Body Storming Session

Body Storming Video

Write up from session

 

[10:30, 9/11/2018] Joey ADM: Walking through the space
I see a computer
Insert directive
Oh right im supposed to go in
Its v small
What if im claustrophobic
I have to write my word in the box
Write my thoughts
“This space is too small”
I m done
I like the music playing at the bkgd
V comforting
Thk you for ur contribution….
I am here
Im here the vaults there
Oh i didnt know i gotta go out
This space is too smoll
Oh in supposed to go up
Press buttons
Boom
Ooohhh coool
Is this a projection kind of thing
Oh cool

Interesting
Separated experience in two parts
Coherent flow to whole thing
If im experiencing this i wont know what to expec
But two diff rooms disconnects vibes
Maybe the room can still play the music as i exit the room and the whole thing is the same space (diff exit?)
I like explosion
More thoughts
Didnt know i was gonna shoot something
Thought i would toggle the direction of the words instead
Console or remote control like a gun remote to shoot instead? Feels more like a game
The more i press it explodes? The faster i press, the larger it explodes?
Q: to put the shoot word or nt?
Disassociated feel w music: rectify that
Lead room to room like alice in wonderland?
Figure out a way to nudge people but use space and objects to direct them
Writeup may set expectations for experience user- have experience, wont feel completely lost.

 

Qn1.  What did you learn from the process

Joey

I learned that directives should be given throughout the installation, but that there is a fine line between giving straightforward instructions or letting the audience navigate on their own. This is in reference to the computer room and the projection room (where they have to press the button to shoot the words). Also, the user’s experience is also important; we learnt that having the user exit from a different entrance from the one they entered the small space (where they were going to pen down their interstice thoughts) would have been better because it was more progressive. The direction and pathway for the audience to travel on to invoke their thoughts and view the projection is also important.

Qistina

I learnt that creating a project of your own, you are the ones that understand it the most as to how it works, not others. So you cannot assume that they can understand with subtle directions. It doesn’t have to be a straightforward/step-by-step direction. Just directives that flow through as to how you want you participants to navigate their way through the work. A good poetry and little notes on the buttons, and on the computer should help. Little things like whether the participant needs to move out of the room to head to the other room is important, which direction should they move next etc. A good flow of directives will contribute to giving participants the full immersive experience.

Tania

As someone who knows how the exhibition should work, I knew my way around the space. However, I realised that very clear instructions should be given throughout the exhibit to guide the participants. What may seem simple and clear cut to me might not be the same for others, like when out test participant read the instructions prior to testing; he followed the instruction to using the pen provided to write down a phrase, however, he wrote it on the wrong page. It may seem like a small mistake, but I’ve realised that even the slightest mistakes can ruin the entire exhibition experience, leaving the participant confused and, soon enough, uninterested.

Shah

From this process, I have learnt that an artist always knows his work best for they are the creator of their work. Being familiar with their own work however, more often than not makes them assume that others are too. This is usually however not the case. Like how human creativity surprises us at every turn, we should also never underestimate human stupidity and thus, every human would interact with our work differently. This i not necessarily a bad thing. Familiarity with our own work clouds our judgement from some of its flaws and thus this process gives a small insight on possible problems through fresh perspectives with minimal investment on our part (as everything built was a rough mock-up).

Summary

This session has caused us to reevaluate how and how much instructions we give to the participant. Though we want the participant to know what to do, at the same time we want the instructions to be given in a subtle manner, to nudge the participant in the right direction. It has also allowed us to think about the flow (in terms of participant movement) of our project.

 

Qn2.  What surprised you while going through the process.

 

Joey

I am surprised that instead of feeling secure, there may be a chance that people who go through this experiment may feel claustrophobic instead. We did not take that into account at first. Also, an alternative idea brought up by Jonathan about how he thought that the more you press the button (to shoot the words) the larger the explosion of the words would be. This is something we also didn’t think about, but nevertheless was a good idea. Making use of a remote control or a console would also be more ‘game-like’ if we proceeded with the notion of a spacecraft shooting game model.

 

Qistina

How some participants have a different feel to all this – instead of feeling like “yes, this is my space”, they feel “very” claustrophobic. But on a good note, the music we played in the background is comforting, according to the participant (Jonathan). The feedback he gave on that was also to let it play in the other room – liking the atmosphere it gives with soothing music.

 

Tania

I was surprised that though the mock up was rather plain, the test participant was able to understand what the exhibition was about. Also, since the participant was narrating his thoughts out loud, I realised that he started off very confused; from what he had to do, to where he had to go.

 

Shah

Human Stupidity. Just kidding, hurhur. What surprised me was the feeling Jon had while inside the space to type your confessions. What we were hoping for was to provide a safe comforting space, but instead he felt claustrophobic. I was also surprised at how much insight we can get from such a rough mock up of things. It really shows that no matter how much you plan, unexpected things will happen and you only know these things by testing it out as much as possible.

 

Summary

We have to be more careful about how we design the “Safe” space for confessions as what might feel comforting for someone might feel disorienting for another. We might not be able to create a one size fits all safe space but we should strive to come as close as possible.

 

 

Qn3. How can your apply what you have discovered to the designing of your installation?

 

Joey

We may make use of the ‘claustrophobic’ concept for our interactive installation- what thoughts would go through someone’s head when they are not feeling comfortable? That aspect may be interesting to explore as well. We will also have to reconsider whether ‘shooting’ is a right ‘action’ to promote for our installation and whether it brings the right message. Also, we will have to improve on what screen ideas we can utilize to add more significance to our installation.

 

Qistina

All the feedback given was something to really think about. Especially about the destroying of words idea through “shooting”. Maybe we could swerve into another idea for that part as we do not want to convey a different message of our interactive work. Also, we could use the locker idea, could be something good to start to make the participants feel like this is their safe space for them to type their thoughts. In this way, it could be more immersive, using an interstice kind of space. And when it comes to the thoughts they type, we want it to be more personal – things that people don’t usually say out loud. So I guess for that to work, we definitely have to work on the directive poem that guides them slowly into the mood and into typing what they feel/thought/want.

 

Tania

From the feedback that has been given, I think we should come up with clearer ways to relay the instructions, but also in a way that it is not too direct that it takes the participant away from the desired mood/experience we are trying to convey. Another aspect we can improve on would be finding a way to link the two spaces together, as from the test run, we found out that having the participants remove themselves from the first booth and make their way to the second kind of hinders that feeling of continuity and breaks the experience flow.

 

Shah

I think this whole process has allowed us to consider and juggle more elements into our design considerations. Things like how we give instructions. We have decided that we want to give clear instructions but in a tactful way and one that “isn’t so in your face”. We also have more importance put onto the ambiance we want our project to give to the participants.

 

Summary 

We have a looooot more things to think about now.

Image result for natsume yuujinchou igloo gif

 

Project Progress Report

Projection Ideas

 

Possible Screens to use:

(btw can use VPT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skU3T8bgEIM)

Balloons (Balloons are kind of vulnerable; shows that your thoughts in an interstice space is the same; it can be as vulnerable, easily pop-pable, because they are thoughts that just whisk past you.

Frost Forest (Shredded effects employs a form of distortion through many layers which shows how your words can be interpreted on so many levels and it penetrates so many layers of consciousness when you travel through an interstice space).

Translucent white cloth on bamboo with random black mark-making ink or paint on it (When there are blemished on the cloth, it will eventually block out some of the thoughts that are displayed. This proves that not all our thoughts are clear and transparent for all to see, especially when it is a thought generated from being in an interstice location; they can be murky, they are unclear, and that is the same as our subconsciousness.)

Mirrors with Fairy Lights (Lights for effects to create depth, mirrors to represent that you are looking at yourself. Can be 4 sided mirrors or just front and sides.)

Styrofoam Boards with Holes dug in unevenly (Crevices in the board shows that our thoughts are not perfect; there are bound to be bad and good and they are subjective based on the audience’s point of view. With this mish-mash of thoughts from all sorts of different people projected on the screen, it will emphasize on the irregularity of our thoughts since we will have different train of thoughts.

 

Poem Drafts

1st Draft:

 

You are

a sum of thousand galaxies

You are

the universe in ecstatic motion

There are poems in you

that people and paper can’t handle

My child, the world is yours

This space is yours

Now let your thoughts linger

And we’ll place it up above

 

2nd Draft (edit of above & including suggestions)

 

You are

A sum of a thousand galaxies

You are

The universe in ecstatic motion

There are poems in you

That paper and people can’t handle

So dear you,

Rage on and let your world untangle

Come hither,

Bring forth your desires love

Let your thoughts linger

And we’ll place it in the skies above

 

 

Booth Design Ideas

Concept 1: Locker

Locker → artsy interstice OR “normal” locker

 

Artsy Interstice

  • Monitor / small laptop
  • Mirror/ reflective material shards
  • Cracks in locker → small black void
  • Fairy lights
  • Poem written on paper / cut out from paper or cloth (allow light to shine through) / written on reflective material)*

 

Normal Locker

  • Monitor / small laptop
  • Books, notes, paper, files
  • Poem on sticky notes / posters (can be arranged like leaves → “interstice” hole thingy
  • Lights → there’s this light that looks like a mini book

 

Cons of locker

  • Cannot fit the dino monitor (unless we make our own locker)
  • If using small tablet, possible to mount to back wall of locker

 

Concept 2: Room

Room → small space → play with claustrophobia? (or at least small enough to represent interstice)

 

Cabinet / storeroom / under table

  • Several monitors → piled up, but only one is working
  • Fairy lights → hide them behind the monitors (mysterious glowing effect)
  • Random wires
  • Keyboard
  • Sound → playing from laptop that is hooked up to the monitor and keyboard
  • Poems written on wall / paper / cut out from paper or cloth (allow light to shine through) / written on reflective material)

 

Remember that booth 1 needs to link to booth 2! (to keep the flow; don’t let the participants break away from that interstice feelz.

 

 

Programming part

 

Found a library on processing that allows us to type in words that sort of hang in place. Current problem is to get them to float about.

 

To connect two different computers on the otherhand we will be using a shared canvas example found on the processing website (still haven’t test this due to lack of laptops available)

 

That is all for today and have a very nice day 😀

Image result for natsume yuujinchou igloo gif

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