May You Live in Interesting Times
Cardiff Festival of Creative Technology

Thursday 27th October - Official Launch

My first visit to the Millenium Stadium and I'm sitting in the VIP seats drinking champagne. Amazing. Unfortunately there is no match on and the stadium is eerily empty. Tim Davies' Drumming is being shown on the digital billboards, the beats reverberating around the stadium. It is a bizarre experience, and I enjoy it for about 15 minutes, however it fails to sustain my interest for the 50 minute running time.

Friday 28th October - Conference: Day 1 - Locative Media and Emplacement

Of interest was Dr Martin Flintham from Mixed Reality Laboratory, University of Nottingham who spoke about their collaborations with Blast Theory. He spoke about the technical difficulties they faced with the game, e.g. GPS not always working. Martin explained that they decided to use the technical failures as elements in the game, adding to the user experience rather than disrupting it.

Jen Hamilton and Jen Southern discussed their residencency in Cardigan where they had been exploring 'the aesthetics of walking in place'. Basically they had provided people with GPS and asked them to go on a journey around Cardigan. Their route was mapped by the GPS system and a linear drawing produced illustrating each person's journey. It was interesting to see some of the patterns that people had made, e.g. one person drew a large eye in the sand and a dog armed with GPS had made very jagged route running along the beach. But unfortunately the artists did not seem clear on how they would use this data they had gathered. They were keen not to contextualise it, resisting the temptation to place the paths on a geographical map. However, with no context the data appeared nothing more than some pretty coloured lines on a white canvas.

Saturday 29th October - Conference: Day 2 - Gaming

Emma Westecott, University of Wales, Newport, emphasised the need to develop independent game production companies in order for the industry to evolve in more creative avenues. She discussed the trend of the large game companies to strive towards photo-realism in computer games, and how this was at odds with the concept of gaming itself: being able to explore different worlds and experiences, rather than replicate our world.

The afternoon session was particuarly interesting. Eddo Stern showed a selection of his work including Waco Resurrection (2003) and Tekken Torture Tournament (2001). Waco Resurrection was an attempt to politicise gaming, Eddo spoke about his interest in exploring the political arguments surrounding the events of Waco, in particular the overlap in views from the far left and far right spectrums of politics. Tekken Torture Tournament basically involved gamers receiving electric shocks to the arm as they played Tekken, bringing a real life pain experience to their virtual fighting competition.

What I found most interesting about Eddo's work was his desire to explore methods of politicising the computer game medium. In Sheik Attack (1999/2000) Eddo combined computer war games with pop nostalgia using the medium of film to make a powerful political statement.

Stuart Nolan, Nesta Fellow and Senior Lecturer, University of Huddersfield, added a more light-hearted note to the afternoon by convincing us in the importance of magic in play. His presentation was brief, but enjoyable and lively.

The Point, Cardiff Bay

The festival concluded with live music at The Point. An ecclectic range of entertainment formed the closing evening. Scanner mixed recordings he had made from around Wales. This was followed by Paul Granjon playing songs with his electric zitare including 'Nibble nibble little rat' an adaptation of 'Twinkle, twinkle little star'. Hilarious. It was a shame that his perfomance was followed up by The Durangos, a middle-of-the-road rock band who bored me stupid so I called it an early night.

Digital Storytelling

Wednesday 19th October - Thursday 27th October

Our task for the last week has been to create a digital story using voice-over and photographs. I found it really hard to come up with a story at first. I had some photos I took when Wales won the Rugby Grand Slam in March, but I didn't want to write a story about rugby.

Eventually I came up with an idea and started assembling the pieces together. We learnt how to use Adobe Photoshop and Premiere to produce the story. I found Premiere a little bit difficult to use at first, but once I learned the basics I really enjoyed editing the piece.

Review – Tuesday 18th October

Specialten Magazine DVD

What impressed me with this DVD was the design of the interface transitions. Once selecting a video, the interface transforms from a 2D design to a 3D landscape. The viewer is transported through the virtual landscape to reach their chosen destination. Upon arrival, they are presented with further information about their chosen video. This journey the viewer takes through the virtual landscape makes the experience of using the DVD more interactive. The 3D transitions heighten the enjoyment of selecting a video for the viewer. It is more sensuous experience than simply being presented with another 2D still. Within a black, universe-like landscape neon shapes collide to form part of the visual landscape. The movement of vivid colours combines with an interesting soundscape to fascinate the viewer as they move from one area to the next.

A criticism of the Specialten DVD was the use of rollovers. An opaque pink block was used to illustrate to the user which button they were over. Although the colour was in keeping with the design of the interface, the rollover state obscured the white text of the button, making it difficult to read. It also seemed to dull the otherwise luminescent colours used in the graphics. I think the rollover state was used in too subtle a way for this DVD and I could not always see it on the screen. I found this was the case particularly when using a DVD projector, but also on a computer monitor. This meant that at times I was not always clear where I was navigating to within the interface, a problem that would be worse for someone with a visual impairment. I also felt that not as much thought had gone into this aspect of the DVD production. The rollover state offers another opportunity for creative experimentation in its use, but on this DVD it felt flat and conventional which was not in keeping with the overall creative design of the interface.

Billy Harvey Music Website
www.billyharveymusic.com



The use of mixed media is what I like most about this website. The frames of Poloroid photographs are used to form the main viewing area for the visuals, linked together by masking tape. This immediately gives the site a ‘real-world’ aesthetic and texture. Within the Poloroid photo area a collage of mixed media is used to represent Billy Harvey’s home and himself within it. A combination of photographs and cardboard cutouts are combined with moving video of Billy Harvey himself talking and singing. I like the way masking has been used so only Billy’s face is video, his hair and body being static images. This embeds the video into the collage aesthetic and also ensures that less bandwidth is required to view the site than if his whole body was video footage. The use of handwritten notes over the Poloroids also adds to the mixed media aesthetic of the site. The use of real-world collage gives the website a organic texture that stands out on the digital platform of the web browser. I particularly like the way in which these real-world elements combine with the digital media used in the site. When choosing to watch a video, the user selects a real-world video and the footage is embedded within a television set. The website also succeeds in transporting the viewer into a real landscape (Billy Harvey’s home), so after visiting the site the user is left with the impression they have actually visited a real place, rather than just a page within cyberspace.

The hypertext links on the left-hand side of the Billy Harvey website lets the site down in my opinion. The text does not appear to be in keeping with the aesthetic of the site and is often difficult to read when the Poloroids move underneath it. Web conventions dictate that links on the left side of the webpage enable users to navigate around the site. The Billy Harvey site breaks this heuristic by having links to different audio tracks rather than different visual areas on the top of the left-hand side of the page. These audio links are also not in keeping with the design of the site. It would have perhaps worked better if the user could choose audio tracks on a CD or record player, retaining the real-world aesthetic. There are also navigation links below, aiding the user to areas of the site. However they appear to be more of an afterthought of the design than an element conceived from the outset of the design.

Friday 14th October

We have looked at a variety of different forms of new media this week. I particularly enjoyed playing with EyeToy which I had not seen before. It is probably the most 'interactive' experience I have had, actually seeing yourself as the character playing the game. Really strange. We also looked at some websites, evaluating them according to Jakob Nielson's 10 heuristics of usability. Today we applied these issues of usability to CD-Rom titles. Although I do not agree entirely with Nielson's opinions on website design, usability is definitely a fundamental element of good design. I have also realised that it is possible to design experimental navigation that is still very much usable.


I also spent today testing the Colin and Cumberland Welsh learning website for the BBC. I had a lot of fun playing the games on the site, and was pleased that I learnt a lot of basic Welsh vocabulary in the process. The main areas of criticism I had were issues of usability. I was frustrated that once I had clicked 'play' I could not go back to read the instructions, instead I had to use 4 mouse clicks to get back to find out what I was suppossed to do. Overall I enjoyed the site though, particularly the cartoon aesthetic and the humorous elements.

Make the most of your rights!
A Royal Television Society conference to explore future opportunities for the creative industries in Wales
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

Tuesday 11th October Attending the conference was a great opportunity to listen to speakers from the main broadcasters in Wales as well as from independent Welsh TV production companies. Marcus Liassides from Ubivisium Ltd gave a particularly interesting speech about the future of IPTV and the possibilities it gives for anybody with the 'rights' to be a broadcaster. I was also interested in the announcement Iona Jones, the new Chief Executive of S4C gave regarding their archive material. She announced that S4C would be transferring the responsibility for archiving footage to independent production companies. It will be interesting to see what use they make of archive material, and I believe it gives them another opportunity to exploit this material through the use of new media. I found the day extremely valuable. Not only did it give me a great insight into the television industry in Wales, but it was also an opportunity to meet a lot of important people within the industry and put faces to names. The topics discussed were also particularly relevant to ourselves as New Media Trainees. There was a lot of talk about the importance of training young people for the industry and it seemed that some of the independent production companies were at present lacking people with skills in new media. On the finance side, the importance of using new media methods to exploit UK and International markets appeared to be an increasingly important area for potential profit growth.

Induction Course - Caernarfon

Monday 19th September

• Buffet - met other people on the course and Cyfle staff

• Introduction to Caernarfon office and the course structure for the year

Tuesday 20th September

• learnt about television production (staff structure & process)

• overview of the commissioning process from idea to proposal to commission

• discussion on 'what is documentary?' - emphasis on factuality and impartiality

• exploring different elements that can be used to produce a documentary

Wednesday 21st September

• learnt how a basic studio floor plan is sketched out and discussion on the roles each staff member is set

• looked at the paperwork involved in production

• one2one with Sion Hughes (Chief Executive, Cyfle)

Thursday 22nd September

• practical information on how to use a tripod and camera

• establishing the difference between a 'montage' and a 'sequence'

• 'reflections' indoor shoot

• 'water' outdoor shoot

• introduction to Avid - capturing video & audio

This was the first time I had been set a task to go out and film footage around a particular subject. I learnt how to use a camera and tripod and how to import the footage into Avid.

Friday 23rd September

• first taste of digital editing with Avid

• Health & Safety presentation

• brainstorming session - inital ideas for documentary

Monday 26th September

• session with Barry Michael Jones: Brainstorming and How to Pitch Ideas

• introduction to visual grammar and the history of tape

Tuesday 27th September

• practical on 'interview' camera shots and positions and how to film people walking

• Copyright presentation from Gwyddfid Jones (S4C)

• 'The Digital Future' presentation from Eurwyn Ogwen Williams

Wednesday 28th September

• introduction to digital photography and practical workshop with Gareth Davies

Thursday 29th September

• research and paperwork for documentary: 'Binge Bronzing'

• filming voxpops in Caernarfon & graphics in Savers

• preparation for rest of shoot

Friday 30th September

• filiming in B Bronzed Salon, Caernarfon, Domino Video, Bangor

Monday 3rd October

• filming in Coleg Menai, Bangor

• capturing video in Avid

Tuesday 4th October

• talk from Siwan Jobbins, Children's Programme Commissioner, S4C - discussion on ways of developing interactive new media

• rough edit using Avid, learnt Avid keyboard shortcuts

Wednesday 5th October

• learnt Avid editing techniques in more depth

• nearly completed full first edit of 'Binge Bronzing' documentary

• added graphics from Photoshop into Avid and learnt how to use 'chrome' key to overlay graphics onto video

• learnt how to import & edit audio into Avid

Thursday 6th October

• *finished editing 'Binge Bronzing' documentary - final sound dubbing and visual editing

Friday 7th October

• preview of film on tv and final editing adjustments and added graphic captions in Avid

• presentation of films to Cyfle staff

Summary

The Caernarfon Induction Course has given me a taster in all aspects of television production. It was great to have the opportunity to talk with so many experienced people working withing film and tv and I felt I gained a lot of knowledge from them. I really enjoyed filming on location with the camera and editing using Avid and was pleased with the final documentary my team produced. I am keen to develop my digital editing skills further and now feel confident in being able to produce a short film item for tv or web.