2018 has seen DAPPER members working on the Higher Education Innovation Fund project, Paradigm Shift: Virtual Reality and Performance Futures, bringing together researchers from DeMontfort University and external organisations to explore the potential of Virtual Reality environments for Professional Performance Practice. One part of this project has been to investigate the potential of 360 filmed environments for dance practice, including 360 sound and as part of this research, we've been working with the 360 filmmaker Alex Ruhl from Cats Are Not Peas, described by VR agency Virtual Umbrella as "... a pioneer of the 360 medium, unafraid to try new genres and create new IPs for immersive tech."
The 2-minute dance piece has been a collaboration between DAPPer member Sophy Smith, choreographer Stevie Prickett (Cumbria University, 360 audio specialist Tim Dickinson and dancer Si Rawlinson. The team worked together to explore the potential of the 360 medium for dance practice, and enabling Alex to take part in more 'risky play' relating to 360 film production. The piece was created through a transdisciplinary devising process, where the finished creative product would not have been possible without the creative input across arts and technology practices.
.
Watch this space for news about the release of the piece soon...