Jared Ficklin“New ways to see music (with

color! and fire!)”

Jarod Thompson

About Mr. Ficklin

Jared Ficklin is a Senior Principal Design Technologist for frog, a design company based in Austin, Texas.

Mr. Ficklin’s passion for music, combined with his interest in technology, led him to start exploring the visualization of fire.

Seeing sound... in flames.

Mr. Ficklin believes that sounds, when visualized in fire and heat patterns, can tell a story with equal or more emphasis than the sound by itself. In fact, his theory is that emotions and inflections in music can be visualized through the heat patterns of soundwaves.

Getting the crowd going... or laughing...

Mr. Ficklin, while intriguing, is fairly monotone and does not “come out swinging” when it comes to his introduction. The way that he captures the audience at the beginning of his speech is by starting with a joke about his interest in playing with fire.

Maintaing the engagement of the audience...

Mr. Ficklin chooses a variety of different popular culture figures and activities to demonstrate his concept of audio visualization. His on stage fire demonstrations as well as his visual presentation that he shows the audience during his speech keeps the audience engaged.

Thou shalt...Mr. Ficklin exemplifies the third TED commandment.

III. Thou shalt reveal thy curiosity and thy passion.

Mr. Ficklin uses examples such as Nirvana songs and jazz guitar, combined with propane flame tracks and Ruben’s tubes, to demonstrate his passion for music and mixes in his curiosity for audio visualization.

Almost perfection...While some of it can simply be credited to his personal nature, Mr. Ficklin’s rather monotone voice is the only thing that keeps me rating him as a 4 in terms of dynamism. However, his creative visuals and interjections make him a very intriguing speaker.

I got something out of it!

Mr. Ficklin did a fantastic job of following Garr Reynold’s delivery style where he left the audience feeling smarter after his presentation. He gave practical and relatable examples that left myself, and the audience, with a sense of understanding when it comes to audio visualization.

Using visuals to get the point across...

Mr. Ficklin’s visuals, both with the fire as well as the slideshow, help demonstrate his theories to the audience in a manner which is both engaging and educational.

Ficklin vs. Robinson

Mr. Ficklin vastly differs from Sir Ken Robinson in terms of how he engages his audience vocally. Sir Ken Robinson is excited throughout his presentation and his vocal inflections are far different than Mr. Ficklin, who is far more calm and monotone. Even when joking, Sir Ken Robinson uses more practical humor while Mr. Ficklin has a more dry sense of humor.

Ficklin vs. Robinson

However, Mr. Ficklin and Sir Ken Robinson share a great understanding of how to use visuals to engage the audience. Mr. Ficklin uses more on stage visuals, however, which makes up for his vocal differences from Sir Robinson (as mentioned in the previous slide.)

What to take away...

I took away several key factors from Mr. Ficklin’s speech starting with a better understanding of how to utilize visuals during a public speech.

What to take away...

Use visuals that are engaging but also do not drift away from the point of your presentation.

If you are not an excitable person, that’s okay, simply make sure that you show your interest in the material. Make sure the third TED commandment is noticeable.

Don’t be afraid to play with fire... when it comes to your ideas. Explore different options and don’t be afraid to think outside of the box.

What to take away...

If visuals aren’t your cup of tea, than following Mr. Ficklin’s lead might not be a good idea. The visuals are what keeps his presentations engaging if you are not equally interested in the same field. Remember that your presentation should be able to speak to all audiences, not just people with the same interests.

Thank you

Remember Mr. Ficklin’s favorite phrase... “Sound moves in all directions and so do ideas.”

Jared Ficklin

TED Talk Presentation: http://www.ted.com/talks/jared_ficklin_new_ways_to_see_music_with_color_and_fire.html

Sources for images: Google Images