Megaphone by Moment Factory
An outdoor interactive urban art installation exploring public speaking.
Created by: Moment Factory
Directed by: Étienne Paquette
Voice recognition system by: Computer Research Institute of Montreal (CRIM)
Presented by: Quartier des Spectacles Montreal and National Film Board of Canada
Megaphone invited Montrealers and visitors to gather and explore the festive side of public speaking by creating an interactive homage to Montreal’s strong history of public words and their contribution to shaping community and cultural landscape. Inspired by the lively public gatherings that were common in Montreal in the first half of the 20th century as well as the 19th-century British tradition of the Speaker’s Corner, this interactive installation illustrates the evocative power of citizens’ public speeches. At night, participants’ speeches turn into video projections and the public square once again becomes a space for impassioned debate. The installation invited participants to use a megaphone to speak out, watching their words transform in real time into images projected on the facade of the University of Quebec in Montreal, leaving their visual ‘footprint’ on the urban landscape. Visual effects of waves, scribbles, and distortions were generated by voice recognition software designed by the Computer Research Institute of Montreal.
Directed by: Étienne Paquette
Voice recognition system by: Computer Research Institute of Montreal (CRIM)
Presented by: Quartier des Spectacles Montreal and National Film Board of Canada
Megaphone invited Montrealers and visitors to gather and explore the festive side of public speaking by creating an interactive homage to Montreal’s strong history of public words and their contribution to shaping community and cultural landscape. Inspired by the lively public gatherings that were common in Montreal in the first half of the 20th century as well as the 19th-century British tradition of the Speaker’s Corner, this interactive installation illustrates the evocative power of citizens’ public speeches. At night, participants’ speeches turn into video projections and the public square once again becomes a space for impassioned debate. The installation invited participants to use a megaphone to speak out, watching their words transform in real time into images projected on the facade of the University of Quebec in Montreal, leaving their visual ‘footprint’ on the urban landscape. Visual effects of waves, scribbles, and distortions were generated by voice recognition software designed by the Computer Research Institute of Montreal.
Awards & Press
“By enhancing individual citizen voices, Megaphone demonstrated their importance and uniqueness” -Le Devoir
Winner of the Boomerang Prize for Technological Creativity 2013
Winner of the Boomerang Grand Prize for Interactive Environments 2013
Winner of the Boomerang Prize for Technological Creativity 2013
Winner of the Boomerang Grand Prize for Interactive Environments 2013
Presentations
- Quartier des Spectacles: Montreal, QC 4 September - 4 November 2013
