Music Mapped Video (new ds106 assignment)

Here’s my idea for a new ds106 assignment- Sync up a song with an annotated google map, and mix as a video. It is a sideways step from using maps as stories. It’s easy to go literal, find a song that references geographic locations.

To create an example, I went for Route 66, especially relevant since it passes about 80 miles north of my home in Arizona. There are tons of versions; I went for the Depeche Mode one. I created a new google map, and put in locations for the places mentioned – Chicago, LA, Saint Louis, Joplin missouri, Oklahoma city, Amarillo, Gallup, Flagstaff, Winona (AZ), Kingman, Barstow, San Bernandino.

For each, I added a map pin with an embedded image (I found the motherload in the Route 66 flickr group) which is keyword searchable (example = search for Winona). I used another published Google Map of Route 66 locations to orient mine.

View Route 66 Music Map in a larger map

From here, I positioned a second browser window with the video over the map, and used iShowU to do a capture of the area (I use system audio to record). A few places I lost the video because I had to activate the map window to change the map pins.

Then I slapped the clips together in iMovie, split some clips and layered with effects.

It’s a Music Mapped Video!