W.I.P Labs

In the Moment

Seven composers, seven films drawn at random from a bowl, and live scores made on the spot. A spontaneous sonic combustion.

Created, conceptualised and produced by W.I.P Labs.

Musicians on the floor of a large room with tabla, saxophone and laptops, listeners standing all around them
In the Moment

In the Moment is a live scoring performance. Seven composers from very different sound practices (music, sound art, sound coding, free improvisation, sampling, modular synthesis, field recording and electroacoustic composition) score films they have not been told about in advance.

A bowl of chits sits at the centre of the stage. Each chit names a film, a composer and, in the newer version, a projectionist. An audience member draws the first one, and the named composer walks to a sound station and scores the film as it rolls. Stations are set around the screen, so the audience watches the sound being made as well as the film. The night ends with all seven composers scoring one piece together.

In the Moment 7.1 played Little Stint II at Dhan Mill, New Delhi, on 31 March 2024. The next version moves into expanded cinema: films projected on 16 mm and manipulated live by projectionists, with composers and projectionists first spending a residency together to build a shared vocabulary before they perform.

Form
Live scoring of film, improvised in real time
On stage
Seven composers, a film bowl, sound stations around the screen
Audience
18 and over
In development
A 16 mm expanded cinema version with live projectionists and a residency

Press kit Press kit PDF Book In the Moment

Photographs

A black and white film projected large on a wall while silhouetted musicians score it from laptops and instruments below
In the Moment 7.1, Little Stint II, New Delhi
A blue-lit room with a film on the wall and composers at their stations in front of it
In the Moment 7.1, Little Stint II, New Delhi

Performed at