Cultural Digital newsletter #144
Cultural Digital
Hello
It's ok, I'm still here. This week there's experimentation, music and photography innovation, and other assorted goodies.
Framing nature looks at the aesthetics of drone photography. The photo below is 'Hong Kong' by Andy Yeung. And while we're on the subject, here's a piece about How high-resolution photography is changing the way we look at art.
Failing forward
Canvas Programme Evaluation. The occasionally jaw-dropping final report on the arts-focused YouTube network 'experiment' is out. Good news: lots (admittedly inconsequential) things to be positive about. Bad news: not a lot to show for the £1.8m. You could buy 180,000 copies of The Lean Startup for that.
Experimenting with reach: how to bring filmed theatre and arts content to new audiences. For this 'experiment in reach' Cinegi received a £500,000 Arts Council grant and reached 3,984 attendees at 117 screenings, against projections of 31,150 attendees over 1,650 screenings. Ouch. "there is a market, but getting the whole ecosystem and supply chain incentivised to participate still remains a challenge to realising the full potential of digital to showcase artistic content throughout the UK".
‘Live to digital’ screenings aren’t diversifying audiences, research finds. "Screened versions of live performances are mostly made by large organisations and consumed by those that would attend the arts anyway".
Music
Garbage: "20 Years a Creator: The Influence of Technology in the Creative Process". A talk the band did at Google.
Could 3-D Printing Save Music Education? "D.C. chef Erik Bruner-Yang interviews Jill-of-all-trades Kaitlyn Hova about her plan to infuse STEM education with open source, 3-D printable instruments".
SARC_Immerse present an evening of Immersive and Inclusive Music Performance.
L.A. Band Threatin Faked a Fanbase To Land a European Tour No One Attended. This guy put a lot of effort into faking his band's popularity online. You have to wonder what he could've achieved by putting a fraction of that into some actual promotion.
Miscellaneous
Introducing: The Digital Culture Network. Arts Council England are creating "a new resource for the sector to help organisations get the right advice on digital technology - The Digital Culture Network". This has come out of the Culture is Digital thing. Nine Tech Champions are being recruited.
Why we’re changing Flickr free accounts. Remember Flickr? You might want to hunt for your login details. Some potentially good news here though - The Commons: The Past Is 100% Part of Our Future. "Flickr Commons photos will not be deleted. Anything uploaded with a CC license before November 1, 2018, won’t be deleted, but users will need to upgrade to Pro to upload more than 1,000 photos or videos". Also, charitable orgs can apply for free pro accounts.
Museum Thresholds: Taking the hard work out of museums and heritage visits. "why it’s crucial for organisations to take away barriers and build up prior knowledge for visitors of what to expect from a visit, especially online, and match that with the physical reality".
Why Is PowerPoint Having a Comedy Moment? No mention of Dave Gorman.
Jobs
There are digital-related jobs available at the Royal Academy of Dance, English National Opera, and Tate.
Ta-da! More next time. In the meantime, please do pass the good stuff on.
Chris Unitt
The Library is a treasure trove of arts/digital info. It's just been updated with new websites, suppliers, and job descriptions. Find out more about The Library.