Month: November 2019

During my research into Virtual Reality this week, I learned a lot about how educational the resource can be when utilized correctly. For some background into the field, Virtual Reality has actually existed since the 1950’s when Morton Heilig created this room called a Sensorama – basically a movie theatre that utilized all five senses. Later in the 60’s a professor at MIT would make the first VR helmet that we think of today, with the awesome name “The Sword of Damocles” (even though it was technically too heavy to wear on its own and had to be hung from the ceiling). The idea gained popularity and even groups like NASA began to experiment with virtual reality, although most were basic approximations because the technology of the 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s (with the beautiful mess that is Nintendo’s Virtual Boy) was simply not there yet to recreate a true sense of “reality.”

By the mid 80’s and 90’s virtual reality had been picked up by smaller groups who all thought they could do it better, in particular video game companies who thought they could revolutionize how we game. Needless to say they were all terrible. My favorite particularly bad headset was Nintendo’s Virtual Boy, which used only blinding red LED lights in a sort of “virtual depth” experience theorized to cause migraines and lazy eyes in children. On top of all that it still used a controller and was stationary, so not exactly the virtual reality they were advertising it to be. I include this as a note to myself on what Not to do in my game – don’t make a game that’s physically hard to look at, don’t rush out a product, and don’t make something that no one wants.

Today the website Virtual Reality For Education collects articles about the multitude of ways Virtual Reality can stimulate our learning experiences, from teaching about natural disasters by putting the player in the middle of tornado touchdown to training public speaking skills by placing the player in an professional office setting (http://virtualrealityforeducation.com/). It can be used by medical students or professionals to study human anatomy hands on and to scale rather than reading about it in a textbook, or help autistic children learn in a ways catered to their specific needs. The versatility and usability of VR has bloomed in the last decade, but when it comes to its application as a game console the same can’t be said. While some like the Oculus Rift have been popular, they’re still not mainstream due to high prices and lack of a larger game library. Therefore, the application of virtual reality as an educational device is what my project should focus on to be the most successful it can be. While I’m still making a game, the cryptid museum will educate and thereby lean into what makes VR worth the time to implement. Further, by knowing the past of VR we can peer into its future – it’s obvious humans are entranced by virtual reality and its a concept we’ve returned to over the past seven decades. I don’t see it going out of interest any time soon, especially not as technology develops exponentially closer to our concept of “reality.” Maybe VR is not in its prime yet and its technology still needs a decade or two to refine itself, but smaller niche studies have tapped into its potential as a way to relearn reality. Hopefully the use of virtual reality in my cryptid museum can allow the player, even for just a minute or two, to relearn their reality.

Chance Gayles  

IMM 498 

November 4th, 2018 

Research Update 2  

This week I did an architectural study of Tokyo and some of its encompassing prefectures as I desire to base my project’s setting in this area. The areas I visited and photographed include Shibuya-ku, Harajuku, Shimo-Kitazawa, Akihabara, and Ikebukuro. Looking closer I found that city architecture (especially Tokyo’s) is extremely complicated. For example, I noticed that often there are certain shops that are located either below or in between other bigger shops that are easy to miss if you aren’t vigilant. There is also definitely a cultural difference between the main streets of Shibuya and the hidden side streets as each one can have a different feel and different architectural look. I feel that each side street had it’s own personality and audience which was something I was not expecting at all. 

 The way manga and Intellectual properties are marketed within Japan is astounding. You can find characters from various series and franchises on a variety of items and objects. From small stationery to T-shirts and merchandise to large trucks driving through cities, the methods of how these properties are marketed is vast. Some franchises like pokemon can transcend age gaps and market a massive variety of products. I visited every major pokemon center in Tokyo and found every last one to be extremely filled with people from all age groups buying merchandise such as pins, T-shirts, trading cards, and plushies. The best idea I got from this was possibly adding pins and art cards to my project list for next semester. 

Harajuku in Shibuya was easily one of my favorite locations as it considered to be a center of fashion and youth which turned out to be true. You can find many shops that sell higher-end clothing along Omotesando Avenue, along with hypebeast and hypebeast-Esque brand shops along Takeshita Street. Along Takeshita Street, you can also see lots of youth in their trendiest and most unique outfits which was the highlight of the study for me. Shops here are usually multi-leveled and sell pieces for around 6,000 JPY to 25,000 JPY (around 55 USD – 240 USD respectively). While in Shibuya I also discovered “fruits” magazine, which takes a look at Harajuku street fashion. I hope to use this publication for a good chunk as aesthetic-related research.        

I’ve been learning a bit more about the size of the video industry and what is currently happening with video in general. In designing the idea that I had for the LLC I found that I was missing statistics. This came when I was in my class for media entrepreneurship. In this class we have been learning about different types of businesses, how they operate, and where they get their funding. In learning about funding I realized that having investment opportunity is always a possibility down the line. Then I thought that If I were to try to get investments tomorrow, what statistics or data would I use to get someone’s interest? I decided that I would look to the current state of small businesses and the video industry. Because these are my two main topics I want to learn as much as I can about both. I learned that there are over 800,000 small businesses in New Jersey alone. In my reading I found that that there is a high percentage of small businesses who lack social media, and content. This coupled with what I have learned about video leads me to believe this is a viable business opportunity. From what I read this week I gathered that the video industry has been growing the past few years. I learned that spending on video ads has gone up tremendously and is projected to continue growing over the coming years. In general, video is becoming more popular, with some statistics stating that 45 percent of people watch more than an hour of videos on Facebook or YouTube every week. Also, one third of online activity is watching video. Next, 81 percent of businesses use video as a marketing tool. Lastly, one of the most important statistics I have found is that mobile video consumption rises by about 100 percent every year. This data says a few things about marketing, business ownership, and video. It shows a direct correlation between having video content, and the success of a business. It seems that businesses that aren’t using video to advertise and have no video content are not succeeding, and businesses that do produce video content and market video are succeeding. I would say that the reason for this is seen in the consumption of video. The stat mentioned above shows that people are watching more on their phones than they used to. The way we use our phones and social media has dramatically changed over the past few years with the introduction of “unlimited data” and more access to the internet. Now people can stream video on their phones seamlessly wherever they go. What all this means to me is that video is growing and now is a good time to get involved in it in one way or another.

This past week I have been looking over two similar but entirely different Imagineer focused books as well as listening to the “Imagineer Podcast,” all of which I have found to be incredibly inspiring material. When
I originally dreamed up my water screen project, the frame of the screen was just a necessary piece of the puzzle but secondary to the actual film
I planned to project onto the screen. After completing this weeks research I realized how every piece of the puzzle is equally important. What makes an Imagineer an Imagineer is that not one detail in the storyline is lost. What makes Disney World a World rather than a simple theme park is the storytelling at every angle. I remember a specific scenario pointed out in one of the Imagineer books where the author mentions the Disney Cruise Line and the entire pool area was built to tell a story about Donald and his three nephews. It was observing this type of attention to detail that caused me to want to push my project into more of a full room type experience. I plan to incorporate objects into the room such as a 5 galloon jerrycan (what residents living in Swaziland have to carry whenever they set out to get water) and leaving out a water bottle filled with dirty water to push the Thirst Projects “Dirty Little Secret” Campaign. I have also considered researching patterns that are relative to the water crisis and using the laser cutter to burn them into my water screen frame.

Another type of research I experienced this week was conversational with Professor Lorna Frizell in the Communications Department. Professor Frizell and I talked through my project for at least an hour. I had always thought my film would be completely documentary style but Professor Frizell offered a different idea where the video is taking place in a future world without any access to clean water. I suddenly imagined a new film where I tie to the two worlds together. I begin the film with a post clean-water world and open with an introduction to how awful this type of world would be (to what lengths will people go to access clean water?) and later on transition to where we are now and how this is where we could end up if we don’t do something. I plan to use some statistical graphics as well as morph comparison shots between here/places like Swaziland to emphasize the need for action. For example, I think beginning a shot with someone living in the United States splashing some water in their face to wake up fading into a shot of someone sifting through orange waters to try to find a clean area would be extremely powerful. Professor Frizell also opened my mind to the Flint Michigan water crisis and helped me realize that this is an issue that is currently growing at a rapid pace not just outside our country but also fairly close.

Lastly, I completed some on field research when I received wood shop training with Andy on the bottom floor of the AIMM building. I had the opportunity to use each machine in our wood shop while training and have spoken with Andy about using the area to work on my frame for the next few weeks.

Long way to go but progress is progress !

This week’s research updates will overlap a bit with my Industry Event post, since I’ve been reflecting on my visit to the Jim Henson exhibition and how it has helped in my process. Find that post here.

I’ve continued working on my prototype for next week, which will be finished as soon as my sewing machine gets delivered! Since it’s about 2 hours from being finished, here’s my takeaway from my prototype puppet:

1. Take time with the details. I made the decision to “rush” through this prototype puppet to make mistakes and figure out where I was ASAP. (It was also good for my usual perfectionist self to just get through something and learn from mistakes.) I stand by this decision! But I definitely want to be a lot more painstaking in the character puppets. For example, making seams line up on the neck, body, and arms, and making sure facial features are on symmetrically.
2. Roll with the changes. I talked about this a little bit in my last post, but I’ve struggled with being nervous that my puppets won’t look like what I pictured in my head. My prototype hasn’t ended up exactly what I pictured either (not for better or worse, just different). Truth is, it’s my first time working with puppets and I’ll have a hard time imagining results within the realm of reality. So I need to be prepared to roll with the changes in the designs based around the materials and skills I have available.

As I discussed at the end of my Industry Events post, I’ve been researching to further define the themes and tone of my show before I totally finalize the script. I was inspired by this sheet I saw at the Jim Henson exhibition to make a list of all the themes and adjectives to describe my show. I expanded it further to describe the two main characters, since I’ve found that creating unique, flawed characters is a huge part of the children’s shows I’m modeling my show after (Sesame Street, The Muppets, Nick/Cartoon Network shows I mentioned in my research plan). Find this sheet below!