#digitalmediafoundations

I have to admit there was a point where I felt like changing our story. This was mainly because of the research that i did; i realised that there were many other good story ideas we could incorporate into our scary story. Keeping in mind that it was too late to make big changes of the story my group and I met up and spoke over the matter and decided that we may just change some props being used in the story. Though these changes will not have an effect on the character or the plot of the story; but rather will enhance some scenes of the story.

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.

       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.

     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.

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.

     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.”

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.