Gethsemane

We can honestly say we haven’t seen anything quite like John Richmond’s Gethsemane👀 Set over 2,000 years ago, this unconventional, ecclesiastical #online musical charts the #love story of Nadi & Chloe, alongside another, slightly more #epic tale: the coming of the #Messiah himself, Jesus Christ📜

⚡The innovative: Richmond’s unique M.O. is the use of manually-edited AI voices in lieu of characters & the use of stock footage as opposed to live visuals🖥️ While a creative hand is definitely applied via Richmond’s video selection & voice editing, with no physical presences to speak of, we found ourselves intrigued & baffled by this innovative yet questionable approach to storytelling...

🥩The undercooked: Against the backdrop of Roman imperialism, Jesus’ ministry & ultimate betrayal, young idealists Nadi & Chloe embark on a #lovestory. Of course, this crossroads sets the stage for a passionate power ballad, in which Chloe professes, ‘I am in love with Nadi’ 🎶❤️🔥 As is the case here, many of Richmond’s songs are more ‘tell’ than ‘show’. We find ourselves craving more nuance & subtext in the lyrics…

🥸The baffling: Adding confusion to the musical numbers is the mismatch between the voices of the “actors” and those of the singers. With no visual representation of the characters, it is nearly impossible to tell who is singing which song, which muddles the plot & leaves us asking à la #Hamilton ‘Who the Eff is This?’👥🤔

Ultimately, Gethsemane is a bold experiment with little payoff🎰 The AI voices & stock footage that define Richmond’s very specific genre are the same elements that cause confusion & detachment. We’re left with a singular question: ‘Why?’ 1/5⭐

#musical #AI #video #technology