Press Release

Extending Technology to the Arts: RainCastle Communications Designs web site Integral to PBS and PRI Multimedia Project
Newton, MA October 12, 1998

The times they are a changin'. It used to be that art and technology were viewed as separate, almost disparate worlds, seldom mentioned in the same breath. But as the end of the millennium approaches, RainCastle Communications, Inc. is leading the art meets technology movement in a way that is taking the best of both and creating an exciting product.

One of these exciting products is the recently launched interactive web site for the public television and radio series The Mississippi: River of Song, which was designed and developed by Newton-based RainCastle.

The Mississippi: River of Song is a Smithsonian Institution series for public television and radio that explores the richness and vitality of American music at the close of the 20th century. Through live performances and intimate discussion with musicians along the course of the Mississippi River, the series discovers the music that has flourished in the heart of the nation.

In order to pave the way for the broadcast three months from now, the project producers have launched the interactive web site on PBS Online (www.pbs.org/riverofsong) which is already creating excitement about the multimedia project.

It's About Music. What's Technology Got To Do With It?
When the producers of River of Song embarked on the making of this project six years ago, they had no idea that Internet technology would play such a large role in their narrative about contemporary music along this mighty river. But that was before they ran into the folks at RainCastle Communications.

John Junkerman, Producer/Director of River of Song, decided about a year ago that he wanted to have a web site for the program. He had begun to understand that a web site would be a powerful outreach tool. He liked the idea of a grassroots communication device like the Web being used to spread the word about the variety of music that had its roots in the local community structure.

When Junkerman met the folks at RainCastle, he felt that they shared his vision of an interactive community using the Web as an education tool.

"The type of music and the forms of community that are at the heart of the project were the perfect kind of content for an interactive web site," said Paul Regensburg, President and Creative Strategist at RainCastle. "The Web is all about community and reaching folks who have specific interests. River of Song is an ideal web site application. It's what the Web is all about."

Reflecting and Enhancing the Project
The web site that resulted from the collaboration between RainCastle Communications, Inc. and The River of Song Project reflects the organic the series and the Mississippi River country itself.

RainCastle took its visual design cues from Junkerman's vision of wanting to tell a story about the living legacy of the American musicians along this mighty river.

"Using strong earth colors and informal lines together with many photographs of the musicians and the surrounding river country, the web site echoes the images seen in the video series," explained Paul Regensburg, President of RainCastle Communications.

"The web site is more than we had hoped for," Junkerman said. "It has become a key element of our outreach program as we seek to promote the national broadcast in January. The combined impact of all the elements of the project will raise awareness about the programs and their sponsors; encourage thoughtful, sustained viewing; and prolong the life of the series."

In November, RainCastle will update the site to include audio and video clips as well as an interactive Teacher's Guide, being developed by MENC: The National Association for Music Education. The Teacher's Guide will offer lessons on identifying the musical elements that define styles of American music; lessons on pinning down the cultural and historical contexts of those styles; and lessons devoted to exploring the ways that America's living cultural traditions grew out of our nation's rich past.

About the Project
RainCastle Communications is a rapidly growing, full-service, graphic and information design services business comprised of multi-disciplinary designers creating solutions seamlessly across print and electronic mediums.

The Mississippi: River of Song is a production of Smithsonian Productions, the Filmmakers Collaborative and KajimaVision Productions and is presented on PBS by South Carolina Educational Television. Major funding has been provided by Hitachi, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding provided by the Missouri Division of Tourism, the Southern Humanities Media Fund, the Tennessee Department of Tourism, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, Mississippi River Country and the Adler Foundation.