Doctor Atomic
Batter My Heart
Gerald Finley (J. Robert Oppenheimer)
Batter my heart, three person’d God; For you
As yet but knock, breathe, knock, breathe, knock, breathe
Shine, and seek to mend;
Batter my heart, three person’d God;
That I may rise, and stand, o’erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, break, blow, break, blow
burn and make me new.
DRM Chair (Chair that self-destructs after 8 uses)
The DRM Chair has only a limited number of use before it self-destructs. The number of use was set to 8, so everyone could sit down and enjoy a single time the chair.
A small sensor detects when someone sits and decrements a counter. Every time someone sits up, the chair knocks a number of time to signal how many uses are left. When reaching zero, the self-destruct system is turned on and the structural joints of the chair are melted.
Terretektorh
Terretektorh shows more concern for harmonic organization than the earlier, iconoclastic Pithoprakta, with its scatterings of knocking sounds and massed effects. Still, the concentration is decidedly on texture and movement, with narrow lines being bundled with a number of others in the same register to create a rawer sonic intensity that still has some basis in melody. Xenakis concentrates on the high and low registers, as did Varèse before him, and adds some unusual sound effects into the mix as well.
In Terretektorh and Persephassa, Xenakis creates the impression of movement by transferring musical material between groups of musicians using techniques developed from musique concrète. These works are further innovative because of the unique seating arrangements in which the space for the performers and audience are superimposed.
In this thesis, demonstrating Xenakis’s early approach to spatial composition. The thesis builds on the work of other scholars and provides more insight as to how these fascinating pieces work.
Animatronic Teen Head & Arm
Project: The Worlds End
Waldo Mason “Decapitated Teen “Blank” Head This is the first reveal of the Blanks in THE WORLD’S END after Gary, played by Simon Pegg, gets into a fight with a teenager in the Cross Hands toilet culminating in the teen’s head being knocked off against a urinal! The head was a self contained radio controlled animatronic model, with eye movement & blinks, frown, jaw open & close and slew. The mechanics were built by Gustav Hoegen & supervised and performed by Matt Denton.”
