Creating Him and Her, an YouTube Annotation Video

A common piece of interactivity to find on youtube is videos that have annotations. Some videos would use this online tool for basic purpose, such as promoting other youtubers or providing a link to a song. However a common occurrence on youtube is these choos-your-own adventure videos. Videos such as Larry has a Spider on his Head and INSERT OTHER EXAMPLE let the user click on annotations to other videos that shows the result of their choice.  This kind of annotation video can be quite tiresome due to its basic functionality. Instead of creating an interactive narrative, they instead create a very basic game with limited gameplay, however annotation videos can help bring an interactive experience to YouTube, especially when done right.

Chris Bingham, a young filmmaker based on London used YouTube to help establish his career and to practice his skills in filmmaking. Last year he created an annotation experience called B.R.O.X, which was an annotation video that played out very similar to old adventure games, such as Escape from Monkey Island or Grim Fandango. At first, Bingham attempted to make the video different from annotation to be different by uploading it unfinished, allowing subscribers to watch the world and game grow with new elements of gameplay. These updates can be anything from a new character to talk to, being able to explore the desk in a room. Though what made B.R.O.X quite interesting to explore was because it did feel like a game. By creating B.R.O.X as a game instead of a choice based video, it grew popular interest and has currently 111,990 views in the past year. (Accessed 27/10/2013)

When we were required to create an annotation experience for Creative Media Practice, I was quite tempted to create some like B.R.O.X, an interactive mystery adventure game. However, my group and I wanted to try something different, so we decided to write a basic comedy about a couple trying to hide something from one another, with the user being able to choose which perspective to watch. That is the basis of the name, Him and Her.

Despite being happy with this basic structure, after having a word with our lecturers, we decided that we could do more to build this world. So we decided to add little elements of narrative exploration, where the user can click on an annotation to find out more about this two characters and how their relationship seems to function. For example, there is a shot where “Her” rushes into her bedroom to find something to wear and there are four teddy bears sitting on the floor, one small to the right and one quite big to the left. Each bear has an annotation. When the user clicks on one of these annotations, they will be taken to a video that show’s the couple having an argument, with “Him” usually being in the wrong. This implies that whenever the couple having an argument, “Him” would buy “Her” a teddy bear, the bigger the argument, the bigger the bear.

Despite how basic the project was, I enjoyed it the most; it was fun to see the possibilities that annotations present as a narrative experience. By allowing interactivity to help explore a narrative, instead of getting through to the next stage in these “choose your own adventure” videos, one can create a far more interesting experience for the user, leaving them feeling satisfied and awarded for clicking on an annotation instead of annoyed when they choose the one wrong. With work and imagination, YouTube annotations and other interactive software like Isadora can provide the great combinations of film and digital games, that experience of interactive cinema.

Practice with Isadora

Isadora is a piece of software that lets you create an interactive piece of media, using different sounds and visuals. Mostly used by VJ’s, it is a method of video performance. By using the different tools provided by Isadora, you can give different commands that will change or alter the current video shown through Isadora, such as by pressing the space key, I can pause the video, or by clicking the mouse I can move onto the next scene or video. Interactivity can also be passed onto an audience by using a webcam. Different functions can be placed, such as by waving, the user can change the colour of the screen for example. Anything is possible through Isadora, however that is mostly what makes it frightening.

For Creative Media Practice, we were to be split into groups of three to four and create an Isadora project in the spirit of Halloween. Basically we were to make a horror/scary interactive experience. I was put into a group with Elicia Powell, James McKeown and Emma Daffern. After some brainstorming, we decided on a video where a user can take control of the paranormal experiences being shown through CCTV footage, much in the spirit of paranormal activity. By pressing the number keys on the keyboard, the software would play a video showing a ghostly event. After having a film session, where we placed a camera on a high tripod in the corner and acted out different paranormal occurrences, we edited the videos on after effects to get that CCTV look.

Once the videos were finished, I spent a good afternoon watching tutorial videos to help understand what we wanted to accomplish. By creating different scenes for each video, I programmed Isadora to change to each one by pressing a different numbered key and once the video was finished, it would take you back to the main video, which is programmed to go on a loop. In the end, despite our fears, the whole logic of the system was quite simple and easy to construct. It was accepted quite well by the lecturers and our fellow students.

I really enjoyed working with Isadora, as it was the same logic and workspace as game design. Back in college I was required to create a video game that had ten levels of game play, so that past experience really help me better understand how to work Isadora to its full potential. As I worked on the project, I could see every idea that can be brought to life with Isadora, though it is a shame that the software comes with its limitations. Isadora does not seem to have a way of exporting the file, so that Ghost Cam can be released as a game for the Internet. Also the fact that the demo version will not save any files provides some frustration, as you can lose hours worth of work if the program shuts down.

In short, Isadora is a fantastic and innovative method of interactive storytelling, but only if you can pay for it and not mind that the only way people can see your work is through your own computer.  

Dog Eat Dog: A QR Experiment

With the use of Smartphones, users can scan a different kind of bar code called QR Codes. QR Codes are mostly used for promotional or practical use, such as Tescos creating a QR code shopping mall, where people can stock up on their food by scanning in the QR codes painted on the wall.

However QR codes can be used to create a story telling experience, giving a user a piece of a larger narrative and a glimpse into a fictional world. Sometimes they can be used to provide a mobile narrative experience, such as some coffee shops provide story cards, which have a QR code printed on, which lets you download a short story to read with your coffee.

I have experience with experimenting with QR codes, such as a transmedia narrative called A Better Place, where the user see’s glimpses of a dark future across the city of Liverpool by scanning in hidden QR Codes.

For Creative Media Practice, we were to create a short QR code storytelling experience. Telling different parts of a story to a user after they scan in the code. Kirsty Markey, James McKeown and myself decided to create a story tail experience, where a user would follow a trail of QR codes to experience a narrative.

The story was about the aftermath of a jewelry robbery gone wrong. You play as one of the gang members picking up the stash, as you go through the QR codes, you find out the background of the gang members, what went wrong and where the other members during the narrative. In the end, it is revealed that your partner set you up while they run off with the cash.

To save time, we decided to use stock footage and real videos on YouTube, such as a real jewel robbery stopped by an old lady passing by. However this made the final product look quite cheap and very dull to work on.

 

I find it difficult being imaginative with QR codes, as all I see in their usage is how to advertise a story or campaign. By putting them around the city to show digital posters or small video teasers to gather greater interest on a project. Still this may simply mean that I need to work more with QR codes and research different projects to gain inspiration.

Split Screen Horror

Despite the horrors of third year starting to become real, such as our final year project and a dissertation, university offered a practice run in a form of a module called Creative Media Practice. This module requires a certain level of creativity and a taste of experimenting. For the duration of this module we were to create different media artifacts that are either interactive or experimental.

The first task was to create a Triptych, which was a video that showed three screens within one video frame. Split Screen is rarely seen in major film productions, but is used more for a practical sense rather. As Malte Hagener (2008) suggests, split-screen in Hollywood was mostly used to show two characters on screen while talking on the phone, which could be used to show chemistry between two characters, such as in Pillow Talk. (Michael Gorden, 1959) Sometimes films can use Split-Screen can show an parallel perspective from multiple characters, such as in 24. It can also be used to simply make a scene look nice, such as in Heavy Rain.

We were split into groups of four to three to create this video. When brainstorming ideas within my group, I wanted to create a video that was not only told through more than one screen, but can only be told through multiple screens.

Our video told a story of a man reading a book within one screen, but other characters appeared within the video, not only to distract, but also leave him in an uncomfortable state. Before I talk about the creation of the video, give it a watch and enjoy.

Pop: A SplitScreen Horror

The greatest challenge of the video was timing. We needed every action from all of the characters to interact with each other and flow together as one time space. We filmed a few takes of each video, mostly of the middleman and the lady on the phone, as they had the most interaction with each other.  Editing the video through after effects proved quite simple, which was a surprise, as not only did our screens appeared in different parts of the video, but also increased or decreased in size. Strangely enough the worst part of the production was uploading the video unto YouTube, university’s Internet proved most troublesome.

I really enjoyed creating this video. I had a great team who worked very well and the concept was a joy to plan and create. However the narrative possibilities that can be achieved with Split-screen really has captured my imagination. Not only could they show two characters interaction despite distance, but represent parallel moments through time. Imagine a triptych romance that showed the beginning, middle and end of a relationship at the same time.  

Third Year: The final part of the journey

It is October and that fact alone terrifies me. As right now, as I am typing this blog, I am currently studying my third and final year of university. By March or April, my studies will be finished and I must face the horror of the real world. Sometimes I wish I can just take the Blue Pill.

However despite this nervous state, I am actually happy with third year so far. For one thing, I'm really busy with projects from university, an independent short film and living with some of my best friends in a lovely house.

So its not all bad, I just run through what this blog is and what you can find in it. This started off as my university blog, where I posted reflective posts on my work in university. Now, it's kind of the same thing really, but for a different module called Creative Media Practice, where I can experiment with different interactive media techniques. Lovely.

Still I will try and write some more than that because I really do enjoy writing, talking and thinking. More thinking really, as there are less interruptions. I will also post examples of my work, stuff that I watched and enjoy, also possibly the odd nerd rant here and there.

I will finish this post with wishing myself, my friends and any other final year students the best of luck this year, as we pretty much need it.