The project radio aporee ::: maps has started 2006. It connects sound and space
in order to create a cartography which focusses solely on sound, open to the
public as a collaborative project. It contains recordings from numerous urban,
rural and natural environments, showing its audible complexity, as well as the
different perceptions, practices and artistic perspectives related to sound,
space and sense of place. (more about aporee.org ...)
how it works
find places
you can move the map with the mouse or the arrow keys at the upper left
corner. with the slider or the mouse wheel you can zoom in & out.
search + provides a basic interface to search for places, sounds, contributors
or addresses. hit ::: maps for a search within the aporee database or
google for an address search. the buttons on the upper right corner of the map let you choose between
different map views. click places + for the most recent or all contributions to the project.
add recording
clicking the map opens a bubble window which lets you choose between upload sound,
fetch sound from URL or phone call. you will be asked for a title, your email
address (see privacy statement), a short description and the
date/time/timezone of the recording. the timezone should be set automatically, please check.
if you choose to upload a sound, there's a button for selecting the file from your hard drive,
if you want to fetch an already existing recording from your website, give the
full url to the file in the corresponding form field, including http:// at the beginning. in
case of a phone call, only title and email are neccessary, the phone number will be sent to
you by email.
the title should be an address or short term describing the recording, or both.
this label shows up in the navigation bars. please keep it short and significant...
for uploads, the browse button opens a window to your hard drive. here you can select the soundfile
to send to radio aporee. it must be an mp3 file, max. 25mbyte, 44.1 or 48khz sample rate,
up to 320k bitrate. for best audio quality, we recommend bitrates of 256 or 320 kbit. if you look
for an mp3 encoder to convert your WAVs, choose LAME.
please be patient while uploading, don't hit reload or back on your browser until the site has returned.
depending on your connection, this may take a while.
fetching sounds from an URL is usually very quick, since it happens between two servers. use this
option if you have sounds already somewhere on the web.
calling into the system by phone works a bit different. once you have choosen the phone call
option, an email will be sent to your address. it contains the (german) phone number of radio
aporee and a code for identifying the place. a (german speaking) voice system will guide you through.
it's not clear yet if and how the phone / voice interface will be supported in future. we like it...
while it adds and has proofed to be an interesting acoustic layer for spoken words, the sound
quality of most phones is ugly. that may change for next generation smartfones.
after hitting OK, all necessary information to activate your sound in order to make it audible / visible
on the map will be send to your email address, as well as some instructions how to access
the editor. it obviously makes no sense to enter an invalid email address... if something goes wrong,
you should get an email with an error message explaining the problem briefly. almost all known problems
are related to the wrong file format, i.e. if you try to send wav, aif or mp4 files.
if you want to add a sound to an existing place, just click the red blinking marker
or more... at the lower right corner, which opens the info window for this sound. choose the
corresponding option for uploading, fetching from url or call, then proceed as described above. if there's more
than one sound at a place, they will be played consecutively in chronological order.
there are also some other options available in the info window. if you click on the title of the
recording, it starts to download the file. embed map lets you include a little map of this
place on your blog or website, bookmark creates a bookmark for this place in your favorites folder.
these functions may not work on all browsers, just try. the envelope opens a comments form which goes
directly to the contributor of this sound.
edit your recordings
you don't need a login or account in order to participate on the project, however, after uploading
your first sound, you have access to an editor for your contributions. it lets you edit titles, locations,
descriptions and other info. it also provides a possibility to create your own projects. imagine it
as the radio aporee ::: maps with only your recordings, under a dedicated URL. there are links in the
confirmation emails you receive after uploading, about how to get a password and access the editor.
play recordings
when the map loads initially, it jumps to the most recent recording and plays it. the currently playing
sound is indicated by a blinking red marker. click it to get more information about this sound.
play + on the menue bar has several options for playing random selections, an Internet radio stream
or the currently visible sounds on the map. you may like the mix and multi modes:
when in mix mode, all markers on the map are sensitive for the mouse pointer moving over them. they will start
playing when touched, max. 3 at the moment and restricted to close areas. sounds will be mixed based on the
geographical distance between them, in analogy to walking if you want, the sound changes by direction and the speed
of your movement. move the mouse slowly over the map.
multiplay mode lets you play different places around the world simultaneously. it's a bit like mix mode, but
without the mouse moving/mixing and not restricted to local areas. playtime, give it a try... note: these functions
may put some load on our computer, esp. if it's an older one. things may become slow or hang. don't worry, it will
not damage anything...
about content
this project is about sounds and sites, check the many recordings to get an idea. get yourself a recorder,
go out and listen... it's not about music!... please don't send songs, your CD collection or some greatest
hits. excessive workings, mixing, composing or sound manipulations are also undesirable. in case of doubt, send an email.
spam, garbage and illegal stuff will be deleted without comment, as well as obviously copyright-protected material.
if you want to send sounds from others, implicitly ask for permission first and give propper credits. if you
look for a great site for almost any kind of sounds, radio aporee recommends
freesound.org
your recordings will be published under a
Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License. if you don't agree, please don't send your recording.
tech tips
encoding: if possible, use the LAME encoder. use joint stereo mode and high bitrates for best audio quality.
...
privacy statement
your email address is the only personal information needed in order to contribute to the radio
aporee ::: maps project. it's used for the confirmation of sound uploads and related actions,
and for the daily news about new contributions, which you can unsubscribe at any time of course.
once in a while you may get an email about interesting activities going on at radio aporee or
related sites.
contact
in case of questions, problems etc., please send an email to:
