Interactive Video - Course Outline

part of Emily Carr Interactive Video - online module

Sessions Outline - brief overview of each session /

isadora_videos - a list of useful video tutorials

DESN-350-SU01: Interactive Video (ONLINE)

Summer Term I (May 11–June 26)

Prerequisite: Completion of 51 credits

We are all getting pretty familiar with live video - using tools such as Skype, Zoom, and Twitch (to name a few) most days. Streaming is the portal through which we access both culture and companionship. We are all broadcasters. In this class, we will explore ways to <hi magenta>engage with video creatively and in real time</hi>, from VJing and video mixing, to chroma keying and camera tracking. We’ll be using both found footage and live video inputs to create generative and moving digital text, graphics and video mixes, live camera environments, and playful interactive applications.

Students will get to grips with <hi magenta>Isadora</hi> (https://troikatronix.com/) - a simple but powerful toolkit for working with real-time and interactive video design. You’ll be introduced to the principles of generative design, systems thinking and interactive design as applied to real-time video. These have applications within the world of environmental graphics (supergraphics / interactive wayfinding), theatre (projection mapping /set design), live music (VJing), broadcast (video mixing) and interactive art.

The course is split into 3 parts:

1. <hi blue>LIVE FEED CAMERA</hi> - using your webcam and screen as a portal
2. <hi blue>GENERATIVE VIDEO</hi> - generative animation and video mixing for performance
3. <hi blue>INTERACTIVE INTERFACES</hi> - exploring camera tracking and interactive systems using your webcam

During this module you will create several small projects that explore different aspects of each theme.

• mac / pc with webcam
• Isadora software + license (1 month = $17.50) https://troikatronix.com/get-it/
  • please install this BEFORE the first session. any problems, contact me - smeech@ecuad.ca
• materials - coloured paper / card / tape / fabric
• BlueJeans and Zoom video conferencing apps

Please refer to the Moodle page for a complete and most updated schedule.

sessions on Wednesdays & Fridays @ 9:00am PST (Vancouver time)

• Week 1 - 13th May / 15th May
• Week 2 - 20th May / 22nd May
• Week 3 - 27th May / 29th May
• Tue 2nd June Mid-term Process Book Due (Moodle Upload / blog link)
• Week 4 - 3rd June / 5th June
• Week 5 - 10th June / 12th June
• Week 6 - 17th June / 19th June
• Week 7 - 24th June / 26th June - realisation week - final presentations
• Mon 29th June Final Process Book Due (Moodle Upload)

• Research 20%
• Process 20%
• Form & Presentation 20%
• Criticality 20%
• Agency 20%
• <hi magenta> Total 100% </hi>

<hi blue>20% Research:</hi> Collecting, identifying and generating information relevant to practice. Investigate and appraise various strategies to gather and generate a broad range of information.

<hi blue>20% Process:</hi> Application of iterative design methodologies in relation to conceptual and formal development. Apply a variety of appropriate methods to test ideas, generate solutions and inform practice.

<hi blue>20% Form and Presentation:</hi> Technical and applied practice in relation to production and presentation of course outcomes. Produce and present final outcomes in well-executed and organized manner, demonstrating appropriate technical skills to an intermediate level of ability.

<hi blue>20% Criticality:</hi> Appraisal of practice and learning in relation to contextual, cultural and sustainable factors. Evaluate thinking and ideas with basic analytical strategies within the context of culture, community and sustainability.

<hi blue>20% Agency:</hi> Engagement with studies and independent responsibility for learning within and beyond class. Exercise problem finding and solution generation within defined challenges or context.

Over the course of the module you will create a process document (format of your choosing, but blog / website is suggested) that details your research and ideas alongside the outcomes of the workshops and exercises conducted over the course of the module. It is advised that you work on the document throughout the semester. At the mid-semester formative evaluation you will be asked to show your progress on the document and will receive feedback on you progress. The final document will be submitted for evaluation at the end of the semester.

The document must contain the following for each project / task:

Reflective statement — two or three paragraphs describing your process, the challenges you faced, how you overcame these challenges and what you learned while working on the project.

Supporting Research — Include all material that you gathered that helped you in making the project. This may take the form of images, articles, essays, quotes, etc.

Ideation Stages — document each stage in your making process. Include initial sketches, test recordings, prototypes and iterations.

Final outcomes - digital files / media — links to Isadora files for completed assignments, with supporting media and documentation. Eg: a zip file or google drive folder containing:

1. YourName-ProjectName-v10.izz (isadora file - WITH COMMENTS)
2. media folder (assets such as video, sound etc)
3. readme.txt file (what do we need to know to make it function?)
4. folder of earlier iterations (isadora files / versions)
5. Video documentation - URL to video / screen recording of the piece being used in context

• Understand the <hi magenta> historical context </hi> of live video as a creative medium, and articulate a critical awareness of how audiences engage with screens and cameras today.

• Be able to articulate the role of design within the context of telepresent audiences and video communication.

• Demonstrate a basic level of competence in <hi magenta> node-based programming </hi>, and the ability to navigate the Isadora interface, along with broader digital 'best practice' skills such as versioning, file-naming protocol and file structures.

• Show a basic grasp* of interactive video design strategies and tools (including <hi magenta> systems thinking </hi>, chromakeying, alpha masks, video mixing, controller, triggers, calibration and scaling) in the conception and build of generative graphics systems and interactive interfaces. *No prior knowledge needed - we are starting at zero!

• Move flexibly between creative thinking (divergent) and technical problem solving (convergent

• Incorporate <hi magenta> play and improvisation </hi> as design methodologies.

• Generate multiple concepts and drafts (<hi magenta>iteration)</hi> to develop design solutions in response to specific technical restrictions, audiences and contexts. Evaluate sketches to inform next steps.

• Show <hi magenta>initiative</hi> in solving creative and technical problems through research (case studies, consulting forums, video tutorials and manuals)