Mission End

The mission ended at 17:02 GMT on 25th May 2009 after 26 hours in the pods. We raised well above our target fundraising amount - thank you!

Some statistics:

• 6 laptops
• 4.3 hours of music - thanks Spotify!
• 3.2GB live video uploaded
• 1432 Flight Test page views
• 659 views on Matt's live video stream
• 576 views on Will's live video stream
• 90 chat room participants
• 3708 messages in the chat room
• 5.3 litres of urine

Links and Downloads from the aftermath

• The crew's last two minutes and escape on Youtube.
• An article in the Edinburgh Evening News about the fundraiser.
• The complete chatroom logs for the entire event.
• Adam's reading of Genesis that we played to the crew on Monday morning.
• The moment when we rickrolled Will and Matt.
• Photos from the event on Flickr.

Team Credits

• Matt Wieteska and Will Green were in the pods.
• Hilary White built the pods.
• Zoe Brown and Eleanor Chalmers looked after the crew.
• Denise Wood was our first-aider overnight.
• Xander Macmillan did the website and tech.

Technical Credits

A large number of services and products made this event possible. I am personally immensely grateful to all of them and if you're thinking of doing something like this you should strongly consider each one. We are not affiliated with any of the following.

• Justin.tv provided all of the streaming services that allowed us to broadcast live video from this page. Their basic service is free and ad-supported.
• I bought the cameras and headsets that we used for the event from Scan.co.uk - their prices and speed of delivery are both amazing.
• We played music to the crew using Spotify. Amazing free ad-supported music for everyone. Their Spotify URI system allowed us give links to people in the chatroom so that they could listen too.
• We used Meebo to run the chatroom. Meebo allows you to sign in to all of your instant messenger accounts at the same time from inside your browser. They also provide awesome chat rooms.
• We used Skype to play music to the crew through their headphones. With Skype you can call people for free. Our longest ship-to-pod-to-pod conference call lasted 11 hours.
• We used Creative Live! Optia webcams to capture video. They conform to the UVC webcam standard, which means we were able to use them with Linux, Windows and Mac OS X (and we did). They're affordable and the picture quality is great.

Live Streams

What is this?

We are raising money for our Fringe show "Escape". Two crew members, Matt and Will, are spending at least 24 hours confined to the small space of a simulated escape pod. They may eat only hotdogs. They are broadcast live at all times. See the rules for more info.

Your donations will be split between our show and the Open Rights Group. We only need a few hundred pounds - after we've reached our target of £450, 80% of your donation will go to the ORG.

The Rules

1. MISSION. For a successful mission, the Crew must remain in the pods for a minimum of 24 hours. The Crew may continue in the pods as a test of endurance. The mission will last for a maximum of 43 hours. The mission will be terminated as soon as one crew member refuses to remain in their pod.
2. ISOLATION. Crew must remain in the pod for the duration of the mission (except for the provision in rule 6). Crew cannot see outside of the pod. Pods will be separated. Ship members will not talk when approaching the pods. Other people will not be permitted to approach the pods.
3. COMMUNICATION. Crew are able to commmunicate with Ship and one-another at all times. Every two hours for twenty minutes, crew will be played continuous music. Crew will have no control over the music. Music may be chosen by viewers in exchange for a donation. For every £50 raised an additional 10 minutes of music will be played, up to a total of one hour in every two. With the permission of Ship, third parties may communicate with the Crew via Skype.
4. COMFORT. Crew are allowed one duvet in the pod for comfort.
5. FOOD. Crew are only supplied with meals of one food for the duration of the event. Crew will only receive meals at specified times. A meal consists of one foot-long frankfurter in a bun.
6. MEDICATION. Crew are responsible for their own medication.
7. WASTE. Crew are not permitted to leave the pod for urination. Crew must request permission from Ship before urinating. Crew must use the privacy curtain when urinating in the pods. Empty bottle provision and filled bottle collection will managed by Ship. Except in case of emergency or unacceptable discomfort, one ten minute break will be permitted after 24 hours for crew to use a toilet. When leaving the pod, crew will be blindfolded and escorted to the bathroom. Only one crew member will be permitted to visit the bathroom at a time.
8. HYGIENE. Crew will be provided with an infinite supply of wet wipes and anti-bacterial gel.
9. BROADCAST. Crew will be broadcast visually and aurally at all times, except when urinating, when the privacy curtain must be used.
10. DISCLAIMER. The rules are not binding. The rules may change. Any action necessary will be taken to prevent harm to the Crew, regardless of contradiction with the rules. The behaviour of Crew members does not reflect the views and positions of the Escape team, The Pleasance, the Edinburgh University Theatre Company, the Open Rights Group, the University of Edinburgh or anybody except the crew themselves. We apologise in advance for any offence caused by any aspect of this production.