Station Clock, Twelve Tones

Susan Sound Film from Birmingham Big Art Project on Vimeo.

Station Clock, Twelve Tones, has been designed by Turner prize winner Susan Philipsz for the proposed new Curzon Street HS2 station, features sounds made by 1,092 city folk. Curzon Street will become the first brand-new intercity terminus station built in Britain since the 19th Century. It will operate with net zero carbon while serving high-speed trains between London and Birmingham. Inspired by and contributing to the development of Philipsz’s public artwork Station Clock, Twelve Tones is a citywide, participatory art project which has engaged communities across Birmingham and Solihull. Launched by the artist in a workshop with Royal Birmingham Conservatoire students in November 2018, the objective of this project was to record 1,092 voices, each sounding a note from the chromatic musical scale. These voices will be composed into compilations to be played out from speakers in the Station Clock artwork, on the hour, every hour, seven days a week. All 1,092 voices have now been recorded and are being developed by the project’s composer/producer, Andy Ingamells. Work on the station is expected to continue until 2028. Construction for the station façade will begin in Summer 2025, while work on the concourse steelwork and the roof is due to start in Autumn 2025. The internal fit-out of the station will start towards the end of 2025 and will be completed at the end of 2028. Meanwhile, operational testing and commissioning will run from Summer 2026 to Autumn 2028.

RAILtoLAND

Porto - Vigo (English) from GIPC on Vimeo.

Co-funded by Erasmus+ the European Union’s programme, RAILtoLAND helps students and the curious engage the social and educational value of their common European cultural landscape and heritage. Foccussing on built heritage (and especially railways), it was designed as a pilot for the Portuguese Porto-Vigo line to explore shared notions of European identity, social cohesion, local cultures and well-being. Aligned with the aims of the European Landscape Convention, it targets communities via decision-making and landscape enhancements that uses an Open Learning platform for its students. Its graphic interface enables remote E-Learning Apps and virtual labs to specifically target young audiences and enable mutual learning of intercultural context. Through remote 'Didactic teaching' educational innovation uses Design Thinking and Learning-by-Doing to improve skills and competence in communication, creativity and critical thinking.

Film Score: The Railway Men composed by Sam Slater (Netflix 2023)

After a deadly gas leaks from a factory in Bhopal, brave railway workers risk their lives to save others in the face of an unspeakable disaster. Evoking multiple emotions, one beat at a time Here's the audio jukebox from 'The Railway Men'. The Railway Men | Audio Jukebox (Chapters) ► 00:00 - Train Crash Memory ► 01:27 - False Alarm ► 02:49 - Hello, Hello? ► 06:06 - Ten Steps from the Factory ► 07:45 - Gas in the Town ► 11:25 - To Sleep ► 13:11 - Women and Children First ► 15:05 - Reporter Sets Off ► 15:44 - Your Child is Alright ► 19:09 - The Railway Men ► 21:07 - IATB ► 25:14 - Their Names ► 26:18 - Gas Reaches the Station ► 28:22 - Bhopal, Bhopal? ► 30:05 - Death of the Mole ► 32:46 - Faces ► 34:01 - The Railway Men (Series Theme) ► 34:32 - Nindiya ► 38:17 - Nindiya (Reprise)

Digital Sculpture: Metronome by Sarah Size (Peckham Rye Station 2023)

The Waiting Room opens to the public with a site-specific sculptural work by New York-based artist Sarah Sze. Her new work, Metronome, transforms the long-forgotten vaulted space at Peckham Rye Station with a dense matrix of thin stainless steel tubing, torn paper pieces and moving imagery. Sze says: “I’ve always been interested in certain times throughout history where our relationship to the way we experience time and space in the world speeds up radically... We are in the middle of an extreme hurricane where we are learning to speak through images at an exponential pace.” In response to this ‘extreme hurricane’, The Waiting Room at Peckham Rye Station offers a model of time and space that reflects and interrogates our volatile world.

Poetry: The Making of Flying Scotsman by Simon Armitage (2023)

The Making of Flying Scotsman by Simon Armitage. The Poet Laureate has written a new poem to mark 100 years since the Flying Scotsman entered service.

Visual Arts & Making: Unearthed with Craft Victoria (Rail Projects Victoria 2022)

Eight artists reimagine discarded fragments from the Metro Tunnel archaeological digs into contemporary objects. Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) is the Victorian Government body responsible for the development and delivery of the Metro Tunnel Project, Regional Rail Revival, Melbourne Airport Rail, and the Sunbury Line Upgrade.

Music Video: Better Days by Craig David (Trainline 2022)

Committed to helping our planet, Better Days is a track by Craig David that shows how small actions can have an impact on saving our world. It features on Trainlines YouTube channel in 'Trainline Tracks & Famous Faces' Craig David partnered with travel company Trainline for this official music video, also viewable on Craig David’s ouTube channel, highlighting the environmental benefits of rail travel. The song, titled Better Days, kicked off the Trainline I Came By Train brand campaign, which pushes travellers towards trains as a sustainable travel choice. An animated music video accompanies the song, produced and directed by Golden Wolf at Stink Films, with Mother London working on the creative campaign. Sign Trainline's pledge to help flight climate change

Visual Arts & Lecture: Engines of Progress: Images of Railroad Culture in Modern Japan (The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles 2022)

Engines of Progress: Images of Railroad Culture in Modern Japan celebrates the 150th anniversary of railroads in Japan, this lecture explores how woodblock print showing trains reveal diverse aspects of Japan's modernity and different attitudes towards it. Themes include the promise and problems of technology, cultural shifts, and how artistic imagination is spurred by material change.

Digital Arts: Blazing Trails by Sofia Barton (Nexus 2022)

Blazing Trails by Sofia Barton. Sofia’s work explores the hidden histories and trail-blazing personalities which have helped make North East England a vibrant and inclusive place to live. The digital montage draws on influences including Sofia’s own Punjabi heritage and her upbringing in Newcastle’s west end. Sofia Barton is a multi-disciplinary artist from Newcastle whose work is inspired by both nature and heritage, explores issues of feminism, gender and sexuality and draws on her Punjabi family roots. Recent projects include Narivad as part of this year’s Masala festival and Good Books, an installation with Lady Kitt at Durham University’s Cosin’s Library. Sofia also designed the logo for the 2022 UK Pride festival in Newcastle. One of four artists each won a unique commission to create major works for the interior of Metro’s new train fleet. Metro will be the first urban transit system in the world to feature permanent art inside trains when the new fleet enters service, thanks to a project led by Nexus and funded by Arts Council England through its National Lottery Project Grants programme. Read more about the project here. Four major new permanent artworks are unveiled for new Metro trains |

Visual Arts Maker: Macro-Micro by Bryony Simcox (Nexus 2022)

Macro-Micro by Bryony Simcox. Bryony’s large-scale collage is constructed entirely from hand-cut paper pieces, built up from images sent by local people in answer to the question “what makes this place glow?”. Pushing against the traditional glossy imagery used to promote a place, the work takes on a striking abstract form when seen from down the carriage, while inviting people to dive into idiosyncratic and personal details up close. Bryony Simcox is an urbanist, optimist and maker who studied architecture at Newcastle University. She works with hand-cut paper collage to draw together diverse imagery into playful and surreal scenarios referencing architecture, travel and the human form. Bryony’s creative practice includes previous exhibitions in Sydney and Valencia and producing art for sale. This is the largest hand-cut project Bryony has worked on. One of four artists each won a unique commission to create major works for the interior of Metro’s new train fleet. Metro will be the first urban transit system in the world to feature permanent art inside trains when the new fleet enters service, thanks to a project led by Nexus and funded by Arts Council England through its National Lottery Project Grants programme. Read more about the project here. Four major new permanent artworks are unveiled for new Metro trains |

Visual Arts Illustration: Drawn to Life by Sara Gibbeson (Nexus 2022)

Drawn to Life by Sara Gibbeson. Sara, an illustrator and lecturer based in South Shields, spent weeks and months travelling on Metro sketching her fellow passengers and people at work and play in local town and city centres. She has brought together and enlarged dozens of these intimate pen and pencil line drawings to overlap each other in a dense and intriguing final work in which the viewer’s focus continually changes. Sara Gibbeson is a freelance illustrator and lecturer based in South Shields. Her work captures people, places, and everyday moments which she records in sketchbooks and uses to create lively, mixed media illustrations. One of four artists each won a unique commission to create major works for the interior of Metro’s new train fleet. Metro will be the first urban transit system in the world to feature permanent art inside trains when the new fleet enters service, thanks to a project led by Nexus and funded by Arts Council England through its National Lottery Project Grants programme. Read more about the project here. Four major new permanent artworks are unveiled for new Metro trains |

Visual Arts: North Sea Mermaids by Nocciola the Drawer (Nexus 2022)

North Sea Mermaids by Nocciola the Drawer. Hazel Oakes, working as Nocciola the Drawer, has created a digital mural celebrating the communities of women who come together to wild sea swim on the beaches served by Metro at Seaburn, South Shields and Tynemouth. Hazel immersed herself in the research, swimming, chatting and filming with her subjects to create an inspiring, refreshing and empowering celebration. Nocciola The Drawer (Hazel Oakes) is an illustrator and mural artist from County Durham. She has a nomadic spirit and feels her sense of community with women anywhere in the world. She specialises in bright, bold, colourful artwork that combines female characters with lively pattern - all with the aim to uplift, inspire, empower and celebrate women. She is spreading her joy for life one splash of colour at a time! One of four artists each won a unique commission to create major works for the interior of Metro’s new train fleet. Metro will be the first urban transit system in the world to feature permanent art inside trains when the new fleet enters service, thanks to a project led by Nexus and funded by Arts Council England through its National Lottery Project Grants programme. Read more about the project here. Four major new permanent artworks are unveiled for new Metro trains |

Smartphone Film: Anxiety Train by Rob Leach a.k.a. @SmartphoneFilmmaker (2022)

Anxiety Train follows a woman with severe social anxiety who has been asked to attend the leaving party of her best friend who is moving to Australia. This short film was made on essentially no budget. Shot with an iphone 12 and with Filmic Pro.

Animation: Fleet for the Future (Network Rail 2022)

Our New Measurement Train (NMT) monitors and records track condition information at speeds up to 125mph. It helps locate and identify faults before they become a safety issue or affect our performance.Affectionately known as the Flying Banana due to its distinctive yellow livery, the NMT is a unique, high-tech machine that we’ve been using for almost 15 years. More frequent services mean tracks need to be renewed more often. High Output (HO) keeps the railway running, carrying out 70% of Britain’s track renewal work. High Output teams are on the railway every night, carrying out vital track renewals overnight that used to take entire weekends. This means less disruption to train services. The state-of-the-art mobile maintenance trains (MMTs) make working on the railway quicker, safer and more efficient as well as less disruptive for passengers and freight. Eight MMTs provide a ‘workshop on wheels’ for engineers and track workers as they carry out repairs, renewals and upgrades to Britain’s 20,000-mile rail network. Tamping machines do the same job as stoneblowers, restoring the line and level of the track, but work in a slightly different way. Replacing damaged rail is expensive, time-consuming and requires lots of staff on-site. We now have the option to use a dedicated engineering train to improve existing rail. We use many types of snow plough – which to choose depends on the location of the railway line, weather conditions and depth of snow. Our Air Operations team surveys the railway by helicopter and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS, or drones).

Film Score: Bullet Train by Dominic Lewis (2022)

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Score Album) from the action thriller film Bullet Train (2022). The music is composed by Dominic Lewis (Monsters at Work, The Man in the High Castle, Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway). [00:00] 01. [02:27] 02. [04:48] 03. [05:55] 04. [07:50] 05. [09:26] 06. [10:52] 07. [12:38] 08. [16:08] 09. [18:05] 10. [18:51] 11. [20:04] 12. [22:21] 13. [24:29] 14. [27:02] 15. [27:53] 16. [29:59] 17. [34:14] 18. [35:53] 19. [38:10] 20. [44:10] 21. [46:07] 22. [49:28] 23. [50:40] 24. Bullet Train is a 2022 Japanese-American action thriller film, based on the novel Maria Beetle by Kotaro Isaka. The film is written by Zak Olkewicz, directed by David Leitch, distributed by Sony Pictures. Starring – Brad Pitt, Joey King, Andrew Koji, Zazie Beetz, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Lady Gaga, Sandra Bullock, Masi Oka, Michael Shannon, Hiroyuki Sanada, Logan Lerman, Karen Fukuhara, Bad Bunny, Miraj Grbic, Bad Bunny, Pasha D. Lychnikoff.

Graphic Arts: Lines & Tracks by Nayel Zeaiter (European Year of Rail, Brussels 2011)

Nayel Zeaiter studied decorative arts in Paris and strives to continue and preserve the genre of history painting. His work alternates between large-format works and editorial works for the publishing house Comprendre, which he founded in 2011. In the framework of the exhibition 'Lines & Tracks' — on the occasion of EUROPALIA TRAINS & TRACKS — EUROPALIA and the CGII, La Louvière, invited Nayel Zeaiter to create a contemporary intervention — to be shown in situ — directly related to the city of La Louvière. The artist developed this new work during a residency at the Keramis Museum. Part of Europalia Arts Festival and EU Year of Rail, 'Lines & Tracks' sketches the history of the Belgian railways through the development of graphic design. In the beginning, purely informative, typographical posters were used. The evolution of new printing techniques gradually changed the look and function of railway posters: visual and promotional elements took precedence and they became more and more colourful and enticing. 'Lines & Tracks' features more than 140 Belgian railway posters from the SNCB/NMBS collection as well as public and private collections. Every two years, EUROPALIA compiles a diverse artistic programme focusing on a country or a theme. Visit the website: https://europalia.eu/nl/europalia-trains-and-tracks/news/behind-the-project-lines-and-tracks-met-nayel-zeaiter

Digital Arts & Interactive Wayfinding (22 Miles Moynihan Train Hall 2021)

The new Moynihan Train Hall is filled with odes to the old Penn Station, but needed a fresh modernizing and updating of the entire facility intended to reclaim its status as “America’s front door.” Having recently won awards in 2020 for the Protection-as-a-Service suite of solutions which encompasses touch-less screens, interactive wayfinding, secure mobile control of new or existing digital screens on mobile devices, and thermal scanning software, 22Miles offered Moynihan a fresh infusion of dynamic and diverse technology, integrated into a solutions suite that was easily customized to the unique needs of the reinvigorated New York city transportation hub. Moynihan features interactive wayfinding displays that feature more than 10 language input options including English, Spanish, Mandarin, Italian, German, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Arabic. With a population as diverse as New York City, not to mention thousands of international travelers moving through the station daily, these flexible linguistic integration options were designed to serve the multi-cultural flow of individuals, while making everyone feel welcome and catered to. Additionally, Moynihan’s 22Miles installation also features full ADA compliance from elevators and accessibility alternate routes, as well as a digital magnifier, screen adjustments, and an operation index. Moynihan also features 22Miles’ Secure Mobile Control system, which allows contactless control of screens on a user’s mobile device. In a post-pandemic world where viral spread looks to be an issue even after vaccinations have become more common, the technology provides a fully touchless experience as users can operate the screen they are interacting with from their cell phone via a digital mouse curser. The solution requires no user downloads or extra steps, as a user can simply scan the provided QR code on each kiosk home screen which then allows for activation of a web link to accept the SMC controls. The QR codes are dynamic and encrypted, alleviating any concerns for meeting security protocols. Voice command interaction can also be easily added should Moynihan want to further the options for safe, hygienic interactivity. For more information on 22Miles interactive wayfinding, touchless touch, secure mobile control, Protection-as-a-Service, and additional multi-facility solutions, please visit http://www.22miles.com As part of this, Art at Amtrak, the official public art program of Amtrak, presents diverse, unique and memorable art projects to enhance, invigorate and humanize the travel experience at Amtrak stations. The art program reflects and celebrates each region's creative preeminence by featuring contemporary artists through rotating exhibitions. The program launched at New York Penn Station in June 2022, and expanded to Moynihan Train Hall in Summer 2023, to Washington Union Station and William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Fall 2023. Artist Shahzia Sikander video art installation in Moynihan Train Hall is called Singing Suns, 2023. "Singing Suns is a video animation created from ink drawings. Disruption as a means of exploration is a consistent element in my experimental process strategy. The iconography is born from separating the silhouette of the head from the body of the female characters called gopis, who are often painted as devotees of the singular male god Krishna in South Asian historical manuscript paintings. To develop the feminine apparatus of power, I removed Krishna from the equation and then detached the gopi ‘hair’ from the gopi body’s restrictive gendered context in the traditional paintings to greater scope and autonomize. Painted gold hair shapes operate as a non-binary particle system. When multiplied into millions, they can move and morph, fluctuating between solid and fluid states, like the ocean or the desert or the milky way. The hair motif in their kinetic state can conjure new associations with shifting migratory patterns of birds, bats and insects. The flux is a metaphor for hyphenated identities, gender and vocabularies. To detach is to renew. The notion is to unhinge, so that the female account is freed to create its own history and empower its own narrative.

Immersive Arts Installation / Train Wrap: Crossroads by Chantelle Mulladad (The Ghan 2021)

One of Australia’s most famous trains has been transformed into a moving artwork. Three carriages of the Ghan have been covered in Arrernte artist Chantelle Mulladad’s work titled Crossroads. Mulladad, from the remote community of Ltyentye Apurte, says Crossroads is based on her teenage years. ‘I had to choose which path to go on, and I chose the right path to make something of myself and be an artist.’ The Ghan travels from Adelaide to Darwin, a 2,973km stretch through inland Australia. The work, which is the largest display ever featured on the Ghan, is part of Parrtjima, an Indigenous festival of lights held in the Alice Springs Desert Park

Multi Disciplinary Arts: Moynihan Train Hall by Stan Douglas, Elmgreen & Dragset & Kehinde Wiley (Public Art Fund 2021)

A look at Moynihan Train Hall, a reimagined public space and a source of civic pride to New Yorkers, and works commissioned for the site by New York State in partnership with Public Art Fund. Artworks featured include photographic panels in the Ticketed Waiting Room by Stan Douglas, as well as ceiling installations by Kehinde Wiley, and by artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset. Stan Douglas has mined the history of the original Penn Station, giving heroic pictorial life to narratives from different moments in time using today’s most advanced digital technologies. Elmgreen & Dragset have dreamed an imaginary global metropolis into sculptural being, upside down, radiating the city’s irresistible urban energy. Using illuminated stained glass and inspired by classical frescoed ceilings, Kehinde Wiley has adapted the movements of breakdance—a form originated on the streets of the Bronx—into a lyrical allegory of dynamic human expression. Characterized by daring juxtapositions of old and new, these commissions are emblematic of the constant states of innovation and transformation which are quintessentially New York. They are captivating and powerful in different ways, each inspired by New York’s rich heritage, its diverse and talented people, and its creative spirit. Together, they give dazzling artistic definition to the generous, civic character of Moynihan Train Hall.

Animation: Graffiti by the Railway (Network Rail 2020)

Part of a suite of Safety Education Films on the Network Rail Youtube Channel (1 of 64 videos) Trespassing to create graffiti is incredibly dangerous and can lead to train delays, especially if people go onto the tracks. Network Rail state: "Keeping people safe on the railway is at the heart of everything we do. We’re creating a culture and system which will be sustainable for years to come and help us deliver not only a safer but a better performing and more efficient railway".

Film Short: 18 (Network Rail 2018)

In 2018, to highlight danger of high voltage overhead wires, Network Rail created ‘18’ a dramatic film with a storyline developed through school workshops, scripted by Shazia Rashid and with a cast of acclaimed actors including: BAFTA-nominee Aimee Kelly (from BBC drama Wolfsblood), Harry Kirton (from Peaky Blinders), Shaquille Ali-Yebuah (from Netflix’s iBOY) and Steve Oram (from films Sightseers, The World's End and TV series The End of the F***ing World). ‘18’ is a A hard-hitting short Film from Network Rail that deals with adult themes. Features on the Network Rail Youtube Channel.

Music Video: Man Don't Tan by Big Shaq (Trainline 2018)

Big Shaq (Actor and rapper Michael Dapaah) is back with another masterpiece. It features on Trainlines YouTube channel in 'Trainline Tracks & Famous Faces'. Here, he takes on the Trainline voice app with burning questions. And the voice app even has a few jokes for Big Shaq. Learn more about the Trainline Voice App

Film Short: Close to Home (Network Rail 2017)

In 2017 Network Rail asked filmmaker Frit Tam to produce a short film to highlight the unknown and major consequences of throwing items onto train tracks. Frit's film focusses on two boys, Benjamin and Tom, as they recount the events of the previous night. Aimed at students, the film was shown in schools nationwide. It was written, directed and edited across 2 days of shooting. Features on the Network Rail Youtube Channel.

Performing Arts: Bewegtes Landan (Land in Motion) by Jörn Hintzer and Jacob Hüfner (Jena-Naumburg route 2017)

The art project "Bewegtes Landan (Land in Motion)" is an Art Project For Train Passengers that transformed Germany's Saale valley into a 30 kilometer long performing arts stage, entertaining passengers in passing trains. Some 400 residents and volunteers took part along the Jena-Naumburg route. In 2017, the art and performance project, created by Jörn Hintzer and Jacob Hüfner, highlighted the boundlessness of human ingenuity. Hintzer and Hüfner are media artists and professors at the Bauhaus University Weimar, in Germany. Bewegtes Landan (Land in Motion)

Video Projection: Train mapping by Sila Sveta (2017)

Train mapping by Sila Sveta an interactive media, production and conceptual design studio. Case study here

Flashmob: Grease at Central Station in Antwerp (2016)

More than 250 people participated in a 'feelgood' stunt this morning during rush hour at the Central Station in Antwerp, Belgium. Grease, the Musical opens in Antwerp on March 4th. This is how we drew attention to the opening week. Grease is definitely still the word !

Documentary / Street Art: Salt of the Earth by Guido van Helten (The Wanderers 2016)

Guido van Helten ventures to Manildra, in rural New South Wales, to use a working freight train as a canvas and paint a series of local portraits – creating a large scale art installation that will travel the countryside delivering street art to the surrounding areas. THE WANDERERS TV series profiles six of Australia’s most exciting street artists as they take their work on the road to unexpected and unusual parts of Australia. This is a series about discovery of self; and of Australia’s next generation of contemporary artists. These 6 x 10 minute documentaries explores Art as Adventure. From the Central Highlands of Tasmania to a farming town in regional NSW, a remote community in the Northern Territory to the islands in the Pacific, The Wanderers celebrates the amazing diversity of people and places found in Australia. Along with a huge range of locations, each of the 6 artists featured in The Wanderers takes on a unique personal challenge. Whether reflecting on inspiration, learning more about Australian art history, or celebrating communities that often go unnoticed. This is a series about discovery of self; of new cultures and place; and of Australia’s next generation of contemporary artists.

Writing / Social Media: Writing the Rails / Take Me There Residency (Amtrak 2014)

In its Writing the Rails residency programme, Amtrak accepted 24 writers. More recently, their new #AmtrakTakeMeThere Social Media Residency aims to showcase how people from different walks of life travel by rail. By way of social media, chosen residents share their individual experiences aboard our long distance trains while engaging users through their respective online communities.

Visual Arts: Artist-in-Residence Julie Leonard (Crossrail 2013)

As part of efforts to embed culture, Crossrail appointed Julie Leonard as their first Artist-in-Residence. Throughout 2014 Julie created a pictorial diary of Crossrail, capturing many of the personalities and construction scenes across Europe's largest infrastructure project on her iPhone. For more information visit www.crossrail.co.uk

Dance: Station/Stationary (Crewe Station / Cheshire Dance 2011)

When the BBC came to Crewe Railway Station to see what all the fuss was about. More than 500 people from all over Britain came together to be the first to see the world premiere of a unique performance at Crewe Railway Station. Cheshire Dance, The Body Cartography Project and more than 100 performers redefined what many consider to be one of the UKs iconic railway stations. Station/Stationary is probably the most ambitious performing arts project ever to be undertaken at a railway station in this country. The Station/Stationary project has been commissioned through the Cheshire Year of Gardens Spaces Programme, which is also linked via the various transport gateways to Liverpool’s Capital of Culture celebration. It is was also part of the Open Weekend which celebrates the launch of the Cultural Olympiad program. Cheshire Dance, The BodyCartography Project, and up to 100 performers encouraged audiences and commuters alike to reengage their sensory curiosity to redefine one of the UK’s iconic railway stations, through performance and installation works. Station/Stationary is probably the most ambitious performing arts project ever to be undertaken at a railway station in the UK.

Video Projection: Meaning in Motion by Pablo Gimenez Zapiola (Texas 2011)

Meaning in Motion train projection test @ Spacetaker by Pablo Gimenez Zapiola. A look into the artist's process and preparation for his live train projection performances open to the public at Spacetaker in Houston, TX.

Flashmob: Antwerp Railway Station (2009)

Historic flashmob in Antwerp train station, do re mi

Film: Somers Town (Eurostar 2008)

The film, Somers Town was released in the UK on the 22nd of August 2008. It was directed by Shane Meadows known for 'This is England'. Somers Town is a British independent comedy-drama film, written by Paul Fraser and produced by Barnaby Spurrier. The film stars Thomas Turgoose, Piotr Jagiello, Kate Dickie, Perry Benson, and Elisa Lasowski. Remarkably, it was entirely funded by the train operating company Eurostar. The film is a study of social environment in the Somers Town area of London, photographed mostly in black and white, except one scene which is in colour. Somers Town is an inner-city district in North West London, influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini of Euston, St Pancras and King's Cross - together with the Midland Railway Somers Town Goods Depot next to St Pancras, where the British Library now stands.

Music Video: Star Guitar by The Chemical Brothers (2002)

"Star Guitar" is a song by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers, released as the second single from their fourth album, Come with Us (2002). It reached number eight on the UK Singles Chart, number two on the US Billboard Dance Club Play chart, and number one on the UK Dance Chart. "Star Guitar" is 127 beats per minute and in the key of F major.[2] It contains a four measure-long acoustic guitar sample from the beginning of the David Bowie song, "Starman",[3] hence the name, "Star Guitar". This sample is repeated throughout the majority of the track, with various musical elements playing over it as a main theme. The song also contains an electronic sample of "Fly to Venus" by Electronic System. The music video, directed by French filmmaker Michel Gondry, features a continuous shot filmed from the window of a speeding train passing through towns and the countryside. However, the buildings and objects passing by appear exactly in time with the various musical elements of the song, including the beats. The video is based on DV footage Gondry shot while on vacation in France; the train ride between Nîmes and Valence was shot ten different times during the day to get different light gradients. The Pont du Robinet as well as Pierrelatte's station can be seen and the cities of Miramas and Avignon. Gondry had experimented with a different version of the same effect in his video for Daft Punk's "Around the World", where he had represented each element of the music with a dancer.

Music Composition: Different Trains by Steve Reich

Explore the story behind Steve Reich's Different Trains. Different Trains is a three-movement piece for string quartet and tape written in 1988.The groundbreaking work, written for Kronos Quartet and first recorded on Nonesuch. The New York Times declared Different Trains "a work of such originality that 'breakthrough' seems the only possible description." Pitchfork called it a "late-career masterpiece" and placed the album among the 200 Best of the 1980s. Video by Robert Edridge-Waks During World War II, Reich made train journeys between New York and Los Angeles to visit his parents, who had separated. Years later, he pondered the fact that, as a Jew, had he been in Europe instead of the United States at that time, he might have been traveling in Holocaust trains. Steve Reich's earlier work had frequently used tape, looped and played back at different speeds. However, Different Trains was a novel experiment, using recorded speech as a source for melodies. Different Trains is made up of three movements, which bear the following titles: America – Before the War Europe – During the War After the War

Film & Score: Locomotion (British Transport Films 1975)

Watch in full by clicking here. The film is hosted on the BFI free iPlayer In 1974 Geoffrey Jones was asked to submit proposals for a film to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway, and, having already been commissioned by Edgar Anstey to report in detail on the whole of BR’s film archive, he jumped at the chance. Anstey asked for three treatments of different durations. A 15 minute version was chosen, since the film was to be part of a travelling exhibition and a greater length would have meant unacceptable queues. Again, a pilot film was made using library footage, much of it from one of BTF’s earlier productions Giants of Steam, cut to a music track that Geoffrey had arranged himself and electronically processed. A successful screening to a panel of BR officials clinched the support needed to get the film off the ground. Locomotion features over 400 separate images woven together with a strong continual accelerando arranged by Donal Fraser and performed by members of Steeleye Span. It combines traditional instrumental and compositional techniques with state-of-the-art, electronic synthesis. There then followed a period of hiatus until Geoffrey was appointed producer/director at the Thorn/EMI Video Productions Ltd. The company only lasted a few years, but during this time he made a pilot film, Season’s Project, with Donald Fraser and the English Chamber Orchestra still yet to be completed. In 2003 Geoffrey Jones received a grant from the Arts Council of Wales, enabling him to create A Chair-a-Plane Kwela and A Chair-a-Plane Flamenco from material he had shot nearly 50 years earlier. He refers to these two resulting films as ‘notes in the use of digital editing’. Geoffrey Jones has opened our eyes to the rhythm of film.

Film Score: Carter Takes a Train by Roy Budd (Get Carter Film 1971)

Composer Roy Budd playing his classic theme for the superb 1971 Mike Hodges/Michael Caine film, 'Get Carter'. Get Carter is a 1971 British gangster film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis's 1970 novel Jack's Return Home, the film follows the eponymous Jack Carter (Caine), a London gangster who returns to his hometown in North East England to learn about his brother's supposedly accidental death.

TV Documentary & Live Performance: Blues and Gospel Train (Granada TV 1964)

The “Blues and Gospel Train” was staged on May 7, 1964 by Granada TV. 200 fans were instructed to meet at Manchester’s Central Station at 7:30 that evening for a short train ride to the abandoned Wilbraham Road Station in Whalley Range, where a huge platform sign displaying the word ‘Chorltonville’. They had seats on the platform. The opposite platform was decorated with bales of cotton, sacks, crates, broken-down farm equipment, washtubs, wanted posters and even some farm animals.

Film Documentary: Sir John Betjeman 'Railways For Ever' (1970)

This film is available to buy as part of the 18-disc boxset 'The British Transport Films Collection' - http://filmstore.bfi.org.uk/acatalog/... 11 August 1968 is a highly significant date in British railway history, marking the official end of regular mainline steam operation. As we see the last steam train crossing the Pennines and hear the Edwardian music-hall song 'Watching the Trains Go Out', Sir John Benjamin begins to reminisce. His nostalgic verse and prose recall the great trains of old as he moves through a photographic exhibition in Kingsway. For more information on British Transport Films, visit http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/i...

Film Documentary & Folk Music: Darlington Railway (Ewan MacColl & Peggy Seeger 1960)

The poetry of steam and diesel is set into song by radical folk musicians Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger in a film that celebrates the Darlington North Road locomen who work around the clock to keep the engines rolling on the railways. This imaginative television documentary, tinged with nostalgia, creates a rich tapestry of actuality and sung narration, heavily influenced by the revolutionary BBC Radio Ballads. As Head of Features in the early years of Tyne Tees TV, Herbert K. Lewenhak produced two ballad documentaries on working mens lives in the North East under the title The Way We Live (this one broadcast on 9 March 1960), for which 20th century folk chroniclers Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger wrote, scored and performed the narration. Along with Charles Parker, both musicians were creators of the critically acclaimed BBC Radio Ballads (1958-1964), which broke the mould of radio programmes. The North Road Works, Darlington, opened in 1863 to repair and build engines for the Stockton and Darlington Railway, but officially closed in April 1966 with the loss of 2,150 jobs, a victim of the notorious Beeching Axe.

Visual Arts: Railway Artist (British Transport Commission Public Relations Office 1960)

Railway artist Terence Cuneo holding sketchbooks and standing next to a railway track, beckoning forward a diesel freight train 'Condor'. He sits on a seat astride one of the tracks and begins to sketch. Freight trains are behind him, also a station lookout man holding furled flags under his arm with a small trumpet hanging round his neck. Condor "officially described on the London Midland Region of British Railways as a 1200 HP Type 2 Co-Bo diesel-electric locomotive".

Film Documentary: Night Mail (GPO Film Unit 1936)

W.H. Auden's poem, Night Mail, performed by Benjamin Britten. Taken from Night Mail, documentary, The flagship of the GPO Film Unit's output and a cornerstone of British documentary. Directed by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, 1936.