Soundscape: The Piano Staircase

Piano Staircase (1:47) Take a subway staircase in Stockholm and modify it into a piano keyboard and how does human behavior change? Watch what happens when people are given the choice of use a long staircase converted to a piano keyboard with a moving escalator right next to it. At first no one takes the stairs; almost 97% of the people take the escalator.  Discovering the "fun" of taking the stairway some 66% of the people eventually started using the stairway.  See also: Funtheory an initiative of Volkswagen. Source: YouTube

Noise Issues: Whales and Sonar

Hard of Hearing (1:21) The U.S. Navy, in 2008, asked the Supreme Court to toss out a ruling that restricts their use of sonar during training. As this video illustrates, the sonar noise can act as a severe detriment to whales. Source: CBS News

Follow-up: US Supreme Court invalidated two court-imposed restrictions aimed at protecting whales and other marine mammals from powerful Navy sonars during anti-submarine warfare training off the southern California coast.

Phonography: Joey Huertas - Hurricane "Sandy"

Sandy Soundscape Project (1:10) The recent hurricane named "Sandy" struck the NE region of the United States costing both lives and extreme destruction of property. Phonographer Joey Huertas captured some of sound during the height of the storm as it moved in land. Huertas, an avant-garde film artist, will use these recordings in a soundscape work. Source: YouTube

Phonography: Rui Chaves

Statement (4:12) Phonographer Rui Chaves  presents a sound work in which he shares his views about field recording as a means of sharing the sense of place with the listener. Source: YouTube

Soundscape: Lamenting Staten Island's Dead

Lamentation (3:02 )The wind blowing through the metal frame work of an unfinished building on New York's Staten Island creates a wailing soundscape seemingly to mourn the passing of those on that perished on the island in the recent hurricane. Source: Vimeo

Phonography: Uses and Abuses of Field Recording

This is a series of short videos titled The Uses and Abuses of Field Recording. It features presentations by Viv Corringham, Peter Cusack, Felicity Ford, Michael Gallagher, Ruth Hawkins, Bill Thomspon, Salome Voegelin, and Mark Peter Wright. The event was coordinated by CRiSAP (Creative Research in Sound Arts Practice) London, UK on June 9th, 2011 and follows the PechaKucha 20x20 format which is a simple presentation where presenters show 20 images, each for 20 seconds. The images advance automatically and the speaker talks along with the images.

Presenters:

- Viv Corringham

- Peter Cusack

- Felicity Ford

- Michael Gallagher

- Ruth Hawkins

- Bill Thomspon

- Salome Voegelin

- Mark Peter Wright

Soundscape: If These Walls Could Talk

Talking Walls (1:58) This video by Tommi Rautio asks the questions, what would the walls of this hotel restaurant say if they could talk.  This small hotel restaurant in Joensuu, Finland will close at the end of December 2012 leaving behind an empty building that has been around since 1934. A city council meeting will determine the historical fate of the venue. Source: YouTube

Soundscape: Urban Bike Race

First Person Perspective (4:36) A helmet mounted camera provides a rider's point of view in this amazing downhill bike race in an undisclosed city in Chile. The passing soundscape and the sound of the rider's breathing  as he leaps down this race course is a bit breathtaking. Source: YouTube