Here are my final evaluative comments on this personal project. I have split this into the following sections:
1. Evaluation of the prototype and how it could be improved. (good points, bad points, improvements)
2. A SWOT analysis of myself with comments on how I could improve my working practice.
3. A list of technical problems that I overcame.
4. Thoughts on how this personal project could help or influence my MA project.
1. Evaluation of the prototype and how it could be improved. (good points, bad points, improvements)
I feel the prototype works well as a demonstrator overall. It is interesting to view/use and will keep the users attention with this prototype/demonstrator providing about 10 minutes worth of interaction. However it could be improved in various ways as well to do with the Interface and the animation footage. I also feel that the Rotoscoping idea and use was very appropriate to the concept and although time consuming it as enabled a sophisticated animation and feel to the project. Also the areas in which this idea/prototype could be taken into are vast really. This is due to the strength of the idea/concept (the golden ratio/shell idea). I feel good research and creative thinking have combined to produce/suggest an innovative idea with good legs and potential for development. Overall I'm very pleased with the outcome.
Good Points:
a. A good/innovative idea/concept with lots of potential. Also the way it could be developed into different routes such as immersive and networked solutions/ideas.
b. Development of the idea, themes related to the golden ratio and fibonaci numbers etc related to timings of clips and ratios of size etc is strong and imaginative.
c. The Rotoscoping effect/technique works well with and is appropriate to the idea and themes. Very effective animations.
d. Animations work well considering time constraints to suggest to viewer dark, light and irrational/rational thoughts. Good use of animation ideas such as: metamorphosis, condensation, synecdoche, symbolism and metaphor,associative relations and sound effects which all work to create different moods, feelings, intrigue, tension, atmospheres etc.
e. A clear and usable interface with effective navigation, good use of structure and grid system.
f. Narrative structure is interesting and works reasonable well so to give the viewer choices and clear/simple choices.
g. The simplicity and clarity of the Interface which I feel benefits the balance between playful interaction and usability is good. Clear/playful effective navigation device of the characters heads related to light/dark areas/thoughts etc
h. Good use of colour, black/white, shades of grey and then just flashes of reds and yellow is effective and helps the uniformity of the good visual appearence of the interface.
i. Good use of clear instructions.
Bad Points:
a. Animations are a little too short and maybe if I had more time I could have chosen higher numbers in the Fibonaci range so to make the animations more effective in terms of creating ambience, intrigue and tension. However i did recognise constraints and came to a compromise which does work.
b.The use of sound within the Interface design could be more inventive and effective such as use of prompts etc related to accessibility issues.
c. The action scripting could be more effective within the Flash file, but it does work and there are no error messages.
d. Maybe this should be uploaded onto a dvd or online to further test protype. However it is designed in Flash to be flexible and I'm not sure what is the appropriate deliverable for this product at present. It needs some market research to be completed before it could be taken further.
e. I could have added more a/v controls etc in interface for users, but I have tried to keep it as simple as possible, so there are pros and cons.
f. Rotoscoping technique was very time consuming and ambitious. Is it worth it? Could i have developed a more simple technique?
g. I have solved many problems with this, but there are still 1 or 2 little problems with the video footage and actionscript etc etc which could be refined.
Improvements:
a. Add more / refine sounds within the interface so to help with accessibility and ambience of the product.
b. Make the animations longer so to add more intrigue, understanding and tension within the narrative.
c. More inventive / playful interaction could be used.
d. Refine actionscript.
2. A SWOT analysis of myself with comments on how I could improve my working practice.
STRENGTHS:
a. Good use of web 2.0 resources so to help me document process and research (blogs, delicious etc).
b. Good thoughtful/reflective approach/attitude - wanting to improve and take further.
c. Good skills in graphic design and software such as photoshop and drawing skills which helped with the rotoscoping and visual design of Interface.
d. I have planned my time and made good decisions in terms of the development of this project. I have recognised my strengths and weaknesses and produced things accordingly and I dont think it as been detremental to the original idea/concept.
e. I'm very organised - I have to be because I'm working full-time as a teacher as well as completing this course.
WEAKNESSES:
a. Not much experence using Flash software - limited action scripting skills/knowledge, but it is improving and this project as developed my skills and understanding further.
b. Having to develop a lot of skills and knowledge in a short space of time. Some of the learning curves have been steep.
OPPORTUNITIES:
a. Tutorial support from University with Flash etc and good email support, which helped me greatly.
b. I've enjoyed the lectures and exploring theory related to areas such as Interactive film and narrative and usability. I feel I have learnt a lot and I have developed as a professional person in this area.
THREATS:
a. Over the past year I have had a couple of health problems which I have now overcome, but did take up time and effort.
b. My computer's power pack blew up in December, so I went 5 weeks without a computer at the start of this term which did not help. I learnt the hard way in terms of lost work which was not backed up! Now I have an external hard drive etc.
c. I live 50 miles away from Bath so it is a struggle coming in sometimes, but my attendance and punctuality is good, I have found email support helpful.
d. I work full-time in a time consuming and professional job, so I have had to manage my time well. This I have found dissapointing because I do feel I could do better or enjoy more my studies etc if I could have completed this project full-time rather than part-time. However I have done reasonably well.
e. Lack of programming skills/background.
3. A list of technical problems that I overcame.
I started this project exploring various software and techniques such as motion typography in Motion and Flash, moving image exploration with film, animation and sound in QuickTime and Final Cut Pro etc. I did learn various techniques and processes in the software which helped my overall undestanding of what I was doing. I then made some good choices related to the project ideas/themes etc to use a rotoscoping technique in Flash. Through reading, tutorials etc I used layers in Flash to draw frame by frame, but to make it less time consuming I only brought into Flash the qt movies at 12 fps and matched it to the Flash settings which helped. I did a lot of playing around with the Flash settings so to get the correct balance between memory size and quality etc. I picked up some good rotoscoping ideas and working proceses by watching the making of 'A Scanner Dakly' which helped me improve the quality of and the making time of the animations. So the software I used were:
Flash 8 (actionscript 1,2)
QuickTime Pro
Sound track Pro
FireWorks 8
(original film footage was edited/created in) Final Cut Pro
I found this software worked well together and enabled me to do what I wanted effectively. With all the software I played around with the settings and problem solved/explored thoroughly. The more tricky problem solving was with Flash action script where I overcame a few problems with movie clip sound (event and sync sound), sounds playing and stopping, and few other things. I did problem solve successfully and I disregarded more complex interaction such as drag and drop, and slider bar interaction which I have now successfully got working, in favour of more simple interaction which I felt was more appropriate for this project. Keep it Simple so that the user is not confused with too much complexity and pointless options. I'm pleased with my outcomes because I feel I have achieved this to some extent.
Hardware:
Apple Mac G5 running OS X Tiger 10.4
4. Thoughts on how this personal project could help or influence my MA project.
This project as improved my Flash skills and introduced me to other areas such as interactive film which I wish to explore with my MA project. Also I have looked at ideas related to networked, immersive and locative solutions to problems which I wish to explore further.
What I have learnt though and what I think is important for the MA project is that I fully decide on deliverables and outcomes early on in the project and work towards completing them with more focus maybe than this project, because I was changing my mind a lot and changing the outcomes. Which I guess was appropriate for the project, but for my MA one, bearing in mind time constraints it needs to be well planned.
I think I need to choose outcomes etc that do not contain too much extended / eloborative / complex sripting/programming.
Play to my strengths not my weaknesses,, however I would like to improve/overcome my weaknesses as well.
Also I need to choose something which will keep me motivated and interested as well as being imaginative and innovative.
Something which will extend my skills and understanding even more. However I feel the user is the most important element in interactive design and media and whatever I design/create must have this in mind. Simple, usable, exciting interaction that works and as the user at the centre of its thinking.
Please look at more evaluative comments in this blog and in sketchbook.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Reflective/Evaluative comments for other Projects.
Throughout this Blog are evaluative and descriptive comments regarding the development of this personal project.
Please also refer to sketchbook for assessment.
For reflective/descriptive/evaluative comments relating to the Group projects. Please refer to links:
'Group Project' (Usability group project)
'7DeadlySins Group Project' (my own comments regarding the development of the Imagined worlds brief and Installation).
For this personal project.
The blog and sketchbook are the learning log and reflective evaluation.
For the two group projects.
The blog for each project is the learning log which also contains evaluative/reflective comments and also there is a final evaluation of the project, product and myself on each blog for each project.
Please also refer to sketchbook for assessment.
For reflective/descriptive/evaluative comments relating to the Group projects. Please refer to links:
'Group Project' (Usability group project)
'7DeadlySins Group Project' (my own comments regarding the development of the Imagined worlds brief and Installation).
For this personal project.
The blog and sketchbook are the learning log and reflective evaluation.
For the two group projects.
The blog for each project is the learning log which also contains evaluative/reflective comments and also there is a final evaluation of the project, product and myself on each blog for each project.
Info and other ideas
As part of the prototype I have developed some intial ideas and visuals regarding how this could be taken into other areas, but also giving the viewer information and basic help etc as follows:
Info and Help
"This is an interactive film/animation which allows the viewer/user to make choices which
determine the advance of the narrative. This is only a prototype and concentrates on
Scene 4 of the film. The footage and scenes are based on the film 'The Conversation'
and the idea is to see and hear the thoughts of the two characters within that film as
they are speaking to each other. Therefore this is 'The Thoughts'.
This is a prototype which could be developed further for a range of deliverables including
online, mobile/augmented and immersive installation solutions.
Follow the white commands on screen to advance the film and navigate the interface
through using the dark grey buttons/words (back) and the character's heads".
Narrative Structure
"'The Thoughts' is based on a shell like narrative structure (influenced by the Golden
Ratio/Fibonaci numbers, the idea and ratio behind how things grow in nature). Using this
idea related to how thoughts grow in the mind when you are having a conversation or
thinking about what to say or how to respond. This is also related to the length and size of
the animated/film clips.
So the viewer/user will have 3 choices to advance the narrative: a. dark irrational
thoughts, b. light irrational thoughts and c. more rational developed thoughts.
Representing the growth of both the character's thoughts through their conversation.
The Interface structure and base of the animation structure is based on a 'tree structure'.
The animations also use/based on a 'Golden Ratio shell structure'. This as been influenced
by Robert Coover's 'electron shell' structure which enables interpretation and viewpoint
choices".
Network Idea
"I also think this prototype as potential to be pushed into a social network/online
communication/community route. This could combine the use of a form or php script
linked to a database which enables viewers to upload/send their thoughts to 'The Thoughts'
so to change/adapt the narrative in a networked way, with friends/other viewers".
Immersive Idea
"The prototype could be taken into an Immersive installation route where user's/viewer's
could walk into a space where they interact with large screens or projections on surfaces.
Maybe like entering the characters minds, seeing their thoughts and interacting in some way.
One idea I have is that the viewer could interact by where he/she stands in the space.
Triggering animations and sounds in a locative way with interactive pads on the floor.
This could be taken further in terms of a space which senses how you are feeling/what you
are thinking and then feeds back to you via sounds and animations - seeing your thoughts.
You could play with distances and space related to the Golden Ratio etc".
Info and Help
"This is an interactive film/animation which allows the viewer/user to make choices which
determine the advance of the narrative. This is only a prototype and concentrates on
Scene 4 of the film. The footage and scenes are based on the film 'The Conversation'
and the idea is to see and hear the thoughts of the two characters within that film as
they are speaking to each other. Therefore this is 'The Thoughts'.
This is a prototype which could be developed further for a range of deliverables including
online, mobile/augmented and immersive installation solutions.
Follow the white commands on screen to advance the film and navigate the interface
through using the dark grey buttons/words (back) and the character's heads".
Narrative Structure
"'The Thoughts' is based on a shell like narrative structure (influenced by the Golden
Ratio/Fibonaci numbers, the idea and ratio behind how things grow in nature). Using this
idea related to how thoughts grow in the mind when you are having a conversation or
thinking about what to say or how to respond. This is also related to the length and size of
the animated/film clips.
So the viewer/user will have 3 choices to advance the narrative: a. dark irrational
thoughts, b. light irrational thoughts and c. more rational developed thoughts.
Representing the growth of both the character's thoughts through their conversation.
The Interface structure and base of the animation structure is based on a 'tree structure'.
The animations also use/based on a 'Golden Ratio shell structure'. This as been influenced
by Robert Coover's 'electron shell' structure which enables interpretation and viewpoint
choices".
Network Idea
"I also think this prototype as potential to be pushed into a social network/online
communication/community route. This could combine the use of a form or php script
linked to a database which enables viewers to upload/send their thoughts to 'The Thoughts'
so to change/adapt the narrative in a networked way, with friends/other viewers".
Immersive Idea
"The prototype could be taken into an Immersive installation route where user's/viewer's
could walk into a space where they interact with large screens or projections on surfaces.
Maybe like entering the characters minds, seeing their thoughts and interacting in some way.
One idea I have is that the viewer could interact by where he/she stands in the space.
Triggering animations and sounds in a locative way with interactive pads on the floor.
This could be taken further in terms of a space which senses how you are feeling/what you
are thinking and then feeds back to you via sounds and animations - seeing your thoughts.
You could play with distances and space related to the Golden Ratio etc".
Final Interface Design for the protoype 'The Thoughts'
I have now completed the working prototype for Scene 4 of 'The Thoughts'. I think it is an effective interface and prototype which gets the idea/feel across of this interactive narrative/film/animation. The interface as gone through a couple of versions and I now feel it's got structure and is clear/easy to use and navigate for the viewer/user. I would have liked to be a little more innovative with the interface/navigation and usability. However it is about getting a balance so that the product offers some playful innovation/experience ( using the characters heads as hotspots etc ) and being user freindly/easy to use.
To help with the structure of the interface pages/sections I have used a basic grid system so to add structure and uniformity, so everything looks like it belongs together and is structured. I have a background in Editorial Design, so I'm aware of the use of Grids for print based work. I feel in any graphic design work they are useful and I feel on this project it as helped.
I want to also explore the use of grid systems or concepts within moving image and multi-media, because I think there is potential for some interesting ideas and visual solutions to certain timebased/motion problems. I have been reading a book/theory on this by 'Tanja Diezmann' and 'Tobias Gremmier' titled 'Grids for the Dynamic Image', published by AVA/Academia. Really looking at the potential of using 2D, 3D, 4D grid systems.
I have taken advice from sessions regarding usability, accessibilty and the display of information on screens etc and tried to put into practice on this project, which i think as worked well and highlights my understanding so far.
One area I would like to explore further is the use of sound in Interface Design which i feel as got vast potential especially related to accessibility and the users experience.
Here are the completed Interface Design screen grabs:
To help with the structure of the interface pages/sections I have used a basic grid system so to add structure and uniformity, so everything looks like it belongs together and is structured. I have a background in Editorial Design, so I'm aware of the use of Grids for print based work. I feel in any graphic design work they are useful and I feel on this project it as helped.
I want to also explore the use of grid systems or concepts within moving image and multi-media, because I think there is potential for some interesting ideas and visual solutions to certain timebased/motion problems. I have been reading a book/theory on this by 'Tanja Diezmann' and 'Tobias Gremmier' titled 'Grids for the Dynamic Image', published by AVA/Academia. Really looking at the potential of using 2D, 3D, 4D grid systems.
I have taken advice from sessions regarding usability, accessibilty and the display of information on screens etc and tried to put into practice on this project, which i think as worked well and highlights my understanding so far.
One area I would like to explore further is the use of sound in Interface Design which i feel as got vast potential especially related to accessibility and the users experience.
Here are the completed Interface Design screen grabs:
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