Monday, November 18, 2013

Our Experience Explained: Group 2A

Media Culture 2020 - Liepāja, Latvia

Group 2A
Andrew West
Heather Barral
Rachel Robinson
Samuel van Dijk
Pau Cristòful

Media Culture 2020 brought young creatives together to collaborate and think about media in new ways. The intensive two week program encouraged groups of students to develop concepts, produce designs and finally present this progress. The daily lecture programme encouraged us to think of possibilities and potential for media in the year 2020.

Before arriving in Latvia, students communicated via GoogleDrive and Facebook to analyze MC2020 projects developed in Finland in March 2013. Group 2 analyzed ‘My Guide’, a holographic travel guide to inform the user of a new culture.

After a long journey to Latvia we were welcomed, and wined and dined with our new comrades. The following morning we had the first group plenary sessions, discussing our analysis of ‘My Guide’.



Group 2, Connecting Cultures & My Guide

Our workspace during the week was located at the Art and Design College in Liepaja. A usual working day began at 9.30 and we worked until dinner at around 5.30. The programme of workshops informed and inspired much of our project direction. Lecture content forced us to consider alternatives and group plenaries gave us the necessary feedback to amend our concept, practically.

We wanted create something during MC2020 that would aid communication, using technology as a means but connecting people in a physical way. Group 2 began with 10 students, although managing effective discussion and progress with a group of this size was difficult. Everyone agreed feelings are not a language as such, but can express the essence of human emotion in a way that everyone can understand.

Group 2, Brainstorming

After 3 days of collaboration on ‘Connecting Cultures’ we decided to split the group in half to work more efficiently into 2A and 2B. 2A included Andy, Heather and Rachel from the University of Lincoln, Samuel from Tampere University of Applied Sciences and Pau from the University of Vic.

Lectures and plenaries were useful as a means of receiving feedback from students and tutors, which informed many of our practical and ethical considerations. By the second week, we had decided on brand and installation designs for EQ. iWeek talks & shows began on 3rd November, and MC2020 students presented workshop results on 7th.

[video] Visual Scenario


The process of developing our concept and designing has been exciting and we would like to make our installation in real life! On the whole, MC2020 has taught us new ways to invent, expand our knowledge and networks and increased our global connections. Liepaja has shown a little unforgiving Latvian weather, but a beautiful city and way of life.

We will remain in contact and miss the experience!


FEEDBACK:

The feedback statement to the team presented by René Lansink in the feedback discussion, last day plenary:

Project 1: EQ

The EQ project is focused on mediating emotions between two people using biological data (heartbeat, body temperature, breath rate etc). In a ‘pod’ like installation the users are connected to ‘the system’ which monitors the bio-data and converts it into a visual projection, sound, wind, temperature etc. within the ‘Pod’. The objective of the users is to ‘tune’ into each others emotions and thereby influencing the ‘environment’ in the ‘podlike’ installation. The user experience was visualized using a by a flowchart, a visual scenario and a short movie.

The project group had elaborated profoundly on the concept of using emotion as a universal language. As such it was kind of a research project into this subject with the installation as a preliminary end result. Other user contexts where also suggested in the fields of conflict resolution, medical use or more intimate uses within relationships. Also a portable device and ‘emo-transmission’ over a long distance where suggested.

As a next step, one of these ‘user scenarios’ could be worked out on a deeper level, with a focus on how a particular emotion (anger, fear, joy, lust) is exactly detectable and translated into a sensorial experience.


Summary of comments by other lecturers

The group changed the concept developed on the first edition.
They had almost a philosophical approach to the concept. It was a kind of a research project.
If they had more time, they would have been able to developed new ways of using the technology.
Maybe some more examples were needed; it seemed there was more work done, but the presentation didn't succeed in showing it, although it was a good presentation. 
The art installation is interesting as an example, but the rest of examples were not useful, maybe they needed more description.
The group dynamics was the best part, breaking the big group of ten in two groups of five, was the best decision made.

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