‘Poetry in a String of Data’

19Mar08

I am currently taking my masters in Science Communication and have spent the past term working on my group project; a video installation inspired by the shipping forecast. The brief was to produce a piece of conceptual art reflecting on material drawn from the course. The project is now complete and our work can be viewed via the link below the following commentary.

Concepts that underlie the piece – The primary concept is that this multimedia art piece illustrates how people have taken the shipping forecast, a piece of science/technical communication, and repurposed it for their own uses. The forecast gives people a feeling of connection that goes beyond both its scientific and practical value. The broadcast now attracts hundreds and thousands of listeners, many of which have no connection to coastal waters. We have chosen the title ‘Poetry in a String of Data’ because it describes the contrast, which we are exploring, between the original meteorological, scientific purpose of the shipping forecast and the emotional and cultural role which the forecast has evolved.

This addresses the idea of whether science communication can or should be democratic rather than didactic – if people repurpose a tool of science to extend it beyond its original meaning, does it have value in this context? The shipping forecast retains its original didactic meaning but has acquired a new, unexpected significance. This evolution has taken it out of the hands of the original scientist makers, the meteorologists, and given it to the culture at large.

With the cultural aspect removed and focusing specifically on broadcast of the scientific data, the forecast is a clear example of the cognitive-deficit model of communication involving the downward transmission of information from the scientist to the citizen; this done via a booming male voice, the authoritative voice of reason. The meteorological information is communicated in a coherent and objective manner, and it is intended to influence crucial decisions made by mariners in everyday life out at sea. The scientitic information is tailored, with the content presented to its target audience in an understandable way where mutual accomodations have been made between cultural worlds of the two communicating groups. The listeners have to adapt to the strict, somewhat obscure format of the forecast, while the forecast is delivered in a speed and clarity to assist the listeners.

The symbolism of the forecast has evolved beyond its initial denotation of pure meteorological data and now connotes a wide range of meanings within British culture. The forecast has existed for over 50 years and has become a British Institution. Hence it can be seen how the shipping forecast is an example of how science is able to exert a significant cultural influence. This influence can be seen across British society with an extensive number of popular songs being referred to and inspired by the forecast along with poems and books. Songs include “The Whole Love Story” by Andy White and “This Is a Low” by Blur – these are just examples of a number of tracks, some of which are used in our piece. Two well-known poems associated with the shipping forecast are “Prayer” by Carol Ann Duffy and “The Shipping Forecast” by Seamus Heaney. These pieces are surrounded by additional writing, painting and photography. Mark Power photographed each of the 31 areas, publishing them in ‘The Shipping Forecast;’ a book that sold around 2000 copies in the first three weeks of its launch and moreover the book’s two subsequent editions were also a sell-out – these sales showing the numbers of all-embracing admirers. The vast amount of material that has been produced indicates the forecast’s extensive following.

What is the Shipping Forecast? The Shipping Forecast is a marine forecast, broadcast four times a day on Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. It is a weather forecast for 31 different marine divisions located around the British Isles. The region covered extends from South East Iceland in the north, to Trafalgar in the south, to Rockhall in the west and Fisher in the east. After being broadcast, the forecast is valid for the following 24 hours.

To compile the forecast, observations of the present atmospheric state are collected from land based and marine (weather buoys, oil/gas platforms, ships) sites, as well as from aircraft and satellites. This data is then combined with the computer models physics equations to produce the ‘numerical prediction model’ forecast. This model forecast is then used by the forecaster as the basis for the shipping forecast. The forecaster then uses their experience and the latest marine observations to optimise the model forecast and to produce the final one.

Implementation – The aim of the group was to create an experience illustrating how the shipping forecast connects people and therefore we aimed to recreate the feeling of being connected across seas around the United Kingdom, in the dark, cold water, everyone listening to the same words. Therefore we chose for this experience to target multiple senses, enhancing this feeling. Furthermore, the poetry of the forecast is that it is traditional, simple, ultimately just someone speaking, creating a personal and intimate feeling for the listener. Our aim was to bring these emotions out in our piece thereby reaffirming these feelings.

Our work can be divided into two distinct parts; the visual projection and the audio soundscape which come together to create the effect described above. The projection on the screen is an outlined map of the United Kingdom, surrounded by a feed of ships, located in many of the different ocean regions. At the start of the piece, the text of the forecast scrolls up the page, lasting three minutes, while “Sailing By” is played. In addition the different areas light up on the map when they are mentioned in the forecast. Upon viewing, the ships look like stars, referring to nighttime and signifying the late hour that the shipping forecast is read out seeing as we have embraced the 00:48 broadcast for this project. Furthermore, the different coastal stations, located at different points around the UK are represented on our map, lighting up during the sound montage. The extensive soundscape is the focus of the piece.

The soundscape is meditative, mysterious, emotive and impressionistic, while remaining simplistic. It is made up of sounds of the forecast along with a number of songs and a piece of poetry related to, about and inspired by the forecast. In addition there are sound clips and quotes from individuals who listen to the forecast, both at home and at sea, including a retired fisherman, Peter Flett, who for many years used the shipping forecast as a necessity and a radio producer, Gareth Mitchell, who enjoys listening both as a dedicated Radio 4 listener and who also appreciates its technical aspect. Two announcers from Radio 4, Zeb Soanes and Neil Nunes, that read the forecast at present, were interviewed with these parts of these interviews being included in the piece along with an interview of a trained meteorologist and producer of the shipping forecast based at the MET Office, Paul Hutcheon. Original ambient music was also added in order to reflect the speech and add to the aura of the piece.

The experience will last just over ten minutes, the same duration as the forecast itself and will finish with the pips, a rather abstract sequence of tones yet one of the most known symbolic sounds that have become the universal signal for being at the ‘top of the hour’ and that were first introduced on BBC Radio in 1924. For us, it is important that the experience is set up in a dark room in order for the projection to be the visual focal point with the soundscape having a stronger impact when additional visual distractions in the room are removed, allowing each individual to fully focus on the piece within ambient surroundings.

Acknowledgements – We are all exceedingly happy with the outcome of our project and would like to thank all of those involved, both in supervising and contributing to our work, without whom it would not have been possible.