[Media Sandbox] Media Sandbox Newsletter

Fri Apr 3 08:25:58 BST 2009

Media Sandbox Newsletter

Contents:

1. Media Sandbox projects' progress
2. Next events
3. Recommended research
4. Your input

1. Media Sandbox projects' progress

This March, our six Media Sandbox commissions
(http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/2009-commissions) began work on their
projects. The groups were asked to respond to the opportunities presented by
multi-platform technologies and we were pleased to receive an eclectic
response to this challengeŠ

Two of the projects are developing ideas that will initially engage children
with technology, but in very different ways: HMC, Drake Music & bibic, are
creating a multi-sensory environment to benefit children with learning and
physical disabilities; whereas Nomos Media & Radio in Schools are examining
the role of pervasive media in education. Indie Mobile are concerned with
enabling musicians and record labels to utilise short-form anonymous
communications (such as sms, msn, twitter), to create humorous campaigns;
whilst U-Soap Media are exploring the future of interaction in television
programming. C6 & Steal From Work are considering how developments in
pervasive technology can benefit street artists; and AntiVJ are drawing up
plans for digital mapping technologies that will enable stunning projections
on buildings, objects and even cars.  Throughout all the projects, there is
a strong sense of enquiry into existing applications of technology and from
this, new meaningful tools and experiences will be developed.

Indie Mobile and U-Soap Media, decided to join us at the PM Studio
(http://www.pmstudio.co.uk/), making the most of the desk space, technology
and the expertise of others. The influx of new projects has added a buzz to
the Studio, and provided a good vantage point to watch how the participants
have gone about beginning their projectsŠ

Indie Mobile are busily researching ŒThe Generator¹ - a fully interactive,
cross media promotion tool. They¹ve spent the last three weeks scoping the
full requirements of the project and are now embarking on some interesting
research into the legal issues surrounding user-generated content.
Similarly, U-Soap Media have met some interesting people, including Media
Sandbox Advisor Gavin Henderson from RDF Media
(http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/the-advisory-board/). Their project planning
for game show ŒViral Spiral¹, has benefited from Gavin¹s first-hand
experience of working on interactive programme formats such as Big Brother
and Gap Year.

HMC, Drake Music & bibic, have sat down to thrash out ideas around the
development of new software they are calling ŒCyber-therapy¹. The group are
researching how Tonal Therapy and graphic visualisation can be used within
sensory environments to create meaningful, user-controlled experiences.

Mark and Lee from Nomos Media have sat down in two camps to begin
development of ŒAudioEnable¹. This project will provide Schools with the
ability to freely capture and incorporate audio into their own websites,
directly from a mobile phone. So whilst Mark is dusting off his Œdeveloping
windows mobile applications for dummies¹ book, Lee is coming up with some
innovative designs for the user interface.

C6 and Steal from Work have also had a busy month developing ideas for
ŒStreet Art Dealer¹ - a system where works of street art can be bought from
specific street locations, using mobiles and QR codes
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_codes). They began the month exploring the
potential of the idea, by releasing a beta system in conjunction with
Westbourne Studios¹ Urban Art Showcase in London. They worked hard to keep
up the smoke and mirrors during the event, (as the early test was fraught
with hiccups)  but some interesting lessons were learnt.

Last but not least, AntiVJ have partnered with developer George Crabtree
(http://georgeandhelen.com), to begin the first phase of project
development. AntiVJ aim to develop ŒMapping Software 1.0¹ - a simple,
practical software, that will allow any user to easily employ the mapping
technique.  Their initial focus is on the core structure of the software;
phase two will focus more heavily on development of the functionality and
interface.  

Even at this early stage we¹re really excited about all the projects. To
follow their progress, remember to regularly check their Project Journals...
http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/

2. Next events

Media Sandbox will be holding open events on the following dates - please
mark your diaries and watch out for more information...

4 May | PM Studio | Work in Progress Presentation | 4pm
29 June | Watershed | Final Showcase | 6pm

3. Recommended research

We¹ve asked each of our commissions to recommend a research link that will
help to demonstrate the wider context of their ideas.

Check out the news item on the Media Sandbox website to find out more...
http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/2009/04/02/recommended-research/

4. Your input

As well as reading the journals online we would encourage you to add your
suggestions and thoughts. This is not a closed research process and the
projects will respond to your comments.

We have set up a tag for delicious (http://delicious.com/tag/mediasandbox)
so if you see a useful website, please include the tag 'mediasandbox'. There
is also a flickr group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/mediasandbox) to add
pictures to. This will help build a body of knowledge from which everyone
can benefit.

**Your subscription

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If you find this interesting and know someone else who might, please forward
the mail to them.

The next newsletter will be in a month, bringing you updates from the next
journal entries and more news about the events.

Best wishes,
Victoria

http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk
Media Sandbox is managed by iShed working with South West Screen with
support from South West Regional Development Agency and Watershed:
http://www.mediasandbox.co.uk/who/

---
Victoria Tillotson

iShed Project Manager
T +44 (0)117 9157233 /  http://www.ished.net / http://www.watershed.co.uk
Watershed, 1 Canon's Road, Harbourside, Bristol, BS1 5TX

iShed: a brokerage company, set up by Watershed to identify and facilitate
cross-sector collaboration between computing, communications and the
creative industries.

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