Signals of the Vitruvian Man 2008

Live at Queen’s University Belfast, SARC (Sonic Arts Research centre) Sonic Lab - Belfast - Northern Ireland , UK- February 29th, 2008.

Welcome to the Journey.... July 2008

Introduction

“Signals of the Vitruvian Man” is a project consisting of a concert and a DVD showcasing the works of Ezequiel Borges Ippolitov and Adam Scott Neal. The concert was held in the Sonic Lab at Queen’s University Belfast’s Sonic Arts Research Centre at 8pm on Friday, 29 February 2008. The DVD and this website document the creation and presentation of the concert.

What does the name mean?

To be honest, we’re not entirely sure. We named the project this for two reasons. One, the album “Signals ?” is played in its entirety, so it seemed appropriate to feature that in the title. Two, Ezequiel had a poster of Da Vinci’s The Vitruvian Man on his wall, and since the Vitruvian Man’s head and limbs seem to point to the positions of speakers in a 5.1 setup, it seemed only natural to include him in the title…

PRE-PRODUCTION

“Signals of the Vitruvian Man” came to life after several conversations between us (Ezequiel Borges Ippolitov and Adam Scott Neal) when we were beginning our Master of Sonic Arts course at Queen’s University Belfast. Both of us were very interested in presenting our work in QUB’s Sonic Lab, an auditorium built specifically for the presentation of electroacoustic music. During our first semester at Queen’s, we saw differing approaches to presentation in the space, and proposed that we present an event utilizing the potential of the space and its associated equipment.

Some of our works involved video, but to add further visual interest to the event, we enlisted the aide of fellow Master’s student Carey Dodge, an experienced live sound and lighting guru. Carey agreed to develop a lighting performance to enhance the music.

Once planning had begun, we knew that documentation would be essential. We recruited three more MA students to round out the personnel: Bertram Knappitsch agreed to lend his video expertise, Johnny Stormonth-Darling brought his design experience to the promotional posters and program cover (as well as assisting in various odd audio and visual jobs), and Javier Jaimovich came on board to add his mastery of audio recording. Besides these three gentlemen, we must mention the incredible support and advice of SARC technical manager Chris Corrigan and Una Monaghan.

Many nights of practicing diffusion in the Lab culminated in a February 28th dress rehearsal and setup. Lighting, camera angles, microphone placement, etc., were determined by our intrepid team. We had a good feeling that the following day would be a success.

PRODUCTION/EVENT

The event took place at 8pm on Friday, February 29th at the Sonic Arts Research Centre of Queen’s University Belfast. The date was chosen because it occurs only once every four years. Unfortunately, our event competed with several other local events, most notably the Ulster Orchestra at Whitla Hall, also on the Queen’s campus. Fortunately, our promotion efforts (posters all around the city, mention on the SARC website - thanks to SARC technical assistant Una Monaghan - mention on the Ulster Music blog, and a spot in the Student’s Union magazine) paid off, and we had roughly 40-50 people in attendance. Afterward we had a reception with wine and snacks in the SARC lobby as gratitude to the audience and crew.

We split the bill – Adam played the first half, and Ezequiel the second. All of Adam’s pieces are in stereo, so he diffused them live on the Lab’s 48-channel diffusion system. Ezequiel diffused one stereo piece of A Day Before.. this way, and for his 5.1 pieces (“A Day Before...” and the first part of “Signals ?”), he created a setting on the diffusion desk to move his 5.1 mix vertically & horizontal in the space, thru all the levels of the Sonic Lab.

Program

FIVE MOVEMENTS ON MONDRIAN (2006)

In Five Movements on Mondrian, I made careful approximations of five of Piet Mondrian's paintings on graph paper and used the dimensions of these graphs to determine rhythms and forms, which in turn inspired the animation.

STRAPHANGER (2006)

Straphanger is based entirely upon the sounds of Atlanta's MARTA rail system. The title is a slang term for a subway commuter, and the piece depicts a musical daydream, beginning with clear samples of the subway before drifting elsewhere.

THE SONIC GENERATOR (2007)*

I. Drain

II. Onion

III. Dog

The Sonic Generator is an algorithm which creates one minute of music out of one second of sound. Each time the program is run, it creates slightly different surfaces to the same piece. These are three possible examples.

PETRICHOR (2007)

Petrichor is a term coined by researchers I.J. Bear and R.G. Thomas that describes the pleasant fragrance of rain. This piece depicts a rainy summer afternoon, beginning with a thunderstorm and followed by a more subdued rainshower.

PARALLEL LIVES (2007)*

Parallel Lives is a collaboration between video artist Kevin Dotson and myself. The video was captured in Atlanta and Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia.

Adam Scott Neal (b. 1981)

-INTERVAL-

A DAY BEFORE…IN THE OTHER SIDE / NOTHING OF THE FOREST (2002 & 2004-5)

The other side & Nothing of the forest are two tracks extracted and merged from “The arrival to undesirable paths” album, which was recorded in Venezuela with Daniel Gonzalez during May of 2002, later mixed and produced in New Zealand myself. The video was made in New Zealand in 2004 with the help of Rowan Thorby. This is a stereo work, created with the manipulation of different types of synthesis, and is the first video work made for A Day Before…

A DAY BEFORE…AN UNDESIRABLE COMING (2005)

An Undesirable coming is based on the main concept of A Day before…: a suicidal day & afterwards. The track was first made for an album release, but later, new surround-sound elements were to support the visuals made in New Zealand. This is the key concept of the album itself, made in 2002 & 2005.

SIGNALS ? – EXIT (2007)*

SIGNALS ? – ""#!!$%%&%!"#!1998 (Part A) (2006-2007)*

Signals ? is my latest work, which involved a recording session of 48 hours straight over 3 days, which was then edited into 3 parts: ""#!!$%%&%!"#!1998 (Part A, Part B, Part #), to be mixed later in surround sound. The video footage was shot mainly in New Zealand in 2007. Signals ? was made with the collaboration of John Mandelberg, Nitai Lexa, Simon Wells, Oliver Wright, Dudley studios & Osk/Ezks productions. EXIT is an extract of the upcoming release for 2008: Part B, done with the inspiration and support of Birgitte Storberg at Kobenhavn, Denmark; Natalia Borges, Mario Szotlender, Max, and Oliver from Venezuela, and all the Venezuelan political riots of 2003-2004., which triggered this surround audio-visual concept.

Ezequiel Borges (b. 1977)

POST-PRODUCTION

After the event, Ezequiel and Bertram produced a DVD and website of the event, using the Bertram’s video, Javier’s audio, and photographs by Johnny, Claudia Bossay Pisano, and Heather Richards. Johnny designed the cover and booklet. The DVD and website offer a comprehensive view of the event itself as well as the planning and preparations. Many thanks.

The DVD will include several audio formats: binaural stereo, 5.1 and 7.2 surround, and data to be played back in the Sonic Lab, or somewhere else with four stories of octophonic sound!

Please contact Ezequiel if you are interested in a DVD. Thanks for reading.

Special Thanks to:

Natalia Borges - Venezuela

Mario Szotlender - Venezuela - Canada

Jean Andreotti - Venezuela (Landscapes)

Alejandro Ayala J. - Venezuela (15 Weeks)

Alvaro Menendez - Venezuela (Webmaster for Signals ?)

Daniel Ramirez - Venezuela - Panama (Web)

Birgitte Storberg - Denmark

Daniel Gonzalez - USA (ex-A Day Before..., 15 Weeks, Nailshitter)

Oliver Wright & Matt Hewlett - New Zealand (BlackTooth)

Lizz Judd - New Zealand

Kane Sole/Eva, Kent W, Paul - New Zealand.

(Waikato Institute of Technology - Wintec) : Simon Wells, David Sidwell, Brad Morgan, Rick Benards, Xavier De La Cueva, Margie Moore, John Mandelberg, Helen Richardson, Julie Davis Colley , Isaac, Mike, C & Dog, NitaiLexa

Dudley's Studios - New Zealand &Melbourne : Chris Diprose, 48th May/Hook, New Caledonia/Mike Technical support at Sonic Arts

Research Centre Belfast, Northern Ireland:

Mr. Chris Corrigan

Ms. Una Monaghan

Dr. Paul Stapleton

Dr. Pedro Rebelo

Prof. Michael Alcorn

Signals of the Vitruvian man 2008 crew at Sonic Arts Research Centre:

Sr. Ezequiel Borges Ippolitov

www.ezequielborgesippolitov.com

Composition / performance / production / post-production (Venezuela - New Zealand)

Mr. Adam Scott Neal