Carefully
read the following guidelines for the Team Project
Suggestions
Cautionary Advice
Research
Planning
Scenario
Execution
Subject
Proposal:
The first chore for each group will be the presentation of a written proposal,
outlining the subject/content/concept/story/narrtive that they wish to develop
into a project.
Suggestions for themes and subjects:
The
following are general suggestions
only and you are in no way limited to these. you
will howver be expected to submit a project proposal
of substantial content.
History of Art and Literature: The
inspiration for such subject matter could be an existing visual work
such as a painting, drawing or photograph to be transformed into an
immersive 3D environment or a non-visual work such as a short story
or even poem that could be visualised and thus brought to life in a
completely new and unexpected dimension.
Data
visualistion: Only a very small percentage of data generated
by science today can in fact be analysed and there is a prediction
that an important new aspect of visual communication design in the
21st century will focus on creating visual, navigable databases that
can be surveyed and accessed by scientists of all fields - be it
social sciences, medicine or the positive sciences: In other words
the visualistion of scientific data in the shape and form of virtual,
navigable 3 Dimensional structures.
Mathematic/Scientific
visualisation: Abstract mathemtical
concepts such as 3 dimensional fractals can be animated and rendered
to show the way in which they come to life - yet again an exiting
venue of exploration. Similarly abstract/semi abstract data from
fields such as chemistry, biology and physics can be concretised
int navigable 3 Dimensional spaces and/or their rection with other
elements illustrated interactively. One application of such work
that springs to mind within this context are interactive e-learning
applications of the natural sciences for high school students.
Online
Educational Devices: You
can design interactive, animative, 3 dimensional devices such as database
navigation and visualisation tools or animative, interactive educational
gadgets for online education not only in mathematical or natural science
areas but in a multitude of fields from social sciences to history,
geography and even languages. These can be for pre-school, primary
school, high school or college level education.
Personal
Creativity: Obviously the teams can also propose
to develop a personal theme. Personal creative subject matter can
cover a concrete concept and/or content or can be more evocative
and subliminal,. conveying ideas, emotions or states of mind that
cannot be readily expressed with words alone. Work of his nature
needs to be very thoroughly thought out and planned. It is also important
with personal work that you really have something to convey that
is important and meaningful to you and your team partner. As is the
case with all proposals of any nature, will need to be thoroughly
substantiated and developed before it can be developed within the
context of this course.
<<< top
It is of the utmost essence that the teams be aware
of the following:
The most important thing that you will do, in terms of creativity,
is to choose your theme/subject wisely. A subject that may seem very
attractive in and of
itself may not lend itself to this particular courses' content matter. Here
are some keywords you should consider as you decide:
Non-Linearity: The most important
concept that has been added to the arsenale of human creativity by
the computer is without a doubt, that of non-linearity.
We can and do approach work created on the computer from a myriad of different
vantage points and once we have entered its realm navigate through it in
a non-linear fashion. Your subject matter should lend itself to this
basic premise
of the computer. However this should not imply that a fundamentally linear
concept or content, such as a poem, cannot be re-interpreted in a non-linear
fashion. In fact the transformation of essentially linear data into the non-linear
can give unexpectedly novel and dramatic results. But this keyword of non-linearity
is one that should be uppermost in your minds when you make your selection
of theme/subject.
Size: You
will do well to be realistic in terms of the size of what you tackle.
While transforming Tolstoi's War and Peace or one of Ucello's famous
battle scenes into 3D environments may seem like a fantastic idea to
start off with be aware that you only have 3 months and limited resources
to complete your project and it should be one of managable size and
content.
Visuality
and simplicity: Your
project should be one that will lend itself to visual rendering and
manipulation. Certain subjects will simply be too abstract or too complicated
to result in meaningful and navigable visual systems.
Content: It
is an absolute pre-requisite of both your instructors that your subjects
posesses content. No matter how visually sophisticated or adept at
programming, proposals that do not go beyond the demonstration of computer/design
wizardry, i.e. that are devoid of intellectual content will not be
accepted.
Research
Certain projects, especially those involving a specific scientific field such
as history, the arts or physical sciences will need research. You cannot
stumble into these without having a well formed idea as to what your environments
requirements are. As an example: If you want to re-create a section of Istanbul
in the 17th century as backdrop or part of your environment you will have
to be cognisant of all the factors involved, from music and clothing of the
period to the layout
of the
city at the time.
Make
sure you
have these
resources at hand before you decide upon your choice. (Remember: This is
a multidisciplinary university and a lot of the faculty members from other
programmes will be glad to help out - if approached nicely...)
<<< top
Planning
your work
It is crucial that once you have decided upon what you want to do you
plan it properly as a team.
Who will do what and when? (Please remember: Team members are expected to
have equal creative input into this project. This is most definitely
not a question of the engineer doing the programming, the designer the
visuals.
You will think together as a team at every stage of the work). What has
to be done first and what later? What you are setting out to do as
a
team
of
2 people
will
in the
future
be
accomplished
by large teams of professionals. It is obvious that we cannot be as diverse
and as sophisticated here and now but we are most certainly go beyond
an amateurs dribbelings. Your environment will have many facets, some
listed below and some possibly even forgotten: It will have content and
a story and thus willneed a scenario and maybe dialogues. It will have
sound and animation. A climate, light and dark. Specific navigational
elements such as camera usage and special effects. An architecture. It
may need 3D modelling, special recording. Plan now and plan well. Never
forget Murphy, the arch enemy of non-planners.
<<< top
Scenario:
Your environment
will in all likelihood tell a story. This need not be a story in the
true sense of the word but rather what is meant here, is that a participator
entering your environment will be spending some time here, in other words
there will be something there to occupy him/her and catch his/her interst.
The length of the time that he/she spends there is the primary factorthat
will determine how successful you have been in your creation. This
you will accomplish
by creating a "story" and consequently a scenario. This need
not be linear, in fact in all likelihood will not be so. But the participitant
of your
environment, as he/she wanders or is transported fro area to area, as
he/she interacts with objects will be following a pre-determined set
of events. That in essence is your story and such needs a scenario which
both team members will collaborate upon writing.
<<< top
Execution
The execution of the project will hinge very much on the programming aspect
of this course. As stated above the designer(s) of the project
need to be fully aware of this and prepare the work accordingly. One of
the crucial components of this course is the learning of collaboration
and fruitful exchange and dialogue between team members. It is especially
during the executive part of this course that this interaction will carry
vital importance.
<<< top