MRI - Working with video

Today was the latest session before the summer with the young people taking part in the Me, Myself and MRI project. The primary focus was on using video to capture a portrait of someone and the different methods we might use.

More on the project blog at: http://geodesicarts.blogspot.com/

The fountain is working!

Over the last couple of days I've been down in Bristol on what is probably my last trip to work on the Interactive Fountain at Luckwell Primary School. This has been a great project and involved working with the children at the school on the ideas and design of the fountain.



My job this time was to present the final, installed fountain to the children and show them what it could do. Obviously this involved lots of getting wet (in part due to a few impromptu thunderstorms) and some very loud shouting. I think my voice will need a few days to recover!

My thanks to everyone at the school for making me feel so welcome.

News: Apollo Design4Retail for Clarins

A custom bubble tube containing Clarins products

Interactive light, sound and bubble experts Apollo Creative have collaborated with retail design specialists Design4Retail to provide Clarins with an exclusive point of purchase (POP) display to help promote the launch of their HydraQuench skincare range in Selfridges' London store.

Design4Retail were instructed to communicate the benefits of Clarins’ new brand in a unique manner and approached Apollo to assist their Technical Designer to create a stunning promotional feature.

Four extra wide tubes were created and customised with ultra-bright blue LED illumination. These elegant bubble tubes were used to portray the idea of hydration and were specifically designed to allow for the suspension of the new product range within oxygenated water; creating a mesmerising and attractive focus for Selfridges’ customers.

Apollo’s skill and experience within this field have helped them develop a leading edge reputation for providing revolutionary new products into the marketplace. As well as providing a standard range of products (which include bubble tubes, walls, domes and fibre optic light sources), Apollo also support special projects and companies with unique/bespoke requirements.

More recently Apollo’s product have grown in prominence as contemporary interior design features and can be seen in hotel lobbies, restaurants, bars and homes; and current projects include interactive fountains, exhibition stand designs, light and sound rooms, multi-sensory environments, digital play areas and museum interactives.

Jon Vinall, Director at Design4Retail said – “Apollo Creative provided us with effective products and a co-operative project management service. Our own technical designer was able to work with the team at Apollo to ensure that our exact needs were taken on board. The bubble towers we purchased from Apollo were delivered on time, to spec; were highly effective and used in an unusual way to create a successful promotional launch.”

For further information, please contact Ben Johnson on 01423 798232 or e-mail sales@apollocreative.co.uk.

Sense of Place [Revisited II]

This afternoon I acted as Technical Director for the setting up and running of A Sense of Place. This interactive sound and light piece reflects a 2000 year link between two historic sites in the City of York.

A Sense of Place [Revisited II] is a re-working of the original piece which was presented in Bootham Bar for three months in 2005. This version has the emphasis on the audio composition, with visual cues provided by images from the original installation. It was presented in Bedern Hall, a 14th Century dining hall of the Vicars Choral of York Minster.



This performance was part of a sound tour of the city for a conference on 'Virtual Audio and Past Environments', organised by SpACE-Net.

Fountain update visit

I visited Bristol today to visit the workshops where the interactive fountain is being created for Luckwell School. The main structure is now in place and the day centred around testing and setting up some of the sensor systems.

I'm aiming to return to Bristol in a couple of weeks to work with the fountain onsite at the school.

News: Apollo beats the drum for Jessie's Fund

A child playing on a keyboard

Knaresborough based Apollo Creative is pleased to announce that it will be supporting UK charity Jessie's Fund throughout the course of 2008 as their nominated charity of the year.

Jessie’s Fund is a UK charity set up to help seriously ill and disabled children by using music as a form of communication and for therapy. The charity works with children with special needs within hospices, hospitals and other centres for children with special needs providing a wide range of musical instruments and giving children access to creative music-making and music therapy.

Communication is a basic need for all but for many children verbal interaction causes difficulties; some have no means of communication at all. This therapeutic use of music can provide a powerful and profound way in which these children can express themselves and connect with the world around them.

Lesley Schatzberger, Development Director for Jessie’s Fund said – “Jessie’s Fund is delighted to have been chosen as Apollo Creative’s Charity of the Year. We use music technology in our work and have seen how powerful it can be in giving children access to a creative outlet. For those who have little chance to participate in normal childhood activities, technology can provide a fantastic means of expression, and Apollo’s work in developing further the possibilities resonates so well with our own aims.”

Mark Hildred, Creative Director for Apollo Creative adds – “With music and interaction being such an important focus for Apollo Creative this year, Jessie’s Fund was the ideal match. As a drummer I am aware of the importance music plays in my life and to me the value of the work carried out by Jessie’s Fund is immeasurable. Over the next twelve months we hope to be able to bring this charity to the attention of even more people so that its work can be recognised across the UK.”

Official opening of Sensory Room at Whitley Park School

The portable sensory room installed at Whitley Park Infant School was officially opened today with a reception. Since the initial installation last week, all 320 children at the school have been through and experience the area.

Ann Tanner, Headteacher, commented:

"We are excited at Whitley Park to be given the chance to explore with the children the possibilities for learning this brings. We aim to create stimulating learning opportunities for the children, develop their language and create wonderful learning environments that give them a sense of the world around us. Themes including seaworld, space, gardens, and jungles come immediately to mind but others will emerge as the staff team explore the possibilities.

"We are privileged to be part of this project and we will do our best to help 'KidsOut' provide more of these portable sensory rooms for other children across the UK. Our plan is to extend the use within our local community to the two Children's Centres in Whitley, for children to visit the room and have fun exploring it. My thanks to Mark and Kevin for the design, ideas and for making this dream a reality."