The Silver Smokescreen: A Silent Film for the Radio

By Vernon & Burns

“When the devil pulls the strings, all the world must dance...”

Constructing an episodic narrative from silent movie intertitles, Vernon and Burns translate grand melodramatic gestures and deadpan pratfall pantomime into the audio realm. Hand-tinted frames of sound, under-cranked audio slapstick and sepia-soaked expressionism for the ear are projected onto the cinema screen of the mind's eye.

Produced by Vernon & Burns during a residency at WORM studios, Rotterdam. First performed live as part of ‘Popular Noise for the Masses’, March 2010. First broadcast on Cafe Sonore, VPRO Radio 6, June 6th 2010. Narrated by Giles Bailey.