Santiago de Compostela: A View From the Octocopter

in Art, Technology | September 2nd, 2011

Microcoptervideo is a Spanish company that specializes in shooting videos using small remote-control helicopters called “octocopters.” (You can see the one used in this video here; and if you want to build one yourself, you can find instructions here.) Since these small helicopters go places where normal cameras can’t, these newfangled cameras can offer views that are simply out of this world.

The latest video gives you a tour of the medieval Santiago de Compostela Cathedral located in northern Spain. It starts with beautiful views of the exterior, but the most impressive shots are saved for inside the cathedral, especially when the octocopter soars high above the chamades of the organ, giving us an incredible look at the choir.

Some of these views have been captured as stills and can be seen at Flickr. And don’t forget to enjoy some more of those wonderful octocopter videos on this Vimeo page.

By profession, Matthias Rascher teaches English and History at a High School in northern Bavaria, Germany. In his free time he scours the web for good links and posts the best finds on Twitter.

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David Byrne: How Architecture Helped Music Evolve

in Architecture, Music, TED Talks | May 3rd, 2011

Since the break-up of Talking Heads in 1991, David Byrne has made a good career for himself as a solo artist, working in film and music, and also becoming an active supporter of cycling. Overtly intellectual, Byrne has given lectures on a great variety of topics – from Carl Jung to the ways in which venue and context shape artistic creation.

The TED talk above was given in February 2010 in Long Beach, California, and here David Byrne presents his ideas on the interrelationship between music and architecture. A transcript of this talk can be found on the TED Talks page.

Byrne was not the first to explain the link between music and architecture. In 2002, renowned architect Daniel Libeskind delivered a Proms Lecture on that very topic (find the audio stream here) and, in 2007, Jonathan Cole presented his own lecture, “Music and Architecture: Confronting the Boundaries between Space and Sound,” at Gresham College, London. But it is Byrne’s talk that approaches the subject from the practical point of view of a musician.

By profession, Matthias Rascher teaches English and History at a High School in northern Bavaria, Germany. In his free time he scours the web for good links and posts the best finds on Twitter.

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