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As part of National Science & Engineering Week and ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Research & Development's Multimedia Classification project, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ R&D, the British Science Association and the University of Salford are launching the Musical Moods research project.

To help produce a new way of classifying decades of programmes within the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ digital archive, we are conducting a pioneering online experiment asking the general public about the moods they associate with a range of past and present TV theme tunes.

In this experiment we are asking members of the public to rate the moods of TV theme tunes from the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ archive. Through these ratings, we hope to be able to identify the particular moods portrayed by the theme tunes.

Once we've got this data, we can then train computers to analyse different TV theme tunes throughout the archive and automatically determine what emotions and moods they convey.

It is hoped that the results from this online experiment will assist in the creation of an entirely novel method of classifying online content. This would allow users to browse and search the archives based on what is happening in the programme, rather than by using factual descriptions manually added.

An experiment to collect this type of data has never been conducted on this scale before; as we expect the results to be of considerable interest to many parties we'll be publishing the data in the public domain.

By listening to five randomly selected clips of TV theme tunes, listeners will be asked questions such as:

• What is the mood of the theme tune?
• What genre of TV programme is the theme tune from?
• Are you familiar with the tune? or Do you like the theme tune?

Acoustic Engineer Trevor Cox from the University of Salford said: "As the pubic enjoy themselves on the website, they will be helping us answer some really interesting research questions such as how well theme tunes portray the mood of a TV or radio programme.

"There has been surprisingly little research into this. As well as helping us to understand theme music better, the public will give us vital data which will allow us to train computer programmes to identify the mood of theme music automatically."

Sam Davies, Research Engineer from ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ R&D, said: "The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Archive records the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s output over the past 80 years, in the form of TV and radio programmes, news reports, written documentation, sound effects, images, and programme listings. It's a rich record of recent British history, society, and the relationship between the corporation and the public that pay for it.

"However, making the rich content available and accessible online is a difficult challenge. The Musical Moods experiment breaks new ground by examining how theme music might be used to make it easier to find material in the archive."

Roland Jackson, Chief Executive of the British Science Association said: "National Science & Engineering Week is all about engaging as many people as possible with the sciences and engineering.

"Projects like Musical Moods offer a fun and accessible way for the public to become part of the science that makes the UK a world leader in the field."

Music has long been used within television and film to heighten and develop the mood of the content, or to help set the intended programme's tone.

Research suggests there are between 8 and 10 different types of mood that music can portray and the music before a film or TV programme can change our perceived mood of that film.

As little research has been conducted in theme tunes, we have selected a variety theme tunes from across the breadth of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Archive, across both musical and TV genres for this experiment. Listeners will hear a range of tunes from across the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Archive and might find themselves taking a trip down memory lane!

Notes to Editors

About ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Research & Development

The role of ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ R&D is to provide world-class leading edge technical research and innovation expertise to the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳, to enable the corporation to create and deliver innovative high quality content and services, as cost-effectively as possible to the licence fee paying public.

The world class engineers in R&D also advise the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ on what is coming in the future – what does it need to be involved in and influencing, what are the likely winning and losing technologies and what does the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ need to lead, follow or ignore?

The department has always followed a philosophy of collaboration and openness; it works regularly with other broadcasters, standard's bodies and technology partners.

About National Science & Engineering Week

National Science and Engineering Week (NSEW) is a 10-day programme of science, engineering and technology events and activities across the UK aimed at people of all ages.

In 2011 it runs from 11 to 20 March and the theme is 'Communication'.

National Science and Engineering Week is funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and led by the British Science Association.

The programme also works in partnership with Engineering UK .

About Trevor Cox

Trevor Cox is Professor of Acoustic Engineering at the University of Salford and President of the Institute of Acoustics. He is a Senior Media Fellow funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and has presented 15 science documentaries on ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 3, 4 and World Service and authored four feature articles for New Scientist.

About the British Science Association

The British Science Association is the UK's nationwide, open membership organisation that exists to advance the public understanding, accessibility and accountability of the sciences and engineering.

Established in 1831, the British Science Association organises major initiatives across the UK, including National Science and Engineering Week, the annual British Science Festival, programmes of regional and local events, and an extensive programme for young people in schools and colleges. The Association also organises specific activities for the science communication community in the UK through its Science in Society programme.

For more information, please visit .

SM