World Oceans Week is an opportune time for planetariums to take on a meaningful role by educating and inspiring communities to build the link between astronomy and the ocean. That’s why planetariums worldwide are invited to participate in a special event during World Oceans Week, from June 3-10, 2024.
Embodied Sounds, Inc. is offering a free one-week license for the immersive film “Sounds of the Ocean: A Mindful Underwater Journey.” This event, in partnership with Oceanic Global and the UN Ocean Decade, aims to educate and inspire communities about ocean conservation. Planetariums can foster local engagement by donating 25% of ticket sales to conservation efforts.
I had the opportunity to speak to Joshua Sam Miller, the founder of Embodied Sounds, to learn more about the creation of the film.
How did you get the film Sounds of the Ocean produced?
Miller: We produced Sounds of the Ocean as an independent production, working with a network of freelance artists from around the world. Each contributor was already working with the subject of Ocean life and we found the perfect pieces to the puzzle in a very organic, creative fashion.
Embodied Sounds served as the production company and creative agency organizing this global team and we are grateful to all of our venue partners and artists for joining our community. One interesting fact is that Sounds of the Ocean began as a live touring concert when Joshua Sam Miller was living in California & Costa Rica. He developed the musical composition while playing live in yoga studios, retreat centers and on the beach to write the music of the show.
Would you describe Sounds of the ocean as “infotainment” or is the primary goal to raise awareness about the importance/health of the ocean?
Not quite. Sounds of the Ocean is an immersive mindful experience, designed to guide the audience on an inner journey as they descend through the magic of the Ocean. It is a very personal experience, stimulating one’s imagination, curiosity and emotional core to connect with marine life and feel better as a result.
Our belief is that when people feel less stressed, they feel more able to care about global threats like climate change. Most of us already know the problems, but we are lacking the motivation to actually want to do something about it. We hope that our show can overcome this barrier and be a catalyst for change to inspire mindful activism around the world.
How did the idea for the global screening event take shape?
While the film’s directors were travelling back from an event, they asked themselves what can we do that will be special for World Ocean Day this year? Initially, we thought about hosting a livestream concert series on several continents where musicians would play concerts to raise money for the ocean, using the same visual imagery and ocean sounds from our production.
Once we realized the technical and economic challenges with this concept, we decided to host a global film screening of our movie. Perhaps one day we can mobilize enough resources to make the live concert concept come to life, but this feels like a great start and we are excited to be represented in over 15 countries.
Are venues enthusiastic about screening the film? Do most plan on making the suggested donation?
Yes, we have had very positive feedback from our screening partners. With over 30 confirmed locations showing the film this week, we look forward to creating a large impact with our work.
Of course, many centers are facing difficult circumstances and offer their programming free for kids or the community, so we will see about the donation’s success. We have been surprised how many locations in foreign countries are government run, and so therefore have very strict requirements to be able to make a donation.
Regardless of the financial outcome we are quite inspired by the interest in our project, which demonstrates that more experiences like this need to exist for the benefit of our own health and enjoyment around the globe.
Will other outlets and streaming services eventually broadcast Sounds of the Ocean? Thinking it would be awesome to experience with a Meta Quest VR headset.
Yes, we are always working on new formats and are currently planning a larger tour in the USA. Those interested can stay in touch with us via our newsletter on our website at www.soundsoftheocean.com to be the first to learn about these possibilities. We actually have a format that is audio-only, which allows people to go very deep with their own imagination and not only listen but feel the whales as well, with our immersive audio technology from Edge Sound Research. And yes, a VR version would be pretty cool and something we have planned after the initial rollout of our film in theaters, planetariums and museums.
