MORE THAN THE SUM…Collaboration and Climate

11 Nov

Still of Grace Turner performing in Parts Per Million, a film by Sean Hall from Vivid Affect Productions.

Parts Per Million: Local Collaboration and Climate Communication

Scene Stirling’s Creative Network exists to connect artists and creative practitioners across Stirling and the surrounding area, providing opportunities to collaborate, experiment, and develop new work close to home. Parts Per Million, a short aerial dance film by Sean Hall of Vivid Affect Productions in collaboration with Grace Turner of TurnAround Dance Theatre, is a strong example of how these connections can spark locally rooted creative projects.

In spring 2024, Sean approached Grace with the idea for the project to see if she’d like to work with him on it. The pair had met a couple of times before, most recently whilst both working as part of the Remembering Together Stirling team. The themes of the climate crisis appealed to Grace, as did the fact that the project would involve outdoor work, and she was interested in taking part.

Finding the Movement

Over the following months, Sean and Grace worked out the logistics of filming aerial dance outdoors. Performing aerial dance outside requires the use of a rig — the first of many things Sean was to learn about aerial dance whilst working with Grace.

Still of Grace Turner, aerial dancer in foggy wide shot with twirling image of Grace in dark clothes with a rope wrapping itself round her as she reaches up. The top performing in Parts Per Million, a film by Sean Hall from Vivid Affect Productions. — Still of Grace Turner performing in Parts Per Million, a film by Sean Hall from Vivid Affect Productions.

They had an in-person rehearsal in Dunblane where Grace walked Sean through different types of aerial equipment — cocoon, silks, rope, and hoop — showing what kinds of movement could be achieved with each. By this point, Sean had a rough idea of the narrative and structure of the film, so they were able to match different pieces of equipment to different parts of the story. In Parts Per Million, cocoon, silks, and rope are used.

Following this rehearsal, Sean sent Grace an outline and some descriptive words she had asked for to help inform choreography and movement. In response, Grace sent videos of structured improvisation from her rehearsal time exploring these ideas.

Filming the Sky

Filming took place over two September days with remarkably favourable weather. The autumn light cast a soft glow over the landscape, and occasional breezes added an unpredictable energy to Grace’s aerial performance. She performed on her rig while Sean filmed her against the sky, capturing both close-up detail and the vastness of the clouds above. Each section of choreography was filmed multiple times from different angles and distances, allowing the movement to fully unfold on screen.

The process required mutual trust. Grace reflected on this, noting that it involved “kind of having to put faith in [Sean] and the filmmaking process. Neither of us 100% knew how what we filmed would look like in the edit. There was a rough idea, but I feel like there was a bit of a leap of faith going on.” The shared sense of adventure and the challenges of filming outdoors created moments of quiet exhilaration, laughter, and genuine collaboration between the two artists.

Editing and Collaboration

Sean then worked through several rounds of editing, checking in with Grace to ensure she was happy with how the movement had been cut together. Seeing the film come together and work so well was deeply fulfilling. Sean reflects that Grace not only performed beautiful and poignant movement but also embodied and expressed the emotional journey that takes place in the film.

Through this project, Sean feels he gained a new friend and collaborator in the area. Earlier in the year, Grace asked him to film some R&D of hers, and he would not hesitate to work with her again.

Communicating the Climate Crisis

Parts Per Million demonstrates how climate issues can be communicated on an emotional level. Sean notes that there might not always be words for how the climate crisis makes someone feel — and those words might not feel like enough. Seeing these feelings expressed through movement on screen can be very effective.

The film also fits into Sean’s wider vision for Vivid Affect Productions, with further short films planned to follow roughly monthly. Some of these will feature collaborations with local people, highlighting the creative potential within the region.

Scene Stirling’s Role

This project illustrates the value of the Scene Stirling Creative Network in connecting local talent, supporting experimentation, and encouraging artists to look closer to home for inspiration and collaboration. By fostering relationships across the area, the programme enables projects like Parts Per Million to flourish — combining local collaboration with creative risk-taking to create meaningful, impactful work.

More about Sean

More about Grace

About

Parts Per Million is a short aerial dance film that explores climate anxiety, the climate crisis, and atmospheric pollution. High amongst the clouds, Grace Turner’s sky-dwelling aerialist is swept up in alarming and unpredictable atmospheric events, within which she tries to both desperately hold on and find a way through.

Credits

Choreographed and performed by: Grace Turner, TurnAround Dance Theatre
Directed, produced, filmed, edited, and score composed by: Sean Hall, Vivid Affect Productions

Watch: Parts Per Million
Location: Stirling & Dunblane, September 2024
Produced as part of Scene Stirling’s creative collaborations programme.

Kevin Harrison

Kevin Harrison is the Director of Artlink Central, a charity and social enterprise designing creative experiences in conjunction with artists, public bodies and led by disadvantaged or marginalised people particularly in health, social care or criminal justice contexts. . Kevin joined the organisation five years ago and was previously Arts and Wellbeing Manager with Sense Scotland since 2006, supporting a Scotland-wide participation in the arts for disabled people with communication needs. Kevin managed the development of a range of arts projects including Threads and Found in Translation, projects exploring cultural diversity and disability, and Leaving New Craigs, a life history project in Inverness for people leaving the last long stay hospital in Scotland. He managed a national arts and wellbeing team and supported the establishment of a strong creative programme in the TouchBase, a new inclusive base for people and communities supported by Sense Scotland in the south side of Glasgow. Kevin who has a degree in theatre and film from Roehampton University and who undertook postgraduate studies in Arts Management and Policy at Birkbeck University of London is also a trustee for Scottish Prison Arts Network, chair of Dementia Friendly Forth Valley as part of a Dementia Services Development Centre (DSDC) programme. Previous posts include freelance editor and administration roles with key national disability arts organisation, Shape Arts and public sector roles in Arts Development and as Business Manager, Creative Academy, Slough Borough Council, supporting a multi-million pound EQUAL creative industries inclusion programme . He also has experience of managing Music 4 Slough, a Youth Music Action Zone.