Great Performers: L.A. Noir

Synopsis

An unusual video project accompanies this year’s Great Performers photo portfolio. These nine black-and-white films, written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (with two by Ami Canaan Mann), let the viewer inhabit a scene opposite some of Hollywood’s greatest actors, all in a series of classic film-noir scenarios. The action takes place in a dimly lit bar — an enveloping, 360-degree set, with all wiring and lights cleverly built into the scene. And in each short drama, the V.R. camera plays the role of a major character: The stars were instructed to play their scenes with the camera, speaking to it, singing to it, walking around it in circles, firing a gun at it.