Integration of video mapping in “O Cante Acusmatico de Pias”
(The acousmatic singing of Pias”
“O Cante Acusmatico de Pias” is an album / concert published by group “Os Camponeses de Pias” Singing choral from Alentejo (World Cultural Heritage – UNESCO). The result is the inclusion of acousmatic sound by Feliciano de Mira, Vítor Ruas and António Duarte with a live recording recorded in Musibéria, in Serpa, 2016.
A proposal of Feliciano de Mira and “Os Camopneses de Pias” to the Municipality of Évora to participate in Festival Artes à Rua (Évora, July to September 2018) resulted in a production for the opening of the festival and in the presentation on July 12, 2018 in Praça of the Sertório. The invitation was extended to a challenge to accomplish a digital scenography, video over the surrounding architectural space, the Church of Salvador, in the same square area.
We used the facade of the Church for video mapping and integrated Feliciano’s artistic and semiotic studies, along with library images. I mainly use free software such as Processing, Openframeworks, VPT, Inkscape, Blender, Gimp and images / video from cooperative artist sharing libraries such as Pixabay.com or Videvo.com.
In search of an organic expression performance, rather than technological, we decided to create the real-time graphic effects with image manipulation and plastic arts. We used materials from simple drawing to half pen like water, oils and other objects. We adapted a room of the Teatro Garcia de Resende provided by the Municipality and with the support of CENDREV we set up a studio where during 10 days we drew a script for the performance.
The planning:
Technical area study, creation of technical guides for equipment forecasting, budgeting and institutional formalities.
A 10-piece piece is created, with 10 different projection scenarios related to each song.
The graphics resulted in an artistic reading about the presence of ecological concern in the cante alentejano texts. The acoustic intervention of António Duarte and Vitor Ruas evoke possible interpretations about the world’s today sonorities in contrast to the oral and artistic tradition.
This first show serves as a gauge to identify points to improve various aspects of the concert: Duration of scenes or performative rhythm, positioning of elements, lighting and sound.
I believe that with the clearness of the rhythm of visual arts intervention and a more intelligible logic in the acousmatic, the artistic possibilities can be cleared, above all, in the sense of making the event more fluid and continuously interesting for the public.
Production: Câmara Municipal de Évora
Thanks to the Diocese of Évora and Regional Directorate of Culture of the Alentejo
Presentation: Maria Marrafa
Audex Audio: Manuel Chambel – sound, Carlos Mavioso – light, support of Yoan Crochet,
Video projector: Luis Bombico
Évora, July 12, 2018