nomlog editorial department original project | Creating a new space calendar Vol.2 Can a sense of unity be fostered at the online summer camp?-Experience-

nomlog editorial department's original project, "Create a new space calendar".
In this project, the members of nomlog editorial department will "explore the possibilities of new spatial experiences" by practicing and considering the spatial experiences of seasonal events using methods that match the times. Here is the story of how this project started.
This time, we will report on the experience version following the previous "Can a sense of unity be fostered at the online summer camp? -Planning version-".

Past articles are below.
[Vol.1] Online Cherry Blossom Viewing (Planning/Experience Edition / Consideration Edition)
[Vol.2] Online Summer Camp (Planning)

Online summer camp points

As mentioned in the planning section, the following three points were focused on fostering a sense of unity at this online summer camp.

1. Design the flow of time
2, fully share the senses (five senses)
3. Liven up from advance preparation

I would like to explain what we have done to address these issues.

1. Design the flow of time

In this project, in order to feel the anticipation and afterglow before and after the experience, which is difficult to feel online
We have set up the following schedule.

As shown in the table, the time between 13:00 and 17:00 is the time for the main content where you can look back on nomlog management and set goals for the next year.
Before the main content, we had a lunchtime where everyone sipped somen noodles. Experimentally designing expectations and reverberations I decided to give it a try.
If this is successful, it should be effective to use that time to create expectations and lingering impressions of the members as they can omit the travel time in the online training camp.
I also tried to take regular breaks so that I could maintain my concentration even during long online meetings.

2, fully share the senses (five senses)

Whereas in the previous online cherry blossom viewing, only visual and auditory sharing was possible,
In this online summer camp, in addition to images and sounds that make you feel summer, we also focused on taste and scent.

Various items with the scent and taste of summer selected by members of the editorial department, such as straw mats, mosquito-repellent incense, somen noodles, and candy.

In addition to the ones pictured above, we created background music that remixed the sounds of wind chimes and insects, and selected background images that make you feel like summer.
By having everyone feel and share these effects during meetings and breaks, it is an attempt to create a sense of unity even in online meetings with physical distance.

3. Liven up from advance preparation

In the impressions of the online cherry blossom viewing, there were many opinions that the preparations had a great impact on fostering a sense of unity.
This time, I decided to focus more on planning preparations.
As a concrete method, by dividing the participating members into members such as "olfactory team", "auditory team", "taste team", etc. I tried to prove the hypothesis that the experience value of the training camp would increase as much as I thought and thought.

■Let's experience! !

Before we get to the main topic, let's break the ice with somen noodles.

At first, the taste team (Okazaki editorial staff / Kanda editorial staff) prepared five colorful somen noodles (left photo) with different flavors depending on the color, and everyone sipped at lunch time, and the online training camp started. .
From the members of the editorial department, including editorial staff Morita (middle of the photo) who chose plum and perilla-flavored somen, and editorial staff Yokota (right) who boiled all colors to eat with her family. "I could smell it from the time it was boiled!!" And so on, there is a lively conversation that comes from having a common meal, We were able to foster a sense of unity rather than having a normal online lunch meeting I felt like

Commemorative photo with the background like a porch

Looking back on activities and setting goals while still excited

The meeting lasted for about an hour, and was held three times, with breaks in between, according to the time schedule.
Also, during the meeting, the visual and auditory team (Yokota editorial staff Okamoto) prepared to change the background and BGM depending on the time so that you can feel the summer and get a sense of unity.

Change background music and background of environmental sounds according to the passage of time

​Some of the member's impressions were, "I was able to share the flow of time just by changing the background image from daytime, indoors, evening, and outdoors. I felt the flow of time from noon to evening even though I was about to forget)”.

break time content

During the 30-minute break after the meeting, everyone listened to music prepared by the auditory team while meditating, and ate mizuyokan prepared by the taste team. We all tried it.

Meditation time using underwater BGM proposed by the auditory and visual team

Snack time with midsummer gifts ordered from Kanazawa by the taste team

​Among them, the one that everyone said was the most exciting and felt a sense of unity was the "Mosquito Repellent Incense / Fragrance Quiz" prepared by the smell team (Hideki editorial staff and Morita editorial staff).​

In this quiz, we prepared 12 types of mosquito-repellent incense, which can be said to be a symbol of summer scents, and guessed what each one smelled like. It's a seemingly simple quiz, but the smell team has prepared hints, Surprising sense of unity of smelling exactly the same scent despite physical distance online It was packed with elements that made everyone excited together.
In normal online meetings, the speaker tends to be alone and I am worried about starting to speak, During this time, each person gave their opinions about the scent without worrying about the order, and that state was the point where I felt a sense of unity close to gathering in a real space. It may be.

↑ Just a little bit of the actual situation (lol)

While watching fireworks at the end

At the end of the training camp, everyone exchanged their impressions of the online training camp with a video of fireworks in the background. Also, while we were talking, I could see the fireworks in the night sky naturally, and I felt a little lonely, but at the same time, it felt like the event was coming to an end. I think that the fact that the animation of the fireworks in the background was out of sync depending on the individual was also a good effect.

After the online summer camp

After the event, members had the following comments:

<Overall Online Summer Camp>
・It felt like a training camp where we spent half the afternoon working intensively.
・The timetable of 1 hour and 30 minutes break was very comfortable.
→I felt that if workshops could be held in this way, it would be possible to have closer discussions.
・In contrast to the previous [Hanami] where the entire story was set to spend a “loose time”, this time we have adopted a “non-loosing and serious time” way of looking back and exchanging opinions on nomlog. I think that is also connected to the reality of the experience. The “scheduling link of tension and relaxation” alternately placing seriousness and looseness led to the realization of “I did a summer training camp!”.

<About unity>
・ Online, there is a tendency for each person to speak out, but by eating the same thing and smelling the same scent as this time, it creates a scene where everyone overlaps and exchanges their thoughts, making it feel like they are in the same space. I felt
・I felt that sharing the sense of taste and listening to background music, such as sharing the sense of taste and hearing, such as underwater meditation, water confectionery, and scent games during breaks, led to the development of a sense of unity.
・I think the sense of “passage of time” and “sharing of space” through background images and sound sources was effective.
・From the era of "sharing" the expression of individuality, I was able to experience the increasing desire for everyone to face the same direction and experience "at the same time", "the same experience", and "in the same way".
・I think that sharing the same flow of time and content as the previous cherry blossom viewing was a big success factor in fostering a sense of unity.
・Preparation is still important for online, and I feel that the increased sense of being able to share more than last time led to a greater sense of unity.

<Improvements/Concerns>
・For the background image, I felt the possibility of creating a more interesting effect by combining videos and images.
・The problem with sharing BGM is that PC speakers cannot produce an immersive feeling, and it is difficult to adjust because the volume of the shared PC cannot be known from the playback side.
・After all, it depends on the specifications of the PC and the network environment, so the tension may suddenly drop and you may feel alienated.

Next time, following the previous planning edition and this time's experience edition, we plan to deliver a "consideration edition", so please look forward to it! !