BCP2005 Week 2 Reflections

This soundwalk in the Belfast’s Botanic Gardens explores human relationship to wildlife in this close urban setting through sound and performance. Meeting Point: SARC Foyer Please bring headphones and a smartphone You will then be led to sound walk location Botanic Gardens, 5 minutes walk from SARC The Botanic Gardens is a carefully tended busy green space near the centre of Belfast where people meet their friends, eat their lunch or walk the dog. It is also home to a variety of wildlife most notably birds. Over the past 2 years Robert has been recording and studying the soundscape, particularly the birds and their behaviour here as well as several related sites around Ireland. Combining contemporary eco-acoustic methods with traditional knowledge on biodiversity we explore the act of listening and how it can facilitate a deeper understanding of these non-human lives around us and crucially how our actions affect them today.

Solo Exercise! Welcome everyone to Botanic Gardens for todays work out. This one is a gentle, cardio based training circuit around one of Belfast's busiest, and beautiful parks! With your heart rate getting higher and your legs moving, this audio walk features a few breaks along the way including a little soundbite of the Tropical Ravine in Botanic, and perhaps a stop at the ice cream van for a well deserved break! Whether your a fitness fanatic or a beginner, this work out has got you all covered, so get set...ready...GO... Some Ground Rules before you start: 1) Have a good pair of running shoes on, you'll want to be comfy while exercising! 2) Have a bottle of water to stay hydrated 3) Don't skip the Warm Up 4) Stay clear of people when running 5) Have Fun!!! How it works: Visible on your iphone, smartphone, or GPS equipped tablet and referred to here as 'device' are the following: A start/end square, and a number of circles showing the correct direction to go in. Your device audibly 'echoes' blobs, checks etc when in the vicinity. You can place your device anywhere you like while listening and follow the blob echoes! Or alternatively, you can check to see where the blob trail continues on the app manually.Echoes will announce a fair few paces prior and will repeat every time you linger, so it's okay to catch your breath! Top Tip: ECHOES uses a lot of battery because it is a location app so make sure to fully charge your device before the trail, just incase!

Assignment 1 - Echoes walk - reflecting on webdocs and interactivity through the use of Kate Nash's article on "Modes of Interactivity - analysing the webdoc" to explore narrative, categorical and collaborative webdocs.

This audio walk takes place around iconic locations that I pass daily as a Queen's University Belfast student. These locations include, 'The Sonic Arts Research Centre', 'Queens main Campus' and 'The Botanic Gardens'. Durning the walk I will be talking you through some of my highlights and interesting points that I discovered whilst reading, ' Kate Nash; Modes of interactivity'. Enjoy!

As part of Sound of Belfast, local musician Richard Davis aka Heliopause launches Sometimes We Wake, a sound walk that reflects on memory and the queer narratives in his songwriting. The sound walk invites you to walk through the Palm House in Botanic Gardens, where Heliopause performed a show in 2009 with Albrecht's Pencil. This walk will guide you around the conservatory as you listen to his memory of being and performing in the venue while reflecting on the songs that he was writing at the time from the album Walk Into The Sea. Richard merges these memories of the conservatory with the writings of a local gay author almost a hundred years before. The sound walk is free to experience during Sound of Belfast within the Palm House opening hours. Participants access the audio using their own smartphone and headphones. The sound walk activates when you are located at the Palm House in Botanic Gardens, Belfast and lasts 14 minutes. Put on your headphones and start the audio while standing outside the main entrance to the conservatory. Let my voice guide you inside. Full details about this sound walk can be read at http://www.heliopause.co.uk/sound-walks

In this echoes walk, I will be explaining the three different types of webdocumentary, as explained in "Modes of Interactivity: Analysing the Webdoc (Kate Nash 2012)"