“Voyagers” is a permanent audio video installation by The Light Surgeons for the National Maritime Museum’s new Sammy Ofer Wing. The Voyagers Gallery acts as an introduction to the extraordinary depth and range of the Museum’s collections and is dominated by a 20 metre wave-like structure that stretches the full length of the room. Designed by exhibition designers Real Studio, this 3D wave is made up of 26 triangular facets and features a Pufferfish spherical projector at one end.

Using the triangular shape as a design template The Light Surgeons researched and meta tagged over 300 images and films from the Museum’s vast archives and translated them into a series of thematic visual journeys that unfold down the wave. As these designs cascade down the room, the globe projection displays thematic key words relating to each asset in the journey onto a digital navigational device inspired by the museums collection of armillary spheres.

For this technically complex project The Light Surgeons collaborated with media artist James George from New York studio Flightphase to translate their concepts into code based design. The resulting bespoke software was built using open source coding platform openFrameworks and lead to many new ground breaking developments; allowing the design of the installation to be explored in a simulated environment before the gallery was built and then to seamlessly video map the complex geometry of the wave structure upon its arrival. This collaboration also lead to many exciting developments in the creative process including the creation of a totally generative sea of typography and its interaction with the movement of the spherical Puffersphere design.

The resulting experience is a truly immersive one that takes its audience on a audio visual journey through a multitude of different themes explored by the museums collections.

Video for Brooklyn based folk singer Jo Williamson.

Director: Christopher Allen
Editor: Tim Cowie

LDN24 is a media art installation by The Light Surgeons for the Museum of London‘s Sackler Hall. It presents an anthropomorphic portrait of London that reveals the abstract dance of this 24-hour city. It explores the capital as a physical organism and its hidden relationship with a larger, digital landscape, creating a cardiogram of the city that perpetually reflects the ‘now’.

The film was created by a group of visual artist through an extensive series of visual studies around London in 2009. The resulting 30 minute film charts a daily cycle of the city which is then translated onto the surrounding LED curatin as a stream of live data feeds. These information feeds are being continually updated via the web and continually re-printed by the hands of a giant RGB clock.

LDN24 is a commission by the Museum of London in collaboration with Film London.

Director: Christopher Allen
Producer: Alice Ceresole
Editor: Tim Cowie
Visual Production: Christopher Allen, Tim Cowie, Dean Moore, James Price, Rita Ribas, Stuart York
Data Visualisation: Field.io
Sound Design: Tim Cowie, Malcolm Litson
Locations: Alice Ceresole, Dan Fellows
Research: Peter Brenan, Laura Hannay
Production Assistant: Helen Omand

Support from:

BAA Heathrow, Broadgate Estates, Regis House (London Bridge), Bywaters, City Academy Hackney, City of London Corporation, Billingsgate Market, City of London Film Office, City of London Police, Smithfield Market, Clissold Leisure Centre, Cory Environmental Limited, Film London, Greater London Authority, Invista Real Estate, Investment Management, Land Securities, IPC Helipad, London Borough Film Units, London Underground Film Office, More London Estates Ltd, Network Rail, Newsfax International Ltd, Novotel London St Pancras, Panasonic UK, St Paul’s Cathedral, Tesco

Special thanks to:

Bob and Maggie Allen, Kevin Foakes, Helen Omand, Ed Purver, Olivier Ruellet, Laura Hannay, Victoria Tremble
The installation will be on display in the museum until 2012 and is free entry to the public.

The programme has been developed to showcase objects from the Crafts Council Collection – CraftCube: Collection – and to champion the work of Research Fellows that are at the cutting edge of contemporary practice – CraftCube: Research. Each CraftCube is an individual display environment, including objects and interpretation.

GRAY TWISTED LOOP: MERETE RASMUSSEN

The film features a set of two synchronized short films which reveal the ceramic processes involved in the creation of the piece entitled “Twisted Grey Loop”. Put together by The Light Surgeons they form the audio visual content produced for the Craft Council’s set of touring installations, know as The CraftCube initiative.

In this instant, the film on the top was projected onto a large projection surface on the wall of the CraftCube, while the film on the bottom was presented through large plasma screen embedded into the surface of a display case, which also houses the finished object its self.

NAP: ANGELA JARMAN

The film features a set of two synchronized short films which together protrait the processes involved in the creation of a piece of her worked entitled “NAP”. Put together by The Light Surgeons they form the audio visual content produced for the Craft Council’s set of touring installations, know as The CraftCube initiative.

The film on the top was projected onto a large projection surface on the wall of the CraftCube, while the film on the bottom was presented through large plasma screen embedded into the surface of a display case, which also houses the finished object itself.

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Director and editor: Tim Cowie
Camera: Dave Baum
Producer: Alice Ceresole
Design and build of cube: Millimetre

Short music lead video documenting life in London using footage taken from our LDN24 installation project at the Museum of London. All footage in this film was shot using Panasonic’s Lumix GH1 micro SLR digital camera which was loaned to us by Panasonic during the production phase of the installation.

The film uses the track “All Covered in Darkness” by our good friend Mr Dj Food and was created specially for Panasonic’s website.

Director: Christopher Allen
Producer: Alice Ceresole
Editor: Christopher Allen
Camera: Christopher Allen, Tim Cowie, James Price & Stuart York

STREET LIFE featuring Takura

Direction: Chris Allen & Tim Cowie | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: Tim Cowie

EASTERN  JAM

Direction: Jude Greenaway | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: Jude & Joe Greenaway

TAKE ME AWAY

Direction: Luis De Jorge & Tom Wall | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: BlinkinLAB

AGAINST ALL ODDS featuring Kano

Direction: Chris Allen & Toby Harris | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: *spark audio-visual

HEART BEAT featuring Nneka

Direction: Joe Greenaway | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: Jude & Joe Greenaway

HURT YOU

Direction: Chris Allen & Toby Harris | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: Chris Allen & Dave Baum

IN LOVE featuring Jenna G

Direction: Chris Allen & Toby Harris | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: Dave Baum

MUSIC CLUB

Direction: Luis De Jorge & Tom Wall | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: BlinkinLAB

PIECES featuring Plan B

Direction: Chris Allen | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: Tim Cowie | Additional visuals by Mircochunk

END CREDITS featuring Plan B

Direction: Chris Allen & Tim Cowie | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: Tim Cowie | Contains clips from the film “Harry Brown“

RUNNING featuring Takura

Direction: Luis De Jorge & Tom Wall | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: BlinkinLAB

SAXON

Direction: Chris Allen & Toby Harris | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: *spark audio-visual

SMASH TV

Direction: Chris Allen & Tim Cowie | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: Tim Cowie

IS IT WORTH IT

Direction: Chris Allen & Toby Harris | Graphic Design: Mitchy Bwoy | Post production: *spark audio-visual

Project produced by Christopher Thomas Allen
Project management by Toby Harris
Art Direction by Mitchy Bwoy

The Legacy Now Youth Panel is a dedicated group of young people aged 14-19 from the five Olympic host boroughs who are engaged in the Olympic Legacy planning process. The panel has been convened by Fundamental, an organisation that is leading the field in youth engagement in architecture and the built environment.

In July 2009 The Light Surgeons helped to create a special event for the launch of the their manifesto. In collaboration with Fundamental and the members of the panel we created a giant animated 3D architectural model, based on the Olympic legacy master Plan, as the center piece for their event at Ocean in Hackney East London. The installation’s content was informed through a series of workshops and the event brought together a range of young people from across the host boroughs to interact and learn about the London Development Agencies plans for the post Olympic site.

Fundamental is funded by the London Development Agency in partnership with the Five Host Boroughs

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Project led by Chris Allen and Tim Cowie
Documentation film by Rita Ribas

The Light Surgeons were commissioned by Research In Motion to create an animated visual wrap for their Blackberry trade stands in 2009, to be shown at both the GSM technology expo in Barcelona and C-BIT mobile expo in Hanover, Germany. Working with the stand’s designers Shelton Fleming and brand consultancy Figtree, they created a series of rich and colourful ambient visuals for the stand utilising Element Labs‘ Stealth L.E.D. technology.

Directed by Christopher Thomas Allen
Design and Animation by Tim Cowie
Project management by Annie Kwan