User:AvitalB/thesis/project

Project Proposal

What do I want to make?

In my project I would focus on the online communication platforms, especially the conference talk interface because of its major relevance to our lives nowadays. I want to use the medium of the conference talk as a storytelling device for stories about the purpose it was created for and the issue it presumes to solve: online communication and isolation during the pandemic. I want to create a series of theatrical scenarios, with automated elements, that will use the components of the platform - video, sound, chat, screen sharing, etc. My plan is to create a web based platform that is similar to the conference call interface but will be built for the purpose of storytelling. I imagine it as an online space that contains rooms you can visit, each room presents a different narrative- some of them linear and some abstract. I will base those scenarios on the content I collected and the research I conducted for the past months that includes a journal, interviews, chats with strangers, texts I collected , etc. I intend to use the chat as a place to share texts, links and host a bot that will play the role of a mentor throughout the story. The actual content that will be displayed will be a combination of ready made and self created videos, images, sounds and texts.

How do I plan to make it?

I intend to process my research and create stories from it that I think are interesting to tell, for example: a scenario based on the therapy sessions I do online. To translate it to a conference talk experience I will write scripts (like in theatre, not like python- maybe later) for the different “rooms”. I intend to create fast prototypes using Jisti and test these scripts and scenarios on friends, colleagues or even strangers for feedback. I want to understand early on if I’m going to concentrate on one story or many. Furthermore, I want to test if this way of using a conference talk interface even works or maybe I should expand and find other ways of storytelling. Meanwhile I will continue with my research, generate more content and experiment with visuals and sound as well.

Timetable

November - December

• Continue research and material gathering - journaling, interviews, chats
• Start visual experiments
• Write scripts for stories to prototype
• Testing the scenarios on other people
• Continue prototyping- finding technical possibilities for the project
• Finalise graduate proposal and thesis outline
• First draft of first thesis chapter

January

• From research- defining the narratives I want to focus on
• Prototyping conference talk scenarios
• Testing the scenarios on other people
• Building the platform- understanding what is needed
• Finalizing thesis first chapter

February

• Continue research and material gathering - journaling, interviews, chats and visual experiments
• Process the research, decide what I want to use
• Finalizing narratives
• Testing the narratives on others (you could do that in an earlier stage as well, even if it would be a mockup)
• According to narratives collecting/ making visuals- videos, creative coding, etc.
• Website general structure and appearance
• First draft of thesis

March

• Constructing “rooms” according to narratives
• According to narratives collecting/ making visuals- videos, creative coding, etc.
• Decide which texts I’m using, finalize texts
• Testing “rooms” on people- are they usable?
• Finalizing thesis second draft

April

• Finalizing thesis
• Putting the rooms together, finalize rooms
• Finalizing general ebsite structure

May

• Final touches
• Preparing presentation

June

• Work on graduation show

Why do I want to make it?

My research is a quest of finding the influences of the pandemic on our communication. The interface that stood up the most was the conference talk. In the pandemic it introduced new scenarios: online birthday parties, therapy sessions, family dinners, etc. Even with one on one conversations, the structure and availability of this platform made us engage with each other in different ways. I recognize both negative and positive effects of this way of communicating on our lives. Technical, ethical, privacy and control issues often come up. In my project I want to respond to these issues and use the medium in different interesting ways that will stretch the limits of online space and explore our online human interactions. I think it is important to find different creative ways to use the interface, experiment and manipulate it, so we can reflect on it: why is it built the way it is? Who made it? How does it affect us? My project will present specific scenarios that will address the larger context. I feel that our relationship with communication platforms has a connection with our interpersonal relationships. We use it a lot at the moment and it has social, psychological and emotional effects that are evident, for example: how tiring it is to socially engage through the screen (also called “zoom fatigue”). I want to contribute to the conversation about our online space drawing from my and others personal experience at this time. I want my work to be critical but not judgemental. I hope my work will resonate with people's thoughts and feelings and that they will find it relevant for them.

Who can help me?

I think Michael and Manetta can help me with technical and conceptual issues. I think I will need help with creating the content as well, maybe I need somebody that has a theatre background but I don't have somebody yet (need to do more research). I think Clara Balaguer can help me with the writing as well. I would love to talk to Nishant Shah since I saw him last year at the Impakt Festival. I am interested in the work of Olia Lialina as well but not sure if it relates. In general I find that talking about the project as much as I can with pears and tutors helps me a lot.

Relation to previous practice

Draft