'non-linear' (working title)

 Interactive narrative video piece for six screens.
 
 
[r.0 25 July 2005 23:12PDT]
[r.1 28 May  2005 17:47PDT]


 THEORETICAL MOTIVATIONS
 
 It's pretty apparent at this point, in our 'global'
 culture that less and less time is being paid to our
 surroundings. A side-effect of excess, no doubt, most
 gallery-goers can be seen flitting from piece to
 piece, nodding in appreciation, and speaking in muted
 tones, so as not to interrupt anyone else's viewing
 experience. This is my starting point.

 This piece is made to be interrupted. It tells a
 story, visually, textually; but it does not invite
 quiet contemplation for the entire story. Quite
 contrary to the native gallery-goers instinct, the
 piece requires noise to tell you its story. 
 It will not allow for peace -- though the story
 itself is sometimes peaceful -- it thrives on
 cellphones and loud talking, bumps and
 mis-interpreted meanings.


 TECHNICAL DISCUSSION
 
 This piece is meant as part of a group show,
 primarily with 'quiet' works such as photography and
 painting.
 
 Ideally in front of a wall, six 8 inch LCD screens
 would be hung 60 inches above the floor (Figure 001).
 
 Video on each screen appears to be both discrete and
 inter-related across all screens (Figure 002). 
 Field audio plays from speakers within the screens,
 complementing the imagery. When users approach the
 screen, there is no immediate reaction from the video.
 But, noise of a certain loudness triggers a text
 overlay which appears as subtitling in white bars
 on the bottom of the screen (Figure 003, Figure 005).

 The length of each video is staggered, no two are the
 same duration. This causes a cyclic relationship
 between any two movies. Though controlled, the effect
 is somewhat random, given a long enough duration.
 See Figure 004 for reference.


 PROTOTYPES
 
 Currently, storyboarding is under way for the
 narrative while a prototype application is being
 developed. 
 
 This application explores the functionality of the
 installation running with interaction via a mock-up
'voice actor', your own microphone, or no interaction
 at all (which allows for viewing of the entire
 narrative, un-interrupted). Much of this is for
 testing purposes, as reflected by the lack of video
 content. However, it should give a clear description
 of what to expect from any of the screens in the
 installation.
 
 An example of video running with no interaction can
 be found with Figure 006. The colors in each scene 
 correlate roughly with the colors in Figure 004.
 
 
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 - AN APPLICATION WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE SOON..               -
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 List of Illustrations:
 
 
 Figure 001.

 
 Figure 002.
 
 
 Figure 003.
 
 
 Figure 005. 
(00:10, 22MB MOV)

 
 Figure 006. 
(01:30, 42MB MOV)
 

 

 
 Figure 004. 
(Zoom-in if it is tiny)