The Curzon Memories App is a

locative media Locative media or location-based media (LBM) is a virtual medium of communication functionally bound to a location. The physical implementation of locative media, however, is not bound to the same location to which the content refers. Location-b ...

mobile app A mobile application or app is a computer program or software application designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone, phone, tablet computer, tablet, or smartwatch, watch. Mobile applications often stand in contrast to desktop appli ...

based at the

Curzon Community Cinema, Clevedon The Curzon Cinema & Arts, in Clevedon, North Somerset, England, is one of the oldest continually running purpose-built cinemas in the world. History Opened on 20 April 1912 by Victor Cox, the original building had 200 seats and the first show ...

, UK. The cinema celebrated its centenary in April 2012 and is one of the oldest continuously operating independent cinemas in the UK. The app was developed as part of an academic practice-based research project by Charlotte Crofts in collaboration with the Curzon's education officer, Cathy Poole and was funded by the Digital Cultures Research Centre and an Early Career Researcher Grant from the

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a Public university, public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of hi ...

. The app draws upon the extensive Curzon Collection of Cinema Heritage Technology and contains audio and video dramatisations and oral histories of employees and patrons recounting their experiences throughout the life of the cinema, including Julia Elton (daughter of Sir Arthur Elton, a pioneer of British documentary) and Muriel Williams, who was in the cinema on the night it got bombed during the

Bristol Blitz The Bristol Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bristol, England by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Due to the presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the city was a target for bombing and was ea ...

January 1941. Visitors to the cinema are invited to download the free app, from

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...

, and access those experiences in the locations where they actually happened. QR Codes are discreetly placed around the cinema, which act as triggers for these memories. The App also contains a walk around the exterior of the building which includes memories and

rephotography Rephotography or repeat photography is the act of photographing the same site twice, with a time lag between the two images; a diachronic, "then and now" view of a particular area. Some are casual, usually taken from the same view point but w ...

of archive photographs triggered by

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

signals as the participant takes the walk. For those who cannot get to the Curzon Cinema, there is a manual interface, and the QR codes are available at the official website. The app was built using the AppFurnace authoring system, made by Calvium, and is available on both Apple

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and

Android Android most commonly refers to: *Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), a mobile operating system primarily developed by Google * Android TV, a operating system developed ...

Projection Hero

One of the unique features of the Curzon Mermories project is Projection Hero, an

Internet of Things Internet of things (IoT) describes devices with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other communication networks. The IoT encompasse ...

installation developed by Charlotte Crofts, in collaboration with Tarim at Media Playgrounds, which comprises a miniature cinema which can be operated via any web-enabled

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

by scanning the QR code on the cinema screen, either from within the Curzon Memories App or using any QR Reader. The installation also works by typing in the accompanying URL into a web browser. This takes the user to an interface which enables the user to manipulate the cinema. The smartphone effectively becomes a "remote control" allowing the user to dim the lights, open the curtains and play the movies, using a combination of

Arduino Arduino () is an Italian open-source hardware and open-source software, software company, project, and user community that designs and manufactures single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices. Its hardwar ...

circuit and

actuator An actuator is a machine element, component of a machine that produces force, torque, or Displacement (geometry), displacement, when an electrical, Pneumatics, pneumatic or Hydraulic fluid, hydraulic input is supplied to it in a system (called an ...

s connected to the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

via an

H bridge An H-bridge is an electronic circuit that switches the polarity of a voltage applied to a load. These circuits are often used in robotics and other applications to allow DC motors to run forwards or backwards. The name is derived from its common s ...

. The installation features interviews with retired projectionists Maurice Thornton and Pete Stamp, discussing the art of projection in the digital age. The installation is on permanent display at the Curzon Cinema, Clevedon, and has also been exhibited at the

Watershed Media Centre Watershed opened in June 1982 as the United Kingdom's first dedicated media centre. Based in former warehouses on the Bristol Harbour, harbourside at Bristol, it hosts three Movie theater, cinemas, a café/Bar (establishment), bar, events/confe ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Reviews

The Curzon Memories App was selected to pitch in front of industry judges at AppCircus London Google Campus and won the Media Communications and Cultural Studies Association Annual Conference, MeCCSA 2012 Poster prize. The project was featured on BBC Radio 4's

You and Yours ''You and Yours'' is a British radio consumer affairs programme, broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and produced by BBC News. History ''You and Yours'' began broadcasting in October 1970, when its first presenter was Joan York. In the 1980s it briefly ra ...

in an item on AppCircus where one of the jury, Facebook's Simon Cross said “You take the concept of what they did which is to bring the history of this old cinema to life, they could’ve stopped at videos and text, but connecting it to something physical such as a screen you can control from your phone, that’s a completely different experience … it just feels like you are connected to it, because your phone is controlling it … that feels pretty cool to me”. The app has also been featured in the following press: ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' Apps Rush: "More location-based UK goodness with this app, based on the Curzon Community Cinema in Clevedon. It gets people to scan QR codes around the building to hear stories from local people. There's a manual interface to access everything if you're not in Clevedon too",

Wired UK ''Wired UK'' is a bimonthly magazine that reports on the effects of science and technology. It covers a broad range of topics including design, architecture, culture, the economy, politics and philosophy. Owned by Condé Nast Publications, it is ...

Magazine, Film Studies For Free, The Pervasive Media Cookbook, Imperica.

Research

This app was developed as part of an academic research project based at the

to explore how new media can be used to enhance cinema heritage. It has been disseminated at a number of international academic conferences: * 2011 ‘The Curzon Creative Technologies Project: Context Aware Media in a Screen Heritage Context’ at MeCCSA 2011 Annual Conference, Salford, Jan. * 2011 ‘Technologies of Being: Pervasive Heritage’ at Postdigital Encounters: Creativity and Improvisation, JMP Symposium, UWE/Watershed, Bristol, June. * 2011 ‘Pervasive Screens: Transforming the Consumption of Cinema History with the Curzon Heritage App’, Screen 2011, Glasgow, July. * 2011 ‘Technologies of Seeing the Past: The Curzon Memories App’, EVA London 2011 Electronic and Visual Arts Conference, July. Article published in the peer-reviewed conference proceedings. * 2012 Poster ‘“You Must Remember This”: Using Mobile Technologies to Celebrate the History of the Cinema with the Curzon Memories App’, plus exhibit of the Projection Hero installation, MeCCSA 2012, Jan – won prize for best poster. * ‘The Curzon Memories Project: Reflections On The First Iteration’ at the Open Studio Lunchtime Talk, Pervasive Media Studio, Bristol, March (invited). * 2011 ‘The Curzon Memories App: Designing a Screen Heritage Experience’, at Centre for Media and Cultural Research, Birmingham City University, May (invited, plus expenses). * 2011 ‘Spatialising the Archive: Dramatisation, Oral History and Locative Heritage in the Curzon Memories App’ at IMTAL International Museum and Theatre Alliance Conference, Bristol, October (invited). * 2011 ‘The Curzon Memories App – Shifting Practices, from Filmmaking to Experience Design’ MA Masterclass, University of Sussex Department of Media, Film and Music, October (invited, plus fee and expenses). * 2011 Presentation on ‘The Curzon Memories App’, with Curzon Education Officer, Cathy Poole at MovIES (Moving Image Education Specialists) Meeting, BFI Southbank, November (invited, plus expenses). * 2012 ‘Geo-spatial and Geo-temporal documentary: The Curzon Memories App, City Strata and The Cinemap Layer’, i-docs 2012, Watershed Media Centre, March (invited). * 2012 Keynote: 'Being T/here: Locative Media Design and the Need for Armchair Mode', Environmental Utterance Conference, University of Falmouth, September (invited, plus fee and expenses).

References

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External links

Curzon Memories App, Official Website
Clevedon Augmented reality Virtual reality works Smartphones Multimedia