A few years back, there was a lot of effort and a good amount of buzz around the Concert Companion, a handheld device designed to enhance and inform the live symphony experience with text and multimedia. As patrons listened in the concert hall, the CoCo (as it was called) would stream synchronized program notes, images, and even video of the conductor.
The results of the testing were very positive, with many participants claiming the realtime insights helped them enjoy and understand the music they were hearing in a new and different way. The challenge for the initiative was the cost — investing in custom devices and proprietary mediacasting technology, curating content to be delivered (as I mentioned in a 2004 post on the subject).
Now, the National Symphony (among others) is attempting a poor man’s version of the Concert Companion, where they use an existing mediacasting system (Twitter) and patrons bring their own devices (mobile phones and the like). The result is essentially free (not counting the time and energy it still takes to write the Twitter program notes). But the impact may be as enlightening.
Worth watching.
This is a great idea and I expect more cultural institutions to follow suit as consumers begin to carry more sophisticated electronics with them. I’m reminded of the Walker Art Center here in Minneapolis. Like other museums, rather than give out a big bulky headset to learn about the works, there is a simply a phone number with an extension. Call it from your phone and hear about the piece. I also recall seeing a story about a museum that used quick check codes. Any smart phone user could scan the code and have info about that piece sent directly to their iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc.
I think a speech I heard from Ben Cameron last week sums it up best in which he stated we are moving towards a culture where value is not just consumed, it is co-created. What a great and challenging time to be artists and cultural leaders.
Inexpensively overcoming the tech barrier is awesome, but remember too that there are strong social barriers to handheld technology. I was recently vehemently berated for discreetly live tweeting a Ruth Reichl lecture in San Francisco.
My row-mate was deeply disturbed by the light of my Blackberry screen. I also suspect they thought I was doing the less socially acceptable (and mind-elsewhere) texting or emailing–rather than contributing to and participating in a larger, related conversation. If this had been the more staid symphony or the ballet, I think I might actually have gotten punched by the berater. 😉
If you are providing opportunities like these to your audience, remember that you can speed adoption with broader audience education. Or creating a No Tweeting seating section. 😉
In my theater, we have a steady stream of complaints about cell phone usage and texting during performances. Is this device not something theater and house managers would try to prevent?
Kelly,
You’re right that introducing such technology into the traditional performance space is problematic — as it can easily intrude on the preferred experience of others. Which is why I like the NSO’s idea of allowing it only on the lawn seats of their outdoor concerts, where the space isn’t quite so sacred. In the Concert Companion trials, I think they experimented with different approaches to that issue — one of them was to cluster CoCo users in one particular section of the hall, so others could participate without being distracted by a thousand little glowing screens.