I started to look at apps which could benefit the arts not by being arts themselves but helping to facilitate them.
After my talks with Liam Jefferies and Catriona Mcara I started to look around some of their examples to see how and if this was something that was carried out.
A big producer of app like these is the Tate Gallery, they have created quite a number of different apps that allow people to virtually tour exhibitions and ones that improve spaces.
A good example of someone using an app in a gallery space is musician Bjork. In an exhibition in 2015 at the MoMA she used an app which worked like a gallery audio-guide but had visual cues that worked around the space. This was a really interesting use of an app that I had not foreseen.
I did however find that whilst researching these "curation apps" that it was not as big a field as I had thought about and apps hadn't as much utilisation in facilitating the arts as I had once thought.
Wednesday, 28 December 2016
Tuesday, 27 December 2016
talk with Liam Jefferie's
Liam was recommended to me as a good person to talk as he has a great deal on knowledge on the uses of digital art and measuring user interaction.
We discussed my current areas of research were it could go, further reading into those areas and also my methodolgy behind my practical.
We discussed a lot about measuring how engaging work especially in the context of interactive art pieces (likely in an art gallery).
The two main outcomes from it were measuring if the participant had learnt anything and the other was to see whether the participant had an emotional response to it. Measuring both has their own merit and pitfalls, its easy to see if the participant learnt anything because it can be such a wide range from a small amount to a big concept and this can be done via surveying in a gallery space. The other can be done somewhat via observation just by seeing how people react to the work which would be significantly easier but likely less accurate.
The main thing I got from this is that these are two approaches to judge art by and a somewhat quantifiable way of measuring how successful art is. This can be applied to the use of apps whilst analysing them or using them as case studys.
We discussed my current areas of research were it could go, further reading into those areas and also my methodolgy behind my practical.
We discussed a lot about measuring how engaging work especially in the context of interactive art pieces (likely in an art gallery).
The two main outcomes from it were measuring if the participant had learnt anything and the other was to see whether the participant had an emotional response to it. Measuring both has their own merit and pitfalls, its easy to see if the participant learnt anything because it can be such a wide range from a small amount to a big concept and this can be done via surveying in a gallery space. The other can be done somewhat via observation just by seeing how people react to the work which would be significantly easier but likely less accurate.
The main thing I got from this is that these are two approaches to judge art by and a somewhat quantifiable way of measuring how successful art is. This can be applied to the use of apps whilst analysing them or using them as case studys.
Changing app starting path
I tested the app on a few people as a development build to see if they could navigate how it works. This was a very useful step as I realised the UI prompt needed to be more obvious, the design of it was fine but a lot of people didn't find it. although there was a prompt for it in the top right corner a lot of people didn't notice it so I had to explain a little how to use the app or at least show them the prompt.
To combat this I decided to make sure that the prompt automatically appears at the start so users can read the instructions before they start. This was actually a simple task I just changed the button to remove the title sequence from enter to space so when you hit space at the start it stops the title sequence running and starts the UI image sequence so there is a seamless transition between the two. Users can the just press spacebar again to remove the prompt and use the app.
To combat this I decided to make sure that the prompt automatically appears at the start so users can read the instructions before they start. This was actually a simple task I just changed the button to remove the title sequence from enter to space so when you hit space at the start it stops the title sequence running and starts the UI image sequence so there is a seamless transition between the two. Users can the just press spacebar again to remove the prompt and use the app.
Creating titles for the app and naming it
The apps identity was important and would definitely help in both making people play it and remember it. The identity of the app from my original concepts had changed a lot especially with the addition of character. Giving it a relevant name was important, after a lot of failed names I settles of "Audionauts" which I was helped to create by a class mate. I wanted the app to have a title card before you play it because it gives the user time to prepare and focus on it and I feel it would be taken more seriously with one. I started drawing ideas for titles: 
I then started playing around with different fonts to see which one would suit the project, using different aspects of ideas I liked from the sketches.
The Final design used the font apercu which I then modified, I was happy with the titles and felt it carried across the feel of the app that I wanted to convey.
I then started playing around with different fonts to see which one would suit the project, using different aspects of ideas I liked from the sketches.
The Final design used the font apercu which I then modified, I was happy with the titles and felt it carried across the feel of the app that I wanted to convey.
UI design
Using the knowledge I'd gained from asking practitioners about creating an engaging app I started planing the user interface (UI) for the app. The UI of an app is essentially what the user will use to control the app and what they will see that helps them do this. I knew for a web app the input would be through mechanical keys to control clips and that pressing one key would turn off the relevant other 4 so only 1 clip at a time from the 4 sections could be playing at once.
The main thing I needed to consider was how much information I told the audience and how would I deliver it to them. My first thought about this was I didn't want there to be any use of the mouse in app so any information should be available via the qwerty keyboard. The best key to use in the case would be the spacebar, I looked at other web-based apps to see how a lot of them utilised menus/info tabs. Lots had little icons to click on top right of the screen and the others often had a permanent bar at the bottom which had links contained with it.
I decided to go for the approach of having an icon top right but the icon would prompt user to hit space bar to get information. I noted down a view different variants of what information would be made available but I settled on one with little text. For the names I want to make sure those are both hyperlinked in the web version so clicking on them sends users to the relevant websites.
Making the title prompt work
I wanted a title screen for the app as I think it gives a nice introduction to the app and allow people to get ready to start engaging at their own pace. I'd created a title sequence as a PNG sequence but was unsure how to get the app to start with it. I looked into the UI features of unity to create a clickable button but I liked the idea of keeping the app entirely controlled via the keyboard.
After looking in Monodevelop I realised that the whole app started with a "void Start()" statement which triggered anything within its brackets upon loading the app. I put the title image sequence in these brackets as an if statement like all the other clips however the if statement was just if title sequence isn't playing make it play and then added an else if statement which allowed users to exit the title sequence to use the app using the enter key.
After looking in Monodevelop I realised that the whole app started with a "void Start()" statement which triggered anything within its brackets upon loading the app. I put the title image sequence in these brackets as an if statement like all the other clips however the if statement was just if title sequence isn't playing make it play and then added an else if statement which allowed users to exit the title sequence to use the app using the enter key.
App dev problems
During the creation of the final app in unity I ran into some problems which needed solving.
The first was the original structure of the app meant that every single sound available could be played at once however I needed to make sure that when you played one sound in a row (a row is a row on the keyboard e.g. Q>W>E>R>T) so this needed a new bit of coding. The original app frame work runs on a series of IF statements and true/false statements, I realised I could elaborate this to make one button turn off the others.
The code essentially says if they key (D in this case) is pressed and sound e FX is not playing (false) make it start playing (true). So I added to that if that it makes all the other corresponding FX clips stop playing (making them false).
Although it was a bit longwinded it was just a series of copy and pasting and referring to the sRen numbers for the video bank. This solution worked very well in solving the problem.
Another problem I encountered was very large project sizes which intern led to build problems. This was because I was working from an app foundation that would not work on this scale. unity decompresses all PNG sequences when you import them so file sizes shoot up. This lead to huge files sizes. Whilst using the animator in unity I realised you could add key framed properties to both stills and png sequences. This meant instead of rendering everything before hand and importing them as image sequences I could import large single images which could be moved in unity. This brought my app build down from 25gb > 2gb.
The first was the original structure of the app meant that every single sound available could be played at once however I needed to make sure that when you played one sound in a row (a row is a row on the keyboard e.g. Q>W>E>R>T) so this needed a new bit of coding. The original app frame work runs on a series of IF statements and true/false statements, I realised I could elaborate this to make one button turn off the others.
The code essentially says if they key (D in this case) is pressed and sound e FX is not playing (false) make it start playing (true). So I added to that if that it makes all the other corresponding FX clips stop playing (making them false).
Although it was a bit longwinded it was just a series of copy and pasting and referring to the sRen numbers for the video bank. This solution worked very well in solving the problem.
Another problem I encountered was very large project sizes which intern led to build problems. This was because I was working from an app foundation that would not work on this scale. unity decompresses all PNG sequences when you import them so file sizes shoot up. This lead to huge files sizes. Whilst using the animator in unity I realised you could add key framed properties to both stills and png sequences. This meant instead of rendering everything before hand and importing them as image sequences I could import large single images which could be moved in unity. This brought my app build down from 25gb > 2gb.
Key starting books
I started my research journey by reading through some key books mostly on the the topics of technology, culture and value. Some of these key books were
oyle, R. (ed.) (2010) Drawn to sound: Animation film music and sonicity. London: Equinox Publishing.
Barthes, R., Essays and Heath, S. (1993) Image, music, text.
Grau, O. and Custance, G. (2004) Virtual art: From illusion to immersion. Edited by Roger F. Malina. Cambridge: The MIT Pres
This was a very important process and it layed a foundation of knowledge on the general subject. I found from this the bredth that "cultural value" can be measured with both quantitatively through study/psychology and also through philosophy/art theory. From this point I needed to start narrowing down my research and also start focusing it towards the "app"
Stevenson, D. (2015) ‘Enriching Britain: Culture, creativity and growth’, Cultural Trends, 24(2), pp. 205–208. doi: 10.1080/09548963.2015.1031491.
Barthes, R., Essays and Heath, S. (1993) Image, music, text.
Paul, C. (2015) Ideals of beauty. United Kingdom: Thames & Hudson.
Grau, O. and Custance, G. (2004) Virtual art: From illusion to immersion. Edited by Roger F. Malina. Cambridge: The MIT Pres
This was a very important process and it layed a foundation of knowledge on the general subject. I found from this the bredth that "cultural value" can be measured with both quantitatively through study/psychology and also through philosophy/art theory. From this point I needed to start narrowing down my research and also start focusing it towards the "app"
Designing for the app
Making the app was a cross between design process and technical testing to make sure the app worked. Attached is an issue document showing the creation processes for the animations and the front end design.
I took influence from a few different places and each sound had its own set of research and idea generation to go with it.
I took influence from a few different places and each sound had its own set of research and idea generation to go with it.
Monday, 12 December 2016
leaning to code an app
After I did tests in resolume to see how the app worked I wanted to see how the actual thing would be built. After previous research into the best way to build this I was still unsure how this would be built but it seemed like either unity or flash would be the option. Unfortunalty flash handles videos very badly however after consulting technical support a solution was found. Using video sequences was difficult without them being huge, avid created some codecs with alpha channels but these are not supported by most softwares.
Fortunately a solution was by Steve found using unity using png image sequences which have alpha.
Steve showed me how to set up a scene in unity (similar organisation to maya) and how to go about making the app. I used the same assets from the previous test for this one.
I learnt some basic scripting in C# which allowed me to have all the image sequences playing constantly and then by using keys in a qwerty toggling whether they are visible or not. After this it was a matter of repeating the process for every asset to make the app.
This was an interesting learning curve however fortunately it was all very logical so its not too bad when something goes wrong. This is a very preliminary build there are things missing such as UI, a title screen and functions with toggling clips were not quite right. This was however a good base to build from and a way to test my concept in the mean time.
Fortunately a solution was by Steve found using unity using png image sequences which have alpha.
Steve showed me how to set up a scene in unity (similar organisation to maya) and how to go about making the app. I used the same assets from the previous test for this one.
I learnt some basic scripting in C# which allowed me to have all the image sequences playing constantly and then by using keys in a qwerty toggling whether they are visible or not. After this it was a matter of repeating the process for every asset to make the app.
This was an interesting learning curve however fortunately it was all very logical so its not too bad when something goes wrong. This is a very preliminary build there are things missing such as UI, a title screen and functions with toggling clips were not quite right. This was however a good base to build from and a way to test my concept in the mean time.
chapter draft
To start contextualising what I was researching I tried putting parts together to create a rough chapter draft. I hoped I could see whether what I was researching was actually coming together to make valid arguments. This was also an opportunity to make sure I was able to triangulate properly between sources. After writing this my feedback showed that although content was relevant my structuring was almost non existent. I needed to make sure that my paragraphs had clear points and that each source cited was adding to the same section of argument rather than being one long trail of thought.
1000 word triangulation demo:
What ever the source pleasurable experiences for people will ultimately on some level have a
positive influence on their life. Whether its a life changing event or a singular moment of ephemeral
joy, a part of their life has been altered for the better. When looking at “cultural value” from a purely
utilitarian point of view (which is often the case in the 21st century) positive (and negative) effects
on emotional well beings is an incredibly important point. “The value of all these arts and
sciences…the value which they possess, is exactly in proportion to the pleasure they yield.”
(Bentham, 1830) All art has the possibility to bring joy in some form to its audience but different
media can do this more effectively. There are important variables surrounding accessibility(;
educational, technological, geographical and cultural) to consider when looking at the breadth of
effective engagement of art.
Often when individuals experience some form of beauty it is regarded as a positive experience and
correlates strongly to feelings of happiness (People and Society 2014). A survey drafted by the arts
and humanities council: People and places: Public attitudes to beauty (ipos moro 2011) looking into
how the public perceive art showed that of the people they surveyed 47 percent said they had
experienced beauty in art. This is however significantly less than the 65% who’d experienced
beauty in nature. This could be indicative of the absolute immersion that is created nature, no
matter the level of engagement an art piece creates its likely to whither in comparison to a real life
vista. Virtual Reality (or VR) is a challenge to this idea as VR gives the potential of real world
immersion into the hands of artists. Digital art and in particular apps have the potential to create
works in which audiences could experience beauty through and possibly be a more effective media
for this. A good example of this is the app “Grove”, created for android devices by Simon Geilfus
(Grove 2015). The app allows the user to move through a controllable forest which contains a 360
degree camera, this allows the user to look around in any direction emulating real life vision. This
level of visual interaction mimics the immersion created by real life nature but with the added
bonus of an artists stylistic input adding to the experience. Although this will never be the same as
experiencing nature in real life the mimicking of the immersive traits is likely to aid the audience
connecting with the work and experience beauty. The use of this app in this case is as a tool which
an artist can use to create work that possibly communicates more effectively to a wider audience.
Unlike a lot of artistic mediums apps have the capability of using multi sensory engagement. One
aspect of this is the use of both audio and visual in conjecture. The spectre of sound talks about
music and visual becoming a different entity when combined “the combination of music is always
more that the sum of its parts. It is never merely the vital aspects of the shots and the music; they
become a totally different genus when unified” (Donnelly. K 2005) This discussion suggests ideas
that art which contains multiple medias can create a sensory experience which totals to a new
platform that is greater than the sum of its parts. Apps also often take advantage of touch inputs or
other forms on user interactivity such as voice commands, facial recognition and motion sensing.
“interactivity tends to force user attention on content and increases user engagement” (sundar,
2007). Apps being able to utilise this wider range of human interaction is more likely to bring out a
response from the participant, as has the possibility to appeal to them on different levels. The extra
spread of tools an artist is given when creating an app compared to a more traditional media gives
a wider chance for them to engage with their audience into experiencing beauty and joy.
In the same survey by published in Ipos Moro there was also some qualitative data along side the
quantitative, which alters what conclusion you can draw from the results. The data showed a lack
of relation to art and music by audiences and although they understood what emotions the work
was trying to emulate people struggled to connect with the work. This was often due to personal
lacking in similar experiences which stopped audiences form relating to the work. This is a
contention of intellectual and educational exclusion which can often be seen in the arts. When
looking at “cultural value” from the same utilitarian point of view this becomes an issue as arts have
less societal worth if they can only reach a smaller demographic. Apps have the potential to
overcome this problem through their accessibility. A majority of people in the western world are
exposed to apps and digital media everyday through multiple different platforms, it is almost
unavoidable. In a study discussing using digital media to engage children into learning it said “their
constant exposure to the Internet and other digital media has shaped how they receive information”
Oblinger, D. and doblinger (2014). This could indicate an entire change in how a generation would
best receive information. This wide spread exposure to digital media of potential audiences is more
likely to make the use of them a more effective medium to reach those audiences other art medias
may have alienated.
Delivering art on a platform that is more frequently used by the general population may allow those
audiences to better engage with the work. This arguably makes apps a more intellectually inclusive
media than other art forms as the tools available can create relatable works to a wider
demographic to enjoy. A problem with digital media is its financial accessibility, to access digital
media you will likely need to own a computer and/or a smartphone. This financial barrier instantly
excludes everyone who can’t access the relevant technology who could arguably visit any free art
gallery. Although the arts may be more financially available through galleries those people may
come across issues of geographical accessibility where as digital media . Although there is a
financial barrier surrounding the use of app (audiences must own phone or computer) the vast
majority of the population does have access to at least one of these. The technological barrier
surrounding apps does however create a divide in accessibility, “of the 6.4 million adults who have
never used the Internet, 3.5 million (55%) are disabled.” (Ofcom 2013) This is a major barrier when
considering the societal worth of apps as they can easily exclude a large demographic different to
others arts.
Bibliography
-Bentham, J. (1830). The Rationale of Reward. London: Heward
-Donnelly, K. j. J. ) J. (2005) The spectre of sound: Music in film and television. LONDON: British
Film Institute.
-IPSOS MORI, People and Places: Public attitudes to beauty, Commission for Architecture and the
Built Environment, 2011
-Geilfus .S 2015, Grove, (Version 1.2) [Mobile application software], retreived from:
https://www.androidexperiments.com/
-Oblinger, D. and doblinger (2014) ‘Journal of interactive media in education’, Journal of Interactive
Media in Education, 2004(1). doi: 10.5334/2004-8- oblinger.
-Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media use and Attitudes report. [online]
Available from: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/medialiteracy/october-
2013/research07Oct2013.pdf.
-PEOPLE AND SOCIETY (2014) Available at:
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-
file/Value_arts_culture_evidence_review.pdf (Accessed: 19 October 2016)
-sundar,s,s (2007) social psychology of interactivity in human website interaction in A joinson, k.
McKenna, T. Postmes & U.Reips (Eds.), The oxford handbook of internet psychology (pp89-102)
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
1000 word triangulation demo:
What ever the source pleasurable experiences for people will ultimately on some level have a
positive influence on their life. Whether its a life changing event or a singular moment of ephemeral
joy, a part of their life has been altered for the better. When looking at “cultural value” from a purely
utilitarian point of view (which is often the case in the 21st century) positive (and negative) effects
on emotional well beings is an incredibly important point. “The value of all these arts and
sciences…the value which they possess, is exactly in proportion to the pleasure they yield.”
(Bentham, 1830) All art has the possibility to bring joy in some form to its audience but different
media can do this more effectively. There are important variables surrounding accessibility(;
educational, technological, geographical and cultural) to consider when looking at the breadth of
effective engagement of art.
Often when individuals experience some form of beauty it is regarded as a positive experience and
correlates strongly to feelings of happiness (People and Society 2014). A survey drafted by the arts
and humanities council: People and places: Public attitudes to beauty (ipos moro 2011) looking into
how the public perceive art showed that of the people they surveyed 47 percent said they had
experienced beauty in art. This is however significantly less than the 65% who’d experienced
beauty in nature. This could be indicative of the absolute immersion that is created nature, no
matter the level of engagement an art piece creates its likely to whither in comparison to a real life
vista. Virtual Reality (or VR) is a challenge to this idea as VR gives the potential of real world
immersion into the hands of artists. Digital art and in particular apps have the potential to create
works in which audiences could experience beauty through and possibly be a more effective media
for this. A good example of this is the app “Grove”, created for android devices by Simon Geilfus
(Grove 2015). The app allows the user to move through a controllable forest which contains a 360
degree camera, this allows the user to look around in any direction emulating real life vision. This
level of visual interaction mimics the immersion created by real life nature but with the added
bonus of an artists stylistic input adding to the experience. Although this will never be the same as
experiencing nature in real life the mimicking of the immersive traits is likely to aid the audience
connecting with the work and experience beauty. The use of this app in this case is as a tool which
an artist can use to create work that possibly communicates more effectively to a wider audience.
Unlike a lot of artistic mediums apps have the capability of using multi sensory engagement. One
aspect of this is the use of both audio and visual in conjecture. The spectre of sound talks about
music and visual becoming a different entity when combined “the combination of music is always
more that the sum of its parts. It is never merely the vital aspects of the shots and the music; they
become a totally different genus when unified” (Donnelly. K 2005) This discussion suggests ideas
that art which contains multiple medias can create a sensory experience which totals to a new
platform that is greater than the sum of its parts. Apps also often take advantage of touch inputs or
other forms on user interactivity such as voice commands, facial recognition and motion sensing.
“interactivity tends to force user attention on content and increases user engagement” (sundar,
2007). Apps being able to utilise this wider range of human interaction is more likely to bring out a
response from the participant, as has the possibility to appeal to them on different levels. The extra
spread of tools an artist is given when creating an app compared to a more traditional media gives
a wider chance for them to engage with their audience into experiencing beauty and joy.
In the same survey by published in Ipos Moro there was also some qualitative data along side the
quantitative, which alters what conclusion you can draw from the results. The data showed a lack
of relation to art and music by audiences and although they understood what emotions the work
was trying to emulate people struggled to connect with the work. This was often due to personal
lacking in similar experiences which stopped audiences form relating to the work. This is a
contention of intellectual and educational exclusion which can often be seen in the arts. When
looking at “cultural value” from the same utilitarian point of view this becomes an issue as arts have
less societal worth if they can only reach a smaller demographic. Apps have the potential to
overcome this problem through their accessibility. A majority of people in the western world are
exposed to apps and digital media everyday through multiple different platforms, it is almost
unavoidable. In a study discussing using digital media to engage children into learning it said “their
constant exposure to the Internet and other digital media has shaped how they receive information”
Oblinger, D. and doblinger (2014). This could indicate an entire change in how a generation would
best receive information. This wide spread exposure to digital media of potential audiences is more
likely to make the use of them a more effective medium to reach those audiences other art medias
may have alienated.
Delivering art on a platform that is more frequently used by the general population may allow those
audiences to better engage with the work. This arguably makes apps a more intellectually inclusive
media than other art forms as the tools available can create relatable works to a wider
demographic to enjoy. A problem with digital media is its financial accessibility, to access digital
media you will likely need to own a computer and/or a smartphone. This financial barrier instantly
excludes everyone who can’t access the relevant technology who could arguably visit any free art
gallery. Although the arts may be more financially available through galleries those people may
come across issues of geographical accessibility where as digital media . Although there is a
financial barrier surrounding the use of app (audiences must own phone or computer) the vast
majority of the population does have access to at least one of these. The technological barrier
surrounding apps does however create a divide in accessibility, “of the 6.4 million adults who have
never used the Internet, 3.5 million (55%) are disabled.” (Ofcom 2013) This is a major barrier when
considering the societal worth of apps as they can easily exclude a large demographic different to
others arts.
Bibliography
-Bentham, J. (1830). The Rationale of Reward. London: Heward
-Donnelly, K. j. J. ) J. (2005) The spectre of sound: Music in film and television. LONDON: British
Film Institute.
-IPSOS MORI, People and Places: Public attitudes to beauty, Commission for Architecture and the
Built Environment, 2011
-Geilfus .S 2015, Grove, (Version 1.2) [Mobile application software], retreived from:
https://www.androidexperiments.com/
-Oblinger, D. and doblinger (2014) ‘Journal of interactive media in education’, Journal of Interactive
Media in Education, 2004(1). doi: 10.5334/2004-8- oblinger.
-Ofcom (2013) Children and Parents: Media use and Attitudes report. [online]
Available from: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/medialiteracy/october-
2013/research07Oct2013.pdf.
-PEOPLE AND SOCIETY (2014) Available at:
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-
file/Value_arts_culture_evidence_review.pdf (Accessed: 19 October 2016)
-sundar,s,s (2007) social psychology of interactivity in human website interaction in A joinson, k.
McKenna, T. Postmes & U.Reips (Eds.), The oxford handbook of internet psychology (pp89-102)
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press
Thursday, 8 December 2016
planning essay
Once I'd got a large body of research done I needed to start contextualising into an actual essay. I started planning how the essay would be laid out. This was quite a difficult task as it would determine my starting structure of my essay and how my research would be utilised whilst also determine which direction (in a large topic) it would go.
here were some of the outlines:
here were some of the outlines:
The original started by having two halves of the essay. First is the same as it is now but the second looked at a whole different type of apps which were ones that facilitate the viewing of art. After starting to make more notes on this section I realised that the two sections were so different and needed to be explored in-depth that with the word count and time available the points would have been spread to thin.
The next plan scraped the sections on apps in the role of curation and facilitation of art. This plan focused on how apps as an art form themselves can be effective.
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