Tag: bbcr&d
Rethinking Podcasting
Ok maybe less reinvent and more rethink?
I hinted at Perceptive Podcasting previously in a post about being busy. I have finally come out of that busy period and am UK bound as my passport is due to expire.
Just before the busy period, I drafted a post about Perceptive Podcasting and why it's not simply another unique project. It went up on the BBC R&D blog recently which is wonderful because I can point to that rather than the other way around.
Since we first launched the Perceptive Radio v1 in 2013 as a concept of what Perceptive Media (implicit interaction from sensors & data, adapting media objects) could become; the radio's have always been a framework to explore further into adaptive object based media experiences. But we have always acknowledged the growing power of the smartphone and how it could be the container for so much more.
Even when we created the Perceptive Radio v2 with Lancaster University and Mudlark, it was modeled around an android phone and extending the sensors. The possibilities of IOT Storytelling with object based media was deep in my mind, along with research questions.
As a person who saw the revolution of podcasting in 2000, I was always interested in the fact its downloaded audio and generally consumed/created in a personal way, unlike radio in my view. I've also been watching the rise in popularity of podcasting again; heck Techcrunch asks if it could save the world 🙂
Of course I've started a few podcasts myself (recently Techgrumps and Lovegrumps) and love the fact it's quite easy to get started and it can feel quite personal. I also found the diversity of podcasting quite interesting for example I've been listening to the guilty feminist, friends like us and risk, for quite sometime and find them fascinating every time.
Why a client for podcasts?
In 2017, you are seeing more webservices hosting podcasts like stitcher, (heck even Spotify is hosting some). At the server-side there is a lot you can do like dynamically change adverts, geo-fence media, etc. 60db are one such service doing nice things with podcasts but they are limited in what they can do, as they said in a comment on a similar post. But doing this all server-side is a pain, and tends to break the podcast idea of download-able audio (even if you have 4g everywhere), it feels more like the radio model of tuning in.
Imagine if you could do the server-side type of processing but on the actual device and even unlock the pools of sensor/data with the users consent? And imagine if the creators could use this in storytelling too!
Its Personal, Dynamic and Responsive without being creepy or infringing personal liberties, It adaptives to changes in context in real time. It dances with Interactivity and we are also exploring the value and feasibility of object based media approaches for engaging with audience. We believe that this offers the key to creating increasingly Immersive media experiences as it gives more story possibilities to the writer/director/producer. But also provides levels of tailored accessibility we have yet to imagine.
So many possibilities and its made in a very open way to encourage others to try making content in a object based way too.
Keep an eye on bbc.co.uk/taster and the bbc.co.uk/rd/blog for details soon.
Author IanforresterPosted on November 24, 2017 March 11, 2018 Categories design-and-ideasTags bbc, bbcr&d, objectmedia, perceptivemedia, perceptiveradio, podcast, podcasting
Someday all content will be made this way…
This is adapted from the BBC R&D blog post, but I felt it was important enough to repost on my own blog.
Object-based media (OBM) is something that BBC R&D has been working on for quite some-time. OBM underpins many media experiences including the one I keep banging on about, perceptive media.
I've spoken to thousands of producers, creators and developers across Europe about object-based work and the experiences. Through those discussions it's become clear that people have many questions, there has been confusion about what OBM is, and other people would like to know how to get involved themselves.
So because of this… BBC R&D started a community of practice because we really do believe "Someday all content will be made this way."
A community of practice brings together people and companies who are already working in the adaptive narrative field. BBC R&D do believe that the object-based approach is the key to content creation of the future, one which uses the attributes of the internet to let us all make more personal, interactive, responsive content and by learning together we can turn it into something which powers media beyond the scope of the BBC.
There are three big aims for the community of practice…
Awareness: Seek out people and organisations already interested in or working on adaptive narratives through talks, workshops and conferences
Advocacy: demonstrating best practice in our work and methods as we explore object-based media and connecting people through networks like the Storytellers United slack channel and helping share perspectives and knowledge..
Access: Early access to emerging software tools, to trial and shape the new technology together.
These aims are hugely important for the success and progress of object-based media.
As a start, we're running a few events around the UK, because conferences are great but sometimes you just want to ask questions to someone and get a better sense of what and why. Our current plan is linked on the BBC R&D post which is being update by myself everytime a new event is made live.
Author IanforresterPosted on May 29, 2017 March 11, 2018 Categories design-and-ideasTags adaptivemedia, bbc, bbcr&d, media, objectbased, objectmedia, objects, perceptivemedia
13 years at the BBC and many more to come…?
Linkedin reminded me that its been 13 years since I joined the BBC.
Time has passed by pretty quickly.
I started in BBC WorldService New Media, as a XSL developer, then moved to BBC Backstage 2 and a bit years later. After 4 years, shut it down as it was adsorbed into BBC R&D.
I have seen friends & colleagues come and go. Seen 4 director generals, about the same amount of heads of new media/digital/future media/design and engineering; people I once worked with rise through the ranks and people move forward on to do great things.
Ultimately after 13 years, you would have thought why do I stay?
Well its simple as this…
…the work I do is the kind of thing I would want to do and keep on doing. Retirement seems kinda weird to me right now. My life has always been a blur of leisure, pleasure, work and play. Its where I'm most comfortable and I know work life balance is something people talk about a lot but doesn't bother me so much.
If that was to change, I would certainly consider elsewhere. Its also not one of those things where I'm super comfortable; far from that. I relish the fact my position requires new challenges, every-time. I still break the rules when its logical in my head much to the ignorance of others. But I also set new ground by doing the unthinkable
I still have a hard time explaining what I do in a few sentences and will keep the title senior firestarter, as long as possible. I won't lie Brexit has made me really think about leaving the country but another public service broadcaster would be ideal.
Here's to another 13 years? maybe?
Thanks to everyone who has helped me along the way and all the people I have helped in equal measure.
Author IanforresterPosted on April 12, 2017 April 12, 2017 Categories just-plain-lifeTags backstage.bbc, bbc, bbcr&d, brexit, firestarter
Open collaborative recipes for everyone?
Imagine if you took GNOME Recipes, A open collaborative cookbook whose cuisine is curated by people; and made its core object based like in BBC R&D's Cook along kitchen experience aka (CAKE)
You could write tools and editors to make the recipes have everything needed to fit with the cooks skill level, ingredients, time, allergies, preferences, party size, etc… I mean who wouldn't want to describe every aspect of their special dish? (I'm avoiding the copyright/licensing questions for now)
Now that would be something, Clasen? And what better community to kick start such a thing? Dare I bring up the BBC recipe headlines only 6 months ago.
Seems like a no brainier to me?
Author IanforresterPosted on December 21, 2016 December 21, 2016 Categories data-and-semantic-webTags bbc, bbcr&d, cake, cooking, gnomerecipes, objectbased, recipes
BBC RD ethics of data videos on youtube
The ethics of data videos we created a year ago are now finally on youtube for everybody to watch on the BBC R&D channel.
The Ethics of Personal Data
The Ethics of Data – The Physical Internet
The Ethics of Data – Ownership & Choice
The Ethics of Data – Education & Self-management
The Ethics of Data – Personal Data & Privacy
You might remember it was a project which I talked about last year. I have personally refereed these videos many times and would still like to see the hours of footage we shot, be used in the future. I mean we had some great guests and a lot of what they said was gold dust.
It will first be used to automatically subtitle some @BBCRD videos from @cubicgarden from his transcripts…
— Mike Armstrong (@MikeA_MCR) March 9, 2016
These videos are also the first public videos to run through a new experimental R&D tool for automatically putting transcriptions into a existing video for subtitling.
If you haven't seen the videos, this is the time to go check them out, very relevant even now, and enjoy the automated positioned subtitles.
Author IanforresterPosted on March 18, 2016 Categories design-and-ideasTags #EthicsofData, bbc, bbcr&d, ethicsdata, ownership, personal data, privacy, subtitles, videos, youtube6 Comments on BBC RD ethics of data videos on youtube
The next web peers around BBC R&D…
The second-generation experimental Perceptive Radio hardware. Credit: Martin Bryant / TNW
Its always great to have some of the work in the press, and see which bits they pick up on. But even better is when it gets framed along with other work, such as the ones happening around the same lab or similar fields.
In recent times, Ian Forrester has turned his attention to 'Visual Perceptive Media.' As we first reported late last year, this applies the same principles to video-based content.
For the first experiment in Visual Perceptive Media, the BBC worked with a screenwriter who created a short drama with multiple starts and endings. In addition to the variable plot, a number of different soundtracks were prepared, and the video was treated with a range of color gradings to give it different moods, from cold and blue to warm and bright.
Good to see the next web picking up on the effort we put into making all this very open. This comes from before my time at BBC Backstage but it certainly makes things easier to justify with us being a public organisation haven done things like Backstage.
One thing that struck me when talking to the people working on all of these projects was that they were using the Web browser as their canvas and working with free-to-use, open technologies like OpenGL, Web Audio, Twitter Bootstrap and Facebook React.
And what better end than…
Some of the most interesting ideas for how that might happen are coming out of BBC R&D.
Author IanforresterPosted on March 14, 2016 Categories design-and-ideasTags bbcbackstage, bbcr&d, nextweb, open, perceptivemedia, perceptiveradio, press, r&d, thenextweb2 Comments on The next web peers around BBC R&D…
Variations not versions
https://twitter.com/martynkelly/status/624266599000838150
It was Si Lumb who tweeted me about Pixar's Inside Out contextual visuals.
Now I know this isn't anything new, I mean films have had region differences for a long while but its good to see it discussed openly and I was interesting to read about how (we think) they do it.
It's interesting to note that the bottom five entries of the list, starting with "Thai Food," remain consistent throughout (maybe Disney/Marvel Studios' digital wizards couldn't replace the stuff that Chris Evans' hand passed over), but the top items change a lot.
Which leads me to think its all done in post production using things like impossible software?
Post producing this stuff is a mistake in my mind, but then again I'm working on the future of this kind of thing with Perceptive Media. I also imagine the writer and director had no time to think about variations for different countries, or wasn't paid enough?
Rather than write up my thoughts of how to do this with digital cinema (isn't this part of the promise of digital cinema?) plus I'm writing a paper with Anna frew about this. I thought it was about time I wrote something about the project I'm currently working on.
Visual Perceptive Media
Visual perceptive media is a short film which changes based on the person who is watching the video. It uses profiled data from a phone application to build a profile of the user via their music collection and some basic questions. The data then is used to inform what variations it should apply to the media when watched.
The variations are applied in real time and include different music, different colour grading, different video assets effects and much more. Were using the WebAudioAPI, WebGL and other open web technologies.
What makes this different or unique…?
We had buy in with the script writer and director (Julius Amedume was both and amazing) right from the very start which makes a massive difference. The scripts were written with all this in mind.
It was shot and edited with its intended purpose of making real-time variations.
Most things we (BBC R&D) have done in the responsive/perceptive area has been audio based and this I would say is a bit of moonshot moment like Breaking Out 3 years ago! Just what I feel the BBC should be doing.
Keeping with the core principle of Perceptive media, the app which Manchester based startup Percepiv (was moment.us, wondered if working with us had a hand in the name change?) created using there own very related technology. Is mainly using implicit data to build the profile. You can check out music+personality on your own android and iphone now.
Its going to be very cool and I believe we the technology has gotten to the point where it makes sense that we can do this so seamlessly that people won't even know or realise (this is something we will be testing in our lab). As Brian McHarg says, theres going to be some interesting water cooler conversations, but the slight variations are going to be even more subtle and interesting.
@BrianMcHarg @cubicgarden yeah, less "did you see", more "what was it like for you?" I'd love to see more like "let's play" coverage for tv.
— Si Lumb (@si_lumb) July 26, 2015
This is no branching narrative
I have been using the word variations throughout this post because I really want us to get away from the notion of edits or versions. I recently had the joy of going Learn Do, Share Warsaw. I was thinking about how to explain what our thinking was with the Visual Perceptive Media project. How do you explain which has 2 films genres with 6 established endings with 20+ types music genres and a endless number of lengths and effects?
This certainly isn't a branching narrative and the idea of branching narrative is certainly not apt here. If this was a branching narrative, it would have upwards of 240 versions not including any of the more subtle effects to increase your viewing enjoyment. I considered them as variations and the language works, when you consider the photoshop variation tool. This was very handy when talking to others not so familiar with perceptive media. But its only a step and makes you consider there might be editions…
I was talking to my manager Phil about it before heading to Warsaw and came up with something closer to the tesseract/hypercube in interstellar (if you not seen it/spoiler alert!)
Unlimited isn't quite right but the notion of time and variations which intersect is much closer to the idea. I say to Si Lumb maybe the way to show this would be in VR, as I certainly can't visualise it easily.
When its up and running I'd love people to have a go and get some serious feedback.
Perceptive media breaks into the ad industry #pmedia @cubicgarden https://t.co/cp66ikh2SN
— Tony Churnside (@TonyChurnside) July 24, 2015
On a loosely related subject, Tony Churnside also tweeted me about Perceptive Media breaking into the advertising industry.
Author IanforresterPosted on July 26, 2015 July 26, 2015 Categories design-and-ideasTags bbc, bbcr&d, perceptive, perceptivemedia, pmedia, responsivemedia, visual, visualpm2 Comments on Variations not versions
Changing the Radio Landscape
Nice little interview revealing some of my background work and what I do at BBC R&D. It includes work like Perceptive Radio.
Thanks to Radio.co…
Author IanforresterPosted on July 23, 2015 July 23, 2015 Categories design-and-ideasTags bbc, bbcr&d, perceptivemedia, perceptiveradio, radio2 Comments on Changing the Radio Landscape
Our rights in the data/digital/cyberspace
"We have two selves in the world at any given time now. We have the physical self, our flesh and blood, our voice, our presence in the world which extends beyond our bodies but lives in this physical space. There's this other space, we started out calling cyberspace a long time ago, but it's a real thing. It's a data space."
There is one charity I always give time and money to, the Open Rights Group. For me our human rights transcend (must/should) into the digital domain. Its the new battleground. Its also something lots of people are not really aware of or take for granted. But every week there's another news story of our digital rights being taken for granted and abused on unimaginable scales.
Digital rights are your human rights in the digital age. They are one of the most important aspects of your human rights today: privacy and free expression online are among the most contested. The digital rights movement exists because we need people to understand how technology is shaping our rights, for good and for ill, and who it is who is seeking to employ and capture technology for their benefit rather than yours.
There are positive and negative sides which I have written about many times.
Its becoming clear that the services we use, connected objects and spaces we inhabit are collecting our personal data. What they are doing with that data is only one of the question asked in ethics of data documentaries.
The documentaries which were put together by BBC R&D, exploring the implications for digital right through the lens of the physical internet, personal data, data ownership and data management.
Why the physical internet?
For many people the internet is still an entity which exists in a box, be it a desktop computer or laptop. This notion is pretty much broken by mobile devices and smart tvs. LG and Samsung have both been caught out using personal data in ways undesirable by most people were not expecting. But thats only the tip of the iceberg as Alex says…
"You could make a good case for technology to be imbedded in everything we know. What kind of technology it is and what does it do, and what purpose does it serve is always the next question"
Its time to consider a much wider context that most people think about when they hear internet of things. Think smart homes, cars, spaces and cities.
You're personal data and privacy?
The comments made by the likes of Vint Serf about privacy being an anomaly and this being a digital dark age. It made sense to try and tackle the big issue of privacy in the digital age. There so much which could be explored as this is a very deep and complex subject. There is only so much you can explore in minutes, but I feel Jon highlights why this is more critical than ever before.
"We always make mistakes and we always want to forget them and the trouble with the internet is that we can't forget them."
Its about ownership and choice?
It all seems pretty scary and negative, and it never was meant to be. So to underline the choices people need/should make, we looked into ownership and choice. Something I have through a lot about especially with my history with dataportability. Early adopters are not only collecting their own data but also analysing it and quantifying it. As Adriana says…
"The quantified self is that, is the living, breathing part of the web or the technology scene where people genuinely care about data."
The documentaries are made so you can comment directly on parts (thanks to reframed.tv), so please do. We look forward to the discussion and don't forget to join our diigo group bookmarking related news stories.
Author IanforresterPosted on April 6, 2015 April 6, 2015 Categories culture-and-politicsTags #EthicsofData, bbc, bbcr&d, choice, data, digital, ethics, qs, quantifiedself4 Comments on Our rights in the data/digital/cyberspace
What data is personal to you?
On International data privacy day, BBC R&D has posted a video asking a bunch of smart people what data is personal to them?
As I have been working on the project for quite sometime, I can happily say there is a lot more to come. Including ways to feedback. Go check have a look and see if you agree with the opinions of our industry experts?
You might have seen the theme of the work in the blog post ethics of data and what we setup at Mozilla Festival. Expect more in the future…
Author IanforresterPosted on January 28, 2015 January 28, 2015 Categories culture-and-politicsTags bbcr&d, data, ethics, international, iot, privacy, protectionday, qs1 Comment on What data is personal to you?
On the beat with the BBC
I had the pleasure of attending the BBC's on the beat conference.
The conference was in beta state as LJ Rich announced at the very start. It is a example of the way the BBC is changing. More people within are able to push the organisation the way it needs to go. More risks taken, more gained for the general public.
One of my crazy ideas is becoming true next week! Are you into Music & tech? DM if you want to attend! #BBConthebeat pic.twitter.com/XQPHfJzOcO
— Sara Gozalo (@sara_sgm) December 1, 2014
Beta or not, it was a good afternoon with speakers from across the music industry. Each panel was backed up with somebody from the BBC.
The sessions were centered around the audiences, discovery and metadata. The keynote was given by Mark Mulligan, whom I gather is well known for his blog and writing about the future of music.
It was interesting to hear how the music industry has parallels with the film industry.
Artists need to 'find their popcorn'
In the audiences panel it was interested to meet and hear from DJ Charlie Sloth and Shazam. There was also a interesting reflection between the Charlie's focus on the BBC Radio 1xtra audience who may not own a hifis and use their phones for music discovery. Against a talk by Jeff Smith from BBC Radio 2, with audiences who still buy CDs.
In the Metadata session which included Music Brainz, there was a debate about the lack of metadata in music and they only scratched the surface. When it came out that theres not really a well used standard for music classification.
To which I tweeted…
How can the record industry expect us to pay if they can't even be bothered to sort out metadata standards!? #BBCBeat
— Ian Forrester (@cubicgarden) December 12, 2014
In who's your music dealer? with Spotify, PingTune, BBC R1/1Xtra, the question of algorithms for discovery came into call. But even more interested was the power of the DJ to bring forward music unlike anything else. Something the music algorithms fail at.
.@bbcmusic #BBCBeat conference yesterday w @jimpurnell, @GeorgErgatoudis @LJRICH (nice work @sara_sgm @tw0tw3ntytw0!) pic.twitter.com/ZdghdHRwID
— David Jones 大卫 琼斯 (@djonessays) December 13, 2014
The event was top and tailed with musical demos from many companies and our own BBC R&D UX team showing off the scalable documentary. However there was also, LJ's impromptu's play on the piano.
That's nothing @iamjakebailey here's me properly showing off on a piano 🙂 http://t.co/6AgKj0b930 #bbcbeat people, thanks for having me!
— @LJRich Music & Tech (@LJRICH) December 12, 2014
…and live music which I thought was odd, however I really enjoyed the quite unique voice of Layla, one of the many artists who signed up with BBC Introducing.
Layla at #BBCbeat pic.twitter.com/rMMi4syJTU
— Beth Anderson (@betandr) December 12, 2014
All excellent stuff and ultimately reminded me that DJ Hackday needs to happen… Love to team up with BBC Music to consider the future of participation, remixing and music discovery from a slighly different standpoint.
Author IanforresterPosted on December 21, 2014 December 21, 2014 Categories design-and-ideasTags audiences, bbc, bbcmusic, bbcr&d, conferene, digitalmusic, discovery, london, metadata, music, onthebeat7 Comments on On the beat with the BBC
Always wanted to join the BBC?
Some of you wonder what the heck do I do? Its a common question after learning that the BBC has a research department.
Why not come and see in a Future Media open evening on Tuesday 2nd December in Media City.
Its free and who knows, maybe you might find yourself working alongside myself and many others?
Author IanforresterPosted on November 21, 2014 Categories just-plain-lifeTags bbc, bbcr&d, futuremedia, mediacityuk1 Comment on Always wanted to join the BBC?
Another video which must be watched…
Aral Balkan – Free is a Lie – Thinking Digital 2014 from Thinking Digital on Vimeo.
Aral drives me a little crazy, I end up writing massive long blog posts about his talks. But I have to give it to him, the showmanship and underlying ideas are pretty much good. You can see for yourself in the talk which got me writing about the 5 stacks.
Don't forget to check out my blog for BBC R&D connected what happened at the Quantified self and Thinking Digital. The panel discussion which I made reference to, is also up and Tom Scott's video telling us its all going to be ok.
Maybe next time you should come to Thinking Digital and experience it for yourselves?
Author IanforresterPosted on August 24, 2014 August 24, 2014 Categories design-and-ideasTags aral, bbcr&d, qs, qseu14, quantifiedself, tdc14, thinkingdigital, vimeo2 Comments on Another video which must be watched…
2 conferences in 1 week (Sheffield Doc Fest & Primeconf)
This week just passed and I got to say it wasn't half as bad as it seemed on paper or at least my calendar.
I headed across to Sheffield on Sunday to give a talk with Tony Churnside at the Sheffield international documentary festival about Perceptive Media. It very went well and I kind of wished I stayed over so I could keep some of the conversations going and there was plenty else going on which I wanted to check out.
The festival seems to take over the whole city and the weather was great on the Sunday and Wednesday. Wednesday I didn't talk but rather supported some collages who showed an early preview of the variable length documentary.
Next year I hope we will have a lot more to show, and next year I hope to spend more time at the rest of the festival.
Best of British / Primeconf
This conference which started out on kickstarter and became a real conference arranged by long time friend Thayer Prime. It was a bit of a crazy idea but the result was something worthwhile and maybe the start of something new and interesting.
The speakers were as you can imagine by the title, British speakers.
It really was something special, and it was a joy to be a small part of the whole event.
I gave a shorter version of the dating, lies and algorithms talk I have been wanting to give. So look out it may be back sooner or later as a more involved talk. It went down well although I certainly did take out all the personal stuff and non PG-13 stuff to fit with the code of conduct. Something which sadly later in the day seemed to have got forgotten, with swearing and a questionable slide.
Regardless, I learned a number of things including Priya is behind changify.org (something which we tried to do ages ago in the form of wedreamthecity) and could be helpful with gentrification and communities. Some other stand out presentations include Pete Duncanson, Chris Thorpe, Herb Kim, Dr Tom Crick, Amy Mather and a special mention of Mazz Mosley's super low budget style of presentation. Love it! Good to finally meet her too.
Is Thayer going to do it again? I certainly think she should… I'm actually thinking Herb and Thayer could create something which is special? The venue was great (Royal Institution, yes the one they do the Royal Christmas lectures from!) and a good turn out.
Both events were well worth effort of attending and speaking at… For such a packed week going to London twice and Sheffield twice, I actually feel ok. Just a shame my treat of going to Thorpe Park wasn't anything like when going in March/April.
Author IanforresterPosted on June 15, 2014 June 15, 2014 Categories design-and-ideasTags #sheffdocfest, bbc, bbcr&d, london, perceptivemedia, perceptiveradio, primeconf, shefdocfest, sheffield2 Comments on 2 conferences in 1 week (Sheffield Doc Fest & Primeconf)
Tangible playlists
There's been a research project I have been thinking about quite a bit. It involves something of a passion of mine and maybe many others. It combines a couple of thoughts, I have actually blogged a few times.
Make DJing physical again
I have been calling for the more democracy in the world of Djing for a while. Luckily I'm not the only one thinking this, the pacemaker guys are all over this. But before their latest app, I was inspired by my experience of switching from vinyl to laptop to the pacemakerdevice. But frustrated by the lack of forward thinking by the rest of the Dj world. I called for a hackday for djs, oppose to the already popular music hackday.
Part of the thinking was around making the DJ experience physical again, as pressing buttons behind a laptop screen makes you look like your doing your email, not banging out a epic set. Physical without needing tons of controllers and moving away from 2 decks and a mixer.
There are parallels with Djing/Mixing and making a playlist. A lot of thinking goes into the tune selection. But like mixes, the platform allows you to be more creative than simply play one tune after another. You may choose to play part of a tune, start a tune after the introduction. You may choose to speed up or slow down a tune. The mixtape is a narrative, a narrative your giving to another person. To think about a pls, m3u or xspif is almost an insult.
Physically sharing things
I have spoken at length about the way we are physical beings and tend to prefer physical things. Whats interesting about physical things is the emotional attachment which comes with them. I even said it myself before…
Physical artifacts are much easier to lend to people and much more likely to be taken seriously by friends currently.
My examples include my book collection and the best example is the creativity which went into mixtapes.
Like it or not, there is something about sharing which is instantly more engaging. I think it might have something to do with the way our brains are wired. Something some people take advantage of (wish I could find the exact effect/scam, where someone gives you a small token gift and you in exchange tend to open your pocket to bigger amounts)…
There have been many attempts to give digital things a physical footprint but its always felt forced. What if you could take the best parts of digital and give them a physical footprint?
What would that look like, what would it be able to do which you can't do right now in both mediums?
This project I nicked named Tangible Playlists… Although its actually called physical playlists. Its a join project between BBC R&D and Lancaster University.
'Mix tapes' were a thing of love, a physical object which people would share with significant others and friends around them. They were naturally a social object and highly representative of a person's identity. The knowledge of effort involved by the giver in selecting the songs and having to sit through each one was also part of the symbolism for the receiver. Objects can be generated and shaped from and by the media you "teach" them or existing objects you play (embed) media into. Thus the modern mix tape could become a linked series of small objects like lucky charms which are physically shareable in a form representing the tracks they contain.
This is based on the idea that physical items often mean more to us as physical beings and adds a level of exclusivity and personalisation to the sharing process. Considering transplatform engagement and the ability to engage users and viewers in co-creating media it is suggested that this may present as a new modality for user co-creation and curation.
You can read more about the project including a real nice piece about slow digital by Lancaster Uni. It will be great once the project is finished.
Other playlists
Interestingly Nathan Langley is working with others on a startup idea called Desert.fm.
Our industry is full of stories and there is many outlets for them. Blogs, publications, podcasts all giving interviews giving designers and developers a platform to share their sources of inspiration and to tell their story. We found music was usually an afterthought or a sideline, for our idea Desert fm we want to bring music to the fore, in view to create the ultimate inspiring playlist that everyone can access to discover new music and be enthralled by.
Ultimately Nathan would like a playlist from me with a few lines on why each track means something to me in an autobiographical sense.
This could be anything. For example, one track was around when you were you at school, sketching and doodling ideas for a new transformer! Or when you first learning code in the dead of night you had a special artist you would go to to get in the zone. Or just a song you are digging at the moment. This can be as long or as short as you want it.
This reminds me of Top10.com and ultimately Listgeeks.
So here is my clubbing days gone by list
Seven Days And One Week – BBE – Clubbing in Ibiza in 1998, it was heavily played everywhere and although I got bored of it at the time, it still reminds me of the early days of Trance.
Please Save Me (Push Remix) – Push vs Sunscreem – This was known as the Monster track by friends and the girlfriend I was dating at the time. It was killer track and made for some great nights out at the Bristol, Ritzy
Oblivion (Head In The Clouds) – Manix – One of the tunes I danced to in the early days of clubbing in a underground rave.
It's My Turn (Extended Mix) – Angelic – Driving home from Bristol on the A4 road with my old Aprilla SR125 scooter listening to Judge Jules on the Essential mix. It was perfectly timed for hitting west London.
Time to get ill – 4 Hero – I spent some time in Cheltenham once during school at a special event to do with the rotary club. There was a small funfair and I spent a lot of time on a ride which played Time to get ill again and again. Great time!
Music Reach (1,2,3,4) – Prodigy – This song blew my mind when I first heard it on the Prodigy Experience album, which I borrowed from friend/best man Ross. I wanted more music like it.
Passion (Do You Want it Right Now) – Get Decor – This song sums up clubbing in the old Bristol Mecca discotheque. Its the song which comes to mind when thinking about that period of time.
Rhythm is a Dancer – Snap! – Remember listening to my next door neighbor playing this on 12inch vinyl and being blown away by the introduction. It sounded so alive, then hearing it in a club the week afterwards
The Legacy (Club Mix) – Push – When I heard this tune at the Bristol Ritzy, it blew my mind. I seeked out this tune for a good few months, as I had to own it.
Let me show you – Camisra – When I first heard this in a club, it brought me out chills all over. Love it and its a classic.
There is something quite special about Playlists and its amazing the stories which come out of the wood work when picking music. Imagine what would happen if you could pick any media. This is what we'll be exploring/researching in Tangible playlists.
Can't wait to share more details on the project soon…
Author IanforresterPosted on April 22, 2014 April 24, 2014 Categories design-and-ideasTags bbcr&d, cxlab, dj, lancaster, media, mixes, physical, playlist, playlists, r&d, tangable, tunes3 Comments on Tangible playlists