Baseball and Debussy symphony come together in experimental film 

at under the bridge art space

(August 20, 2019 ) NORTH MIAMI – A new film that employs a 1913 symphony to explore the story of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat will be on view starting Sept. 8 at under the bridge art space in North Miami. 

 “Les Outils Du Jeu,” or “Tools of the Game,”  follows one of the nation’s most iconic objects – the Louisville Slugger – from its origins in the forest to the baseball diamond. The video is driven by French composer Claude Debussy’s piece “Jeux,” or “Games.” Filmmakers Dennis Scholl and Marlon Johnson created the work entirely from found, archival footage. Each step in the bat’s life cycle, from the loggers moving their saw through a tree trunk to the bat in the hands of baseball greats, moves to Debussy’s score.

 “We wanted the film to be in service to the music, not the other way around, as most films are scored,” said Scholl, an award-winning documentary filmmaker focusing on arts and culture. “I spent weeks worrying about how we were going to ‘sync’ the music to the film. But as the film started to come together, I realized that we didn’t need to chase the music, as the viewer naturally synched the music with the visual imagery.” 

 Over his career, Debussy eschewed the traditional symphony and his work is often compared to the impressionist painters of his time. Considered his most mercurial piece, “Games” was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for his innovative Ballets Russes company and premiered in 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in  Paris, with the choreography initially revolving around the relationship of a couple told through a game of tennis. Debussy died five years later.

 In 2017, Conductor Teddy Abrams chose the piece for the Louisville Orchestra, and commissioned Scholl and Johnson to produce an accompanying film. Because of the orchestra’s local roots, the filmmakers decided that the story of the Louisville Slugger was the perfect fit.

 “under the bridge art space often presents experimental work and endeavors. ‘Les Outils Du Jeu,, (Tools of the Game)’ certainly conforms to that idea, ” writes lou anne colodny, director of the alternative space.  “Juxtaposing luscious color imagery, black/white archival documentation and the lyrical genius of Debussy, Dennis Scholl and Marlon Johnson have realized what they set out to accomplish – an impressionistic montage that is a work of art. I am delighted to share their vision with the public.”