Vision Fugitive, alongside Winter Afternoon, forms the first part of a diptych of performance films. Both works function outside the traditional framework of montage. However, stepping beyond established conventions of filmed music performance was not an initial criterion for their production. Rather, the visual directions were rooted directly in their respective musical programs, attempting to reconsider the fundamental act of translating music to the screen.

In the case of Vision Fugitive, the film offers a sweeping motion through 20th-century piano repertoire. Drawing on past experiences of performing Prokofiev’s complete Visions Fugitives on the concert platform, I felt these short pieces presented an unusual dramaturgical challenge—a friction I encountered again with Rachmaninoff’s Corelli Variations. These are works of boundless imagination, humor, and agility, yet they are easily overshadowed by their fragmentary nature. It is no wonder that both composers frequently truncated these sets in public performance: Prokofiev would perform only selections, while Rachmaninoff famously skipped variations depending on the coughs of the audience.

With regard to cinematic translation, the program seems predisposed to montage. Given the myriad contrasts between the individual characters within Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff, the choice to pursue editing would be easily justified, with each vision and variation providing fruitful territory for visual invention. Pauses between selections would allow for practical camera resets and multiple takes, with each sequence assembled through an array of brief shots in post-production.

The decision to abandon montage entirely was not taken lightly. However, I sought another kind of equilibrium between detail and whole—one derived from harmonic and spatial continuity rather than narrative assembly. While Prokofiev’s output stems from the tonal functional sphere, there is a remarkable anecdote that following a recital he was once confronted by a listener determined to know the key of the third vision. His response was dry: "Tonalities are not something I ever think about." In this spirit it feels appropriate to offer a counter-sarcasm and reintroduce Vision Fugitive—shifting to the singular tense to acknowledge the lone filmic technique at the heart of this project: a 52-minute, uninterrupted tracking shot, where camera choreography acts as a living counterpoint to the score. [read more]

Director of Photography - Andrew Staples

Sound - Oliver Glynn, Caroline Siegers

Color Grade and Online Conform - Christiaan Meyer, Windsor Creative

Theatre Technical Manager - Liam Rudd

Head of Lighting - Adam Wileman

Recorded at the Royal Academy of Music, London, United Kingdom