Happyworm

Happyworm Profile and History

Happyworm were commissioned by BBC Research and Development to create an application to demonstrate who personalised content can be dynamically inserted into a radio broadcast. In order to insert audio into the programme in real-time we used text-to-speech library Speak.js and the Web Audio API to integrate seamlessly with the audio context. We also created a system to demonstrate how effects such as convolution reverb could be controlled dynamically via the use of a hidden control panel. Although, at the time of publishing, few browsers support the Web Audio API standard, we created a fallback for other modern browsers which demonstrates the audio generation without the same level of deep audio integration. Information was gathered about the listener from various different sources determined largely by their geo-location, from this we were able to weave details such as weather background sound-effects, local radio audio-streams and names of local landmarks into the story. We also established which social networks the listener was logged into and used this information in the dialogue. Perceptive Media, takes narrative back to something more aligned to a storyteller and a audience around a campfire using internet technologies and sensibility to create something closer to a personal theatre experience in your living room.