SSFX Space Sound Effects

Lead Research Organisation: Queen Mary University of London
Department Name: Physics

Abstract

1. To expose the diverse audience of independent film-goers to current research into ultralow frequency sounds in space and, more generally, the issue of space weather.
2. To impress upon this community the potential risks on everyday life that space weather poses and thus the social and economic benefits of researching into this area.
3. To encourage further interest in the space sciences to non-science audiences.

Planned Impact

The final produced anthology film will serve as a useful resource which we will make available to STFC and the entire space weather community community (e.g. through the MIST and UKSA mailing lists, and via ESA who have helped us disseminate the competition to their members and followers) for use in the future as part of their wider public engagement activities. Resources surrounding space sounds research and space weather will continue to be distributed through the SSFX blog and articles through the Conversation (which have reached over 100,000 people so far via republishing at e.g. Daily Mail, Space.com, IFL Science etc.).

The project's learnings will be disseminated through UK public engagement networks including QMUL's Centre for Public Engagement, IOP's OPEN, BIG, SEPnet, The Ogden Trust, and PSCI-COM in a similar way to how QMUL's Research in Schools programme evaluation was disseminated. We will aim to present the project at conferences with public engagement and outreach sessions such as the National Astronomy Meeting, European Geosciences Union General Assembly, NCCPE's ENGAGE and The BIG Event.
 
Title SSFX (Space Sound Effects) The Anthology Film 
Description Feature length anthology film of creative short films using sonified satellite data, bridged by fictional science story based on space weather. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2018 
Impact Several screenings Online release 
URL https://youtu.be/P5_OljSnA1k
 
Title SSFX short films 
Description 7 short films created by independent filmmakers all creatively incorporating sonified magnetospheric ULF wave data for cinematic screenings. 
Type Of Art Film/Video/Animation 
Year Produced 2017 
Impact As of the end of 2017 these films have reached around 600 people at film events in the UK as well as Egypt, France, Norway, Romania, USA. 
URL http://ssfx.qmul.ac.uk/shorts
 
Description The ultra-low frequency analogues of sound waves in Earth's magnetosphere play a crucial role in space weather; however, the public is largely unaware of this risk to our everyday lives and technology. As a way of potentially reaching new audiences, SSFX (Space Sound Effects) made 8 years of satellite wave recordings audible to the human ear with the aim of using it to create art. Partnering with film industry professionals, the standard processes of international film festivals were adopted by the project in order to challenge independent filmmakers to incorporate these sounds into short films in creative ways. Seven films covering a wide array of topics and genres (despite coming from the same sounds) were selected for screening at a special film festival out of 22 submissions. The works have subsequently been shown at numerous established film festivals and screenings internationally. These events have attracted diverse non-science audiences resulting in several unanticipated impacts on them, thereby demonstrating how working with the art world can open up dialogues with both artists and audiences who would not ordinarily engage with science.
Exploitation Route The evaluation paper details recommendations on how scientists can effectively engage with arts sectors to reach non-traditional audiences and have impact upon artists, exhibitors, and arts audiences.
Sectors Creative Economy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
URL https://doi.org/10.5194/gc-3-147-2020
 
Description The collaborative relationships with filmmakers led to impacts on their knowledge of and attitudes towards science, helped them advance in their filmmaking careers, and even changed their subsequent filmmaking practice. Impacts were also felt on film-going audiences. Directly following screenings they expressed intentions to learn more and several weeks later it was found the films had provided them with memorable experiences of the science. Several unanticipated outcomes arose from the short- and medium-term evaluation, such as audiences gaining appreciation of curiosity-driven research and causing them to reflect on themes other than the just the underlying science. Given the non-traditional arts audiences engaged by this project, these are significantly positive outcomes. Finally, young families engaged through a soundscape exhibited an increased diversity in language used to describe space and altered conceptions of what space is like after listening to space sounds, thereby having impacts in their "enjoyment, inspiration, creativity", "attitudes and values" and "knowledge and understanding" using a generic learning outcomes framework.
Sector Creative Economy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections
Impact Types Cultural,Societal