Rumble
A Contemporary Voice for the Bridge that Sings
BLINK Cincinnati
October 2019
A bridge represents what is no longer the edge, where travel and ideas formerly stopped, but now have a path. For BLINK Cincinnati 2019, we transformed the iconic Roebling Bridge through a hyper-synchronized light and sound score, connecting two states and celebrating the vision of the Queen City. The project was explored by approximately 1.5 million visitors to the BLINK festival.
Our process started with multiple site visits to the bridge to record sound samples from cars driving across it, ambient sounds from the area nearby, as well as the sounds resonating from the structure when striking it with drumsticks, hammers, spoons, and timpani mallets. We then took these sounds, the impressions of the area, and the energy from Cincinnati to our studio to create a work that speaks to the triumph of the bridge - spanning what was once the edge - as well as to the vibe of the festival itself, a major nighttime celebration of light and sound-based artworks. Our team developed a language that allowed project composers Maria Finkelmeier and Ryan Edwards to intricately design the lighting score as they composed the music - a detailed process of design for over 500 lighting instruments that resulted in a hyper-synchronized celebration of architecture through sound and light.
The Team
Music and Light Score by: Maria Finkelmeier & Ryan Edwards
Project Manager: Maria Finkelmeier
Technical Direction: Ryan Edwards
Lighting Engineers: Vincent Lighting Systems
Produced by: Brave Berlin and MASARY Studios