Bear 71

Alright, so I've posted about interactive filmmaking and storytelling before, but I just found about a really cool interactive online documentary named Bear 71. Done in partnership with Canada's National Film Board, the project debuted at Sundance Film Festival in January 2012.

At the age of 3, 71 was collared with a GPS tracking chip. Directors Jeremy Mendes and Leanne Allison then used trail cameras to record 71 throughout her entire life. Revealing some really interesting things.

The twenty minute 'experience' allows viewers (users?) to follow the bear throughout her entire life in Canada's Banff National Park. You are guided along the bear's path through the park in a video game style. Along the way, you can stop and watch footage collected by the cameras.

It tells a story in an engaging way, making the audience active. It provides context in a non-linear way, making it really really cool.

If you're interested in this story, check out Journey To The End of Coal. It's a make-your-own-story experience that lets you simulate a journalist's experience in China who is doing research on coal mines.

If you want to make one of these, you can try out PopCorn.js. It's a free tool in beta by Mozilla that allows you to create interactive HTML5 videos using a simple timeline interface. I know that I'm interested in making an interactive film, is anyone else? Let me know!

[Related post]

GUI for Processing

In response to Francesca's post here is a little sample of a GUI that can control x parameters by simply feeding the value of the sliders into whatever you need to change. Thanks Anton for integrating Zoog with Handles:-)

For now only the first two slides do something (change the size of the head) but you can download the source, open it in Processing and assign the other sliders to change color, position or whatever you want in your project. For example in the code:

ellipse(300,70, handles[0].length * 2, handles[1].length *2); handles[0] (the first handle) changes the size of the head in the X dimension and handles[1] in the Y

The reason it is multiplied by 2 is simply to extend the range since in the original code the handles are only giving values from 0 to 89 which was too small a change for the head. Experiment with that. Enjoy

Source code: Handles_Control

Real object to 3D Model

We talked about objects in real world mapped to virtual world today. And while browsing I found this 2009 work by someone in University of Cambridge of a fast way to model your object and use the real object to interact with your virtual object..which can be whatever you want..with different textures. For people who want to see the video before the details: here's one on youtube. And here's : link to university for further reading.

BCI System- Second Life

"A research team led by professor Jun'ichi Ushiba of the Keio University Biomedical Engineering Laboratory has developed a BCI system - which stands for brain-computer interface - that lets the user walk an avatar through the virtual world that is Second Life without using mouse, keyboard or any other controller but the power of thought."

I had no idea anyone was doing this. I think I'd need a choice though. I wouldn't mind moving my avatar with my brain signals for awhile so long as I could switch to some sort of body motion detection system. I'd enjoy walking in real life in front of a camera and having my avatar do the same.