I am delighted to report that Sacher Creative is expanding and looking for qualified Experience Designers & Programmers. Current and future projects include interactive theme park attractions and museum installations in the United States and abroad. Please forward resumes to sachercreative@earthlink.net if you or anyone you recommend is interested in full or part time work.

The documentary filmmaker Errol Morris inspired the production process on my thesis project. I had the opportunity to emulate his "Interotron" interview setup, thanks to Red Toboggan Entertainment, and learned many things about first person POV and how it may be incorporated into Technophiles Anonymous (details will be included in my final paper).

Photos by Andrew and Brad

Sale Away was commissioned by the European Media Art Festival for the EMAF festival in Osnabrueck, 2004. The piece was installed in a popular shopping street in Osnabrueck and was designed to actively engage passers-by otherwise absorbed in looking at things for sale, at themselves and at others. Sale Away invited people to play and play with a complex mechanical sound orchestra installed in a shop front using their mobile phones.

The mechanical orchestra consisted of vacuum cleaners playing flute, organ and brass, rattling kitchen mixers, buzzing ventilators, radio playing toy trains, wobbling jigsaws, dancing tumble dryers, humming refrigerators and other appropriated household utilities which might normally be found in a store window. A man-sized refrigerator served as the conductor and explanatory interface for the sound orchestra. In order to start the orchestra and wake up the shop window, passers-by dialed into a system whose number and basic commands were posted on the window. This call opened the door of the fridge, revealing a “mobile-phone robot person" created by Erik Kriek. The robot offered guidelines for interaction and invites the passer-by to “play” the orchestra through their phone. This installation was later shown at the Tschumipavijloen in Groningen 2004 and at the CultuurNacht /oude Stroom gebouw Den haag 23 till 24 Septermber 2005.

Link to Artist's Website

Thesis Presentation on April 10th, 2006 from 6:00 PM

Intro/Concept:
• The Technophiles Anonymous Experience.
• Target Audience.
• Project Motivation.
- Changing social patterns with pervasive personal technologies.
- Blurring the line with counterfeit reality.
- Entertaining with interactive satirical comedy.
- Creative & Educational recombinants.

Project Research, Development, and Implementation:
• Content Research
- Personality tests
- Researching media consumption & addiction
- Branching Narrative
- Defining the Archetypes
• GUI and immersive design
- The evolution of an interface
- A&B content
- Building the immersive box
• Paper testing and Feedback
- Script Cards communicate to all
- Project Updates
• Scheduling and Building a team
- Project Milestones
- Responding to a dynamic process
• 2 Production and Authoring Tools
- Flash & Max/MSP compete
- Choosing the right combination
• Giving Life to an Interactive Animated Character
- TADO design
- Animated Story boards
- Facial Gesture Matrix & triggers
• Casting and first person documentary production
- Errol Morris Technique
• Construction and Exhibition

Project Summary:
• Lessons Learned
• Just the beginning…

I have the pleasure and honor of having Larry Gertz as one of my official thesis advisors. Larry was my boss @ Imagineering for many years and continues to be an important career mentor.

BIOGRAPHY: Larry Gertz has played a major role in managing and creative directing museum exhibits and shows, theme park attractions, location-based entertainment, and films. Three years ago, Larry left his 20-year stint at Walt Disney Imagineering where he was Creative Vice President and Executive Producer for the Epcot themepark at Walt Disney World as well as managing creative development for all Walt Disney Imagineering worldwide parks and resorts corporate partnerships. Larry was also executive producer and creative director for Disney’s first interactive themepark, DisneyQuest, in Chicago and Orlando Florida. Since leaving Disney, Larry has produced The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (above) in Seattle Washington, sponsored by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen and he has developed a Ghirardelli Chocolate Manufactory Tour and Museum in San Francisco. Larry is currently opening a major interactive exhibit about the history and future of advertising, located at The New York Public Library. Larry consults extensively in both the museum and entertainment industries in interactive and virtual environment media design.

ABOVE is what's "under the hood" for thesis Base Produciton with MAX/MSP...

BELOW is Base production for FLASH 8, with over 1200 lines of XML code, but who's counting?

Jerry C. recently joined my thesis project team to help fabricate the final Technophiles Anonymous installation. It is an honor and blessing to have the help of a seasoned craftsman and professional on the team. From the first day that we met, Jerry asked all the right questions and gave me complete confidence in his skills and tallents. Thanks to Jerry, I’ve been able to focus on other pressing aspects/components of my thesis project.

Here is a new diagram that addresses some of the issues discussed last night in class, a looped circulation path, etc. This configuration also gives Kellee and Jenova the opportunity to "link" their exhibits.

EXHIBIT SPACE:

10’W x 15’L x 15’H space (minimum) with solid level floor and adjacent 15' curtain walls on 3 sides (see diagram above) furnished by IMD. The booth (supplied by student) will be approximately 4’W x6’L x10’H.
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DVD Player and Projector with IR remote (located on top/above of booth) furnished by IMD.
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8’x 6’ Projection Screen (suspended or wall mounted) furnished by IMD.
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AC Power and Theatrical Lighting with adjustable focus, assorted colored gels, individual level adjustment, and 3 overhead locations furnished by IMD.
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Ambient noise reduction acoustics, including exhibit carpeting, furnished by IMD.

BOOTH EQUIPMENT:

(1) G5 Power Mac running OSX, MAX/MSP, Flash, and QuickTime supplied by IMD.
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(1) 40" LCD flat panel monitor supplied by student.
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(1) Sound speakers & woofer supplied by IMD and microphone supplied by student
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See "Specs & Scope" document for complete list of items supplied by IMD or student.

The StressEraser is a new product featured in the Wired Magazine Gadget Labs, which received a 9 out of 10 rating. It is designed for people with high blood pressure, type-A personalities, deadline driven jobs (or school), etc. The manufacturer Helicor claims their product responds to physical, mental and/or emotional stress through variations and patterns in Vagus nerve activity and pulse. The unit monitors these signals and tells you when to inhale and exhale; similar to a private yoga instructor (see the StressEraser website for further details). If it does what it claims, the StressEraser seems like a good product for MFA students!

I spent most of my time at CES listening and schmoozing in the "Mobile Media" and "Digital Hollywood" seminars. However one company that got my attention, within the 1.6 million square feet of exhibits, was Sling Media. Their premier product SlingBox allows you to watch all of your media, including cable, satellite, and/or DVR, "anywhere-anytime" from the Internet. This clever and inexpensive gadget avoids unnecessary fees and DRM issues. Now there is no excuse to miss an episode of Jerry Springer again (assuming you have a job).

"With more than 150,000 attendees from 110 countries witnessing the introduction of thousands of new products and technologies from more than 2,500 exhibitors, the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) lived up to its billing as the world’s largest technology tradeshow. The show floor was packed with global executives from the consumer technology, broadcasting, cable, content, engineering, financial, motion picture, music and numerous other industries who converged in Las Vegas over the last four days."

"The show featured a broad array of exciting product and exhibitor announcements, many of which provide consumers with unprecedented control over when, where and how they watch movies, listen to music, view their digital photos and access information, education and entertainment content (Above - Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman & CEO, Sony Corp., discusses the upcoming movie "The Da Vinci Code" with key players Actor Tom Hanks, Director Ron Howard and Producer Brian Grazer at the opening keynote for the 2006 International CES)."

Question: What was the hottest topic @ CES?
Answer: DRM (Digital Rights Management)!

LINK to CES website