21st June - Major Proforma

MA Applied Imagination in the Creative Industries

What, Why, How, If, & When- Proforma

2011

STUDENT NAME: Rachel Dunscombe

Date: 21 June 2011

Tutor: Liz Wright 

Introduction

This proforma is designed to help you to define your MA question, subject, motive, methodology and research strategy. Make sure that you answer all the questions and think about the relationship between them.

What

What is your subject area?

Long term hearing damage in young adults who attend night clubs / go clubbing, and other loud music events for a long duration. How a preventative product such as sound protection earplugs, can be a more enjoyable and udltimately attractive accessory for young clubbers.             

What is your question? (Please define a clear and succinct question that clarifies the specific area of your interest)

How can an earplug aimed at young adults attending loud music events (designed to protect from long term hearing damage / acoustic trauma) become a more appealing accessory? And not reduce the live experience of loud music resulting in reduced use?

WHY

Why do you wish to pursue this question? (Please define both your personal and professional agendas):

Personal motives

Electronic music is my absolute passion, discovering all night clubbing as a part of my “unpacking” has also given me an insight in to the clubbing industry. I have suffered the effects of serious ringing and deafness in my ears after an 8 hour set at Air nightclub in Birmingham (Godskitchen) to see Above and Beyond. It took almost a week for my hearing to get back to normal. I have since bought Alpine earplugs after a recommendation from a professional DJ who is also a personal friend, but found the plugs to reduce the bass / the experience of the music and overall enjoyment. So I stopped using them afterwards and suffered the hearing damage after-effects again. When I have asked, other clubbers have said the same to me about their opinion of using plugs, and it seems to be a reoccurring problem for the more ‘hardcore’ clubbing community. 

 Professional reasons

Interested in a “making” project, something physical and expanding my scope.

This project is completely out of my comfort zone of computers and graphic design. This project is also in my extremely uncomfortable zone when it comes to socially engaging with the public / clubbing community and industry professionals. The idea for my project is not in my area of expertise and is also a subject area that I am relatively new to.   

HOW

Explain how you intend to research your question against the following headings:

What are the sources of the research that you have done to develop/clarify your question?

Interview from Markus Schulz (DJ) at Ministry of Sound 20:20 exhibition: his most significant memory of performing at Ministry being when he could ‘feel the music through him’ when he performed.

Online research in to bone conduction and bone conduction products

Facts and figures from RNID about hearing loss / damage in young people attending night clubs and festivals

Word of mouth from clubbers about earplugs ruining their experience of the music, reduce of bass intensity, identifying a need to develop this product further to make it more attractive to use.

Type of artefact

Immediately: utilising the recently purchased ‘EX2 bodysonic vibration headphones’ made by “iFeelu” and combining with a type of material that reacts strongly to vibration, create a testing device to gain public feedback on their reactions to *feeling* music. Play some music to them on an external device, while also placing something in their hand (e.g. ball of vibrating material containing the bodysonic headphones and mini mp3 player) that is vibrating that same piece of music.

Ultimately: a concept protective earplug for clubbers, constructed using a reactive material that vibrates to intense levels of sound, creating a bone conduction effect earplug, in order for the user to ‘feel’ music.

Who will produce the artefact?

Protective earplug manufacturer / company who express an interest after I communicate my idea with a presentation pack? Or a sound company?

Ideas to contact:

Bose

Alpine (manufacturers one of the leading protection earplugs for DJs and music professionals)

Ultimate Hearing Protection Systems

Westone (in ear experts)

Who do you intend to get feedback from?
Clubbing community

General public (via mini exhibition I plan to rent a space and hold at Wantage museum and provide feedback cards for the public to comment and submit, prize draw to encourage participation)

RNID (to check)

Earplug manufacturer (to check)

Thomas Gunston (Consultant on noise and vibration exposure control)

Club staff: (Ministry of Sound, Revolution ‘Revs’ in Reading, Shush in Wantage)

Professional DJs: Chris Bailey, Sam Barlow, Tobias Schuh

Have you checked that they are prepared to co-operate?

All named contacts have confirmed their interest in co-operating.

Are you using any theoretical methods to analyze or inform your research?

If yes, which methods?

NA, afraid I don’t understand exactly how to apply the question.

I am discussing a visit to Thomas Gunston (BSc, PhD, MIoA) who is a consultant on noise and vibration (industry and military) and a member of the UK governing body Institute of Acoustics, to assist me in professionally testing the theory of my idea further. If this applies?

IF

What are the implications of my pursuit of this subject and question? (in other words, where will this mastery place me at the end of the Course?)

Communicate an idea for a product that could help protect against premature and long term hearing loss for tens of thousands of clubbers across the globe, while also maintaining their enjoyment of loud music and creating a new physical experience to clubbing. 

Gaining some experience in product design as well as confidence in pursuing my own idea, a completely new scope for my design skills. 

Developing my expertise in the sound / electronic music / clubbing industry.

Making and utilising some of the professional contacts made, to pursue possible future design career opportunities in the electronic music or sound industry.