Brain Overload....

Got alot of research now, it's going to take me a full week to read through it all fully and commentate and draw ideas from it. Got loads of ideas just from skim reading things. Alot of the feedback has been really thought provoking too. As has looking at other peoples blogs and giving them feedback. I made one comment about a show called Knightmare that has been echoing in my mind since I made it. The show is about 15 years old, and was about a dungeon master, a fantasy world, and groups of kids who would have quests in the world, which was a VR simulation. One kid would wear glasses and see parts of the wolrd, and his team members would watch on the screen and have acess to extra perspectives, and would guide him through the puzzles and offer help. There would be monster like bad guys, like evil wizards, out to sabotage you in the virtual world, and it was a really immersive game. Anyway, recalling it has got me thinking more about the idea of using the computer just as a tool, like so many texts I have read suggest, and placing ephasise on person to person interaction, so that people have to work together to get full use from some sort of interactive installation game. A bit like Sohelia spoke about last term, except I'm thinking of a more fantastical environment rather than robotic, or even no environment at all, just some sort of mentally challenging puzzle. I've also been thinking about the idea of forcing your opinions on another, and having them mistake the ideas as their own, another point made in a lot of the texts I've read recently (although I've looked at so many they are all beginning to blur in my mind- will be re-reading in full with lots of note making next week!), and was re-enforced by a comment in a Carlos Casteneda text that was recommended to me, about why forcing your ideas onto another is a bad thing. I have come up with a couple of ideas related to these ideas, to do with stories told through montage installations and lighting that guide one user to follow a certain narrative, but then using exactly the same images and lights, re-arrange the materials to be more mysterious and allowing of multiple narratives. It would need to work so that both users have someway of comparing experiences afterwards, but would explore the idea of how physically non-interactive materials can be arranged to really provoke mental interaction, dependant on the way they are presented, and how the user who could get the most mental interaction would benefit more and have a better experience than the user that couldn't. Perhaps this could even be in the form of a website where the user is asked to choose one 'portal' from the splash page, and then at the end reaches a forum where they can interact with others and discuss the experience. I'm thinking on my feet a bit here, as I find this blog most effective for typing out my ideas as they come to me, and then working them out in workbook, partially becuase all the feedback I've gotten so far has inspired me in one way or another.

However, time planning concern, by about Wednesday I think I'm going to stop sourcing out loads of research/inspirations for a bit, and review all my ideas and research so far, to figure out what direction to go in for the final idea, and start to develop/research it in more specific detail, although I'll keep an open mind the whole way towards change, I just think I need to give myself a little time to let what I have been inspired by and researched so far to sink in a little and brew, and it would be good to write more structured report/essay for my work book about what I have learnt about interactivity so far, because it's such a vast amount!

note2self-print later

http://www.sushu.de/free/PDArt_Su_Schuricht.pdf>
http://slippingglimpse.org/>
http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~swilson/>

Brainwave...

...new idea. Have been drawn recently to the idea of parellell universe and quantum physics, becuase it reminds me of the idea of interaction between non linear narratives in animation, as I have demonstratede in previous posts. Have been questiong whether I'm going to far off subject by thinking about it though. Now I'm reassured that it's okay to let the mind wander, because that idea has lead to the discovery of an article about 'Mental Time Travel'. The articlke is about how seeing something from our opast can trigger brainwaves that we have experienced in the past, essentially, we re-live the past in our brain. I think this would be a great idea for an interactive exhibit. The creation of something that produces a user to time travel in their own thoughts.
(This is not my 'idea', just ONE of MANY....I'm still researching!)

Discussion with Lucy Irving

I spoke with Lucy about my experiments with IQ testing the chatbot ALICE in reference to the Chris Crawford text, and she suggested that I look into 'The Chinese Room Argument', and 'The Turing Test'. The later is a way of measuring intelligence that I have looked at before, which I will do if I decide to create something that uses AI, or mental interaction, but will leave alone for the time being. The first I had not heard of, but after a little research discovered that it is abouit the computer being a tool in the mind, and the idea that they could one day think. Have only glanced at the article I found, but will read through it fully over the next week.

Also, we discussed the idea of getting together in a small group with others and having a mini-crit about our ideas sometime next week, maybe one lunch time or otherwise in class whenever it is possible. So, if your reading this and are interested...post a comment!

Discussion with Sarah Strickett

Today Sarah Strickett spoke to us about her animation work. In the afternoon session I spoke with her about my ideas for the project, to be specific, I said that I'm enjoying the theories behind interaction, and the ideas of playing with mental and physical interaction. Also I spoke about my idea of having a book that interacts someway, perpaps with sensors in the pages that trigger animated projections, maybe with a web camera in it. I like the idea of breaking through the 'fourth wall', and looking deeper into it. I asked if she knew of any interactive animation I could look at, but she didn't. What she did suggest was that I look at the film 'Being John Malkovich', becuase of the way it plays with realities, she said my explanation of the fourth wall to her reminded her of it becuase it's about walls between fantasy and reality. I will look into it.

End of week one. Progress so far....

We're about a week and a day into the project, and I've got quite a bit of research and a range of conceptual ideas so far. I'm enjoying the theory side of it alot, and am going to spend the next week continuing to research anything interactive realted over the next week that interest me, perhaps arranging my research into categories...'web interaction'....'game interaction'.....'installation interaction'...'psychical interaction'..........'mental interaction'....ect, I have ideas that fall into all these categories, and I'm enjoying being open minded about where the project could go and brainstorming lot's of ideas. I think at the end of next week though, or in two weeks at least, I should start to focus on one conceptual idea, and begin to develop it.

Some of my research so far has included relating Chris Crawfords ideas on the threee key elements of conversation, 'listening', 'understanding', 'speaking', and asking ALICE about his ideas. She did not know. She also failed. She said she had a human IQ, but I tested her with a question from an actual IQ test, and she failed to comprehend the question. So, clearly ALICE does not fit in with CC's ideas as well as she is meant to.

This week I am also going to examine the idea of the forth wall and identify whether breaking it is actually a good thing or not. The microsoft paperclip in word does begin to break it, by confronting the user, and most people hate it. I am going to examine in whatcases NOT breaking through the forth wall could make the interactive experience better.

Ultimately, I am still most interested in creating some sort of interactive installation that does break the fourth wall, and plays around with the ideas of mental(or 'emotional') interaction and physical interaction. Howeve, I want to learn as much as I can about general interaction before I focuss on this task ,and give myself the option of going in another direction.

Idea Generating Exercises

Ok, so, I spoke earlier about some of the ideas I'd developed from the digital storytelling text we were all asked to read. Now we've been asked to do the excersises, which I already read through and those are what inspired me to develop those ideas. To be more specific, here are my responses to the questions:


1: What traditional ritual have you participated in that reminds you of an interactive narrative?
Pantomine- actors address audience, you address them- similar to digital tv shows that tell you to 'press the red button', to interact with the show and vote ect.
Kids puzzle books- your meant to solve puzzles on the page for the character, so it can proceed to the next page. quite mentally engaging for kids in a fiction al way- similar to computer game.

2: What game or sport have you played that could be adapted tp a form of iinteractive entertainment?
Chess- a computer game. Sounds basic, but I'm thinking of having it from the perspective of ONE piece, so you don't see the whole board, and have to work as a team with other pieces, perhaps as an online group game. would excerise the mind and induce interperson-interaction ( teamwork!)

3: What work of trad. storytelling have you read that has a narratve technique that could be aplied to digital media?
The Jane Austen Book Club (book) compares a number of characters to different Jane Austen books, telling their tales over time as the group meet, discuss and grow via flashbacks, Jane Austen quotes, and present day plot. It would make an excellent film, following the goings on of different people, and cutting it up to reveal the plot from different peoples perspectives. But altering the question to relate to Int.Media, I would say perhaps developing a DVD only bersion of a film, where you select the charcter you want to view the whole perspective of the plot from. Would be quite weak interaction though, mainly just one choice you can make, but would lead to altered perceptions of the media. wouldn't really work out though for finanical reasons. If all tv started being filmed from every angle, so many sub-plots would dvelop that it wouldn't be worth watching.

4: Describe how hyper text can deepen the characterization of a character.
Pretty obivous answer- links. Press on a name, go to a page about them. Wikipedia does it as do alot of other sites. To dwell on this a bit though, I think it is a shame that this idea of fictional characterization isn't a bit more exploited comercially. On Home and Away, if you miss an episode, you can go to the online blog of one of the characters- 'Sallys Blog' and read about the episode from her perspective (or at least used to be able to. Not certain if it still exists) This sort of idea doesn't break the fourth wall of interactivity, but I think it get's close, as the blog is being written and directed at the audience. It is a nice idea to build up a charcter online, and really give them an identity, and I think that this could be used more to generate interests in tv shows and films.

5: Can you think of any work of traditional entertainment that breaks the 4th wall? How could this be done in Int.M?

This question brings to mind a cartoon where a little boy would draw a perons or animal each epsidoe with chalk and the character would come to life and they would have an adventure. Not really breaking the 4th wall, but the idea within it is that the little boy is interacting with his drawings. Also, I am reminded of a book about a boy that has a character come out of a book, and has to convince him to go back and end the story. Think the boy then goes itno the book. These kind of magical experiences always seemed appealing to me when I was young, and I think modern interactive media is really making experiences like that seem possible, making everything in old media such as tv shows more lifelike. I'm not really answering the question here, just noting down thoughts related to the project that the questions has sparked in me. I really like the thought of making a plain book into a much more interactive object.


And finally.....
a little off subject of the text, but the idea of narrative has reminded me of a tv show I watched the other day on quantum physics, about the man who invented the theory of paralell universes and hopw they work. To recap extremely sketchily, because I'm not so sure on the specifics myself, and didn't agree with his ideas exactly, he developed a scientific idea that atoms can be in two places at once, and addressed a scientific problem about a cat in a box. If some of the atoms that form poisen react one way, the cat dies, if they react another, it lives. The spectator cannot see in the box, so it is plausible that both things happen. The cat is both dead and alive at the same time. It prompts a paralell universe. Every tiny change in the world prompts an inumerable number of them. I'm not explaining the theory too well, but that's beside the point. The whole idea of paralell universes makes me think of DVD's that offer us multiple endings, or games where we can do one thing, but know other people may be doing something else at the same time in the same game. I'm sort of typing as I'm thinking here, but I think exploring the concept of parallel universes could produce some ideas for digital narratives to use with my ideas for this project.

Digital Storytelling

So, this past week has been spent mainly researching and scribbling down rough ideas. Haven't really developed or stuck with any. Still got lot's of research leads and want to keep an open mind a little longer. I'm a bit confused too as to whether it's okay to develop a 'concept' or an interactive object/installation, and then create an animation to show how it would work, which is what I'd most like to do. Perhaps making the animation a bit like a powerpoint in the sense that you click to slide onto the next step of the animated explanation or something. If we have to create the fully finished object, then I won't be able to create a lot of my ideas as some are installations or would be v.expensive to buy the materials(like a touch screen pane!) so I would need to change the way I'm thinking a bit. Will ask tutors about that this week.


Sat up quite late last night doing the reading for today. Really enjoyed it. Found it really inspiring. Had hoped to do extra research to prepare for class and read up on some of the leads I picked out, but sadly don't have the time. I will look into them after class, they include:
William Burroughs,
James Joyce, and
Eastgate systems.
I really enjoyed 'Digital Storytelling' and am quite keen on the idea of exploring an 'old' medium, like a book, and turning it into a 'new' interactive medium in some sort of installation, somehow draining the persons mentally into the story, but also getting them to hold it physically. I did the idea generation exercises included, and they really opened my mind up. I recalled puzzle book I had as a child, similar to 'Where's Wally' but more complex, where the character could not proceed to the next page until you'd solved a problem for him/her. I'm going to dig them out if I still have them, and consider creating some sort of digital version of this, in a an animation, or the book idea I just mentioned. I think it might be quite fruitful to look at lot's of old mediums, and examine the 'schwerpunkt' of them, and then try and alter this or make it digitally interactive somehow.

Also, I really like the term ' fourth wall of interactive media' coined in the third text, and I like the type of interction it is referring to. I hope to create something that breaks through this wall.

note2self: check this out later-

http://www.mentalmodels.com/

Note to self- print this later

http://www.diss.sense.uni-konstanz.de/ostweb/manovich.htm

Weird Interactive Site

The below link is to a site that is a sort of story that gets the user to navigate the site by choosing pictures and words... I don't hink it's particularily amazing, and the content is pretty bad quality, but it's a good example of interactive 'web art'
http://www.teleportacia.org/war/wara.htm
It is by Olia Lialina, and it was recommended to look at in a Lew Manovich essay I was reading on Russian New Media.

Talk with Alastair MacDonald (Kerb programmer) - notes

I asked Alastair MacDonald about audience engagement in interactive media, and if he had created any games that incorporate sensors or physical interaction. I also told him about my reactions to the brief so far. Comments he made in our conversation are:

He has not incorporated physical interaction in games, but has in installations and other bits and pieces.

He talked about a piece of work that used floor mats and connections to the mouse that meant the feet were using to click rather than the hand.

He confirmed that it is possible to have the user in the work using web cams and code that allows for motion sensors, and that I should look for free code on the internet, because it might be too complicated. He gave me this link relating to it-

www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/webcam_motion.html

Also, when asked about control in terms of who has it, user or creator, he said that although there are boundaries, it can also be said that there are physical boundaries such as the keyboard and screen itself that can be considered, and that making things happen that are unexpected can be a great way of making something successful, and humorous.


Thoughts /Inspirations gained from the talk:

It is encouraging to know that it could be possible in this project to create some sort of interactive installation, such as a flash based application that allows the user control in the sense that they can bring something totally unique and individual to the interactive experience they, well, experience.

It also got me thinking about the idea of having an installation that has the computer screen embedded in a screen, and allows the user to explore beyond the boundaries of the screen, and navigate the space around it, perhaps having a projection of an extended screen. Or perhaps a humorous approach could be a ‘behind the scenes’ sort of projection around the edges so you veer off into a dark, mechanical space with lots of matrix style code where odd things happen to the cursor.

It also got me wondering if I can get an old mouse or joystick or keyboard or sound or microphone and experiment with hooking it up to interact. I will have a look over the next week at bits and pieces and explore ideas regarding this.

Also this talk prompted an idea about creating something that uses a touch screen to get the user to mentally figure out how to proceed to the next page of a website/program. i.e, parents use blocks and shape holes in a box to encourage learning in children, and I like the thought of having to stimulate the page in a certain way, so you have to touch it in a variety of places or with a certain shape, to proceed, and the clues are within the page, so the user has to interact mentally to proceed. (would need ideas on what to make as an incentive to do so). This also led onto thoughts about an interactive puzzle, as it’s quite similar, and the idea that the tv show ‘lost’ is quite interactive, because to get the most you can from it, you have to really be alert and observant. There are so many connections between characters in thier flashbacks that when I watch it with my family we almost turn it into a game, trying to observe all of them, and pause and rewind to watch them because as individuals, we can never notice them all alone, it is watching in a group that means we all get more from the experience. It has turned into a whole web movement, almost, lost connections websites and people theorizing what all the weird clues could mean. They even advertised fake products in the show that people looked up. EVERYTHING is becoming interactive. EVERY media is encouraging user participation. MENTALLY.

Jumbled thoughts (but pretty important ones)

Am starting to research the brief. Have read an interesting Manovich essay on Totalitarian Interactivity which examines pseudo-interactive games among other things, and how even the most interactive applications that seem to allow for free will, such as games where you can control your character, have boundries, because everything that you can do, has been pre-written by the creator. The space has been created by another person, and all the options haave had boundries drawn. Every decision that you CAN make, has had the tools created by the creator. Similarily, websites are all narrow in terms of the choices a user has in terms of navigation. An argument against this can be taken from Barthes Death of the Author, in the sense that a reader interacts with websites and goes from site to site, reading texts in a way that only they can decide to do. They can take snippets here and there, writing there own text, in a sense, although I think exploring readerly/writerly texts might be going a little off subject here. But it brings to mind the idea that perhaps free individuality in interactivity can exist becuase the user had their own perceptions and reeactions that can be provoked by the creator ( in the sense of shock art installations perhaps) BUT the user will always have their OWN inner view of a work. In a way evrything can be interactive, in the sense that a user reacts mentally.
To start researching this project on a deeper level, I want to try and explore what 'interactive media' actually is. So....initial thoughts.....

basic interactive applications: touch screen: kiosks/dvds/websites/computers/software/games/virtual reality

more thought out examples of interactive media:
interactive installations (camille utterback)- these can allow the user to have a unique effect on the way a work actually appears. This could include using sensors to alter works based on users movements, or cameras to place the user into the piece.
the set-up of a piece of work: this could be done in a way that forces the user to observe the work in a certain way, e.g, projected on the ceiling(forces user to crane neck upwards..perhaps the projection of a piece could move so that then the user has to move themselves, and interact wihg the piece, to see the end)
3d glasses like the ones seen in the grande parade exhibition yesterday, would cause the user to interact with their movements(physical interactivity) to bend down and see the piece properly through the glasses.
mental interaction i.e, works that force the user to engage mentally

These are just a few ideas running throught my brain, not fully thought out in terms of how the ideas could be applied to this project yet, although I do like the idea of having something unusual, and not relying on just have a basic mouse clicking interactive applications. I'd like to go in the direction of forcing the user to interact either mentally with a storybook type animation, or to interact physically, perhaps using some kind of touch screen or cameras or sensors if it is possible for this project.

Other extremely random thoughts:

Digital mirrors. (as theorized by Ian Pearson from BT and loooked at in the last project) When these exist(I think a prototype already does) they will really encourage physical interactivity in the sense that users will be using eye movement, projections and psychical actions to interact with the mirror in a digital way.

Leading on from that.....I'm going to try and not let my ideas in this project get too theoretical, and keep the idea of digital media in mind. For example, psudeo interactivity (the theory that mental interaction can be applied to ANYTHING) is such a vast subject and I could really explore it, BUT, at the same time, I don't think doing a painting and then arguing about how it's interactive because it's forcing the user to interact mentally is going to be the right outcome for this project. Not that I'm suggesting there is a defined 'right outcome', but I think the project is asking us to look into all these ideas on interactivity, and come to some kind of synthesis of ideas that relate to digital media, since at the end of the day, that is the course we are on.

Memories- and having a digital experience that prompts the user to connect with their own memories might be a great way of demonstrating psudo interactivity, although I'd need to think alot about how to successfully approach this.

Userbility- is a VERY IMPORTANT factor in interactive media. I could approach this project in a sense that I explore these existing guidelines and restraints and try to alter/push the boundries regarding them.

Control- I could look a the project from the perspective of finding a solultion to the problem/question about exactly how in control a user is and explore ways that allow for more freedom of will. Or even create something that has the purpose of NOT allowing much freedom of will. But would that make it less interactive in a way.

-----------------------

So, as I expect this post shows, I do have a LOT os ideas, but they are all pretty jumbled, so I'm going to plan out a rough time frame for what I need to get done by when in this project, and a rough starting structure of what do research. Which I'm going to start on now.

Initial reaction to new brief

Have looked at the new brief, and will read it again in full detail later.
Thoughts off the top of my head to start with are that it looks like a project I can really get my teeth into. I like the sound of it. I like interaction design alot and I like the fact that we can choose any type of interactive media we wish. I like the thought of experimenting and pushing the boundries too. One book comes to mind to get from the library that I read in the first year, which explains interactive design principles and shows exampls of good sites and bad sites, including experimental sites that just don't work, becuase even when trying to be different, there are some design principles that always need to be considered. I will make sure I look into this issue fully, and try and determine how far I can push boundries and make my work unique without actually causing it harm in terms of userbility. I am also thinking that I would like to use after effects and dvd studio pro to create some kind of interactive animation, but no ideas exactly as to what/how. But I don't want to immediately limit myself to using computer software alone. I will give some thought as to other ways the idea of an interactive project could be perceived, such as perhaps creating something that forces the user to interact by standing in a particular way, or using their wholel body. (motion sensors?) I will look into the work of camille utterback when considering this. The thing that puts me off that idea though is that I would need to create something that shows my idea, but depending how ambitious it gets, might not be able to actually CREATE the final thing, and so would have to create an interactive demo off it on the computer perhaps, wheras I would like in this project to create a finished, complete piece. I missed one of the talks this term by Rona (surname?), but heard her speak last year, and remember her showing some work that used a camera, so the person looking at the work was actually becoming a part of it, and I'm sure she explained the setup as being quite simple. I may be able to purchase something that lets me be a bit adventurous, so I'm definately going to let my ideas run wild initially and then start to narrow them down in a couple of weeks.

Other comments.....

Enjoyed visiting the galleries this monring. Liked the grande parade exhibiton, not so much the other two, that kind of installation art isn't really my cup of tea, but I appriciate the value of learning about other areas and people pespectives, and everything in life is inspiration in one way or another.

Dissertation....

Am going to start keeping a research folder, looking at bits and pieces related to my different ideas.

Self-Evaluation of Presentation

Yesterday I gave my presentation. It did not, unfortunately, go as smoothly as hoped. I practiced it twice over the weekend to try and make sure the timing was fine, but did not allow time for technical difficulties, which I had, and so I ran over by a couple of minutes. I also feel that I read to much and did not express my enthusiasm as much as I should have. I was so determined to get all my info out there, that I think I did not fully sell just how popular my product could be. Also, I noticed most other people had a lot more content in their power point presentations, just with key-points to prompt their speech, something I felt needed to be avoided when creating my own presentation, because I was trying my hardest to put more effort into my actual idea and show I was thinking about other ways of presenting, rather than falling back on a tried but trusted method. In retrospect though, I was I had done that, because I think it's tried and trusted for a reason. If I had to present again, I would have bullet points and talk about the product more freely, and just mention that I have the research facts to back it up, and that they can be seen in the proposal, which is probably a better way of approaching it. Then I could have focussed more specifically on what it is and how it works, and why it would be popular, and summed all my other pricing/enviroment/health ect concerns into a more liberal speech, to say that they exist, but not explain their research unless asked.

However, I contained my nervousness well, I think, and I beleive that my proposal itself is very strong, thorough, well though out and considered from a range of perspectives, and I fully support and stand by my concept idea.

Portfolio Clinic

Handed in project this morning. Am going to spend rest of week doing some research for the dissertation, and re-charging my batteries for the next project.

Last night I went to the portfolio clinic at Grande Parade. It was a really useful experience. The room was quite small and dark, with lit tables packed close together, and people hovering around whomever they wished to speak to, and due to the crowded environment, I only got to see half the companies I wanted, but I saw a few others I hadn't planned on speaking to, that actually turned out to be much more useful than I had expected of the ones that I did want to see. One rep from Nixon Mcinnes took my CV to shreds and told me how to re arrange the content, and what to cut, and what to add in. She also said that the covering letter when applying for a job is almost more important than the CV itself. It was also suggested that I look into facebook, which I personally don't like, becuase if applyoing for a job with her, she would expect potential web designers to have 'experienced' all aspects of the web, and to be active about participating in it.

Everyone I spoke to agreed that A3 is the bext size for a paper portfolio, but that it would be better to stick with a digital one.

NOTE TO SELF

must check this out over reading week. might help with dissertation idea selection:

http://www.comp.rgu.ac.uk/staff/sw/stuarts_papers/theoryofmind.htm

Presentation Development

Have been re-thinking my take on the presentation. I still think 'pitching' it as a product is the best way to proceed, but have decided instead of using still images in a powerpoint presentation that I need to keep scrolling through, I will jazz it up a bit by having my three 'concept boards' play on loop as an animation, which I will create in After Effects or Flash, and then export this as a movie to play looped on a single slide in power point. This means I can have a title page, and when I'm ready to unveil my concept, will only need to press next slide once, which will allow me to concentrate on my pitch and stand away from the keyboard, in a position where I can face everyone, which I think is very important when presenting in such a verbal, formal manner.

Thoughts on the dissertation

I found the session today regarding the dissertation really helpful. Especially thinking about how someone else could approach it, because it helped me re evaluate my own ideas objectively.

I have been trying NOT to generate ideas about the dissertation so far on this course, because I wanted to wait until our first session to gain a better understanding of what is required, what limitations there are ect. I have also been worried about needing to stick exactly to the proposal I handed in at interview, because I don't really want to go down that path now. It was about challenging accessibility issues and identifying where guidelines/ principles are right/wrong and how they will develop into the future.

Thinking afresh, I have taken into account alot of comments made on the course about thinking outside of the box, pushing the limits and experimenting with other areas of design, not just areas one is especially interested in. This current project has been about the future, and has got me to think not only about media, but about other worldly factors that impact on it and shape the way different aspects of it are. Like energy, economy, psychology, science ect

I want to finish this year being able to look back on my work and see that is has led to my development in the areas I'm interested in, but also to show that I have explored new realms of knowledge and explored subjects I might not get the chance to again.

So, my three leading ideas for a dissertation are as follows:

relationships between people and technology

closely studying the way interaction works in this context, from a psychological perspective: how/why do people interact the way they do?
Also looking at anthropomorphism, what is the root of human compulsion to associate emotion to inanimate things.
japan has no fear of new technologies, some countries do though, what causes this difference? is it nature or nurture?

new technologies do not just change the world, they change the way people perceive the world

the above is a quote made in the tv show 'the genius of photography' that in context refered to a realisation prompted by the development of the camera, but I would like to see how it relates to other media, by choosing a few examples from different times in history and analysing how true/false this observation is, looking at what effects have been caused by this idea of a new perspective

wikinomics and a new era of authorship

Last year I wrote an essay on Barthes Death of the Author which I got really interested in. Since I now have a good idea of what that essay was about, I think I could happily discuss his ideas in relatiion to the idea of wikinomics, and consider the questions: who gets credited for authorship? who has the 'rights' ? I could look at the ideas of copyright and copyleft and incorporate these, too.

TUTORIAL WITH MIKE BLOW RE: PRESENTATION

Yesterday I discussed with Mike Blow my dilemma about how best to present my work. So far this project, as my idea has developed and changed, I have been working towards presenting it in different ways. At first I thought a website promoting my concept, then as I realised my concept would involve a piece of software to work with it, I decided I would create that piece of software (a look/feel of it anyway), developing the idea to consider creating pieces of software. I then decided It would be better to create a 3D model of my concept itself, but after a week trying to produce it, I decided it was better to abandon that idea, since my skills were not very good, and it made the concept look bad. Then I narrowed down my ideas, and decided again on just creating a flash ‘look/feel’ of the piece of software, but my problem is that I have such a vast amount of information to deliver ( I have created a 7 page proposal to print and hand in, explaining my concept in relation to all relevent factors such as disabilities, the environment, what countries it would sell in and why ect..) , that I think just clicking through the pages of a flash software application and describing the idea would end up hurting my concept, as I am not able to create a functioning piece of software, and if it is just a selection of look and feels, still images, like my concept image, then a power point presentation is my most obvious, logical choice so that I can really TALK about my conept. However, I want to be creative about the presentation. I have been working hard NOT to use power point, but it seem like it is the most logical and best idea, because predominately I just want to talk and ‘pitch’ my concept as a future product. I could use foam mount to display my images, but where to do so could be tricky, power point would let my just project them

Mike Blows comments were:

- To create a 3D model (physical not digital) Which I have already considered, but I explained that my photo shop mock-ups developed from this ended up looking a lot better than it would if I tried to sculpt a model.
- To invite questions about my product at the start. I replied I would rather do this at the end because I want to ‘pitch’ the idea as a product, and as the time is limited, I want to make sure I deliver all the information logically, and don’t have to repeat things.
- To envisage the audience as a sales pitch panel, and come in wearing a suit. I will definitely dress smartly, but I think a suit is a bit over the top.

Ultimately Mike agreed with my thinking that it was best for me to present my product by talking about it because I have such a clear idea of my concept, and to use power point to project the still images (I am still in the process of creating these).

I still think I might develop some sort of flyer to hand out promoting the concept as a product though, and maybe use the foam board idea to just hold up the relevant images. Then I could stand at the end of the room and face everyone at once.