Proposal for 'The Infinite Bridge': a multimedia symphony as part of a live streaming technology
conference, held at the Royal College of Music in May 2015
By Michael Ladouceur, Andrea Boccadoro, Mari Sainio, Essi Kiiski
Introduction
'The Infinite Bridge' is a multimedia symphony, which sees a team of RCM MMus students
collaborating with industry professionals from the fields of choreography, screenwriting, producing
and new media design to create a project which can truly push the boundaries of interactive digital
technology, live streaming and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
An integral component of this project is the exploration of what can be achieved through live
streaming. We are considering the possibility of hosting part of our work at a partner location so that
the performance is only made whole through the use of live streaming technology
We see 'The Infinite Bridge' as a unique opportunity to present a pilot of the work, which the RCM
MMus students plan to develop further post-graduation to an assembled audience of new media
industry leaders. These are the potential stakeholders who we want and need to take an interest in
this work as their support and influence will be essential in developing the students' professional
careers in this area.
We feel that in order to realise our vision for this project, it has been essential to draw on the
experience and expertise of industry professionals already established in their fields. It also assists us
in developing our postgraduate careers by enabling us to identify strategic partnerships at this early
stage, and we feel that it will also have a positive impact on the conference attendees to appreciate
the scope and ambition of RCM's MMus students.
Collaboration
Collaborators
'The Infinite Bridge' will be achieved by working with:
- Peter Cox MBE, an award-winning freelance screenwriter, playwright and narrative artist
- Kristine Sommerlade, whose international career spans dance, choreography, teaching and artistic
directorship, and her area of specialisation is collaborative facilitation methodologies within live and
digital artistic production
- Aurélien Krieger, a London-based New Media Art engineer & designer, whose work involves
creating and producing interactive installations, immersive experiences and audio-visual
performances
- Chantal Guevara, an established producer and project manager who specialises in creating and
producing large-scale cross-discipline and collaborative showcases and festivals
The team of RCM MMus students consists of:
- Michael Ladouceur, composer, who will work with Chantal Guevara as Assistant Producer, and will
liaise with RCM as needed
- Andrea Boccadoro, composer
- Mari Sainio, composer
- Essi Kiiski, whose role will be the project's Rehearsal Director
Narrative
The backbone of 'The Infinite Bridge' will be the project's narrative, which will be written by Peter
Cox during the initial creation period, which will then be used to shape the musical composition and
choreography; Aurélien's digital work will then be used to create an interactive layer which allows
the dance, music and visuals to respond to each other.
The narrative will be developed by a collection of crowd-sourced dream fragments provided by a
global network of contacts, and augmented by research into other altered states of consciousness
including remote viewing, telepathy and precognition.
The powerful images and visceral tales we collected have been processed into plot incidents or
character actions. These bring to life recurring common themes that include feelings of being
outcast, lost and threatened, anxiety, frustrations and anger – often manifesting in clashes with evil
entities and terrifying creatures and facing life or death situations. By contrast many of the dream
fragments also reveal the importance we attach to the safety of the people we love, nature as a
release and a place of balance and awe alongside visions of Nirvana, art and beauty.
By taking our central characters on a journey from the ordinary world into the world of dreams The
Infinite Bridge offers a challenging opportunity to create a multi-media symphony using a range
creative technologies that van Gogh could never have dreamed of. The result is a dynamic universal
story blending social observations with visual poetry and surrealism that will push the boundaries of
stagecraft and scenography to support the story’s complex, multi-layered shifting action.
Music
The narrative will be 60 minutes in length and divided into three acts; the original plan had been for
each composer to take ownership of the composition of one act each, but further discussions have
raised the idea of working more collaboratively on all three acts, with each composer working on
sections of each act instead.
This will give the composition a more consistent style, while strengthening the collaborative nature
of this project.
Dance
Kristine Sommerlade will be creating 12 - 15 minutes of choreography, which can be performed by
both dancers and musicians. The dancers will be the lead performers on stage, while musicians may
be used as extra personnel performing simple choreography.
The 12 - 15 minutes of choreography are intended to be repeated throughout the three acts as
counterpoint to the music and projection, and the dancers' bodies and costumes will be used as
interactive canvases for the digital art and projection.
Tom Dale, a midscale choreographer, has pioneered the use of interactive digital technology with
dance, so we would be seeking his input as a consultant and as a leader in this area of work.
Digital Art
The intention for the stage design is to create an immersive environment where dance,
music and visuals respond to each other to create a stunning audio-visual experience for
the audience as well as opening new forms of performance.
By combining interactive technologies, live streamed video, graphic animations and
responsive lighting, the stage will be constantly evolving, offering a palette of environments
for the narrative to develop and the performers to express freely.
A code of interaction will be built between the different art forms to support this vision and
create a multimedia symphony which the audience can easily de-code and relate to.
Interactive stage design - highlights on the use of technologies
Video projection on cyclorama
The scenography will be partly focused on a big screen covering the back of the stage.
It will provide with a blank canvas in which multiple animated worlds can be brought into
life. The performers will be emerged in these worlds, and will be able to influencing them.
3D video tracking + video projection
The positions and the movements of the dancers will be precisely tracked throughout the
show, which will provide with precious real time information to compose with.
By calibrating this data with video-projectors covering the stage, this setup opens the
possibility to compose a moving environment of light and create a dynamic scenography between material and immaterial.
It responds very well to the story, by playing with optical illusions, interactive space and
body transformation, the performers will be transported in a transition world between
reality and dreams.
Live streamed video footage
Multiple video sources will be used during the show, offering multiple points of view and
layers of composition for the visuals.
Firstly, remote live streamed HD video contents will be projected on stage, and offer an
interaction between the performers on stage and remote players/dancers.
Our intent is to create a communication between two realities, which could refer to different
times, spaces, or worlds, and create a mutual interference between them. In the same way
that in dreams, the two sides of the mirror will interweave in a complex and perturbing
composition.
This stunning technology will open up new opportunities for composing and performance,
playing with the duality between the real and the connected, a contact point between two
untouchable worlds.
A set of cameras will be placed around the stage and will offer live video footages close to
the action, and from different angles. They will help to create a spacial awareness for the audience
and, once combined with the video-projection on the floor, will emphasis the materialisation of the
environment through light.
The two main dancers performing the leading roles of Talia and Rivera will be equipped with
wearable wifi cameras.
This technique will create wonderful opportunities to get an even much intimate imagery of
the show.
Again it will serve the narrative as a tool to play with the perceptions of the audience, by
combining overall and point-of-view elements it create new dimensions of composition and
lecture.
All these live video footages will be used as the rough materials to be composed and
processed with real-time effects, as a live video performance.
This live component will also be composed by pre-rendered animations and videos, giving
a range of visual treatments to illustrate the contact point between reality and dreams.
Portable live streaming technology - OPTION
We have been studying the possibility to replace the streaming technology with a portable
solution.
LiveU is a company specialising in compact wireless emitter for live HD video transmission
over the Internet. With a correct 3G/4G connexion, it allows any footage filmed to be
transmitted in real-time to a remote position. The brand is used by television channel and
so has proved its reliability.
This technology is a wonderful opportunity to live-stream from an unexpected location, like
in a urban space, or in Nature, and surprise the audience with this new form of
connectivity.
It opens possibilities for the narrative to develop in a way that would not be thinkable
before, as it supports the idea of live transmission and communication between two totally
different environments.
Video projection on motorised gauze
Screens made of gauze netting will be used to create new layers and canvases for the video
projection. Our intent is to create quick changes of setup on stage so the set is modular
enough and supports the story in a magical way.
These screens will be formed of several rectangular banners which can be progressively
rolled down in the stage to create composite surfaces of projection - cyclorama, body,
floor, gauze banners/screen.
The use of gauze netting will be particularly interesting to combine with the video projection
and create a palette of visual effects such as appearance / disappearance of the body,
depth illusions, multi-layer for video composition.
Audio-responsive lighting
In order to complete the conversation between the different media, a custom software for
the analysis of the music - at least of the soloists - will be deployed to collect and process
helpful information about the music.
Several tiny directional light fixtures will be placed all around the stage and the soloist, projecting
beautiful light and shadows in their hands and instruments.
We aim to create a fully synchronised and synesthetic light accompaniment to the music
performance, creating an immersive visual experience that unites a strong cinematic
vision.
Timeline
The proposed performance date is Tuesday 5 May 2015, which would give us five months in which to
complete the work required for this project.
Although we have both the Christmas holidays and the Easter holidays to interrupt the creative
process, our timeline is as follows:
December
Initial work shopping period, to develop the narrative and explore its influence on Michael's, Mari's
and Andrea's composition.
After the initial work shopping session, there will be a team meeting prior to the Christmas holidays
as a catch-up session and to ensure that everyone is on track.
January & February
The composition will be completed and notated over the course of these two months; we have
allocated two months for this phase of the work to fit around the composers' other projects and
commitments.
Because of the reliance of the choreography on the composed material, excepts of work will be
supplied to Stina and Aurélien on a regular basis so that they can start developing their work.
The team of composers and Essi will meet weekly to review their progress so far, and to offer
feedback on each other's work.
Stina will commence developing her choreography from the start of January with weekly half-day
workshops in Teeside University; by developing part of the work in the North East, we can build the
national scope of the project, which can be continued through our live streaming partnerships.
From February onwards, the dance rehearsals will take place in London, which will enable the
dancers to work more closely with the musicians and to be available for Aurélien's work.
March
We have earmarked the latter half of March for the rehearsal period with an orchestra of student
musicians, and we are aware that our schedule will be dictated by the students' availability and
other commitments.
April
As the Easter holidays take place from late March to late April, this provides Aurélien with the
optimal time to test his digital work on individual dancers or small subgroups of dancers, as
preparation for the full rehearsals. This research work will help to accustom the dancers to working
with interactive live feeds, so that it does not affect the quality of their performance during the
show.
Once the holidays end, we will have two weeks until the performance itself. We currently anticipate
using the first week for final rehearsals, and the second week for technical rehearsals, however this
will be adjusted if more time is required for the technical demands of the work.
Budget
Budgets for each strand of work are attached, however we anticipate that much of the musical and
digital budgets can be covered by in-kind support from RCM, for example through the college's and
theatre's technical staff, and through the provision of student musicians for us to work with.
Stina's budget is flexible as she is willing to offer her time as in-kind support and can provide free
rehearsal space for the initial month of rehearsals.
Peter, Aurélien and Chantal are not in positions to be quite as generous with their services, as seen
from the attached budgets.
The whole team is aware that the budgets, however, must be sufficiently flexible to adapt to
whatever income is available to us, whether raised through donations, crowd-funding or fundraising,
as we cannot afford to be in a position where the costs of the project are set too high for it to be
financially viable.
Management
The project will be managed by Chantal, who has over 12 years' project management experience.
She will be assisted by Mike, who will represent the musical staff, and Chantal will liaise separately
with Stina and Peter.
The original concept of the project was to have separate divisions for each strand of creative work,
but this has been simplified to the current model, which is a far more collaborative method of
working.
We are currently using Dropbox to manage the accumulation of project files, and we will explore
using a group website to manage communications, scheduling and project management.