Snodger in the Square 1981

For Moomba 1981 (Melbourne's Autumn Festival), we were commissioned to put on a live show in Melbourne City Square. As part of that show, Chris Mann, myself (Warren Burt) and Chris Wyatt performed a piece live and projected on the City Square Video Screen. This was a very large brown and yellow (as opposed to black and white) video screen usually used for ads, mounted high over Swanston Street. Chris Mann recited his poem Snodger Lip Lap, which was designed for live voice and computer modified voice recording (computer by Jim Sosnin). In addition, words from the poem were projected on the screen. The video was processed through an EMS Spectre Video Synthesizer operated by myself. Spectre patterns, Chris Mann's word graphics, and feedback all made up the lively graphics. Music was a mix of the Chris Mann computer voice recording, and electronic sound from, if memory serves me correctly, a computer controlled Casio synthesizer keyboard, programmed by Chris Wyatt. The whole thing was documented on Super 8 film. We needed a camera person. Arthur Cantrill, one of Australia's finest film-makers, was there. I asked him if he'd like to operate the camera, he said sure, and filmed the performance. The super 8 film was shown a few times, and then it lay in my archives for 39 years. I would occasionally see it on the shelf, and it was glaring at me - glaring because of it's lack of use. Finally in March 2020, I managed to find a place to convert the film, and actually had enough spare money to pay for it. The result you see here. Seeing the piece after 39 years, I'm amazed at how aggressive and complex it is. A BLAST from the past, indeed. I hope other folks like it, as well. Chris Mann is no longer with us, but I'm hoping that he would have liked this - or at least be embarrassed enough by it that somewhere in the afterlife he's happily smiling.