At a time when audio-visual production and post-production techniques offer a degree of perfection only dreamed of a mere ten years ago, “live footage” of open-air classical music festivals is still very often viewed as coverage of present-day events rather than as the musical archive it is capable of becoming.
It was during the 22nd International Piano Festival at La Roque d’Anthéron, in 2002, that Idéale Audience, CREA (planner and organizer of the Festival) and Mirare resolved to create a series of films capable of not only documenting the event but of establishing an audio-visual musical legacy for the future.
Justice had to be done to the quality of the performance, but at the same time, the project had to overcome the usual difficulties involved in outdoor work (placing of cameras, lighting, etc) and the countless problems of recording live sound in a night environment rich in extraneous sounds such as the wind in the trees and the chirping of crickets.
The idea of creating a matrix environment on the Festival site itself, a sort of “showcase” in which a dozen performers of various styles could give “supplementary” concerts intended for television and DVD in ideal recording conditions, soon gained ground.
A 400 sq. m. barn situated at the edge of the Château de Florans park was equipped to take a proper recording studio around a concert stage. To preserve the “live” ambience of a festival, seating was also installed to accommodate an audience of 150 at the concerts.
The staging and technical facilities were planned by professionals in audio-visual work familiar with top-of-the-line recordings of music, in line with their creators’ ambition to create a historical document. Talented creative teams were assembled to shoot the films.
The music films now offered to you on DVD have been made with the help of five automated cameras, two of them placed on a circular track surrounding the central stage so as to eliminate technicians who would otherwise be in view from certain angles (notably long shots).
The filming was done on two levels, combining shots mixed directly with montage work done retrospectively on the shots taken separately by the five cameras. Particular trouble was taken with the sound recording, where the production team aimed for audiophile quality. This account of the festival is more than a mere documentary of the event. It is perceived far more as the foundation stone of a DVD collection worthy of forming the musical archives of tomorrow.
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