours like yellow and magenta were emitted. The visuals were mostly stock footage which were edited by Cygna himself and then live animated/manipulated on the night via software.

All in all, this event was one for the books. The only fly in the ointment was attendance. A multimedia event of this caliber, with full-fletched projections mapped onto the stage, 5 local heavy-weight live acts, DJ and a two hour live set by a well known foreign artist, rightly attracted a number of foreigners who showed up specifically for the event. However, attendance by locals was sadly lacking – given the amount of people who profess to be interested in the scene, attendance should have been at least triple.

So from here I send a shout out to all local music lovers out there to support events like this because without a good turnout, they cannot be sustained.

Paolo Burelli – Redifining game cinematography @ Institute of digital games, Malta

Eyeskreen listens to an intriguing talk by game researcher Paolo Burelli, about Game cinematography at the Institute of digital games. Here’s our take on the topic.

 

If I had to define cinematography, I’d probably say that it is the art of photography and camera work in filmmaking. But what about game cinematography? It can be argued that in the last 10 years or so, games have become more cinematographic. So can the term cinematography as defined through a film perspective, still apply to the world of gaming?

Such questions could be raised after one sits down to listen to a talk by Paolo Burelli, whose game research work focuses on automatic camera control in gaming. Burelli discussed this in his recent public lecture at the Institute of Digital Games, at the University of Malta, which was coincidentally officially opened last Tuesday.

 

Researcher Paolo Burelli gave a lecture about game cinematography at the institute of digital games, at the University of Malta.

The Institute of digital games opening at the University of Malta.

 

Gaming is its own art form, which has over the last decade become more visually realistic, almost film like. In film, the viewer simply sits silently accepting what is being shown through the character’s perspective while in gaming the player lives the story with the character. Everything that happens while on a mission or quest, happens because the player decides to do so while also accepting the consequences for the actions. While it is the gamer who acts within the gaming environment, the destination is generally predetermined like film, as well as the perspective used to assist the player in his or her journey. Coincidentally, we had written a post about free will in gaming, which The Stanley Parable successfully reflects upon. 

 

The game Silent Hill 2 features well thought, yet awkward camera angles throughout the game, which although frustrating, make the game experience more horrific.

I am looking at perspective as the way how the reality of the medium is portrayed on screen  with particular emphasis on the objects’, humans’ and environments’ dimensions. Paolo Burelli gave quite a few examples of the different types of cinematographic perspective, such as Bird’s Eye, Over the Shoulder and Point of View.  All of these perspectives used in commercial and contemporary 3d gaming today represent the cinematographic conventions we’ve grown used to in cinema. Just take a look at the latest Tomb Raider trailer:

In addition to this, changing perspective also results in other changes such as the symmetry and the rule of thirds within a shot. The use of these perspectives effect the user’s sense of reality found within film, as well as within gaming. Thus, the game designer needs to keep these in mind so that the player can appreciate a “cinematographic” perspective in gaming through the use of spacing, textures and the characters themselves.

However Burelli mentions how research is working towards giving the player more and more freedom to control the camera angles of the game, possibly making the cinematic experience even more individualized. Therefore, if the camera can be controlled, then the game experience of each player is changing and it automatically becomes a totally different experience than that which players are accustomed to.

Paolo Burelli elaborates on six features belonging to game players, which are challenge, frustration, fun, anxiety, engagement and attention. Similar to film, in gaming, perspective used combined with specific 3D elements affect the emotional aspect of the player, depending on the task being performed. Yet if games start changing cinematic perspectives according to your needs, then this may also challenge the definition of cinematography, and its relationship with art.

A viewer watching a film can appreciate it as art because they delve into the story and drift off in its magic. The camera angles, ie the perspective is the one which the director chooses and not that which the viewer selects. This is why composition properties, camera properties and animation properties are three super important elements which affect and determine the player’s experience and perhaps, the game’s success.

The difference between film cinematography and game cinematography remains. The term cinematography refers not only to the way things are presented on screen, but also on the conscious choices taken by the producers in presenting their message on screen. So in this light, one can still ask whether or not it is really truly cinematography we experience when a game starts learning and adapting to our own preferred perspective.

Who knows? Maybe this advance in gaming constitutes an art form that borrows from the conventions of film, but goes the extra mile in opening up new ways of how we interpret cinematography.

 

Cinemalta -First Social Event at Gugar, Valletta

 

Members from the Maltese Film & TV industry gathered for the first social event organized by Cinemalta on the 7th of March 2014. The turnout was quite numerous considering this was Cinemalta’s first event, and the timing (just after the Malta Film Commission’s consultation meeting) might just have been ideal. The event was held at Gugar Bar in Valletta.

 

Here are some photos of the event:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cinemalta is a non-profit organization, created with the aim of being a space for informal discussion between Malta based film makers and TV practitioners. If you are involved in one way or another with these industries, or aspire to become a film maker yourself, then Cinemalta might just be worth checking out.

A Xmas miracle in Valletta: V18 & MCAST Architectural Projection Mapping

V18 MCAST Architectural Projection Mapping, Xmas season & NYE 2014

 

It is not everyday we have the opportunity to see a Palace facade being transformed into Santa Claus’ Toy factory. Such wishes are probably reserved to films, children’s fruitful imagination, and to adults’ realm of escapist dreams. These dreams however, were pushed upward to consciousness in the form of a mesmerizing light projection, which has so far taken place between the 23rd and the 26th of December, in Valletta, Malta.

MCAST & the current national V18 project have collaborated to create a 6 minute architectural projection mapping of the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta. For 6 short minutes, Maltese and tourists who happened to be in front of the Palace, were transported away from reality into an imaginary world, where  tradition, nostalgia, religion and make belief collide into one final product, in tune with the Xmas spirit.

The Grandmaster’s Palace in Valletta.

The Grandmaster’s Palace transformed with the projection.

Those of you who missed it, don’ worry! You’re still in luck. Another set of projections will be shown on NYE, at 6:30 pm, 7:30 pm, and of course, just after the New Year’s countdown. If you’re still not intrigued, here are some more details about the project.

The Imaginarium of a collaboration between MCAST & V18

The architectural mapping was created by 42 MCAST students from two separate Bachelors’ degrees – Graphic design, and Interactive Media. The 6 minute work was the result of numerous meetings between the MCAST students and the V18 project.

Since the beginning of the scholastic year in October, the 42 students were involved in various aspects of the final production, which went far beyond design and animation. Such responsibilities included taking the measurements of the different elements making up the original palace facade, which requires meticulous accuracy when mapping is involved. Indeed, architectural mapping involves not only the projection of light on a surface, but also utilizing the surface elements themselves for the projection to ‘map’ onto.

Student taking measurements of the Grandmaster’s Palace.

Creating the projection.

Students were also involved in the idea generation for the final story shown in the projection.Various elements that clearly form part of the Maltese heritage were included for the creation of the final product. Under the supervision of their lecturers, the students worked hard to combine different cultural elements such as floor tiles, laces, doors, and antique clothing into a visual projection that feels rather wholesome. I particularly could notice how the traditional Maltese floor tiles were intertwined with Christmas wrapping, something which worked rather well.

Sketching different inspirations.

The design of a CG elf.

Like any other project, the work is not without it’s faults. It’s a pity for instance that the projection couldn’t reach the bottom of the building, while I also noticed some rough and jittery movement in the character’s movement at times. All in all however, this is a very promising effort by students who are just starting their journey in the digital arts industries. If they can manage to suspend our disbelief for a few short minutes in Christmas, who knows what tricks they have up their sleeves for their bright futures?

Congratulations and Happy New Year to all those involved!