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Evaluation

Early on, this interactive project was met with some difficulties. My former partner, Ciera Freeman, and I worked well on establishing our project ideas and goals (1) during the first term. We were able to meet up and write out our project proposal but after first term, I never heard from her again. Throughout January and February, I tried to get in contact with her through various messages on iMessage and Facebook because she was never in our shared classes but was met with no response. By the middle of February, I decided that the best course of action would be to proceed without her beyond just the basic outlining I had already been doing. Thus, this assignment went from a group project to a personal project.

Since I was now completing the project on my own, I had to re-devise a plan of approach and timeline (2) from the previous one (3) we had created together. While I did not follow the new timeline fully due to issues I met along the way, it did help me adjust to what needed to be done and what I needed help with. After this, I realized I needed to create a new storyboard (4) as I had completely re-evaluated and adjusted what I was doing. While it was not exhaustive, it, again, helped me determine and visualize to what needed to be done. I utilized the workshops to complete most of the coding. The workshops ended up being the most convenient as I could use the tools (Dreamweaver, Photoshop, etc.) as well as get guidance and advice from Elsa. During these workshops, suggestions were received that I should add in a drop-down navigation bar for the ‘Story’ pages. This proved very useful in creating a cohesive and straightforward look. Recently, we had to present (5) our projects and process to the entire workshop. I didn’t receive too many comments about my work but there were a few that proved constructive, such as agreeing there should be no background music as it may be distracting and that more people should be added. Addressing the former, I have every intention of continuing this project with any submissions I receive but due to the time constraints of the assignment, I was not able to gather more than the first four people who agreed to participate. In the future, I want to include people of all genders, backgrounds, etc. as that is the entire point of the project. While I was not able to do this fully in this version of the website, as more participants agree to take part, I will make an effort to ensure more diversity will be included. Social media would be the best platform to share my website on as it already allows people from all over to use it to connect. Furthermore, if it was shared on Kingston’s website or social medias then that would help spread it even more. In conclusion, I believe that this project has allowed me to grow my knowledge in digital media immensely. Now, with basic html coding skills, I can continue to create interactive websites and expand upon their complexities for future projects.

Summary

Throughout the past couple of months, exploring digital media and, especially, interactive digital media has been very interesting. Broadly, it has widened my knowledge and made me see media in very different terms. Before this year, I never really had much more experience in creating digital media than your average person, Sure, I’ve worked a little with HTML but who in this age hasn’t? I’ve never really known how to create, it’s more that I’ve just stumbled upon different aspects. But, during this class, actually learning the process of using Adobe Audition or DVD Studio Pro has lead to a new type of understanding. Out of every application we tried, I had the most interest in using Adobe Illustrator but I’m intrigued to see where the rest of the year and exploration of the project will take me.

#digitalmediafoundations #summary

Interactivity Explored

We have begun to think more about the set up of our interactive narrative website. An interactive narrative can come in two different formats:

1. An interactive website 2. An interactive video

These two formats are very similar but they are defined largely by the fact that websites can only be accessed online while the videos can be viewed at any time through the usage of data storing devices such as USB drives, DVDs/CDs, etc. Determining which of these formats we would like to use is the first step to take before actually starting to create our interactive narrative.

Explore: Using DVD Studio Pro, I could begin to explore more about the interactive video format on the way to making a final decision about what format to choose. Like using any application for the first time, it was extremely confusing. I started by using preliminary images, that were not mine, just because this would serve only as an experimental/ explorative endeavor. I sought to focus mainly on the map and portrait phase of the interactive narrative. This was because it is one of our more visual stages of the project. Using a map image that I found through Google, I created the first “page” of the narrative. I added in images of a red pin to indicate where some of the international students we may be interviewing are from. I then selected some portraits of people from around the world taken by the German photographer, Benedikt Grass. His images intrigued me because of the range of dimensions and emotions displayed on the individuals faces, as well as the diversity of backgrounds. Each of the red pins lead to a portrait and each portrait would have a feature you would click that leads to a memory.

Explain: While I had no trouble adding in buttons and images, I was a little confused about how to link/ transition between each page, as well as how to link each page back to the previous if the viewer so desired. Unlike with a website, unless I specifically add in these links, the viewer would be able to travel back and forth through the pages very easily. This concerned me. Having previously discussed how important having a flow is to a narrative, this would ultimately block the smooth flow the viewer would require.

Evaluate: Unfortunately, my computer froze while in the process of trying to save the work I had created. While I may have lost the full digital form of the interactive narrative I created, I was able to capture a few stills of the overall project on my phone for later use/ reference. I believe that using this application has pushed me towards preferring to use an online format for the actual project. Aspects of DVD Studio Pro confused me and I realized that I have a stronger comfort level and ability when working with websites.

References:

Map image: Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2016. Red Pin image: BSC Congress. http://bsccongress.com/red-pin-no-shadow-clip-art/. Web. 20 Nov. 2016. Portraits: Grass, Benedikt. “People & Faces”. www.benediktgrass.com. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.

#digitalmediafoundations #map #interactive

Creating (a) Flow (Chart)

The beginnings of learning how to create an interactive narrative is a bit like creating an essay plan. You need to think out every specific step or else you will loose the continuity that the viewer needs in order to understand what is going on. To do this, instead of creating a storyboard like you would for a written narrative, you make a flow chart.

Explore: A flow chart is basically a spider web. It’s used to show the way you want your narrative to flow. While you are not stringing together a plot scene by scene like you do with a story, you are piecing together each part of the interactive narrative’s sequence much the same way. Before learning about using flow charts, my partner and I accidentally created a storyboard instead. Since they are pretty much the same concept, this will be sufficient for now.

Explain: Making a map of the structure and sequencing of the interactive narrative will help with the planning and execution stages. This process important in order to make sure that the project is completed efficiently. If we were to just create the project without any plan draw up, it would cause the interactivity to be disjointed and thus, hard for the user to follow. Making a flow chart will also help us brainstorm ideas for use within the project. I’m hoping that in doing so, we can come up with ideas to further link each of our phases to next and, potentially, ideas that will establishing distinguishing factors such as, sound effects, transitions between “scenes,” visual effects, and more.

Evaluate: Since a flow chart allows the project makers to try to eliminate any gaps in the storyline and uncomfortable transitions, the chart is creating flow. Since creating a plan, I’m aiming to have the set up for the project come as efficiently and smoothly as possible. While just the storyboard can be used for now, a very detailed flow chart will need to be made before production of the project can begin.

#digitalmediafoundations #storyboard #flowchart #projectplanning

Proposal Presentation

After my partner and I finished creating and writing our interactive website proposal, we decided to begin preparations for the presentation of the proposal in December. Although it’s not put towards our final grade for the module, it’s still very important that we get the key elements of it right. The presentation sets the entire tone for the rest of the project.

Explore: By breaking down our full proposal lead us to coming up with what we needed to put into the presentation. Coming up with a few key elements to keep in mind during the creation process helped it to be streamlined. These include: 1. A clear, concise explanation of the project’s aim 2. A list of any materials/resources we might need 3. A description of each phase in the project 4. A reference to our storyboard Explain: There are also key elements that are a little more free from just being requirements. We want to convey our project in a way that’s understandable and beneficial to our audience. Also, for the website to have a tone that is both fun and inviting as well as informative and descriptive. Along with the basics of the interactive site, there are also a few more that delve into the execution side of it:

1. Storytelling: To make sure the presentation as most informative but as least boring as possible, explaining the slides in a story-like and emotive way will make it more fun. This can be done especially when describing the different phases. 2. Connection and Excitement: Since our interactive website is about memories, we hope to draw on our peers’ personal memories of home to connect them 3. Make it interactive: After we give the presentation, there will be a chance for us to interact with our peers to gain a broader perspective and advice.

Evaluate: While we have only completed a rough draft and still have much to tweak, both within the presentation and how we present it to our peers in class, we have a good basis with which to continue. My partner and I plan to meet in person (outside of class) a few more times before the presentations begin on December 12. During those meetings, I hope to explore more about our presentation as well as our actual interactive website itself.

#digitalmediafoundations #proposal #presentation #keyelements

Making Noise: Adobe Audition & Sounds Part 2

Continued from Part 1

I believe that highlighting individual, somewhat unexciting noises (those noises we hear so much that our mind begins to not even acknowledge them) is going to provide a distinctive facet to our project.

Evaluate: Although, my attempts at using Audition were quite rudimentary and, perhaps, even mediocre, I believe it was a good first attempt at using the application. Success with this will be necessary because my partner and I plan to be recording and producing all of the individual sounds for our interactive website. While we may sample from pre-recorded songs from artists like Mishigami, we hope to use Audition to tweak sounds we record for different aspects of the design. In Phase 1, we want to have typewriter noises play as the user interacts with the click-through, movable type. Phase 2 may be the time to sample from other artists as we want a continuous and emotional air to accompany it. Phase 3 requires a clicking noise whenever the user clicks on a red pin that sits on the world map. It also will require music or a noise once the user has clicked on the red pin and is viewing the interviewee’s portrait. We have two options at the moment for what that could be… When the user’s mouse glides over the feature that hyperlinks to the interviewees memory either one of these two options will happen: - the best song/noise that describes the memory will play OR - the interviewee’s voice will be heard saying their name, ‘hello’ (or the equivalent in their native language), or a word to represent the theme of the whole memory.

By doing this, we can provide helpful sound cues to guide the viewer throughout the whole interactive process into the final setting. By starting with less meaningful sounds and gradually giving more and more context to what the user is hearing, we can simulate the interviewee’s journey to their fondest home memory.

#digitalmediafoundations

Making Noise: Adobe Audition & Sounds Part 1

Sound is a tricky thing. The wrong ones, in the wrong places, can make people cringe or even scream. But the right ones, in the right places, can make you feel and bring new meaning to what it accompanies. Through Adobe Audition, you can piece together random noises to create just that, beautiful music. But,that process is very delicate. The balance between good and bad music is very subjective but there are key elements to take into consideration.

Explore: For instance, take a car honking sound into consideration. Typically, it reminds you of annoying, painstaking traffic and car accidents about to happen. But, with music, any random noise can be turned into an evoking story or, at least, an important component of it. My friend from back home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Mishigami, has a fairly unique way of of developing music. He records everyday sounds, such as spoons tapping on a table, children laughing, friends talking, or even busy traffic noises, and then mixes them into a song combined with multiple different instruments and genre styles (jazz, electronic, indie, etc). He finds inspiration for his music in the seemingly mundane. The unique ability and nuance is something I want to bring to the interactive website because I feel that it represents exactly what we are trying to convey. That the everyday and the seemingly obscure aspects of life are often times the most beautiful and meaningful. When I’m missing home, one of my favorite memories to think of to bring me joy is the sound of my boyfriend’s cat meowing loudly. It sounds strange but, really, it’s a reminder of him and how much he cares for her. Sounds play an important part in our memories.

Explain: Which inspires me to see how I can do the same in Adobe Audition. But how do I do this? With Audition, you can either record your own sounds or upload them in a .wav file to manipulate within the application. I selected noises and sounds from www.partnersinrhyme.com and opened a multitrack session at a sample rate of 44,100 Hz. Choosing the tracks Chinatown, Doo Doo Wa, FU1, and Tango_2, I began to input them into a sequence. I adjusted the pitch and when each sound sample should fade in or out within the track until I came up with a piece of “music.”

To be continued… Part 2

#digitalmediafoundations

Proposal Timeline

With a more concrete idea in our minds, my partner and I met up to being planning out and writing our proposal. We decided it was best to work together on certain aspects of our proposal but also, work separately on others to eventually come to together and meld the two points of view. This would allow us to have a more specialized approach.

Explore: We started by planning out each step of our project- what we needed to do, how to do it, and when we should have it done by. This took a lot of forethought and attention to detail since we want to make sure we have the project completed with ample amount of time to test it on both ourselves and our peers. We divided the timeline into phases to better establish segments to focus on.

Explain: Then we split the tasks to be completed. I would focus on the product concept and description while Ciera would take a look at the product requirements and storyboard. Pulling from the lectures and personal experiences, I was able to better articulate our product concept and design. I knew that we wished to express to how important our individual memories are to our shared society. We wish to convey the emotions of those who might leave their friends and families, their homes and communities, and all that they know to travel to another country and live new experiences. By exploring these differences between not only the international students but also, the English students at the university, we have created a concept that is very multi-faceted.

Evaluate: We realized that a lot of work will go into this project. From web design to interview techniques to hypertext, we have a lot to learn about in order to create a product that we can be proud of. With the timeline in mind, we have a set schedule to keep but also some flexibility in how we achieve it. This will be important when we are conducting our interviews, as it will allow us to set aside large amounts of time to be dedicated to collecting the most detailed memories that we can.

Here’s our project timeline as planned: Phase 4 End Product and Testing - April 24th - Due date for finished product April 17th (Easter Break) - Testing product for final hand in April 10th (Easter Break) - Test the product with third party individuals April 3rd - Be confident we have produced a finished product and finish testing ourselves.

Phase 3 Create middle/end narrative - March 27th - Integrate the soundtrack into finished product March 20th - Create links from facial features to the stories and finish all portfolios. March 13th - Write up memories for final portraits. March 6th - Use research to start development of map transitions to portraits. February 27th - Develop and research attaching hyperlinks to pin points on the map. February 20th - Create Map Image on illustrator/background for final product. February 20th - Test with peers and begin collecting memories and photos (until 6th of March. February 13th (Reading Week) - Research interactive artists for improvements and research interviewing techniques to make the most out of our collected memories. Come up with questions to guide interviewees towards sharing memories. February 6th - Continue creating type through interface (middle narrative) January 30th - Begin creating type through interactions (middle to narrative)

Phase 2 Create beginning narrative - January 23rd - Test with peers and review progress January 16th - Continuing click through conversation and decide on soundtracks for our scrolling interactive site. January 9th - Begin creating click through conversation, beginning to narrative.

Phase 1 Development - December 19th - January 2nd - Respond to and consider improvements from modular and peer feedback. December 12th - Presentation of Product proposal December 5th - Practice Presentation. November 21st - Research how to create and interactive site and which techniques will best benefit our product. (Audio vs Visual?) November 14th - Proposal Submitted

#digitalmediafoundations #proposal

Pre-Proposal

Before we can begin our proposal, there were a few questions we still had the answer. Since we are interested in sharing the memories of international students, we will have to come up with not only where to find these students but also, students that would be willing to let us use their experiences. There is also the issue of deciding which route we want to go with when it comes to the sub-ideas of how the world map will look and the hypertext it includes.

Explore: Starting with the problem of finding international students, we figured that although we do not have a list set of participants now, we will be able to find ample amounts of participants next term. Since I’m from another country, I have unique access the web of international presence here at Kingston University For deciding the style of map image we wanted to present our final product, we weighed our options carefully. In the end, we chose to pick the red push pin in the cities of the subjects. We thought that this would provide with a more obvious theme and task but also, that the photo map idea might look unappealing. Plus, with varying country sizes- the photos might no be visible in their respective countries and may be distorted by stretching of the image.

Explain: Now that we got those two concept issues out of the way, we can begin to do the further planning of the proposal. It would be best to approach these concepts again to truly understand how the hypertext will work with with the map. There could potentially be issues placing the link on or around the push pins, how we will design our own map, and how we can differentiate between countries. Also, considering the international students and attaining enough people. We can potentially pre-interview students who are here this term and not next, as practice.

Evaluate: It was very important to get these details ironed out. It will be easier throughout the project if the proposal is very detailed and organized, than it will if we leave those problems for another time. It is also intriguing that we are adding the portraits AND their stories so that the viewers of the interactive narrative can get a more comprehensive view of the the individual and their memories.

Project Development Part 2

Explain, continued: Like pieces to a puzzle, those examples helped us form a cohesive idea. The first part, inspired by Olia’s interactive narrative. By using a click-through story style, we can engage viewers right from the beginning. We want the website design similar Olia’s work but also very distinct. Instead of having drawings to click, there would be quotes or questions to choose from. If we use a quote for this part, it will be about memories and where we come from or directly from the witness accounts of the final step. To link our memories to Kingston University through individual memories that become shared experiences and are what makes KU unique.

The next stage will be a paragraph connecting the quote/conversation to peoples’ experiences. It will appear similar to the introduction of Wilson’s website where the text prompts the viewer to type (by pressing any key) in order to see the next words. The site scrolls down as the words add on.

This leads to the final stage- a map of the world. In this step, we came to a fork in our idea. - Sub-idea #1: pictures of the people fill up their countries - Around 5 KU international students and their stories will be the focus (more added if time allows) - All other countries that are not used are filled by a plain color - Sub-idea #2: have a map of the world with red pins in the area each person is from - Around 5 KU international students and their stories will be the focus (more added if time allows) - All countries will be a regular map design Both of these sub-ideas lead to a portrait of the person’s face where, using hypertext like Jackson, you click on one of their features (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, cheeks, etc.) to see their story. What we haven’t decided is whether the viewer would click on different features on each person or the same on all participants. These portraits connect to the individual stories that we will get from interviewing Kingston students that come from far away just to be here.

Evaluate: This project is merely a vessel to explore and share the memories of our student body. In our situation, it can’t be done on a very large scale but maybe with success, further development could take place. As an international student myself, this topic is particularly interesting to me. Diving into what home means and to leave it is very complex and changes depending on where you come from. With this project, we hope to share the memories that so many can relate to (and now, get to experience for themselves).

Part 1

References:

Olia, Lialina. “My Boyfriend Came Back From The War”. Teleportacia.org. N.p., 1998. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Wilson, Pierce. Piercegwilson.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Jackson, Shelley. “The Body”. Altx.com. N.p., 1997. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

#digitalmedia #project development

Project Development Part 1

During the workshop, my partner and I were able to meet up and discuss some of our ideas. First off, we decided that an interactive narrative website intrigued both of us more than our original thought to use stop-motion animation for the project. We decided to utilize Vannevar Bush and Theodore Nelson’s idea of hypertext via implementation of our interactive narrative online (to create a web of information, seamlessly layered). By using an interactive narrative, we thought we would be able to more concisely and inventively express our final product. But, we were yet to come with what our final product would be.

Explore: We began brainstorming ideas that we could relate to make our story-telling more personal. We searched through other interactive narratives online like Lialina Olia’s click-through story, My boyfriend came back from the war (1998). Her style promotes the viewers to change into ‘seekers,’ to search out story instead of just reading it. This appealed to us and also, reminded of one of my friend, Pierce Wilson’s work. He has created an interactive website of his own to showcase his skills and work that he has done. He website begins by prompting the viewer to type anything and in response, his message appears word by word. The next inspiration came from Shelley Jackson’s The Body. Her use of hypertext was very unique; clicking on body parts to reveal something underneath.

Explain: These three examples lead to a more concrete idea for our project. The idea of memories and human connection to places interested us so we decided our interactive narrative would be about people and places and the memories that bring us together no matter where we come from. The focus would be on Kingston University students that came from another city or country and not not only their journey to KU but also, memories of where they came from.

To be continued...

Part 2

References:

Olia, Lialina. "My Boyfriend Came Back From The War". Teleportacia.org. N.p., 1998. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Wilson, Pierce. Piercegwilson.com. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

Jackson, Shelley. "The Body". Altx.com. N.p., 1997. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.

#digitalmedia #project development

Project Inspiration

With the coming of the the project proposal in the next few weeks, I’ve been putting in a lot of thought to what to do for it with my partner. I have been finding it hard to cohesively combine the theories and techniques needed to form an initial plan. There is one idea have been mulling over that I believe may work.

Explore: The opening scene- the first subject wipes smeared red lipstick off their lips and flicks their hand away, throwing it to the ground. Someone then walks over it and it sticks to their foot. They try to shake it off, ultimately having to bend down and scrape it off the sole of their shoe. When they look down at their hand, it’s resting in the form of a simple red heart. They proceed about their walk and go into work, have a meeting where they give a presentation and they pat the back of their guest, transferring the heart to the guest’s shoulder. That guest goes home to their partner who gives them a back rub before going off to the gym, shifting the heart to their hand. After a game, they high-five their teammates, moving the heart to the first friend’s hand. They get on the bus where someone bumps into a bus rider, knocking them into the friend. Their hands are up to catch the impact, transferring the heart onto the bus rider’s back. The bus rider gets off and walks down the street into their home where they see the sad first subject. The bus rider then hugs the first subject, putting the heart from their back onto the first subject, again.

Explain: In this, I am trying to showcase how lost love isn’t always lost; it just can come to you in a new form. The inspiration for this was sparked by an image on makeup artist Lindsey Williams’ Instagram (crazypretty). The simplicity attracted me to develop a story/journey for it to follow.

Evaluate: As a first idea for the stop-motion project, I believe it has potential to have some ideas used in the final proposal. Meeting with my partner to discuss this idea, and her’s, further will help coordinate our aim and tactics for the future.

#stopmotionideas #inspriation #redheart #digitalmedia

Adobe Illustrator & Fonts

Adobe Illustrator has always been a media format creator that I’ve desired to learn about but have never had the chance/access to use. The purpose of learning the skills that are necessary to work Illustrator are really important for the final video project. But for this case, it’s interesting to use it just to experiment and create ideas.

Explore: Illustrator opens up a lot of doors to finished media products but also to individual theories and components. I focused on experimenting with different font types and sizes, how they can/ should be arranged to interest the viewer, and also how to get the direct message across to the viewer. I also took this as a chance to create a rough draft of a logo found at the bottom right of the poster.

Explain: What’s interesting about typography is not only the message derived from it but the ways in which it can be used as a technology. Our society is a visual culture so it’s critical to take advantage of that. With that in mind, I thought about how best to interest a specific crowd of people. I chose to mix fonts and sizes to create an environment that’s almost chaotic but meant to be fun. Then I chose to add in clean lines and distinct font patterns to then draw the viewer to key points of the poster. I found a really helpful design website that helps narrow down what type of font fits your needs. (Linked here)

Evaluate: A lot more goes into creating a poster then just smacking facts on a piece of paper . You have to realize who you’re talking to in order to create a successful continuous message. While my first example is no where near close to perfectly doing that, I’ve attempted to engage the viewers as well as inform them. The font play was very key to this and will be in the production of the final video. The fonts of titles, subtitles, and captions for the video will be very (even if unknowingly) important to the narrative.

#adobeillustrator #exploration #digitalmedia #stopmotionideas

Taking a look at how stop-motion animation works seems complex from the outside. Depending on the length of the project, it’s possible to have anywhere from 5 frames to 500 frames to piece together. At first, I was worried that stop-motion animation through photography would be too hard to learn about for a beginner. Although tedious and time consuming, it turned out to be quite the opposite. I figured out that with the help of Photoshop, joining together photos together is a lot like sewing— each stitch, or frame, is easier to connect to the next until suddenly, you have a whole, finished product.

Explore: As a first attempt, we looked to Eadweard Muybridge’s experiments with sequential photography. I chose the images of a partially nude woman. From the images alone, Muybridge seems to be tracing her movements throughout the lens of the camera. When I saw her face, it’s that of concentration and happiness.

Explain: Muybridge’s photos were an early expression of stop-motion animation. Although he did not attach them to each other in a rapid, video-like way, his expression allows the viewer to do that for themselves. The process of learning stop-motion animation using Photoshop opens up the doors of relating an image to an emotion or idea through movement, so that you can watch her emotions move across her face.

Evaluate: Muybridge’s works are inspiring because they combine the science of observing a subject with the art of capturing its essence. A still image lets your imagination run wild with the possibilities of what the subject is doing. A video takes your hand and guides you to an outcome. Stop-motion mixes both aspects and demonstrates that there’s an in-between. The in-between meaning that there’s a connection from the subject to the viewer.

Original photos by Eadweard Muybridge (1887) via commons.wikimedia.org

#stopmotionideas #digitalmedia #eadweard muybridge #exploration

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