Reykjavík Grapevine - 12.09.2014, Qupperneq 14

14
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14 — 2014
Björk | More on Biophilia
The education programme went on the
road as part of the Biophilia city residen-
cies—runs of three to ten shows that took
place in cities like New York, Paris and
Tokyo—at which kids came in to see the
new technology on the set of the show,
and do workshops
with the musicians.
But the programme
was born and devel-
oped in Iceland, with
the help of a wide
cast of collabora-
tors, many of whom
emerged from within
Reykjavík’s education
system.
“At the beginning
I contacted the City
of Reykjavík and the
University [of Ice-
land],” Björk explains.
“The city provided
the teachers, the uni-
versity provided the
scientists, and I pro-
vided the project. I
hired Curver Thoro-
ddsen to be the head
of teaching. And then
it was me going, ‘This
project could go ten
different directions,
who’s up for playing?’
When we took it on
the road, we found
new collaborators—
science museums or
institutions in differ-
ent cities.”
And whilst many things around the
Biophilia seem like an organic evolu-
tion, it was always Björk’s curiosity and
will that drove the project in its various
directions, be they technological or edu-
cational.
“I knew from the start that this
would be the only album in my lifetime
that would be philanthropic, and peda-
gogic,” she explains. “It tapped into that
side of me. I think a lot of people who do
what I do, for as long as I do it, decide at
some point to either
go into art schools
and teach, or go into
music schools, or
they do lectures. Or,
they just happen to
pick up disciples along
the way, in an obvi-
ous or non-obvious
way. I was thinking
about what to do, and
decided to put all that
energy into this one
box.”
The first iterations
of the project includ-
ed a literal box—the
Biophilia teaching
toolkit, overseen by
project leader Adda
Rúna. This large
flight case of equip-
ment toured Reykja-
vík schools, contain-
ing app-loaded iPads
and chargers, a USB
microscope, and a
suite of lesson ideas
based around the
songs on the album.
But as the project
grew international in
scope, moving heavy
gear around became
less practical.
“We decided to try and put it all into a
phone,” Björk says. “It was actually a big
victory for us to get the Android version.
When we were teaching underprivileged
kids in Buenos Aires, in poverty-stricken
The Biophilia project has extended its tendrils into many
unexpected areas. Its accompanying education outreach
programme aims to encourage creativity, whilst using
new technology as a gateway to science and music learn-
ing. This approach combines the use of cutting-edge
apps based on Björk songs like “Virus,” “Crystalline” and
“Moon,” with simple exercises designed to be engaging
and fun, such as marking a balloon with dots and then
blowing it up to illustrate the Big Bang.
Way back in June 2011, English film editor Nick Fenton was one of the lucky few sitting
in the crowd at the Manchester International Festival waiting to experience the live pre-
miere of Björk’s epic Biophilia project. David Attenborough’s voice came over the speak-
ers, the screens lit up, and the lights went down, and for the first time an audience was
transported into the magical world of Biophilia: from the young and excited girl-choir to
the specially constructed stage and dramatic new instruments, the dizzying array of na-
ture footage, the firing Tesla coil and, of course, the grand dame herself, bobbing around
the stage on platform shoes, under that iconic red eruption-wig.
Little did Nick know that almost two
years later, he’d be sitting in a cramped
control booth at London's Alexan-
dria Palace in the co-director’s chair,
equally absorbed in the daunting task
of capturing the last
full Biophilia con-
cert for posterity.
"It feels quite
tidy in that re-
spect, being able to
have seen it at both
start and finish,"
says Nick, Skyping
through a steamed-
up webcam from a
family holiday in
Turkey. "There was
that feeling that
people didn’t know
what they were go-
ing to see. David At-
tenborough’s voice
sent a wave of an-
ticipation through
the audience, and
we got the sud-
den awareness that
this was going to be
something very dif-
ferent.”
At Alexandria
Palace, the expe-
rience was far re-
moved from that of the concertgoer.
Alongside the other half of the direc-
torial partnership, Peter Strickland,
Nick sat surrounded by screens whilst
a sixteen-part camera crew took
their positions. “We felt like security
guards,” he says. "You couldn’t feel
further away from what was going on
in the arena, from the intimacy of the
crowd and the performance.”
And although capturing live mu-
sic, with no opportunity to shout
“Cut!” might seem a little like tight-
rope walking to the outside eye, Nick
says meticulous planning was the key
to successfully capturing Biophilia.
“It’s all about the preparation,” he ex-
plains. “You trust in the expertise of
the cameramen and women. Our di-
rector of photography, Brett Turnbull,
was incredible—the voice of experi-
ence, having done so much music film
before.”
Precious moments
Nick has no shortage of music film ex-
perience himself, having worked on
the Sigur Rós films ‘Inni’ and ‘Heima’,
which gave him a
valuable take on the
process. "I think I
was more aware than
most of how precious
every moment is,” he
says. "The only thing
I asked Peter to pass
on to camera people
was 'never stray from
your shot—keep the
faith, and believe
that every frame
is crucial.' Sixteen
cameras sounds
massive, but can still
miss moments that
the piece is crying
out for.”
And just how did
the filming appara-
tus fit around the al-
ready sizeable stage
setup? “Well, it’s a
big, big machine on
top of everything else
in the performance,”
says Nick. “It could
be extremely dis-
tracting to the performers, but what
I found in editing was that the purity
and integrity of the songs was present
throughout. I hope that we’ve repre-
sented that concert and the music as
well as possible in the film."
The Biophilia film was a long time
in development, as the personnel came
together, and funding partners were
sought. Co-director Peter Strickland
and producer Jacqui Edenbrow shep-
herded and championed the project,
trying to develop the surrounding
structures to make it a reality. "It was
their persistence that got this made,
really,” Nick says. "It was going to be
filmed in Paris first, then Tokyo, but
needed a partner to help foot the bill.
Jacqui got the interest of the Well-
come Trust, and Australian broad-
caster SBS got involved, and it was all
systems go."
Humour, surrealism,
jellyfish
The resulting work builds on the idea
of concert film, weaving in visual ele-
ments from the wider Biophilia proj-
ect. But the creators were careful in
how much of a personal mark they left
on the film. “We love what Björk does
so much that we didn’t want to overlay
it with too much of our own artistic
leanings,” Nick explains. "We wanted
to represent her music as truly as pos-
sible to the way she sees it. So there’s
humour, and surrealism—we used the
nature and science footage in a very
integrated way, so it actually feels like
part of the environment of the con-
cert—there are parts where there are
jellyfish swimming around her, or the
auditorium is adapted into different
natural environments.”
Björk was receptive to the ideas of
her assembled crew. “She has a strong
track record for working with amaz-
ing people; there’s a lot of trust there,”
Nick explains. "She wasn’t prescrip-
tive at all—when we presented our
ideas, she loved them. It was a really
special. And obviously, a great, great
relief.”
And how is it to emerge from the
editing suite and be thrust into the
limelight, doing interviews and trav-
elling to premieres? “It’s out of my
comfort zone, I have to say, but plea-
surable, too,” smiles Nick. "My normal
space is to discuss ideas intimately
with a director. It’s a very different
role that only makes me appreciate
what they do even more. That respon-
sibility of making something your own
never stops—even after the film is fin-
ished.”
Much to the surprise of Nick and
his co-director, there were some
chances to get a second take after all.
“Unlike any other artist, Björk was
very aware of the need for perfection,”
Nick says. "On three separate songs,
because she wasn’t happy, she actu-
ally did them again. Which is unheard
of in front of a crowd of 3,000 people.
Obviously, the audience loved it. She
wanted to get it right.”
The Biophilia
Archipelago
“We wanted to repre-
sent her music as truly
as possible to the way
she sees it. So there’s
humour, and surreal-
ism—we used the nature
and science footage in a
very integrated way.”
Didaskophilia
Björk’s education pro-
gramme breaks into the
Nordic curriculum
Words by John Rogers
Photos provided by One Little Indian
Capturing
Biophilia
As Björk’s Biophilia film
prepared for its Reykjavík
premiere, we spoke to
co-director Nick Fenton
Words by John Rogers
Photos provided by One Little Indian
INTER
VIEW
Biophilia was the first album ever
to be released in the form of an app,
which offers an interactive listening
experience
The Biophilia Educational Pro-
gramme offered the chance for
kids to engage with the topics of the
songs, both on the tour, and now as a
classroom-based activity series.
'Biophilia Live' is a film shot at the
last ever full Biophilia show in Lon-
don, in cinemas now