Page 46 of The Examiner

Gela Nathaniel

Thanks for letting me know, Jem. I don’t think their new system incorporates binaural sound, but perhaps Mae and her team can confirm either way. If so, then I’m sure your expertise will be beneficial to the team, and to Jonathan as project leader.

Doodle message group [Private] Hannah and Gela, 6 December 2023:

Hannah O’Donnell

Your MMAM diversity forms?

Gela Nathaniel

Sorry, sorry! Soon, I promise. Only our first session preparing for the client pitch is about to start. I’m literally going in now.

Hannah O’Donnell

OK. As soon as you can.

Doodle message group [Private] Gela, Ludya, Jonathan and Alyson, 6 December 2023:

Gela Nathaniel

Are you OK, Ludya?

Ludya Parak

Yep. Thanks for asking.

Doodle message group [Private] Patrick and Gela, 6 December 2023:

Patrick Bright

Do you want me to write the meeting report as if everything went smoothly?

Gela Nathaniel

Yes, please. And thank you for stepping in.

MMAM(FTP) Meeting on 6 December 2023 to discuss the pitch to RD8

Present:Gela Nathaniel, Jonathan Danners, Alyson Lang, Ludya Parak, Jem Badhuri, Patrick Bright

Apologies for absence:Cameron Wesley

Notes taken by:Patrick Bright

Agenda:Discussion of rolesResearch into RD8 and cloud solutions Ideas! Ideas! Ideas!

Gela began by assuring everyone the roles she’s given us will not be changed and that when we’re out of our comfort zone it’s an opportunity for learning and growth. If we think we’ve been given the wrong role, it’s something we can bring up in our long essay.

Gela asked us to present our research. Jem volunteered to go first. She spoke at length about another area of RD8’s business: binaural sound, which she studied on a course recently. Apparently it’s a complex mix of sound waves that are so precise and intense they can make you feel things – a science called ASMR (I looked it up and it stands for ‘autonomous sensory meridian response’). Jem played us some YouTube videos, so it’s a proper thing. Binaural sound is recorded using a microphone shaped like an eye-less human head on a stick. Downright creepy, if you ask me! Young Jem had more to say, but Gela suggested we move on to the actual project.

We spoke about ‘cloud solutions’ and what it actually means – put simply, computerised things that happen automatically, not on your laptop or phone, but in the atmosphere. There are locations for the storage, but it uses old-fashioned radio waves too. I have to admit I really am none the wiser, even after it was explained several times. My technological know-how extends only to whether a button I press works or not. All credit to the others, who grasped it immediately. I think the younger generation is just more attuned to this sort of thing.

RD8 have been around since the Second World War and developed technology for walkie-talkies, guided missiles, pagers and microwave ovens. However, in recent years they moved into secure payment transactions. So when you tap your card to pay for a meal, you can bet RD8 had a hand in whatever device the waiter is holding.

Gela then tried to explain how RD8 have made further advances in security that mean businesses all over the world can exchange money over the cloud. This technology will be launched by the company to its clients at an event in May. That event is what we are creating an installation for. Luckily we’ll hear all this from the horses’ mouths when we do our pitch.

Next we threw around some ideas relating to technology things. Jem suggested binaural experiences for the guests, with a blackout room where they could immerse themselves in sound alone, delivered through special headphones where ASMR recordings could be played to them. Alyson felt we could move away from technology completely. Her idea was that we half-paint a large canvas with our designs, then give each guest an apron, a paintbrush and some paints, so that every one of them has a hand in completing the picture. I should have said before, the company’s brochure is entitled ‘Completing the Picture’. Ludya said we could leave the wall blank and the guests can start the picture as well. I suggested a one-handed game. This got some laughs, until I explained: everyone will have a champagne glass in one hand, so we could make an electronic game they can play with the other. RD8 make remote controls and the like, so I would hope they’d have a game somewhere people could play. Jonathan mentioned an exhibition that came to his gallery, where each frame was empty and artwork was projected onto it. The art was created by a computer out of every painting that had been fed into it. Gela said that as it had already been done, we didn’t really want to go there. Ludya said she was at an Albanian wedding where they had a tunnel that the guests walked through to get to the ballroom. We could have a tunnel leading into the room where the event will be held, so guests feel they are walking into ‘RD8 land’. Jonathan suggested a chronological journey, starting with abstract designs of radios, planes and missiles, then moving on to credit cards, as if the guest is being drawn through the history of the company to the present day.