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Music

Story, Time and Place

This is the Prezi and below are my notes in preparation for a short presentation I gave to a Digital Humanities seminar group at University today. Hosted WordPress still can’t deal with embedded Prezi’s yet so click the link at the start to see the slides. And my notes below are just notes, so you’ll have to imagine me riffing off them to make an entertaining, compelling and coherent (I hope!)  presentation. Continue reading →

Musical interlude

I’ve been on holiday (and heritage free, spending my time bodyboarding, cycling, sea-kayaking and, lest anyone thinks that all sounds too healthy, over-eating in Cornwall) so this blog has been quiet for a week. But will I was away, a colleague shared a link to a very interesting blog post about London museums creating Spotify playlists to accompany exhibitions. Continue reading →

Music in new media

I’ve been thinking about music again, and staring into the pit of unknown unknowns that is my non-existent understanding of music, except as a casual listener. I know music affects me, and I’ve how important an emotional trigger in the games I’ve been playing for my studies, but I don’t know how or why, and right now I’m wishing I had a degree in Cognitive Psychology to help me understand. Continue reading →

Unravelling The Vyne

Another short note, this time on a contemporary art exhibition at one of the National Trust place I work with. I’ve mentioned the Vyne before (in one of my most popular posts). This time, the focus isn’t on Roman rings or Tolkien, but other aspects of the place’s history. Ten artist-makers working in a variety of media have interpreted parts of the Vyne story in especially created works, which are currently on display around the mansion and in its lovely Summer House. Continue reading →

A very short note on the power of music

This really is a very quick note. I was mowing the lawn this morning, with my phone playing music on shuffle. During a quiet respite while I emptied the grass hopper, Dead Man’s Gun, the elegiac final song from Red Dead Redemption came on. I suddenly felt a sense of loss, and bitterness, and tears came to my eyes. An incredible feeling of nostalgia washed over me, and I wanted to visit again the virtual world of RDR’s west. Now, THAT’S what I call emotional engagement. Continue reading →

Emotional Triggers

In his book, Designing Games, Tynan Sylvester says: If we look around, we find interactive narrative everywhere. Museums and art galleries are interactive nonlinear narratives where visitors explore a story or an art movement in a semi directed, personal way. Ancient Ruins and urban graffiti tell stories… These interactive forms – museums, galleries, real spaces, and life  - should be our first touchstones as we search for narrative tools. Continue reading →