National Trevor - Liveness, Location & Immersion Performances

This practice-research project involved the development of an immersive audiovisual performance featuring a series of collaborative audiovisual works. The research question was ‘how can the liveness of audiovisual works be enhanced through combining remote and live elements of audiovisual compositions in physical immersive performance spaces?’ Making use of a 9.1.4 sound system and multiple screens, the project combined elements of traditional performance, laptop performance, installation, film and Q&A. From September 2024 to January 2026, the performances were held at multiple venues, including live music venues, arts centres, outdoor events and Falmouth University’s immersive audio environment – where the final performance was devised through consultation, a residency and by running performances several months apart to allow for reflection and further development.

As immersive art theory and practice remain at an early stage (Yin and Jin 2022), the project explored audiovisual strategies to enhance liveness in performance (Waite 2018) and communicate themes (Waite 2023) through the incorporation of mixed reality and volumetric video (Brandon 2023), LiDAR (ScanLAB 2016) and Dolby Atmos (Summers et al 2021). It sought to examine performance roles, relationship with installation, adaptivity across locations, inclusion of remote elements and audience interaction (Richards and Shaw 2022, Sloan and Turner 2024).

Findings around liveness include the relationship between human and digital elements, visual representation of recordings and real-time audiovisual connections. In terms of location, the project uses representations of real spaces (point clouds, field recordings), is adaptable to different venues and is flexible in terms of how audiences engage. Immersion was achieved through the combination of performance modalities, guiding the audience and balancing of performance elements. The project aligns to departmental and Faculty research aims and the techniques used enhance into taught modules in the Music Subject Area. Films of the performances have been distributed online.