Dawn Chorus

Robin animation projected onto a tree but Urban Projections

from Urban Projections and Fabric Lenny

A playful video-short featuring animated birds and illustrations projected in a Mansfield woodland

What does nature mean to people during these unparalleled times? Dawn Chorus looks at how we might seek comfort in the most basic of interactions with nature: a glimpse of a blue sky, or the fleeting song of a passing blackbird.

At a time when our native birds face a very real threat from climate change, intensive farming and pollution, Dawn Chorus celebrates our connection to them, their song, and what it represents to us as humans.

Dawn Chorus uses a variety of digital creation techniques, in a collaboration between local artist Rebecca Smith (Urban Projections) and Paul Slater (Fabric Lenny). It was created deep in the heart of Sherwood Forest during Covid-19 isolation.

Urban Projections and Fabric Lenny collaborated remotely, in a process of play and experimentation. All characters were projected live in their environments, no post production, with accompanying audio soundscapes captured in the woodland.