AMPERSAND

Posted On: April 19, 2013
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A truly stunning experimental music video/recording taken from a segment of Ampersand performing live in Ramsgate in early 2013…
Approach to the film:
When the band first approached me to make this film it was a mixture of excitement and panic, a project with no rules for a band whose cinematic noise is surely as abstract as it gets. Luckily we started thinking on the same page very early on, to create an intense atmospheric journey which incorporated their unconventional performance and some of our favourite things, forgotten buildings, rust, and floodlights.
When a drive to Hamburg came on the cards it seemed like the perfect chance to capture some of this imagery. We spent several days trawling the industrial zones of the North Rhine region and docks of Hamburg in order to capture the footage seen in the film. As a cinematographer it was about collecting a range of atmospheres, rhythms and forms in reaction to their music. I found myself wondering the locations whilst ‘singing’ their songs in my head, quite a strange realisation. To begin with we shot a little to safely and after checking dailies whilst listening to their records on full blast we started to insert more energy and accidents.
Best, and most distressing was the editing, their ever changing rhythm gave a rare opportunity to tightly follow their sounds to signal cuts whilst providing a satisfyingly jarring, wavering pace. However listening to their music for four days non stop was extremely intense, Im not sure even the band have listened to the song quite that much! – Ruben Woodin
Band bio:
Ampersand are an improvisational sound ensemble who have performed across Europe over the last nine years. They produce an experience of sound to envelop the audience in the act of the moment and the art of the moment. This uniquely pan-generational group utilises found objects, engineered metal, deconstructed traditional instruments and audio toys.
Ampersand performances are always improvised, they arise thus from the moment, the place, the atmosphere, the occurrences of that day. The sound, and the experience of that sound, are imposed on all the senses, to share with the audience a charged and superlayered emotional state.
Production:
Late 2012-early 2013
UK Ramsgate/ Germany Duisberg, Hamburg
Director: Ruben Woodin Dechamps
2nd German Unit: Zamarin Wahdat
UK Production manager: Balint Revesz
For more information/recordings/video from Ampersand, please go to www.ampersand.tv
Filmaker links: