Dynamic Cinema

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Dynamic Cinema

• Kurt MacDonald
• 2004 09 03

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Thesis Committee

• Interactive Media
• Scott Fisher
• Peggy Weil
• HP
• Jim Rowson
• Possibly
• Bruce Block
• Michael Lew

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Project Abstract

• Process images for their visual components
• Tag them with metadata
• Score the visual components
• Dynamically generate movies
• Simple consumer interface - templates
• Advanced professional interface - graphs
• Live dynamic cinema performance - knobs

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Visual Components
Line Shape Tone Color Rhythm Movement Space
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Photo Montage
Movement
Color
Rhythm
Tone
Line, Shape and Space too
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PriorArt

• Mark Davis
• Garage Cinema
• Michael Lew
• Live Cinema
• Lev Manovich
• Soft Cinema

Ken Burns Baraka Berlin Symphony of a Big
City La Jeteé The Kid Stays in the Picture Man
with the Movie Camera
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Metadata

• 7 visual components (Bruce Block)
• Affinity and Contrast
• Time
• Space (GPS)
• Place
• Photographer
• Subject (extensible)

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ArtifactOne

• Jessie has a collection of gt1000 digital images
• Most images are neither shared nor viewed
• Wants to make use of the images
• Selects a group of images from a wedding
• Chooses a style template and a song
• Clicks Generate and Export Video
• Receives a Quicktime video

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Style Templates

• Created for the consumer application.
• Easily identified and distinct.
• Specific mappings of the visuals over time
• Automatic assembly - one click
• Generates unique movie in real time
• Assisted assembly - sorts images based on
  template and lets the author place them

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ArtifactTwo

• A Los Angeles City Symphony Installation
• Shoot a few thousand images in the city
• Tightly control the visuals
• The system tags the images
• Build a visual score for the system to fill in
• Graphs of the visual components
• Unique movies are generated each time

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ArtifactThree

• Live performance
• Use the database of pre-tagged LA images
• Control the visual elements in real-time
• A mixing board slider interface
• Improvisation from the score
• Audience
• Projected visuals

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Kurt hp

• Summer 2004 intern at HP Labs, Palo Alto
• Worked on an interactive TV project
• Brought Bruce Block to HP
• Lots potential in looking at images this way
• How can we capitalize on this?
• Industry academia

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WorkFlow

• Mutually beneficial relationship with HP
• Weekly conference call
• Monthly visits to Palo Alto
• Iterative cycles
• Wiki space for updates and progress

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Milestones

• 2004 06-08 Cycle One
• Recruit team members
• Research related art and technology
• Solicit financial support from industry
• Complete a video prototype
• Assemble team member and set goals

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Milestones

• 2004 09-12 Cycle Two
• Establish a project website, blog and wiki
• Collect all essential equipment
• Establish a project workspace
• Prototyping software and interface
• Prepare first draft paper

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Milestones

• 2005 01-03 Cycle Three
• Midpoint evaluation iterations and milestones
• More prototypes, high level of polish expected
• User-testing, shoot video of users in action
• Interface for the platform finished
• Second draft paper, submit to committee for
  revisions

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Milestones

• 2005 04-05 Triage
• Tweaks and refinements
• Prepare a demo for the consumer app
• Prepare an installation for the LA city symphony
• Prepare a performance space
• Thank everyone excessively

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QA
Thank you.

• Kurt MacDonald
• guerrilla_at_mac.com
• 310 562 4234
• mactruk.com
• interactive.usc.edu/