PRONK! Productions – Escape Pods Project Proposal

Overview

PRONK! Productions, known for their science-inspired art, presents “Escape Pods from Spaceship Earth”—an immersive experience designed to reconnect festival goers with their senses. Although initially unsuccessful for the Blue Dot festival in 2019, the concept remains a compelling idea for future events. The project consists of three geodesic domes, each representing a different sensory environment through light, sound, and tactile experiences.

Concept Details:

1. Pods Overview:

   • Green Light / Earth – The Carboniferous World:
     • Environment: Lush with living plants, creating a rainforest-like atmosphere.
     • Sensory Elements: Smells of soil and life, sounds of animal life, and a breeze rustling through trees.
   • Blue Light / Wind – The Zephyr’s Paradise:
     • Environment: Focused on wind and cloud strata with music-making air instruments and flowing silks.
     • Sensory Elements: Wind chimes, soft silks, and interactive musical instruments.
   • Red Light / Fire – The Sun-Baked Sauna Planet:
     • Environment: A warm, relaxing space with sand, exotic spices, and a projection of the sun.
     • Sensory Elements: Warmth, scents of spices, and a tactile sandy floor.

2. Audio-Art:

   • Each pod features three unique audio-art pieces, creating nine pieces in total.
   • Content Themes:
     • Green Light Pod: Ancient remedies, the secret life of trees, and the earth goddess.
     • Blue Light Pod: Atmospheric discoveries, hurricane accounts, and bird flight meditation.
     • Red Light Pod: Understanding flames, sensory exploration of Dante’s Inferno, and the legend of Prometheus.
   • Format: Each piece is two minutes long, followed by a one-minute soundtrack, looping every nine minutes.

Audience and Accessibility:

• Target Audience: Audiophiles, podcast fans, and young people.
• Accessibility: Fully wheelchair accessible with written versions of the audio-art for hearing-impaired visitors. Additional accessibility features to be funded through further applications.

Outputs & Outcomes:

• Installation Specifications:
  • Three 3.6m diameter interactive geodesic domes.
  • Prismatic light systems for nighttime visibility.
  • Nine original audio-art pieces (30 minutes total).
  • Individually composed soundtracks for each tent.
  • Tactile sets and props for sensory engagement.
• Purpose:
  • At Bluedot Festival: A sanctuary from the main festival noise.
  • At Light Night Leeds: An escape from the urban environment.

Long-term Vision – “Beneath a Diamond Sky”:

• Project Phases:
  • Phase 1 (2018): Audio artworks on Valentina Tareshkova and Saloman August Andrée.
  • Phase 2 (2019): Engaging with primary-age school children and wider festival audiences.
  • Phase 3 (2020): Full-scale live performance exploring ambition under a geodesic dome, doubling as a 360-degree visual backdrop and planetarium.

Conclusion:

The Escape Pods project offers a unique and immersive way for festival-goers to explore new sensory environments, engage with scientific narratives, and find moments of calm and inspiration amidst the festival bustle. PRONK! Productions plans to seek further opportunities to bring this innovative experience to future festivals and audiences.