It was a mad rush but we managed to get the puppets finished and wired up with the touch screens, GoPros and speakers.

We worked with Jagprops to make the final adjustments in order to fit the hardware into position and get the software up and running.

There were a few challenges – particularly getting the harness to fit when all the hardware was in position but we figured it out in the end!

We also needed to test the puppets in terms of movement, so this gave us an opportunity to do that and make a few changes as we went.

Today we start auditions for our other puppeteers and from next week we will be BETA testing and rehearsing with the new puppeteers ready for the first shows in June.

We’ll also be running a session with Sean Myatt from Nottingham Trent University’s Puppetry MA course to help explore how the puppets move and interact with people.

We’ve just finished the new music promo for Swimming. Here it is, take a look.

DIRECTOR’S NOTES

As a director I’ve always been interested in collaboration with other artists and the exploration of different methods of story telling. So when the opportunity arose to make a music video for Swimming, I grabbed it with both hands. This was a chance to work with a group of like minded artists – musicians who think progressively and see their band as an art form itself, not just a means of making music. I had recently written a short film script called The Last Human. The narrative follows the fate last human being left alive – a concept that I have had a long standing fascination with – and their mission to implant DNA on a strange world in an attempt to begin new life in the universe.

When I listened to the song I Do (Come True) I immediately felt a connection between the music and the story I had written. The song has an ethereal quality and a chorus riff that descends into minor chords, taking the listener down into a place of profound meaning. It was that musical connection that made me want to turn the short film into the music video for the song.

As we explored the idea we decided on making two versions of the film. The first would be the music video and the second would be a longer short film edit with natural and elaborate sound design and which uses elements of the song as the basis of the film’s score.

Further ideas came through as we went into pre production, the concept had such narrative scope that it felt natural to explore the back story and so we are now utilising various platforms for the transmedia storyline which will allow people to explore the world that has been created via online and mobile.

In the music video the viewer will see the word HERA appear quite often. This is the title of the mission in the story and is named after the Greek Goddess of childbirth but also has a double meaning – it is an acronym for the mysterious Human Evolution Recovery Administration. This organisation will form the backbone of the fictional narrative in the story but will cross over into a real world exercise in disinformation, transmedia storytelling and an alternate reality game (ARG). For more information visit: hera.im

A project of this kind can only work with a band like Swimming, whose music reflects a progressive sensibility and helps to inspire such interesting ideas.

swimmingband.com
@weareswimming

Director – Tom Walsh
Art Director – Amy Nicholson
Costume Designer – Tonia Brown
Art Dept. & Make-Up – Sarah Lewis
First AD – Ken Coppel
Visual Effects – Tom Walsh & Nic Pylypiuk

The Pilot – Hestor Ruoff

Thanks to David Houghton and Georgina Sparks

During an interaction with Puppit + Digit, there will be an opportunity for the audience member to submit a video or photo on either Puppit or Digit’s memory banks. In order to do this, we have housed GoPro HD Hero cameras inside the body cavity and linked them directly to the Lenovo PC unit. This unit runs a Flash program that prompts the user to hit record or capture depending on whether they want to take a video or photo. This then initiates a signal which is sent from the Lenovo to the GoPro via the ‘Hero bus’ on the back of the GoPro.

We have made a custom connector and linked it to a USB controller that allows the computer to simply switch on the GoPro which is already set in ‘One-Touch-Record’ mode. So, when the GoPro switches on it starts recording video and then when the audience member is finished they hit STOP on the Flash program and the computer tells the GoPro to turn off.

Simples!

Look out for our video blog showing it all working…..coming soon!

Here are some photos of the work in development.

The interaction starts with a video and then continues onto an interactive touch screen interface where the audience member can choose to share different things with the two robotic characters including text, photos and videos.

The software has been created in Adobe Flash with video elements created from custom graphics, visual effects, stock and filmed footage as well as bespoke sound design.

Here are some screenshots from the interactive software in development. These show a schematic of Puppit and the heart animation which will run on the chest screen.

The Company:

Polymathematics is a creative organisation who produce highly original work with an emphasis on creating synergy between traditional techniques and cutting edge technology. Please see our website www.polymathematics.co.uk for more details.

The Project:

Polymathematics have been commissioned to create two life-sized robot-style puppets featuring interactive technology. The puppets will be performing throughout the summer at outdoor festivals in Kent and East Sussex including the Olympic Torch Relay.

The Role:

We are looking for a skilled puppeteer/physical performer for an initial run of seven dates and five rehearsal days.

The robot-style puppet is 6ft tall and operated by a single puppeteer in a similar style to Banraku.

The puppet will have articulated arms, legs and hands and so the puppeteer must have good physical expression, body movement and coordination.

The puppets feature audio visuals which allow the audience to interact via touch screens this will need to be worked into the performance.

There are two puppets each with their own character so the puppeteer must be keen to work in collboration with the lead designer to develop the characterisation, narrative and audience interaction.

Confirmed Dates:

16th & 17th June

7th July

14th July

17th – 19th July

29th July

It is essential that you can commit to all of these dates. Rehearsals will take place on 28th & 29th May and then during w/c11th June at our Nottingham base.

Auditions will take place in Nottingham on16th – 18th May.

Fee:

The fee for this project is £1,500.

• Lenovo PCs
• Lilliput 10″ Touch Screens
• GoPro Hero HD
• X-Mini Max II Speakers

Here’s a couple of shots of the hardware hooked up and running.

We’ll be working in collaboration with Jagprops to construct Puppit + Digit. Here’s the final CAD design for Puppit.