Art Performance: "Undercover" an open source art project by Sameh Al Tawil (from the Warm-up art project 2024).

PATCH 1 (0–15s)  →  THE BUZZ      →  lip trills, sustained vvvvv, the room wakes
PATCH 2 (15–30s) →  THE SIREN     →  pitch glides woooOOOooo, plastic heaves
PATCH 3 (30–45s) →  THE TRILLS    →  brrrr / la-la-la staccato, chaos peaks, snap to silence

A wide cinematic 35mm film photograph of an experimental performance-art tableau inside a vast brutalist concrete hall with raw board-marked walls and a high horizontal band of clerestory windows leaking flat, overcast daylight. In the exact center stands a soprano singer, a woman in her early thirties with hair pulled back tightly, wearing a floor-length deep blood-red silk gown; she is COMPLETELY SEALED inside her own enclosure of clear translucent painter's plastic that drapes from above her head all the way to the floor like a cocoon, with NO part of her body breaking the plastic surface — no hand, face, hair or hem emerges. Her softened face and red gown are seen dissolved THROUGH the cloudy plastic; her mouth buzzes as if making a lip trill, and both her hands press outward against the INSIDE of the plastic near her chest, creating taut stretched bulges and creases in the membrane. Surrounding her in a loose semicircle, a chamber orchestra of musicians in formal black attire — a harpist, a cellist, a double-bass player, two violinists, a pianist at a grand piano, and a brass player — each one ENTIRELY ENCLOSED together with their instrument inside its own sealed translucent plastic sheet; the instruments, bows and brass are visible only as soft amber, brown and brass shapes pressing against the plastic from the inside, NOTHING protruding outside — no hand, no bow tip, no scroll, no brass bell breaks any plastic surface. Everything is desaturated concrete grey except the singer's red gown glowing through the plastic, the single saturated color in the frame. Soft natural daylight catches the folds and taut stretched areas of the plastic, creating gentle highlights and lens flares. Shallow depth of field, focus on the singer's stretched plastic silhouette, the orchestra slightly soft. Heavy fine 35mm film grain, muted cold cinematic realism, high contrast, the quiet tension before sound begins.

A wide cinematic 35mm film photograph of the same brutalist concrete hall and the same performance-art ensemble, now mid-performance, with every figure still COMPLETELY SEALED inside translucent plastic. The soprano in her deep blood-red silk gown, fully enclosed within her clear plastic cocoon, has her head tilted back and jaw dropped WIDE open in a sustained vowel, her open mouth and extended throat pressing forward into the plastic so the membrane stretches taut over her face; one hand pushes flat against the INSIDE of the plastic over her sternum, the other stretches the plastic outward, fingers splayed BENEATH the surface creating sharp tented shapes. NO part of her emerges from the plastic. Around her the enclosed chamber musicians are caught in jerky extended-technique gestures performed entirely WITHIN their sealed plastic enclosures — the cellist's hand tapping the instrument body presses a bulge into the plastic, a violinist's raised bowing arm and bow drag across strings as shifting shapes UNDER the sheet, the harpist's hands rub the soundboard from inside — and every plastic enclosure visibly stretches, rustles and creases with the motion, taut bulges and deep folds catching daylight in bright crinkled highlights, but no instrument, bow or limb ever breaks through the plastic surface. Same cold desaturated concrete palette, same flat overcast daylight from the high clerestory windows, the red gown glowing through plastic as the only saturated color. Shallow depth of field, sharp on the singer's plastic-wrapped open mouth and stretched membrane, orchestra softly blurred in motion. Heavy 35mm film grain, high contrast, lens flares on the plastic, intense and uncanny atmosphere.

A wide cinematic 35mm film photograph of the same brutalist concrete hall, the performance now at peak chaos, with all figures still TOTALLY SEALED inside translucent plastic. The soprano in the blood-red silk gown, fully enclosed in her clear plastic cocoon, has her mouth caught mid staccato exercise — lips and tongue tensed as if rapidly articulating 'la-la-la' or a rolled 'rrrr' trill, cheeks puffed, the plastic stretching and snapping taut over her shifting face; both her hands flail in spasmodic gestures that punch and stretch the plastic membrane from the INSIDE into rapid tented shapes near her face. NO part of her body leaves the plastic. All around her the enclosed chamber musicians are at the height of frantic extended-technique movement performed entirely UNDER their sealed plastic sheets, which heave, billow and crumple dramatically, every fold catching hard daylight in bright crinkled flares; the pianist reaches deep inside the grand piano to pluck the internal strings as a writhing shape beneath the plastic, the bassist's enclosure is dragged taut, a violinist's bowing arm scrapes near the bridge as a blurred form under the sheet — but nothing, no hand, bow, string or brass, ever pierces or exits the plastic. The concrete hall feels alive with stretching, rustling plastic. Same cold desaturated grey palette, the red gown glowing through plastic as the single saturated color, flat overcast daylight from the high windows. Shallow depth of field, the singer's plastic-wrapped silhouette sharp while the orchestra dissolves into motion blur. Heavy 35mm film grain, very high contrast, dramatic lens flares across the plastic, raw, overwhelming, climactic atmosphere just before sudden silence.

{
  "final_prompt": "A continuous 15-second experimental performance-art shot inside a vast brutalist concrete hall. Every figure is COMPLETELY SEALED inside its own translucent plastic enclosure — nothing protrudes at any point. Begin on the wide tableau, then a very slow, almost imperceptible push-in toward the soprano in the blood-red gown sealed inside her clear plastic cocoon. She performs raw vocal WARMUPS, not melody: her lips buzz in a sustained lip-trill 'vvvvvvv', a low motorboat buzz, jaw loose, her softened face seen dissolved THROUGH the cloudy plastic, both hands pressing small tense shapes against the INSIDE of the membrane near her chest, stretching it into taut bulges and creases. As she buzzes, the enclosed musicians around her begin slow, jerky extended-technique gestures performed entirely UNDER their sealed plastic — the cellist lifts a hand to tap the body, a violinist draws a bow behind the bridge — visible only as shifting shapes pushing the plastic outward, no hand, bow or instrument ever breaking the surface. Their plastic enclosures rustle and crease softly with each movement, catching the flat daylight in shifting highlights. The plastic over the singer trembles with her breath. The whole sealed room is waking up. Desaturated concrete tones, the red gown glowing through plastic as the only saturated color, heavy 35mm film grain, shallow depth of field on the singer's plastic-wrapped silhouette. Use @keyframe_A.png as the start frame and the subject and scene reference.",
  "audio": "Close-mic but MUFFLED, as if sealed inside a plastic bag: a dry raw soprano sustained buzzing lip-trill, vvvvvvv, motorboat-like, no melody, with dampened highs and a slightly boxy enclosed resonance. Underneath: lo-fi echoing chamber acoustics, a single low dissonant muffled cello-body tap, faint feedback hum, and the constant dry crackle, squeak and friction-rustle of plastic sheeting being pressed and stretched from the inside. All instrumental sound is filtered and dampened THROUGH the plastic. Vocals upfront but veiled, against a sparse, sealed, atmospheric backdrop. No music in any conventional sense.",
  "recommended_parameters": { "duration": 15, "aspect_ratio": "16:9", "note": "single continuous take, very slow push-in" }
}

{
  "final_prompt": "A continuous 15-second performance-art shot, same brutalist concrete hall, escalating energy, every figure still COMPLETELY SEALED inside translucent plastic with nothing protruding. A slow handheld drift orbits gently around the soprano in the blood-red gown sealed in her plastic cocoon. She performs a pitch-siren vocal warmup: jaw drops wide into a tall vowel, head tilts back, sliding a long gliding 'woooOOOooo' from low to high and back, her open mouth and throat pressing forward so the membrane stretches taut over her face; one hand pushes flat against the INSIDE of the plastic over her sternum, the other stretches it outward, fingers splayed BENEATH the surface into sharp tented shapes. Around her the enclosed musicians intensify extended techniques entirely WITHIN their sealed plastic — the cellist taps and knocks the body, the harpist's hands rub the soundboard, a violinist bows near the bridge with the arm raised — visible only as shifting bulging shapes pressing and dragging the plastic from inside, no instrument, bow or limb ever breaking the surface. Their enclosures rustle, lift and crease violently in sync with the staccato movements, every taut fold flashing daylight. Desaturated concrete palette, red gown glowing through plastic as the only saturated color, flat overcast daylight, heavy 35mm film grain, shallow depth of field locked on the singer's plastic-wrapped mouth and stretched membrane. Use @keyframe_B.png as the start frame and the subject and scene reference.",
  "audio": "MUFFLED, plastic-sealed mix: a dry raw soprano sliding-pitch siren, woooOOOooo, gliding up and down with no fixed melody, dampened and slightly boxy as if enclosed. Beneath it, all filtered THROUGH plastic: dissonant sustained chords, sudden muffled percussive scrapes and knocks from struck instrument bodies, irregular plucked-string overtones, feedback hums, and prominent dry crackling, squeaking and heaving of plastic sheeting stretched from the inside, echoing in the concrete chamber. Chaotic, atmospheric, lo-fi, enclosed; vocals upfront but veiled, jarring against the dampened instrumental backdrop.",
  "recommended_parameters": { "duration": 15, "aspect_ratio": "16:9", "note": "slow orbital drift, rising intensity" }
}

{
  "final_prompt": "A continuous 15-second performance-art shot, same brutalist concrete hall, climax then sudden silence, all figures still TOTALLY SEALED inside translucent plastic with nothing protruding. The camera slowly pushes in tight on the soprano in the blood-red gown inside her trembling plastic cocoon as she performs rapid staccato warmups: a rolled guttural tongue-trill 'brrrrrrr' then sharp machine-gun 'la-la-la-la-la' articulation, cheeks puffing, the plastic snapping taut over her shifting face; both hands flail in spasmodic gestures that punch and stretch the membrane from the INSIDE into rapid tented shapes near her face, but never break it. All around her the enclosed musicians hit peak frantic extended-technique movement entirely UNDER their sealed plastic, which heaves, billows and crumples dramatically — the pianist reaches deep into the grand piano to pluck the strings as a writhing shape beneath the plastic, the bassist's enclosure drags taut as the bow scrapes inside, violinists scrape near the bridge as blurred forms under the sheet — nothing, no hand, bow, string or brass, ever pierces or exits the plastic. The whole sealed hall rustles and stretches, alive. In the final two seconds everything STOPS at once: a single held frame, the singer mid-gesture, the plastic settling, abrupt total silence. Desaturated concrete tones, red gown glowing through plastic as the only saturated color, heavy 35mm film grain, very high contrast, dramatic lens flares across the plastic, singer's plastic-wrapped silhouette sharp while the orchestra dissolves into motion blur. Use @keyframe_C.png as the start frame and the subject and scene reference.",
  "audio": "MUFFLED, plastic-sealed mix at full intensity: a dry raw soprano performing fast guttural tongue-trills brrrrrrr and sharp staccato la-la-la-la-la scales, accelerating and overlapping, no melody, dampened and boxy as if sealed in a bag. Beneath it the enclosed instrumental chaos peaks, all filtered THROUGH plastic: dense muffled dissonant scrapes, plucked piano-string clusters, percussive knocks, feedback swells, and the loud dry crackling, squeaking, friction-roar of all the plastic sheeting stretched at once, echoing massively in the concrete hall. In the final two seconds: a hard cut to complete total silence — only a faint settling crinkle of plastic, then nothing. Vocals upfront but veiled, overwhelming, collapsing into the abrupt silence.",
  "recommended_parameters": { "duration": 15, "aspect_ratio": "16:9", "note": "push-in to climax, hard freeze and cut to silence at ~13s" }
}