Matt Voigts is likely a familiar name in Clarion. He’s a 2003 Clarion-Goldfield graduate and edited the Monitor during 2014 between his masters' and starting his PhD at the University of Nottingham. He now works as a researcher and lives in The Netherlands. His parents Bruce and Joan have lived in Clarion since 1990.
Voigts has also spent the last few years engaged in an interesting side project. He explains, “Since 2017, I’ve been fortunate to be involved with the pre-production, production, exhibition, and research life of a ‘brain-controlled’ movie called “The Moment.”
The movie’s story is classic science fiction, reminiscent of “The Matrix” and “Blade Runner.” It is set in a near-future world where people’s thoughts are monitored by a shared consciousness called “The Moment”.
Voigts explains that the film’s director, Dr. Richard Ramchurn, and producer, Rachel Ramchurn, are good friends of his. The film was completed as part of Richard’s PhD research. “Rich and I completed our PhDs in the same department at the University of Nottingham,” said Voigts. “While I've had my own projects to work on, I've had a small but consistent presence in the movie's life.”
“The Moment” comments on current technology like social media, asking how people can meaningfully resist in a world where ‘thoughts’ are monitored. Part of what makes the movie remarkable is how it embodies these ideas in its technology.
No ‘definitive’ version of “The Moment exists” – the movie actually changes with each screening, based off attention data gathered from a viewer wearing an EEG headset. Voigts says there are potentially 16.9 billion versions of the movie that could exist. The tone, story, and overall experience of the film can change significantly between screenings.
This all may sound bizarre, but Voigts emphasizes, “When you're watching ‘The Moment,’ it looks like a ‘normal’ movie.” He adds, “We're used to seeing one image cut to another – it happens dozens, sometimes hundreds of times in a half hour of television. Our minds are trained to find meaning in the way these shots are arranged. However, when the edits happen – and which shots they cut between – changes significantly each screening of ‘The Moment.’ The result is the images, story, its implications and tone vary. It feels like a different movie each time.”
Voigts is excited by the opportunity to share this movie locally. “The Moment” will be shown at the Clarion Theater at 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 26. Voigts clarifies that this will be a screening of the film and that no one in the audience in Clarion will be wearing the EEG ‘brain scan’ headset. That will be happening in Nottingham, UK, where the movie will be ‘performed’ live by an audience member wearing the device. In addition, electronic musicians Gary Naylor (Scrubber Fox) and Hallvarður Ásgeirsson will be adapting the movie’s score in real time from Manchester, UK, and Iceland, respectively.
“Going to the movies at the theater every week was one of the things I loved best growing up in Clarion,” says Voigts. “Even if I can't be there in person, it's good to be able to share a film project I helped create with my hometown. It may be a bit of a strange movie, but I hope it's a rewarding one for people who are open to it.”
The thirty-minute movie will be played twice followed by a Q&A session with the director and musicians. Voigts’ parents Bruce and Joan will be hosting the screening on Saturday and Matt will be available via internet to answer questions after the film.
If you’re unable to make the screening at the theater, Voigts says “The Moment” will also be broadcast at that time, Saturday, June 26 at 2:00 pm (central time), via the online streaming platform Twitch. A subsequent screening will be broadcast July 31, 2:00 pm (central time). More info and tickets (which are 'pay what you can') can be found at http://braincontrolledmovie.co.uk/.
