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Want to compose a piece of music? Want the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra to play your composition? Click here.
“Sounds of Hamburg” is an amazing (though sluggish to load) project that truly engages music lovers and, arguably, potential tourists. Using live-cam motion tracking, the experience employs web cams, broadcasting live from various parts of the city, to compose classical music in real time.
You select different zones on the picture. Add different instruments to your zones. Every time someone or something passes that zone a sample plays (laid down by the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, no less).
Two brands – the city and its orchestra – merged into one wonderful, innovative and highly addictive experiment.
Enjoy.
p.s. Kudos to agency Jung von Matt/Alster for their brilliance.
Ian Mackenzie
May 11, 2010 @ 3:36 pm
Great find Dave. I notice that it just won an FWA award, so it’s definitely getting seen.
The thing that bugs me about the interface is that there doesn’t seem to be a way to make it sound bad or strip it back to no sound. Whether you’re there or not, the orchestra just plays on.
They want the orchestra to sound good – which makes sense since that’s the brand they’re promoting. But that safety robs the user of the chance to make “mistakes” – or really feel like they have a strong hand in the composition.
And, you’re right. Those load times are insane. How many people have tried to access the site and given up because it takes too long to get to the good stuff?
Great idea, intriguing interface, smart brand extension, but do its limitations ultimately offset its ability to fully engage?
Would less have been more?
Tweets that mention The Beatles got their start in Hamburg. Why not you? « Big Orange Slide -- Topsy.com
May 12, 2010 @ 4:00 am
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Colin Craig
May 12, 2010 @ 10:31 am
I agree with you Ian. There’s a bit of a contradiction in linking the randomness of people’s movements with the precision and order of classical music. The most they really could do without destroying the music was to allow the random input (people moving in and out of the active area) to turn on and off instruments. If their hands weren’t tied in terms of staying true to the music, there would be lots of interesting opportunities to tie other factors to the sounds generated (ie. distance from webcam to pitch, speed of the walkers to tempo, etc.). Better suited to electronic “noise” music than orchestral music.
But definitely a fascinating idea that will generate lots of interest, which after all, was the real purpose behind it.
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