Ignite!

The theme of this project was the synethesia of color and vocal sound, and a collaboration between two classes. Students made four fulldome films in one semester. For the other films, they worked from recordings of songs that the student choir recorded. But for IGNITE!, the process was reversed. The Expanded Animation students rotoscoped imagery and compostited it for the fulldome space. Then they sent it to the Treble Voices Choir, who created a new improvised choral soundtrack, which they performed live at three different performances, each of which was unique. The version we are submitting is a recording of one of the choir's improvisation rehearsals. This project grew out of Professor Lynn Tomlinson's interdisciplinary research into fulldome production. While most see the Towson University Planetarium as a venue for exploring the cosmos, Lynn Tomlinson, an animator and associate professor in the Department of Electronic Media & Film, sees it as an opportunity to explore immersive media in an interdisciplinary, collaborative space. “The planetarium has this feeling of immersion like a virtual reality headset, but rather than alone, you’re experiencing that immersion with other people,” says Tomlinson. “That’s why I’m drawn to the planetarium: It’s the theatrical experience of being with other people and the immersive experience of seeing something all around you.”