Musician James Wilson stars in Quantaform, a short film based on Ambrose Field’s music of the same name. The film, produced by Screen Yorkshire and supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, sees Wilson perform in twenty unusual locations across Yorkshire and the Humber, from Harrogate Turkish Baths to Castle Howard Estate and Bradford City Football Club. Each movement, written for solo flute, is precisely matched to the acoustics of the site in which it is performed.

Students from the universities of Bradford, Hull, Leeds Trinity, York and York St John supported the production team during the five-day shoot. The filmmaking teams were recruited via Screen Yorkshire’s Connected Campus programme, a groundbreaking initiative that forges links between TV and film professionals, production companies, broadcasters and the students trying to break into this competitive industry.

Musically, the movements are tightly focused and short. Silence plays a significant part as the reverberation from each site is treated as if it were also a performer itself. The influence of the shakuhachi, a Japanese bamboo flute, is never far away.

“Twenty epic locations; teams from five different universities; five days! In one short week, the Quantaform project placed flautist James Wilson into one of Yorkshire’s largest stately homes, into a World War II aircraft, onto the stage of one of Yorkshire’s premier concert venues, into a bear pit, up a climbing wall, into the stands of a football stadium, and many more quirky, acoustically interesting locations. Dedicated teams of students filmed Wilson’s performance and the end results were weaved into a beautiful, intriguing, piece of visual and audio art. I’m really proud of this fantastic achievement.”

– Richard Knight, Career Support Manager, Screen Yorkshire

“James Wilson presents my cycle of flute pieces, Quantaform, in association with Screen Yorkshire in this beautifully produced short film. A collaboration between experienced directors and new filmmakers, this production explores how everyday space can become unique and special. The music is moulded to the specific acoustic qualities of its surroundings: in this case, not classical concert halls but local bars, football stadia, shopping precincts, climbing walls, aircraft hangars, rooftops and mundane domestic bathrooms. Wilson’s performance of this virtuoso score is top-notch, and the result is visually and aurally stunning.”

– Ambrose Field, Composer

Locations featured include The Abbeydale Picture House, The Cardigan Arms, First Direct Arena, Hewenden Viaduct, Midland Hotel [Bradford], ROKT, Royal Armouries, Selby Abbey, Sheffield Botanical Gardens, Thurgoland Tunnel, Wheldrake Wood, White Rose Shopping Centre and Yorkshire Air Museum.

The musical score to Quantaform is published by Tetractys Publishing.