Continuum wins 'Best of IFF'11' at Immersive Film Festival 2011

Continuum won 'Best of IFF'11' in the short film category at this years Immersive Film Festival in Portugal. For more information see here

The work has also been programmed at the 'Fulldome Festival 2011', taking place at the Zeiss Planetarium, Jena, Germany from 12-14 May.

Continuum 2011 Screenings

Continuum has been programmed into this years Newcastle Science Festival on 14th March at Centre for Life where it will be sharing an evening with the preview of 'Primitive Streak'. The work has also been programmed at Fulldome Festival UK 2011, (12th - 13th March). The event will be held at Thinktank Birmingham and has been coordinated by Plymouth based organisation GaiaNova.

The work has also been submitted to the International Fulldome Festival in Portugal and The 5th Fulldome Festival at the Jena Zeiss Planetarium in Germany.

For a Fulldome UK 2011 press release, click here

Download Newcastle Science Festival 2011 brochure here

Continuum

Continuum from Paul Grimmer on Vimeo.

Continuum is an immersive fulldome video work with 5.1 surround soundscape created specifically for immersive planetarium environments. The work is a meditation on notions of beauty, perfection and difference focusing on a body, physically and digitally modified and transformed. As the body moves in and out of focus, suspended, it is glimpsed, not seen, taken apart, re-ordered and replicated into new, exotic forms. The work was developed during residencies with the Medical Research Council, Virology Unit (Glasgow 2008), Allenheads Contemporary Arts (Northumberland 2009) and Dance City (Newcastle upon Tyne 2009).

Mentor/Outside Eye: Fiona Wright
Movement Research/Director of Photography: Wendy Erickson
Camera: Ian Bailey
Camera Assistant: Aaron Blenkin
Grip: Paul Kemp
Lighting: James Froment
Prosthetic and Make Up: Satinder Chumber
Costume Design: Jo Brossman
Technical Support: Daniel Barella
Storyboards: Paul Grimmer
Editor: Andrzej Wojtas
Dome Technician: Chris Hudson (Centre for Life)
Audio Production & Sound Design: Nick Able, Benjamin Freeth
Engineering, Mix and Master: Nick Able
Additional Engineering: Benjamin Freeth
Recorded, Mixed and Mastered: Nick Able Music Studio
Additional Recording: Culture Lab, Newburn Surgery
Filmed at: Dance City

Continuum Press Release

Photo by Colin Davison

Public preview of:

Continuum
A fulldome video art work by Paul Grimmer
Featuring a commissioned 5.1 surround soundscape by Nick Able and Benjamin Freeth

‘Continuum’ will preview at the Planetarium, Centre for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne on Friday 25th June as part of ‘Identity Masquerade’ between 18:30 - 21:00.

Newcastle based artist Paul Grimmer will be premiering his new video work in the unique immersive environment of the Planetarium at Newcastle’s Centre for Life. Grimmer developed the work during artist residencies with the Medical Research Council, Virology Unit in Glasgow (2008) and Allenheads Contemporary Arts in rural Northumberland (2009).

‘Continuum’ has been created specifically for the 10-metre diameter hemispherical screen at Centre for Life’s Planetarium, the largest in the region. Created with support from the development team at Life, ‘Continuum’ uses fulldome technology to create an immersive experience for the viewer, placing them inside of the work. The Centre is currently celebrating 10 years of excellence in the field of genetic research, which has been another influence for Grimmer’s work.

The artist says...

“The work explores the gaps between what we see and understand and what remains unseen and incomprehensible. ‘Continuum’ imagines another world, perhaps a microscopic world, like that of the virus or one that is as unimaginably vast as the universe. These extremes can only be visualised with the help of science and yet retain a sense of wonder and magic, they live in the imagination”

“Certain genetic mutations manifest themselves visibly, others are invisible but are mutations nonetheless. To the virus mutation is key to survival. Viruses are deadly and dangerous, yet highly ordered and beautiful, I am interested in these dualities”

“The Planetarium is designed and best equipped to display astronomical information and 3D animation. Learning how to adapt video for this setting was extremely challenging but also exciting as it offers a unique level of immersion for the viewer”

Complementing the visuals is a 5.1 surround soundscape produced and mixed for the planetarium by composer and musician Nick Able and multi-media artist and musician Benjamin Freeth, both based in Newcastle. The soundscape was created with support from Culture Lab and Newburn Surgery where recordings were gathered from the artist’s body as source material.

During his residency at Allenheads Grimmer contacted prosthetics sculptor Satinder Chumber with a strange request, to make him a tail. This unusual body modification was to be worn during the video shoot for Continuum. The transformation also involved the artist being painted gold from head to foot, creating a body both beautiful and grotesque. Working with movement, researched and developed at Dance City (2009), ‘Continuum’ explores mutation, difference and notions of beauty.

Project supported by:
Allenheads Contemporary Arts, Arts Council England, Centre for Life, Culture Lab, Dance City, Medical Research Council, Newburn Surgery, Newcastle Science Festival 2010

Location:
Life Science Centre, Times Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, NE1 4EP
For directions see - http://www.life.org.uk/life-science-centre/visit-us

Tickets:
Tickets for the ‘Identity Masquerade’ event cost £5 and are available from Centre for Life, for bookings contact: Niamh on 01912438223

For further information, full resolution images or interviews contact:
Paul Grimmer on 07919568432 or at paul@paulgrimmer.co.uk

www.paulgrimmer.co.uk

'Continuum'- the final, finished Logic session

Here we have the final Logic session for 'Continuum'.

Setting up to mix in 5.1 at the Planetarium

Hooking up my MOTU to the Planetarium 5.1 system

Checking out the Planetarium, prepping for Mixing 'Continuum'

The position of the Sub/LFE- powerful enough to easily blow you out your seat!! Just a shame we aren't using it to its full power for this piece!

'Continuum' Official Press Release details and imagery

Photography by Daniel Barella

Continuum

"Blending mythological and scientific imagery, the project explores mutation, transformation and difference, notions of beauty and the struggle for perfection. Peering through the looking glass into another world somewhere between the familiar and the unknown."

By Paul Grimmer

with an original 5.1 Soundscape by Nick Able and Benjamin Freeth

Continuum will be presented at After Dark: Designer Bodies, part of Newcastle Sciencefest at Centre For Life.

After Dark: Designer BodiesDate/Time: Thursday, March 18, 2010 from 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Venue: Planetarium, Centre For Life, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Free tickets available now from:http://newcastlesciencefest-efbnen.eventbrite.com/

'Continuum'- almost done with the arrangement, sounding great!

Recording additional guitars with my 7 string Schecter. Using a bow to create layers of drones.

Working on the final arrangement with the brief close to hand.

Sound Design for 'Continuum'

Working on the laptop with Spectrasonics Atmospheres- an incredible virtual instrument plug in. Getting more sounds for 'Continuum' and using them as a base to design new sounds to use in the piece.

Starting to arrange the first drafts for 'Continuum' in Logic Pro

Starting to populate the arrangement with all kinds of wierd and wonderful sounds! I spent a day or so working in Ableton Live, doing Sound Design for this project. Taking pre-recorded material obtained from the Newburn Surgery, and other sounds from the Logic library. I played with them, using all the editing tools available until they started to change into what i was wanting to hear. From there they were imported into Logic and used in this first section, doing yet more editing to get them just right. Some of the sounds i worked with were Heartbeats, Pulse's, Debris Falling, Frying Bacon, Pouring Milk onto Cereal, Gurgling Water, all of these were treated with heavy Sound Design to change them into 'internal body' sounds. Ben and myself had 3 sessions following this and we included some sounds he worked on with Reaktor and MAX/MSP's Lloop.

First drafts for the piece. Going off the first brief given by Paul Grimmer, i sat with Logic and started to gather sounds to map out the first section of the piece.

Please check out more about this project...

http://paulgrimmer.blogspot.com/

http://dm.ncl.ac.uk/benfreeth/blog/

Another great guitar joins me in the studio!

Godin Multiac Jazz. This was loaned to me by a great friend to use for the 'Continuum' project. Such a fantastic guitar!!! I am proud to be endorsed by Godin Guitars!

http://www.godinguitars.com/endorsees.htm
The Multiac Jazz alongside my own LGXT (SA). I wanted to use a Godin that had the Roland 16 pin to MIDI output with a fixed bridge (mine is a floating trem) so i could do alot of altered tunings and record the regular guitar with the MIDI and the acoustic piezo.

Doing some Sound Design for 'Continuum' with Ableton Live

In darkness, trying to get in the mood and create an atmosphere in the studio for creating some very dark, dissonant sounds to be used in the first section of the Soundscape.
Sound Design using the recordings obtained at the surgery. Taking the raw sounds and morphing them using different effects, cutting, reversing and other powerful editing tools to create new sounds.

Recording Session for 'Through the Looking Glass' now re-named to 'CONTINUUM'

Recording at Newburn Surgery in the attempt to obtain internal body sounds to use in the soundscape. We used very specialist mic's and direct recordings from the fetal ultrasound doppler machine.