Pictures of Room

Reflective Text (Alberto Cardoso)

Reflective Text (Neal Bryant)

Minidisc Recording of Voice/Sound

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/fatherincriticalstate.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/eyesbadlydamaged.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/everythingwecantosavehim.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/brotherlostnothingwecoulddo.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/hello3.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/hello2.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/hello1.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/radiology.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/miricalthatyousurvived.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/howryoureyesfeeling.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/helpme.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/whathappentoyoureyes.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/upandwalkingthen.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/tryingtoholdonbut.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/terribleacc.badnews.wav

http://www.fileden.com/files/2006/12/21/538137/youmayneverseeheragain.wav

Voice Script

Layout of Room

We have successfully booked MG.5, so can now plan how we want the room to look. There is however a problem with the room, it is longer than anticipated, and the props could potentially be lost. There is the danger that the user will just end up wondering around in empty space and not actually setting off any pressure pads. As a result we are now considering the use of flats to divide the room up and give the appearance that it is smaller than it actually is. The plan is as follows:







Screen one will also act as a half way house, between outside the room and the installation, which will should be affective as it will prevent light flooding into the room when the door is opened revealing what is inside, it will also help to set up the idea that there is mystery to the piece, the user does not know what will happen and they will expect to find out as soon as the door opens but the use of this screen will prevent that.

Flash Update 3

Flash Update 2

//this sets up the variables

var nBlindpad1:Number = 0;
var nBlindpad2:Number = 0;


blind_mc.onEnterFrame = function() {
if (Key.isDown('LEFT')) {
//if when the left key is pressed attach this sound

sound_play_mc.onPress = function() {
doctor1_sound = new Sound(this);
doctor1_sound.attachSound("doctor1.WAV");
doctor1_sound.start(0, 1);
doctor1_sound.volume = 50;
//also change the following variables by these amount
nBlindpad1 = nBlindpad1 + 5
nBlindpad1 = nBlindpad2 + 5
trace(nBlindpad1)
//check to see if it's reached 5
if(nBlindpad1==5) {
trace("doctor1.WAV")
}
// if the variable has reached 10 or more play doctor2.wav
// and attach this sound
}
else if (nBlindpad1 =>10){
trace("doctor2.WAV =>10")
sound_play_mc.onPress = function() {
doctor2_sound = new Sound(this);
doctor2_sound.attachSound("doctor2.WAV");
doctor2_sound.start(0, 1);
doctor2_sound.volume = 50;

}


blind_mc.onEnterFrame = function() {
if (Key.isDown('UP')) {
//if the up key is pressed attach doctor3.wav
sound_play_mc.onPress = function() {
doctor3_sound = new Sound(this);
doctor3_sound.attachSound("doctor3.WAV");
doctor3_sound.start(0, 1);
doctor3_sound.volume = 50;
//also change the varibles by this much
nBlindpad2 = nBlindpad2 + 3
nBlindpad2 = nBlindpad3 + 3
trace(nBlindpad2)
//check it has reached 5 if it has play sound
if(nBlindpad2==5) {
trace("doctor3.WAV")

}

// if the var equals 8 or more play doctor4.wav
else if (nBlindpad2 =>8){
trace("doctor4.WAV =>8")
sound_play_mc.onPress = function() {
doctor4_sound = new Sound(this);
doctor4_sound.attachSound("doctor4.WAV");
doctor4_sound.start(0, 1);
doctor4_sound.volume = 50;

}
}
}

Flash Update 1

Our first attempt was as follows:

var nBlindnumbers:Number = 0;


blind_mc.onEnterFrame = function() {
if (Key.isDown(86)) {

sound_play_mc.onPress = function() {
doctor1_sound = new Sound(this);
doctor1_sound.attachSound("doctor1.WAV");
doctor1_sound.start(0, 1);
doctor1_sound.volume = 50;

nBlindnumbers = nBlindnumbers + 5
trace(nBlindnumbers)
//check to see if it's reached 5
if(nBlindNumbers==5) {
trace("doctor1.WAV")

}
else if (nBlindnumbers ==10){
trace("doctor2.WAV ==10")
sound_play_mc.onPress = function() {
doctor2_sound = new Sound(this);
doctor2_sound.attachSound("doctor2.WAV");
doctor2_sound.start(0, 1);
doctor2_sound.volume = 50;

}


}

Working with Flash

The main problem that we face in terms of the flash side of the project is that it is going to be extremely complicated to link them all to each other in way which allows for a different outcome to take place if a certain route is followed around the room. For example, if the user goes to pad 1 before pad 2 we want this to change what happens at pad two. The best solution that we can think of to solve this complication is to give each pad its on variable, and also that each pad will alter all of the pads, well the ones that it needs to, for example if pad 1 adds 5 to a variable and pad 2 adds 3 to a variable, if the user goes to pad1 and 2 before going to 3, 3 variable will already be at 8, whereas if the user just goes straight to pad 3 its variable will be at 0. As a result the output will be different to the previous route to the path. It will trigger different sound once the variable is over 5, this will be regardless of how many it is over 5. Through this web of code we can control who the user progresses through the piece and the information that they receive along the way.

Ordering Hospital Supplies

The original plan was to include two beds in the space, as well as other hospital props. e.g. a lighting panel, over bed tables etc. We began to research into prices and contacted several different prop firms. Unfortunately the prices were a lot higher than we had previously anticipated, and once VAT and delivery were added to the costs it began to limit our options.

As a result we limited our plans to just one bed and one screen. We felt that even though we had to sacrifice props the piece could still be effective and if put together well would still be effective.

In the end we decided to use a company called PropHireDeliver, which was relatively close in location and had the equipment that we required at a competitive rate.

Does He Take Sugar

After having interviewed Alan Hills (Middlesex Chairman Blind Association) he gave us a great insight about how and what it feels like to be blind. He suggested that we looked into a BBC radio talk series ' Does He Take Sugar.' This radio series was launched roughly around 1973 where disabled people put views forward and highlighted the real need for everyone to accept that all have the same right to dignity, respect and access.
These were focused on current events, people where interviewed, stories told and poetry read.

The effect of the launch was tremendous. Disabled people felt they had a voice that people listened. Normal people in society realised that they had been causing problems for many and learned to adapt. Things gradually changed.

There was one piece of simple advice from the series affected one listener greatly.
"Make eye contact, if necessary, get on the same level, and do your best to make both of you comfortable. Smile. Talk naturally - assume intelligence lives behind those eyes.
Most people appreciate that you are making an effect, and will respond positively."

As told by some callers many people will happily tell you things if you ask them respectfully, but don't focus entirely on their disability - one caller, Beverley used to say "I am not my disability". They want to talk about politics, sports and all the things you want to talk about.

All in all, the information that we have gathered was very useful for our project especially the listeners and views of people who were on BBC's 'Does He Take Sugar' that was suggested by Alan Hills.

We all need the same services, the same products as everyone else. No-one likes to be ignored, so treat everyone as human beings. Oh, and for goodness' sake, ask them if they take sugar.

From what we have researched on about 'Does He Take Sugar' it has giving us a great insight to what and how disable people feel about society today. The benefits of knowing these information from blind people is so that we have a platform to what our room inside should be like etc.

Wireless Headphones Continued:

Unfortunately we have encountered a problem with the headphones. The wire that runs from the receiver from the laptop is rather short and as a result will not be able to go on the ceiling which may cause problems regarding the clearness of signal.

However, we have tested the headphones within a similar space and the headphones work sufficiently even if the receiver is placed on a wall, as long as it is pointing towards the ceiling.

Wireless Headphones

Sound is very important to the piece. The sound is the sole output from the work, and will determine the success of the piece. Obviously we want the user to be able to move freely around the room, enabling them to explore the piece as they wish. This left us with two options, either we could use speakers and play it into the room or the user could wear headphones. We decided that we would use wireless headphones in the piece. Wireless headphones will enable the user to move freely without trailing wires, which could be hazardous. The headphones would also mean that the sound is very individual to the user. The sound will move with the user, unlike if they were moving around a speaker system. The use of headphones will also prevent users waiting outside the room from overhearing anything and potentially forfeiting the mystery behind what is in the room, and changing the dynamics of the piece.

The receiver that comes with the headphones admits a wireless signal to the headphones transmitting the sound. As we don't know how the user will move around the room we have decided to attach it to the ceiling of the room which should rule out the possibility of losing signal.

The Interview Continued

Obviously not all of the information that we got from the interview is relevant to our project. Therefore we have highlighted the key points from it, and illustrated how they can influence our project.

* experiences from hospitals
* various forms of blindness
* initial anger at lose of sight
* each blind person is unique

Alan highlighted the fact that even in a hospital it seems that people are unaware of how to deal with a blind person and not really adapted to treating them. This is something that we could convey within our project. Alan highlighted specific things such as not saying names, a generic white wash and a unfamiliarity.

We were previously aware that every blind person has a different condition and their sight can vary from complete blindness to being able to see outlines. Alan reiterated this in the interview. In the project we have decided to move away from the stereotypical representation of blindness by just using pitch black and have instead opted for an impaired vision, where the user will still have extremely limited vision.

Many people are extremely angry when the lose their sight and in particular in a situation like the one that we are trying to portray. Questions arise like: why me? etc. However, although this is a very important point, we felt that this would be up to the user, and such feelings would come as a result of the loss, consequently difficult for us to recreate. The users won't become fully immersed in the piece to the level wear they become angry as they will know that they will soon have their full sight back.

The Interview

Interview with Alan Hills - The chairman of The Middlesex Association for the Blind.


Alan lost his sight because of diabetes.

I lost my sight in 1996 as result of complications of diabetes. Previous to this I had noticed that my sight was getting worse and I spent a lot of time in hospital due to needed dialysis 4 times a week to clean out my kidneys. Over the next 6-9 months I became registered as blind and at around the same time I lost my kidneys and pancreas. However, I was lucky and had a transplant for them in July 1996. This obviously solved my kidney and pancreas problems and it technically meant that I was no longer diabetic, but did not have any effect on my eye condition.

During dialysis I used to do a lot of reading as I always have done throughout my life. Prior to 1996 I had very good vision. I was a company director of a major construction company that dealt with major construction projects, for example canary wharf. This was a very responsible job. However due to my illness I had to leave work in 1995, mainly for my own health and safety. Obviously it was a massive shock to lose my sight, but in my case it was a slow and gradual process, getting stronger and stronger glasses and other aids to help me. This eventually led to not being to read, my complete lose, the transplant and to today. Although the transplant of my kidneys and pancreas didn’t improve my eye condition it did stabilize it and it has remained pretty much the same for the last 11 years.

After the initial problem with coming to terms with blindness all I wanted to do was to see what I could with my life. As I said earlier I had been a very busy person in my sighted life, and it was not my nature to sit back and do nothing. I first went to a rehabilitation centre, where I tried several different support methods like the use of computers, which could enable a blind person like myself to carry on with normal everyday life. I found this process very useful. I didn’t realize how useful a computer is to a disable person’s life. In 1998 after I had sorted out my financial situation and my life a bit more sorted out I decided what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. I went to a college of further education and did a course in I.T. that was really pioneering stuff. In those days nobody really knew what to do with an impaired person and for the first six months of the course we just sat in the corner not really learning much. However, in the end I took the exams and got a qualification in I.T. From here I went on to do a teaching qualification so that I could pass my knowledge on to other blind people. For some years now I have been providing training to other visually impaired people. I have had to reduce the amount I do due to other health problems. The stuff that myself and others were teaching was such pioneering stuff it grew so big that we needed to employ full time staff and I stepped back allowing them to run the program.

I’m often asked what I miss the most, but you must remember that I’m only saying this from my point of view and that it is different for every blind person. Every blind person is an individual and is very different from each other. If you were sat here with my condition it would be very different for you than it is for me. Many different aspects can affect it, it can’t just be generalized. There is a big misconception that all blind people only see black. Most visually impaired see something. I have perception but can’t make out detail. I can for example see that you are wearing a red jumper, but I can’t see your face. This is made worse because you’re sat in a light background. I wouldn’t be able to recognize you if I met you again. I have preliverial vision to get around where I can get around safely. This also means that I can see better if I look from the outside of my eyes.

Obviously having no sight what so ever, like in your project, if your optic nerve is gone of course you'll see black. Very few people fall into this category, but it does happen.
If I was to describe my eye condition to you it will be like looking into a net curtain, everything is blurred. I obviously can't read printed words, but with the use of adaptive technology I am able to communicate.

Many people ask if I miss driving, my answer to this is no not really because I use to drive so much that it became a means to an end. What I personally miss the most is my work and reading. I’ve been able to overcome my problems with reading and writing with the aids of computers, I can now use mail on the Internet. For me and many other blind people this new way of communicating and access to information has transformed our lives.


Did you feel lonely when you first became blind?

Fortunately for me I do have a wife so I’m lucky. She is my main carer, so I did have good support. I’m also not a typical visually disable person to be honest with you. I'm not a type of person who sits back and let things happen, I want to go out there and live my life. I know lots of visually impaired people who have reacted differently. For example, I have a friend who is visually impaired who does all kinds of wild and adventurous things. Like bungee jumping, sky-dives, which just goes to show that if you have a mind to do it you can do it. Obviously there are limitations, both physically and practically but generally speaking.

To be honest I don’t see it like I have a problem with the world, it’s the sighted world that has a problem with me. It’s an awareness thing. Many people don’t understand me I think its an awareness thing, most people are not aware. People are often very nervous and don’t know how to approach me. When I’m out with my wife and we bump into people we know and they’ll ask her how I’m doing, why not ask me? The only problem with me is that I cannot see. I have a perfectly fine head; I just can’t read or write, a lot of society finds this hard to understand.

It’s the science world understanding that and more of the problems you’ll get in reality is that within a hospital scene that the people don’t understand the needs of the person, even in a hospital.

I do go to hospital very often. I'm involved in many associations; I am the chairman of Middlesex Association of the blind, I’m the chairman of the St Mary’s hospital kidney association, and also the secretary of the Harrow Blind social club. I do all my own work, nobody does anything for me reading or writing, and just try to get on and do thing the best I can. I’m not saying that I’m perfect, I have limitations, I just don’t sit back and expect everybody else to do it for me.

It’s amazing that in hospital and other medical places that they don’t understand the needs of visually impaired people. In my lifetime it has improved, but I can’t see it ever being integrated, well my lifetime, because they don’t understand, why would they. After all blind people are in a minority within society, only accounting for 2% of the population, which is very low.

I am an adaptive technology consultant, and I’m very interested in Iphone’s, mp3 players etc. I understand that blind people, especially younger people, but obviously they have problems because the world isn’t prepared for visual impaired people. It’s a sighted world and we have to accept that. However, I don’t think its wrong of us to expect people to be a little bit more aware, especially in a hospital environment. It still amazes me when people don’t say who they are, something which is extremely important to a visually impaired person. How can we be expected to know who people are without them introducing themselves, as we don’t have sight we can’t simply recognize somebody, its much harder with voices. They will just walk up and say “hello” its so easy to say “hello its Neal” but makes a huge difference. Even my neighbors after 11 years just say hello Alan. You do become familiar with voices after a while, but it takes a long time.

Did the loss of your sight effect your other senses?

No not really. People say your sense of hearing picks up a bit more but I don't think it does or did in my case. Obviously your hearing becomes more useful, so you are probably more aware, but I wouldn’t say it was improved. As it is now my main method of communication I find it very difficult when I can’t rely on it properly, when there is loud music for example. I don’t think my loss as heightened any other senses, like smell, you just become more aware of them.

What does it feel like to be in a situation where you are not familiar?

Well, that’s the most difficult thing for a visually impaired person really, when you enter environments that you’re not familiar with. You have to be organized and have to understand where things are. Fortunately for me I’ve always been an organized person, which helped when I lost my sight. A good example of when this happens is when you go to hotels and in particular the bathrooms there. Everything is typically white, which means that I can’t see anything at all, its like everything has gone. You can’t tell the difference between the sink, the toilet or the tiles, it just merges into one. For me I’d be able to work out where stuff was if there was some sort of contrast or colour, but often there is not. My wife usually gives me a tour around the room, which enables me to orientate myself and get a feel of where things are. This process takes a little time and without somebody to show me where stuff is would be very difficult and frustrating.

Once you have lost your sight it becomes very difficult to remember what it would be like to have sight again. You start to pay more attention to where things are, the layout of places and its things like this that allow me to cope with it all.

A particular example is that I can’t tell if a glass is full or empty, which results in a lot of broken glasses.

As I said situations have to be manipulated in slight ways to help a blind person however if you go into a hospital this doesn’t seem to be the case. No special adjustments are made like, examples include:

* Contrasts of rooms (very white), which is typically the worst colour for a visually impaired person

* I have to ask somebody to pour water for me, as I will often overfill it or spill it etc.

* Staff there don’t introduce themselves, doctors even walk around the beds without saying a word, expecting me to know who they are.

It’s the simple things that make a huge difference. I would just like people to be a bit more aware. Many people wouldn’t even know that I was blind to look at me, similar to a deaf person, but if you saw a person in a wheelchair you would automatically assume they were disabled. They’re isn’t always a sign, which is understandable but when I say that I’m registered Blind I don’t think its wrong to expect them to be alert to this, but this doesn’t always happen.

We can be our worst own enemies at times though. There is no reason why a visually impaired person should be rude to anybody. The situation that your doing in your piece is obviously highlighting a very dramatic experience. One minute your sighted and the next your not. My process was gradual, so I can’t really relate to that type of experience. Sometimes people can be very angry, Why me? etc.

We also have to be very careful how we handle these situations. You can almost get more out of life by being friendly. It’s how you go about it. I don't expect people to rush and help me because if I need them to I will ask and expect people to be understanding, I don’t want to ask for help, but sometimes I have to.

A classic example is when you assist a visually impaired person to cross the road. They may come across rude, and there is no excuse for this. We don’t always need help, but still there is no reason to be rude. Sight conditions can change from day to day, which can affect the person’s mood.

Of course losing my sight has had a great effect on my life, and there isn’t a moment that goes by where I don’t dream about my old job, which may sound weird to you, but I did really enjoy my job. Many visually impaired people find it hard to find jobs over 75% are unemployed, but there is no reason for this. Blind people still have perfectly sound brains in their heads, and could job to the same level as the sighted (obviously there are limits again). People see a blind person, but don’t really see the person and just see the disability. There are benefits available for such instances, but its not the same as working. Work provides stimulation for the brain something that is hard to obtain

The biggest loss is independence, being blind limits your independence. You can’t just jump in the car and nip to the shops anymore. My goal is to try and keep a level of independence and not let everybody do everything for me, but sometimes you don’t have any other choice and you have to ask for help. It’s a horrible thing to do, because then you become somebody else’s timescale. It has and does cause fiction between my wife and I, if I ask her to read something for me because its important, I do have means to do this but it can become very tiring. Sometimes she might be doing other stuff or trying to relax, so it becomes a burden which I don’t like being. I do go out on my own as I’m fortunate enough to have a guide dog, but still I can’t always do it.

You have to remember that you are only talking to one person about my experiences. I think I'm a person who's adjusted very well to my loss, but as I said there are people who take these things very badly, it can be very hard to come to terms with it.

I would say that the best way to do it is to accept that it has happened and to overcome it. I try fill my day, my week, and my year. I do a lot of volunteer work and deal with people who are still coming to terms with it. That happens a lot, several disabled people volunteer to help for disabled groups, which is good for the people who need help as the workers can understand better. It would be very difficult for you to put yourself in my position, just like if I was sighted it would be hard for me to be you.

There is no fortunately a lot of training material around, but a lot of it is common sense. As we have already touched upon with stuff like simple organization, things being in the right place etc. Also things like leaving doors open and the mobility issues like slops, steps, curbs etc. All of this common sense makes a huge difference to us, but sighted people don’t even think about this, why would they? Its about putting yourself in others positions a bit more.

A person who has just lost their sight would obviously be very traumatized, depending on the condition of the patient. Depending on how they have lost their sight, and the nature of accident. If it’s a sudden knock, they will be traumatized for years and it would take a while to come to terms with it. They would need a lot of support from their family and the system. Everybody around them would be confused as with what to do regarding you, but will obviously be caring by nature. You could be dead lucky, and get a nurse who was really understanding, but it would be luck. Regardless of any level of care that person won’t be equipped to deal with the situation. Unlike myself, I had time to adjust. I don’t think anything that I have said today would be going through the mind of a person who lost their sight in that manner. It is a very dramatic thing to happen to somebody. I don’t think you’d be able to get in touch with anybody today that has gone through that experience that would be willing to talk about it as it would be that traumatic.

The family is always the best comfort, due to natural instinct. As I said you might get a good doctor or nurse that understand but it doesn’t always happen.

This situation could be even more dramatic for your target audience. This would be because they haven’t seen much of life. I lost my sight at 50 so I had 50 years of sight, which is a lot of experience. A teenager would focus more on what they can’t do anymore, but the important thing is to think what you can do. If you put your mind to it you can do anything, but this is something that has to be learnt and won’t come instantly.

Computers and things like that have opened up a different world to all disabled people and life can be a lot better than you’d first expect, but you wouldn’t realize when the trauma takes place. You concentrate on all the downsides, can’t go to the pub anymore, can’t go to the football match etc.

It’s a very interesting area because there is a big gap. There’s the children going to school, who are looked after by mainstream education, but I get lots and lots of parents of people of your sort of age, sixth formers etc (our target group) where the support is lost. The parents ask where they can find support, what they can do, its almost as if they are forgotten about after mainstream education. They want the same sort of things that you do, i.e. the internet, mobile phones, mp3 players etc. There are ways around this, and if you can get past the initial thoughts of missing out in life, it’s amazing what you can do

Tutorial Three

During the tutorial we mainly spoke about the interview that we had previously had with Alan. We highlighted the points that we felt where key from the interview and tried to explain there relevance to our project.

We successfully booked MG.5 for the installation on the actual tuesday and also the night before which would allow us time to set the piece up. This was great news as we felt that we would definitely need this much time to do it. its booked from 4pm till 9pm, cool cool!!!

Pressure Pad Tests

Obviously the main aspect of our proposed installation are pressure pads and how the user interacts with them. For this reason there are obviously several tests that need to be done, to make sure they work sufficiently for our needs. The tests that need to be done include, testing how the pads work and the response of the IPAC card over longer distances (this will help to determine how many props we have in the room), testing how they lie on the floor including how they can be taped to the floor without effecting the sensitivity of the pad.

We also need to test different blind folds, looking into whether a gauze would work better than a complete black one, following what the dude said in the interview.

The pressure pads seemed to respond as well with the longer wires (10m) than with the short wires. However, from the tests we realised that the pads weren't amazingly responsive.

Blindfold's

We had previously planned to use a blacked out room for the piece. However, after talking to alan we decided to change this. The interview with Alan had furthered the notion that had been previously highlighted in our research that the majority of blind people don't actually see black and in fact most still see something, ranging from sections of light to outlines of objects. As a result we decided that it was important to run some test's on blindfolds. We tried a variety, ranging from a complete black out one to a single layer gauze.

Crimson Room

In our tutorial with Peter on Tuesday he suggested us to look into a game called 'Crimson Room' by Toshimitsu Takagi.'The objective of the game is to explore the room by looking for clues to 'unlock' the door in the room. This game is entertaining and frustrating at the same time.You are able to collect keys and other things that allow you to unlock clues and such.The idea and concept have similarities to ours however we are not intending to make it so users find clues. we Just want them 'experience.' I really liked the idea of the game though and it does give you an idea on how people will approach/do things in the room.
In our hospital environment we want it to make it so that if the user goes straight to say pad 2 then it will give a different reaction to if the user goes to pad 1 then pad 2. The idea is so that it will trigger different reactions for users to hear or see. We both hope that users will have a totally new 'experience' in the room and to have the user feeling the privilege of having their sight.

Having played 10 minutes of 'Crimson Room' i gave up unlocking!
have a go, below!

(C) 2004, Toshimitsu Takagi,(http://crimson-room.com)

Janet Cardiff

Cardiff layers sounds over the real perceptions one experience of different types and tech textures of space.
Cardiff's work explores how technology impacts on our consciousness. She has time-based fictional works that are experienced by participants who have headset attached to a Discman or DV Walkman and follow pre-recorded instructions that lead them into open-ended and ambiguous narratives.
There are similar contrast between her work and ours because of the headphones which allows to hear what is happening. However we are doing it in a different entirely environment. Through research and development we know how dramatic it can be for anyone to go blind. So we don't want anyone who goes in there feeling scared

There were a couple of works that we looked into that we thought were related in a way of using headphones as the main narrative to the story of her works. The way in which she uses sound is more for normal people.

What is next?

The next few steps in the project are or need to include:

* Making the flash side of the project
* Start to test it
* Test Long Wires
* Decide on the sounds that will be triggered
* Look into headphones suitable for the piece

The Regent Street Lights

Nokia has sponsored the Regent Street lights as part of a campaign to advertise the imminent arrival of its flagship London store. The lights were designed by United Visual Artists, who have worked with the P2 Group to create the 14 space-age-looking “light clusters” that make a pleasant break from the Disney-themed displays that normally grace London’s busiest shopping streets at Christmas time.



The lights are obviously attractive in a space age way, but the more impressive thing is that they are interactive. The lights are designed to react to the movement of people walking beneath them via motion cameras, and change formation depending upon the amount of pedestrians in the street. In addition, they will respond to environmental factors such as wind speed, weather and sunlight levels. And if this weren’t enough, Nokia and Wieden + Kennedy have also considered the environmental impact of the displays, using low energy LED cores and making them 100% recyclable.

Tutorial Two

We had another tutorial with Peter today in which we discussed our progression and an queries we had. Following the talk we understood that we needed to be progressing through the project at a faster rate, and that some careful planning was needed in order to be successful. In the tutorial we had discussed the expenses behind the project and how they would effect the piece, in terms of how many props we would be able to have in the room.



Our original idea was to have at least three beds in the room, then due to expense issues we were limited to two. We imagined the room to look like the diagram above. However, talking this through with Peter we highlighted that there may be a problem with the IPAC card and its response to the pressure pads far away, with long lengths of wire between them. This will obviously be something that we will have to test in order to see if its possible or not. The other problem is that the bigger the room the more potential there is that the user will become lost in the piece and just wonder around without actually setting anything off. For these reasons we are currently considering the possibility of decreasing the size of the project and only including one bed in the piece. This will be something that we will have to give extensive thought to.

Interview Details

Through contact with the Middlesex Association for the Blind we have managed to organise an interview with a blind person for Monday 26th of November at 11am. We are looking forward to the chance to gain useful information and input into our project. Before hand we knew that it would be very important that we were clear of what we would ask during the session. We decided upon the following:

Diana Gromala

We were interested in a piece of Diana Gromala piece of work called Living
Book of the Senses. Users war a headset/head-tracker/colour camera system that enables them to see physical reality enhanced with virtual reality overlay. The camera inputs images/patterns and feeds them back into the software which then displays digital information associated with the physical markers onto the headset. As the user simultaneously interact with the book in multiple physical sates to express resulting changes in narrative.

With the work she done on 'Book of the Senses' was all about the headphones and how it moved around with the narrative.
It is related to our project because of how the work is using headphones to project to users what narrative it could be.

Hospital Supplies

Having spoken to numerous companies regarding the hire of the props that we would need for the piece, its looking like the most suitable will be prop companies. Where quotes have been around:

Beds- £60 each
Tables- £20 each
Drips + Bag- £20 each
Screens- £25 each
Lighting Panels- £30 each

This could amount to alot of money, but would be worth it for the authenticity of the piece. However, we still need to contact the hospitals regarding the issue.

The Blind Room

Having decided on what would happen within the room in terms of a hospital narrative, we needed to make a move regarding the props that will be present in the room. These will obviously have to be in-fitting with the hospital theme, hospital beds, drips etc. The first move to try and get hold of this sort of material would be to contact hospital suppliers, easily accessible through yellow pages etc and then to try to contact actual hospitals themselves, and in particular the maintenance departments within the hospitals. We considered the maintenance departments because obviously hospitals wouldn't be willing to just hand over perfectly good beds to us, especially considering the bed shortages currently in NHS. The maintenance departments may have access to broken beds and equipment that could be fixed to a level suitable for the piece, as obviously the equipment in the room does not need to be to the high standard that you would expect in a hospital. Northwick Park hospital would be an ideal resource due to its location, as any equipment borrowed would be easily transportable.

Examples

Dans Le Noir:

Guests are led to a pitch-black dining room and served food that they cannot see. They are guided by blind waiters. Many supporters include charities for the blind, who believe that it will open up other senses and liberate their tastebuds.

Edouard de Broglie, the man behind the British venture after launching the Paris restaurant, said his interest was in the sensory, not the social aspect of dining.

"The preconception of what food tastes like because of how it looks is gone," he said. "All your other senses are abruptly awoken and you taste the food like you have never tasted it before."


Yet Dans le Noir, which opened in Paris more than a year ago, remains packed most nights, serving three courses for £39 per person, without wine. The Independent on Sunday visited it last week to discover what the attraction of eating under cover of darkness is.

We made our choices from the menu before shuffling into the blacked-out room in single file, hands placed on the shoulder of the person in front. Immediately, the world felt both infinite and claustrophobic, as we found our seats. But with a gentle reassuring touch, the waiter, Benoit, explained that there was a napkin, knife and fork and an unbreakable glass on the table. Then he disappeared.

You cannot signal your waiter, but calling his name brings him to back to your side. Soon, the food arrived. With our hands, we discovered that the vegetables and scallops had been neatly presented, which all seemed rather pointless.

The pudding - chocolate fondant and ice-cream, apparently - left us perplexed. It could have been anything mousse-like. Our tastebuds may well have been aroused, but they were confused. After an hour and a half, we were desperate to return to the people and colours outside.

But the owners of Dans le Noir are confident that it will be a huge success in the UK. And it has already won praise from the Royal National Institute for the Blind and Action for Blind People for creating jobs for the blind.

The chef, his team of three, and a handful of front-of-house staff can see. But the 10 waiters are all officially registered blind, and have been subjected to a rigorous training regime.

Nicolas Chartier, project manager of the London branch, insisted that diners would have nothing to fear from blind waiters carrying hot dishes.

"It may seem, at first, a recipe for disaster, but the waiters are highly skilled," he said. He added that diners would learn about life as a blind person. "The waiters show us what it is like to experience their world," he said.

"When you cannot see, you depend on the waiter to guide you, so a special relationship develops between customers and the blind. It makes you rethink everything."

Premonition (2007)

In looking at the Afternoon story, it reminded us of a movie called Premonition (2007).
This was a similar story line that involved a housewife who in a depressive state figures out that her husband is dead the day she wakes up, then awakens the next day to find him alive and well at home. Although this isn't exactly what we are dealing with for our project, it was something that made me think about other ideas.

Afternoon: A Story by Michael Joyce

After consulting with Peter we looked at a electronic computer based fiction piece called Afternoon, a story; by Michael Joyce.

This story is about a technical writer Peter, embarking his afternoon with a premonition that the ruins of a car he saw hours, initially might have be held by his former wife.

Afternoon, is a opulent and effusive review of the twisted movement of knowing and reminisces. This allows to connect and unravel lives of its postmodern individuals.
With afternoon story, we have adapted a similar way. This relates to our project in a way that we want users to have a different pathway (movement) wherever the user decides to go. It will have two sides of the story and which ever movement you choose you will end up with a different voice.


With our room we will be planning so that when someone presses pad 2 first then it will be different to then if you press on pad 1 then 2. so in it will be contrasting. It will then allow the user to trigger sound differently.

We are doing this because we want this to be as interesting as it can be by providing different voice when stepping on different pads. This will allow the participant to have a different experience for each pad pressed.

With afternoon story, we have adapted a similar way.

Statement of Intent

Following the questions that we asked ourselves after the tutorial and before the presentation about our idea we needed to be more direct and precise with our idea. As a result we produced a statement of intent:

Once you’ve lost a Sense, What Are You Left With?

Imagine what it would be like to be blind? This is extremely difficult, even for the most imaginative, because how could you possible imagine a life without something that has been there since birth? Our project sets out to give the user an experience of becoming blind, and the confusion surrounding it. The piece will be set in a hospital environment, following a car crash, in which the user has become blind.

The users will be several different students from around university. An individual will enter the room one at a time. The idea behind the individuality is an attempt to highlight the lonely experience that many people who have become blind feel. We thought that a hospital experience would add to the confusion, as the user wouldn’t understand what had happened and why they were there until later into the piece.

The user will enter a room, which will be pitch black where they will soon realize that they have been in a car crash and that their family has been admitted to intensive care in a critical condition. As the user moves around the space, obviously disorientated by the lack of sight, they will trigger different sensors (a series of pressure pads), which will in turn reveal more about the crash and what has happened to the user. The sensors will either trigger a sound, which will reveal further information about the narrative, i.e. conversations with doctors. The other sensors will trigger a rapid flash of slight light across the walls of the room. Many blind are not totally blind and can in fact see either specks or movement in light. We also decided that a quick movement in light would add to the disorientation of the user, adding to the frustration of not being able to see. The sensors will be hidden in several tradition hospital props, e.g. hospital beds, surgical counters, drips etc. Most of the piece’s in the room will have sensors attached which can be triggered by the user engaging with them in a certain way, i.e. lying down on a bed will start sounds that will correspond with a different member of the family.

We decided to use a dramatic situation in the piece in order to fully submerge the user into the piece, as oppose to random sounds being triggered and the user not really knowing what is happening. Through conditional statements the user can progress through the situation, so if they move to somewhere in the hospital before they go somewhere else they will find out certain information that wouldn’t have been accessible without going to the first position in the room.

As this is a dramatic situation that involves the user, i.e. they have lost their sight in the crash; the user will take up a partially acted role in the situation; their movements around the scene will determine what they learn has happened. The piece makes it possible for different users to take different things from the piece, as if they take a different route they may miss certain parts of information that somebody else may receive.

Research Ideas!!!

We are hoping to find similar artists who do similar projects. Interviews will give us an idea of what to research on so we hope to have progress on interviewing and finding out information soon.

Schedule

Make a 'schedule' that we tried to keep to

What are you left with, once you take a sense away?

What is the role of the user?
The piece is an attempt to allow the user to try to gain an understanding of what it would be like to be blind/partially sighted. The user will enter an environment, which will be pitch black and the user will also be blindfolded to avoid any possible light.


Following the tutorial we had several questions to ask ourselves about the project:

Who are they?
The users will be several different students from around university. An individual will enter the room one at a time. The idea behind the individuality is an attempt to highlight the lonely experience that many people who have become blind feel.

What is in the space?
- physical objects
- sounds- which will be triggered by pressure pads, at least 5 or more? The sound will allow the person to experience the installation and consequently to become a part of it.

How will we shake up their senses?
We need them to be disorientated before they lose their sight completely. A blind person would be unbelievably confused. Moving objects, moving floor, moving walls, through sound effects?

Is there a dramatic situation?
A dramatic situation would give the piece meaning, it would give the user something to participate in and direction. Through conditional statements the user can progress through the situation, so if they move to somewhere in the room before they go somewhere else they will find out certain information that wouldn’t have been accessible without going to the first position in the room.

Does the user take up an ‘acted’ role?
If a dramatic situation is employed, the user will be an onlooker into the situation, learning information about what has happened and the story behind it, e.g. hearing a life story of a blind person etc. It will consequently be a partially acted role, as they will be basically doing what we want, and only accessing information that we allow them to gain if they imply ignore the piece and walk out, then they won’t have had any interaction, but that is their choice.

Tutorials

We had a tutorial with Peter today and explained our idea regarding the removal of senses. Peter encouraged us to make a decision about what sense we wanted to use and to try to move forward with the idea. During the talk we decided on a statement that would introduce the piece: What are you left with once you take a sense away? This would work much like a film one-liner, giving a slight insight into what the piece is about, but still remains intriguing. Through talking to Peter we realised that we had alot of work to do until we could reach a position where we could outline our final idea. We were still uncertain about which sense we wanted to concentrate on, indifferent between sight and hearing. However, we were sawying towards concentrating on the lose of sight. We realised that in order for this to be an accurate project we would have to talk to a person who had actually lost a sense and how this had effected their life. As a result, we decided that the best course of action was to contact the Royal Institution on the Blind and other charities for the blind.

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Neal Bryant and I am a student at the University of
Westminster. I am currently doing a project into the blind, and in
particular how they experience the world. The project is primarily aimed
at people who have become blind during their life, and how they felt
during that period. I was wondering if you would be able to assist me in
meeting a blind person, who wouldn't mind being interviewed regarding
the issues from above. Any help would be extremely useful and gratefully
received.

Yours Faithfully,

Neal Bryant

At this point we are going to wait for our response from the charities contacted and hopefully move from there. In the mean time we have to research into the blind and try to think of how we could emphasize a loss of sight.

Advancements in Ideas

We had been discussing the idea of losing a sense and trying to highlight this lose in our animation. We were undecided on which sense to concentrate on. Obviously the easiest senses to use would be sight and hearing, but we also considered the idea of using touch, smell and taste.

How would each of these be implemented:

Sight: Either blindfold the user or move them into a situation which is unfamiliar.
Hearing: The user could wear sound reducing headphones, and put into a silent environment.
Touch: A room could be adapted into a room full of different textures.
Smell: An adaption on scratch and sniff which would also incorporate the sense of touch.
Taste: Try and link tastes to emotions/sounds/visions etc.

As i said earlier the easiest to implement would be sight and hearing. As hearing and sight are the most important senses they will be the most effective for a piece. The problem would be how could we highlight this lose of sense and how can we convey the loss to a level that would be true of the actual loss experienced in real life.

The Daisy Chained Magnetic Funness!!!

After experimenting with the IPAC card, Alberto and i decided that the best soltuion for the previous task set was to keep the flash side of it fairly simply, and get to grips with the Ipac car. As a result we decided on a simply animation that included a arrow moving around a compass that would be triggered by both the arcade button and also the magnet.



We used a simple code:

on (keyPress "c") {
gotoAndPlay(2);

}

on (keyPress "x") {
gotoAndPlay(41);

}

This code just corresponds an IPAC input to a key press, then once this has been 'triggered' a different frame is played within the movie clip. Within the movie clip there was a simple motion tween, moving the compass hand from one position to another around the compass. The keyPress 'c' corresponded to an arcade button and the 'x' keyPress corresponded to a magnetic switch.

The Nintendo Wii

The Nintendo Wii has recently won the BAFTA for innovation and has also won several other awards throughout the course of the year. The Wii remote has definitely taken both technolgy and the idea from earlier forms, such as the Nintendo's light gun for duck hunt, Power Glove and also from arcade games (using a gun to shoot rather than a controller, using a platform for a skateboard/snowboard/ using a plastic sword to swing rather than a controller).
Its interesting to see that the Wii is regarded as innovation considering the ideas are years old. In this instance the innvovation has been to take such a technology and apply it to something that could be sold on a huge scale, and that would appeal to the user.

The IPAC Card

We have been looking at using IPAC cards today, which is a card that can be plugged into a computer to replicate a keyboard. From this different sensory equipment e.g. pressure pads, or arcade buttons, or magnetic sensors. This can allow animations to use several different methods of input, which takes away the standard use of a simply keyboard and a mouse. An IPAC card consquently allows an animation to be triggered by a user without them knowing, taking it to another level that goes alot further than pressing a button and something happening as a result.

We were set the task to create an animation using the Ipac card, to include a daisy chain i.e. more than one input and to include a magnetic input.

Remediation

Remediation is the evolution of new media from old media.

Initial Ideas

After establishing that i would be working with alberto, we decided to talk through any initial ideas that either of us had previously considered.

These included:

* 3D Whacker Game - 3D Version of the whack It game where the person will be the whacker, like the traditional arcade game where characters appear from holes and are hit with a hammer.

* Fishing Game - Use magnets to trigger senses to pick up fish through virtual screen.

* Press-pad Objective Games - Involves press-pads to trigger action having mini games.

* Maze type Adventure Game - following a path in certain ways with moving walls and targets etc.

* Lose of Sense Experience - Taking away one of the five senses and seeing how the user reacts in a cartain situation.

Our favourite from these was the idea to do something with the lose of a sense. We both agreed that we wanted the project to be an epic piece and to be on a large and dramatic scale.

During the third practical session Tom informed me that the method that i had used to make the small previous flash animation, i.e. attaching the script to the individual movie clips, is no longer used in the Flash world and that it was now practice to put all of the actions together in its own layer, as it makes it simplier to find and to break it down understanding what you have used and for what. In the class we went through further Flash examples with Tom including examples that included variables, keypress and condional statements. We were set the task to complete the following before next lesson:

1) use an array to control or "target" something in your movie.

2) Build and Comment- A small project using keypress, variables and conditional statements.

Unfortunately SpaceCat was not to the standard that i would have hoped for, but following the class i felt more encouraged to take something from the experience.
We were then set the task of looking through Flash tutorials, to get us back into Flash mode. We had been given some examples that coinsided with the tutorials, which was useful as we could actually see the results of what had been said in the tutorials. I decided to use the coding form the spaceinvaders and pong examples where an object follows the mouse in order to effect its x position. I wanted to add to this and use the mouse to control both the x and y coordinates of the object. My inital idea would be a shooting game where the gun can be manuvered using the mouse and then on click a shot can be fired. I also wanted to introduce a moving target into the animation, so that the user has to aim at, adding another level to the shooting.

Here is how i put it together including the code that i used and an explanation of what it means.

The first stage was to import the background onto the stage. I decided to use a bar scene as the background, as many other shooting games do. The first step was to introduce a gun, i simply cut out an image from the internet to use. Following converting the image into a movie clip i need to make it fire when the mouse was clicked.

onClipEvent (mouseDown) {
_root.gun_mc.play();
}
This code means that when the event mousedown the flash file will return to the main level of the timeline (_root) then look into the Movie clip called gun_mc and consequently fire.

I wanted to introduce a crosshair so that the user can use this to aim where they shoot. i applied the following code to the crosshair's script, which would also set the gun to follow the crosshair.

onClipEvent (load) {
startDrag("", true);
Mouse.hide();
}
onClipEvent (enterFrame) {
_root.gun_mc._x = _root.aim._x;
_root.gun_mc._y = _root.aim._y;
}

I wanted to add a moving target into the game, i decided to use a simply circle to illustrate this, obviously this could be changed to any shape or image. After drawing the circle and converting it into a movie clip i used the following code to make it move across the screen.

onClipEvent (enterFrame) {
if (this._x <= 500) {
this._x += 10;
}
else {
this._x = 30;
}
}

This code checks if the circles x cordinant is less than or equal to 500. If it is then the target is moved 10 px to the right. If its not then move the target to the point on the x axis where x is 30.The number 10 could be changed to a higher number to make it move quicker and a lower number to make it move slower across the stage.

As you can see this was quite a simply animation to put together and didn't involve that much coding, but it acted as a good refresher into using Flash again.

The main problem that i have encountered in producing the game was getting a collision to work between two sprites, the cat and the stars. I had previously planned for SpaceCat to collect stars as he jumped, therefore having to connect with the star in order to change the variable (score). However, as i have not been successful the Cat only jumps over the star and it appears as though the star vanishes becauses i have told it to hide. As a result the variable could be changed as the two sprites collide, which has taken away the scoring element from the game.

I now feel that i am at a point where i have all of the visuals that i need in order to produce SpaceCat however, i have encountered a problem when mporting then into Scratch because when you cut out a shape, for exmple the moon in photoshop, it cannot be saved with a transluent background in jpeg form consquently as its revolving it appears that the shape is a square and not a circle as it should. I have tried saving and importing the image in a different format, but unfortunately haven't had any luck findind one that works.

Chapter Two

Following our first lesson we were set the task to make a game using the program Scratch, which would hopefully further our understanding of coding before we start using flash again. Obviously the first step in this process was to decide on a theme for the game. Several initials ideas come to mind; for example a bingo game, of a simply tennis game, but after much deliberation i settled on an idea called SpaceCat. The idea had come from a card that i had which pictured a cat in space.



The first thing that i felt was necessary in order for the game to be sucessful was to outline what i wanted to happen in the game in a step by step plan.

* The user will be greeted with a flasing 'SpaceCat' message on top of a starry sky background. There will also an enter sign which allows the user to start the game.

* The instructions of the game will then appear. They could appear in front of the cat or on a different scene?

* The instructions will then dissappear and the game will start.

* The game will involve a spinning moon and the SpaceCat will appear like he's moving across the move.

* Need SpaceCat to be able to jump, in order to be able to collect stars, altering the score of the game.

* Each object will have to be a different sprite in order to maximise control.

* If the cat jumps and hits a star, 1 point will be added to the score. Maybe add a different object as a different points alternative.

* How will game end? SpaceCat could die. When the sun comes up the cat dies. This would mean you have to collect as many points before you die.

Graphics Needed for SpaceCat:

1) SpaceCat, use from card, if it can't be used during the gameplay i'll have to use another cat.
2) Starry Sky stage- photoshop background from the card, or easily obtainable from the internet.
3) Spinning Moon
4) Stars and moons for the game play.

Welcome

Welcome to the blog!

Having just started the the Innovation module in my second year of Contemporary Media Practice i have taken the advice and instruction to start my own blog, which will outline my progress and advancements throughout the module. I hope it makes for interesting reading. Over the next week i intend to look into examples of innovation within the new media and to complete my first project using Scratch.