Discover the story behind the place, the person, the exhibit…

Our eyes love images … but our minds love stories.

I can craft you the perfect audio guide - in short snappy sound bites and compelling audio vignettes, to bring the content of your collection to life - on line, for social media … or in your exhibit space.

Photo: Recording on location at Cane Ranch, North Rim Grand Canyon.

For The Grand Canyon Trust.

Here’s an example of a sound art sculpture and audio guide - for the ‘Artists for the Grand Canyon’ exhibit by The Grand Canyon Trust https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/

Intimate Expanse - an experimental sound art sculpture
Diane Hope - recorded on location
Audio guide to the 'Artists for the Grand Canyon' exhibit
Diane Hope - hear artists & staff of the Grand Canyon Trust tell what the landscape means to them
 

Making Wildlife Watching Accessible

Audio field guides …

If you’ve ever gone to watch birds - or catch a glimpse of an iconic mammal, only to be confronted with what seems like an empty landscape - you’ve probably wished you had an expert with you, advising you where and how to look.

With my audio guides, I can make wildlife experts available in your ear, at the touch of the ‘Play’ button from your smart phone.

As a former researcher in field ecology, I know how to find the best experts and the coolest information, to make an audio guide that’ll transform your wildlife watching experience.

When I made a series of audio guides for the Arizona Watchable Wildlife Experience - I made the combined knowledge of seasoned wildlife biologists available to stream or download.

With their guidance, you’ll know the best season, time of day and location to see all sorts of fascinating species.

With simple driving instructions, these narrated guides make the key information easy to follow. With enough details and ‘insider tips’ to delight first time visitors - and give even long-time locals new insights.

Introduction to the AWWE audio guide series (excerpt)
Raymond Wildlife Area - audio guide excerpt
Where, when and how to see bison, badgers and songbirds (excerpt)
Lake Mary wildlife - audio guide excerpt
How to id ospreys/bald eagles/turkey vultures, fun facts on herons & giant centipedes
 

inside creativity

A New Perspective

It can bring so much life to an art exhibit to wander from painting to painting, with the voice of the artist in your head … describing in their own words their life, their inspirations, and the creative process.

Here landscape artist Myrna Harrison, who sadly died in 2022, describes what her aim was when she painted - and why she was obsessed with the colour yellow…

Diane Hope - audio guide to a Myrna Harrison retrospective Myrna Harrison - what a painter does
Diane Hope - audio guide to a Myrna Harrison retrospective Myrna Harrison - mad about yellow
 

Bringing history to life with sound

Stepping back in time…

Conversational audio guide material can turn a restored room, a diorama, or a collection of objects in cases … into a living, breathing moment in time. Transporting visitors to share in the lived experience of people at that time.

For this museum of the history and art of the American West I used a combination of recordings of period sounds, conversations with historians and art experts, and a voice actor to guide you through the historic room recreations…

A vintage steam train then street sounds take you downstairs to recreations of the historic old town

Downstairs to the 'Old Town' and old times
Introduction to the historical reconstructions

Here a voice actor plays a prominent lady in town, showing you around her home…

Tour of the room reconstructions of a wealthy individual
A great way to draw visitor's attention to items in an exhibit

An art historian explains the very different lives of two iconic American bronze sculptures & painters…

Icons of the Old West - Remington and Russell
Two very different characters - two very different approaches
 

ORal Histories - 100 years : 100 Ranchers

When photographer Scott Baxter took a series of superb photos for a project to celebrate the Arizona State Centenary there was only one question on my mind … what STORIES did these folks have to tell?

My question led to a series of oral histories to accompany the photography exhibit.

Recordings which are now archived with the Arizona State Historical Society.

Introduction to the 100 years : 100 Ranchers audio guide (excerpt)
Diane Hope

‘A Good Hat’

Rancher Casey Murph covered a lot of ground in his interview. For many years he had been the lead mule wrangler at the Grand Canyon, leading numerous trips down to Phantom Ranch in all weathers. These days he’s a rancher in the windswept high plains near Holbrook, Arizona.

My first question for him was to explain what he looks for in a practical hat, suitable for his rugged lifestyle.

This intimate insight was the ‘top level’ 90 second clip in the audio guide…

A Good Hat - Casey Murph on an important practicality of ranching life (excerpt)
Diane Hope - for the '100 Years : 100 Ranchers' exhibit to celebrate the Arizona State Centenary

Tumbleweed … and a Dry Creek

Jim Riggs confessed that he was hoping for a ‘glamour shot’ similar to the image of Casey Murph.

But when photographer Scott Baxter arrived one February day the rancher was clearing out the tumbleweed that was blocking a gate.

“Instead he got my rear end!” Riggs joked. Then told the story of how his family ended up in the Wilcox valley, at the end of the Civil War…

Jim Riggs - Battling the elements (excerpt)
Diane Hope - for the '100 Years : 100 Ranchers' exhibit to celebrate the Arizona State Centenary

© 2015 Shanghai Sounds Guide