HERE & NOW Breaks New Cinematic Ground with Live Film Productions

Livepeer grant recipient and artists’ collective HERE & NOW is in the business of breaking new cinematic ground with a string of pioneering films produced and screened in real-time.

Their latest disruptive offering – Echo, No Resonance – will be created, released, and streamed live and on-chain via the Livepeer Network on December 8th.

Echo, No Resonance is video art that exists truly in the moment: it will be shot, performed, scored, and edited in real-time. And the entire process will take place in front of virtual viewers or audiences at the invitation-only screening at HERE & NOW’s real-life venue, The Stables in Melbourne, Australia.

HERE & NOW Founder Michael Beets and S.C. Wilson will direct Echo, No Resonance, which chronicles a single evening in the intertwined lives of a group of street dwellers.

“This is one of the most daring projects I’ve ever tackled. The stakes – and the creative potential – are both incredibly high,” said Beets, an award-winning immersive director whose work has been screened at the world’s top film festivals.

“Our previous live films were created virtually, with us in front of computers. With this one, we wanted to get a group of people together on the streets, and take that live to an audience. We see this as a major evolution toward a more cinematic experience.”

The crew and the six-person cast will spend the run-up to the premiere rehearsing and building a basic framework for the film so they’re ready to roll on the night.

Torino-born composer and DJ Chiara Costanza, whose soundtrack credits include Netflix drama “Heartbreak High” and the short film “All These Creatures”, which won the Short Film Palme D’Or at Cannes in 2018, will score the film live. Micheal Beets will then edit the resulting production under the gaze of the audience.

Echo, No Resonance is HERE & NOW’s third live film production. The first, In the Shadow it Waits, was made during the COVID-19 lockdown and recently premiered at Raindance Film Festival. The second, Those Left Waiting, a live documentary film created by refugees in camps around the world, was edited and composed in real-time at CPH:DOX.

This one-off opportunity to see creation in action is open only to holders of exclusive digital passes. Created by generative artist Andreas Rau, these passes will double as commemorations of a truly distinctive film-viewing experience. After all, Echo, No Resonance will air once and once only: on the day of inception.

Since its launch in 2020, Livepeer’s grant program has benefited dozens of open-source projects powered by the world’s open video infrastructure. In the first three quarters of 2023 alone, we awarded 32 grants worth more than $250,000 to promising projects in the ecosystem.

Do you have a brilliant idea we could help get off the ground? Apply for a Livepeer grant today. Learn more here.