The World Wide Web is many things: TV, Movie Theater, Magazine, Library, and Retail Center.
When I go to YouTube or some other media site I expect to be entertained with images and sound.
But just as often (and maybe more often), my attention is already focused on another sound source. I'm either surfing in front of the TV, or I'm engaged in some online work-related activity. In both of those instances, I'm annoyed when I open a site only to find that it's 'sonified'. That's because a sonified site either interferes with the sound assets of the physical space where I'm actually seated (be it the TV, the working environment, the environmental music provided by a retail space, etc) or another sound source emitted from my own computer, such as navigation sounds and music assets playing from iTunes, Internet Radio or another open web page.
No surprise then that I'm also beginning to feel the same way about the sound branding and music choices foisted on me when I'm put on hold during a phone call. That means in order to put a call into your customer service center –already an inconvenience– I also have to turn my music off so that it doesn't interfere with your music. Gee, how else can I accommodate your needs?
Likewise, I appreciate the choice of listening to music at a gym (via my own personal music player or the music the gym itself plays) or plugging into a TV while jogging on a treadmill. But I hate it when several people on several different aerobic machines, each having forgotten to bring ear buds, insist on turning the volume of their individual sets up. And it's always someone who thinks everybody else wants to watch whatever it is that amuses them. A fitness center is not a library, but should it present itself as a platform for media anarchy? Do we really need ten different televisions tuned to ten different stations blasting away while a techno track shouts down on us from the ceiling? Is that what we're all paying hundreds or thousands of dollars a year for?
Sometimes when I'm making a call from a client's office, or a coffee shop, I don't have control over my immediate environment: I've got music on hold in one ear; broadcast music from a TV or Radio in the other; random passing conversations floating by my face; ringtones exploding up with Top 40 tunes and wacky sound EFX from every corner of the room; and obnoxious singing animations suddenly trying to get me to click through a Pop-Under on the ol' laptop.
It's as if the whole world has stopped singing 'Do Re Mi' and started chanting 'Me', 'Me', 'Me'!
Don't even get me started on the topic of traditional noise pollution –car alarms, nearby airports, sirens, jackhammers and garbage trucks at 3 AM in the morning, or lawnmowers at 6AM on a Sunday. For the time being, I'd just like to temper the relatively low level audio cacophony resulting from someone somewhere acting on the belief that every moment of silence is 'an opportunity for sound'. Sure, a reduction in urban noise would be nice, but the management of personal and branded sound emissions in an increasingly multimedia packaged environment is also becoming necessary.
In some cases a sonified website or music-on-hold is entirely appropriate: If you're a music house or a lifestyle company, or otherwise in the business of Sound, Information or Entertainment, and you don't have music, news or some other amusement on-hold, then I'm going to wonder what's wrong with your lot.
But for everyone else, particularly in the b2b space, I would suggest you consider whether more sound actually means better communication. Maybe, before you commission a hip audio agent to create a branded playlist in order to fulfill your 360 degree sonic branding 'strategy', you should first ask yourself if your marketing dollars would be put to better use speeding up the solution process, rather than trying to turn every incoming complaint or communique into an entertainment experience.
Look, whatever I bought from you is broken or not working at the moment, or I'm too lazy too read the manual. Or I just need someone to sign off on an order or deal memo so we can get back to work. So trust me when I tell you, that Ray Coniff extended Norwegian metal remix is not helping at the moment. Even if everyone in account services thinks the hip DJ who made it captures the sound of your brand perfectly.
Instead, perhaps a singular simple sound, cycling just often enough to let customers know that they're still connected, will suffice.
Several options come immediately to mind:
A) Deftly designed (even customized) Comfort Noise
B) A one or two second Tonal ID.
C) An informative (and responsive?) Branded Vocal.
D) A dedicated Phone ID, being constructed according to a design similar to a traditional station identification or call sign.
The difference between the Tonal ID and the Phone ID being the degree of information used in the construct of the element. A Tonal ID provides minimal branding, whereas the Phone ID might be composed as a fully arranged sonic logo.
Even if combined with a brief promotion, any of the above options would still prove suitably respectful (and effective) than a streaming playlist.
I'm absolutely not against using playlists to package an environment, especially not in special venues where amusement or sound is intended to play a role in defining experience. But –whenever possible– I am interested in minimizing the clash of audio titans.
As multimedia sources multiply in public environments, the potential for overlap, intelligibility and distortion increase, thereby undermining marketing strategies, diminishing entertainment effects, and even negating utility for identification (as in the case of custom cell phone tones and tunes).
If you're in marketing, whatever your sonic objectives, I put forward that one must include in the discussion an account for your customer's potential and pre-exisiting acoustic ecology (the device, space or platform by which they communicate to you) or personal soundtrack (audio players, mobile usage, streaming audio, etc). Can you resist forcing your customer to delay their communication needs in order for you to fulfill your own? Is it possible to accommodate both?
Hey, maybe your brand IS all about anarchy. In that case feel free to contribute to the ever growing noise jam. But don't be surprised when like penicillin resistant bacteria, your customers suddenly become immune –and deaf– to the sound of your voice and your brand.
* * *
Click any link below to read all the articles in the six-part July 2008 UNBRANDED series detailing the relationship between Effective Sonic Branding and Black Noise (Silence):
TO BRAND OR NOT TO BRAND?
That is the Question.
Part 1: Non Branding For The Best Branders
Part 2: Sonic Branding or Silent Branding?
Part 3: Websites and Sonic Branding
Part 4: The Sonification of Everything
Part 5: Silence Please, for the Soundtracks of Our Lives
Part 6: Black Noise Branding
Showing posts with label Interactive Audio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Interactive Audio. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Interactive Advertising/Interactive Process
In late spring of 2006, my company Position Management, was commissioned by a Los Angeles production company to produce a State-of-the-Industry market analysis on Interactive Advertising. The report would thereafter serve my client as a reference tool with which to identify clients, contacts and other points of entry suitable for investigation by their associates. It was a project I was quite excited to work on, especially as I had been chasing the broadband video tail since the previous decade.
Obviously the resulting report and its findings are confidential, therefore I won't be divulging its contents here. However, as I carried out my task, I endeavored to conduct parallel research for a story which might end up in one trade magazine or another. Of current interest to me was the fact that eight years after the founding of Blister Media, and fifteen years after my first Interactive job, it was readily apparent that most traditional production companies who worked on broadcast advertising projects still hadn't worked on an interactive project, save their own website. Not only that, but some of these shops, despite their relative inexperience, promised vertical branding solutions. Whoa. Hello, people, that means top to bottom.
Anyway, I was –and I continue to be– intrigued with process. That is, how does a particular medium affect the way creative people work? You know, of course I already have my own ideas about this, but it's important to find out what other people think. Some people will tell you the technology has no bearing on their process. Others will tell you that it changes everything. Despite the fact that everything can be distilled to electro-magnetic waves, I can tell you from personal experience, that I write different music at a piano than I do a synthesizer. The electronic keyboard's layout might be identical to that of the piano, and it might in fact only be triggering a piano sample; but something changes in my brain when I know the possibilities have suddenly become limitless. –Or narrowed, for that matter.
Obviously the resulting report and its findings are confidential, therefore I won't be divulging its contents here. However, as I carried out my task, I endeavored to conduct parallel research for a story which might end up in one trade magazine or another. Of current interest to me was the fact that eight years after the founding of Blister Media, and fifteen years after my first Interactive job, it was readily apparent that most traditional production companies who worked on broadcast advertising projects still hadn't worked on an interactive project, save their own website. Not only that, but some of these shops, despite their relative inexperience, promised vertical branding solutions. Whoa. Hello, people, that means top to bottom.
Anyway, I was –and I continue to be– intrigued with process. That is, how does a particular medium affect the way creative people work? You know, of course I already have my own ideas about this, but it's important to find out what other people think. Some people will tell you the technology has no bearing on their process. Others will tell you that it changes everything. Despite the fact that everything can be distilled to electro-magnetic waves, I can tell you from personal experience, that I write different music at a piano than I do a synthesizer. The electronic keyboard's layout might be identical to that of the piano, and it might in fact only be triggering a piano sample; but something changes in my brain when I know the possibilities have suddenly become limitless. –Or narrowed, for that matter.
Monday, August 13, 2001
Too Many Notes To Choose From?
I returned to New York from Miami after attending the 2001 Winter Music Conference with the interesting observation that DJ's were not only trading in their turntables for laptops and recording software, but many were also abandoning the tag 'DJ' in favor of the more expansive title of 'Producer'. It didn't take a genius to realize that this trend would eventually result an increase in the number of creative audio options available to advertising agencies. And in fact, where there had once been a few music houses, soon there many boutiques, and the choices so plentiful that an ad shop never had to use the same audio house twice.
A lot of studio guys who had been in the business for years were still paying off their Neves and Studers would find themselves sweating bullets. But, since my partner and I were basically kids with laptops ourselves, I argued that if we could squeeze into the industry, then there was still room for more competition.
Now, whether or not this is actually true maybe for up for debate, but one thing is certain: The New Economy favors small, fast and lean –and over leveraged, top heavy post production companies were going to find themselves forcibly downscaled or simply overtaken by the unforgiving forces of market evolution.
The title of this article, 'Too Many Notes To Choose From?', is inspired by Emperor Joseph II's famous comment to Mozart that there were ‘too many notes’ in his music. Mozart replied there were neither too many nor to few notes than the composition required of it.
–Terry O'Gara
Too Many Notes To Choose From?
By Terry O'Gara
First published in Shoot, April 13, 2001
There has been a discussion in the music production community as to whether the number of people entering an already crowded field is reaching a saturation point. Ultimately it's a matter of perspective, but I think the repercussions are generally positive for all involved.
The reality is that many talented people out there now bypass the rigors of training at a large shop, and directly approach an agency. The reason being that you no longer need a multi-million-dollar studio to create first-rate music. A modest investment and your hobby can become a viable way to get immediately into the game. Or so it may seem. If you can manage to pound the pavement and find a way to stand out from the rest, then who's to prevent you from competing?
A decade ago this wasn't necessarily the case. But as the competition multiplies, music houses are definitely going to be niched. They are already. The variety of projects available to an established composer is significantly--and ironically, one might say--reduced. Regardless of what you're able to do, if it's not on the reel already, you won't get the job. Because clients now have such a wide range of talent to choose from, they're more likely to place their bets on someone who has already done exactly what a client wants to do for a current project.
This makes sense from the client's viewpoint--much to the detriment of many composers who need the work to expand their craft and abilities. But if stuck with a smaller budget, clients and composers have to take fewer risks and get it right the first time. Also, because licensing a ready-made track is much easier than creating an original piece of music, a client on a smaller budget will go for the former if it has already been created--by a recording artist or through a stock library, for instance. Whether or not a ready made track can address the branding issues of the advertiser or the campaign doesn't seen to make much of a difference as long as the experience of the spot is riveting. I'm not personally convinced that this is true, but it seems to be the tendency. And branded or not, a licensed piece of music has a good chance of hooking an audience that is already predisposed to listening to it in the first place. Since licensing does appear to be a growing trend, add it to the increasingly competitive climate of the industry.
One new difference does make someone on our side of the business optimistic: The avenues from which a music production house can generate revenue have also multiplied. Advertising dollars now only account for a part of the income pie. I started my career in 1991. Back then we only did commercials. Many houses still only do commercials, as they remain a lucrative business. But today a talented production team can make a living in a host of other media, as well--like electronic games, Web sites, in-store kiosks, special venues, sync to-broadcast and enhanced television projects.
New talents in shops like mine no longer have to sit in their studios waiting for an agency and/or client to believe music-makers can score that campaign right to the Clios. We can dive in and have fun with all sorts of new technologies and the new media they provide. Granted, none of these media generate the dollars that a steady diet of TV commercials does, but this variety keeps you on your toes and does provide composers and producers an opportunity to work differently. It keeps life from getting dull, and you're not allowed to repeat the same formula twice.
A lot of studio guys who had been in the business for years were still paying off their Neves and Studers would find themselves sweating bullets. But, since my partner and I were basically kids with laptops ourselves, I argued that if we could squeeze into the industry, then there was still room for more competition.
Now, whether or not this is actually true maybe for up for debate, but one thing is certain: The New Economy favors small, fast and lean –and over leveraged, top heavy post production companies were going to find themselves forcibly downscaled or simply overtaken by the unforgiving forces of market evolution.
The title of this article, 'Too Many Notes To Choose From?', is inspired by Emperor Joseph II's famous comment to Mozart that there were ‘too many notes’ in his music. Mozart replied there were neither too many nor to few notes than the composition required of it.
–Terry O'Gara
Too Many Notes To Choose From?
By Terry O'Gara
First published in Shoot, April 13, 2001
There has been a discussion in the music production community as to whether the number of people entering an already crowded field is reaching a saturation point. Ultimately it's a matter of perspective, but I think the repercussions are generally positive for all involved.
The reality is that many talented people out there now bypass the rigors of training at a large shop, and directly approach an agency. The reason being that you no longer need a multi-million-dollar studio to create first-rate music. A modest investment and your hobby can become a viable way to get immediately into the game. Or so it may seem. If you can manage to pound the pavement and find a way to stand out from the rest, then who's to prevent you from competing?
A decade ago this wasn't necessarily the case. But as the competition multiplies, music houses are definitely going to be niched. They are already. The variety of projects available to an established composer is significantly--and ironically, one might say--reduced. Regardless of what you're able to do, if it's not on the reel already, you won't get the job. Because clients now have such a wide range of talent to choose from, they're more likely to place their bets on someone who has already done exactly what a client wants to do for a current project.
This makes sense from the client's viewpoint--much to the detriment of many composers who need the work to expand their craft and abilities. But if stuck with a smaller budget, clients and composers have to take fewer risks and get it right the first time. Also, because licensing a ready-made track is much easier than creating an original piece of music, a client on a smaller budget will go for the former if it has already been created--by a recording artist or through a stock library, for instance. Whether or not a ready made track can address the branding issues of the advertiser or the campaign doesn't seen to make much of a difference as long as the experience of the spot is riveting. I'm not personally convinced that this is true, but it seems to be the tendency. And branded or not, a licensed piece of music has a good chance of hooking an audience that is already predisposed to listening to it in the first place. Since licensing does appear to be a growing trend, add it to the increasingly competitive climate of the industry.
One new difference does make someone on our side of the business optimistic: The avenues from which a music production house can generate revenue have also multiplied. Advertising dollars now only account for a part of the income pie. I started my career in 1991. Back then we only did commercials. Many houses still only do commercials, as they remain a lucrative business. But today a talented production team can make a living in a host of other media, as well--like electronic games, Web sites, in-store kiosks, special venues, sync to-broadcast and enhanced television projects.
New talents in shops like mine no longer have to sit in their studios waiting for an agency and/or client to believe music-makers can score that campaign right to the Clios. We can dive in and have fun with all sorts of new technologies and the new media they provide. Granted, none of these media generate the dollars that a steady diet of TV commercials does, but this variety keeps you on your toes and does provide composers and producers an opportunity to work differently. It keeps life from getting dull, and you're not allowed to repeat the same formula twice.
Thursday, June 14, 2001
Interactive Audio Manifesto
As Executive Producer for Blister Media, part of my job includes marketing the company to new breed technology/content companies who create advertising and entertainment for the web. Back in 1998, when we founded the company, I sketched out some ideas for a virtual vision statement, which I'm not sure ever got fully executed. But thought I'd publish some of those initial thoughts here under the guise of an Interactive Audio Manifesto. The title is tongue and cheek, but the bullet points may have some inspirational value–
INTERACTIVE AUDIO MANIFESTO
• Experimentation yields great advances in science and technology; The same is true for art.
• If your ears are hungry, feed them music.
• The consumer is your audience.
• Audiences demand to be entertained.
• They’re not just ‘eyeballs’. They’re eyeballs with brains.
• When given a choice, audiences don’t buy bland.
• Information and Entertainment are most effective when combined.
• Nothing identifies you like your face. Except your voice.
• Audio is most effective when used judiciously:
1. Use it to brand.
2. Use it to entertain.
3. Use it to convey information.
Anything else is wasted bandwidth
INTERACTIVE AUDIO MANIFESTO
• Experimentation yields great advances in science and technology; The same is true for art.
• If your ears are hungry, feed them music.
• The consumer is your audience.
• Audiences demand to be entertained.
• They’re not just ‘eyeballs’. They’re eyeballs with brains.
• When given a choice, audiences don’t buy bland.
• Information and Entertainment are most effective when combined.
• Nothing identifies you like your face. Except your voice.
• Audio is most effective when used judiciously:
1. Use it to brand.
2. Use it to entertain.
3. Use it to convey information.
Anything else is wasted bandwidth
Wednesday, June 13, 2001
Tooting My Own Horn
A company's legacy is the sum of its people. Several years after my departure, Elias offered as part of its promotional literature, several pioneering 'FIRSTS'. Imagine my happy surprise to learn that I was a principle player in at least half of the ‘firsts’.
Among them:
• First to use music supervisors
(I was on the first team of music supervisors)
• First bi-coastal music production house
(I was on the first bi-coastal production team; and created SOP for the production of all in-house music, sound design and sonic branding projects for both the East and West Coast production offices).
• First Olympic music library with Meta tags and digital database
(I was one of three internal supervisors/producers that created that first Meta tagged music library.)
• First commercial music company to do product sonification
(I produced, or was part of a team that produced, the company’s earliest product sonification projects for AT&T and TeleTV)
• First company to do corporate audio identity systems
(I worked on the company’s first corporate audio identity system –with Alexander Lasarenko– which was created for Elias Arts itself!)
* * *
Honestly, who really knows if any of these ‘firsts’ have any historic –albiet narrow– importance within the industry, or if they are all simply bits of a marketing mythology? Hell, I don’t care: it's a mythology business, and if current and future crews of Elias are as proud of the company's legacy, then I couldn't be happier to have made some small contributions to its development. It was a wonderful time with wonderful people, full of art and music and chaos and personality.
Monday, April 02, 2001
Blister Media: Interactive Composition Comes of Age
In Mix Magazine's Internet Audio supplement (April 2001), editor Sarah Jones asks the question, "Who is the new web audio professional?" She then goes on to take a stab at the answer and writes:"Creating audio for the Internet requires a unique blend of skills, combining audio savvy, design creativity and programming knowledge. Audio professionals are learning about HTML and Flash. Web designers and computer professionals are learning about compression and sampling rates. Today's production team, like this month's featured creative talent at Blister Media, might be writing both a MIDI sequence and HTML code as part of a client project. Is this jack of all trades the new breed of creative professional?"
The feature story that followed that introduction was in depth interview of my partner and I about the practices we employed, sometimes invented, often combined and then championed as a new breed of sonic artisan that would be both music designer and creative technologist.
Here's the article:
BLISTER MEDIA
Interactive Composition Comes of Age
By Andrea Rotondo Hospidor
Terry O’Gara and Michael Sweet, owners of Manhattan-based Blister Media, are true musicians and creative collaborators. They speak the language of MIDI, sequencing and recording, but they also speak Java, Flash Shockwave, Beatnik, MP3 and RealAudio. The upshot is, Blister Media may just portend the future for all music production professionals.
The company is currently blazing trails as one of the few music houses that composes music–and creates code–for interactive media, and we're not just talking TV commercials, CD-ROMS and on-site installations; we're talking about composing music for the Internet. Recent projects include several sync-to-broadcast gigs, such as History Channel's History IQ game and MTV's WebRIOT. (Sync-to-broadcast synchronizes online content with on-air broadcasts, turning a TV show into an interactive experience.) Blister Media is also responsible for the new sonic identity of HBO Zone, music for Shockwave's BLiX and Loop games, music and sound design for the NASDAQ site in Times Square and a connection tone for a telephone company.
So, if you're a composer who presumes Beatnik has something to do with a Jack Kerouac novel, you'd do well to take note. The future of music composition ain't what it used to be.
MUSIC
Music, Noise, Code. That's the Blister tagline. According to O'Gara, "That translates to: original music, sound design and audio-specific programming as applicable for interactive media–including enhanced or interactive TV, special venues and electronic games–TV and radio commercials, broadcast promotions, phone connection tones, etc." To paraphrase David Byrne, how did they get here?
Both men grew up with a musical instrument in one hand and a computer keyboard in the other. "I grew up in a relatively artistic family," Recalls O'Gara. "I studied violin, worked as an assistant to the organist at a local church and played in a youth orchestra. I also had the benefit of growing in a family that traveled the world. So as a child I listened to the indigenous music of the Middle East, South America, the West Indies and Europe." But perhaps most significant in O'Gara's early music education was the day his parents bought him a Minimoog. He was 13 and just beginning to dream about the ins and outs of sound synthesis.
Meanwhile, in a sleepy Wisconsin town, Sweet was also growing up with music. It was the early '80's and he was learning to merge the computer world with sound. He went on to study music production and film scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston.
NOISE
Later, both landed jobs at a well-known music production company in New York City: O’Gara following the production route and Sweet concentrating on composition. "We became creative collaborators from the start," notes O’Gara. "In the beginning, our collaborations were more experimental, explorative and noncommercial. We were mixing orchestral harmonies with world rhythms and hip hop loops. This was 1991. It was until 1996 that the world caught up with us, and our explorations became something people would pay us to create." Soon after, the duo created Blister Media.
"From the very beginning, clients would come to us for new ideas and we'd sell them on the idea of a symphonic piece of music being driven by electronically produced tribal rhythms, for example." O'Gara says.
CODE
As they honed their composition chops on commercials, interactive kiosks, installations and CD-ROMs, O'Gara and Sweet also dove into Flash, Java and Beatnik. It was this intimate knowledge of technology that landed them favor with Shockwave. They have since produced music for two online games: BLiX and Loop. In effect, Blister's tech-speak has allowed them to cross over into a world where programmers and musicians routinely collaborate music for the Web being an extension of that philosophy.
"Creating music for the Web takes sound to places where it can be heard on a very personal level," says Sweet. "When we create music for an interactive experience, the one-to-one relationship to the end-user is much closer than creating something that appeals to a broad audience, such as commercials. IN addition, the collaboration between all of the digital artists is much stronger, because it usually takes several months to finish a project."
NOSTRADAMUS FOR A DAY
O'Gara and Sweet advise composers and engineers to delve into audio for the Web–and interactive media–as soon as possible. Composers and engineers must know compression and delivery formats, and it's not enough to just hand your music off to a programmer. Smart production pros will play the active role in creating code.
O'Gara goes so far to say, "If a composer doesn't understand the technical issues regarding the way audio is delivered, then maybe he's in the wrong business. We'll see more and more of these technologies converge or act in tandem. Sync-to-broadcast is just one example. Our perception of what a composer, engineer or producer is has to change along with the technology. But we must emphasize that it's not just the tools. It's first and foremost what's in your head."
Sweet concurs, "When I first started exploring Beatnik, I had to get in that box and say, "This is what it can do. How can I push the box outward and make it do things that people haven't thought of doing before?" You start thinking, "Oh, I had this idea a long time ago and now here's a way to do it!"
TECHNOLOGY AND ART IN ACTION
How do O'Gara and Sweet really combine technology and composition? It seems to be two parts creative musical intelligence and one part kicking studio setup. The creative team runs off of both the Macintosh and PC platforms and mixes on a Mackie D8B digital console. Sequencing is done via MOTU Digital Performer, Digidesign's Pro Tools and Emagic Logic. Their synth rack is extensive and boasts an E-mu Proteus 2000; Roland JV-2080, MC-303, Juno 106, Super JX; Oberheim Matrix-6R; Minimoog; Waldorf WaveXT; and a Synclavier. They also own a host of software synths, Steinberg Rebirth and Recycle to name two. The E-mu E6400 Ultra and Digidesign's SampleCell handle the sampling chores; Macromedia Director, Flash and Dreamweaver round out their digs.
"It's not just equipment but an extension of our ideas," O'Gara says. "We love an eclectic mix of equipment. The tools, to some extent, define the process and the production method. The idea is that if our studio setup is atypical, then what we create will be atypical in nature as well."
Blister Media recently put their studio sensibilities to the test while creating music for a new Shockwave game called Loop. "Although, on first look, it's a relatively simple game," says Sweet, "it has many different levels, both visually and musically. One of the things that has always excited me about music for games is the ability t create a piece that changes every time you play it. In Loop, we structured the sound around playlists that could change in real time, as well as from play to play, giving the end-user a much richer musical experience."
Another recent project was Passport Kids for Children's Television Workshop. "The theme," Sweet says, "was communication. The site is translated into 10-plus languages, and people from around the world exchange information about themselves. When we were asked to add music to the site, we wanted to let users express themselves though music, so we built a musical sequencer and 'jam machine' that allowed users to create their own 'song' and play to other users. We used Beatnik as our audio engine, because it was a fairly robust music system that allowed us to bring custom world instrument samples and manipulate them in real time. When then wrote a lot of custom code to push Beatnik to its limits. The outer visual shell was then built using Flash that communicated directly with our code for Beatnik.
"When we first start a project, we look at many things," Sweet continues, "including the overall creative feel, interaction design, bandwidth/size and what new things we can do that we've never done before. Experimentation is a very important aspect of what we do, because we don't think the sound is made perfect the first time around. We always ask ourselves, 'How can we make it better? How can we push the boundaries of our current technology limitations?"
Sunday, April 01, 2001
The Post-Post Production Era
Blister Media sourced for THE POST-POST PRODUCTION ERA, a special report published in the April 2001 Advertising Age CREATIVITY magazine.
Writer/Reporter Ann-Christine Diaz writes:
Advancing technologies – the Internet, the imminence of interactive TV going mainstream, the explosion of new formats – are driving the redefinition of the post industry from being the last stop in the production chain to being an integral part of the entire creative process…
…Advancing technologies have opened up new sectors of specialization as well. Consider music and sound design. In 1998, for example, Terry O’Gara and Michael Sweet launched Blister Media in New York to cater to the sonic needs of the interactive community. Blister provided both the technology and sound for interactive projects like MTV’s Web Riot, a broadcast cable and Internet quiz show; the interactive game Loop on Shockwave.com; various web sites for Sesame Workshop; and the Nasdaq learning kiosks in Times Square. Such assignments go well beyond the needs of the traditional TV spot.
“We have more homework to do than someone who just has to kick out a track,” says O’Gara. “With interactive projects, everything relies on constantly evolving technology to deliver the message. Even though we’re a music production facility, we have to understand all the technologies our client is speaking – or at the very least, how our technology and code will integrate with theirs from project to project.”
Blister is not alone in its efforts; full service music and sound design houses like Elias Associates and Hest & Kramer in Minneapolis have both added what the Blister crew calls “interactive sonification” to their services.
Writer/Reporter Ann-Christine Diaz writes:
Advancing technologies – the Internet, the imminence of interactive TV going mainstream, the explosion of new formats – are driving the redefinition of the post industry from being the last stop in the production chain to being an integral part of the entire creative process…
…Advancing technologies have opened up new sectors of specialization as well. Consider music and sound design. In 1998, for example, Terry O’Gara and Michael Sweet launched Blister Media in New York to cater to the sonic needs of the interactive community. Blister provided both the technology and sound for interactive projects like MTV’s Web Riot, a broadcast cable and Internet quiz show; the interactive game Loop on Shockwave.com; various web sites for Sesame Workshop; and the Nasdaq learning kiosks in Times Square. Such assignments go well beyond the needs of the traditional TV spot.
“We have more homework to do than someone who just has to kick out a track,” says O’Gara. “With interactive projects, everything relies on constantly evolving technology to deliver the message. Even though we’re a music production facility, we have to understand all the technologies our client is speaking – or at the very least, how our technology and code will integrate with theirs from project to project.”
Blister is not alone in its efforts; full service music and sound design houses like Elias Associates and Hest & Kramer in Minneapolis have both added what the Blister crew calls “interactive sonification” to their services.
Thursday, February 08, 2001
Thoughts On Audio @ Point of Purchase
Have by now produced audio for several installations and in-store experiences, including Kiosks for Chrysler, Discovery Store, Epcot, Levi's and the Nasdaq MarketSite. And something like this has been bubbling around my head lately on the topic of interactive audio triggered at Point of Purchase locations and special venues:
The overt pitch has been abandoned in favor of something that resembles entertainment. The eyeballs surfing the web are not just eyeballs, but eyeballs with brains. The consumers are not just shoppers, but audience members. And unlike Television advertising, point-of-purchase venues don't have the luxury of seducing the viewer with a cinematic short story.
This new consumer/fan is not at home pondering the warm and fuzzy feeling of your brand. They are on site or in the mall staring at the display or monitor, hopeully engaging in the experience. And perhaps now, they are ready to make a choice. At this stage they want immediate and honest information. You have a few seconds –and certainly not more than a couple of minutes– to make an introduction and deliver a message that inspires them to make a purchase.
How will you fare?
One thing is certain: You will need more than a loop to create an emotional bond between brands and fans.
The overt pitch has been abandoned in favor of something that resembles entertainment. The eyeballs surfing the web are not just eyeballs, but eyeballs with brains. The consumers are not just shoppers, but audience members. And unlike Television advertising, point-of-purchase venues don't have the luxury of seducing the viewer with a cinematic short story.
This new consumer/fan is not at home pondering the warm and fuzzy feeling of your brand. They are on site or in the mall staring at the display or monitor, hopeully engaging in the experience. And perhaps now, they are ready to make a choice. At this stage they want immediate and honest information. You have a few seconds –and certainly not more than a couple of minutes– to make an introduction and deliver a message that inspires them to make a purchase.
How will you fare?
One thing is certain: You will need more than a loop to create an emotional bond between brands and fans.
Wednesday, September 20, 2000
The Golden Age of Online Entertainment Has Just Begun
The Information Age is Over.
And the Golden Age of Online Entertainment has just Begun!
(First Published: Wednesday, September 20, 2000 by clickz)
There are many issues facing media producers who create content for the World Wide Web. These issues affect those of us who enhance the online experience with music, sound design, and audio-specific programming.
Today, ideas demand to be manifest. But tempering the speed of development is the fact that we in audio must wait until our design and programming counterparts implement their contributions before we make ours.
Looming on the horizon is the promise of broadband and convergence. But the horizon is not close enough for those of us who need to make a living today. Especially when traditional forms of production are jeopardized by each technological advance. Digital television recording will wipe out traditional advertising, so they say.
They also say content providers are wary of adding audio because of a perspective that it slows downloads. Where does that leave those of us in the music-production community? Will we be out of our jobs?
If the truth be told, it's a waiting game. Those who can hold their breath longest will survive. And then there will be more work out there than before, and we'll have to learn new techniques and habits again and again before a stable format arrives.
I propose a shift in the way we perceive the online public. We think of them as users, consumers, eyeballs. I say every new person who logs on is less a user and more a member of a growing audience. And audiences demand to be entertained.
Specific to my profession, producing original music and sound design, scoring the web is like scoring a magazine. Audio is a smattering of effects that respond to "clicks." But as the Internet paradigm becomes more like television, audio for the web will become like scoring video or film, albeit a film that one never experiences the same way twice.
It's only a matter of time before television-style web spots replace banner ads as the online ad model. This is good for music and sound houses: A web spot for one product might target a certain demographic - people looking for a car - and the score will be different for subsets. Seniors might hear one track, Boomers another. Gen Xers another still.
How will this get accomplished in a cost-effective manner? Along with a final track, music production houses of the near future will deliver algorithms along with tracks that will convert their original score into another desired style.
And while web spots will be the focus of online advertising, the Internet allows for other formats as well. One growing trend is how content providers are discovering that online games created specific to their sites bring in more eyeballs than, say, simply a banner for a product. The thinking is entertain the audience, and eventually it'll buy something. It already works for television. Game development creates a huge market for designers, programmers, and sound providers.
The same demands for audio on web spots and online games apply to web sites. As broadband opens up and media companies merge with Internet-access companies, Internet users will devolve back into spectators of the unfolding digital pageant.
We are leaving the hunting-and-gathering stage of the Internet. It's no longer about providing dry information but about packaging our brand in a stimulating wrapper to an online spectator. We already pass sites that offer little in their design. Soon sites without sound will seem flat, and even the most utilitarian web destinations will have to consider their entertainment value factor.
Think of the evening news. Theoretically, the news is a simple service: information. But news producers understand that turning service into entertainment and packaging it with exciting graphics and music makes people watch.
Given a choice, audiences don't buy bland. By necessity, audio will play a larger role on the web. But we must move beyond the currently acceptable stock clicks and boinks that continue to be the developer's easiest choice.
Online audio can be very effective. But only if composed with the same care we bring to broadcast. And it must be used judiciously. Use audio to brand your site. Then the eyeballs won't be turning off the sound. Instead, they'll be transfixed. You would be hard put to find an AOL user who isn't delighted to hear "You've Got Mail." A significant portion of AOL's audience lives to hear that announcement. That's branding with audio. And when it works, you're not just a pixel in cyberspace, but a destination site people can't wait to return to.
------------------------------------------------------------
Terry O'Gara is the Executive Producer of Blister Media, a music and sound design firm in New York City. His background includes studies in classical and electronic music composition, and his travels to South America and the Mideast have influenced his general aesthetic. Blister Media provides original material for interactive media, advertising, and broadcast promotions.
And the Golden Age of Online Entertainment has just Begun!
(First Published: Wednesday, September 20, 2000 by clickz)
There are many issues facing media producers who create content for the World Wide Web. These issues affect those of us who enhance the online experience with music, sound design, and audio-specific programming.
Today, ideas demand to be manifest. But tempering the speed of development is the fact that we in audio must wait until our design and programming counterparts implement their contributions before we make ours.
Looming on the horizon is the promise of broadband and convergence. But the horizon is not close enough for those of us who need to make a living today. Especially when traditional forms of production are jeopardized by each technological advance. Digital television recording will wipe out traditional advertising, so they say.
They also say content providers are wary of adding audio because of a perspective that it slows downloads. Where does that leave those of us in the music-production community? Will we be out of our jobs?
If the truth be told, it's a waiting game. Those who can hold their breath longest will survive. And then there will be more work out there than before, and we'll have to learn new techniques and habits again and again before a stable format arrives.
I propose a shift in the way we perceive the online public. We think of them as users, consumers, eyeballs. I say every new person who logs on is less a user and more a member of a growing audience. And audiences demand to be entertained.
Specific to my profession, producing original music and sound design, scoring the web is like scoring a magazine. Audio is a smattering of effects that respond to "clicks." But as the Internet paradigm becomes more like television, audio for the web will become like scoring video or film, albeit a film that one never experiences the same way twice.
It's only a matter of time before television-style web spots replace banner ads as the online ad model. This is good for music and sound houses: A web spot for one product might target a certain demographic - people looking for a car - and the score will be different for subsets. Seniors might hear one track, Boomers another. Gen Xers another still.
How will this get accomplished in a cost-effective manner? Along with a final track, music production houses of the near future will deliver algorithms along with tracks that will convert their original score into another desired style.
And while web spots will be the focus of online advertising, the Internet allows for other formats as well. One growing trend is how content providers are discovering that online games created specific to their sites bring in more eyeballs than, say, simply a banner for a product. The thinking is entertain the audience, and eventually it'll buy something. It already works for television. Game development creates a huge market for designers, programmers, and sound providers.
The same demands for audio on web spots and online games apply to web sites. As broadband opens up and media companies merge with Internet-access companies, Internet users will devolve back into spectators of the unfolding digital pageant.
We are leaving the hunting-and-gathering stage of the Internet. It's no longer about providing dry information but about packaging our brand in a stimulating wrapper to an online spectator. We already pass sites that offer little in their design. Soon sites without sound will seem flat, and even the most utilitarian web destinations will have to consider their entertainment value factor.
Think of the evening news. Theoretically, the news is a simple service: information. But news producers understand that turning service into entertainment and packaging it with exciting graphics and music makes people watch.
Given a choice, audiences don't buy bland. By necessity, audio will play a larger role on the web. But we must move beyond the currently acceptable stock clicks and boinks that continue to be the developer's easiest choice.
Online audio can be very effective. But only if composed with the same care we bring to broadcast. And it must be used judiciously. Use audio to brand your site. Then the eyeballs won't be turning off the sound. Instead, they'll be transfixed. You would be hard put to find an AOL user who isn't delighted to hear "You've Got Mail." A significant portion of AOL's audience lives to hear that announcement. That's branding with audio. And when it works, you're not just a pixel in cyberspace, but a destination site people can't wait to return to.
------------------------------------------------------------
Terry O'Gara is the Executive Producer of Blister Media, a music and sound design firm in New York City. His background includes studies in classical and electronic music composition, and his travels to South America and the Mideast have influenced his general aesthetic. Blister Media provides original material for interactive media, advertising, and broadcast promotions.
Thursday, August 17, 2000
Composing For the World Wide Web
COMPOSING FOR THE WORLDWIDE WED
By Terry O'Gara
First published by Digitrends Daily August 17, 2000
Today, navigating a Web site is like turning pages. When you think of audio on the Web, you think of a site with a smattering of sound effects that respond to a click. A click turns the page and drives the audio, not the other way around.
In the future, audio for the Web will be more like scoring for video or film, as the Internet paradigm becomes more television-like. Web advertising will evolve from banners into a form that approximates television commercials, or 'Web spots'. One exciting prospect for Web audio is that sound will be targeted to the consumer in the same way banner ads are today.
While a Web spot for an automobile might target a certain demographic group, i.e. women, the score accompanying it will be different for sub sets within the overall female demographic. Older women would hear one soundtrack, younger women another, teenagers another still. One spot might have a jazz track, another a classical score, or a rock track, etc.
Musical scores will be specific to demographic groups and to subsets. Don't think this will be uncommon, or that it apply only to text, because there is no such thing as local advertising on the Web.
As can be said of Web spots, so it goes with Web sites. Today content might change depending on who is viewing. In the future, the audio experience will also change. Right now, one is tempted to turn off the audio because it is so often such a banal experience. But as broadband opens up, as media companies merge with Internet access companies, computer users will devolve from being users into spectators of the great unfolding digital pageant. In case you haven't noticed, AOL has taken to using the term 'CHANNELS' to apply to different areas of interest.
True, the Internet will be all things to all people, and will provide an ever-increasing array of services. But I'm talking about that aspect of the Internet that lends itself to entertainment and information gathering. Substantial interactivity may apply to some sites, but the general public will be drawn away from 'destination sites' to Web sites that provide unique, gratifying experience.
We already pass by sites that provide little in the way of design. Before you know it, sites without sound will seem stingy too, if not altogether flat. Audiences don't buy bland, when they have a choice. Think about your own Internet usage. Sites that provide audio cues as you navigate, provide a richer experience than those that don't.
It is only a matter of time before even the most utilitarian destinations on the Web, even B2B sites and search engines, will need to consider entertainment value. Think of CNN, MSNBC, the evening news. Theoretically, the 'News' should survive as a simple information service, but the folks who bring you the news understand that packaging information as entertainment will attract legions who might not otherwise watch.
Branding certainly won't go away as the Internet develops. Just as sound is used to brand in traditional advertising, it will continue to play a role on the Web. One example is AOL's "You've Got Mail" audio cue that has become part of the popular consciousness.
Currently, the Web is a collection of static sites with equally static graphics waiting for you to click on them. That won't continue long. The Web will evolve into a 'moving' experience. Today the Web is like a stack of periodicals. Tomorrow, the Web experience will be like browsing an endless supply of DVDs, as it evolves into a medium where you can watch long-form stories.
I'm not just talking about animated sites, but about interaction, which will become a fluid experience. Amazon.com may still have the capacity to be an online catalog, but it will come to resemble Home Shopping Network or QVC, with a personalized, digitized, interactive sales clerk to help you.
Convergence will demand high-level scoring and sound design. Even content providers who offer text-based information will be forced to the inevitable conclusion that sound and music provide a richer consumer experience. And what about books online? Future online books won't be text downloaded to one's Palm Pilot, but will closely approximate a cinematic experience. As you scroll through the Internet version of a book, a score (not to mention graphics) will accompany it. Instead of just reading that a character is listening to a song on the radio, you'll hear it, too.
Think of the book, "High Fidelity," the story of a man obsessed with music. In the online version, you'll hear the songs the lead character discusses as he mentions them. And then you, the consumer, will click to Amazon.com, or wherever, to buy the music.
Broadband is a means to an end. The audience is driving demand for broadband. When the Internet is delivered through a more sophisticate medium, people will demand a richer experience. It's inevitable that the currently acceptable clicks and boinks won't cut it in a broadband world. And, the opportunities for composers and sound designers will multiply exponentially.
By Terry O'Gara
First published by Digitrends Daily August 17, 2000
Today, navigating a Web site is like turning pages. When you think of audio on the Web, you think of a site with a smattering of sound effects that respond to a click. A click turns the page and drives the audio, not the other way around.
In the future, audio for the Web will be more like scoring for video or film, as the Internet paradigm becomes more television-like. Web advertising will evolve from banners into a form that approximates television commercials, or 'Web spots'. One exciting prospect for Web audio is that sound will be targeted to the consumer in the same way banner ads are today.
While a Web spot for an automobile might target a certain demographic group, i.e. women, the score accompanying it will be different for sub sets within the overall female demographic. Older women would hear one soundtrack, younger women another, teenagers another still. One spot might have a jazz track, another a classical score, or a rock track, etc.
Musical scores will be specific to demographic groups and to subsets. Don't think this will be uncommon, or that it apply only to text, because there is no such thing as local advertising on the Web.
As can be said of Web spots, so it goes with Web sites. Today content might change depending on who is viewing. In the future, the audio experience will also change. Right now, one is tempted to turn off the audio because it is so often such a banal experience. But as broadband opens up, as media companies merge with Internet access companies, computer users will devolve from being users into spectators of the great unfolding digital pageant. In case you haven't noticed, AOL has taken to using the term 'CHANNELS' to apply to different areas of interest.
True, the Internet will be all things to all people, and will provide an ever-increasing array of services. But I'm talking about that aspect of the Internet that lends itself to entertainment and information gathering. Substantial interactivity may apply to some sites, but the general public will be drawn away from 'destination sites' to Web sites that provide unique, gratifying experience.
We already pass by sites that provide little in the way of design. Before you know it, sites without sound will seem stingy too, if not altogether flat. Audiences don't buy bland, when they have a choice. Think about your own Internet usage. Sites that provide audio cues as you navigate, provide a richer experience than those that don't.
It is only a matter of time before even the most utilitarian destinations on the Web, even B2B sites and search engines, will need to consider entertainment value. Think of CNN, MSNBC, the evening news. Theoretically, the 'News' should survive as a simple information service, but the folks who bring you the news understand that packaging information as entertainment will attract legions who might not otherwise watch.
Branding certainly won't go away as the Internet develops. Just as sound is used to brand in traditional advertising, it will continue to play a role on the Web. One example is AOL's "You've Got Mail" audio cue that has become part of the popular consciousness.
Currently, the Web is a collection of static sites with equally static graphics waiting for you to click on them. That won't continue long. The Web will evolve into a 'moving' experience. Today the Web is like a stack of periodicals. Tomorrow, the Web experience will be like browsing an endless supply of DVDs, as it evolves into a medium where you can watch long-form stories.
I'm not just talking about animated sites, but about interaction, which will become a fluid experience. Amazon.com may still have the capacity to be an online catalog, but it will come to resemble Home Shopping Network or QVC, with a personalized, digitized, interactive sales clerk to help you.
Convergence will demand high-level scoring and sound design. Even content providers who offer text-based information will be forced to the inevitable conclusion that sound and music provide a richer consumer experience. And what about books online? Future online books won't be text downloaded to one's Palm Pilot, but will closely approximate a cinematic experience. As you scroll through the Internet version of a book, a score (not to mention graphics) will accompany it. Instead of just reading that a character is listening to a song on the radio, you'll hear it, too.
Think of the book, "High Fidelity," the story of a man obsessed with music. In the online version, you'll hear the songs the lead character discusses as he mentions them. And then you, the consumer, will click to Amazon.com, or wherever, to buy the music.
Broadband is a means to an end. The audience is driving demand for broadband. When the Internet is delivered through a more sophisticate medium, people will demand a richer experience. It's inevitable that the currently acceptable clicks and boinks won't cut it in a broadband world. And, the opportunities for composers and sound designers will multiply exponentially.
Thursday, July 13, 2000
An Internet Audio Tour de Force from Blister Media
Reprint of Press Release (draft vers.) created by visibilitypr.com and issued in tandem with the launch of the initial phase of the project, regarding Blister Media's role in producing audio for Texaco sponsored Sesame Workshop, 'Passport Kids' Web site. As follows–
AN INTERNET AUDIO TOUR DE FORCE FROM BLISTER MEDIA
PRESS RELEASE
July 13, 2000
Kids Create their Own Songs, Jam to Others'
at the New Sesame Workshop 'Passport Kids' Web site
INTRO:
Audio on the Internet is in its infancy. Two year old New York City interactive music house Blister Media has consistently pushed the interactive audio envelope, recognizing that the Web will not reach its full potential until it delivers a rich audio-visual experience.
BRIEF:
Sesame Workshop's online service, Passport Kids, lacked a dedicated musical interface. In planning to redesign the site, SW's Robert Michaels asked Blister Media how they might incorporate an interactive educational musical experience. Blister Media presented three concepts; the winning concept allows kids to create a personal song by combining musical elements from around the world (an audio identity that parallels the visual avatar kids create on their personal SW Web page). Other kids can visit the page, listen to the song, and jam along by adding other instruments.
ABOUT SESAME WORKSHOP:
From creating your own song, the project evolved to enable others to interact, play along, and jam, with your song. Blister created five rhythms, offering as much geo/cultural diversity as possible - African, East Indian, pan Asian (Japanese), Latin, and Modern; and offers a choice of 10 melodic instruments: mandolin, acoustic bass, didgeridoo, gamelan, accordion, steel drum, trumpet, zurna, sitar and panpipe.
Blister creative director Michael Sweet composed pieces from which individual songs can be built.
THREE SECTIONS:
1. Make My Song... create a musical avatar.
2. Jam with my Song... allows another to play along.
3. Global Groove (now open to the public)... allows users to hear instruments
(demo mode).
ACCESSING PASSPORT KIDS:
• Click on the passport icon to go to your page.
• Click on make my tune.
• Roll mouse over instrument icon to play a note.
• Click to play the instrument.
• Double click on the instrument link and a pop-up screen offers more
information.
• Choose a rhythm, drag the instruments, select from four melody blocks.
• Can combine two instruments, plus rhythm.
TECH NOTES:
Sound files are generated on the fly using Beatnik and custom instrument samples collected by Blister Media from around the world. Blister Media wrote code for an engine built upon Beatnik, allowing users to integrate sound files and instrument
into rhythm patterns, a new use of the Beatnik technology. Songs are built around a looping measure of four sections to each rhythm. One composes with 'blocks' of sound, rearranging them as desired to create nearly endless musical possibilities.
Explains Michael Sweet, Creative Director, Blister Media:
"Sesame Workshop is our most ambitious Internet audio project to date and takes the state of interactive online audio into new territory. It comes down to having thought of the idea first. But it's not just about the technology, but what it can do. If you forget about the technology you might end up trying to put your music into a box that it won't fit into. We try to push the limits of the box. Or get into the box and push the walls outward. This is what we've done with Beatnik in building the Sesame Workshop audio site."
Requirements:
Beatnik and Flash
Pentium II or better, Power Mac
Audio and Audio Coding Credits:
Blister Media: Terry O'Gara, executive producer
Michael Sweet, creative director
Site Development:
Modstar, NYC
Launched July 13, 2000 phase one. Full site now open exclusively to Intel users.
Full site opens to public (date TBD).
AN INTERNET AUDIO TOUR DE FORCE FROM BLISTER MEDIA
PRESS RELEASE
July 13, 2000
Kids Create their Own Songs, Jam to Others'
at the New Sesame Workshop 'Passport Kids' Web site
INTRO:
Audio on the Internet is in its infancy. Two year old New York City interactive music house Blister Media has consistently pushed the interactive audio envelope, recognizing that the Web will not reach its full potential until it delivers a rich audio-visual experience.
BRIEF:
Sesame Workshop's online service, Passport Kids, lacked a dedicated musical interface. In planning to redesign the site, SW's Robert Michaels asked Blister Media how they might incorporate an interactive educational musical experience. Blister Media presented three concepts; the winning concept allows kids to create a personal song by combining musical elements from around the world (an audio identity that parallels the visual avatar kids create on their personal SW Web page). Other kids can visit the page, listen to the song, and jam along by adding other instruments.
ABOUT SESAME WORKSHOP:
From creating your own song, the project evolved to enable others to interact, play along, and jam, with your song. Blister created five rhythms, offering as much geo/cultural diversity as possible - African, East Indian, pan Asian (Japanese), Latin, and Modern; and offers a choice of 10 melodic instruments: mandolin, acoustic bass, didgeridoo, gamelan, accordion, steel drum, trumpet, zurna, sitar and panpipe.
Blister creative director Michael Sweet composed pieces from which individual songs can be built.
THREE SECTIONS:
1. Make My Song... create a musical avatar.
2. Jam with my Song... allows another to play along.
3. Global Groove (now open to the public)... allows users to hear instruments
(demo mode).
ACCESSING PASSPORT KIDS:
• Click on the passport icon to go to your page.
• Click on make my tune.
• Roll mouse over instrument icon to play a note.
• Click to play the instrument.
• Double click on the instrument link and a pop-up screen offers more
information.
• Choose a rhythm, drag the instruments, select from four melody blocks.
• Can combine two instruments, plus rhythm.
TECH NOTES:
Sound files are generated on the fly using Beatnik and custom instrument samples collected by Blister Media from around the world. Blister Media wrote code for an engine built upon Beatnik, allowing users to integrate sound files and instrument
into rhythm patterns, a new use of the Beatnik technology. Songs are built around a looping measure of four sections to each rhythm. One composes with 'blocks' of sound, rearranging them as desired to create nearly endless musical possibilities.
Explains Michael Sweet, Creative Director, Blister Media:
"Sesame Workshop is our most ambitious Internet audio project to date and takes the state of interactive online audio into new territory. It comes down to having thought of the idea first. But it's not just about the technology, but what it can do. If you forget about the technology you might end up trying to put your music into a box that it won't fit into. We try to push the limits of the box. Or get into the box and push the walls outward. This is what we've done with Beatnik in building the Sesame Workshop audio site."
Requirements:
Beatnik and Flash
Pentium II or better, Power Mac
Audio and Audio Coding Credits:
Blister Media: Terry O'Gara, executive producer
Michael Sweet, creative director
Site Development:
Modstar, NYC
Launched July 13, 2000 phase one. Full site now open exclusively to Intel users.
Full site opens to public (date TBD).
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