World Press Photo: Speaking Images 2015, 2 [video]

Credits & Description:

Agency: serviceplan, Munich
Global Chief Creative Officer: Alexander Schill
Executive Creative Director: Cosimo Moeller
Creative Director: Matthias Harbeck
Copywriters: Cosimo Moeller/Valerie Koch/Leonardo Assad
Art Director: Fabian Hupfauf
Agency Producer: Katy Pergelt
Graphic Designer: Franziska Stroehle
Sound Design Company: Hastings Media Music, Hamburg
Sound Designers: Oscar Meixner/Thomas Kisser/Maurice Kraemer
Music Production Company: Hastings Media Music, Hamburg
Music Producer: Dennis Gunske
Music Composer: Thomas Kisser
Creative Operations Manager: Joana-Marie Stolz
Executive Creative Producer: Florian Panier
Producer:     Maxi Bellmann, Maxi Bellmann (Institute for Print and Media Technology at Chemnitz University)
University Company:     Institute for Print and Media Technology at Chemnitz University, Chemnitz
Professor of Print and Media Technology (Institute for Print and Media Technology at Chemnitz Univer: Prof. Dr. Arved C. Huebler
Bookbinding Company: atelierBUCH, Chemnitz
atelierBUCH Bookdesigner: Cornelia Beate Ahnert
The Brief
Since 1955, the World Press Photo Awards has honoured the world´s best photojournalism. Thanks to these pictures, we’ve captured some of the most important moments happening all over the world. But we could only catch the impressive moments, not the full stories. That´s why World Press Photo started a unique project: 2015 World Press Photo Speaking Images - the first book, where every single photo will be able to literally speak.
Through an innovative and patented print process, developed in the last 7 years in conjunction with the Chemnitz University of Technology, each printed image is also a fully printed loudspeaker. As soon as the page is turned, a sound is emitted by the loudspeaker, which covers the entire surface. The sound stops when turning to the next page. Each image tells the observer its own unique story, provides background information, evokes emotion with authentic sounds and creates an unexpected immersive sensory experience, drawing a stronger connection between the audience and the photos.
This new technology was publicly released at the 2015 World Press Photo Awards Ceremony. One hundred books will be produced and on display in the World Press Photo exhibitions all around the world.
The 2015 World Press Photo Speaking Images is the first book, where every printed picture is also a fully printed loudspeaker. As soon as you turn the page, a sound is triggered and, when you turn to the next page, is stopped.
The sound is transmitted from a sheet of paper, due to polymers - special materials that transform the electric sound signal into vibrations and sound pressure. The special polymer is sandwiched between two polymeric electrodes. When receiving current, the material creates an oscillation that moves across the paper surface and is transmitted as sound. The printed loudspeaker is incorporated into the printed image. In the spine of the book, we placed a chip with sound files, circuits for sensor detection and an amplifier to improve the sound quality. During the binding process, the electronic components are connected to the loudspeakers, triggering a sound each time you turn the page.
This print innovation was developed by the Chemnitz University of Technology and was presented for the first time at the World Press Photo Awards ceremony. As this is the roll-out project, the material is being manufactured at a high cost, but the professionals involved in the project predict their production will be simpler and cheaper in the future.
With more than 300 Articles within the first five days and a reach of 16 million people in unpaid media - the World Press Photo Speaking Images attracted high attention – including well-known publications such as Focus, Bild, mdr, RTL Aktuell, Wired, Page and Wissenschaft24 – since it did not only show the best images of the year, but also the stories behind them in a never-before-seen-and-heard way. Plus, the idea contributed to the development of a new technology, which is the next step in the history of print technique.