Listening Station (2011)
Single-channel video film
DVD PAL 16:9, stereo, 20:10 min
HDV Master

The short film Listening Station intertwines video footage filmed in and around the former US listening station with the musical improvisation performed on shakuhachi (Japanese bamboo flute) inside the structure to create a multi-layered description and exploration of the building, its location and inherent ambient atmosphere.

In a detached, surveillance style manner the camera records the area around the abandoned structures, buildings and the main listening dome of the station, in which the musical improvisation took place. Cut by cut we move closer to the station and more detail about the structure and its setting is revealed to us. Split-screen edits merge together different viewing perspectives and instances in time. The camera observes a series of unconnected moments, e.g. a lone figure appears in the frame, an interior of an abandoned room, the debris of the building itself and overall the film follows a loose narrative arc by depicting the transition from day to dusk at the location. We move forward in time, while at the same time we glimpse in ever more detail into the past.

P/N/5: LISTENING STATION
9 December 2011
Project/Number
London, UK

PRAGUE SHAKUHACHI FESTIVAL 2011
25 - 29 August 2011
HAMU – Music & Dance Faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts
Prague, Czech Republic