Time & Space
S01:E01

Time & Space

Episode description

What role do time and space play when organising hybrid events? This episode features guest researcher Esther Hammelburg, who earned her doctorate in liveness and discovered that “we are here together now” is the crux of any event. And Lilian Stolk, director of The Hmm, talks about the experimental events they organised featuring time and space.

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0:05

The in-between

0:13

The Inbetween Machine

0:16

Welcome to The Inbetween Machine, the podcast that adds a

0:20

touch of excitement to your hybrid lifestyle. Chances are

0:24

you're tuning in while folding laundry, biking to a meeting or

0:28

winding down for the night. Our goal is simple: to enhance your

0:33

hybrid skills.

0:36

My name is Sekai Makoni, and I'm a mixed black woman with Afro

0:41

hair, a brown top and green trousers. I'm a cultural

0:45

programmer, workshop facilitator, podcaster and

0:49

artist. I'm your host, here to explore various aspects of

0:53

hybrid living in each episode. Joining me are the people who

0:57

created the Toolkit for the Inbetween and a special guest,

1:01

all sharing insights into the world of hybrid experiences.

1:06

The Toolkit for the Inbetween is a website. It's like a creative

1:10

toolbox for hybrid events brought to you by members from

1:13

three Dutch cultural institutions: The Hmm, a

1:17

platform and laboratory for internet and digital cultures;

1:21

affect lab, a research driven creative storytelling studio

1:25

focused on an inclusive future; and MU, a hybrid art house with

1:31

interdisciplinary exhibitions and innovative education.

1:51

In today's episode, we're delving into the role of time

1:54

and space in hybrid gatherings. So grab a cup of tea or coffee,

1:59

settle in, and let's explore the fascinating intersection of the

2:03

physical and digital in our lives. Welcome to The Inbetween

2:08

Machine.

2:11

The in-between.

2:12

When we're recording this, it's a calm December morning. It's

2:20

rainy outside and not as cold as we would like. And we're

2:24

downstairs in the basement of our Amsterdam podcast studio.

2:28

Today I'm joined by toolkit member, Lilian Stolk, who is the

2:32

director of The Hmm. Welcome, Lilian. Could you give us a

2:37

visual description of yourself?

2:38

Yes, I'm having brown hair and wearing it in a bun. I have a

2:43

light skin. And I'm wearing a woollen sweater, which if you

2:49

look closely has a print of a cake with the swirls and red

2:54

dots.

2:55

Beautiful. And we have a special guest here in the studio. Esther

3:00

Hammelburg. Could you give us a visual description of yourself

3:03

as well?

3:03

Sure, I have brown straight half long hair, white skin, brown

3:09

eyes, wearing a black sweater, and a black skirt with flowers

3:13

on it.

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Beautiful. Welcome both of you.

3:16

Thank you.

3:17

So today's focus themes are time and space, to look more

3:21

specifically at how you can play with these themes during hybrid

3:24

events. You, Lillian, brought along two toolkit experiments,

3:29

The Hmm @ 4 Locations and Weaving Spaces. Lillian, could

3:34

you give us a short description of both toolkit experiments?

3:37

Yeah, sure. I start with The Hmm @ 4 Locations, because this was

3:39

I have one at home actually. It's a very fresh scent.

3:43

actually an event where the format was inspired by a

3:47

conversation I had with Esther. Esther was mentioning football

3:53

games as the perfect example of hybrid events because it can

3:59

take on different in different locations. You can experience it

4:03

in a football stadium, but you can also watch the game on the

4:07

big screen in a town square or watch it at home with friends.

4:11

And in all situations you still have the idea or the feeling

4:15

you're part of this live experiment or live event. And we

4:22

got triggered by this idea that, yeah, an event can have

4:27

different hubs. And we also wanted to see if we could take

4:31

it a bit further and even decentralise a programme even

4:35

more. Because in the football game example, still like the

4:40

most, yeah, the dominant part of the programme is taking place in

4:46

one location. And with The Hmm @ 4 Locations we actually had the

4:51

programme spread over four locations in four different

4:55

cities in the Netherlands, in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven

4:59

and Rotterdam. It was an event with eight speakers. And in each

5:03

of the locations, there were two speakers physically present. And

5:09

the other speakers could be followed via livestream. And

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there were different ways how we tried to stimulate connection

5:19

and exchange. And one aspect was that we created our own scent.

5:26

And we launched it during this event, I also brought it with

5:29

me. It's called The Hmmosphere and we created it together with

5:33

scent artist Cesar Majorana. And together we tried to translate,

5:38

we tried to make a scent for The Hmm. The Hmm is a platform for

5:42

internet culture, but how does the internet actually smell? So

5:47

yeah, we tried to... I can show you? Or show you...

5:58

Yeah, it's quite fresh. There's a lot of ozone in it, which is

6:03

also the smell that you, that appears when you're printing a

6:07

lot, for instance.

6:09

Smells a bit like warm cables.

6:11

Yeah, so we're spraying this scent in all the locations. So

6:19

yeah, there was a bit of a common, at least a common smell

6:23

in each location. And also people joining in from their own

6:28

house, joining in online, they also could order the scent and

6:33

spray it. So that was one thing that was similar in each

6:37

location. Then we also had that, like, all audiences were active

6:43

in the chat. And the chat was also presented on the stage. So

6:49

that's where everybody was having a conversation with each

6:52

other. They could also, if they had a question to one of the

6:55

speakers, they could ask it via the chat. Yeah, so that was also

7:00

a point where all the audience came together. And another

7:04

element that we added was that we did a wave at the end of the

7:08

event with all the locations. So we started in Amsterdam, then

7:13

Eindhoven, Utrecht and Rotterdam.

7:16

And how did you coordinate that? You're were just like...

7:19

Yeah, the audience could see themselves via the live stream.

7:23

So we, we, yeah, they responded to each other. Yeah, so that was

7:27

a bit of a short description of the @ 4 Locations event and then

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for the Weaving Spaces event... Yeah, it's easy, of course, to

7:37

forget online audiences, because you don't see them. And it's

7:43

actually interesting to realise that everybody's joining from a

7:47

different, in a different situation. With The Hmm events,

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we also often ask this question in the chat like, how are you

7:55

experiencing this event? Are you sitting in a kitchen table, at

7:58

your kitchen table? Or are you on the way, and we also for the

8:06

event Weaving Spaces - or the experiment Weaving Spaces - got

8:09

inspired by the ritual of check-in moments, where you

8:14

start a meeting with quickly sharing a personal like

8:18

situation you're in or what is also forming your experience, I

8:23

think. This together with the habit of knitting and weaving to

8:29

come together and share stories, led to the Weaving Spaces

8:34

experiment where we start an event with some questions that

8:38

we asked the audience. Can be questions from what surface is

8:43

underneath your foot at the moment, to how do you feel at

8:49

the moment? People answer that via a special web app that we

8:54

developed and after answering all the questions, the answers

8:59

are translated to abstract and less abstract data

9:03

visualisations and we also have a shared pixel drawing that they

9:09

made. And people can see their personal pattern that they

9:14

created after answering the questions, but we, as the event

9:19

organisers, we see a pattern appear that combines all the

9:24

answers and it's actually a pattern for a scarf that we

9:28

knit. I also brought some experiments. This is a scarf

9:33

that we printed for the The Hmm @ CBK Zuidoost. So here you see

9:40

the pixel drawing that the visitors made together, everyone

9:44

can put five pixels in the canvas here. Also the little

9:50

emotes, that was the most chosen emote of how people do feel at

9:58

this event, and here, oh yeah, how people are describing their

10:07

feeling after the event or the experience of the event? Is it

10:12

hectic? Was it lonely? Exciting? And what is it, it's a bit

10:20

difficult to read... interesting. And then it's, it's

10:23

stated like the most chosen option is the first one. And

10:28

then the last, the lonely one is the last chosen option. So

10:33

that's, that's good. And it's also having the date and the

10:38

title of the event.

10:40

I love it, and did people get to get a copy of the scarf?

10:45

Yeah, that we didn't develop yet but we want to. And I think the,

10:50

yeah, also the idea of that you create something together is

10:54

also making, yeah, giving a bit of bonding between the different

10:58

audiences. Yeah, so, and indeed, if you can then also order the

11:04

scarf and wear it yourself it's, yeah, adding to that idea.

11:11

I really love, like the way you're describing all of the

11:15

events, it feels like there's a kind of, a playfulness to it,

11:18

like the scent or the scarf. And even, in fact, like the

11:22

reference to football, right, watching it in person or on a

11:26

screen, and then you kind of create a scarf, which also feels

11:29

in some ways, like a reference to football.

11:30

Oh, yeah, I didn't think about that.

11:34

But I suppose I wonder what play and what, what role, like play

11:38

or humour or lightness has in your approach to these hybrid

11:42

events?

11:42

Yeah. Yeah, that's really important. I think also, content

11:48

wise, sometimes the topics are quite serious that we discuss

11:52

and if we put a lot of humour and playfulness in it, it's also

11:58

easier to digest. And I think with these hybrid events, it's

12:04

often... Yeah, we don't see so many fun experiments with hybrid

12:09

events, I think. It's often... people place a camera in space

12:13

and it's just a livestream. It's also a very passive experience,

12:19

like it's more becoming a TV broadcast. And I think, the most

12:25

important element of an event is that it is interactive, and

12:29

you're part of something. So I think adding the playfulness in

12:33

it is also contributing to that. Otherwise, we could make a

12:37

podcast of the event.

12:39

And what were people's reactions like after the event? Like oh,

12:42

this is so cool, there's a scent or I got a scarf. Like what did

12:45

people say who attended?

12:46

Yeah, they love it.

12:47

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

12:50

I was a visitor, at one of the four locations and of some other

12:55

events. Yeah. So I bought the scent. I have it in my toilet at

13:00

home.

13:05

It's still there. Yeah, I really like it. It's really, I really

13:05

[laughter]

13:09

like the idea of using the senses and turning something

13:09

Like a memento. Brilliant. Thank you so much. And now we're going

13:13

that you're studying into different senses. So the scent

13:17

turning the internet into a smell. Yeah, I really liked the

13:21

notion, it broadens your scope, your way of thinking about how

13:26

the internet works, or what this means to the world. And it's a

13:30

nice artefact to have in your home.

13:39

to hear about a historical case study. So let's take a listen.

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For this case study interlude, we want to share The World in 24

13:49

Hours by Robert Adrien. Transporting ourselves to the

13:53

year 1982, we find EUnet making its debut, marking the early

13:58

days of the European internet. Back then a realm mostly

14:02

reserved for scientists and researchers. Amidst this

14:06

backdrop, Robert Adrian introduces The World in 24 Hours

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at the Ars Electronica Festival on September 27th. The project

14:14

is a telecommunication venture linking Linz, the host city of

14:17

the festival, with 15 cities worldwide. Each city was given a

14:21

specific time slot based on its timezone. From midday on

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September 27th, to midday on September 28th, artistic groups

14:30

in each city connected with Adrian's team in Linz through a

14:33

variety of channels: computer terminals, telephones, fax, and

14:38

slow scan TV. The team in Linz contacted each location at 12

14:43

o'clock in their respective timezone. They then had one hour

14:46

to exchange material with the Linz team. Adrian envisioned the

14:50

project as setting a precedent for using telecommunication

14:52

networks in global artistic collaboration. The deliberate

14:56

choice of accessible mediums encouraged widespread

14:59

participation. The World in 24 Hours embodied mid-deep

15:03

hybridity, utilising diverse telecommunication methods to

15:06

connect artists globally in real time. Linz acted as a central

15:10

hub, facilitating collaboration despite the physical distance.

15:14

Although remote teams weren't directly connected, their

15:17

participation wove them into the 24 hour narrative, fostering a

15:21

sense of connection among participants. This

15:24

telecommunication endeavour wasn't just about technology, it

15:28

was also a human story. As the clock ticked, a shared creative

15:32

space emerged, transcending physical boundaries. The

15:37

artworks became more than conduits, they transformed into

15:40

vessels for shared creativity, bringing tangible artworks to

15:43

life in Linz. In the quiet dance of global connectivity, The

15:49

World in 24 Hours stands as a testament to the potential of

15:52

technology, reminding us that even in the vastness of

15:55

cyberspace, the heartbeat of human creativity remains

15:59

steadfast.

16:01

Esther Hammelburg is an expert on live experiences and hybrid

16:05

events. She claims that every event is in fact hybrid. We are

16:10

always in both physical and media environment at the same

16:14

time. She drew this conclusion from her PhD research, which

16:18

consisted of extensive fieldwork, speaking to 379

16:22

people, and gathering large datasets from social media

16:26

platforms, with which she shows how media use shaped the way we

16:30

experience being there live. Welcome, Esther.

16:34

Thank you very much.

16:35

So I was wondering: Is recording this podcast today also a hybrid

16:40

experience for you?

16:41

I think, yeah, every experience is hybrid. I think for us, for

16:46

us itself it's less hybrid in the sense that we're very

16:50

focused at what we're doing at this moment. We are not, our

16:56

voices are going to be in a lot of different media environments

16:59

afterwards. There's other people on the other side of the wall,

17:04

looking at us and listening to us. So we're aware of that. So

17:08

in that sense, you might call it hybrid. But I think it's more a

17:11

hybrid experience for the listener, because you'll listen

17:14

to this, as you said, in your introduction, perhaps when

17:19

you're in bed before sleep, or biking somewhere or on the train

17:24

or making dinner. And I believe that experiences differ also,

17:31

because these physical environments shape the way you

17:34

experience something. So for the listener, for sure, it's a very-

17:37

I think podcasts is one of the most hybrid experiences

17:40

actually, because we move along the physical world, while

17:44

listening to this media text.

17:46

Brilliant. So according to your research, we are here together

17:51

now is the crux of every event. And maybe we can unravel this

17:56

for hybrid events. And the here for an onsite event is the event

18:01

space. But maybe it includes also the travel to an event

18:04

space. For online visitors, the here is their computer, and also

18:10

the room where they are watching from. So what does space

18:14

contribute to an event? And how can we utilise this for a hybrid

18:18

experience?

18:19

Yeah, yeah, so in my PhD research, I studied liveness.

18:26

And said: a live experience makes- is being here, now,

18:31

together. So it's the space, the time and a social context. And

18:37

for space, what I studied was people who were at events, so

18:41

often festivals that were organised in a physical space,

18:45

but also, for instance, the Dutch fundraiser Serious

18:47

Request, which is a multimedia or a cross-medial format, which

18:52

has a studio where people can go to on a town square, but it's

18:56

also a radio programme. It's also life on television, it's a

18:59

live stream. So that is very, has very different spaces and

19:05

places to experience the event in. And what I noticed is that

19:10

visitors, even though they might be physically there at a

19:14

festival, they are also at the same time in various media

19:18

environment. So you are also on Instagram, for instance, I've

19:22

spoken to people who... one of my events that I researched was

19:26

the Pride in Amsterdam. I've spoken to people who were on a

19:31

boat in the Canal Parade, which is the central event of the

19:35

Pride so you would say that's the most there you can be,

19:39

saying that if they wouldn't have any photograph or social

19:42

media posts from that, they would feel less there. So being

19:47

there on Instagram or on a photo even in your own phone or

19:52

printed or on your roll or whatever, has a role in

19:57

affirming where you are, your sense of being there. So I think

20:01

that's very central to hybrid events. And you can play with

20:06

this, in the sense, well for instance, organising an event in

20:10

different locations. But I think event organisers in general, as

20:14

Lilian said before, when we speak about hybrid events,

20:18

especially after COVID, what we got accustomed to is doing an

20:23

event as we used to do and then putting a webcam or a camera on

20:27

it and doing a live stream, which is a bit boring, I think,

20:31

because often, I mean, sometimes it's interesting, if it's talk,

20:34

if somebody is just doing like a talk, this can work very well.

20:39

I've seen this for conferences, it's sometimes a very good

20:42

alternative to travelling the world to see someone speak. But

20:48

I think there's so much more possible for media makers, for

20:50

event organisers, if you think about, for instance, if you make

20:55

an audio track to your event and other people- and people can

20:59

listen to this beforehand, or afterwards, or on their way

21:01

there, perhaps, and include the spaces that people are in at

21:06

other times, not only when physically at the event.

21:10

I also think one interesting thing you brought up, or that

21:14

you told me earlier was the example of Serious Request. And

21:19

that that was a, is a recurring event always taking place during

21:24

the Christmas period. And also when people were experiencing

21:28

that event on the television, it was very important for them that

21:33

their house was decorated with Christmas decoration.

21:38

Yeah, people, so... So this is a very- because it's on TV, it's

21:41

every year, so people get used to it. There's quite a lot of

21:45

fans of the event. And a lot of people connection is really with

21:52

their home experience watching it, so not so much the event on

21:56

a town square where the Glass House Studio is, but their home,

21:59

where the dog is lying down and the Christmas tree for a lot of

22:02

people at that time is standing or they have like candles

22:07

burning because it's dark outside. So the cosiness of the

22:10

house, you can make your house cosy in December, plays a large

22:15

role in the experience of Serious Request. And even so

22:18

that you mentioned before about the football game, there's one

22:22

physical main event where it is, but I think maybe similar to a

22:26

football game, when you're at a stadium, you don't always see

22:29

the best shots of what happens. And in Serious Request, this is

22:34

really something, I interviewed people who were, who followed it

22:38

at a distance through television or live streams and people who

22:41

were there. And people who did both. And people, I've spoken to

22:47

a lot of people who said that it's a very different experience

22:51

being at the Glass House Studio where you're very close by where

22:53

it happens, you see the radio DJs, you see artists perform.

22:57

It's a party. So you have all of the senses of being in a crowd

23:01

and an event like that. But it's very difficult to follow the

23:05

main event, because the main event is a recording of a radio

23:09

show, a conversation, which you can hear best on the radio or

23:13

see best on television. So even people would sometimes rewatch

23:18

the parts of the programme after they were there. Because they

23:23

felt they missed something and they wanted to see like the

23:26

closeup of the DJ who will get emotional or stuff like that. So

23:31

I think that's also, if you're organising hybrid events, if you

23:35

just put a webcam on it, it's perhaps not the perfect

23:39

experience. I think it's important to understand that

23:43

it's not a replacement of physically, or not per se a

23:47

replacement of physically being there, but another form of

23:52

experiencing the event. And if you organise it like this, then

23:56

you can organise very rich hybrid events.

23:59

So we often think of online visitors as being at home behind

24:04

their laptops. But mobile tech is getting so much better that

24:08

we may start thinking of online as being actually mobile, as in

24:12

moving around. How do you think this may enhance online and/or

24:17

on site experiences?

24:19

Yeah, I think for sure everything is becoming more

24:22

mobile. Also with Serious Request. I mean, I did my field

24:26

research for that in 2017, I think, in December 2017. So

24:31

that's a long time ago already. Even then people said they were

24:35

watching the live stream on the go or listening, it's also live

24:40

broadcast on the radio. So listening in the car or at work

24:44

was a large part of the event. And I think we can use this

24:49

also, and here space and time connects a bit in the sense that

24:53

I think one aspect is the live event as it is happening at that

24:57

moment, but you can also have parts of it that you have, that

25:02

you listen to or watch beforehand or afterwards. And

25:06

especially then, I mean that you can do that anywhere, I guess.

25:10

So, podcasting, audio tracks are becoming more and more diverse

25:15

also, also more playful, as digital tools can make them, for

25:20

instance, much more interactive. So I think that's turning media

25:26

experiences more mobile. But also watching videos and live

25:30

streams, we do most of it on our phones, much more than behind a

25:35

computer or laptop, I guess. Yeah, for sure. And I think also

25:39

a chat, I was also thinking of, we are, we're getting more used,

25:45

for instance, also to join a meeting, for instance, on the

25:47

go, I mean, if it's a very important meeting you might be,

25:51

it'd be important to sit behind your computer for an online

25:54

meeting. But some of the meetings that we're in, we're

25:56

also listening in while on the train, or we maybe join through

26:00

the chat or. So if you have a chat connected to your events. I

26:04

mean, it's not necessary that a person is actually there or

26:10

listens focused. So it could also be that you're just hearing

26:14

part of the event and add something to the chat. And then

26:17

if you use that chat further, in the event, it can feed the

26:20

discussion on a stage or between visitors, yeah.

26:25

And I wonder if it creates like a different comfort level. Like,

26:28

if you're in the space, maybe you wouldn't feel so able to put

26:32

your hand up and ask a certain question. And if there's that

26:34

kind of distance, like you could ask it in the chat anonymously.

26:38

I wonder if that will stay.

26:39

Yeah, we experience that a lot during events and also, yeah,

26:45

for like, questions to ask in person, there's also a limited

26:50

time. So we always get quite a lot of questions. And we ask, if

26:55

the time's up, we ask the speaker to go to the chat to

27:00

maybe answer the questions that are unanswered. And yeah, what I

27:05

find very interesting, which is also why we keep having the chat

27:11

also. Yeah, it's very important during our hybrid event, because

27:15

also people are discussing things together, or sometimes a

27:19

slide goes fast, and there's information on it that people

27:22

wanted to see, and then they ask. We've had once that someone

27:27

created a Dropbox where there was one slide shared among the

27:32

rest of the audience, because they wanted to see what's on

27:35

there. Or like references. There's really a discussion

27:40

there.

27:41

And creating community, I suppose, as well, and like co

27:45

creating access to the content.

27:47

Indeed yeah. And it's also more knowledge sharing. It's like,

27:51

what I really like, as an event organiser is that, yeah,

27:56

otherwise, it's more of a sending of information, and now

27:59

it's more, yeah, more about giving the audience more

28:05

facilities to have conversations with each other. It's also

28:08

knowledge sharing instead of just sending information.

28:12

And I wonder with the chat function, if it also operates to

28:16

show resonance. So if you're in a space and you're really in

28:19

agreement with something, or you're confused by something,

28:21

you don't know, necessarily, if other people in that place are

28:24

feeling the same way. So I do sometimes find it affirming

28:27

looking in the chat like, okay, that person also doesn't

28:30

understand it.

28:32

As an audience member? Yeah, I think it can be really affirming

28:38

for audience members.

28:39

Yeah, we also had, we did an experiment with a Twitch stream,

28:46

and there they have a lot of chat options where once one

28:51

example for instance, that you can send emotes, and they will

28:54

also appear over the screen. So they will appear.

28:59

Can I ask what an emote is? Like, emoji?

29:00

You know, just like an emoji, yeah, like a, like a visual

29:04

message or icon and in Twitch, you can make it so that they

29:10

appear on top of the the screen. But when we did that, I also

29:17

realised that as a physical, like on site audience, you have

29:23

a lot of ways of responding to what is being said. You can

29:28

like, next to raising your hand, you can also nod or you can

29:33

laugh, or you can, yeah, and there are a lot of like, more

29:37

nonverbal ways of responding to things and these emotes can

29:41

help, or give also the online audience that power of doing

29:44

that.

29:46

And I think the chat also enables you to discuss what is

29:50

said without disturbing. I mean, when you're in an audience I

29:54

cannot talk to you about what you're saying. But when you're

29:58

in chat, it's much easier to listen to what is said and at

30:01

the same time comment or discuss it or tag someone else for whom

30:06

it might be interesting.

30:08

Yeah, that's why we also always ask the onsite audience to join

30:12

the chat, because then they are part of the...

30:15

The discussion that's going, yeah.

30:17

Yeah. Like the poly-vocality, like, there's lots happening

30:20

simultaneously, and you don't necessarily have to hear someone

30:23

like whispering.

30:23

And people are used to doing things that, yeah, for sure.

30:28

For sure. I'm going to ask the last question to you, Esther. So

30:33

if you attend an onsite event, control of your time slot is in

30:37

the hands of the event organisers. But if you work with

30:40

a livestream, online visitors can simply press pause on the

30:44

event. Do you think this contributes to a kind of less

30:47

intense experience, that you remain in control of the time

30:51

yourself?

30:53

Yes, well, live experiences, in the sense that you're really

30:57

having this, the sense of it's happening now, and I have to

31:00

stay at the screen to follow it, for instance, or remain in the

31:04

audience to follow it. These are the most intense and engaging

31:09

experiences. So when you pause a livestream, or you walk away for

31:14

a bit, I mean, it's, it makes it more convenient. It's a

31:17

different experience, but it's less of a live experience. So in

31:20

that sense, for sure, it's less intense, I guess. Which is not

31:27

necessarily a bad thing. Because I mean, I think also something

31:31

to think about as organisers of hybrid events is, what is

31:37

necessary to do live? Or where's the strength in doing elements

31:41

live? And where is it perhaps even better to have people

31:46

organise their own time? To have people pause or listen or watch

31:50

something afterwards, or before? Yeah, so it's not necessary to

31:55

do everything live. But it does give that intense communal

32:00

sense.

32:01

Yeah, and I suppose, when we think about access, I feel like

32:06

some people find stuff a bit slow. So sometimes having the

32:11

mechanism to be able to like, listen back to the recording at

32:14

like 1.5 speed, enables them to access the information better.

32:20

So also, outside of intensity, I wonder if it can also, there

32:25

being different mechanisms, or speeds at which you can watch

32:28

something, can affect how far you can engage with the

32:31

information? Or you can kind of control how well you engage.

32:35

Yeah. You can choose more of your own path in that sense.

32:38

Yeah, delay it, or fasten it, or yeah, for sure. And also, I

32:44

think, maybe you could play with it. Perhaps you could give

32:47

people the choice to watch something, or to listen to

32:49

something, which also gives possibilities to different

32:52

people. Maybe even transcribe it so you can read it. Or you can

32:58

imagine giving access also to more people, and enabling people

33:02

to watch or listen or understand something in their own pace, in

33:07

their own way.

33:07

Yeah, and recognising that there are many ways people do that.

33:11

And I think

33:11

Same goes for the for the asking questions, as you say, not

33:14

everyone feels comfortable raising their hand in a public

33:17

space, so the chat can be a very good way for people to engage

33:22

I once had a conversation with someone who was mentioning that

33:27

there was a keynote speaker at an event. And there was also a

33:31

room next to that keynote speaker where you could just

33:35

listen to the talk, but not see the keynote speaker. And there

33:41

were still like, there was enough room in the room with the

33:44

keynote speaker, but still people chose for the option of

33:47

being in the side room because they wanted to work meanwhile,

33:52

and they don't feel comfortable with sitting behind their laptop

33:57

and in front of the speaker. So they decided to be in the other

34:00

room and just listen to the conversation. So yeah, it's

34:04

really that people have different wishes of how to

34:07

experience an event. And I think, yeah, adding the hybrid

34:11

layer can offer these different options of following.

34:17

And then I think my argument would be, be aware, when you do

34:21

this, of the powers of these different forms. So design it

34:27

purposefully. And think about how people would experience this

34:31

in these different ways.

34:33

Yeah, and the intentionality of like, what do you want your

34:35

audience or audiences to get? And how do you best respond to

34:39

their needs? So as we wrap up today's episode, I'd love to

34:43

hear a quick takeaway from both of you on the theme of time and

34:47

space. But before we dive into that, we have another case

34:51

study.

34:53

For this case study interlude, we want to share Piazza Virtuale

34:57

by the Van Gogh TV art collective. Let's step back to

35:02

1992, a time when television was about to undergo a peculiar

35:06

experiment during Documenta IX, called Piazza Virtuale. This

35:11

avant garde initiative was spearheaded by the Van Gogh TV

35:14

art collective, comprised of Mike Hentz, Karel Dudesek,

35:19

Benjamin Heidersberger, and Salvatore Vanasco, a group not

35:23

afraid to challenge the norms of broadcasting. Here's the twist.

35:28

No presenters, no announcements and definitely no structured

35:31

show. Instead, a simple prompt on the TV screen provides a

35:35

phone number. Dial it and you might find yourself on air,

35:39

speaking to the world. Up to four random callers perform a

35:43

peculiar community, engaging in conversations, delivering

35:47

impromptu speeches, or, in some cases, making rather unexpected

35:52

noises until they were abruptly cut off. The 100-day experiment

35:56

invited attendees to actively participate. Armed with

35:59

videophones and cameras, visitors could transmit

36:02

themselves to the so called audience. This audience wasn't

36:06

passive. It was spread across micro studios called Piazzettas

36:11

in various cities across Germany, as well as in other

36:14

European countries, and Japan. Within these Piazzettas,

36:18

visitors contributed actively, discussing, creating artworks,

36:22

and even adjusting the camera's position in Kassel. Piazza

36:26

Virtuale, in its own way, predicted the characteristics of

36:30

contemporary social media, ushering in a new era where

36:33

audience participation became integral. Beyond being an art

36:37

project, Piazza Virtuale represented a subtle shift in

36:41

the media landscape. It was a patchwork of interactions, a

36:44

collection of voices transcending distances, and an

36:47

early exploration into the idea that broadcasting power could be

36:50

shared. In its departure from tradition, Piazza Virtuale

36:54

foreshadowed the participatory media landscape we're familiar

36:57

with today.

37:00

So Lillian, would you share with us your takeaway in relation to

37:04

the theme of time and space?

37:07

I think one difficult aspect of hybrid programming is to kind of

37:15

equalise the position of online and on site audience. I think

37:22

the takeaway is that it's important to acknowledge the

37:25

space where online people are joining from, yeah, to put

37:30

attention to it, to invest in it. And another one is that

37:36

decentralising your programme, usually it takes place on a main

37:40

stage, but when you decentralise your programme, it's also a more

37:46

balanced hybrid experience.

37:49

Brilliant, thank you. And Esther, what would be your

37:52

takeaway?

37:54

Also following the discussion or the conversation we had and

37:57

hearing again about the experiments from The Hmm I think

38:00

it's important as an event organiser to take into account

38:04

the senses people use to experience an event. So what are

38:10

you focusing on? Which senses do you trigger, and do you use? And

38:16

another thing would be that, something that didn't come

38:20

forward in this discussion, I think, but it's very important

38:23

to incorporate the media use of people, without, besides what

38:30

you organise yourself, so you're organising an event, maybe a

38:33

live stream, maybe a chat, maybe a podcast or whatever. But

38:37

people are also moving through other media environments. So in

38:41

my studies, I saw people going on Instagram, Facebook, these

38:45

are the environments where stuff is held, and where people

38:48

produce stuff themselves, which as organisers you often tend to

38:53

forget, because you're busy with what you are dealing with, with

38:55

what you are designing, but it's a nice way of giving people a

38:58

participatory role in the event. So it's always good also to see

39:03

what people themselves make and do through media, at your

39:07

events.

39:09

Brilliant. Thank you.

39:11

Thank you for hanging out with us on this hybrid ride. You can

39:14

now continue with full focus with folding laundry, biking to

39:18

a meeting or if you're still here with us from bed, you can

39:21

go to sleep. If you're still vibing with the in-between

39:24

space, more episodes of The Inbetween Machine are either

39:28

already in your podcast app, or on their way. Have you binged

39:33

all episodes already, or want to learn more about the

39:36

possibilities, potentialities and pitfalls of our in-between

39:40

environment? Then go to toolkitfortheinbetween.com