RadioEight: The Subconscious Dreams of the World’s Children

In partnership with Mark Bashore and Katrina Crawford of Yonder, Belle & Wissell realized an experimental web experience called RadioEight. The project aims to measure the condition of our planet in an entirely new way: the subconscious dreams of the world’s children. Through the intersection of audio, documentary, interactivity, and social media, RadioEight unlocks subtle commonalities among the youngest global citizens, eliminating barriers both physical and intangible. 

Dream recordings were collected from children around the world, ages 7 to 13—while recording in Nepal, Katrina captured several accounts just hours before the Gorkha earthquake. At the time of this writing, RadioEight.net holds nearly 200 dream recordings, with each categorized according to its location: Asia, the Americas, or Africa. This project will grow over time through online submissions and field recordings (Europe coming soon).

RadioEight is an ongoing effort, with both accessibility and innovation as its highest priorities. The desktop and mobile sites present the experience across a variety of devices, and the frequently-updated podcast channel (available via iTunes or the mobile site) and submission instructions facilitate global participation. 

In order to adequately present this effort, Belle & Wissell applied advanced web-building tools to achieve a simultaneously surreal and organic quality in the interface. 3D simulation and particle systems (implemented using WebGL), along with a layered, dynamic soundtrack (all original music and ambient compositions), contribute to the viewers’ sense of immersion.