#Apartment

The concept for #Apartment is that of a theatre piece consisting of a 3D, kinetic illustration and a live feed film, where the hidden keepsakes within an apartment are revealed by puppeteer-ed cameras and interaction from an online audience.

With a series of tweets, viewers will be able to directly affect the electronics and appliances within the apartment and will weave an audience-driven glimpse into the secrets of the imaginary folks who live there…

#Apartment so far is a piece of work in progress (and the associated programming/coding) for a puppeteered film, where all of the action within a three-dimensional, illustrated apartment block comes to life, live. We also wanted our apartment block to be interactive for online viewers in some way.

The first video shows the code used to programme a RaspberryPi and an arduino to speak to Twitter and switch an LED on and off. The second features an initial model of the block, where a tweet with the hashtag #someoneishome switches on an apartment light. When we tweet #someoneleft, the light goes out.

Beka is a maker, performer and illustrator based in the North of England. Her work comes under the banner of ‘live illustration’ and for over a decade, she has amassed a catalogue of innovative puppetry and illustration work. Beka produces ‘visual minutes’, documenting the happenings at events through live drawing. She makes puppets, performs for other organisations, and runs the theatre company, ‘Frolicked’, specialising in puppet-orientated experiences for unusual locations.

Frolicked’s magical shows and games have captivated people of all ages and nationalities, and its growing family of characters have toured to delighted audiences across Europe. Frolicked’s work often uses interaction, game design and technology in surprising ways.