The Sound of Venice: Handcrafted Melodies
by Susanne Wöll & Tim Hartrick
Credits
Production, Directing, Concept, Photography, Editing
Susanne Wöll / Tim Hartrick
Music & Sounddesign
Matteo Bordin
Sound Engineers
Matteo Bordin / Lorenzo Scagnolari / Jan Glück
Mask builders
Gualtiero Dall'Osto / Tragicomica
Forcula builder
Saverio Pastor
Mosaic manufacturer
Orsoni Venezia 1888
Restorers
Adriano Cincotto / Cincotto Restauro
Gondola-Flags
Anna Campagnari / Anareta Bandiere
Violin maker
Gregg Alf
Marble masonry
FZ Marmi Srl - Lavorazione Marmi e Graniti
Glass blowing
Martina Lazzari / Simone Cenedese
Weaving
Maddalena Vianello / Luigi Bevilacqua
Tim Hartrick
Mainz - Venice - Castelfranco
Small teams quickly formed to develop concepts and clarify organisational aspects. In collaboration with my friend Susanne Wöll, with whom I had already worked on the last project, we brainstormed and developed a clear interest and working goal. We were particularly encouraged to experiment with sounds recorded on location. We quickly came up with the idea of exploring the world-famous ancient craftsmanship of Venice, whose factories produce unique pieces. We not only wanted to document the special architecture of the city, but also to capture it experimentally with a focus on sound. The fascination for craftsmanship and the opportunity to see people in Venice working with the highest quality materials and extraordinary techniques gave us anticipation and motivation for our project.
Knowing that a precise schedule with the protagonists was essential, we entered the pre-production phase early on, researching and writing emails. Communication was a particular challenge as there were only two of us at the beginning and we didn't speak Italian. By a lucky coincidence, we received support from a Venetian woman who heard about our project and helped us for nothing in return. Together we thought about who could be representative of our film and how we could contact those who did not respond to our emails. We were later joined by Italian students Matteo Bordin and Lorenzo Scagnolari.
The research and production phase began two months in advance. Only a few days before the start of our shooting week were all the dates finalised and we were ready to shoot. Because of our precise shooting schedule, it was less of a journey of discovery and more of a targeted approach from A to B. However, with nine dates over six days, we realised that this was no easy task in Venice as the logistics took time and energy. Finding suitable ferries, navigating through crowded alleyways with heavy equipment and limited GPS reception certainly slowed everything down threefold compared to ordinary cities. Venice presents attractive motifs for the camera and fascinating sounds for the microphone at every corner, but the effort to get them is comparatively high, also financially.
We were out shooting every day from early in the morning until late at night, with the exception of Holy Sunday, when of course no craftsmen opened their doors for us. As expected, I had inspiring experiences in the manufactories. The people there were passionate artists and craftsmen who radiated their enthusiasm for their work and were delighted that we were also very interested. Most of them were extremely co-operative and with their help we were able to construct some of the scenes we had imagined. The materials, tools, buildings and equipment were reminiscent of images from fairy tales or times gone by. We kept discovering new motifs and sounds around every corner. The spinning in the glass mosaic factory and the velvet weaving mill were particularly impressive. However, we would never have been able to film there without prior consultation, as these are also places that tourists are interested in. In the end, we received commitments from the manufacturers, who were interested in our concept and were eagerly awaiting the final product. The fact that our focus was more on the sound made it special for many and our ticket into the world of traditional craftsmanship.
Susanne Wöll
Preparation, good spirits, and interesting moments from production
During the pre-production phase, we got to know the students from the Conservatory in Castelfranco through video calls. They were to participate in our projects and support us. Matteo Bordin and Lorenzo Scagnolari were very interested in our concept and agreed to take over the sound department for us in Venice. Matteo would also be involved in composing our soundtrack.
Stefanie heard about our project through the workshops we contacted. She assisted us with the organization without expecting anything in return. She was simply taken with our concept and willing to put in a good word for us. Until the last day before the excursion, we rescheduled and set up appointments with various artisanal workshops and had a tightly scheduled plan for our stay, featuring nine protagonists and workshops. Sparkling, dazzling, and shiny materials in all colors and shapes left us speechless.
The shoot begins: Gualtiero Dall'Osto is one of the protagonists in the rediscovery and revival of the Venetian Carnival. Together with his son Tobia, he works in the heart of Venice, designing faces of all physiognomies and running two mask workshops as well as a costume studio.
Saverio Pastor custom-makes oars, oarlocks, and accessories for traditional boats and boats with lateen sails. The "Forcole" are the distinctive oarlocks for gondolas. The "Forcola" is tailored to the size of each individual rower.
Then there's "Orsoni Venezia 1888" with the last historic kiln in Venice, which has been producing 24-karat gold leaf mosaic, colored gold, and Venetian smalti for art, architecture, and design with the same artisanal mastery since 1888. "Orsoni Venezia 1888" is the only workshop that produces mosaic stones for St. Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco). Huge, breathtaking, magnificent motifs that have adorned the domes and walls of the basilica since the 17th century must be maintained.
A few hours later, we met Adriano Cincotto, the restorer. Since 1997, he has worked mainly in museums, churches, and palaces in Venice. He specializes in the restoration of stone and polychrome marble, stucco, and wall and ceiling frescoes. He restores stained glass windows and historic metal elements. Unfortunately, due to hard-to-obtain filming permits, we couldn't film him at the sites where he was working on restorations.
The following day, we were lucky that our appointment was flexible and accommodating: Anna Campagnari, also known as "Anareta," is a Venetian rower who decided in 2009 to start a small business focused on making flags, a typical prize in Venetian rowing competitions.
Early Monday morning, we had the honor of visiting Gregg Alf at his home. He is regarded as one of the leading violin makers of our time. Gregg has an excellent reputation for concert instruments and is a multiple gold medalist and honorary titleholder of "Hors Concours" from the Violin Society of America. After a few wonderful hours in his workshop, we had to leave with heavy hearts to catch the ferry to Murano on time. There, we were supposed to meet a gentleman, Tino, with whom Stefanie had arranged an appointment. Together, we visited his marble workshop.
Next stop, Murano: we had a morning appointment with Simone Cenedese. He belongs to the youngest generation of Murano masters, characterized by a renewed interest in bringing the tradition of glassmaking into modernity.
Tessitura Luigi Bevilacqua, run by the family of the same name, continues one of Venice's oldest traditions with original looms from the 18th century, complemented by mechanical production. They create enchanting velvet fabrics for the most elegant occasions and palaces.
Most of the artisans and craftsmen we met prepared typical steps of their artistic professions to give us the best possible insight into their processes. It was fascinating to observe the well-coordinated work rhythms of the various people who share one thing in common: they all make the creation of these magnificent works of art possible, step by step, with full commitment, precision, and dedication.
Editing and Composition: Back in Germany, we spent weeks viewing and sorting video material to start editing our project. In December, the students from the Conservatory in Castelfranco came to Mainz to continue supporting us in post-production. Since the concept of our project differed from that of conventional films, we first had to find our workflow. It was in our interest that the soundtrack was created alongside the visual narration. There were recurring difficulties in following this vision and implementing it according to our ideas. We put great effort into communicating our concept to develop the image and sound simultaneously. However, it proved nearly impossible unless all involved were working in the same department. By the end of January, Tim and I were still editing and trying to steer the sound design in the right direction with combined inspirations. Matteo finally completed it at the end of February.
We are very pleased to present the first longer, clean, and rather detailed version of our film. However, in the future, we want to realize further versions—shorter, more compressed, and experimental in both visual and audio aspects. We want to break the project down even more into many small parts and assemble it into an artistic, complete mosaic.
Some of the encounters in Venice will remain in my memory, especially the one on the first day with Gualtiero Dall'Osto. He showed great interest in our idea and artistic approach. We are still in contact with him and would like to combine our art with him as an artist to create something bigger. Gualtiero inspires me greatly with his manner. He expresses himself incredibly eloquently when he speaks and philosophizes with full joy and love about his passions. He repeatedly draws connections, showing how everything is interconnected, influencing and depending on one another. I could relate most to this mindset of an artist, a painter, during my time in Venice, and I often think back to that feeling of being understood. I look forward to meeting more such personalities who will enrich my life. Hopefully, such encounters will help me become the best version of myself. If I succeed, I can also serve as an inspiration to others.
Matteo Bordin
The "Handcrafted Melodies" project was of particular interest to me because, despite having worked on several occasions, in the role of sound designer, on documentaries concerning different aspects of Venice, it gave me the opportunity to investigate an area of the city hidden from most and foreign to tourist routes: that of traditional Venetian craftsmanship.
During the week of filming, my teammates Lorenzo Scagnolari, Susanne Wöll, Tim Hartrick and I were guests in the workshops and laboratories and were able to film and record the sounds produced by the actions and tools of the artisans: from the organic ones of wood used in violin making, to the din of the master glassmakers' ovens, of carved stone, of textile looms. In this project my intention was to create a narrative/auditory path by alternating natural sounds in their context and their metamorphosis through the use of electronics. By modifying the morphology by altering the timbral, pitch and intensity characteristics or through spectral, granular and spatialization manipulation techniques, it has produced an acousmatic result where, at times, what the eye sees does not always coincide with what the ear hears, "elevating" the sound to a non-exclusive subordination to the visual image.
The objective of the project was to pay homage to the centenary Venetian artisan tradition, an act of raising awareness to avoid its disappearance.
I thank the Conservatory of Castelfranco Veneto, the University of Applied Sciences of Mainz, the teachers and my teammates.