NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE CONNECTED SET

Graduate Trainee Scheme: DIGITAL GRAPHIC DESIGN

Graduate Trainee Scheme: PROJECT MANAGEMENT

We’re delighted to announce our latest Spotify app project has gone live!

Built for French pay-TV operator CANAL+, the ‘Music Moments’ app which is available on the Spotify desktop client in France provides music recommendations from the stars of CANAL+ including Michel Denisot, Mouloud Achour, Vincent Glad, Emma de Caunes and Ariel Wizman.  Launched earlier this week to coincide with Cannes Film Festival the app also contains music-related content from shows and CANAL+ properties including Le Grand Journal and live sessions from Canal Street.TV.  And in a Spotify first the app is neatly integrated with Instagram to enable users to share their own photos illustrating their own ‘music moments’ via dedicated hashtags.

This tops off a busy few months for The Connected Set who recently launched the Stagebox iPad app for BBC R&D that allows camera operators and vision mixed to control broadcast cameras over IP, plus new prototype projects for Channel 4.  Coming up we’re about to kick off two new projects – one with CBBC and one for Fremantle – and we’ll be launching a new graduate training scheme in the next few days – watch this space…

If you’re based in France you can launch the CANAL+ app by clicking here – if you’re outside of France then sorry but it’s geolocked!

What Google GLASS could mean for aesthetics of TV.

In recent weeks Google have been out in full force showing off GLASS, their new wearable computing device that looks like a futuristic pair of glasses. The device, which Google hopes might be on sale later this year, has four major elements: (1) a small display which is visible in the corner of the user’s vision, (2) a camera which can record video and take pictures, (3) voice control, and (4) internet connectivity.

The idea is you will be able to access and interact with all kinds of information within your field of vision – that could be basic things like receiving or composing a text message through to getting travel directions or finding relevant restaurant recommendations.

The killer application is the camera, which will be able to record in 720p HD. Rather than framing and taking pictures with a smartphone or digital SLR, GLASS will record video in first person perspective when prompted by the user, capturing the moment just as the user experienced it first hand.

You can see a video here mocking up the experience of wearing GLASS:

You’re probably wondering why this matters for TV, right?

Well I think, if it takes off, GLASS could not only create a new wave of user generated content, but a whole new aesthetic that could easily seep into the way we make and experience television. Just as mobile phone footage and web-cam ‘diary’ footage/video calling have become common narrative tools in TV, GLASS could kick off a new POINT OF VIEW aesthetic that allows us to experience personal journeys through the gaze of the first person. It could become a really powerful way of experiencing the lives of real people in our shows – from profound moments like the birth of child in One Born Every Minute, to the nerve wracking experiences of contestants on shows like The Voice. It’s not that we can’t do this right now with tools like the GoPro, but it’s about the normalisation of this kind of video.

I admit right now watching this kind of footage can make us feel slightly sea-sick, but as this technology becomes better and more common I think it could feel quite normal as well as looking quite beautiful. Look back to the ‘shaky cam’ aesthetic that MTV kickstarted but is now common across all genres or TV and film – that wasn’t so much of a stylistic choice but a result of new portable cameras operated by junior staff who couldn’t hold a shot still – in many ways the aesthetic followed from how ordinary non-professionals were capturing video at home at the time.

I’d argue that in a couple of years if facebook, twitter and youtube is filled with video in first person perspective won’t it be weird experiencing stories in the third person? Maybe that’s a step too far, but the first person could certainly be an exciting new tool for TV professionals.

Of course GLASS is just another evolution in video, and many of the most exciting startups right now are the ones that are using videos in new but simple ways, like vine which is taking ‘quick cutting’ to a whole new level as people create videos that are no more than 6 seconds long (basically twitter for video), or viddy and socialcam which allow people to apply simple filters and graphics (instagram for video).

Whatever happens with these new services and products it’s certain that there is not only to be more content out there to play with, but entirely new aesthetics to reflect people’s lives and enhance our shows.

It’s been 10 crazy weeks to get to this point but we’re pleased to announce our first TV show, 2012:MASHED, will be on air this Friday (28th Dec) at 11:40pm on Channel 4.  The show was jointly commissioned by Channel 4′s head of online Richard Davidson-Houston, alongside commissioning editor for Entertainment, Madeleine Knight.  It’s the first linear TV show to have been commissioned by Channel 4 online.

2012:MASHED is an insane look at the big news events of 2012 through totally original media mash-ups made by the internet’s most famous names including Dan Bull, David Schneider, Cassetteboy and Rob Manuel.  Presented by the Mighty Boosh’s Rich Fulcher, we’ll be taking on stories including Barclays Bank Libor-fixing, the rise of Fifty Shades of Grey, the Queen’s Jubilee, tax avoidance by big corporations, and many more.

If you don’t get to watch the show on Channel 4 then it will be available on 4oD until the end of January.  See more at channel4.com/mashed

Here’s a sneak peak at some of the clips you’ll get to see in the show:

Channel 4 today announced the launch of a new E4 interactive music streaming app hosted by Spotify and built by The Connected Set.  It’s the first partnership with a UK TV broadcaster for the leading digital music service.

From today, E4 viewers will be able to find music from their favourite shows including Made In Chelsea, Misfits and Skins, in the free and easy-to-use E4 app in the Spotify app finder. The app will also integrate with Spotify features to allow users to instantly play music from E4 shows and share the music on social networks including Facebook and Twitter.

The app’s Playlist Generator feature allows users to create and share their own E4 playlists made up of the music from E4 shows.

Exclusive to the app, top E4 stars will also share their ultimate playlists – so users can check out Ollie from Made In Chelsea’s favourite tracks or Skins’ Richard Hardbeck’s top tunes.

The E4 app will continually update with new shows as they hit the screen so users can look forward to even more music from brand new shows including My Fat Mad Teenage Diary and Youngers, coming soon to E4.

Sarah Rogers, Product Manager at Channel 4 said: “We’re really excited to be Spotify’s first broadcast partner in the UK to bring E4 viewers and Spotify fans alike a unique experience with this innovative new app.

“We know E4 fans love to source the music from their favourite shows but this new app will make doing that incredibly easy. The simple-to-use app interface will already be familiar to Spotify users and all the music will be in one place, ready to listen to wherever and whenever users want.”

Tash Shah, Spotify’s UK Head of Marketing, said: “E4′s shows are known not only for being great entertainment, but also for using excellent soundtracks to enhance emotion and drama. This new app on Spotify will be home to of all the great music on E4 – letting you relive those dramatic moments and helping you to discover all the exciting new music curated especially by E4.”

The E4 app is free to download from the Spotify desktop client for PC & Mac and was built by the talented team at The Connected Set.

The New Art Gallery challenges visitors to the gallery and art lovers around the world to crack ‘The Epstein Mysteries’ with the release of the brand new smart phone game for Android and iPhone devices developed by The Connected Set.

‘The game challenges players to solve the mystery surrounding the shooting of Kathleen Garman, the lover of the notorious and controversial twentieth century artist, Jacob Epstein.

Using the game, players can hear dramatic testimony from nine suspects, access the rich archive of personal letters and artefacts belonging to these intriguing characters and find clues amongst the extraordinary artworks of Jacob Epstein on display at The New Art Gallery Walsall, part of the cherished Garman Ryan collection.

Jo Digger, Head of Collections at The New Art Gallery Walsall, said: “This is an immersive, fun and rewarding new way to learn more about Jacob Epstein, his fascinating and controversial life and his extraordinary work.  We’re really excited about the launch of our first smartphone game and to have the opportunity to add a new dimension to a visit to The New Art Gallery”

You can download The Epstein Mysteries for free from iTunes and Google Play now here.

The Connected Set has launched Birmingham Museums Quiz a free iPhone app that guides players on different trails of various artworks, artefacts and objects at seven of the Birmingham Museums Trust’s venues. By answering questions about the featured objects correctly, players will earn prizes to redeem on site at the venue.  If players complete all the trails they will be rewarded with the Grand Prize for a unique experience at one of the museum venues.

Birmingham Museums Quiz is available to download from iTunes now and will include trails for Thinktank, the city’s science museum, and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.  From 12^th October, a brand new trail will be added to the app to celebrate the opening of the new gallery, ‘Birmingham: its people, its history’, following a £8.9m gallery refurbishment. Further new trails for will be automatically added to the app at intervals from now until Spring 2013, to coincide with the different venues’ seasonal opening times, gallery launches and other events.

Linda Spurdle, Digital Manager at Birmingham Museums said: “Birmingham Museums Quiz was devised as a fun way to encourage visitors of all ages to discover what’s on offer at all of our venues. The interactive game is aimed to engage visitors while on site and reward them for their efforts. Kids will enjoy the observational ‘where’s Wally’ style questions while adults can choose the more challenging, knowledge based level. Whichever trail you follow, you’ll be sure to discover new or forgotten gems, no matter how much time you have”.

In partnership with Cass Sculpture Foundation and three of London ’s most high profile museums (the V&A, the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum) The Connected Set has released an engaging, fun and interactive exhibition guide for ‘Tony Cragg at Exhibition Road’.

This is the first outdoor exhibition of Tony Cragg’s work in London and the first of its kind on Exhibition Road. Five major outdoor sculptures have been installed along Exhibition Road. A number of indoor works are on display at the V&A, the Science Museum, and the Natural History Museum, which run alongside this famous London thoroughfare.

The app guides visitors around the sculptures in both indoor and outdoor spaces. It provides insight, analysis and interpretation on the splendid sculptures whilst allowing users the chance to photograph, share and enjoy a quiz and challenges about the works.  The app was designed to cater for family audiences, collectors and more serious art lovers.