Category: Tales and musings
A review of the Alcatraz Island cellhouse audio tour
Did the Alcatraz Island cell house audio tour live up to expectations? Yes!
When it comes to audio guides of international significance the cellhouse tour at Alcatraz has to be one of the most talked about. For years it has been on my bucket list and last month I finally got to visit the island where Al Capone and many of the USA’s most hardened criminals were held between 1924 and 1963.
Alcatraz Island is a popular destination for tourists and I made sure I booked tickets well in advance; getting them on the day is nigh on impossible. We opted for the 09.10 trip on the 1.5 mile boat ride across the choppy waters, but still the crowds were big. However, with only the early bird seafarers ahead of us the island had not swelled significantly in population and we were … Read More »
Churnet Valley Living Landscape audio archive
An audio archive project to capture the views of local people
We were commissioned by TellTale to deliver an audio project on behalf of the Churnet Valley Living Landscape project – a partnership of twenty organisations, led by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust. It works at a landscape scale, conserving and enhancing the wildlife and built heritage of the relatively unknown Churnet Valley.
Our remit was to interview staff and volunteers explaining how they had been involved in the 20+ programmes of work throughout the life of the project, and what the area meant to them and how they saw it changing in the future.
We undertook 15 one-to-one interviews and attended a number of events to capture the thoughts of many more people. The recordings form a valuable archive and legacy to the project that will prove invaluable for researchers in the coming years and decades.
We then edited … Read More »
We’ll do the content ourselves…
Do non-interpreters overlook the art, skill and time required to create good content? Creative Director Dan Boys argues that it may come down to growing confidence and shrinking budgets.
Over the last few years I have noticed something of a trend: more and more clients want to provide and curate their own digital content.
I don’t have an issue with this per-se; there are plenty of talented people out there who can write fantastic interpretive text and work wonders with a camera. Sometimes I am struck by the quality.
We’ve recently finished a project in the Forest of Dean. The client supplied a series of over twenty animated gifs for inclusion in the Hidden Heritage of the Dean app. The images seamlessly fade from historical photos (some 120 years old) to perfect modern day reproductions. These accurate match-ups took months to produce. Firstly … Read More »
Apps – Places and Trails
A location-aware (web and native) app platform showcasing multimedia places of interest and walking trails.
Display places and trails in list view and as individual pins on the interactive map. Sort by distance and filter by category. Place pages containing text, images, audio and video display when triggered (automatically via GPS or manually by tapping the screen). Trails provide users with route maps and walking directions.
Apps are tailored to your branding, so the question is…do you opt for our web app, native app or both?
Web app
Showcase and trigger multimedia PLACES AND TRAILS linked to ANY location, on ANY device with a web browser. Link it seamlessly to your own website. More…
Native apps
Native Apps are installed via the App Store or Google Play onto (and limited to) iOS and Android devices. Our native apps can be enhanced with plugins that make the most of the device’s … Read More »
Bosworth Heritage Centre – a visitor’s view
Our summary of the interpretation at the King Richard III Visitor Centre and Bosworth Heritage Centre.
Today we finally got round to visiting the King Richard III visitor centre in Leicester. It’s really well done. For me as an interpreter I loved how ‘tricky’ words in the ‘Dig Diary’ gallery had been highlighted and a description was neatly given to the side. The skeleton which describes Richard’s injuries is nicely presented too. However, the ‘pièce de résistance’ comes at the end of the visit. Being able to look into his shallow and hastily dug grave paints a thousand words in your mind, especially as you’ve been able to learn the story beforehand.
Our ticket included entry to Bosworth Heritage Centre too. It was here that the last significant battlefield of the Wars of the Roses between the Lancastrians and Yorksists took place.
Confusion reigns
This … Read More »
