WIRED: It’s requisite concert behavior, the lighter in the air. A way to signal appreciation, commission an encore, and create a communal scene that is larger than the sum of its parts. It’s also definitively old school, having come of age at rock shows in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and while the flickering flames retain nostalgic allure, the feeling they seek to engender has not been addressed with much innovative flair over the intervening decades. (And no, iPhone virtual lighter apps don’t count.)
7 comments:
I can't say that I have ever been to a concert with this much technology, but I am not sure if it would be completely effectively as exampled in the Hunter Hayes example. I think technology in audiences is effective in other settings, perhaps not a teenage concert, but rather an electronic concert (which fits the vibe of the music) and something like the London Olympics while although there was technology in the audience, the audience themselves did not have to control but it created the same effect of the patterns and ripples mentioned in the article. At the end of the article it mentions how the technology is supposed to be an extension of the music, but to me it feels like something in between me getting a complete experience.
This kind of technology is really cool but I think it's uses, in terms of what concerts it should be used for, are slightly limited. I have seen these LED wristbands used at EDM concerts or festivals where they work really well. It increases the feeling of interaction between the audience and the performer and also looks really cool. Instead of seeing a sea of lighters held up, it's a sea of lights that interact with the music and the lighting that is happening on stage. It creates a whole new area for lighting designers to work with. In most of these cases they are just used for whole audience effects but hopefully the technology will advance enough that they can do things like pixel-mapping or other image effects like they did at the Superbowl last year. I don't think it would be nearly as effective for other genres of concerts where the lighting is less intense or the audience doesn't have as much energy and the effect is lost. Hopefully this technology continues to advance and can create even more effects.
Just recently this type of technology was brought to my attention by a friend who really enjoys watching EDM live concerts. I agree with Ben that this seems out of place at a Hunter Hayes concert and is more appropriately suited for an EDM concert. The bands that I was told about before follow the same idea and use the same technology but have a much more exciting use in the electronic concert. They also gather information of where you spend a lot of time and other who were around you so you can go back later and find those people. Over all, I think getting the audience involved in the design of the show is a great idea and makes for a better show.
They have this kind of effect at Disney land with their authentic Mickey mouse hats. And a lot of people may not think this is that creative, but you would've believe the kind of magic it creates with it's audience. It might just be because of the location of the audience, but all you can hear are the "owwwing" and "ahhhhing" of the audience while these lights dance to the music. It would also help the performers know how many people are at there concert. The more lights the more people. And it would be a big seller so they company would get a lot of revenue while the audience feels more a part of the experience.
Now this is really really cool. Before coming to CMU there was nothing about the concert world that I thought would interest me at all, but articles like these have shown me there is a ton of really cool innovation happening in the music world that I could really get into. My first thought was like Phillips, I wonder how you could make these so that you could pixel map across them. It would be neat if you could do some distance triangulation thing so you could adaptively pixel map as people move around the crowd. My one question is, what happens at the end of the show? Do the audience members return them or keep them? If they are meant to return them, how do you deter theft? Still really cool and I am excited to see what happens in the future.
The advancements in technology that the concert world has been making to make the audience more involved is amazing. The first time I saw something like this was at a Coldplay concert a few years ago. Upon walking into the arena we were all given wristbands and about halfway into the performance they all light up and the stage lights dimmed. It was a really cool effect at the time and was an awesome way to experience the concert, you really got to see how many people were in the venue. The technology in the article seems to take this idea and push it to another level. The way that the wristbands interact with each other as well as with the control unit is very cool. I hope to see this technology advance even more to further expand the use of audience members in the design.
So if I read this correctly the bracelets are yours to keep and are included in the ticket price of the concert. Ok well I never been a huge concert goer and music enthusiast just a bone in my body I did not get. Staying on topic and the thesis statement, can technology make for a better concert. Not sure if that is really possible. More visually stunning maybe but better. A good entertainer make a concert better. I also use this example, I saw Donnie and Marie in Las Vegas, hands down probably the best show I have ever seen. Actually knew almost none of the music or jokes or any of it, but they were ENTERTAINERS and they were GOOD at it.
Technology could make it more visually interesting but better, why don’t we just expect more from the person you are paying to watch. The show should be in there hands not in the hands of technology.
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