ROOM TONE

This is an internal event exclusive to staff across London Metropolitan University.

CREATURE Lab is an on-demand laboratory to pitch and test ideas for further research development. It aims to provide a collegial platform to rehearse and/or seek feedback for a research presentation, practice and publication. It brings together a researcher and participants to explore a research idea and/or project through show and tell. The interactive lab is decided for the presenter to experiment a preconceived project for further study and/or examine matters related to research development and collaboration.

In this CREATURE Lab, Robb Horsley will walk the participants through his fim project, Room Tone. It explores ambient sound in cinema and music composition, referencing pioneering works of Alan Splet (David Lynch’s sound designer) and Pauline Oliveros (Deep Listening). Through screen extracts from the film project, the Lab encourages debate and feedback as to how to develop the project.

Room Tone aims to capture the subtle differences in ambient ‘silence’ across a variety of interior spaces. The project title refers to an industry term for the practice of recording silence on film sets. When shooting is completed at a location, crew are asked to be quiet for a short time so the sound recordist can capture the room’s ambient tonal signature. In effect they are recording silence, the absence of sound. But no room is truly silent, they all have a subtly different ambience. This is then used in sound editing to cover any gaps between dialogue in a scene. By moving room tone from the background (where its job is to be "invisible") to the foreground, Horsley aims to create a sonic portrait of negative space.

In the purest sense silence is defined as the complete absence of sound. But just as we rarely encounter total darkness, we are even less likely to experience complete silence anywhere on earth. Unlike light, sound can travel around corners and through solid objects, its echoes lingering long after the initial noise has ceased. Juxtaposed, the contrast between rooms becomes striking and revealing, making us aware of something we are not fully conscious of in reality. At times it can come across as more a piece of music than a film.

is a filmmaker with work held in public collections at Arts Council England, Film London, American Dance Foundation, Berlin Poetry Foundation, The British Council , BBC and IMZ Germany. His screen-based work spans a wide range of genres including documentary, artists' film and video, music videos and commercials. Robb is Course Leader for MA Documentary Film Production.

Image: A still from the film, Room Tone; Credit: Robb Horsley.

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Host or Publisher Art, Architecture & Design Research (London Met)