VLX LIVEscore
Films scored live, in the room, once.
LIVEscore is the live-music strand of VLX, the international experimental short film series VASTLab has run since 2019 in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Durham. In every program, select films are scored live by musicians performing in the room alongside the screen.
Musicians receive their films ahead of the show and build a score for that room, that night. The rest of the program screens with its original sound, so the audience moves between fixed work and work happening in front of them.
No two nights sound the same, because no two nights are the same.
For venues. VLX brings the curated program, the musicians, and the audience. You bring the room. Admission is free with a suggested donation, artists are paid flat honoraria, and there is no door split. Full tech rider, run of show, and terms are at the bottom of this page.
Below: LIVEscore sets from past VLX programs.
Hosting LIVEscore
Venue setup
Everything a venue needs to say yes or no. One evening, one numbered program, one room. We do the curation, booking, and promotion. You keep the lights on.
01
Who brings what
VLX brings
- The program. A curated set of international experimental shorts, roughly 70 minutes, built for your city.
- roughly 20-30 minutes of the total program LIVEscored
- The musicians. Local LIVEscore artists, booked and paid by VLX.
- Playback. Tested screening files, playback laptop, and backups.
- The audience. Promotion across vastlab.org, @thevastlab, our email list, and local press.
- Ticketing. Free RSVP, capped at your seated capacity.
- Show lead. A VLX producer on site from load-in to strike.
The venue brings
- The room for ~4 hours, load-in to strike.
- Seated capacity of 40 to 150 with clear sightlines to the screen.
- Projection surface and full blackout.
- Sound. House PA, or power and floor space for ours.
- One house contact on site for the night.
- Bar and front of house if you run them.
02
Example Tech rider
Picture
- Projector
- Screen or flat white wall,
- HDMI run from playback position to projector
Room
- Seated audience, every seat with a view of the screen
- Musicians need a sightline to the picture
Sound
- Stereo PA sized for the room
- Mixer, 8 channels minimum
Capacity means viewable seated capacity, not the fire placard. We cap RSVPs at the number of people who can see the screen.
03
Run of show
| sample based on 8pm showtime, can be condensed as needed | |
| 3:00 PM | Load-in. Projection and PA set. |
| 4:30 PM | Picture check. Full playback test on the house system. |
| 5:30 PM | LIVEscore soundcheck, played against picture. |
| 7:00 PM | Doors. |
| 8:00 PM | Program begins. Short host welcome, then films run straight through. |
| 9:30 PM | Program ends. |
| 10:30 PM | Strike complete. Room returned as found. |
04
Terms
- Admission. Free with RSVP. Suggested donation of $15 to $25. No one turned away.
- Artists. Every musician is paid a flat honorarium by VLX. No door splits, no pay to play.
- Venue fee. Agreed upon rental fee, donated by venue and/or paid by VLX as a facility cost.
- Curation stays separate. The rental is recorded apart from programming. It buys the room, not a say in the films or the musicians, and VLX applies that rule to every venue.
- Bar and concessions. Venue keeps 100%.
- Promotion. Co-branded. The venue is credited on the event page, in email, and on social.
- Documentation. VLX films and photographs the evening for its archive and credits the venue in anything published.
05 / Next step
Bring VLX to your room
Send room photos, viewable seated capacity, your tech inventory, and the dates you have open. We reply with a proposed program date and a city-specific plan.
Email hello@vastlab.org