The end of the year 2022 smiles to Darren Emerson who presented his last immersive experience, IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS, in Amsterdam during the IDFA festival – and which rewarded him with its grand prize “Award for Immersive Non-Fiction”.
Darren Emerson is an English XR creator and producer you’ve likely heard of; he was also one of the first names listed on this site when we launched in 2018, as his COMMON GROUND experience circulated at festivals. Under the East City Films banner (link), a production company he co-founded. Darren has developed several types of projects, from 360 films to collective experiences. And that’s what interests us today with IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS, a collective proposal to immerse ourselves in the fever and mysteries of the first British electronic parties in the late 80s’. At a time when cell phones did not exist, underground musical trends found their place in iconoclastic places and with heterogeneous communities of people.
Presented in the UK (including the BFI London Film Festival – LFF Expanded), and then in the Netherlands, IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS is a new proof of a renewed documentary format thanks to immersive. Discussion with its creator, Darren Emerson and producer, Dan Tucker.
IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS: a sense of community
Darren Emerson – IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS is a project that I wanted to do since 2015, according to the formula “we had to wait for the right time, and the right resources”. As always, it’s the various encounters over the years that have given me the opportunity to make it happen. I’m originally from London, and logic would have wanted me to approach this subject by talking about the first raves and the M25 movement (link). Then, with Dan, I met Tony Guillan who was working as curator on Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, a competition run by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) every four years. And Tony introduced us to the Coventry/Acid House underground culture at that time!
D. E. – So the experiment takes place in Coventry in 1989, but it could take place in any place that has hosted such musical movements in the UK. And in IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS you can see a map that shows the vibrancy of rave parties in the country – not to mention all of Europe. We talk about its unique parties where we gathered to dance to electronic music, its car journeys (maybe the first carpools!), its unique meetings in the heart of the English nights and unique human experiences… With a lot of adventures and unknowns. We found ourselves in the early hours of the morning facing the rising sun, and sometimes lives were changed forever. It’s also the idea of presenting the end of a politically important decade in the UK, and a form of representation of society, and of youth, at that time.
D. E. – I wanted to talk about a community spirit, which often comes back in my creations (like in COMMON GROUND). And why not give back its letters of nobility to the Acid house movement, which is often represented at the margin of the society of the time. In reality, it was real forces, with a lot of young people, passionate, who knew how to exchange, to communicate, to meet without racial or societal differences. It was a form of appropriation of the public space, a speaking out associated with a DIY desire – autonomous, spontaneous, but also organised. I hope to celebrate that.
A collective rave-party, free-roaming installation
D. E. – From the beginning, I had the intention to move away from 360 video – I’ve had the opportunity to make some on several occasions. But I remain attached to video, to film, as a medium of creation. On several occasions in IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS, I include screens, testimonies shot in 2D (360, 180…) that we have embedded in the virtual reality experience. We were very imaginative in integrating numerous contents without distracting the viewer’s progress – whatever the sequence. We had to have a hybrid approach in the use of real time technologies, without denying the video content which is essential. And to keep the free roaming aspect, the freedom of movement. The success of this type of installation is to integrate the spectators very early on, to give them a vision of the scenography – and to have a dedicated space for that.
There is a real tradition of theatre in the UK, but also a (growing) willingness to mix the known boundaries of the virtual and the real. And that’s not just about immersive theatre, but also about our approach to digital art. To propose an experience through a screen, even 2D, can be immersive. It is above all about accompanying the spectator in a journey through a physical space – with the tools that XR afford us.
Dan Tucker, producer
D. E. – But it was also necessary to have a real documentary approach, once the format was decided. I wanted it to be a positive experience, a rather optimistic discovery. Documentaries can do that! In itself, it’s something I started with COMMON GROUND – and that I developed with the specificities of the VR format, notably on the interactions. And in particular, people dance! This is where you can make a real difference between a festival audience, which is probably more shy, and those who come to a classic exhibition. We have built the experience to offer the spectators times of discovery, of fun. We have just exhibited at the Wales Millennium Centre (link), and the Welsh public is particularly dynamic!
Using technology to feel
D. E. – The experience is very stable; it is the management of the cables that is key to ensuring the quality of the whole. Recharging, duplicate equipment… For 8 spectators, you need 16 headsets etc. This is an important point in production and distribution. The use of the backpack is related to sound. Gareth Fry is a sound engineer used to working on concerts, large musical installations. He did a great job of making sure that the sound was used in the best possible way in IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS – and making up for the quality of the headphones in that respect. The backpack enhances the immersion, in its vibrations or the intensity of the music with an amplifier. This is where you can create excitement, immersion – and this is essential for an experience based on dance and music!
D. E. – There are proposals in London like Secret Cinema that use intellectual property for large-scale shows. I’ve always wanted to do the same thing for more original content, trying to reproduce the same spirit of collective experience. With IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS, we tried to reproduce an 80’s track – and some of the sets, in virtual reality. With a mixture of physical and virtual, with a “club“ part why not. VR allows us to go towards a mental state, a situation implying real preparation, material… It is not so easy for the audience, and it can even create a state of fragility placing us in a new context. You have to allow yourself this kind of discovery, this kind of adventure. And the audience usually responds well to it, even wanting to prolong the experience! Virtual reality is often too serious, I would love to be able to introduce the medium to an audience with more fun, madness. In this idea, there is a real synergy with the clubbing spirit – not to mention the scenography.
Organizing the presentation to a real audience
D. E. – IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS is an installation produced to be presented to a real audience, over time – and not limited to the festival circuit. We have already had the chance to present it in London (BFI Film Festival), Cardiff (Llais Festival) and Amsterdam (IDFA). Because the goal for us is to offer a real immersion that is not limited to the helmets: the spectator arrives by a corridor, is initiated to the universe even before discovering virtual reality. There is a real sense of space, with corners to relax, to take your time… Today, we must be able to propose a place surrounding the experience, to build a more global storytelling for a free roaming installation. And always propose the possibility of discovering the experience with seats for accessibility issues.
D. E. – The time and effort spent on this type of project must lead to a viable formula, a time of exposure to the work that also allows one to earn a living. It’s a real leap into the unknown when you start such an ambitious production… but in our first presentations, it was sold out every time! When the public sees this type of artistic proposal, if they discover VR for the first time, they want more. IN PURSUIT OF REPETITIVE BEATS has a kind of nostalgia, a connection to the past that allows for total exploration – and speaks to everyone. And that’s what defines VR for me, in particular.
D. E. – However, it is still difficult to elaborate a strategy of exploitation, to find the places to expose our works. It is meticulous work to convince theatres to bring the material. But little by little, habits are being created and we will announce new dates soon.
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