Intermedial Ontologies: Strategies of Preparedness, Research and Design in Real Time Performance Capture

The paper introduces and inspects core elements relative to the ‘live’ in performances that utilise real time Motion Capture (MoCap) systems and cognate/reactive virtual environments by drawing on interdisciplinary research conducted by Matthew Delbridge (University of Tasmania), and the collaborative live MoCap workshops carried out in projects DREX and VIMMA (2009-12 and 2013-14, University of Tampere). It also discusses strategies to revise manners of direction and performing, practical work processes, questions of production design and educational aspects peculiar to technological staging. Through the analysis of a series of performative experiments involving 3D real time virtual reality systems, projection mapping and reactive surfaces, new ways of interacting in/with performance have been identified. This poses a unique challenge to traditional approaches of learning about staging, dramaturgy, acting, dance and performance design in the academy, all of which are altered in a fundamental manner when real time virtual reality is introduced as a core element of the performative experience. Meanwhile, various analyses, descriptions and theorisations of technological performance have framed up-to-date policies on how to approach these questions more systematically. These have given rise to more sophisticated notions of preparedness of performing arts professionals, students and researchers to confront the potentials of new technologies and the forms of creativity and art they enable. The deployment of real time Motion Capture systems and co-present virtual environments in an educational setting comprise a peculiar but informative case of study for the above to be explored

Experiencing Authenticity of the House Museums in Hybrid Environments

The paper presents an existing scenario related to the advanced integration of digital technologies in the field of house museums, based on the critical literature and applied experimentation. House museums are a particular type of heritage site, in which is highlighted the tension between the evocative capacity of the spaces and the requirements for preservation. In this dimension, the use of a seamless approach amplifies the atmospheric component of the space, superimposing, through hybrid digital technologies, an interactive, context-driven layer in an open dialogue between digital and physical. The methodology moves on the one hand from the literature review, framing the macro themes of research, and on the other from the overview of case studies, selected on the basis of the experiential value of the space. The analysis of the selected cases followed as criteria: the formal dimension of the technology; the narrative plot, as storytelling of socio-cultural atmosphere or identification within the intimate story; and the involvement of visitors as individual immersion or collective rituality. The paper aimed at outlining a developmental panorama in which the integration of hybrid technologies points to a new seamless awareness within application scenarios as continuous and work-in-progress challenges

Mixed Media and Metaphor: An Analysis of the Performance Technologies Utilized in Drop and Decoder

This research examines two pieces composed by me: Drop, for string octet, strobe lights, and electronic sounds (2015), and Decoder, for MIDI drums, holographic projections, and electronic sounds (2017). Both works interrogate a particular manifestation of digital technology: in the case of Drop, strobe lights, and in Decoder, digital screens. This process involves unpacking the character, language, and associations of a particular technology, and exploring how human performance complements, opposes, and negotiates with these elements. My analysis highlights the influence of Post-Digitalism in my work and aims to show how mixed-media performance technologies function metaphorically, and how their influence can be traced from their physical presence on stage to notated gestures in performance

Die Natur der Medien und die Medien der Natur

Ein Spaziergang im Wald: Die Baumkronen wiegen sich im Sommerwind, unser Weg ist in ein animierendes Wechselspiel von Licht und Schatten getaucht, dazu zwitschern die Vögel. Hier und dort treffen wir auf andere Spaziergänger, die ebenfalls der Stadt entflohen sind – zum Familien-Picknick in Waldlichtungen, zum verliebten Zwiegespräch, zum einsamen Grübeln. Auf unseren Gruß reagieren manche freundlich und offen, andere unwirsch. Hier werden wir zum Wein geladen und zum Versteckspiel mit den Kindern, dort fühlt man sich gestört, ja einmal werden wir sogar bedroht, weil man unsere Kontaktaufnahme als Einmischung in fremde Angelegenheiten mißversteht. ..

Endless Visions, Virtual Desires, and Broadcasted Emotions. Frederick Kiesler’s Architectures of Immersion

The article aims to investigate the salient features of Frederick Kiesler oeuvre – the theatrical mise-en-scene as a multimedia display, the dramatization of the space of consumption and the space of the art exhibition for immersive purposes, cinema understood as a totalizing and spiritual experience, and the intuition of a virtualized, individual and domestic experience of the artwork – through the analysis of a selection of his projects, in light of the most recent categories proposed for the investigation of immersivity. The purpose of this study is to place Kiesler’s work in a mediaarchaeological perspective that takes into account the constant and fruitful asynchrony with the media present in which his work is historically situated

Sustainability in production: Exploring eco-creativity within the parameters of conventional theatre

Contemporary ecological concerns bring with them an opportunity for innovation; to rethink traditional practices and forge new approaches that not only strive for sustainability, but also push intellectual and creative boundaries. Despite this, current notions of sustainability are still dominated by suppositions of creative limitations; the perception that sustainability and theatre do not mix is a common assumption. This paper explores the possibilities of sustainable production practices within the parameters of conventional theatre. Using a practice-led research project, Helicopter (Melbourne Theatre Company, 2012), the investigation examines the designer’s journey of integrating creative processes with eco-efficiency, aesthetics, organisational considerations and director’s expectations. In this context, the designer considers how sustainable strategies might drive the creative process and aesthetics, given altered constraints, requirements and opportunities. While there are challenges and barriers to implementing sustainable approaches in conventional theatre productions, the paper reveals how thinking about environmental considerations creates exciting new avenues for exploration—including new ways of thinking about how scenographies are designed, constructed and distributed for a sustainable paradigm

Transforming Together: Reconsidering Adaptive Reuse

This thesis examines the evolving and transforming relationship between building and community. It is a study of the past and present of a community and its architecture in order to propose an adaptive plan for a place that involves the adaptive reuse of a historic building. Utilizing theory related to vernacular architecture, critical regionalism and phenomenology, a framework for study is applied to a case study. Peckham, a district in South London in England, and one of its former industrial buildings, the Bussey Building, serves as the case-study. Peckham is home for a mixed "fringe" community that is in a process of transformation that is linked to the area's industrial past. In order to explore sustainability in a more holistic and human way, this thesis posits a question: Can architects design buildings to adapt to a continually changing situation, physically mapping the relationship between architecture and community over time

Theming in Experience-based Tourism: Visitor and Provider Perspectives

© Jonas Karlsen Åstrøm (2022). Avhandlingen inneholder artikler trykt i tidsskriftene International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research (https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-07-2015-0070), European Journal of Tourism Research (https://doi.org/10.54055/ejtr.v20i.337) og Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality & Tourism (https://doi.org/10.1080/1528008X.2019.1658147).I turismen og besøksnæringene har det tradisjonelle fokuset vært på produkter og tjenester som grunnlaget for verdiskaping. Imidlertid, i tråd med den opplevelsesbaserte vendingen i reiselivet, har mange aktører innenfor reiseliv nå endret fokus mot å tilby forbrukerne unike opplevelser for å unngå kommodifisering. Dette betyr at bedriftene har brukt tematisering for å skape opplevelsesrom for sine gjester. Selv om mye forskning har blitt gjort på tematiserte turistopplevelser, har det vært viet mindre oppmerksomhet til tematisering som fenomen. Hvordan kunnskap om tematisering kan forstås som en form for opplevelsesinnovasjon er også mindre kjent. Som følge av dette er det overordnede målet i denne avhandlingen å utdype kunnskapen om tematisering i opplevelsesbasert turisme, samt hvordan kunnskap om tematisering fra både et besøks- og tilbyderperspektiv kan fasilitere opplevelsesinnovasjon. Mer bestemt har avhandlingen som intensjon å utforske hva temaer og tematisering er, hvilke faktorer som driver tematisering, tematiseringens dimensjoner, og hvilke formål tematisering kan ha. Avhandlingens mål utforskes med opplevelsesbasert turisme som kontekst, en arbeidskraftkrevende bransje som forsøker å skape merverdi ved å tilby symbolske og hedonistiske fordeler og fremkalle sterke emosjonelle og opplevelsesbaserte reaksjoner hos de besøkende. Denne avhandlingen inkluderer tre separate artikler som undersøker og diskuterer tre forskningstemaer: (i) hvordan temafaktorer som driver opplevelsesbasert turisme kan bli bedre forstått, (ii) identifiseringen av tematiseringsdimensjonene i opplevelsesbasert turisme, og (iii) hvorfor tematisering brukes i opplevelsesbasert turisme. Det fjerde forskningstemaet, (iv) hvordan kunnskap om tematisering fra både et besøks- og tilbyderperspektiv kan fasilitere opplevelsesinnovasjon, ble utviklet gjennom en abduktiv prosess i avhandlingen, og blir besvart i synopsisen. Tematisering i opplevelsesbasert turisme utforskes i både et besøks- og tilbyderperspektiv gjennom å benytte både kvantitative og kvalitative metodologiske tilnærminger. Den empiriske analysen i den første vedlagte artikkelen er basert på data fra en spørreundersøkelse. Den andre og tredje vedlagte artikkelen bruker data fra halvstrukturerte intervjuer. Avhandlingen har fire bidrag til opplevelsesbasert turismefeltet, markedsførings- og ledelsesfeltet. Avhandlingens første bidrag omhandler temafaktorer. Temafaktorene navn, medarbeiderinteraksjon, og lyssetting er de mest sentrale direkte driverne av turistens kundeopplevelse, mens andre (design og musikk) avhengig av bruk og kontekst bidrar til oppfatningen av tematiserte omgivelser på en annen måte. At temafaktorer, særlig navn, bidrar til oppfatningen av tematiserte omgivelser er et nytt funn. Avhandlingens andre bidrag omhandler tematiseringsdimensjoner. De ti tematiseringsdimensjonene autentisitet, kronotop, kohesjon, digital teknologi, immersjon, interaksjon/samskaping, flersanselighet, nyhetsverdi, gjenkjennbarhet, og historiefortelling/narrativ er sentrale og betydningsfulle for tematiseringen i en turismekontekst. Dimensjonen interaksjon/samskaping har paralleller til dimensjoner fra forskningen på opplevelsesinnovasjon. Avhandlingens tredje bidrag omhandler formålene med tematisering i turisme: å sørge for differensiering; øke salgene av et merke eller et produkt; skape bånd mellom gjester og et tema, merke, eller produkt; tiltrekke, stanse og få besøkende til å bli; å påvirke eller endre atferden deres, og forbedre ende-til-ende-opplevelsen. Det viser seg at disse formålene er essensielle gjensidig relaterte mål for ledere i turismen. Denne avhandlingen diskuterer de dypere meningene og samspillet mellom temafaktorene, tematiseringsdimensjonene, og formålene med tematisering fra både et besøks- og tilbyderperspektiv. Avhandlingens fjerde og endelige bidrag er implikasjonene de empiriske funnene fra de tre artiklene har for opplevelsesinnovasjon. Avhandlingens hovedbidrag er en omfattende undersøkelse av temafaktorer, tematiseringsdimensjoner, tematiseringsformål, og hvordan disse kan fasilitere opplevelsesesinnovasjon, noe som gir en bredere forståelse basert på ny og tilgjengelig kunnskap om hvert aspekt av fenomenet som blir undersøkt, og diskuterer deres betydning. Avhandlingen argumenterer for tilbydernes betydning i å omhyggelig orkestrere temafaktorer og tematiseringsdimensjoner for å møte formålene med tematisering i opplevelsesbasert turisme. Design av opplevelser krever ofte at tilbyderen kritisk bruker temaer og tematisering for å skape innovative, lønnsomme og minneverdige omgivelser av høy kvalitet for besøkende. Tidligere forskning har kun satt søkelys på at tilbyderne iscenesetter tematiserte produkter og tjenester i omgivelsene. Imidlertid er ikke iscenesettingen av omgivelsene tilstrekkelig for tilbydere av tematiserte omgivelser. I stedet gjør disse omgivelsene det nødvendig for tilbyderne å skape fasiliterende tematiserte omgivelser som legger til rette for at de besøkende gjennom interaksjon kan samskape verdien i sine individuelle opplevelser—noe som leder til opplevelsesinnovasjon. Ledere anmodes til å forbedre sine tematiserte omgivelser for å sørge for kontinuerlig differensiering og økt salg. Ansatte bør få kontinuerlig opplæring og lederveiledning for å kunne oppføre seg og snakke konsistent med det valgte temaet, og de ansattes interaksjon med besøkende bør oppmuntres. I tillegg bør ledere søke å forbedre koherens og systematisk sammenheng mellom alle elementene i tematiserte omgivelser for å kunne kommunisere et positivt harmonisk inntrykk. Ledere bør vurdere tematiseringsdimensjonene nyhetsverdi, historiefortelling, og digital teknologi, og bruke disse i tilstrekkelig grad for å forbedre unikheten, tilhørighetsfølelsen, og en opphøyd virkelighetsopplevelse. Følgelig er ikke hovedbidraget i denne avhandlingen knyttet til tradisjonell tjenesteinnovasjonsforskning. I stedet undersøker avhandlingen temafaktorene og tematiseringsdimensjonenes rolle i turistenes opplevelse, og hvordan organisasjoner kan bruke disse for opplevelsesinnovasjon. Resultatet av dette har implikasjoner for innovasjon i opplevelsesbasert turisme. I denne avhandlingen forstås tematisering som en prosess som kan føre til opplevelsesinnovasjon. Denne formen for opplevelsesinnovasjon kan kalles tematiseringsinnovasjon, en interaktiv prosess hvor besøkende gir tilbydere informasjon om hva som er verdifullt for dem, og hvor tilbyderne bygger prototyper, evaluerer og tester konsepter gjennom å bruke temafaktorer for å samskape nye eller forbedrede opplevelser, noe som skaper tematiseringsdimensjoner som rammer inn og støtter utviklingen av temafaktorer. Videre understøtter denne prosessen tilbyderens oppnåelse av tematiseringsformål, og helst bedre enn sine konkurrenter. Opplevelsesinnovasjon fokuserer mer på omgivelser enn produkter og tjenester som kan fungere mer som rekvisitter i iscenesettelsen av en opplevelse. I stedet for en leverandørkjedesentrert stage-gate-prosess hvor firmaer skaper verdi gjennom å tilby ulike produkter og tjenester, så vektlegger opplevelsesinnovasjon verdi som er interaktivt samskapt i stadig mer oppslukende, ofte teknologisk forbedrede omgivelser. Dermed fokuserer denne avhandlingen på verdien i å skape ny og dypere kunnskap om tematisering i innovasjonsprosesser/design som fører til opplevelsesinnovasjon. I et utvidet perspektiv handler opplevelsesinnovasjon om å holde seg relevant og overleve i fremtiden.Abstract: In tourism and hospitality, products and services have been the traditional foci and bases of value. However, in line with the experiential turn in tourism, numerous tourism businesses have changed focus toward providing consumers with distinctive experiences to avoid commoditization. In turn, this means businesses often employ theming as a method and practice to create experiencescapes for and together with their visitors. Although much research has been conducted regarding themed tourism spaces, less attention has been given to the phenomenon of theming. How knowledge about theming can be understood as kind of experience innovation is also less understood. The overall aim of this thesis is to deepen knowledge of theming in experience-based tourism, and how knowledge about theming from both a visitor and provider perspective can facilitate experience innovation. More specifically, this thesis intends to explore what themes and theming are, what factors drive theming, the dimensions of theming, and the purposes of theming. These aims are explored in the context of experience-based tourism, a labor-intensive industry that seeks to provide symbolic and hedonic benefits and evokes more robust emotional and experiential responses from visitors. This dissertation includes three separate papers that investigate and discuss three research topics: (i) how the theme factors that drive experience based tourism can be better understood, (ii) identifying the dimensions of theming in experience-based tourism, and (iii) why theming is used in experience-based tourism. The fourth research topic (iv), how knowledge about theming from both a visitor and provider perspective may facilitate experience innovation is developed during the abductive process with the dissertation and is answered in the synopsis. Using quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches, theming in experience-based tourism is explored from both a visitor and a provider perspective. The first appended paper’s empirical analysis uses survey data. The second and third appended papers use semi-structured interviews. The contributions of this thesis to the fields of experience-based tourism, marketing, and management literature are fourfold. The first contribution of this thesis relates to theme factors. The theme factors name, employee interaction, and lighting are the most central direct drivers of the tourist customer experience, while others (design and music) contribute to the perceived themed environment differently, depending on usage and context. The fact theme factors in particular, name, contribute to an environment’s theme perception is a novel find. The second contribution of this thesis relates to theming dimensions. The 10 dimensions of theming, authenticity, chronotope, cohesion, digital technology, immersion, interaction/co-creation, multisensory, novelty, relatability, and storytelling/narrative are crucial to and significant for theming in a tourism context. The dimension interaction/co-creation parallels dimensions from experience innovation research. The third contribution of this thesis relates to the purposes of theming in tourism: ensure differentiation; increase sales of a brand or a product; create bonds between the guests and a theme, brand, or product; attract, stop, and make visitors stay; or influence and modify their behavior and enhance the end-to-end experience. These purposes are revealed to be essential interrelated business objectives for managers in tourism. This thesis discusses the more profound meaning and the interplay of the theme factors, theming dimensions, and purposes of theming from both visitor and provider perspectives. The fourth and final contribution in this thesis is the implications of the empirical findings from the three papers for experience innovation. The thesis’ overall contribution is a comprehensive examination of theme factors, theming dimensions, theming purposes, and how they can facilitate experience innovation, which provides a broad understanding based on new and available knowledge on each aspect of the studied phenomena and deliberates their significance for theming innovation. This thesis argues for providers’ importance in carefully orchestrating theme factors and theming dimensions to fulfill the purposes of theming in experience-based tourism. Designing an experience often requires providers to critically use themes and theming to create innovative, high-quality, profitable, and memorable environments for visitors. Previous research has focused solely on providers staging themed products and services in an environment. However, staging the environment is not sufficient for providers of themed environments. Instead, the experience environment necessitates those providers facilitating themed environments that accommodate interaction with visitors to co-create value in their individual experiences—leading toward experience innovation. Furthermore, managers are urged to enhance their themed environments to ensure differentiation and increased sales. Staff should receive ongoing training and managerial direction to act and speak often around the chosen theme, and staff interaction with visitors should be encouraged. Also, managers should strive to improve cohesiveness, fit, and orderliness between all elements in the themed environment to convey a positive impression of harmony. The theming dimensions of novelty, storytelling, and digital technology should be assessed and used adequately by managers to improve uniqueness, a sense of connectedness, and a heightened sense of reality. The main contribution of this thesis is not towards traditional service innovation research. Instead, this thesis examines the role of theme factors and theming dimensions in tourists’ experiences and how organizations can use them for experience innovation. These results have implications for innovation in experience-based tourism: Thus, the focus of this thesis is on theming as a process that may lead to experience innovation. This kind of experience innovation can be called theming innovation, an interactive process in which visitors deliver providers with information about what is valuable to them, and providers prototype, evaluate, and test concepts with the use of theme factors to co-create new or improved experiences, creating theming dimensions that frame and support the theme factor development, in turn fulfilling the providers’ theming purposes, and does this better than their competitors. Experience innovation centers more on environments than products and services, which may act as props in staging an experience. Rather than a supply-chain-centric stage-gate process where firms create value through offering various products and services, experience innovation emphasizes value as interactively co-created in ever more immersive, often technologically enhanced environments. Thus, this thesis focuses on the value of creating new and more profound knowledge of theming in innovation processes/design, leading to experience innovation. By extension, experience innovation is about staying relevant and surviving in the futurepublishedVersio

Performing Memory : Kriterien für einen Vergleich analoger und digitaler Gedächtnistheater

Die Funktionen des individuellen wie kollektiven Gedächtnisses sind nicht unmittelbar anschaulich; wir müssen Metaphern zu Hilfe nehmen, um sie beschreiben. Diese Gedächtnismetaphern wechseln im Laufe der Geschichte, wobei medientechnische Innovationen eine maßgebliche Rolle spielen. So hat die Erfindung des Computers dazu geführt, daß sowohl in den Kognitions- als auch in den Kulturwissenschaften das Modell von "Speicherung und Wiedereinschaltung" (storage and retrieval) die Vorstellungen über das menschliche Erinnern dominierte. Doch schon seit längerem können wir beobachten, daß dieses Leitbild durch ein anderes abgelöst wird: Die invarianten Begriffe der Einlagerung und Wiederentnahme weichen den dynamischen ludisch-theatraler Performativität. ..