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.
Sunday, 13 November 2016
key culture texts (arts council)
When researching I came across a paper by the the Arts Council England which was an incredibly useful point of reference for my research. The paper is called: an evidence review
PEOPLE AND SOCIETY PEOPLE AND SOCIETY
TO
OF
ARTS AND CULTURE ARTS AND CULTURE
VALUE. It lays out both how to try and measure cultural value whilst also breakdown different aspects of approach to the idea of cultural value. The paper also cited throughout two others which were equally useful: Enriching Britain:
Culture, Creativity and Growth (warick commision) and Understanding the value
of arts & culture (The AHRC Cultural Value Project).
The three papers all look into cultural value but approach the subject from slightly different ways and are more detailed in some areas of the argument than others. They are particularly useful when trying to define cultural value as a concept in my paper.
The three papers all look into cultural value but approach the subject from slightly different ways and are more detailed in some areas of the argument than others. They are particularly useful when trying to define cultural value as a concept in my paper.
Monday, 7 November 2016
Talk with Dr Catriona McAra
After the advice given by my tutor I sought the insight of our colleges curator Catriona.
In the meeting we discussed my overall topic, my current thoughts on it and what direction my research/paper were heading in.
This was an incredibly useful discussion as it helped me make sense of the work I already had and also the other research paths available for my essay.
I was pointed at some very useful texts which intern referenced other useful sources, I was also shown so good examples of another possible topic to use in my dissertation.
We discussed the use of apps in conjunction with art rather than being an art form themselves. There were a couple of examples but I need to source more as increasing public interest in the arts is a very relevant point.
I plan to research further with the resources I was shown and undertake some case studies with relevant apps.
In the meeting we discussed my overall topic, my current thoughts on it and what direction my research/paper were heading in.
This was an incredibly useful discussion as it helped me make sense of the work I already had and also the other research paths available for my essay.
I was pointed at some very useful texts which intern referenced other useful sources, I was also shown so good examples of another possible topic to use in my dissertation.
We discussed the use of apps in conjunction with art rather than being an art form themselves. There were a couple of examples but I need to source more as increasing public interest in the arts is a very relevant point.
I plan to research further with the resources I was shown and undertake some case studies with relevant apps.
Thursday, 3 November 2016
app building research
After finalising how my app was going to work with the second app test I started researching how I could actually create a functioning app. There a lot of different variables that I needed to consider which I discovered upon researching.
I firstly started looking at all in one "app builders" including gamesalad and appfurnace unfortunately I found these to be more geared towards creating games rather than an app that could effectively play video. I started then looking into using flash as it is known for producing games and websites using interactive animations. Flash also seemed like it was effective for publishing for different platforms (android, web, ios ect). I unfortunately know very little about flash from any point of view so I was starting from scratch with my research. It seemed like it would be very difficult to create what I wanted using flash and there was a surprising lack of useful material on using flash for this purpose. I knew from my reading I would definitely need to learn some java to customise what I was creating.
It was at this point I realised I was stuck somewhat between a rock and a hard place when it came to development, I did not want to compromise the UI of my potential app through software that was very limiting however my knowledge of app dev is very rudimentary that planning on creating something from scratch seemed unrealistic. At this point it seemed the best course of action is to focus on the visual aspect of the app and try speak to third parties to either create the app or point me further in the direction of doing it myself. The creation of the app is less important for my overall dissertation and the moving of video to app may become a separate project after the hand in.
I firstly started looking at all in one "app builders" including gamesalad and appfurnace unfortunately I found these to be more geared towards creating games rather than an app that could effectively play video. I started then looking into using flash as it is known for producing games and websites using interactive animations. Flash also seemed like it was effective for publishing for different platforms (android, web, ios ect). I unfortunately know very little about flash from any point of view so I was starting from scratch with my research. It seemed like it would be very difficult to create what I wanted using flash and there was a surprising lack of useful material on using flash for this purpose. I knew from my reading I would definitely need to learn some java to customise what I was creating.
It was at this point I realised I was stuck somewhat between a rock and a hard place when it came to development, I did not want to compromise the UI of my potential app through software that was very limiting however my knowledge of app dev is very rudimentary that planning on creating something from scratch seemed unrealistic. At this point it seemed the best course of action is to focus on the visual aspect of the app and try speak to third parties to either create the app or point me further in the direction of doing it myself. The creation of the app is less important for my overall dissertation and the moving of video to app may become a separate project after the hand in.
Drafting a musician
After creating the second app test in which I created my own music it was apparent that I would not be able to make all the music myself in the time frame so I sought out a musician to help me.
I talked with a musician whom had similar interests to myself about creating interactive media and after listening to some of there work I thought they could create some good music for the project.
I created a rough brief for them to follow and stressed the importance of the time constraints I was following.
Brief:
Music Brief
I talked with a musician whom had similar interests to myself about creating interactive media and after listening to some of there work I thought they could create some good music for the project.
I created a rough brief for them to follow and stressed the importance of the time constraints I was following.
Brief:
Music Brief
Creating an Audio-Visual sequencing app where the user can build/layer their own music and video at the same time via a phone or web app.
Music needs to be accessible to a large demographic of people (not “too” experimental) but still be interesting
There will be 4 types of clip each running at either: 4-8-16 bars, split into categories of: Drums, Bass, Keys (chord) and additional line/synth/pad/scape (very open)
Preferably 120 bpm but all clips must be set at the same tempo
All clips must be in the same key or chords used must fit together tonally
I think the music would suit being atmospheric (especially with the chords) but also some more upbeat drum patterns to combine with them (Often find the artist Lone does this really well) but please feel free to experiment with setting some different tones with each of the categories
Wednesday, 19 October 2016
Emailing developers
I wanted to look into what makes app's the most engaging via features/interfacing.
I emailed the developers of the apps I thought were the best of what I tested as I figured these practitioners would know the most important traits to have in a engaging app. I phrased the question:
When making an app what do you think are the 3 most important aspects that create an engaging experience for the user?
I used this question as it would box there answer into a frame work were it would be easiest to compare their answers. I messaged 4 people the creators of: Way to Go, Inspirit, Bloom and Patatap. I got 3 responses these are the simplified versions of them:
Vincent Morisset -> Way to Go
I emailed the developers of the apps I thought were the best of what I tested as I figured these practitioners would know the most important traits to have in a engaging app. I phrased the question:
When making an app what do you think are the 3 most important aspects that create an engaging experience for the user?
I used this question as it would box there answer into a frame work were it would be easiest to compare their answers. I messaged 4 people the creators of: Way to Go, Inspirit, Bloom and Patatap. I got 3 responses these are the simplified versions of them:
Vincent Morisset -> Way to Go
- A great story and / or universe. It’s all about generating emotions.
- It needs pacing, surprises. How you work with time is crucial.
- A meaningful and rich interactivity where we create a visceral connection between the spectator/user and the piece.
Peter Chilvers -> Bloom
-as little” interface" as possible. Ideally, the user should be able to discover an app’s features through exploration alone,
-I think another major factor is to limit the options to only the ones the user really needs
-Perhaps the most important aspect of Bloom’s appeal is that it hit a sweet spot where the user’s input was balanced with the artists’.
Jono Brandel -> Patatap , caroline
I would say the 3 most important things I was considering are that it be: inviting, easy, and playful.
These were really interesting answers and they all made sense considering were they came from.
What I took from these responses is the importance of how the audience interact with my app which will come down to the UI design. It is far too easy to spoon feed the user how the app works which would take away all the intrigue. From this I plan to only instruct the very basics about how to use the app then letting the audience work the rest out for themselves. I was wrestling with the idea of including character but Vincent's thoughts on it and also the results of my second app test proved to show that the use of character and loose "narrative really helps users engage with the app its self. The feedback from these three practitioners did not come at a huge surprise but has definitely highlighted key features when it comes to my UI and content design.
App test v 2.0
After receiving feedback from the previous test I did I went about doing another one. From feedback I got I new I needed to make the videos fit together better and add some kind of character/setting element.
I started by creating a short piece of music that could be split into 4 sections, I spent a while experimenting with chord progressions and different sounds until I created something enjoyable. This was mostly to test whether I am able to create the music for the app or whether I need to bring in a musician to help out. I think bringing someone else to the project would be beneficial so long as they can create work that fits with the ethos of the project.
I then thought about how separate components sounded and also how they sounded as one piece to then create the animations. The animations needed to function as singular entities but also work well together as one piece in any order.
I did some quick character design (something simple) based on the keyboard tone, then worked out the next animations for the other 3 sounds accordingly.
I tested the app on a small group of people creatives and non. The testing was not done in any kind of formal manor I just wanted to see if people enjoyed what I had made. The feedback on the second test was much better on the first people seemed to engage with the app a lot more and a few cases of people really experimenting with creating different sounds using the layering system (which is exactly what I wanted).
After this test I feel confident in what I'm planning on making and now need to work out the logistics of making the final app and then start designing from there.
Here are all the test clips out sounds put into one video:
I started by creating a short piece of music that could be split into 4 sections, I spent a while experimenting with chord progressions and different sounds until I created something enjoyable. This was mostly to test whether I am able to create the music for the app or whether I need to bring in a musician to help out. I think bringing someone else to the project would be beneficial so long as they can create work that fits with the ethos of the project.
I then thought about how separate components sounded and also how they sounded as one piece to then create the animations. The animations needed to function as singular entities but also work well together as one piece in any order.
I did some quick character design (something simple) based on the keyboard tone, then worked out the next animations for the other 3 sounds accordingly.
I tested the app on a small group of people creatives and non. The testing was not done in any kind of formal manor I just wanted to see if people enjoyed what I had made. The feedback on the second test was much better on the first people seemed to engage with the app a lot more and a few cases of people really experimenting with creating different sounds using the layering system (which is exactly what I wanted).
After this test I feel confident in what I'm planning on making and now need to work out the logistics of making the final app and then start designing from there.
Here are all the test clips out sounds put into one video:
Monday, 17 October 2016
App catagorisation
I wanted to get more in-depth look on what makes apps enjoyable and have that "sticky" factor. The best way of organising all the apps I testing which I thought were effective was to categorise them. I created an excel document stating lots of different traits each app can have including interface difference and types of interactivity.
I put down a long list of apps I enjoyed but also rated them if I would play them again which is a defining factor for me. I tried a very wide variety of apps outside the ones I selected mostly using: Chrome experiments, android experiments, onepagelove, app.itize.us and from other websites.
Out of the 15 apps I tested I found that 6 had that sticky factor where I wanted to go back and play with them again, which were marked one the end of the spread sheet. What was apparent to me was all the "successful" apps had higher levels of interactivity but also the interactivity felt very "mechanical", which is that you feel like your interactions have a very direct affect in the app.
Wednesday, 12 October 2016
researching apps
After taking a new direction for my project, I started looking into interactive media. Looking at apps in general rather than games I got a wider range of content to look at many of which didn't have I direct "goal" to them.
I looked into Chrome Experiments as a starting point but this ended as the biggest body of research into interactive media. Chrome Experiments has thousands of app experiments ranging from interactive A/V to games.
I found a few different examples that related to what I want to do and some stuck out from other both for positive reasons.
What I found with a lot of the A/V based apps which is what I was focusing on was that the ones that relied on just looking nice got dull very quickly they did not "stick"
There was quite a variety
I looked into Chrome Experiments as a starting point but this ended as the biggest body of research into interactive media. Chrome Experiments has thousands of app experiments ranging from interactive A/V to games.
I found a few different examples that related to what I want to do and some stuck out from other both for positive reasons.
What I found with a lot of the A/V based apps which is what I was focusing on was that the ones that relied on just looking nice got dull very quickly they did not "stick"
There was quite a variety
of these some examples where interesting:
One was the resonance box which allowed you to change how the box reacted to the track player however I thought the interaction did not feel mechanical enough.
I saw a few examples that were similar to the idea of YUME which allowed users to interact a little with the image which intern triggered sounds. I felt these worked better as they had a little more setting to them which sparked more intrigue into the subtext of the project. The music element however I felt to be lacking in these and again the interaction seemed minimal
Inspirit was the next step up for me in terms of interaction and engagement. You direct a simplistic character around a fixed 360 camera making it pick up shapes to trigger sounds. I was engaged for considerably longer with this app as the character and setting added a lot more interest, however again the level of interaction became stale as I felt like I was very much just following very basic steps. More freedom would have excelled this app further in my opinion.
By far the best app that I tried was called Way to Go. At this point into researching I had ascertained that adding some form of character or narrative would be essential to create an interactive piece of media that was instantly forgettable.
A way to go was a brilliant blend of 360 live action and traditional animation. It also incorporated interactive sections both with sound and film. The visual aspect was half of the success of this app it was the level of interaction the user was given and also the intrigue generated from the apps narrative.
What I learnt the most from reviewing this selection was that user interfaces are really important for engagement. A lot of the less successful apps had interfaces that either felt clunky or that you had little control over the app, this often made the experience far less interesting. The interface doesn't need to be complex and it doesn't need to give you lots of freedom it just needs to feel like you're are in control.
researching apps
After taking a new direction for my project, I started looking into interactive media. Looking at apps in general rather than games I got a wider range of content to look at many of which didn't have I direct "goal" to them.
I looked into Chrome Experiments as a starting point but this ended as the biggest body of research into interactive media. Chrome Experiments has thousands of app experiments ranging from interactive A/V to games.
I found a few different examples that related to what I want to do and some stuck out from other both for positive reasons.
What I found with a lot of the A/V based apps which is what I was focusing on was that the ones that relied on just looking nice got dull very quickly they did not "stick"
There was quite a variety
I looked into Chrome Experiments as a starting point but this ended as the biggest body of research into interactive media. Chrome Experiments has thousands of app experiments ranging from interactive A/V to games.
I found a few different examples that related to what I want to do and some stuck out from other both for positive reasons.
What I found with a lot of the A/V based apps which is what I was focusing on was that the ones that relied on just looking nice got dull very quickly they did not "stick"
There was quite a variety
of these some examples where interesting:
One was the resonance box which allowed you to change how the box reacted to the track player however I thought the interaction did not feel mechanical enough.
I saw a few examples that were similar to the idea of YUME which allowed users to interact a little with the image which intern triggered sounds. I felt these worked better as they had a little more setting to them which sparked more intrigue into the subtext of the project. The music element however I felt to be lacking in these and again the interaction seemed minimal
Inspirit was the next step up for me in terms of interaction and engagement. You direct a simplistic character around a fixed 360 camera making it pick up shapes to trigger sounds. I was engaged for considerably longer with this app as the character and setting added a lot more interest, however again the level of interaction became stale as I felt like I was very much just following very basic steps. More freedom would have excelled this app further in my opinion.
By far the best app that I tried was called Way to Go. At this point into researching I had ascertained that adding some form of character or narrative would be essential to create an interactive piece of media that was instantly forgettable.
A way to go was a brilliant blend of 360 live action and traditional animation. It also incorporated interactive sections both with sound and film. The visual aspect was half of the success of this app it was the level of interaction the user was given and also the intrigue generated from the apps narrative.
What I learnt the most from reviewing this selection was that user interfaces are really important for engagement. A lot of the less successful apps had interfaces that either felt clunky or that you had little control over the app, this often made the experience far less interesting. The interface doesn't need to be complex and it doesn't need to give you lots of freedom it just needs to feel like you're are in control.
presentation ("summer work")
For my presentation I demonstrated the "app" test I'd created and the ethos behind the project. The main point of this for me was to see how people felt about interacting with something like this. This was the first time I'd created something like this so I did not know how other people would feel about it. The feedback was very positive, even though I didn't have a proper interface it was very easy to use which is an important step. I found that a couple of people who tried did instantly get bored of playing with it they continued to explore how it works and what combinations of sounds they could layer up. This was exactly what I envisioned for the project and reassuring that I have the potential to make something people will really enjoy.
Some feedback I got from people was that the addition of character would greatly improve it and that the animations could interact with each other more, this was really helpful. It came across that the gimmick of the app was all that was sparking intrigue at the moment and I needed to find ways to engage audiences further.
Some feedback I got from people was that the addition of character would greatly improve it and that the animations could interact with each other more, this was really helpful. It came across that the gimmick of the app was all that was sparking intrigue at the moment and I needed to find ways to engage audiences further.
A/V layering test
I came into this dissertation project having a rough idea of the practical aspect I wanted to create. I had been wanting to work on the idea of an interactive audio visual project for a long time however I thought this project would be the perfect opportunity for it to grow into something new and interesting.
The original idea was based on a sound sequencer where users can click on clips to start them playing, this would do something similar but allow the layering of audio and video. The concept for the final resolution of this would be a bank of clip ranging bass, drums, keys and percussion where users could create songs with ease into requiring any musical knowledge.
I tested this idea with a quick layering using VJ software resolume. I used some free clips of audio from Logic and then proceeded to create corresponding animations for each sound.
The original idea was based on a sound sequencer where users can click on clips to start them playing, this would do something similar but allow the layering of audio and video. The concept for the final resolution of this would be a bank of clip ranging bass, drums, keys and percussion where users could create songs with ease into requiring any musical knowledge.
I tested this idea with a quick layering using VJ software resolume. I used some free clips of audio from Logic and then proceeded to create corresponding animations for each sound.
I was really happy with how the first test went intrigued to see what feedback I get on it.
question starter initial research
I know that I want to look at the relationship between audio and visual again like I did last year so I started by looking into all the books I could find talking about the relationship between audio and visual. Most of the books available are all to do with sound from the perspective of film making and the relationship they share in that context. This was still relevant however I was specifically looking for comments on how they combine to enrich media.
I found to books in particular had some relevant content in: spectre of sound and Drawn to sound: Animation film music and sonicity. This both had some interesting quotes talking about how the combination audio visuals creates another "creative organism".
I shall research further into these themes and books
I found to books in particular had some relevant content in: spectre of sound and Drawn to sound: Animation film music and sonicity. This both had some interesting quotes talking about how the combination audio visuals creates another "creative organism".
I shall research further into these themes and books
Tuesday, 11 October 2016
New research paths (ephemerality)
After looking into audio visual media and starting to veer towards apps I started to look into concepts of ephemerality. Ephemerality is a concept usually applied to throw away things like leaflets and receipts but has a new relevance with digital media. Digital media is distributed in a very differently way because of its lack of physicality and with this lack of physicality it is easily thrown away. Rapid improvements with hardware also mean apps and other such media become redundant very quickly, which is something most traditional media will not experience other than natural decay which is likely a much slower process.
A key book I've been reading for this section of research has been: Ephemeral Media
A key book I've been reading for this section of research has been: Ephemeral Media
Grainge, P. (ed.) (2011) Ephemeral media: Transitory screen culture from television to YouTube. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Monday, 10 October 2016
Changing themes
After looking into the original ideas over my summer proposal I decided I wanted to take a different path for my research. I felt my original ideas were going to turn into the argument of analog vs digital which I did not want to do as I felt its an over explored topic.
I decided to carry on from similar ideas for last years research project of audiovisual digital media and start a research project around that
I decided to carry on from similar ideas for last years research project of audiovisual digital media and start a research project around that
Thursday, 28 April 2016
Animated response
The basis for my visual response was to directly input into my essay. Since my question was hard to get solid evidence that directly answers it I needed to create a study that gave me useful data. I decided to test whether moving image could generate different emotional responses from the same piece of music. I would get data using a survey from a range of people research. I decided to create 4 videos which would try and produce 4 different emotional responses.
One of my starting places for research was an edit of pixar colouring through different films. https://vimeo.com/105089367 was really useful to understand how I could use colour in my animations and which colours evoke which emotions.
After researching for the written section I knew colour was going to be a very integral part of my visual responses. I started reading up on the job of the colourists:(http://www.fastcodesign.com/3048719/evidence/inside-the-manipulative-world-of-film-color-correction) This was a very useful article explaining the general basis of the job. I applied colour correction to all the finished animations to help alter emotions more.
I started researching into the themes of all the different videos. A really good example of work I found that helped show how imagery can effect mood was the use of breathing shapes. These shape are designed to help people calm down. The slow and smooth moving shapes are very relaxing to look at.
Energy levels of the animations where also very important. Users can connect with the energy of movement so changing speeds can make people think different things. Calming should be smooth and slow compared to exciting should be quick and sporadic.
I listed all the possible imagery that could work for happy, sad, on edge and calm that could work in an animation. Then worked with all the ideas that I thought would be most effective.
putting together the questionnaire was quite difficult as I didn't want to coerce people through my wording I needed the answers as reliable as possible.
The questionnaire I used:
If you could spare 2 minuets of your time it would be really appreciated. I’m doing a case study with the question “Does moving image change how we perceive sound?” I’ve created a series of animations to a short clip of music. Please watch the video and fill in the questionnaire.
Write one or two of the emotions from the list for each question:
Happy, Sad, Calm, On edge, Angry, Excited, Nothing
-How did the music make you feel?
-How did Video 1 make you feel?
-How did Video 2 make you feel?
-How did Video 3 make you feel?
-How did Video 4 make you feel?
You can just write your answers in a list in the same order as the questions
I made sure a wide range of people answered the questionnaire. If I only asked artists at college they may have more of an affinity towards visual stimuli compared to most. I also made sure to ask both older and younger audiences.
lecture: Institutions and Institutional Power
This lecture was a very interesting one with many concepts that I had never heard of. I did unfortunately struggle to relate this to my working practice however I felt it could be related to life in general informing me as a person rather than an animator. The most interesting ideas discussed in the lecture were the the themes on panopticism. It made me think about the modern way society is run and possible implications of external society based pressures acting on us every day. Understanding the pressures created by the punishment and surveillance states that panopticism has created may help break from the turmoil that pressure can have on an individual basis. Trying to break free of the panoptic disciplinary technologies surrounding us daily especially around the issues of personal enjoyment could be very beneficial to one's mental wellbeing.
lecture: identity
Ideas on pre-modern identity although interesting seemed irrelevant to todays society though may apply still in other parts of the world. Modern day identity can be a way to humanise non human ideas and objects. The creation of characters can contain "identity" similar to that you could fabricate for yourself on a dating website, both can be argued are as real as each other. Containing an identity with my work will make it more relatable to people by humanising it. Big companies and ad campaigns have been doing this for a long time, by taking popular identity and applying to there own brand. Although often criticised it does prove effective. Whether that is done through character or through its aesthetics crafting that relatability into my work is something that happen to keep engaging audiences. This can however stem from just trying to create original work rather than mass producing something based on a series of things that already exist.
lecture: Censorship and Truth
This lecture touched on what I thought would be very general themes that would likely having little relevance to my practice. There where however things that I could apply to my work and had similar themes to some subject touched upon in my essay. A lot of the lecture was about journalistic integrity and the art of the edit. I had thought about how much you can edit footage (film or still) to create a different interpretation of the same story. It relates back to work I used in my essay which is a study from the 20's known as the "kuleshov effect". Which again is about changing the order of an edit ti change perceptions of image. Choosing to miss out certain part of data in an image can massive change its interpretation.
I need to think more deeply about how I'm editing my footage both pre and post production based on what I want to convey as the order of the shots can completely change the tone.
I need to think more deeply about how I'm editing my footage both pre and post production based on what I want to convey as the order of the shots can completely change the tone.
lecture: the flipped classroom
The flipped class room looks at the way we learn and how it can and arguably should be changed. A flipped classroom involves a change in teaching direction from tutor controlled to student.
The lecture was very interesting and made me raise some interesting thoughts regarding learning for my self. At the core of lecture where some very positive messages about personal potential and self directed learning. I am very lucky to be at an art university where personal learning is very much encouraged however the lecture seemed to indicate taking it more into my hands. The ultimate creative freedom is led by yourself and its ok to not let other take over the direction of your learning if a more personal creative touch is needed.
The lecture was very interesting and made me raise some interesting thoughts regarding learning for my self. At the core of lecture where some very positive messages about personal potential and self directed learning. I am very lucky to be at an art university where personal learning is very much encouraged however the lecture seemed to indicate taking it more into my hands. The ultimate creative freedom is led by yourself and its ok to not let other take over the direction of your learning if a more personal creative touch is needed.
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