EC1 (Sights and Sounds)

Last week I attended the MODE Multimodal Methodologies Conference at University College London. I won’t summarise the Conference here as that’s better done by visiting the designated #modeME Twitter hashtag. What I will say is that the value of proceedings can be measured in the attendance during the closing session, which was at least as busy as the opening address.

Alongside my colleagues Michael Sean Gallagher and Jeremy Knox I contributed a session proposing Urban Flânerie as Multimodal Autoethnography. The rationale behind the paper is explained in an entry I wrote directly before the Conference. Our presentation slides can be viewed here. In the absence of text or accompanying voice however, I’ve included below some Twitter feedback which captures some of the main points we put across.

Urban flanerie in London EC1 reveals omnipresence of data recording, street cameras as well as handheld, and construction sounds. #modeME

— Katja Pelsmaekers (@Hopstepper) January 15, 2015

#modeME Gallagher lamb & Knox awAre of cameras & surveillance walking the city - reflecting their research positions pic.twitter.com/OUTeYxD3Xk

— MODE (@MODE_ncrm) January 15, 2015

Capturing the sound of greenery - but sound tells a story the visual is missing. Really enjoying these ideas from @james858499 #modeME

— Kate Cowan (@katecowan) January 15, 2015

#modeME Michel sean Gallagher talking about immediacy in exiting the city via walking risky to walk with no purpose

— MODE (@MODE_ncrm) January 15, 2015

Music from windows, cameras filming the no-longer-anonymous flaneur, signs warning of cameras: City signs #modeME pic.twitter.com/tpKjSDGCWW

— Martin Siefkes (@stilomet) January 15, 2015

Within the 30-minute presentation slot it was only possible to share a fraction of the images and sounds that we had collected the previous day. Gathered at the top of this entry, then, is a juxtaposition of some of the sights (captured in a slideshow) and sounds (within the audio montage) of EC1. 

For me, the most significant themes to emerge from our exercise in Multimodal Flânerie are as follows:

• There’s value in foregrounding ambient sound within the multimodal ensemble. By pointedly tuning into the sounds of the city, our understanding extended beyond, or clashed with, what we could see around us.
• There’s a case for serendipity in data collection. Some of the most interesting stories emerged through a combination of accident and fortune. A left turn here to avoid building work, dodging through traffic to photograph a red brick facade and instead being charmed, Siren-like, by the sound of an unseen ballet class.
• There’s merit in immediacy and risk. We agreed the geographical boundaries of our investigation moments before we left our apartment to begin the data collection. The losses (time for analysis, amount of collected data, opportunity for longitudinal study) were offset by ‘capturing the moment’. 
  

Inevitably, we could improve the exercise next time around (and we intend to). I would use a better quality Microphone to capture the aural data [actioned]. I would also make a written note of the locations where we gathered data. And I wouldn’t have a pint at lunchtime knowing that I needed to work on the data later that night (a Gin & Tonic would be acceptable, though).
 
Finally, a spin off from our exercise. I drew our presentation to a close by proposing that those with an interest in our methodology could join us for an exercise in flânerie that evening, as we made our way from the Conference venue to a nearby pub. And so amidst the neon, sirens, and crowds of Euston and its surrounds, we captured some interesting sights and sounds. I’ve put this data into a short, sketchy video that captures our journey from A to B (although invoking the spirit of the flaneur, not by the most direct route, obviously).