Echaskech Live 'Visual Salad' Brief

If you haven't heard them then, well, its probably not that surprising, they are still relative newcomers with their first album under their belt and a new baby on the way this summer, by the name of 'Shatterproof'. They have been described as being a bit of a 'missing link' in the Electronic/Dance music world, bridging the gap between 90s dance acts such as Leftfield and Orbital with a more contemporary style and production technique. And like them and others like the Chemical Brothers, Hextatic and Underworld they consider the visual element as an indispensable part of their live show. So much so in fact that their visual artist Mach V is embedded as a permanent member of the band.

But they need you, and your talents to help put together this show. We are looking for creative visual ideas in a finished form that can be 'performed' on the night over 2 of their new, especially selected tunes. Perhaps you already have something that might work, or an idea that still needs realising but if you are interested in getting involved and submitting something then please read on.

Visual Impact

Unlike traditional music promo making or film making, visual production for this sort of act has to be thought of slightly differently. The imagery has to be bold and compelling and although the visual concept can progress as the piece is performed, complex narratives and intricate details do not work so well. The video content needs to be thought of in a very dynamic, and modular way so that the visuals to what might be a 5 minute album tune can easily be re-worked in the live arena to a 8 minuter of completely different structure, and perhaps tempo.

It is probably best to think of it more as a 'kit' of visual loops or a set of moving photographs where it is all about concept and composition. Other than that, creatively we would like you to listen to the tunes and decide for yourself what works. We have listed some links below of work that Adam Smith has done for the Chemical Brothers, which is a very good example of how effective visuals for a tune can be made from as few as 3 or 4 shots or loops.

Examples:

Have a look at the Chemical Bros visuals here...
http://www.rsafilms.com/d/rsa/companies/rsa-uk/68

http://www.youtube.com/flatnosegeorge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcl66GmC4lw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLyQWQGaEXU&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XF9SXWfP6yU&feature=related

Deliverable:

1) A high quality set of X clips, with a short paragraph on how the concept should evolve when performed
2) An edit to the original album version, of your best guess on how it should look. Don't worry if it doesn't seem as compelling as a music video would, that would not be surprising, but imagine it on big screens surrounding a stage at night with performers and lights...does it work?

4:3 OR 16:9
H264

Minimum (but perfectly good) resolution 768x576. Remember for live performance the clips could be shrunk to as low as 400x300 so that they can be manipulated more efficiently.

A few points

• Visuals can be lip-synced or indeed locked to any audio queues within reason
• Consider how the loops will be triggered, they will be fired using a controller or keyboard, or in the case of synced stuff, triggered by the musicians when they fire an audio sample
• Images can be layered or lumikeyed.

Songs are here: http://echaskech.co.uk/site/content/film-friends-forever-green-man-festival-visuals
Contact Echaskech on dom at echaskech dot co dot uk

Deadline: Friday June 26th 2009