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This paper explores the effects of nature sounds, specifically bird sounds, on human experience and behavior in indoor public environments. We report on an intervention study where we introduced an interactive sound device to alter the soundscape. Phenomenological observations and a survey showed that participants noticed and engaged with the bird sounds primarily through causal listening; that is, they attempted to identify the sound source. Participants generally responded positively to the bird sounds, appreciating the calmness and surprise it brought to the environment. The analyses revealed that relative loudness was a key factor influencing the experience. A too-high sound level may feel unpleasant, while a too-low sound level makes it unnoticeable due to background noise. These findings highlight the importance of automatic level adjustments and considering acoustic conditions in soundscape interventions. Our study contributes to a broader discourse on sound perception, human interaction with sonic spaces, and the potential of auditory design in public indoor environments.

This paper reports on a desktop investigation and a lab experiment comparing the video recording capabilities of four commercially available 360-degree cameras: GoPro MAX, Insta360 X3, Garmin VIRB 360, and Ricoh Theta S. The four cameras all use different recording formats and settings and have varying video quality and software support. This makes it difficult to conduct analyses and compare between devices. We have implemented new functions in the Musical Gestures Toolbox (MGT) for reading and merging files from the different platforms. Using the capabilities of FFmpeg, we have also made a new function for converting between different 360-degree video projections and formats. This allows (music) researchers to exploit 360-degree video recordings using regular video-based analysis pipelines.