Childhood Is...

This is the link to the poem 'Childhood Is', which the group will be using as a basis for the project.

http://www.familyfriendpoems.com/family/poetry.asp?poem=191

Proposal

Multimedia and Interactivity – Project Proposal
Concept
To create a flash installation focused around a visual poem; using only images, text and sound to convey its meaning. The aim of the project is to make use of visual and audio tools to make story-telling a more interactive journey; with the narrative being progressed by the user.
Storytelling through methods of human communication i.e. sight, sound, speech, text etc being depicted through digitally produced tools/materials e.g. images, text and recorded voice/sound.
The reasoning and motivations behind the idea was to highlight the alternative ways of communicating a story, using a combination of different mediums, allowing the potential to extend and layer the meanings the poem/story may not have had if it were only read, for example, in written form.
Motivation/Inspiration
Inspiration was found in digital interfaces such as Shelly Jackson’s ‘The Body’, which explores interactivity in relation to different body parts acting as a network for the narrative through the use of interactive buttons linking to different pages. Geoff Ryman’s work also relates to our project concept as he uses literary forms in a digital format.
And the artwork of Mikael Aguirre (Also known as Orioto), his gallery work on deviant art.com, shows the ways in which photographs can be manipulated around different subject matters so that they can directly or more closely relate to desired concepts. Other pictures on this particular site also inspired the possible pictorial content that will feature in the project in order to aid the story-telling process.
Furthermore, Jean-Luc Lamarque, Pianographique (a flash interface involving the use of an interactive piano via use of a keyboard), specifically, ‘Black Potion’ uses a 60’s theme combining music (self composed by the user), images and movie sound clips – producing an interactive art piece, something we hope to achieve with our idea.
We were also interested in the structure of graphic novels, manga and comic books with its use of image and text. For example, xxxHolic is a manga which, like all manga, is known for its highly stylised art, which is just as important, if not more so, than the text, in bringing the story together.
Target Audience
The proposed target audience are those interested in digital story-telling, who are open to exploring alternative ways of reading literary works, also all those interested in digital art and new media technologies.

Project timeline
Week
Task
4 (18/2/08)
Discussion of ideas
5 (25/2/08)
Storyboards – Pre-production
6 (3/3/08)
Start Production – get images
7 (10/3/08)
Production – manipulate images in Photoshop/illustrator
8 (31/3/08)
Start flash production
9 (7/4/08)
“ ”
10 (14/4/08)
“ ”
11 (21/4/08)
Project Presentation
12 (28/4/08)
Final changes and improvements from presentation feedback
13 (5/5/08)
Project Deadline 9/5/08

Product Description
The proposed piece consists of a flash based installation/interface as a form of digital story-telling.
We will use image, text and audio to communicate a story/poetry piece; possibly, drawn, stock and our digital images which will be manipulated in Photoshop and illustrator and editing audio in Soundforge. The user will be able to interact with each image and text via use of buttons (obvious and concealed) to progress further into the narrative.
The installation will include a menu with 2 main sections:
1. Concept – Detailing the motivations and processes involved in the project
2. Visual Poem/Story – The final project piece

Relationship theory and practice
With written form tending to be static, the visual story/poem incorporating different digital forms will create movement and give an element of performance to the text. Especially with the user being able to actively participate as a reader of the text through electronic interaction. Thus, the inter-textual nature of the product has the potential, to create multiple avenues of interpretation and meanings for the users.
We were influenced by Roland Barthes theory of Semiotics. We will be using images (signs) to denotate meaning.

Visual Poem!

Yesterday, the group discussed the idea of producing a visual poem, in which we use flash to create an interface incorporating images, text and audio to ‘visually’ communicate the meaning of the poem.
The interactive aspect will be the extensive use of buttons (and other forms) for the user to engage with, in order to progress through the narrative (making it more of an activity).

The poem we have currently agreed upon is titled: ‘Childhood is...’ by Jackie A. Shaddow.
Its descriptive nature gives ample ideas for the types of images, text and audio that could be used and the ways in which they could be manipulated in order to create other layers of interpretation for the poem.

Brainstorm Ideas

I looked at the Mark Amerika' s Grammatron website to get some ideas to add to our proposed idea. The links on the website was used to link you to a different part which may be linked to the earlier page or not and along with some work by Talin Memmort's work i thought of a face with each part of the senses being part of a different charcter and when you click on either one it can link you to the beginning of their story and some of the words in it links you to a part of another person's story.

Sound Toys

Looking at the sound toys website but specifically Kate Southworth work using audio and visual to create an interface. she has various pieces on this website http://soundtoys.net/toys/fuorange. some of the pieces you can just watch such as 'who owns them controls' where words are dissolved through waves. Some of them are interactive which i find are more enjoyable since you can control aspects of the 'art' rather than just watching it. i think this aspect of interaction would be useful for our interface since it would involve the audience more in the interface and make it a slightly different experience each time they interacted with it.

Attended talk on Friday by Talan Memmott about his work. one example included a piece where he knew hat the technology he used to create would become obsolete and that was the message from his work. also saw MA student's work which included using actionscript and flash. which was about the body. it was useful to see how these people used flash and gave ideas about what you could create in flash.

discussion of ideas

we discussed different ideas for our project including crime solving, identity, extreme advertising, virtual worlds poems, normal vs abnormal, first impression and life through photographs