ICQ CHAT SOUND SOFTWARE
When designing the systems and software for the program, we approached every touchpoint as a distinct user experience design task. The fourth wall is transparent on Twitch and our dynamic, software-enabled visual storytelling allows us to interrogate the show-viewer relationship in new ways every time we build a scene. The production process for every episode involves a blank sheet of paper and an attempt to break down conventions and subvert expectations while winking at tropes from traditional storytelling.
To make it happen, we designed and built a hybrid uber-application and COVID-safe studio in the quiet halls, lobbies, and coat check of Elsewhere itself. With their support we dreamed Elsewhere Sound Space, up a comedy sci-fi space spa cult music show with an improvised, nonlinear format driven by bidirectional communication between the talent, the software, and the audience. Nowhere does this approach make more sense than Twitch. As of April 2020, the COVID crisis had effectively shut down live music performance in NYC, and while many organizations have turned to streaming to try to deliver facsimiles of the experience of seeing music live, our partnership with Elsewhere focused on imagining an entirely new medium in which to experience live music in the most interactive, internet-first way possible. Elsewhere is a beloved Brooklyn music institution and the heart of a sprawling and inclusive community of emerging music fans.