Bren O'Callaghan » live relay

Tales of Two Cities

bren — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 22:27:48 +0000

With an OCD fury not seen since the woman in the Shake 'n Vac advert ground her Valium and mixed it with a glug of Bacardi, I've been plugging the cracks in this site and pasting up former production duties with a vengeance. My personal favourites A Wall is a Screen now have a page to themselves, as do the rapidly expanding MegaPhone team - flying the flag for those of us who see no reason why computer games should progress beyond the Atari era. Once upon a festival, The Light Surgeons conjured up a storm in a Gothic salon and The Royal Opera House treat us to no fewer than twelve outdoor relays in the past five years.

Wave Your Hands In The Air

bren — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:36:25 +0000

Thanks to friend and collaborator Sam Meech for riding to my rescue, a blonde knight upon his horse Isadora to deliver title animations for Unsilent Night tomorrow. I have blisters on my hand from carrying the 'portable' AnyCast vision mixing desk over from Manchester on the train (the approximate weight of a drowned man wearing flannel pyjamas) and just over 24 hours to remind myself how it works again.

Inspire Mark

bren — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:05:20 +0000

After sitting on this like a constipated hen for the past few weeks, I can now go public that Unsilent Night is one of the projects granted the London 2012 Inspire Mark which recognises exceptional and innovative projects inspired by the 2012 Games.

In this case, the association is through our work in throwing open the cupboard upon a wealth of archive film, pulling off kid gloves in fusing old with new and encouraging investigation of early cinema by stepping outside (literally) of the multiplex experience.

The Face of a Crow

bren — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:51:11 +0000

This video clip from local musicians a.P.A.t.T. makes me laugh very much. That and glow crimson with admiration for John's courage to dress and perform as he does here. It's not his usual daywear, I assure you. These folk are providing the score to two of our shorts at Unsilent Night at the Big Screen Liverpool and BBC Merseyside on Thursday 29th October... Aladin ou la lampe merveilleuse (1906) and George Méliès' Voyage à travers l'impossible (1904). I suspect the sequins and chest hair may stay out of sight, but we might strike lucky. It's going to be special.

Unsilent Night

bren — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:18:27 +0000

The Great Train Robbery / image source BFI

I can now reveal that following the great response to last year's relay of Nosferatu accompanied by a live original soundtrack, similar plans are far advanced for what we hope will be an annual recurring event: Unsilent Night. In conjunction with Liverpool Music Week and BBC Radio Merseyside's PMS show fronted by Roger Hill, we'll be taking a foolhardy step forward from the single-film format to screen six silent shorts - many from the BFI archive - that will be treated to new and in some cases entirely improvised soundtracks by North West musicians a.P.a.T.t, Fonik and Frakture, in a one-off event on Thursday 29th October at 7pm.

Invaluable support comes from the brave and perhaps a little flummoxed folk at Liverpool City Council, Northwest Vision & Media and Liverpool City Central BID. The line-up will be revealed over the next few weeks, but will include arguably the first narrative film, The Great Train Robbery (1903), directed by Edwin S. Porter and 12 minutes in length.

This includes a now iconic final shot of a gun being fired at the camera/audience, said to cause those present to leap and squeal in fright. But will modern audiences well-versed in staring fear in the face by riding the upper deck of the night bus on a Friday night even bat an eyelid? At least we'll be well-ventilated should anyone backfire.

Transylvania TV

bren — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 13:54:01 +0000

Thanks to those who attended in what felt like sub-zero temperatures to view some, or all, of Nosferatu with a new live score by a.P.A.t.T. at the Big Screen. A steady 300 - 500 stayed throughout the entire duration with up to 1,000 grabbing an eyeful over the course of the evening. A highlight for me was the spontaneous laughter as Count Orlock spots a locket of the ladycake back home, turns to her beau and says (cue titles screen)... "Your wife has a lovely neck!"

View a slideshow gallery of the event at BBC Online