Saturday was the final night in the Walker’s “Expanding The Frame” series, which saw a combination of live music and sound effects supplementing the viewing experience of Gravity Was Everywhere Back Then. The movie tells the true story of one man’s attempt to save the life of his terminally ill wife, by building a house to God. It was shot as a live-action stop motion movie, with an original score composed by the filmmaker, Brent Green.
To expand the cinema experience, the audio track was removed (except for the dialogue), and the film was presented with live sounds. Green himself performed live narration throughout the movie, as well as sang and played guitar in the 6-member band. The accompaniment was a type of folksy americana music; fitting of a movie set in Tennessee. It wasn’t a perfect set, as the narration and the music were occasionally out-of-sync with the story. While it’s not often one experiences this type of imperfection at the movies, it made the cinematic environment feel less manufactured than most other film experiences, which was refreshing.
Most exciting to watch was the foley artist providing real-time sound effects for the movie. Footsteps on dirt, brushstrokes on glass, and other usually unnoticed sounds were all made more pronounced, making for a more immersive experience. The sound effects were slightly cartoonish in their excessiveness, which worked well in conjunction with the quasi animated style of the picture.
There were unfortunately a few hiccups in the showing. The blu-ray was damaged and initially wouldn’t play the climax of the film, resulting in 10 additional minutes of song and story from the band while staff attended to the problem. For a frontman who doesn’t do Q&A’s and keeps his back to the audience for the entirety of the performance, Green handled the delay well enough. This kind of misfire could be disheartening, especially if one’s not accustomed to the non-traditional cinema experience, but having a live band present only helped in this instance.
Due to this mishap, the audience was treated to an extra song, an extra story, and, after the film, we were treated to another movie, this time a short stop motion animation piece about Santa Claus. I had a harder time following this story (maybe cause I couldn’t tell the difference between the scarecrow character and Santa Claus), but it was a nice surprise, as the low-budget animation fit well with this less manufactured, more organic feel to the evening. All in all, these mishaps are certainly unintentional consequences of expanding the frame, but they enhance the experience in ways happy accidents do.
To expand the cinema experience, the audio track was removed (except for the dialogue), and the film was presented with live sounds. Green himself performed live narration throughout the movie, as well as sang and played guitar in the 6-member band. The accompaniment was a type of folksy americana music; fitting of a movie set in Tennessee. It wasn’t a perfect set, as the narration and the music were occasionally out-of-sync with the story. While it’s not often one experiences this type of imperfection at the movies, it made the cinematic environment feel less manufactured than most other film experiences, which was refreshing.
Most exciting to watch was the foley artist providing real-time sound effects for the movie. Footsteps on dirt, brushstrokes on glass, and other usually unnoticed sounds were all made more pronounced, making for a more immersive experience. The sound effects were slightly cartoonish in their excessiveness, which worked well in conjunction with the quasi animated style of the picture.
There were unfortunately a few hiccups in the showing. The blu-ray was damaged and initially wouldn’t play the climax of the film, resulting in 10 additional minutes of song and story from the band while staff attended to the problem. For a frontman who doesn’t do Q&A’s and keeps his back to the audience for the entirety of the performance, Green handled the delay well enough. This kind of misfire could be disheartening, especially if one’s not accustomed to the non-traditional cinema experience, but having a live band present only helped in this instance.
Due to this mishap, the audience was treated to an extra song, an extra story, and, after the film, we were treated to another movie, this time a short stop motion animation piece about Santa Claus. I had a harder time following this story (maybe cause I couldn’t tell the difference between the scarecrow character and Santa Claus), but it was a nice surprise, as the low-budget animation fit well with this less manufactured, more organic feel to the evening. All in all, these mishaps are certainly unintentional consequences of expanding the frame, but they enhance the experience in ways happy accidents do.
