Artlessness

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2007-08-14T18:15:00.000Z

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Summary - Pathway project

2007-04-26T17:11:00.000Z

This project has primarily been a learning experience. Although all projects help me improve my skills, this one was more challenging as it involved quite a lot of practical work involving new processes and equipment. Nevertheless it was quite fun. I'm not sure if I would use the Muio box again - it's quite unreliable and clumsy as a piece of kit but the outputs are more appealing.

The outcome was pretty much as I expected which I suppose is all I can ask for. Most things went to plan and when they didn't it was a case of working around these problems. It took me longer than I expected to get things working but then things generally do. The outcome, though simple, I feel is effective in conveying the message and it functions pretty well. There are a few areas that possibly could be improved should I have taken this idea further (problems with people 'cheating' the 'game' by jumping in front of the light sensor etc.) but as a four-week project I have to be pleased with it.

Finalisation of work

2007-04-26T17:07:00.000Z

The presentations for the pathway project were this afternoon. We do have until Monday to finalise the presentation but I would like to concentrate on making improvements to the previous projects and getting my portfolio sorted and printed this weekend.

Friday

> Go to Partners. Buy some coloured card and a presentation box
> Make changes to portfolio - add the project explanations and select work to be printed. A black and white tester?
> Print off weblog and portfoilo at library
> Redo the DVD sleeve in Illustrator
> Burn work to disc

Also, don't forget to attend the crit.

A working version

2007-04-25T14:14:00.000Z

With less than 24 hours to go on this project, I feel I am pretty much finished. The bulk of the work has now been done and it is now a case of refining the flash file and props for presentation. Up to now I do not actually have any props. I was hoping to explore the Uni for some bits that I could salvage but I am trapped in the building until I can get my access card back from the technician.

My piece now has three variations. I could have produced more but decided for the purpose of Thursday's presentation to go for quality over quantity. That said, the continuity is a little dodgy in places but as I have previously stated I am willing to sacrifice some continuity for the variations.

The piece now also has sound. These take the form of some mp3s imported to Flash separate from the video files. Before the deadline I will continue to playtest the piece looking for any bugs and refine the audio further. I will also test this out in situ as I have done this morning, testing out some different layouts of lighting etc. within the screening room.

Some screenshots from the current piece:

Addendum

Did some secondary testing in the screening room, this time with the projector. Seems to be working OK, a couple of issues arising from this:

> Quality of video is not that brilliant. I feel I can get away with this as I am using Flash which is not as good at handling videos as Director. Optimum size before things start to run slowly is about four or five Mb.
> Variations. I have a few hours to spare so it may be worth working on adding some more variations to the final piece. This will be started on tonight and take priority tomorrow.

Thursday
> 9:30AM Add the extra variations and sound to the Flash file
> 12:30PM Last minute calibrations in screening room
> 1:30PM Crit. get advice on portfolio
> 4:30 Start to act on this advice if time
> End of day - Update weblog

Completion

2007-04-24T17:44:00.000Z

Spent today working with the Muio box to try and get some of the functionalities working. With aid of tutor found a way of incorporating the variations - these seem to work alright in the tests I have set up. Also it seems that Flash can take larger video files after all so this is probably the best way to go.

Final week checklist
It will be a busy couple of days tomorrow and Thursday morning, got lots to do. In order of priority:

Main project
> Export the video files complete with dissolves and fades (might take a while to export - 4 more videos to create). - Done
> Apply to the Flash file and incorporate into coding for variations. - Done
> Export some sound files for application into Flash. Get these refined. - Done
> Begin setting up in screening room. - Done
> Think about getting a bus timetable printed out.
> Considerations of presentation.

Portfolio
> Get front page mocked up. - Done
> Insert the colour 'polarbearinvasion' jpeg. - Done
> Insert pages for 'Beyond the Mouse' (2) and Portfolio DVD (2) projects.
> Get some preliminary black and white prints. - Done
> Friday - Get the colour prints. Remember to put some money on print account.
> Get as much done for Thursday afternoon but I will spend Friday developing this so it is less of a priority. - Done

Friday
> Buy some coloured A4 card to be front and back covers of the weblog printout.
> Attend the research lecture. (10:30)
> Print off weblog - Library.
> Get bound somehow, if possible. If not, an A4 folder might suffice?
> Portfolio - presentation. Clean up digital files and print off.
> Buy a box to put sketchbooks etc. in.

Bus stops of death

2007-04-24T08:44:00.000Z

The UK's premier Bus Stop site
http://www.topofthestops.co.uk

The kind of stuff I plan to add as 'little extras' that add to the authenticity of the bus stop environment.Vandalism is an important part of this. Above - the bus stop of death and below "Save are world by doing take drugs".

This one was interesting. There's a bus stop in Essex apparently named after one of its users - someone named Jeffrey. Maybe I could name by bus stop "Dan's stop" or a name the user can input when they enter the room. This would obviously be in a more computerised version of this piece.The above image is from the Lake District. The timetable claims that 'no buses stop here'. What's the point in having a bus stop then? Why don't all bus stops have this notice? It would be closer to the truth.

And finally the caveman bus stop. Not particularly relevant, I just found it funny.

Project paths, to do tomorrow

2007-04-23T12:31:00.000Z

Main project

Identified two areas for development, for tomorrow at least. I'll see how things go but this is assuming no major breakthroughs are reached in the near future (ie in the next two days before the deadline). In order to do:

1. Create Director file with as much functionality as possible and the full quality video footage.
2. Create Flash file detailing the proposed variations of the piece and including some elements of functionality. A smaller quality set of videos.

Must ask about whether it is possible to randomise a video within Director. If so this may be worth pursuing further. If not, most of this would have to be presented within Flash because of its greater amount of functionality and customisability.

Portfolio - to do

1. Insert the final Photomontage design into the multi page PDF.
2. Find a way of presenting this final project in print format. Will this be necessary? Photographs of the piece in action, complete with person would be good but it may not look that interesting. Instead - produce some Photoshop mockups of the proposed presentation.
3. DVD screenshots. Design and put into the Multi page PDF.
4. Finalise the design. Make sure everything is lined up neatly. First three look OK up to now. Get tutor feedback.
5. Purchase an appropriate folder. Ask if the one I have now will be suitable.

Tomorrow I must remember to print out a preliminary version of this print portfolio before the (kind of) interim presentation in the afternoon. Present these in my plastic folder I have purchased from Partners but remember to ask if I need to buy a more hardwearing one.

Trust me to try and get everything done at the last minute. There is a week left but I am pretty sure I will not be happy with the final outcome - this would only come from a much greater amount of work on the print portfolio. Unfortunately this has been a very frustrating part of the project for me. I don't really like making print portfolios at all and maybe this is why I had pretty much nothing to present up until this week. The fact my initial design at Christmas was stolen and savaged did not help and I never worked on presentation at all after that.

Also for final presentation
> Buy a presentation box From Partners to put sketchbooks in.
> Print off a version of the weblog and get it bound.

Updated Proposal

2007-04-23T12:25:00.000Z

What is my project?

Public Transport Sucks is a video installation activated by a visitor's presence in the room. Based on the premise that whenever you wait for a bus none ever come but whenever you aren't there there are always loads going past.

The piece would be installed in public places such as bus stations, train stations, larger bus stops and basically anywhere in the public eye. This particular version has been developed for stations but other pieces based on the situation of the installation would be developed e.g. Clayton Square big screen. Detects the number of people going past or watching screen and the video is of Clayton Square itself. The busier the square gets, the busier the on-screen recording would get.

Project Direction

2007-04-23T10:48:00.000Z

At this point I felt it might be good to reassess where I am with regards to having a solid idea for a research project. I think that at the moment, the concept is developing quite well as I undertake more and more research into the subject. The jodi stuff really impressed me, as did Arcangel's work, although this is more of a video game pixel graphics thing. Perhaps it will transpire that I will look at different media that utilise this pixel graphic style:

> Teletext
> Video Games (8-bit)
> Early Internet and Internet Art

All of these would be constantly compared to Teletext and how they differ as mediums, including their strengths and weaknesses as methods of communication, in particular as artistic mediums. This has been explored in more detail in a previous post but I just wanted to reinforce and refresh what I propose to look into for this project. I actually already have something of a firm grounding with regards to initial research and could probably mock something up with regards to textual content.

Possible mediums

> A weblog - possible or will this be necessary as a 'side' thing?
> A dissertation - classic style. May be best for my writing style but will it really be as interesting?
> A website. Design aspects would be in the pixel graphic style. I like designing sites so this would be interesting.
> "Teletext cast" via the Internet. Research presented in teletext format. Would have to find out more about the possibilities of creating my own teletext pages. Problems - loading times etc. May not be too bad if this was a supplementary part of the project and the main bulk of the work was done in another medium.
> A video blog/podcast. Getting hands on and producing actual aural accounts of my findings, conversational style? More of a documentary/experiment like the MySpace idea?

Adobe Director vs. Adobe Flash

2007-04-19T12:09:00.000Z

There are two possible programs that are compatible with the Muio box I could use for this project. Flash would ordinarily be the best but unfortunately the Muio software is coded in Flash player 6. This version does not allow extensive video handling, in fact they all have to be under 3Mb and 15 seconds or the program begins to act up.

Director, on the other hand, seems like it is more suitable for larger videos. However there's only a week left to complete this project and it's unlikely I could learn the program in this time period. But, with a bit of help from an expert I might be able to find just the specific coding I will need and this would be enough for the project.

Having tested both, I will mock up individual files in each, testing out which is better. There will inevitably be teething troubles, but with some luck I will be able to get a final presentation together for 26th April.

Addendum: spent the afternoon trying out both methods. Both have their problems but significant progress has been made with the Director version - only a few extra additions and the test file will be complete. I will continue with this tomorrow afternoon, but will spend the morning working on my print portfolio. I need to develop a template or set style for these and I also need to get a copy of Illustrator for use on my home computer. For now, I will see if the trial version is still valid (I might have used up my trial days already).

Morning: Print portfolio. Sketchbook layouts. Move onto screen: develop a template. Use the soundworks design as a model. Continue selection of work to be presented.
Afternoon: Implementation of the Muio interface in Flash and Director. Try and get a copy of Illustrator for Windows.

Monday: Print portfolio + sketchbook work

Tuesday: Implementation with Muio. Look to get higher quality videos working.

Sensors and how I can use them

2007-04-18T16:47:00.000Z

I have identified two methods with which users will be able to interact with the Muio box with regards to sensors. A brief explanation of these is given as follows.

Motion sensor would be set up a few metres from the projection and when the user comes closer to it the beam is broken. This will trigger the Muio box to advance the video shown on the screen to show traffic passing and not a single bus will stop. If the user stays in the position long enough they will be able to see more and more footage of the traffic passing, with birds flying past, people driving by on cycles, police cars driving past etc. The problem with this, however, is that if the person moves on the spot and inadvertently stops breaking the beam, the bus actually pulls up to the stop whilst they are there.

http://infusionsystems.com/catalog/all_categories.php
http://infusionsystems.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/24/products_id/38

Whilst this problem might be present (to certain degrees) no matter what sensor I use, perhaps using a light sensor may cut down on this. The tests so far have been mocked up and trialled using the light sensor and it seems to be working fine. The user's presence would cast a shadow and cover the light sensor, triggering the next bit of video. Of course, this method would require a regulated amount of lighting within the installation environment. However if placed correctly, the light beam and sensor could be more accurate than the motion sensor.

http://infusionsystems.com/catalog/index.php/cPath/24

Flash tests

2007-04-16T18:15:00.000Z

Created a number of test files in Flash using the small exported movies. Got a better idea as to loading times etc. – it would seem these files are going to be rather large. The tests I have done have shown that on my (relatively new) computer, a 150Mb Flash file = six clips exported at CD-ROM quality = one minute’s loading. Even if they are not full quality, as in the case of these tests, the file size might be out of the range of an older computer. For this reason I will look to use a higher spec system to create the Flash file on.

Also, since I want there to be a certain amount of fluidity to the thing I don’t want to make use of the preloader function that may result in stutters in continuity etc. I will make inquiries to see if there is another program that might handle large amounts of video clips better (needs to be compatible with Muio box), as well as discuss the best possible path to choose with regards to quality of video in the final outcome.

As a variation, also perhaps I could think about other implementation methods. Maybe a small television screen and mini-device would be a smaller scale version of the piece and a more suitable method for the presentation of this project. The large-scale installation could be theoretical and I could maybe produce some finished drawings of this to present the intended outcome.

Addendum: maybe, with a series of only about three videos (about 1Gb?) I could just about get away with using Flash. I do want to have some variation, however. I feel I will need to push ahead with this to try and see what it will look like when put into practice and tackle any problems as they occur.

I am leaning back towards the light sensor idea, even if, from a logistics point of view, this may be a bit more difficult to implement. This is because of the increased interaction element the user will have with the piece – the casting of the visitor’s shadow onto the screen in front of them will help the user feel ‘part’ of the environment.

Proposal

2007-04-16T11:01:00.000Z

For this project, I will go ahead with the 'Public Transport Sucks' idea. The basic principle of this is that age-old cliché about London buses - you wait ages for one and then two come along. Working around this, I have devised an installation piece that uses simple motion sensors with which the user will interact with an on-screen projection of a first-person view of waiting at a bus stop.

Initially there is a video loop of traffic passing, buses pulling up to the stop and pulling away again etc. When the motion sensor is broken, this gives way to a loop of traffic in which no buses ever stop in front of the person. When the person moves away from the sensor, the video reverts back to the original loop of buses appearing. The point is that the user can never actually 'catch' the bus, any attempts would prove fruitless as they would be breaking the sensor and activating the 'no buses' loop.

I will look to create this in Flash (I have already mocked up some simple tests with clicks of the mouse used in place of a sensor being broken) though if there is a more suitable program for video pieces that is compatible with the Muio box then I may look into that.

Testing out the Muio box

2007-04-12T17:34:00.000Z

Took a trip into Uni today to get hands on with the Muio stuff. I wanted to bring these home but unfortunately there is no Windows OS version for my home PC so I will concentrate on other things for now and perhaps look to start implementing the piece with Flash and Muio on Tuesday next week. But anyway at least I got a bit of a better idea of how the technical stuff works.

Also I acquired the footage onto the Uni computers and converted a lot of clips into Quicktime movie format. These were actually on the CD ROM quality preset as I feel this to be the optimum file size for quality and loading times in the Flash program. I may go higher in quality for the full thing, but probably not maximum as this may result in a 2Gb Flash file. An (unedited) example of some of the footage I got:

Above is an example of an extended 'traffic' clip. This would be screened when the person steps inside the installation, breaking the sensor beam. So, the longer the wait, the more they get to see of the clip (and the more bored they get). However I expect people to leave after about 30-60 seconds, so they probably won't see a lot of it, unless they are really intrigued by the installation.

I'm considering giving myself the day off tomorrow so on Monday will start to embed some of the exported QuickTime movies into the Flash test file to see how they might look.

Location filming

2007-04-11T17:36:00.000Z

Aside from work on my elective module, most of today was spent on collecting some footage for the public transport/bus stop installation piece. Managed to get 30 minutes of footage but I think I've got pretty much what I need. Some screenshots straight from the DV tape prior to capture onto the computer:

As one can see, these shots don't incorporate a bus stop sign rather a shelter but I feel I could get away with its presence. In fact perhaps it even helps contextualise the shot somewhat.

Now I have some primary footage on film, I can implement it and incorporate it into a Flash file. Tomorrow I will acquire the footage to a University computer and export the appropriate QuickTimes as needed. Hopefully I will also manage to borrow a Muio box so I can begin compiling the Flash file and, to an extent, putting it into practice tomorrow. I hope to continue this on Friday.

I have not yet received a reply from the technician so I will go into University tomorrow and see if he's there. I would like to talk to him about sensors and their function as I am feeling a bit befuddled at the moment. I took a look at http://www.maplin.com to see if I could scout out an appropriate sensor for my project but the jargon and technical naming seems a bit complicated to me.

More development

2007-04-10T17:53:00.000Z

I didn't manage to get a Muio box today as the technician was not in and I think they might all be lent out at this point. I have emailed him about this and hope to resolve this by borrowing one as soon as possible, maybe I will go back on Thursday to discuss the possibility of using motion sensors, where to buy them and to see if there are any Muio boxes available to borrow.

Mostly worked through the lift and bus stop ideas in my sketchbook and done some research for this and the research project in this blog. Tomorrow will be a case of continuing to do this and hopefully acting on some feedback given in the group blog - I added a new post yesterday and have updated this for today's work.

In addition I plan to get some initial footage for the bus stop concept, as much as possible with which to work at this stage. I did borrow a tripod in preparation but have since realised I forgot a detachable camera connection piece so may have to make to with just a hand held camera, resting it on a wall or something.

Minitel

2007-04-10T17:38:00.000Z

http://www.beotech.co.uk/minitel.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minitel
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3142862.stm

The more interactive cousin of Teletext, Minitel was an early computer system that, via telephone lines, could communicate with stores to buy products, access an online telephone book and even chat in much the same way as text messaging today. This was truly the Internet before its time, all in a similar encoding to teletext.

Left is a screenshot from the Minitel service that, visually, resembles the teletext service in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1982, about five years after teletext, it had the advantage of time and advancing of technology. The keyboard interface offers many more possibilities, though it seems from this screenshot the menus are controlled by numbers much like an electronic automated telephone service.

Much like 8-bit video games and the early Internet, the legacy of the Minitel system is largely kept alive today by the Internet. Below is a screenshot from the emulation version from minitel.fr.

Lift - pick 'n' mix ideas

2007-04-10T17:05:00.000Z

Some considerations should I decide to go with the lift idea.

Instead of a single sensor, how about a series of four sensors placed along the corridor/in various places around the room. This might be more accurate but is limited to just four variations (the most a Muio box can handle). The image on the right explains this idea.

I think the central area of this idea will be the messages I want to put across rather than the method, as I think that area is quite sound and will be relatively simple to implement. Therefore I want to think about the textual element of the piece. What will be the mood of the lift? Will the sentences have a serious message or just be emphasising humour value?

The messages could be themed according to the building in which they are placed and can be programmed to presets for these. For example, there could be one for a train/bus station that places emphasis on walking rather than taking transport: "walking is cheaper," "You don't need a ticket to walk".

Could there be a head of a person projected onto the door? The mood of the head would change according to how many people take the stairs (happy, pleasant, jovial) or the lift (sad, angry). In the image to the right, Jamie Oliver is happy that you have decided not to take your Turkey Twizzlers with you in the lift, rather taking the healthier option of the stairs.

The idea could be extended to humanise other such electronic objects that supposedly make our life easier. Vending machines never sell salads, for example, whilst water machines would always be pleasant whenever anyone gets a drink. In other words, the emphasis here is on fitness and health. Taking a hint from Jenny Holzer, maybe billboards or placing random televisions in public places would be a more bizarre and direct way of approaching this.

I could maybe use the lift control button to activate the projector. This would be a custom made one connected up to the Muio box. Alternatively I could attach a heat or maybe a light sensor to the button.

There's always the nagging thought that this idea might be offensive to disabled people. Maybe I could turn this around and use it to my advantage - projecting an image of a disabled person would imply that lifts are exclusively for disabled people and that anyone who can do should take the stairs.

Other realisations of the Bus Stop idea

2007-04-10T16:42:00.000Z

Been working through some other possible implementations of the bus stop idea. The one outlined in the diagram below, which takes heavily from the Gupta FACT exhibit from last year, would be relatively workable but I envisage some unforeseen problems with it. Nevertheless, it would be a more interesting variation on the motion sensor idea, instead utilising a series of light sensors.

I hope that the correct lighting for the installation piece would be found by moving around the light source behind a screen, as detailed in the diagram below.

In this method, the projector is placed behind a semi-transparent screen and projects a reversed image onto it. The user would see the image the correct way round. Behind the user is a light source behind another screen. This casts a shadow onto the projector screen, to which a series of light sensors are attached. On covering these up, further film footage is triggered: cat walking into view, litter blowing across etc.

As an extension of this, any props used would cast shadows onto the screen. For example, there might be a bench for people to sit on, much like a bus shelter seat. If someone sits down, some birds might be triggered to fly across the screen, for example.

At this point I'm not too confident in this method - it may need to be worked on a bit more. It may actually transpire that the motion sensor might be the best way to go with it. I could perhaps look to implement some elements of this, however, such as the seating or triggering of different outcomes at different positions in the exhibit.

Research links

2007-04-10T12:25:00.000Z

Been trawling the Internet for some possible inspiration. Some useful/interesting links I may or may not go on to further examine/develop:

Love sport exhibition at the World Museum, Liverpool. Seems to have some interesting interactive exhibits so it might be worth a trip there.

Knowledge cash machine by Simon Poulter. Interesting use of Flash. would be good to maybe see a full scale interactive version?

HCIFun. Group of interactive artists primarily interested in human/computer interaction.

Considerations

2007-04-10T11:19:00.000Z

Maybe I could widen the research project to encompass different types of pixel graphics produced by other media - namely early 8-bit computer games and the early Internet. By also bringing in aspects of the written/printed media I could draw up similarities and contrasts between the different methods of production.

Looking at some of the stuff by Jodi has inspired me to think of areas such as ASCII art, which has not been a widely used medium in teletext but is the same principle of using a basic character set. This article talks about the quest to code a font that reproduces the teletext font on the PC format. It seems the Minitel ASCII and the one used on computers are different despite containing, on the whole, much the same characters. The image to the left shows an Atom VDG (chip for early 1980s computers) character set. Note the strange pixel characters: these are similar to the ones used in Teletext to create images.

Some possible areas for exploration
Take the three mediums and explore the following criteria.

> Use of language. Visual and textual.
> Use of interaction. Methods of interaction - special devices. Remote controls, joypads, pucks etc.
> Format of medium itself. Teletext - televisions - compatibility. Device people are familiar with. Also don't have to purchase a new system
> Purpose and target audience. Reaching different parts of the world, individual services for regional areas. Different reasons in different areas but largely based on information provided by the TV channel.
> Longevity and popularity. Are they still around today?
> Medium as an information service

The main thing, it seems, is that the Internet has largely overtaken the purpose of teletext and, due to its advances in technology, has widened its scope. However Teletext remains much the same. Whilst the 'new age' of digital set top boxes has brought reduced loading times, the abundance of the net and its now relatively inexpensive access has contributed to teletext's reduction in popularity.

The original service as we know it will be phased out in the next few years in the UK with the switch to digital (digital teletext page from Teletext Ltd. screenshot shown right). In fact, teletext, along with early video games, has gained popularity from the Internet's spreading of these via emulation. Maybe this could be my closing statement.

Ready for implementation?

2007-04-09T18:43:00.000Z

Today I have concentrated on working through the public transport idea - first extensively in my sketchbook then transferring to an early Flash mockup. This is going quite well but it took a bit of work to get my head round how it would be realised in Flash.

Tomorrow I plan to go into Uni and borrow some equipment for the project. With luck I will acquire a Muio box and a tripod, both of which I hope to borrow for the weekend. I will start to implement these by testing them out on the mockups I have created so far. In addition I hope to look further into the possibility of getting hold of a motion sensor - problem is I haven't a clue about electronics so I am hoping to get a bit of help from Chris. Maybe I can purchase something online.

Later in the week I would like to get out and acquire some footage for the public transport idea, which looks like the one I am going to run with. I am awaiting further tutor feedback on this but in the meantime I will develop this concept and visualise how it would be achieved.

I have also set up a page on my website for online media for this project.

http://hindleyite.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pathway.htm

Jenny Holzer

2007-04-09T18:19:00.000Z

Art at the Turn of the Millennium, Taschen
Holzer Wikipedia entry

A 'text artist', Holzer uses the structures of mass media to "smuggle messages into the public arena". Taking the form of pointed one liners projected onto such public spaces as the large screen in Times Square, New York, her work, according to the artist herself, revolves around 'Sex, death and war'.

It is these one-liners that interest me. Often they can be loaded with meaning, as the aforementioned artist quote hints at, such as in the Survival series (1983-1985). Quotes such as "Men Don't protect you anymore" and "Protect me from what I want" are often militant in approach and were splattered on billboards around the city.

Whilst the quotes I intend to use for the lift idea are not as powerful as or even in the same vein as them (I intend to be a bit more light hearted) these they could be considered to have a double meaning, in some cases implying the lift is an actual person to be treated as such. The sentences it would 'come up with' would further extend this as if they are conversing with the individual approaching the lift.

In a wider sense, perhaps I could take a leaf out of Holzer's book and propose an extension of the project that might be widened to be included in all sorts of public places, such as a large screen at a train station or in public parks. This idea of mass marketing could be appropriate to what I want to achieve with this project.

Filming considerations

2007-04-09T17:53:00.000Z

I have identified several issues that will need resolving should I decide to go ahead with the bus stop idea, which is the one I am leaning towards right now. I hope to get started on filming this week, hopefully Thursday or Friday will yield some unchangeable weather. I expect to get at least a 45 minute DV tape of footage, including the following:

> Traffic going past
> Buses pulling up to the stop and moving away
> People getting on the buses
> People walking past the stop

Issues

1. Which bus stop should I use? I have identified 2-3 possible places to film. These will depend on whether I can get my hands on a tripod within the next week.
2. People spotting the camera and/or playing up to it. To combat this I intend to film from a distance or at least a partly concealed position. On at least one of my locations there are areas to sit and wait, pretending to be waiting for the bus. I don't like doing this but it's probably best for the project overall.
3. Positioning of camera. Hopefully I can get a side on angle that encompasses the bus stop sign but is not obscured by the shelter/other objects in the way.

It may just be a case of getting out there and obtaining the footage then working with what I've got. I might try a couple of locations checking for suitability and it may be required for me to go back on another day due to the weather (continuity issues).

Public transport sucks - implementation

2007-04-09T12:08:00.000Z

Of the three ideas I have selected to be the best I feel this is the one I am most likely to go with. For this reason I have mocked up a more advanced version of an installation layout for this piece:

In an ideal situation, I would like the projection to take up the whole of a wall painted white at a ratio that gives it a life size feel. However I would be satisfied with just a smaller video projection. I am still considering my options with regards to sensors but the above displays how a motion sensor might be implemented. The diagram below explains the projection for the screen.

Although the above is a rough Photoshop mockup I would like for this to be filmed and have an element of realism. To further this, because of probable availability of props I have decided to project the bus stop sign itself onto the screen and perhaps the timetable, but I will further develop this idea later on.

I have also created a very rough Photoshop mockup to test out some coding and hierarchies. You can try this out here, but be warned that it isn't very good. I hope to use it as a tester for the functions of the Muio box.

http://hindleyite.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bustest.html

This could be photographic, as I originally intended, or may be a case of projecting shadows of the objects like in the Gupta exhibit at FACT during the Biennial. There's a write up of this in one of my previous weblogs here. I will work through this idea as it seems like a (fairly) viable concept using a potentially more interesting method of interaction than a simple motion sensor trigger. I wonder how I could convert film clips to shadows?

http://hindleyite.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/Gupta.htm

Idea selection

2007-04-06T17:29:00.000Z

Today was quite productive, at least in narrowing down what I want to concentrate on. Got three ideas I am leaning towards and will look to develop further for the time being at least:

> Public Transport Sucks - Part One - Part Two
> Going Down - Part One - Part Two
> Beat Blair - Part One - Part Two

Links to development posts are also provided here. I think these are all viable but the first of them is most likely the one I will choose because I like the concept and I can see it functioning as an installation. However I also perceive the others to be quite good also. I will continue to develop the ideas over the next week, mocking up some more advanced tests perhaps in conjunction with the Muio box and sensors if I get the chance. In addition I would like to work on an aesthetic, or some variations on this from which to select for my proposed piece.

I hope that by the end of the holidays I have selected an idea and am ready to push forward with creating the full accompanying Flash file. In an ideal world I will be pretty much ready to set up the installation with about a week to go, but the physical stuff could begin next week.

On Monday, however, I will continue to develop the ideas in my sketchbook and on this weblog and hopefully will get a clearer idea of which will function the best. I will also reference some more sourcepoints on individual ideas rather than more general ones.

Lift idea - revisited

2007-04-06T17:13:00.000Z

I think the success of this project will be gauged on the messages put across and the positioning of them. You've got those that are directed squarely at the user - "Hey lazy, go and use the stairs" etc. and those that seem as though it's the lift communicating with the user as if it were a person - "Stop walking all over me," "Hey, go away, I'm trying to sleep here". Two distinct ideas that could be merged under one 'umbrella'.

Considered the possibility of audio feedback. Will the lift speak the message as well as project it to the user? Will there be a 'ding' when the user walks into the sensor area? Might be best to have the sensor as a magnetic strip or something on the roof facing downwards to detect anything that passes by to turn on the projected message.

There is the possibility of extending this idea further - have a sign at the top of the stairs saying "Congratulations on not using the lift. Have yourself a stick of celery as a reward" (of course, this is supposed promote healthier living). Have the two being used in conjunction with each other and the lift's mood changes as people use the exhibit. If someone uses the stairs (a separate sensor for this) then it would become happier whilst if you use the lift it gets angrier. The comments displayed would reflect this, starting off as 'Hello there. Have a nice day!' and progress to grumpier things like 'Get lost I'm having a sleep here'. Maybe it would display happy messages if someone uses the stairs but angry ones if they don't.

Beat Blair revisited

2007-04-06T16:05:00.000Z

Another idea I think could be worth pursuing is the Beat Blair one, which has received some good feedback to this point. One drawback of this idea is that people may not be bothered to exercise themselves and hit the rug. It might also be hazardous to people with bad backs. However the novelty value of the thing would be quite funny.

Maybe I could place a number of objects with which to hit the rug apart from the traditional beater (cricket bat, tennis racquet, golf club, long stick etc.) or maybe I could go all out for the early 20th century effect and create a whole atmosphere of a pre-war working class household.

A lot of this idea would rest on the execution of the projections. Would these be videos or animations? Rough cut Photoshops? As has been commented, the post production may be a critical factor in its success. I think the idea demonstrated in the rough Flash mockup is working quite well so it may only be a case of cleaning these up and improving on them.

I would also have to be certain about positioning of the sensors - would I actually place one on the back of the rug or on a solid surface behind it which the rug would hit, triggering the response within the Flash file, as a substitute for clicking buttons with the mouse in the Flash mockup.

The Beat Blair thing is nothing like this. I would in no way condone violence.

Fluxus - do it yourself

2007-04-06T15:53:00.000Z

Housework

http://www.allenbukoff.com/FluxusMidwest/housework/index.html

In this series one can take part in a community effort to clean windows, make beds and do other such household work. However there does not seem any real purpose for this other than for the sake of art. It could be said that my Beat Blair idea would be taking this one step further - here there is actually incentive to beat the rug in that the image projected upon it changes so there is some element of reward. For example, I don't think I'd want to clean an installed, non-functional toilet for the sake of it.

http://www.allenbukoff.com/FluxusMidwest/housework/vacurug.html

Here the artists concerned (Midwest Fluxus group) use modern technologies to do the housework, for example one can utilise a vacuum cleaner to clean a rug placed on the floor. My version will be more old-fashioned in its methods, as if this were a 1950s version of the Fluxus exhibition.

Public transport sucks - revisited

2007-04-06T14:55:00.000Z

Having got some feedback for my ideas at the group, I felt it would be good to revisit the ones I feel are the most successful, partly based on the comments given for each. The first of these is the bus stop idea which, I think, is probably the best of the ideas I have produced and the one I have been leaning to. Below is a revised outline of how this might be laid out:

The seating has been removed as there may be complications with implementing pressure pads and it's probably better for people to stand up at the exhibit, it will add to the realism of the public transport simulator. Since there will be a sensor (shown below the projection screen in this image) I may need something to entice the visitor to come over and stand in the area at which the sensor is pointing. I could have a timetable or something attached to a bus stop, maybe home made or perhaps I could come to an agreement with the local council to provide some props.

When nothing is in the sensor's range, traffic drives past and there is a bus parked at the stop. As the user breaks the motion sensor/infrared detector, the bus drives away. After say, ten seconds, people start to accumulate at the stop, waiting for the bus. When the user moves away, a bus arrives and parks up again and the cycle continues ad infinitum.

Say there were up to four people waiting on screen at any one time. For continuity purposes, I would need to film separate clips for four people getting on the bus, three people getting on etc. which play straight on from the normal stationary bus as it parks up. Alternatively maybe only one or two people at a time would get on the bus and the others wait for another bus (which doesn't actually ever come?). Maybe the people could arrive in the form of silhouettes projected onto the screen created within the Flash file.

Jodi.org

2007-04-06T12:33:00.000Z

http://www.jodi.org/

Jodi is a collective of artists founded in the late 1980s by a group of European new media artists. Their early work often used this tactic of mimicking computer glitches and viruses as an aesthetic or humorous device. Today it is run on the Internet by Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans and, whilst still conceptual, encompasses imagery and moving image to generate artwork.

Jodi's blogs
http://blogspot.jodi.org/

Jodi's art blog may seem like a load of random gibberish but this is in fact a reflection, or even an extension, of their ASCII artwork. It's actually quite fun to navigate around because you never know what will happen when you click a link - you may get a 404 error message which links directly to a page of random keyboard mashing or something like this, which looks as though it has been corrupted or something with all the elements moving around on screen in an unnatural fashion.

Text
http://text.jodi.org/

Meanwhile, the text pages of jodi.org are reminiscent of corrupted teletext pages with a poor reception. I've always admired the random quality of these scrambled pages, auto generative artworks in their own right. An idea for a future project may be to create a random gibberish generator in the style of these teletext pages. Click various part of the page to navigate through the various pages (over 100) of keyboard mashing and text fragments from broken files.

Environments
http://sod.jodi.org/

Here one can download a copy of the deconstructed version of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. I wonder if I could produce something like this in Flash? If so, a 3D interactive environment might be good and challenging to create. The black and white environment can often be hard to navigate but from an aesthetic point of view looks good in a corrupted, bizarre way.

Wrong Browser.com
http://www.wrongbrowser.com/

This simulates a broken browser. Seemingly created in Flash, one can interact by moving around various draggable windows of different colours. Moving them to different areas or typing in text of the screen triggers weird occurrences such as the background changing colour or a flood of text that descends onto the screen. There are also different versions which typify different regions' web sites, such as .co.jp, which has vertical text that reads as though it has been turned 90 degrees.

I like the aesthetic of these pieces and there's something about them that appeals to me. Perhaps it's the knowledge that my computer is not actually experiencing problems and one can revel in the strangely appealing visual representations offered by computer glitches. If I could transpose some of these to an environment and project them onto a video screen I feel I could really immerse the visitor.

Book research

2007-04-06T11:44:00.000Z

The early Internet and teletext
Information from
Digital Art - Christine Paul
Internet Art - Rachel Greene

The early world wide web was, much like teletext, largely textual and not very sophisticated, at least not by today's standards. Early artworks were often very conceptual, in contrast to the functional works found on teletext. These were driven by a sense of community and ain a spirit of spontaneous interventions. Again, this is in contrast to Teletext, which was regulated and controlled by a select group of people, namely the people that programmed the information.

Theoretician Peter Weibel summarised that the web and cyberspace was a 'distinctly 1960s idea'. In many ways this is true - the origins of teletext, which may be seen as a precursor to the Internet, can be traced back to the 60s. At this point, however, the technology was not sufficently advanced to make cyberspace viable, evidenced by the relatively limited nature of collaborative elements allowed by teletext. What email would later replace and to a more popular extent, telephone conversation and written correspondence would be used by the teletext medium.

Alexei Shulgin devised the WWWAward that rewarded art in categories such as 'Flashing', blinking images which were an integral part of aesthetics on the early web. Nowadays this can be seen as an outdated and irritating technique, especially if overused to the extent that it was in the early days of the net. In a similar way, many advertisements on teletext utilise blinking pixels to draw attention to particular items on screen though these are tolerated as the medium, being as simple and limited as it is, cannot handle an abundance of 'flashing'.

"Successful in a much larger arena than the art world as it exists today, [jodi] reach a much larger interested audience in a much faster interval of time."
--G.H. Hovagimyan, Art Dirt

Serbian web artist Vuk Cosic, originator of the term net.art, founded the ASCII art ensemble Jodi in the late 1980s. The group popularised ASCII, which is an encoded character set for the English language similar to the one used by Teletext, as a medium for artistic expression. Literally turning the common interface inside out with their low-tech graphics they would later go on to produce videos completely created in ASCII art.

In the early 1990s, Thomas S Ray developed Tierra, a computer simulation of artificial life. Part of the visualisation of this was created using simplified graphics and a limited palette much the same as the one used on Teletext.

http://www.beigerecords.com/cory/

Meanwhile, Cory Arcangel's Landscape Study Series blends traditional landscape photography with video game aesthetics to create a pixellated piece reminiscent of the art produced in the teletext format (right). Creating scenery that effectively transcends the media from which it borrows, these pieces take the form of a new kind or manifestation of pop art.

Some ideas for the bike controller

2007-04-06T10:12:00.000Z

An initial idea for this mechanism would be a simple Paperboy-style game where the user must drive to the end of the street within a set amount of time whilst avoiding cats, postmen, lamp posts or letter boxes which might appear in their path. On screen, there would have to be three horizontal 'channels' that the user could ride down, switched by the steering handle. Speed is regulated by how fast the user pedals.

This would be very similar to Jeff Shaw's The Legible City (screenshot shown right) which the user sees a digital likeness of themself on-screen from behind. Perhaps the speed element could be taken out of this and it will just detect if you are cycling or not and move at one constant pace or not moving at all.

A simpler alternative to this, making use of just the speed controller would be a game in which the speed at which you pedal is in relation to how fast your character on screen eats in a pie eating competition. There is a certain irony that whilst you are getting fit, the guy on screen carries on eating. The game would have humorous graphics and audio elements to add to the experience.

A third variation would involve musical elements. A character on screen would play an instrument, for example a guitar. The person must cycle at a constant pace for the guitar to be played in time with the music. Not entirely sure how I would code this yet or even if I might create a specialised guitar-shaped device for people to play. Thing with this is that why bother visiting an installation to play a guitar when you can buy one anyway?

A wider context

Perhaps all three of these and/or other similar sub-games could be brought together to create an installation that would be sold to gyms to make exercising more fun. Depends on how well the games play though - maybe there could be a chip which allows people to create their own games and add them to the website which people could download from. The site could also issue official games created by professional developers.

But this is speculation and maybe looking a bit far into the future. For now I will concentrate on getting a fully working prototype.

Bike activated pieces

2007-04-06T09:54:00.000Z

Been considering how I would implement a simple interface involving an exercise bike. This would obviously require some added engineering to adapt the bike to Muio interface - mainly the speed of pedalling, a simple method of applying this is shown below.
This is a very rough layout displaying how a piece of metal, blue tack or wood could be attached to a ball bearing sensor on a see-saw mechanism activated by a flexible piece of material. This would, hopefully, tip the mechanism and register one 'revolution' in the Flash program. The ball bearing sensor might need to be proofed to withstand extended pressure from the repeated hammering and there may need to be some running repairs on the metal weight - I would need to construct a prototype and see this in action before implementing the idea.

In the installation environment, this would be fed through a Muio box and computer to a television/video screen in front of the user:

As an extension to this a (hard wearing) rotation sensor could be applied to the base of a detachable steering handle to incorporate a simple directional controller which could also be fed into the Muio box and act in conjunction with the speed regulator.

Wahey, the library was open

2007-04-05T18:06:00.000Z

Which was quite lucky considering it's Easter week. I wasn't so fortunate with Drumcroon Art Gallery as it was closed but the books I borrowed from the library proved very useful in helping me generate some more ideas, some of which have been noted in this weblog. In particular I am finding Digital Art (Christine Paul, Thames and Hudson) very useful, got some very good links and little ideas from that.

Tomorrow I will take another look through the books I have borrowed for any more sourcepoints that might spark something. I also plan to check the group blog, to which I have added a post requesting feedback on some of my ideas. To be honest I'm really not sure what is the best at the moment but I still really like the public transport idea (funny, it was the first idea I got) though the lift one is getting some good feedback so far. May be worth developing this idea a bit more, I'll see what happens.

Masaki Fujihata

2007-04-05T17:37:00.000Z

Light on the Net
http://www.archimuse.com/mw98/beyond_interface/fujihata_work.html
http://www.brody-ajka.sulinet.hu/_cp/lamp.htm

This piece actually took place jointly on a public space on the Internet and a public physical space: Gifu Softopia Centre in Japan. According to the artist's website this was repeated in Barcelona in 2001 but it seems that the project website is offline. This project made use of a grid of lights which could be turned on and off by visitors to the website. This was then relayed to the physical location, where every so often the order of the lights (which were on and which were turned off) would change.

I can immediately draw similarities between this idea and my Communigrid idea which, if it were carried out to its full potentially could be seen as a more developed version of the lights project. With regards to relevance to the current project, with simple turning on and off of the lights/boxes in a Shockwave file, users could create their own patterns and layouts as they wish. In fact, perhaps I could create a physical version of the Communigrid for this project? Certainly an idea along these lines would be well worth considering.

Jim Campbell

2007-04-05T17:21:00.000Z

Hallucination

http://www.jimcampbell.tv/IN/INHallucination/

Some info from page 103 of 'Digital Art', Christine Paul

This is a piece of video art that makes use of live video feed cameras and a motion sensor. The user's actions are captured on camera and relayed on a television. As the user walks closer to the set, they appear to burst into flames on-screen. Then a woman seems to suddenly appear next to them. Blurring the boundaries between the live and constructed image, it questions the level of the user's control.

In concept this is remarkably similar to the idea I had for the people being projected on the television as they sit in the exhibition. The one-button remote is meant to represent the fact we like to think we have control over television when in fact we only can control what we watch, not what is broadcast. In fact, this could be seen as a more conceptual variation on my idea that would place the visitor in the position of an item for sale, the subject of a news broadcast etc.

It just so happens that when I visualised my idea I foresaw the images being broadcast in black and white. This is perhaps because of the associations one makes with CCTV which I guess was an important element in the construction of the idea: people being caught on cameras numerous times a day.

Jeffrey Shaw

2007-04-05T16:56:00.000Z

The Distributed Legible City
http://www.jeffrey-shaw.net/html_main/frameset-works.php3
http://www.icinema.unsw.edu.au/projects/prj_dislegcity.html
http://aig.cs.man.ac.uk/research/legible/legible.php

This installation piece allows several cyclists in remote locations to navigate the same virtual environment simultaneously.

Cyclists can see a visual representation of themselves [on a screen in front of them] and can communicate verbally if they come close enough. The user can control the speed and direction using the exercise bike pedals and steering handle. 'Readers' can construct their own 'narrative' by choosing paths through the non-hierarchical textual labyrinth. (Paraphrased from Digital Arts, C. Paul, pg 72)

This is a digital interactive version of his earlier work, The Legible City, which was actually developed a long time prior to this. Perhaps Shaw had to wait until the technology could support this new version of his work before he implemented the idea.

It would be great if I could produce something like this. Whilst I understand how it might be achieved the time span may limit any output. For changing direction/position on screen a rotational sensor would be attached to the base of the steering handle and a sensor placed on a disc attached to the pedals to detect speed. Maybe I could create a game in which the user must drive down a street, Paperboy style attempting to avoid running over cats and smashing into lampposts. It would be achievable with my knowledge of Flash, I suppose, in a simple fashion. Not sure the RSPCA would approve, however.

The Chair

2007-04-05T13:45:00.000Z

At the moment this is still a concept that needs to be worked on but there's a lot of scope for branching out etc. I think. It works on the concept of the media and the ideas it puts in peoples' heads, effectively controlling their thoughts.

This part is quite complicated. Shown on the television screen would be various 'channels' that can be flicked through using the single button remote (there may be other buttons on there but effectively on the one button actually has an effect on the television display). Shown on these channels would be (some may be restricted by technical problems, should be treated a s separate ideas) :

> A live camera feed of the room they are currently sitting in. They are the stars of this programme. Cameras placed on top of TV? From behind to create a tunnel vision effect?

> A workaround of the above/idea for another channel - could simply have looped video footage of other people sitting in the chair doing various things like dancing, playing guitar, miming actions and other stuff.

> Each channel has a varying degree of quality directly related to their budget. These are placed on a 'sliding scale' as the most professional (Most closely linked to the BBC) are displayed first followed by the less good stuff (ITV) and finally the ultra-low budget stuff (Channel 5). The contrasts between each of these are made by showing newsreaders reading exactly the same news stories. The presentation of these will obviously vary between each channel to reflect their budget.

> The user, being shown on live feed, becomes the star of a shopping channel when they are actually advertised as an item to be sold. A voiceover and 'ShopTV' overlay would complete the atmosphere.

An additional element would be a tacky set top box on top of the television labelled 'Smellovision', 'CrudTV' or simply 'Freeview'.

The 'point' of the piece would hopefully be for people to have some fun, but also in a wider sense and to a lesser extent to question things they see on television - they are not always reflective or an objective reality.

Never mind the bus stops

2007-04-05T12:56:00.000Z

This idea, which I have been working on in my sketchbook, attempts to get across the tedium of the British Public transport system, or at least the waiting part. Thus, I propose this to be a realistic public transport simulator incorporating a bus stop setup complete with sign and timetable (buses come three at a time every hour or something) and video projection substituting for a busy road.

The irony, or some might say reality of the situation is that the person never actually is able to catch any of the buses that go past on screen every couple of minutes. When standing up they only ever whizz past even if they stick their arm out (which actually doesn't do anything) and when sitting down they do stop only for them to drive off again when you stand up. The video is activated by a pressure pad placed on the bus stop seat (shown in this diagram to be a comfy chair but I want to have a harder surface for people to sit on - adds to the realism of the installation).

Maybe I could extend this to include a shelter half smashed in to further the overall feel of the thing. This would come complete with vandalised/graffiti on panels and newspaper with used coffee cup next to it. Perhaps I could also make a guest appearance as a tramp.

Soundworks design

2007-04-04T17:24:00.000Z

I don't normally post soundworks things here, they are at their own weblog. However I felt this case was different as it actually involved an element of print design rather than just sonics.

I think these are quite good for an hour and a half's work.

Progress report

2007-04-04T17:13:00.000Z

Alongside doing work for the soundworks elective, today I spent time developing the ideas that I already have rather than generating new ones. I am sure I will think of some more concepts tomorrow and over the weekend, which I will continue to note in my sketchbook and this weblog. Next week will be a case of developing the ideas that I have.

Tomorrow I plan to take a trip to the library (hopefully it will be open) and get some books related to installation art and something for the research and elective projects. Perhaps there is also a magazine section from which I can get some resource points to work on for the foreseeable future.

And yes, it's not the best of Photo edits but the Gordon Brown image still makes me laugh.

Self-contained parking meter

2007-04-04T16:46:00.000Z

After working through the parking meter idea in my sketchbook I came up with the idea that a self-contained ticket-dispensing box might be good. In an ideal situation, this would contain a small screen, perhaps LCD, a roll of tickets of which one is dispensed every time money is entered and a coin entry slot, as displayed in the rough diagram below.

The user drops a coin into the slot that triggers a sensor to dispense a ticket and display something on the video/LCD screen. This could be a randomly selected humorous display with a message ("Done [you have been]") or something.

I would also like there to be a souvenir for the user in the form of a receipt which they get to take away and have as a reminder of their visit to the installation. Maybe they would even go and sit down and wait for something else to happen? Unlike real parking receipts, this one may be worth keeping. If possible I would like to get the current amount contributed on there as well as a short message or something. This would, of course, mean I would need to print a roll of receipts, which might be a bit pricey, though.

Illegal operations

2007-04-04T15:27:00.000Z

Maybe I could take a leaf out of Perry Hoberman's book and use the idea of your computer communicating with you via message boxes, particularly error ones. There's the age old cliché of Windows constantly performing 'Illegal Operations' and closing down.

Maybe I could twist this to try and show that it is not all Microsoft's fault or something, perhaps link in with viruses etc. Maybe a control panel you can interact with that is constantly shutting down. Take the example of the drive-through screen to the right: error boxes where you don't necessarily expect to find them.

For example: an environment where everything is electronic - a dystopian vision of the present/future. Like those programs from the 70s that predicted what life would be like in the 21st Century. A kettle would constantly turn itself off or your toaster could get a virus and start spewing binary code. Your washing machine could be filled with spam, Nigerian scam messages spilling from the drum along with everyday washing.

Well maybe this is a bit clichéd and old but it could potentially be developed into something good.

Technical elements

2007-04-04T13:18:00.000Z

Been thinking in a bit more detail how some of these ideas would be implemented with the use of a Muio box. Below is a diagram of how this would be applied to the coin dropping into a meter idea, making use of a pressure pad. If these are not available I will have to rethink to mechanics of the thing.

Perhaps more feasible, or at least a simpler alternative would be the switch mechanism but it would require an excuse for the user to press it: "Press here to pay more taxes/money".

This diagram also takes into account the need for a Muio box and a computer to output the data to a television screen. I am thinking this implementation would be relatively simple once the more complicated mechanics are sorted out. Maybe the Muio box itself would be housed inside the home-made parking meter?

Also, maybe the installation could be more in a street environment. Instead of having a sofa, a park bench would be used. Instead of a television output, a rotating bus stop sign or something. I will consider different ways of implementing the same idea.

iLog

2007-04-04T12:47:00.000Z

The iLog

http://owlproject.com/

I hate names that just stick a lowercase 'i' before the name but that's the only thing bad about the iLog. It's a little gizmo created by the people from muio.org and you can mess around with a musical/sonic output by twiddling some knobs and pushing some switches. There's a live demonstration of this here:

http://www.simonblackmore.net/owl/movies/infrasense.mov

Obviously this has taken a team of people ages to create and develop but a simplified version of this would just be the Muio box and a few sensors - the slider, a ball bearing switch and rotational knob. When fed into a program (maybe Flash is a little restrictive for this kind of output?) the user can create musical sequences by changing pitch, volume, beat and other things. It's a really cool little gadget and it looks quite achievable, or at least a simpler version would be.

The iLog concentrates on sound. Maybe if I created some kind of casing, say a remote control, a mobile phone shaped device or even a banana, users would be able to activate a whole manner of things on screen and physical outputs.

At a simpler level an abundance of devices can be created just with activation of a simple switch/sensor. I will explore this further in a later post.

Parking meter/speed camera installation

2007-04-04T09:15:00.000Z

This is an installation idea I have been working up in my sketchbook. It works on the premise that parking fines are ludicrously high and too forcibly handed out. I don't know what my obsession with politicians and the government is this week, but Gordon Brown is a central part of this, what with him being the guy in charge of the country's money and spending. Or at least, he is the public face of the country's finance. The general room layout is displayed in a diagram below.

Idea is that a person comes into the room and sits in the chair, which activates a pressure pad that makes an image similar to the one below appear on screen. Obviously the Photoshopping isn't that good but it gets across the general gist of the idea.

The meter on the left increases every time someone comes in and sits down or puts some money in the meter. I'm not sure how I would achieve this element yet but that would be a problem to solve later if I decide to go with this idea.

An alternative to this might be the speed camera concept the diagram above attempts to explain. Instead of sitting down, the user breaks a beam emitted by the speed camera that activates the television. The speed camera would flash the 'victim' and they might hear an excerpt of a Gordon Brown speech or something to draw their attention to the television.

Ideas for development

2007-04-03T17:50:00.000Z

Surprisingly I generated quite a few ideas today, mainly based on the projection in the Grand Arcade and the idea of beating authority figures. In addition, though, I developed one or two ideas in my sketchbook.

Developed some possible visuals and a realisation of the speed camera idea, including a branch-off idea in a living room environment in which one sits down next to a parking meter. As soon as their bottom hits the seat the meter switches to 'expired'. A television in front of the individual displays a visual along the lines of 'Gordon Brown's holiday fund' accompanied by a smiling Brown. Will perhaps look to work on this set of ideas more tomorrow as it has a number of humorous possibilities. Maybe it will be the visuals developed that 'make' this idea.

Also explored a bit more how I would realise the interactive fish tank exhibit in diagram format. This method would involve a set of six pressure pads to represent the rippling effect in the water.

Tomorrow I will continue to develop these ideas as I can and I will look to revisit the library later in the week, most likely Friday morning. The 'beat Blair' idea (pictured above right) still makes me laugh though I'm really not sure if I am going to take this further. Maybe it isn't quite the finished article - it doesn't really have anything to 'say' and there isn't really and underlying message to it.

Beat Blair

2007-04-03T15:29:00.000Z

An idea for possible development makes Tony Blair the centre of frustrations in quite a comical fashion. Named 'Beat Blair', the objective will be to beat a rug on which an image of the Prime Minister is projected. A rough mockup of this is shown below.

I have also mocked up a very simple rough Flash file demonstrating a possible rough cut, obviously Photoshopped style of animation to use.

Have some fun beating Blair here

Perhaps I could pipe in some irritating speech from Blair to make people want to smash Blair's face in, if they didn't want to already. Some political jargon might be good, or perhaps selected words like 'education', 'war', 'pensions' or other stuff he says all the time.

First in a series of world leaders or annoying people? Have 'levels' of people to batter up. E.g. work your way up from local MP to Gordon Brown and the Prime Minister. Same level of skill required but encouraged to continue by the animations which reward advancing?

Projection research - Starlab

2007-04-03T13:13:00.000Z

Starlab
http://www.starlab.com

Starlab is a portable planetarium. It consists of one specially made projector set up inside a dome, which is in complete darkness, to display all the stars in the night sky:

Inside the dome, a cylinder projector is not only able to show us the night sky devoid of any light pollution; it can take us on a journey from the South Pole to the Equator and on to the North Pole. -- Starlab.com

Starlab is used as a learning aid by teachers. It fits 25 people and inside a special light beam 'pointer' is used to point out particular areas of the sky as the teacher, who narrates the session, sees fit. The 'stars' are projected via cylinders attached to the projector and appear across the roof of the dome.

Modifying/simplifying the concept

A simple version of this could be achieved by utilising a piece of Perspex, card or similar item that would be placed in front of the projector and projected onto a wall or other surface. This would then be synched up with some light sensors attached to particular areas of the projected image and people would, with the aid of a torch and light sensors, interact with the image in front of them.

Maybe this could be something other than the sky at night but the darkness makes this an ideal situation to use light and light sensors to full effect. A similar setup might be to have a dark room where people shine a torch at different areas and see the effects on a large video screen.

Going down

2007-04-03T11:21:00.000Z

Yesterday I considered the option of having a projection of a lift. I thought that maybe I could take this one step further and actually project the screen onto the front of a lift, as demonstrated in some rough Photoshops below.

The first of these perhaps has potential for a printed media series. Could perhaps pin it up as a poster on the front of the lift in place of the projection but would sacrifice the user interaction element. Different messages would be activated on stepping on a pressure pad or via a motion detector sensor, perhaps at random or as the person gets closer to the lift. For example, the user sees the lift from a distance, which would at this point have no projection.

As they move closer people would notice the messages changing: "Hey, you're not thinking of using me are you?" or "Hello there," if the lift was feeling in a better mood. Maybe this could change throughout the day as more and more people use the lift. "Hey, stop walking all over me" or "stop treating me like a public service".

Further to this, maybe the projection would detect when the door opens and turn itself off. At times of inactivity maybe there could be 'screensavers' of the fish swimming about or those cheesy 'brick wall maze' ones from early Windows computers, complete with Lift Interactive scribbled on the walls or something (right).

Concept research - The Fish TV

2007-04-03T10:46:00.000Z

The Fish TV
http://thefishtv.com/redfish.php

The fish projection thing reminded me of a website I found a while back, which is just some video of fishes swimming round all the time. Don't know if this is on a loop or live but from a conceptual point of view for some reason I think it's a really great idea. It can be quite relaxing and get people watching just for the novelty value.

It would be good if there was a version that could be interacted with, for example the fish follow the pointer around or be fed by clicking on a particular area of the screen. Maybe if this were projected onto the floor and via a series of light sensors and/or pressure pads could detect which area of the projection people were currently standing on and the fish swim away from the user as they walk onto the projection.

If it were projected to a wall, a small laser beam could activate light sensors in different areas of the screen that would trigger Flash to make something happen, like dropping a new ornament into the tank or feed them.

This idea would require extensive filming of fish, perhaps screen captures from the Fishtv website and work around/in conjunction with the website to create different scenarios for the piece. Alternatively the fish could be animated/computer generated. With the Grand Arcade projection it was quite hard to tell if this was animated but I presume it was done this way.

Video projection research

2007-04-03T10:22:00.000Z

Visited the new Grand Arcade in Wigan today. Would have ordinarily had no impact on this project other than the fact I went to buy some A4 presentation folders for weblog printouts and a print portfolio. However it seems that at the centre of the arcade there are some surprisingly interesting, if basic, video projections.

The main video projection, which was actually guarded by security, had a projector on the roof, about 6-8 metres high laying an image on the tiled floor (below left). When I went there was an undersea scenario on display but I don't know if there are others for different times, days of week etc. I will have to go back and see but if this is true then it kind of acts as a real life screensaver that can be seen from most areas of the Arcade mall.

At first it seemed as though the piece could be interacted with as people were stepping over it. However the ripples of water and fish swimming rapidly about were actually played on a loop. Despite this I am sure this projector is capable of more as it seems there is some sort of sensor on the device (shown above right).

Elsewhere there was a video projection screen above the entrance to the arcade. It seems that two projectors relayed images on a piece of glass with some white sticker covering from behind. Not sure if there was some special substance used to set this up but it would be a good way of hiding the projectors, which might detract from the piece's overall quality.

This actually somewhat made up for the fact I couldn't visit the library (which was the main reason I went into Wigan) as it was closed for an industrial strike.

Ideas

2007-04-02T18:44:00.000Z

Following is a summary of some of the best ideas I have come up with over the last few days in my sketchbook. Some are fairly developed in terms of concept, some less so. Some are even ready to develop further though I would like to spend the majority of this week generating a pool of ideas from which I can choose. Or at least until I get bored/run dry.

> Living room scenario. 'Light switch' - People interact with electricity/light sources which are set up abnormally. For example the coffee table lamp activates the television etc.
> Alternatively - a series of light switches on a control panel do the same job on a video screen version of the installation. Less involved.
> Public transport. Set up a bus stop scenario and have a video screen displaying the traffic driving past. When the person comes in and sits down, the buses drive past. Supposed to be playing on the cliché about London buses but also the uselessness of public transport.
> Similar scenario meant for waiting rooms at train stations. When you get up, the train drives off.
> McDonald's drive-through style information box that gives audio feedback. Detects human voice and says something humorous e.g. would you like fries with that. 'Drive through culture'.

> Similar device resembling an answering machine. Telephone that 'talks' to the user. Humorous auto-answering call centre device.
> Stuck in a lift. Can control music, what happens when doors open.
> Totally immersive environment - a chair in a 4x4m square room with screen projections for walls.
> Mixing up technologies. Computerised kettles, Fridge interactive.
> Starlab inspired 'atlas of the Universe'. Shine torch on certain areas and light sensors trigger an audio response about the item/star/thing selected.
> Speed camera that flashes you whenever you move. Video screen shows Gordon Brown's holiday fund accumulator, which increases each time you are flashed. Real life speed camera or a video wall projection.

Reference points - concept

2007-04-02T12:08:00.000Z

http://www.perryhoberman.com/accept/html/infringement.html
I love these little pieces that make fun of legislation and computers and stuff. It's a little bit like geek humour for the mainstream. The Infringement series by Perry Hoberman concentrates on copyrights and how ludicrous and confusing they can be, especially within the world of computing and the Internet.

http://www.perryhoberman.com/accept/html/okCancel.html
http://www.perryhoberman.com/accept/html/eulaQT.html

The popup box symbolises an annoying element of the Internet that exists to promote commercialism and the 'look at me' nature of modern society. It also provides a direct link to the medium as it is easily recognisable as such. This is partly due to the computer being a constant source of irritation and also in a way the computer's way of 'talking' to the user.

The concept for the above has been stolen from a bunch of error messages here.

Development points

2007-04-02T09:23:00.000Z

Maurice Benayoun - SAS Cube
http://www.benayoun.com/z-a/dieu/index.en.html

"The SAS Cube is a virtual reality fully immersive room, similar to the CAVE® . A cube with 4 screens, 3x3m. The user is inside the cube structure surrounded by stereoscopic retro projections thus the user is fully immersed in a 3D environment. "

The SAS Cube is a 'chamber' one enters and interacts with a number of different scenarios. Using four screens, the user is totally immersed in the experience as they are completely surrounded by it.

The user is presented with a number of different situations ranging from the inside of a car to strange environments. The interesting element of this is that because the piece is powered by a number of regular home computers (requires at least two systems to function) new environments can be programmed and selected as needed. It can perform the role of an educational learning piece or take users on a trip to famous world locations. People can navigate these by moving around the cube which prompt the scenery to change, subtly or more markedly.

The piece uses some relatively complex computer software to function. However were I to emulate something like this it would be a more basic affair, with users activating 'hotspots' by stepping on pressure pads or utilising motion sensors. Some projectors would provide the computer imagery and project them onto some screens from the outside. All this would take place in a dark room and perhaps users could be given a customised remote control as they enter to control their environment in a simpler, more familiar fashion.

Reference points

2007-04-02T08:49:00.000Z

Perry Hoberman - Zombiac
(Zone Of Monitor-Based Inter-Amnesiac Contact)(2000)
http://www.perryhoberman.com/pages/zombiac/text.html

Like much of Hoberman's work, this piece involves computers and technology. In this case, computer terminals 'communicate' with each other and even visitors via screen flashes and short bursts of sound almost as if they are human. However they are dummy terminals, completely stripped of their hard drives and replaced with new sensors, thus 'zombified'.

"A number of different sensors are built into each computer assembly, including sensors for proximity, motion, light and sound. This allows each monitor to respond to a variety of stimuli, leading to a seeming complexity of behavior. Speakers built into each assembly emit noise synchronized to each burst of light, consisting of various computer-generated sounds, such as synthesised voices, severely aliased audio files, modem screeches and skronks, etc. Each individual system has its own distinct "voice"."

-- Hoberman.com

The piece makes use of a complex system of motion and light sensors to track locations of users and engages in a fake discourse. Thus it can be said that like Hoberman's works previously explored in blog posts, this piece explores the relationship between humans and technology. It does this in a non-conventional way, breaking free from the regular confines of human-computer interaction.

This involvement of computers and interacting with technology in a different way is, in essence, the very nature of this project. Hoberman makes a direct connection between the computer monitor we see and the way we control it and twists this to make the 'zombies' in this piece be 'in control' of the visitors themselves. This new, different approach appeals to me and will be worth exploring further.

I like this idea of using a whole room to interact with the user. As the visitor walks in the exhibit immediately begins to interact with them, immersing them in the experience almost straight away.

Shawn Decker - A Small Migration

http://www.shawndecker.com/inst/SmallMigration.html

Exploring the connections between humans and nature, this piece concentrates on the sonic element of the world around us. Taking a number of sounds found in nature, it reproduces them using a series of piano strings stretched between the walls of the space in which it is installed. These are then hit in set patterns by small automated hammers programmed into complex scores using computer technology which, as Decker points out, is an important element of his work. In this way it is different from some of the other pieces examined here in that people do not have a direct input but listen to the preset orders in which the notes are played.

Muio intro

2007-03-30T18:07:00.000Z

Attended an introductory session for the Muio box and its capabilities. There are sensors for sensors, on/off ball bearing and temperature as well as motion detection at a more advanced level. Also it seems that the box is quite customisable to a limit at least. In the end it will all depend on what I decide to do with it. Thus it will be first and most important to get an idea or concept on which to work. However it is good to bear in mind the possibilities before embarking on this.

There's a bit more info on the software and a download here:
http://muio.org/interface.php

Also note the page for a video extension/stand alone program which pixellates an input from a camera. This is reminiscent of the mirror pieces at Smoothware.com but is not really available for this project as the software is still in the development stages.

Also today posted some of the links I researched in earlier posts on the Festival Surgery group blog as well as noting down a few initial ideas in my sketchbook. There are one or two technical areas for development there but essentially I need to work on the concept before the implementation. I will continue to research artists' works and note down any inspiration/ideas here.

Interactive reference points

2007-03-30T10:47:00.000Z

Darkness
http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART20518.html

This 'Darkness' exhibit at the Dana centre makes use of lighting, or rather lack of it, combined with sounds to explore atmospheres that certain sounds can create.

Whilst this may not necessarily be relevant from a technical point of view in that it does not use sensors as such, the concept of using darkness to heighten peoples' senses and responses is an interesting area for exploration. Perhaps if when a user walks into the room they trigger a pressure pad and the lights are switched off the music/sounds could begin to play.

http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/turnerprize/2001/Creedwork.htm
http://www.martincreed.com/works/workno227.html - Lights going on and off
Compare to Turner Prize winner Martin Creed's piece 'The Lights going On and Off', in which the lights literally turn themselves on and off in five second intervals.

If I could take this concept and adapt it to react to say, speech or the individual's position in a room then I could perhaps create an interactive light switch. Maybe I could paint a large light switch on the floor and when the person steps on it the lights go off/come on. This could trigger some other actions such as a video piece, perhaps? The lights in an on-screen environment are controlled. Could maybe see some people in the room on-screen which exclaim when the lights go off.

Emotional Stock Exchangehttp://www.benayoun.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Benayoun

A piece by French artist Maurice Benayoun, this is a simple idea that displays text on a scrolling data display. Part of a series 'The Mechanics of Emotions', 3200 cities around the world are listed along with an emotion such as 'pleased', 'elated' or 'stress' in much the same way those stock exchange tickers work.

Not strictly an interactive piece, but if this were modified to respond to the user's actual emotions detected by a moisture sensor which they place their finger on (detects amount of sweat), it could take on an extra dimension. Perhaps the screen could communicate with the person? "Hmmm, you seem a little bit tense. Have an ice cream" (points to ice cream stand at other side of room).

Ada - Interactive intelligent space

2007-03-30T10:27:00.000Z

Ada - Interactive Intelligent Space

Ada @ EXPO
http://e-collection.ethbib.ethz.ch/show?type=bericht&nr=8&part=text
http://specs.up f.edu/index.php?id=27

This is a constantly 'learning' interactive space that users can interact with by playing games with the exhibit. These make use of sound and lighting, with the user's movement being detected via cameras on the hundreds of floor tiles laid out across the 160m square arena.

An experiment in Artificial Intelligence and human interaction with it, this is a very complex operation with much prior research into tactile person tracking and automatic music composition amongst other things.

Perhaps a simple version of this would be to have three small pads which the user must hit before a light disappears, almost like the 'Whack-a-Mole' games at the funfair. These speed up and get harder to hit as time goes on, providing in effect a learning curve. However whereas that is automated, Ada constantly adapts to user input, created by their movements.

Simon Blackmore

2007-03-30T09:34:00.000Z

Weather guitar
http://simonblackmore.net/weather_guitar_text.htm

This piece takes the incorporation of sound one step further by utilising an actual musical instrument as a part of the exhibition. Here, a mechanical setup is employed which plays the guitar according to the current weather. On a conceptual level, this is a good way of linking in music with the 'mood' of the day's atmospheric conditions which, in Britain, can vary wildly:

The focus of this project is an attempt to draw parallels between the scientific inquiry of measuring and quantifying the natural elements, and the romantic notion of the weather acting as a source of artistic inspiration. -- Blackmore

Though this project seems to rely heavily on engineering, the creator points out that he wanted to keep the level of programming to a minimum, allowing the viewer to clearly witness the effect of the weather on the guitar's music. From listening to an audio clip of the piece, the guitar only even plays one chord on any particular weather condition. I'm not sure if the chord changes according to condition but there's some interesting sounds generated, some pleasant and some discordant.

To set this up, the artist would firstly require some sort of moisture detector or thermistor to detect the atmospheric conditions. Next, they would have to set up six small electronic 'plectrums' to play the guitar strings. Presumably each is programmed to play either independently or in a specific order according to the amount of moisture detected. However it does sound as if the weather is having a direct influence on the guitar's output.

This idea of producing different outcomes each time, be it interval between notes, chords played, notes played etc. is an interesting one. I wonder if the guitar strings ever snapped?

Player Printer
http://simonblackmore.net/player_printer_text.htm
http://projects.lowtech.org/player_printer/
http://www.audiosynth.com/ - open source software used to create

The Player Printer, in a similar fashion, utilises music production but this time in accordance to a user input. Constructed using defunct computer hardware and open source software, music is produced using an input of positioning of holes punched in a piece of card, much like a music box score. The idea here is to create something using computer software that the user can create their own scores for, which they can experiment with by feeding into the machine in different ways.

Perry Hoberman

2007-03-30T08:47:00.000Z

"Perry Hoberman is an installation artist who has worked extensively with machines and media." -- en.wikipedia.org

Cathartic User Interface
http://www.perryhoberman.com/
http://www.itofisher.com/PEOPLE/PERRY/cui/index.html

The Cathartic User Interface is a piece that explores emotional relations between humans and technology. People can hurl balls at a computer screen made up of a number of parts, almost reminiscent of a video wall of smaller screens. Navigated by a series of obsolete keyboards, hitting them triggers a number of multimedia projections and sounds.

I think this is great as it points out that perhaps we rely too much on computers and technology as they break down all too often. It's also humorous as it pokes fun at the very fickle relationship between the computer and the user. For example, one screen projection says "You have no new mail. You have no friends. You have no life". This almost suggests what your computer may be thinking if it were more intelligent. The user can vent their anger at the screen in a way they cannot normally and express their anger at technology's tendency to fail just when you need it to work.

Interaction-wise, it seems that actions are triggered by pressure pads allocated to areas of the screen, activated when the ball hits it. This brings in a small element of user skill but immerses them in the whole experience - almost as if they are part of it.

This piece was actually produced in 1995, which may explain the dated look of some of the visuals but in a way this endears the user to the piece and gives an overall atmosphere of 'retro computing'.

Bar Code Hotel
http://www.itofisher.com/PEOPLE/PERRY/BarCodeHotel/

"Upon arrival at the Banff Centre, one is issued an ID card with a photograph and a bar code symbol, which is passed through bar code readers in various locations for various purposes. One afternoon, I swiped my card to pay for a meal, and was promptly informed that I had received some messages. I'd never thought much about bar code before, but it struck me as strange that such entirely different functions could be conjoined.

I started to research bar code technologies, and began to visualize a room in which every available surface was covered with bar code, an entirely black-and-white environment. At this point, I still wasn't sure what the bar code would actually do, but I assumed I'd think of something. I went ahead and ordered my first bar code reader, and began to decipher the various available symbologies. We even discovered that we could actually (somewhat laboriously) write readable bar codes by hand." -- Perry Hoberman

The Bar Code Hotel, meanwhile, is a very advanced interface encouraging users to interact using a bar code scanner and lightweight 'pen'. The scanner can be used on any of the barcodes laid out on a table within the installation to control a 'character' appearing on a video screen in front of them. These take the form of inanimate object such as hats, keys, cheese etc. and perform various actions according to the barcode that is scanned.

Multiple users can enter the environment at any time and interact with each other via their on-screen persona, a bit like a primitive version of Life2. In many ways it is more advanced than CUI but the amount of user interaction can be quite minimal. It is up to the user how 'involved' they want to get and how many codes they scan.

Again, this piece totally immerses the user within the 'world' of the hotel. The simple everyday action of scanning a barcode is an inventive use of interaction, especially in 1994 when this was produced. Like the CUI, the graphics are distinctly outdated but give the piece a sense of situation, of the time when these graphics were state of the art.

Wahoo

2007-03-29T17:53:00.000Z

Download the Hit Enter wallpaper today!

WebTV

2007-03-29T17:28:00.000Z

http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/362780/why-ceefax-and-teletext-rule.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webtv

A couple of articles relating to WebTV, a project set up in the mid-90s. Marketing wise, it failed quite miserably, even after Microsoft bought it out.

"From our latest research, both in the lab and at customers’ houses, we know people want. We focused on usability, content and need.
The results centre around 5 key areas:
1. Value for money
2. Choice
3. Control
4. Simplicity (UI)
5. Convergence (one device)"

The digital set top boxes of today are a product of this but are not the fully functioning Web television service that could potentially be accessed. Teletext was seen as an important aspect of this crossover, however the limitations of the medium meant it could never happen. Thus, the early noughties saw the Internet take over from Teletext due to its increasing speed and capability to broadcast moving image. It would not be until later, though that the Internet became powerful enough to actually broadcast live television. In fact some might say this has actually yet to be achieved until we are viewing HD television, ordering groceries, talking to friends and sending emails via one system.

For now, the Internet provides most, if not all of these but a similar, television broadcast based system has yet to be seen.

Project summary

2007-03-29T17:05:00.000Z

Summary for the portfolio project

In all I feel this has been a successful project, at least in terms of developing my knowledge. I have got to grips with advanced DVD software for the first time and have made a fairly good attempt at producing something in it, at least for a first time user. Despite the fact that the method I used was fairly basic and did not allow for adding sound I feel it was the best method to implement given the amount of time allowed and the level of expertise I have. I understand there are failings, namely legibility of some text, flickering screen elements etc. but this experience has taught me how to overcome these when I return to use the program next time. The outcome is not brilliant but is creditable as it extends the brand of the festival.

In addition to learning DVD Studio Pro, this project introduced me to the capabilities of Dreamweaver. Although I had some experience prior to this project in another web design program, I found that I adapted quite well to the new program. However I still cannot get the level of customisability I can with Frontpage yet but I'm sure this will come. The outcome I would say is better than the DVD design, partly due to greater amount of on the design. Indeed I only decided to actually create a DVD rather than a CD-ROM a week before the project deadline so in part this was to be expected.

I found many parts of the project fun, though some were frustrating in relation to learning a new piece of software. Actually seeing my DVD design on the television was a good point - it was interesting to see the piece I had created actually in practice. The same goes for the website, which I quite enjoyed creating and developing. One thing I learned however is that sometimes it takes an 'outsider', someone who hasn't been working on the site, to make constructive comments as often one can be blinded as to the success of one's own design due to constantly working on the thing. This is where the group weblog came in useful - it was also a good opportunity to see what other people had developed.

Promotional packaging

2007-03-29T16:35:00.000Z

Final website - http://www.student.livjm.ac.uk/lsadfarr/

Looks best in Firefox on a Mac OS (that's what it was created and tested on) but will work fine on any browser with the Flash plugin.

After sorting out a couple of problems with the DVD itself I today turned to the design element of the project by creating some simple designs for DVD packaging and wallpaper. I wanted these to extend the brand of the festival - although they are simple they do add an extra dimension and an element of professionalism to the festival.

DVD Inside Cover design

DVD outer cover design

I am actually fairly pleased with these, considering I created them in one day. It would be good to find a high resolution printer and get some quality copies done on some suitable paper.

Promotional wallpaper design

The design for the wallpaper actually came first and the other DVD designs after it. Though it may look grey when the image is resized, the background is actually a grid similar to the one on the website. The wallpaper can be downloaded from the site:
http://www.student.livjm.ac.uk/lsadfarr/multimedia.htm

In addition there is now a podcast though there is only one thing on it at the moment. But hey, at least it exists. I would have worked on this more if I had the time but the deadline has now passed for this project and the new one has started.

tpc://feeds.twango.com/podcast/channel/hindleyite.public

I couldn't manage to get a new account under the name Hit Enter so I had to use my own, which I had set up ages ago and forgot about. In all, an opportunity that I could have made more of but certain things had to take priority.

DVD packaging design

2007-03-29T11:14:00.000Z

> http://www.dvdcoversfuzion.com/ - scanned DVD covers for commercially available DVDs

> Simple DVD design for the Quirky Works Film festival:
Quirky Works film site

DVD design: issues and remedies

2007-03-29T10:39:00.000Z

Tested the DVD on a television and DVD player combo. Made some notes for changes:

> Menus - backgrounds look flickered. Pixels too narrow for screen resolution?
> Text still a bit small/unwieldy in some places but on the whole is readable
> Video colour flickering. Not really much I can do about this though.

Apart from this things seem to run smoothly. Remedied the first and most prominent of these problems by increasing the size of the background gridlines. If I were to have more time/do this project again I would take into account the higher screen resolution of a computer monitor, which can cause flickering elements or unreadable text. To aid this in an ideal situation there would need to be a television monitor connected up to the computer with the DVD software installed to run tests rather than constantly burn new DVD discs to test them out.

All in all, a useful exercise and many lessons were learned. Aside from learning the software I gained some knowledge of screen formatting and switching of screen types to display the DVD.

Text redesign

2007-03-28T17:12:00.000Z

Spent today modifying the existing design for the DVD menu to include larger text readable on television screens. As it turned out, the original version wasn't that bad on a television screen but the text was unreadable. Hopefully today's changes will remedy this. Also, added some slightly better slugs with descriptions for the playing of the movies though I still have to change these so they do not turn up when the movies are selected directly. Got a copy of this burned to disc for testing on a TV DVD player later, the results of which I shall post here tomorrow.

Started to mock up some packaging designs for the DVD. These are pretty basic at the moment though, I will work on these more tomorrow.

Finalised the website design and made a couple of changes based on some comments from the group blog.

Stuff to do tomorrow
> Make changes to the DVD based on testing and burn it.
> Finish off the packaging, print it off and place it in the DVD cover with CD. Might have to wait until Friday to get the CD cover printed when Sam is in.
> More designs for the wallpaper. Screensaver? May not have chance to create this now but I may do for the podcast, for which I have a few videos I could use.
> Do a final check over of the website to see if there's anything I have missed.

Finalising the text document, narrowing the subject

2007-03-27T17:56:00.000Z

Got the text document ready to be handed in on Thursday morning. Went through looking for formatting/spelling errors and got this printed off in readiness.

As for the project direction I have been having some thoughts. My research so far has been quite broad in its scope and I would like to either branch off or narrow something down which I can develop further for the rest of the semester and into third year.

Some possible areas to explore:
> How has teletext influenced the development of the Internet?
> In what ways has the medium of teletext contributed to the world of pixel art? (eg. Van der Heide)
> How have artists used teletext as a medium/subject to create art? (eg. Rick Moody)

I am sure I will continue to have ideas for this and note them here. Also I understand this comes into more prominence in the next part of the research project after Easter.

DVD burning, New project briefing

2007-03-27T17:41:00.000Z

Managed to, amongst other things, get my project burned to DVD as a test to see how it would turn out. Unfortunately it would seem the text is too small and as a result is not legible. Will need to talk to someone about interlacing as I heard that selecting this option would cut down on this problem. I have emailed a lecturer about this but if this is not feasible then I will have to go back and resize the text, which might take a long time considering I flattened all the PSD images. I would have to type out all the text again. In addition, some of the graphics look stunted so I may have to rework these also.

Spent some more time commenting on peoples' websites and got the PDP form filled in.

There was also an introductory/follow up briefing for the new project beginning on Thursday after the deadline for the current one. For the 'Beyond the Mouse' brief there is also an extra session on Friday afternoon at 1.30 that explores further the type of interfaces which can be used for this project.

www.muio.org

It seems this pathway, which it is likely that I will take, involves the use of the Muio box. Sensors can be fed into the box and input to a computer program such as Flash. There is a potentially infinite range of possibilities for this but for this five-week project it might be best to stick to something technically simple - a good idea should function well.

This looks intriguing and I am definitely interested in trying out new things. Plus, the conceptual side of the project ought to suit my working style.

Site development, DVD menu implementation

2007-03-26T17:06:00.000Z

Really drove the project forward today by setting aside half the day for DVD and half for the website.

Website
With the site, I began by implementing some changes suggested by the group:
> Cleaned up the navigation bar
> Removed some unnecessary links and pages from the site, merged some of them in with each other
> Cleaned up the colour scheme and some formatting on the exhibits page (removed link underlines)
> Tested out another method of thumbnail highlighting on the exhibits page. Will gauge the reaction to this before trying out other methods/implementing this one.

The new, refined navigation bar.

Screenshot from my website: new design of the exhibits page. Note the non-underlined links.

My website

Also, left some more comments on the group blog.

DVD Menu
Got the majority of this mocked up in the DVD authoring software. Just a few aesthetic touches here and there to add and the chapter order to sort out now.
> Also, I will consider further the idea of having an intro sting and what should be in it.
> Thirdly, I will also think about mocking up designs for packaging in Illustrator.

Tomorrow I will continue to work on both my website and my DVD, adding any finishing touches to the site (e.g. Screensaver, wallpaper need to be created, podcast?) and ask about exporting/burning options. I might need to purchase a DVD-R for this.

Pathway introduction brief

2007-03-23T20:02:00.000Z

Today we were given the briefs for the next project that finishes at the end of April. As a general timescale, this includes 2 (and a half) weeks of teaching time and 2 weeks for the Easter break. This could potentially be a problem though I will request electronic communication during this non-teaching time. After all, this is supposed to be preparing us for the forthcoming third year when there will be even less teaching time. I expect this to be testing though I am looking forward to it at the same time.

Two briefs to select from:
> Creation of a microsite or DVD extra for a CD, Film of your choice.
> Creation of an interface that 'goes beyond' the standard mouse and keyboard input.

At the moment I am leaning towards the second of these as I am interested in learning and implementing new things. While the outcome I produce might be quite basic, it would certainly be interesting. However I am still a little bit confused as to if I will need to produce a piece of electronics or something. There are follow up lectures to this on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday so hopefully this will shed some light and help me make my mind up.

There are some sourcepoints given in the brief, I will begin by taking a look at these.

DVD menu development

2007-03-23T19:50:00.000Z

A hectic day. Began by testing out the DVD authoring software and starting a new file. Progress was punctured by a lecture and me having to upload my website, amongst other things. All of which meant I only managed to export my videos to the correct format in preparation and draw up some designs and navigation menus in my sketchbook.

Made comments on other peoples' websites on the group weblog, which was quite enjoyable actually. Good to see what stage other people are at with their designs. As it happens others still do not have their sites at a complete stage so it was pleasing to see I wasn't necessarily behind.

Spent time mocking up some exhibit information pages for the DVD. Simple design shown below. Did this for all eleven exhibits in preparation to go into the DVD authoring software. I have booked some time for Monday morning when I shall import these files into the program.

In fact I only have to mock up a menu for the interactive details and I'll have the bulk of the visuals done.

Also decided that it would be good to produce an introduction, be it animated or other. Some ideas that I had:
> Selection of imagery from the works exhibited to a cheesy musical soundtrack.
> Create my own animation using a video game in a 25-second piece, perhaps humorous. It will introduce the DVD.
> Do the above but in a voiceover of the Red vs. Blue exhibit video.

I might get the chance to do this, or at least begin on it, tomorrow.

Also drew up some initial designs for a possible package for the DVD. I may get the chance to mock these up sooner or later on Illustrator or Photoshop. They are pretty simplistic but have a slick quality reflecting the aesthetic of the website.

Website development, interim review crit

2007-03-22T18:49:00.000Z

Spent a lot of the day constructing the exhibitions menu. It's a rather time-consuming process but I only need to complete one more entry. I have added the new exhibits and changed the colour of the links to something other than the standard navy blue web link colour. Example screenshot below.

Comparison of menu bars
With the website, I feel it is nearing completion. There is still the issue with the navigation bar which I shall resolve by going back into Flash and modifying the layouts.

There's less than a week to go on the project now and today we had a crit session with tutors for the DVD designs which threw up some interesting and relevant comments:
> Should there be sound?
> Should there be an animated background?
> Should I include extensive information on the works?
> Should there be non-interactive thumbnail pages for the interactive pieces in the festival?
> Could I possibly create a DVD menu for the Communigrid? This would obviously need some adapting to fit the format.

DVD Stuff
Secondly there was a tutorial for a method of creating menus in the DVD design software that has been suggested might be the best way to go for my design. There is no capability for interaction sounds but I am willing to sacrifice this. It seems a simple enough method that involves taking mockups from Photoshop straight into the software using the layers as buttons and interactive graphics bits.

Tomorrow, or at some point, I will need to:
> Mock up some sort of screen which gives more info on the selected videos
> Same as the above, but with the interactive pieces.
> Create mockups to be taken into the DVD software in Photoshop

Have booked into the animation suite for tomorrow morning so I can get cracking with the software this weekend.

DVD Menu design

2007-03-21T18:24:00.000Z

With an interim review coming up tomorrow I thought it would be best to stop theorising and get cracking with the DVD menu design. Firstly, mocked up a design in Photoshop based on those for the website. A screenshot of the main selection menu is shown below.

This, I feel is a simple but effective layout that reflects the values of the festival and furthers its brand. On completing this mockup, I took the design into Flash where I speculated about the presentation of the actual videos. Will they be full-screen or 320 x 240? I mocked up some simple designs for these.

The second of these would appear before the actual video plays, be it full screen or the smaller, window format. I would like to keep the text to a minimum as it might detract from the piece itself.

Tomorrow I will further work on these mockups and the Flash file in the morning before putting them on the screening room Mac. Also I want to get the skeleton of my site finished: ie. Upload all the necessary pages. I still need to finish the exhibits and their thumbnails, so that will take priority and there are a couple of non-working links and non-existent pages. I will look to fix this as well as address the link colour problem highlighted today in a test by an independent user. More specifically I will either make the menu bar more prominent, including increasing the font size of the brief explanations, or change the colour of the links from aquamarine to a darker green/ blue. It may look attractive but it doesn't stand out very well on all browsers.

More mockups

2007-03-20T18:20:00.001Z

Mocked up some more pages for the website, including the email one, shown below. Compare this to the Dreamweaver mocked up version, shown below it.

I think it's beginning to take shape. There are a few things I need to iron out here and there (font size on the navigator menu, complete adding the entries for the exhibits) but apart from that I pretty much know what I am doing with the website.

For this reason I began work on the DVD menu. After drafting up some rough layouts in my sketchbook I began to take these into Photoshop. I am halfway through a mockup, this will be my first priority tomorrow. As I have noted in the previous post, I now have selected some videos to go into the motion graphics element of the festival. I will need to write up some blurbs for these (including creator, file size, running time etc.) and get this part of the brief moved forward.

There is also scope to extend the idea to be included in the website. The movies could be added to the works menu for viewing from the site in a streamed version.

DVD content

2007-03-20T15:03:00.000Z

For the purpose of the DVD menu design, I will select some interactive-related works. This will mean that the subject of the films will be video game, Internet etc. based. Whilst I will be concentrating on the web design aspect of this project more, I am keen to create a DVD menu as I want to learn the skills involved.

Some possible videos to be used in the film element of the festival:

My trip to Liberty City by Jim Monroe - documents a fictional trip to Liberty City, a location within the video game Grand Theft Auto 3. Taken from archive.org.

Video Games Orchestra performance of classical video games to the sound of an orchestra. This is an actual orchestral group - their website can be found here. From YouTube.

Mission: Illogical - video games stupidity involves some guy playing on his games to make the characters in them look as stupid as possible. From YouTube.

Red vs Blue is an example of new interactive artform known as Machinima (machine animation). In this, the firs episode of the popular Red vs Blue, two soldiers from the game Halo discuss the meaning of their existence.

There is also the added possibility of these being included and exhibited on the website along with the interactive pieces as smaller files streamed for the Internet.

Site compatibility tests

2007-03-20T12:23:00.000Z

I feel it is important to take into account the individual characteristics of different browsers when creating a website. Therefore I carried out a short test to see what works and what doesn't in three of the most popular web browsers: Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.

Internet Explorer

> The pages load quicker, making the site look more professionally produced than it actually is. You can't tell that the menus on the exhibits pages have all been mocked up separately - it runs as smoothly as a frames page.
> The embedded Flash files require the user to click on them to activate them before you can actually use them.
> External links from a Flash file don't load up.

Firefox

> Slow loading times - slowest of the three.
> There is no problem with the Flash files.

Safari

> Quite slow loading times, even from the hard drive.
> Like IE, requires some authentification before clicking on external links from embedded .swf files. Can be annoying.
> When loading from a remote server sometimes the images don't cache properly.

Whilst I understand it is hard to be completely cross-browser compatible I want to at least make the site functional in all of them. I want to bear these in mind as, because the site will eventually be dealing with large swf files I need to be sure these are working.

http://www.netmechanic.com/products/Browser-Tutorial.shtml

HTML mockups

2007-03-19T16:11:00.000Z

Used today to generate some HTML mockups from the Photoshopped visuals I created on Friday. This included work in Flash experimenting which elements would work best as an embedded .swf file or plain HTML. Right is a screenshot of the result that now has all elements functioning in a more horizontal, right aligned fashion reflecting the area on the web page it will be placed.

Took this and embedded it into a number of HTML mockups on non-frames pages. These look good, but there is a slight problem in that the menu resets every time a page is loaded. To combat this, I may perhaps look at implementing a frames page hierarchy. I am sure Dreamweaver will support this, it will simply be a case of finding out how to create them.

Below is a comparison of two menus I have mocked up, one with just the thumbnails navigated by a small embedded Flash file and one with the exhibit list, details and thumbnails all in Flash (right). I'm not sure which I am going to implement yet but I am leaning towards the former due to (a) compatibility and loading times, (b) copy-paste functions and (c) ability to specify popup window size in Dreamweaver.

Meanwhile, below is the mockup of the home page, which despite some differences in font (I used a regimented Arial and font size 10pt) and colour (the link colour was the closest I could get to aquamarine) has made a pretty good transition from Photoshop to HTML. Compare this to the Photoshop mockup below it.

Tomorrow I will:
> Hopefully make a start on the DVD menu designs. This will include getting some interactive-related motion graphics for this 'sub-festival' then drawing up some layouts based on these.
> Go to library for DVD design research?
> Speak to tutors about the website designs and the DVD layouts. Make changes/amendments based on comments/feedback received.
> Publish my current website to the LJMU webspace.

Page mockups, refining

2007-03-16T18:47:00.000Z

Used today to mockup some designs for web page layouts. Initially worked through these in my sketchbook before taking them on-screen. Below are shots of some of these, which were created in Photoshop.

From top to bottom: Main page, exhibits, multimedia gallery, screening details.

I feel these are looking good now. Maybe I could round off some of the harsh edges on the images but apart from this they are perhaps ready to take into HTML format. I will start to do this on Monday as well as begin to look at possible designs for the DVD menu.

Research project PDF

2007-03-16T18:36:00.000Z

Made a start on creating the document required for the research project to display the image bank and details being collected. Spent some time copy/pasting and copyediting some of the entries from the blog. I have realised that my particular selection of project is slightly different from the norm in that there are no famous exponents of the art as such. They do exist, they are just hard to find since this is a fairly unconventional medium. The research I have been doing up until now has not been solely focused on the images I have collected, it is more generalised.

For this reason, I will continue to work on the document to refine and remedy this problem to a point I am happy with. I will consult tutors for guidance and continue to note in this blog the changes/progress made to the document until the deadline on Thursday the 29th March, a week on Thursday.

Site design

2007-03-15T17:54:00.000Z

Initially took the existing blue on black design and changed things around a bit. I intended to do some colour variations but it seems that I was sidetracked and I ended up doing other stuff instead. Still, I managed to get at least one variation done - an inverted version of the original design in the form of black content on a white background. There is a screenshot of the downloads page that displays this to the right.

Note the aquamarine link tones. This was because I was attempting to emulate the Cityofsound website design with its simple no-nonsense colour scheme. As a test, I feel this is quite strong and has some elements I may want to take further. In fact, it may even be better than the blue on black colour scheme. Perhaps the standard white background is the way to go?

From this I decided to move into Flash at least for now to try and get some menu functionalities working. I mocked up a small preliminary design layout and created it at a basic level in Flash - this is shown below.

Design-wise this isn't quite there yet. The greyscale colour scheme might be useful but the font may need some work. The above shot demonstrates what happens if the iDrum button is rolled over - a small logo appears to the right of the navigation bar. This initially only shows the first menu and the secondary one appears when the user clicks certain links from the first. Just something I wanted to test out as I might be interested in using a simple hierarchical menu system.

The above design in the result of a bringing together of the previous elements into a landscape orientated web page. This is mocked up in Photoshop - it might be a good idea to perhaps in the future use this program in conjunction with my sketchbook to create some on-screen versions of my hand-drawn diagrams.

The design draws elements and inspiration from many sources:
> The background is a fiddled version of the one that can be found at thesecondmethod, one of the design sites I was researching. Here, I have added a horizontal line to make a grid effect.
> The black on white colour scheme comes from the cityofsound design, as does the use of aquamarine to denote links.
> The split columns idea came from the German magazine collective website I was looking at earlier.

By bringing together all these elements I have produced something that I will now continue to work on and develop into something substantial. First, I will mock up some of the other pages for the site in the same vein, deciding along the way where I will use Flash and where I will use HTML.

Site content

Brainstormed some possible items for inclusion on the website. These don't necessarily have to be created but an indication of their theoretical presence will add some colour to the website and flesh it out a bit. In other words, creating the website which will hold the content rather than the content itself.

> Merchandising. A shop page. Buy stickers, t-shirts, posters, postcards etc.
> Promotional events. Launch party, themed evenings, flash mobbing. These can be referenced in the news section of the front page.
> Podcasts. A page specially showing the podcasts and their content. Could have interviews with the exhibitors, audio previews of the festival.
> Press releases. 5 stars from the Sunday Times? A good review on the Gadget show?
> Option to book tickets for the special screenings. More detailed info such as the time they start, what is being shown, timetable for the evening etc. Will there be light refreshments?

DVD Menu design

Established that it is probably best to create a DVD menu rather than a CDROM as this may be too similar to the website. This will also help develop my skills with the authoring software. One possible solution to the problem of having to design a 'whole new' festival for this would be to adapt the content slightly to fit in with the interactive arts theme. For example, a video about a computer game, whilst not directly interactive, would still be classed as interactive art. By doing this I will be able to further my brand rather than making up a new one. I will do some layouts in my sketchbook and on-screen for this before taking them into Studio Pro when I feel I am ready to do so.

Website research

2007-03-15T10:35:00.000Z

Spiekermann Partners
http://www.spiekermannpartners.com/e_index.html

Recently, this magazine company took the drastic step of redesigning their publication to be less image-heavy and rely on hardcore typography. The same can not really be said about their website but it is still pleasant enough to encourage users to visit. A lot of the pages consist of four main columns with fairly wide spacing between them and not more than a couple of sentences at a time are presented for the user to take in.

Bold headings also help the user find the information the want. The home page states 'Who we are', 'What we do' and 'How we work' to get across the basic message as soon as possible.

The clients page is pretty impressive, with a wide range of well known company logos. A number of these can also be clicked on (indicated by the small arrow to the top right of the thumbnail window) to see more information on the work they have done for this client along with a photograph or two.
The above menu is from the Bosch sub-menu. Here, users can select a thumbnail from the pool below and the large scale version immediately appears in the above pane. These are all very professional looking - the above screenshot shows the font the company designed for Bosch. The understatedness of the layout aided by the white background helps place emphasis on the work and let it 'speak for itself'.

The colour scheme makes good use of greyscale. Even the photographs of the people associated with the company are desaturated. The result is a slick, regimented overall feel, an efficiency one would normally associate with German design.

An evening with PText

2007-03-14T18:32:00.000Z

http://teletext.mb21.co.uk/gallery/cabsat/ptext/

The teletext then and now website offers the chance to have an 'Evening with PText', Paramount television's resident teletext service. For archive's sake, the links on the left are all the pages on that channel's broadcasting range. There are about 100 and they can all be navigated by a simple point and click menu system using JPEGs and links within the browser. It would seem that here there is a small problem with loading the links - either Firefox does not render it or the image has been lost. However apart from this, the menu system is a simple way of emulating the teletext menu on a computer system viewable by any browser.

The page in the thumbnail to the right is an explanation of a functionality that can be activated by the remote control. This is yet another practical use of the technology that acts like a kind of digital alarm clock. It can be seen as a primitive precursor to favourite channels on your television set-top box.

Personally I've never used this function before and wondered how it actually worked up until now. Perhaps it's one of those things that not many people use, but it is there nonetheless.

Playing with the design

2007-03-14T18:01:00.000Z

Had some time today to play around with ideas for the site design a bit. I began by implementing some of the suggestions that were given in yesterday's feedback, including the changing of font sizes to properly reflect the hierarchy of the text. For example, the links on the download page have been changed from 14 point bold to 12 point bold to try and fit in with the rest of the page design. I think that at least this is one aspect of the site that is working pretty well.

Note the change from the large 25x25px 'bullet points' from the original design have been changed to some small icons resembling piece of fax paper. Maybe I will change some of these to reflect the item being linked to - for example, the exhibits might become a browser icon to show that one must use their browser to find their desired download. For now I feel this is working well. Also note that the compression software site link has been changed to http://www.stuffit.com/ rather than 7-Zip, which was a Windows-only program.

In this design for the exhibits page, the layout has been changed to reflect that of the downloads page. Users can click on the link to an exhibit to bring up a popup window containing a screenshot or two from the project. I plan to add more detail such as file size, blurb and download/play in browser buttons to these popups should I decide to run with the idea.

Since I am still getting the hang of Dreamweaver I am having some slight problems with spacers. For some reason they load up as an errant 'center' tag in the Dreamweaver GUI. For this reason the spacing of the cells is not quite right yet.

This will eventually become a longer list of projects as I add some more interactive work to the site and has been built to accommodate this. It would look better as a longer list, in my opinion. In fact, the whole idea of elongating the page as with the Second Method site design rather than having separate ones for each exhibit is an option open to me. Perhaps I could mock up some designs for this to get a better idea of what it may look like.

Left is a design for a slightly modified logo and navigation bar layout. I was just trying out a few variations on the navbar arrangement and this was the best I came up with. Not sure how it would go with the rest of the page yet but it may be a good staring point for a 'slanted' design.

I also think it might be a good idea to go back to the pixel editor idea for the front page at least. I feel this was a positive element of the holding page and it might be good to include this here in a recontextualised manner. In fact I may have a go at rendering the whole site in Flash then later transpose to HTML (or not, as the case may warrant). Either way I feel it's good to have some variations to choose from and work on.

To be mocked up:
> Colour swatches for the title and the background. Try out a few and make sure they're not too cheesy.
> Text only designs in the same vein as Cityofsound.com.
> Some elongated poster-style designs for pages.
> Continued heading variations.

Site research

2007-03-14T17:44:00.000Z

City of sound
http://www.cityofsound.com/

This just struck me as a really effective simple site banner and layout. The 'cities', 'design', architecture' etc. tags are actually contained within the JPEG header and cannot be selected, but the smaller marine text underneath can be.

This site is actually a weblog and has a number of these links scattered across the page - the colour marine is actually easier on the eye than the web standard navy blue link colour whilst not deviating too much from web protocols. It also works really well within the colour scheme of shades of black and grey on white.

The font for the heading is really striking and for a text-heavy site it pulls off a text header very well and the Helvetica typeface here goes well with the overall feel of the site. The concept of a text-only set of links would normally appeal to me as I have recently been researching the importance of simplicity and undercomplication in web pages. However in the case of the website for this project, a largely visual one, I feel it would be better to have accompanying thumbnails.

Maybe I will mock up a completely text based version of the site, attempting to emulate the simplicity of the cityofsound site. In all, there's a very uncomplicated no-nonsense feel but it still manages to be 'arty'.

Website development, DVD Studio tutorial

2007-03-13T18:04:00.000Z

Today was split between working on the design I have for the website, refining it further to bring it one step closer to completion and a tutorial session for the DVD authoring program DVD Studio Pro. Learnt the basics of the program and some of its capabilities at a simple level. It seems easy enough to use and there is a fair amount of customisation in comparison to the simpler iDVD program.

Since my project is purely interactive I have the option of developing the website further and concentrating on that or split my priorities and spend an equal amount of time creating a DVD menu interface. It has been suggested that it may be the case I have to invent another festival for the purpose of the DVD interface to go alongside the main one which the website will exhibit/promote. I have yet to decide which of these paths I shall take for now. At this point I'm leaning towards the website so I will continue to refine the website and work up some theoretical layouts for the DVD interface on-screen/in my sketchbook. How far I develop these will be determined by their relative success.

I am still making decisions about individual elements of the website design and today I deliberated over whether I should implement a Flash header and navigation bar. This would add elements of animation and an extra dynamic to the site as well as aiding users in navigating the site. I trialled this at a simple level and managed to get a basic functionality working embedded within a web page on the site. It looks exactly the same as the current menu navbar but is a Flash file to be added to the top of each page. At this stage, there is no real need for it as the DHTML does precisely the same job so it will be held in reserve until I develop the idea further.

One aspect of the site I feel is working well is the simpler, linear pages such as the contact and downloads pages. Not sure about the bullet point 20x20px idea, it needs to be worked on. Also the idea of the tones of the blue colour scheme can potentially be a lucrative one. A combination of these will hopefully result in a successful design - again I will carry on developing these ideas.

Finally, it seems my initial prediction will most likely be the best way to go: a HTML web page which will house the larger areas of text coupled with embedded Flash files for browser and perhaps navigation bars.

In the four hours I have tomorrow I will spend time using on-screen layouts/designs and sketchbook pages working out which direction in which to take the project next. If time allows I may also begin to consider theoretical physical gallery exhibition spaces.

Festival curation

2007-03-13T16:25:00.000Z

Thought it might be a good idea to look further into the roles of an arts exhibition curator in order to get a better idea of the sort of things it would be necessary to produce.

Curation is the process of identification and organization of artworks or museum objects in a collection in order to further knowledge. It includes verification and additions to the existing documentation for objects.

In contemporary art, the curator is the person who organizes an exhibition. Thus, to curate means to arrange a collection to achieve a desired effect -- usually, this entails the attempt to find a theme, however tenuous, linking a disparate body of work. -- From en.wikipedia.org

I would like to start thinking outside the box in terms of this project. I have a basis with the website to go on to produce festival flyers, posters etc. and other such promotional media. I could develop the digital art idea perhaps into a viral email message. Digital items such as e-cards, popups, screensavers and wallpapers might go well in a kind of interactive goody pack - maybe I could create a more enhanced interactive 'environment' in which the works themselves would be exhibited, physical or digital.

Another task a curator will have to organise is the placement and arrangement of the exhibition itself. I have identified six dates for 'special screenings' of the exhibition. Since this is purely interactive it will require some items for use in interacting with the pieces - preferably not necessarily standard mouse and keyboard - such as a touch screen monitor, joypads, roller balls etc. I will work through this and brainstorm some further ideas.

Site is now online

2007-03-13T10:02:00.000Z

Exported all the files from my Frontpage created website into Dreamweaver without any problems. Submitted them to my personal webspace, which can be found here:

student.livjm.ac.uk/lsadfarr

A slight problem with the above link was that it links to the index.html page. All pages in my site have the extension .HTM so it did not redirect straight away. To remedy this I will need to copy and paste the content from the index.htm page into the index.html creating a clone that serves as a gateway to the site. Obviously this gives scope to create a Splash page for the front page that will only be viewed once per visit, when the user loads up the above address. I will look into this at least though I'm not sure how as all the research so far indicates that Flash on websites is 'evil'.

As for Dreamweaver, I still have a lot to learn but I am getting the hang of things. At first it is going to be a much slower procedure whilst I am learning functionalities but I hope that this project will give me some knowledge of the program. I will ask tutors about getting a copy for my computer at home.

There's a tutorial here in case I get stuck in the future:
Livjm Computer sciences Publishing tutorial

Site design

2007-03-12T15:49:00.000Z

Began by playing around with some basic design elements a bit, including changing some colours and fonts. The example to the right utilises Verdana and a white version of the site logo. Didn't spend much time doing this though as I wanted to get the first version of my website complete, or near enough to it. So this is what I have mostly been doing today - working on my original design.

Above is a design using the bullet point idea I developed in my sketchbook. Here the two-colour scheme is also present as is the use of just Verdana and Franklin Gothic. This is a simple layout that I worked up fairly quickly: I will continue to work on this and develop it as the project progresses. There are more screenshots from this design below.

Web layout

2007-03-12T11:06:00.000Z

Encounters festival
http://www.encounters-festival.org.uk/

The website for the famous Encounters Festival obviously has a lot more information to display than mine but has a series of mini-menus in a two-tier system to convey the large amounts of information. Each page has its own banner, be it a cartoon-style design involving what seems to be a central character from one of the cartoons submitted or a small photographic piece or screenshot from a film.

The menu system is useful and simple though it can often take a while to find what you want from the website's navigation. On a site of this size a search box might have helped out. As for the actual presentation of the pieces on exhibition, I gave up after ten minutes of searching for it. I felt it's not worth the bother in this case, so I would class this site design as quite professional looking but not massively practical - you just get bogged down by the wealth of information on offer. As my aim is to try and simplify things as much as possible I feel this is probably not the best example to follow.

The Second Method
http://www.thesecondmethod.com/index_t2m.html

This site, whilst not the best of the sites I have researched utilises one aspect which I will look to try and emulate the success of: everything is on one page. Users scroll down to see some of the work. As such, there is no navigating around or wasting time clicking stuff to find works. In this respect it is infinitely more successful than the encounters website, whilst not having such an appealing visual aspect.

The works on display leave something to be desired and there is a use of strikethroughs on rollovers which I don't see the point of but on the whole the page has something that makes you want to look at everything on the screen. Also, seems to have been created in an HTML editor rather than Flash or similar program, which seems to be a plus especially in the loading times.

Museum of Broadcast communications
http://www.museum.tv/home.php and http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/T/htmlT/teletext/teletext.htm

I found this site whilst researching for Teletext-related information for the preliminary research project. Whilst not strictly a festival website, what is useful here is that there are examples of both Flash and HTML-created image map navigation bars. I like the simplicity of them - though there seems to be a slight problem with resolution resizing, in particular for the Flash created navbar. This appears to use a font similar to Eurostile, perhaps a narrower, more condensed version that works well in this context. It also goes well with the Arial/Helvetica formatting used for the main content of the site.

Just the navigation bar and the header (pictured above) are rendered in Flash and embedded into the web page, created in HTML. This has mixed success - as I have mentioned there is a slight resizing/resolution problem that doesn't look very pleasant but it adds a dynamic element of interactivity to the page and helps the user navigate the site easily.

To get around the problem of non-overlapping drop down tabs, this site has employed a small photographic header. This means that rather than obscure important information that the user may want to read, the drop downs cover a less essential, more decorative element of the page. I suppose this is one way of getting around things but might be a problem when it comes to applying this to my project, what with the current design. I may need to do some rethinking.

The HTML version of this bar has no fancy drop down menu but works just as well and seems to make the page load quicker - no real surprise. However this version is less prominent on the site with the designers favouring the Flash one.

Pages for the site

2007-03-12T10:17:00.000Z

Over the weekend I spent some time working in my sketchbook on pages I will need to include and the design I will look to implement bearing in mind the nature of the site. Outlined the following pages for inclusion:

1. Home page - Brief info on the festival. Possibly a splash page? Animation might work well here - want to keep this easy on the eye. Certainly try to keep text to a minimum - I don't want to jam to much information on the front page - spread it amongst the other pages.

2. Submissions/exhibits page - will display the exhibits available. Since this is an online festival, users will be able to play the files here. Can download/play files in browser. May also have some info on the submission guidelines.

2.1 Pages for each individual submission. These could be popups or in same window with a back button. I will try out both to see what is most successful. Will possibly have a comment box for people to submit their own opinions on the individual pieces.

3. Screenings page - list some screening dates and locations. Show some mockups of the actual exhibition and what it will look like. Include details of how to get to screenings - link to Google maps location of Hope St., physical address, email address.

4. Downloads page. Can get official screensaver and wallpaper as well as download flyers and posters for the event, perhaps a screening times chart/info leaflet. Indicate file size and average time it takes to download on a dialup modem. Thumbnail previews of this?

5. Contact page. Details on how to contact exhibitors and organisers of the events including the 'museums' taking part. Links to exhibitors' websites, affiliates etc.

Into HTML

2007-03-09T18:49:00.000Z

Taking the knowledge(?) that the Flash v HTML argument research gave me on board, I decided to move the designs from Flash into HTML via Microsoft Frontpage. I want to try and obtain a copy of Dreamweaver so I can continue to learn the program at home but for now, Frontpage works OK. I have yet to test the transition from a Frontpage created HTML file to the Adobe Dreamweaver format - it should be fine but I would like to get to know Dreamweaver as it is an industry standard program.

After copying some files I would need for the site (images and the work to be exhibited) into a new web, I continued to convert these files into a HTML readable format. This seems a much better option to decrease loading times at the moment. Right is a screenshot of the HTML design. It isn't massively different, the same layout is kept though the pixel art border is now gone for reasons of practicality.

A noted difference due to the lack of rollover functionality is that the boxes below the 'Exhibitors' heading, when rolled over, display a small image from the piece rather than a textual description of the link appearing. This was achieved using DHTML.

I would have uploaded this to my webspace, which I set up today but it seems Frontpage server extensions are not installed on the server or at least I'm doing something wrong. Another reason to try and get Dreamweaver for my PC at home.

On Monday I will continue to develop the website and try and get it as far down the line as far as completion is concerned. This will include further research into effective web design. On Tuesday I will hopefully have the vast majority of the site designed and will iron out any bugs in design etc. ready for the tutorials for the DVD software and intermediate Dreamweaver on Tuesday afternoon.

Also I will work on other possible design layouts for implementation in both the website and the DVD menus.

Flash vs HTML

2007-03-09T15:23:00.000Z

Before actually implementing anything with regards to design on-screen, I thought it might first be a good idea to weigh up the options. There are two possible methods of approaching this project, namely in Adobe Flash or regular HTML web coding. Obviously, both have their strengths and weaknesses. Prior to selecting which to use and where, I will consider their relative advantages and disadvantages of each medium.

Dack.com usability test
http://www.dack.com/web/flashVhtml/page1.html

This test asked eight volunteers to check out both a Flash and HTML version of the same website (Tiffany.com, screenshot to the right) with the same design and information. Only the software used to create it was different. The writer of this article makes it totally clear that he has never been in favour of the use of Flash on the Internet and the results seem to back up this opinion - on eleven of twelve counts, including logic of navigation, ease of use, speed of site and readability of content, the Flash interface was rated inferior to the plain HTML one.

This test was most likely biased towards commercial elements of a website, eg. one question asked how long it takes to find a certain item from the website's database. Whilst it is important to consider that my site is user-friendly, I am sure that since this is a design-based course, use of better graphics capable programs is encouraged.

Dreamscape - Flash vs HTML
http://www.dreamscape.co.in/kb-flash.html

Meanwhile, this site focuses on the positives of Flash and how it opens up possibilities for the designer. It points out how one should not necessarily concentrate on the competition but focus solely on creating an engaging piece. It does, however, point out (near the end, admittedly) that one should read Jacob Nielsen's article 'Flash: 99% Bad'.

Flash: 99% Bad
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20001029.html

Reasons Flash is bad: gratuitous animation, decreased granularity of user control, non-standard GUI controls, "Back" button does not work, link colours don't work, frequently updating content is difficult, distracts from a site's core values.

This last argument must be questioned slightly when the core value of a site is the level of design itself.

Although multimedia has its role on the Web, current Flash technology tends to discourage usability for three reasons: it makes bad design more likely, it breaks with the Web's fundamental interaction style, and it consumes resources that would be better spent enhancing a site's core value. -- Summary

http://www.nngroup.com/reports/flash/ - 117 guidelines on usability.

This pretty much hits the nail on the head for this argument and is pretty comprehensive. In the arts it is tolerated more as an art form but it's a big disadvantage in the world of the web. I will most likely take this advice into account, mainly focusing on a HTML-based piece but including any small Flash pieces I may decide to add (animations etc.) so if people can't be bothered waiting for them to load they don't necessarily have to.

I have explored this further in my sketchbook in a 'Flash vs HTML Showdown'.

Website design considerations

2007-03-09T12:58:00.000Z

How many projects do you plan to include?
I have selected five but will go up or down depending on how I feel/decide. I could always add a couple of my own projects to flesh the thing out a bit.

How will these be presented?
I plan to have a links/navigation bar as I have explained previously. I have always preferred this way as it allows access to anywhere from any page on the site.

Will you offer a project preview prior to selection?
I am planning to include some thumbnails. Perhaps users can view a larger version in a popup window on click.

How many pages will your site have?
Approximately five, I have yet to decide for sure: Home (a bit of info on the festival), screening dates, contact and links (two separate pages?), submissions and download (screensavers, flyers etc.).

How will the user navigate between pages?
I plan to utilise popup windows and a central navigation bar that will hopefully be better for accessibility.

How much information on each project?
A brief paragraph description, author, thumbnails, file sizes. Offer in .zip and .exe files?

Do you have this info?
Mostly, yes. I may flesh out the info in the blog entry for the projects a bit or clean it up to fit the site's style.

How and where will this be displayed?
It might be good to include these on the same page, though there could be a little bit of info in the popup windows.

Will there be animated transitions?
Probably not, but I might use some rollovers. Don't want to make things too fancy and overcomplicated.

Will there be animated menus?
Maybe, I may just use a simple DHTML rollover.

Will there be sound?
No. Too fussy, takes loading time, puts the user off. Personally I rather dislike sound on websites.

Developing website designs

2007-03-08T17:50:00.000Z

Today was mostly made up of compiling some ideas for a possible visual layout for the website, since the scheduled crit (Dreamweaver tutorial?) was postponed until tomorrow morning at 9.30. Spent some time developing the project in Flash during the afternoon. Right is a screenshot of a navigation bar and header which I created in Flash. I decided to keep the idea of pixellated design for the site itself, at least in part. I am not sure about the font here: I would have used Franklin Gothic but as I mentioned yesterday most machines do not support it. The font displayed here is actually Arial Narrow. I will think about this and perhaps look on the Internet for some fonts that might fit in with the general style of the website. If this fails I'll just choose a standard browser font that fits in with the general scheme of things.

Left is a screenshot of the full interface on the 'submissions' page. Users roll over the coloured blocks below the title and to the right is indicated the name of the piece. On click, the full information page is revealed: a brief paragraph and the author name along with some screenshots from the work.

Finally, at the foot of the page there are some options for downloading the files and playing the file in the browser. Perhaps the next step will be to design how these will be presented for the latter - a popup window or within the same window? I have actually got a few ideas in my sketchbook for these but it might be wise to wait until we are told if we are actually supposed to be creating the bulk of the site in Dreamweaver. Should this be the case I shall do my best to emulate the design I have mocked up here within the constraints of the program.

As is evident from the screenshots in this post, I have decided to go with a little more colour in the sense that the title logo is now its original colour scheme, shades of blue. I think these look alright at this stage, maybe in the future I will want to revert back to the distinctive black and white one, I have yet to decide for sure.

The thumbnail to the right displays the full screenshot of the webpage complete with pixel art-customisable border. I added in the dotted line border and smiley face after the program was loaded in the browser. As with the logo colour, I am not sure about this yet as it is perhaps a bit distracting but it is an option should I choose to take it.

The pattern in the centre of the screenshot is actually an animation I am trialling. To make the page a bit more active, I wanted to see what it would look like if I put a bit of an animation in there. At this stage this is simply an experiment - I may not even choose to include it in my final produced piece at all.

Early Teletext

2007-03-07T17:35:00.000Z

Though from the mid 1970s, these screenshots of early teletext systems do not differ wildly from those we see today. This is due to the medium, in many ways completely unlike the Internet, staying essentially the same throughout this time despite a number of upgrades and add-ons. Thus it may be said that the design of Teletext is distinctly outdated - and in many ways this is correct. Though cutting edge at the time of its invention, the medium's look can be seen as inferior to the Internet, which has largely taken over the role teletext once had.

Having said this, it is noticeable that the BBC Sport service (www.bbc.co.uk/sport ) utilises the same text for both its Ceefax and website broadcasts, meaning there is no difference in content as such here. This outlines an important aspect of the service - just getting across the bare facts is what people want in the world of Internet surfing. People generally don't have the time or patience to read reams of text: if they want to do this they would buy the Times or similar broadsheet or publication.

The first two images in this post are from BBC's Ceefax service in 1975. The first is a promotional postcard displaying the layout of the front page at that time. Note the 70s 'Bauhaus'-style sans serif font. Meanwhile, left is one of the earliest examples of teletext 'art' in the form of a weather map of Britain. As has been previously stated, this design is not all that different from the teletext maps of today - the same visual metaphor has survived for thirty years. This further shows that a simple but effective design can stand the test of time, so to speak.

Right is a screenshot of an experimental version of Ceefax in 1975. This is uniform in colour, pretty much 100% text and can be put on a similar level to ASCII art on the Internet today. Consisting of just thirty pages, the test run was very much a precursor to the visual text-art designs used today on Teletext and to a lesser extent the Internet.

Left is a character map from an Oracle system in 1976, when a series of new characters were added to the set:

"The handful of glyphs which were introduced with the Tifax ROM together with a few others, such as the "£", "$" and "@" signs were specific to the UK Character Set. Later specifications allowed for a further seven international variants so that accented characters and currency symbols could be accommodated."

Links:
http://www.pembers.freeserve.co.uk/Teletext/Photographs.html - Early days of teletext
http://en.wikipedia.org/Teletext - Brief history and technical aspects of teletext

Design ideas

2007-03-07T17:11:00.000Z

Spent the afternoon experimenting with design and layout for the website. Haven't got very far into this yet but just played around with the idea of using the pixel art creator to make designs for the site. Right is a simple layout displaying how the pixels might form bullet points on the submissions page. I may also add some thumbnails for this on the right hand side or just make them appear on rollover or click. This may be in the form of a popup window or within the same pane.

The image to the right is another design layout using the pixel art creator as a kind of auto-design generator for the site. Mocked up in Flash, when the user clicks on a link, it appears in the lower window and the background colours alternate.

I have encountered a slight problem with fonts. Franklin Gothic is not a common typeface that enough people would have it on their machines. In its place I will use a similar font such as Arial Narrow and keep the logos in the Franklin font face.

Right is another design mockup up using the pixel art creator, this time for a popup window displaying a photograph. Though I may not have any need for it, I felt it would be a good one to create and it may serve as inspiration during some part of the design process.
Tomorrow, I will continue to work on these in my sketchbook and on-screen in the morning. The afternoon will be spent at a seminar for Dreamweaver HTML editor. This will be useful for me as I am more used to Microsoft Frontpage. Hopefully a basic knowledge of HTML will help me here.

Project crit

2007-03-06T18:08:00.000Z

Attended a critical review session with tutors this afternoon. It was good to see what sort of thing other people have produced for the same project - much scope and ideas to influence my decisions for my own.

Selected the works that will go on the site, got about five. This should be enough at this stage, I will add others as I see fit and as the project progresses. These will be:

> An interactive 'Flatland'-based typeface piece by John Gregson.
> A small interactive plaything in which you are a paper aeroplane and can fly around an environment by Stacey Rawling.
> iDrum interactive drum kit by Dan James
> 'The Barren Heath' interactive game by Dan James
> 'Final flatland interactive.swf' a Flatland interactive type piece by Georgina Brombey

I will look into the details of these works tomorrow for placement in the piece itself. The next step is to work both in my sketchbook and on-screen on some layout ideas for the website. My plan at this stage is to develop these on from the start I have made with the interactive holding web page. Perhaps I could recontextualise the pixel art creator idea or take the jagged pixel images into other parts of the website - this will be my main aim. The colour scheme has already been defined (scales of blue and solid white on a black background) as have the works to be displayed along with the site logo (this might need some cleaning up). I will have a solid base to work on, it is just a case of incorporating these new elements within the main scheme of things and/or rearranging parts.

I will most likely create the website in Flash unless it is a necessity that HTML be used as the sole coding language. For now I will just produce layouts etc. in sketchbook, Photoshop and Flash and reinterpret these as I see necessary. After all, I will only have about eight hours tomorrow and Thursday morning before the HTML/Dreamweaver workshop at 1.30m Thursday - I don't think it would be wise to be producing a final, created outcome in this short space of time.