The Pit Orchestra are seeking Expressions of Interest from visual artists, illustrators, designers and other visual creators to translate their original musical score for Eisenstein’s 1925 film Battleship Potemkin into a visual score that communicates the music to musicians and singers who don’t read traditional sheet music. This is a paid commission.
TPO’s Musical Director, Tom, is currently notating the score into traditional sheet music. We expect this process to be complete by the end of May.
Starting towards the end of May 2025, you will work with Tom to understand what the music sounds like, how many musicians and singers are involved, and other practicalities that the visual score would need to take into consideration.
You would then have until end of July to produce something which can be printed, or disseminated in another visual way, for the musicians to use during their rehearsals.
Please see the Key Dates section for project timings, and the In More Detail section for further information about the commission specification, including how to apply.
Deadline for Expressions of Interest - midnight onThursday 24th April 2025
Interviews of shortlisted applicants - End April/beginning May 2025
Selection of artist - Mid May 2025
Creation period - May, June & July 2025 (to include an initial draft deadline at end of June, then a month to revise and finalise)
Visual score completion deadline - 31st July 2025
Who we are: The Pit Orchestra (TPO) is a freely evolving ensemble of trained and untrained musicians, metamorphosing with each performance, mixing classical and modern instruments. We write original scores, soundtracks and musical accompaniments, in collaboration with filmmakers and artists, inspired by a wide variety of musical genres including rock, folk, electro, jazz, ambient and classical. TPO formed in 2013 (as The Imperfect Orchestra) and has consistently maintained principles of collaboration, artistic expression, performance, diversity, inclusivity and, perhaps most importantly, celebration of the amateur. These principles were born out of our association with the Plymouth-based film collective Imperfect Cinema, from which The Pit Orchestra originated.
What we need: We are seeking to commission a visual score that communicates the music to the players and singers, in a way that doesn’t require them to be able to read music. We are not looking for a piece of conceptual art, though what you produce might also fit into that context. Our priority is function (though if it ends up looking really interesting then that would be a lovely bonus!) This is a new way of working for us, and as such we are open to any approach that you feel would fulfil these requirements. There are, however, some considerations which we have specified below.
Considerations
The majority of TPO’s musicians and singers cannot read traditional sheet music
Some musicians and singers may not use English as their first language (or at all)
The score will be played live to a screening of the film, so the visual score’s effectiveness in communicating timing will be an important factor
Musicians and singers will not be able to use any light-emitting technology on stage, so an animation on a tablet, for example, would not be suitable (except as a rehearse-at-home extra function of the visual score)
Inclusivity is a key consideration in TPO’s work, and so the visual score should take into consideration financial barriers for musicians and singers, some of whom are in extremely low income brackets. Therefore the visual score should not assume possession of a smartphone, tablet, or computer, or include the need for any paid apps or website access (unless there are ways that we can make this accessible to a very broad range of people)
While inclusivity regarding partially sighted or blind musicians and singers is important to TPO, these musicians will be able to access recordings of their individual parts to practice with, so this is not an important consideration for this particular commission
You will need:
To be confident about and experienced in working to a relatively tight schedule
To be able to demonstrate previous relevant creative work that gives us an idea of what we might expect from working with you
To be able to work predominantly under your own supervision, as well as with Tom and other TPO members when required
You do not need to be able to read music, since we can provide audio. However, it would undeniably be useful!
To be able to attend several online meetings throughout the commission period (or be willing to travel to central Plymouth) in order to facilitate collaboration
It is desirable for you to also:
Be experienced in working with musicians, especially if you have previously produced something similar to this commission
Be experienced in creating visual works that prioritise function over concept
The fee for this commission is £1500, to include:
The creation of a visual score for Battleship Potemkin (BFI cut), owned by you but licensed to TPO in perpetuity (we will always credit you for this work, every time the visual score is performed, printed, displayed, mentioned on social media or on our website, etc)
A maximum of two rounds of revisions to the visual score, depending on musician and singer feedback
Any travel you wish to make in order to work with us
Any materials purchases or other expenses incurred as part of this commission
The visual score will remain your property
The commission fee includes TPO’s right to use it in perpetuity. Dependent on the form this score takes, this may be achieved by:
TPO being given a copy of all necessary files, AND/OR
TPO being given a reproduction of all relevant drawings, AND/OR
Other similar method
We welcome applications from people at all stages of their careers and all backgrounds, as long as you have some relevant experience (which could be student work). Please send the following to the.pit.orchestra@gmail.com, with the subject line “Visual Score Expression of Interest”, by midnight on Thursday 24th April 2025:
An Expression of Interest in writing (max 1000 words) or as a short video (3 minutes max) covering the following points:
Your ideas about how to approach the commission
Why you’re a good fit for the opportunity, and how you meet the candidate specification
Your relevant experience and examples of previous relevant work
Your CV
Your contact details
PLEASE COMBINE ALL OF THE ABOVE INTO A SINGLE PDF DOCUMENT, OR A SINGLE VIDEO FILE.