adelmootranto – Page 15

Arch-OS.

adelmootranto Projects 20/01/200513/10/2022Arch-OS, Architecture, BMS, Building, model, Portland Square

07/2005:

Arch-OS constructs a ‘virtual’ architecture from the dynamic activities that take place within the Portland Square Development. Arch-OS uses a range of embedded technologies to capture audio-visual and raw digital data from the building through: the Building Management System; its computer and communications networks; the flow of people within it; changing noise levels; weather, light and temperature changes. This vibrant data is then manipulated (using computer simulation, visualisation and audio technologies) and replayed through projection systems incorporated into the architecture and broadcast using streaming internet technologies. https://arch-os.com/

Applause SW

adelmootranto Projects 20/09/200213/04/2020Archive, City Museum, Digitisation, Media, NOF, Theatre Royal, TSW

Applause South West is a New Opportunities Fund Digitisation project with Plymouth Library and Information Service, i-DAT, Theatre Royal, TSW Film &Television Archive, Plymouth Learning Links, the City Museum and Plymouth and West Devon Record Office. Archives hidden in rarely used collections and materials that are too fragile to be handled are being digitally archived by the project, which also provides access to virtual tours of long lost South West theatres, production diaries and documentation, and interactive exploration of theatre artefacts. The project provides rich opportunity to explores the manipulation of digital objects within online environments and their distribution across a range of media formats and data systems. Now hosted by Plymouth City Council.
2002

Catalogue

adelmootranto Projects 20/06/200213/04/2020Arts Council of England, National Architecture Week, Plymouth Arts Centre

06/2002:

The Catalogue show opens at the start of National Architecture Week on June 22nd 2002 at the Plymouth Arts Centre. It features the work of seven artists, academics and architects all of whom are invited to show their work within the framework of the exhibition. The show and its educational project have been kindly supported by the Arts Council of England, i-DAT and the Plymouth Arts Centre. The concept of the show is a simple one; turn the gallery into a reference Catalogue for the public to further access pieces of work that raise questions about the nature of our relationship with interior design and architectural space.

Original HTML website can be found here: https://i-dat.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/oldi-DATprojects/catalogue/index.html

i+DATA – Instituting Data Exposition

adelmootranto Projects 21/04/200213/04/2020Data, Digital, Exposition, production, workshop

[i+DAT[A]: Instituting Data Exposition]

[Tuesday 9 to Saturday 13 April 2002]

[i-DAT, University of Plymouth, UK]

Original html website can be found here: https://i-dat.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/oldi-DATprojects/idata/index.html

i+DAT[A]: Instituting Data Exposition PDF

Title: i+DAT[A]: Instituting Data Exposition

Dates: Tuesday 9 to Saturday 13 April 2002

Location: i-DAT, University of Plymouth, UK

Email: @i-dat.org

Subject: i+DAT[A] exposes the ways in which data is instituted in a variety of contexts, de-fragmenting issues related to the production, control and distribution of digital media across the cultural industries.

The i+DAT[A] Exposition seeks to de-fragment practices and digital activities across the public and private sectors that define the cultural industries within the South West region and beyond. Partitioned into a series of seminars, practical workshops, presentations and screenings, the exposition provides a rich environment for focused critical discussion on the future of digital media.

i+DAT[A]’s week of events leads up to the Instituting Data Conference on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 April. This is an international conference, which is linked to the Hybrid Discourse series of events, which seeks to address the currency of the term “cultural industry” in the light of current changes in cultural production under the new economic conditions of networked societies. Both the Hybrid series and the Exposition facilitate a radical critique across diverse fields of cultural practice addressing the ways in which data is instituted (institutionally organised).

The production of digital media content has radically transformed the computing, communications and media industries. The impact on the users of these technologies has been far more acute. Educators and trainers, artists and architects, publishers and broadcasters, curators and archivists, are all faced with new digital opportunities to transform their professional practice. All too rapidly these opportunities manifest themselves as critical problems – that engage legal, technical, managerial, cultural and editorial issues. Even when standards and codes of practice appear to provide a sense of stability, digital data is by its nature unstable and technological innovation threatens to disorientate and fragment any coherent strategies. Through a rigorous engagement with these issues the i+DAT[A] Exposition will help optimise your digital activities.

i+DAT[A] maps a common digital territory that underpins a range of institutions and provides a critical and supportive environment where professionals from across the cultural industries can reflect on the impact of digital data. i-DAT[A] tests old models and provides new perspectives from which to view your practices and the ways in which data is instituted.

i+DAT[A] is organised by i-DAT, the Institute of Digital Art and Technology at the University of Plymouth, a new organisation engaged in the production and distribution of digital media with a broad cultural remit across the fields of art, industry and education. The Institute of Digital Art and Technology aims to be an internationally recognised Institute dedicated to exploring innovative applications of digital technology and associated emergent practices through intensive collaborations with industry, the arts and science. Through a dynamic integration of science, technology and art, i-DAT creates a platform for the exploration and dissemination of contemporary cultural production using digital technologies. Operating on a trans-disciplinary basis, i-DAT provides rich resources for research, development, ‘publishing’, education and training, forming a laboratory for artists and creative professionals to explore this new territory.

Central to the mission of the Institute will be the economic, educational and creative benefits to the South West region through effective collaboration between partner academic institutions and the private and public sectors. From an economic perspective, the Institute acts as a catalyst for the creation of a vibrant digital media economy. Educationally and creatively, the Institute has, uniquely, a broad remit, which embraces both the digital arts and core technological aspects of the emerging digital media.

Partition Formats:

The Exposition is partitioned into several areas of interest, each of which is aimed at a particular target audience. However, the structure of the Exposition is designed to encourage participants to engage with sessions that offer a complimentary or parallel perspective on relevant digital issues. The intention is to encourage a de-fragmentation of digital knowledge and expertise.

All events have limited spaces and must be reserved in advance on a first come first serve basis. As a requirement of the European Social Fund all participants are asked to complete an ESF beneficiary form.

Conferences: Discreet conference sessions which engage with critical digital debates and knowledge exchange. These include: Digital Archiving / Public-Private Sector Digital Support / e-Learning / Digital Rights / Digital Publishing-Broadcasting / Generative Media / Curatorial Practices / Institutional Practices. Conference sessions take place daily usually in two simultaneous streams, in the Sherwell Centre on the University of Plymouth Campus.

Seminars: i+DAT[A] will host seminar and breakaway sessions from the main i+DAT[A] partitions. These include: Digital Networks for the Arts and Industry / Digital Curation, a regional perspective / Digital Rights and Intellectual Property in the Digital Age. These are being timetabled around the main conference sessions. Timings and locations will be announced on the i+DAT[A] website.

Workshops: Practical digital media workshops that cater for the conference sessions target audiences and initiate a regional collaborative digital production network. Workshops take place in the Babbage Building New Media Studios. A workshop fee of £20 per person will be charged.

Software available for exploration within the workshops include: Interactive Authoring: [Macromedia Flash, Director, Roxio Toast]: Image: [Freehand, Adobe Photoshop]: Web: [Dreamweaver, Java, CGI, Perl, BBEdit]. Audio: [SoundEdit, Emagic Logic Audio, Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, Acid]. Video: [Sorenson Broadcaster, Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Apple QuickTime Pro, Apple QuickTime VR Authoring Studio, Terran Cleaner]. 3D: [Kinetix 3D Studio Max, Cosmo Worlds VRML Builder].

Screenings: Evening sessions will be used for the screening and performance of digital works. A performance will follow the Generative Media conference (Thursday evening) and screenings follow the Curatorial Practices conference (Friday evening).

Exhibition: The foyer of the Sherwell Hall Conference Centre will host a number of digital events and commercial stands. Exhibitors include Submerge and MLA#2. Companies and organisations wishing to use the venue to tie into specific conference sessions should contact the Exposition organisers contact@i-dat.org or through the Exposition booking form.

Casts: The conference and evening sessions will be webcast and incorporate a number of online access points. For further details see the i+DAT[A] website:

www.i-dat.org/projects/idata

The i+DAT[A] Exposition programme may be subject to change without further notice. For up to date details on i+DAT[A] speakers, timetable and booking forms please see:

www.i-dat.org/projects/idata or Tel: (01752) 232560 or Email: contact@i-dat.org.

i+DAT[A] Exposition:

Tuesday: 09/04/02

Stream1: Digital Archive: 1.30-5.00 PM: Sherwell Centre.

This conference will present a number of digital archiving case studies and will explore the critical issues related to digital archiving practices and institutions, maintenance and future proofing, media formats, legal issues. Digital Archiving is revolutionising the activities of libraries and museums, offering new potential for greater access but also creating a range of concerns for coherent standards. This session draws on the expertise of organisations currently involved in establishing standards and practices that will define the future of our digital past.

Digital Archive Speakers: ARKive Project [Hewlett Packard] / Chris Clarke [National Sound Archive] / MODEL – [i-DAT+REALL+inIVA/V&A Museum- Artefact Project] / Patrick Russell [BFI].

Stream 2: Digital Interface: Public-Private Sector Futures. 1.30-5.00 PM: Sherwell Centre.

The Interface conference presents an opportunity for organisations developing parallel policies and practices in digital media across the South West region to present, discuss and reflect on policy, provision, infrastructure, and strategies for a shared digital future. Presenters are drawn from across the public and private sector support organisations for education, industry, arts and media. This is a unique occasion to map out opportunities [for funding, regional and national policies and potential cross disciplinary collaborations] across the emerging digital landscape.

Digital Interface Speakers include representatives from: South West Arts / Smart South West / Higher Education Regional Development Association – South West / South West Screen / Chair: Julian Beer [SRRU, UoP].

Workshop: Babbage New Media Studios.

Remote Access Workshop #1: Babbage New Media Studios. Running from Tuesday to Thursday the Digital Media Production Workshops initiate the Remote Access Network. These workshops will generate a network of practitioners wishing to share their particular skills and work collaboratively on new media projects. The intention is to develop a programme which will generate and strengthen a network that will become an organisation /network /collective in its own right.

Wednesday: 10/04/02

Stream1: Digital Knowledge: e-learning. 1.30-5.00 PM: Sherwell Centre.

Digital Knowledge explores current and future developments in digital learning environments from educational, technical and experimental perspectives. Speakers are drawn from a diverse range of backgrounds, each presenting a specific educational, technological or audience perspective on the fragmented field of digital learning. In an era where there is too much data to be processed into information, where information is seldom transformed into knowledge, and where knowledge is too often a substitute for wisdom, the e-Learning session examines the aspirations of educators and trainers exploring digital content and delivery systems. e-Learning Speakers include: Dr. Victoria de Rijke, Principal Lecturer and Rebbeca Sinker, Senior Research Fellow [DARE to Quack: Middlesex University + inIVA] / Neil Mcfadden [Orange Group Ltd] / Sybille Mansfield-Schiffmann [e-Learning Consultant] / Mike Phillips [i-DAT] / [Additional speakers tbc].

Stream2: Digital Rights: Intellectual Property and Media Law. 1.30-5.00 PM. Sherwell Centre.

This session will present legal perspectives on the impact of digital media and digital distribution systems on individual and corporate ownership of artistic and literary copyright, licensing, data protection and other media rights. The session will include case studies that explore the impact of media law on the digital domain, and conversely, the impact innovations in digital media are making on the future evolution of media law. In an area that is fraught with problems pertinent to small to medium size companies, as well the activities of individuals, this session will help map out a territory littered with digital/ legal mine fields.

Digital Rights speakers include: Andy Finney [ATSF] / Gary McKay [Bevan Ashcroft] / [BPI- British Phonographic Society] / Hugo de Rijke [i-DAT] / [Additional speakers tbc].

Workshops: Babbage New Media Studios.

#1: Remote Access Workshop #1+2.

#2: Digital Archiving Workshop: 10AM Start:

The Digital Archiving workshop provides a hands-on exploration of digital archiving processes. A variety of technologies will be explored for the capturing and formatting of digital assets from a range of source material. The workshop: Babbage New Media Studios.

Thursday: 11/04/02

Stream 1: Digital Publishing/Broadcasting: 10.00 AM – 5.00PM: Sherwell Centre.

One of the most important factors in the collapse of ‘multimedia publishing’ in the 90’s was the dominant mind set that defined the look and feel of products with a dogged determination to adhere to traditional media forms and production practices. Shovelling ‘book’ content onto the computer screen resulted in a surfeit of graphical interfaces with pseudo-metaphors for front ends. Unable to make the dimensional leap through the 3^rd dimension (apart from superficial 3D menu buttons), towards the 4th (the domain of film and video), and finally the 5th dimension of interaction, the New Media industry all but collapsed under the gravitational pressures of a 2 dimensional mentality. Fortunately On-Line technologies now offer a second chance for a digital redemption. This conference explores issues that surround the successful and appropriate design, production, management and delivery of ‘digital media’. The focus is on the potential for the emergence of a truly ‘transmedia’ dissemination form that redefines traditional models of ‘publishing’ and ‘broadcasting’.

Speakers include: Macromedia / BBC (tbc) / OKSO / Two Four Productions / Northcliffe Group (tbc) / The Liquid Press / Andy Williamson [Peakviewing Transatlantic] / Chair: Mic Cady [New Media Consultant].

Stream 2: Generative Media: 2.00 – 5.00PM: Sherwell Centre.

Generative media is a term given to work usually (although not exclusively) automated by the use of a machine or computer, or by using instructions to define the rules by which the artwork is executed. After the initial parameters have been set by an artist-programmer the process of production is unsupervised, self-organising and ‘live’. Work literally ‘grows’ autonomously, according to the innate properties of the chosen technology or the particular circumstances in which the instructions are carried out.

Alex Mclean [state51] / Joanna Walsh [zooleika] / Adrian Ward [signwave] will demonstrate creative possibilities for generative media, with a focus on issues related to creative autonomy and the emerging figure of the artist-programmer. Tom Trevor [Spacex Gallery] and Tina Sotiriadi [i-DAT] will talk about two art projects that engage these ideas – ‘Generator’ and ‘Vivaria’. Jon Pettigrew [Maxus] will present his generative film prototype that builds upon his earlier work as co-founder of KOAN. Geoff Cox [i-DAT] will chair and introduce the event. This seminar is programmed in association with eu-gene mail-list (http://www.generative.net) where

discussion may continue. This event also acts as pre-publicity for the touring exhibition *Generator*, Spacex gallery, 1 May – 22 June 2002, supported by The Arts Council of England (Collaborations Unit). *Vivaria* is at a research and development stage, and is also funded by the Arts Council of England (New Media Fund).

Workshops: Babbage New Media Studios.

1: Remote Access Workshop #2

2: e-Learning Workshop: In collaboration with The Orange Group Ltd.

The e-Learning Workshop explores the creation and development of digital learning environments. Issues of planning, design and re-usability are explored through a hands-on practical workshop that responds to the needs of participants.

Who is it for?: Organisations wishing to integrate a learning or training activity into their work environment and educators wishing to transfer their teaching and training skills to OnLine or OffLine (CDROM/HD) environments.

Generative Performance: 6.00PM> Sherwell Centre: The Generative Media event will be followed by performances of generative music by Slub and Limbomedia.

Friday: 12/04/02.

Curatorial Practices (in association with MUTE): 2.00-6.00PM: Sherwell Centre.

Based on the Frankfurt School’s concept of the culture industry, this session will investigate the diverse models of curatorial practice that facilitate production, distribution and dissemination of new media works. Set within a wider context of the current cultural economy this session examines interrelationships between artistic programming, varied sources of funding, audience development and participation, local and non-local community development, social infrastructure and cultural policy.

Speakers: Olia Lialina [Professor of Merz Academie, Stuttgart] / Violetta Kutlubasis-Krajewska & Piotr Krajewski [WRO Centre for Media Art, Poland] / Sarah Cook [Canada/UK, University of Sunderland] / Chair: Joasia Krysa [i-DAT] & Lina Dzuverovic-Russell [MUTE].

Workshops: Babbage New Media Studios.

1: Digital Publishing/ Broadcasting: 10.00AM Start: In collaboration with the Liquid Press and limbomedia.

Following on from the Digital Publishing / Broadcasting session this workshop explores some of the practical issues of transmedia content generation and dissemination. This workshop is designed to give participants the skills necessary to create interactive elements for use on CD-ROM or the web and for output to stable media forms such as journals and books. Server side environments are also explored for streaming media and integrated online environments. The workshop has a flexible format and will respond to issues and skill needs raised by participants.

Who is it for?: Organisations and individual new media practitioners interested in exploring digital dissemination activities that might not conform to standard website and CDROM design environments.

2: Generative Media Workshop: 10.00AM Start: In collaboration with limbomedia.

Following on from the Generative Media sessions the Generative Media Workshop allows participants to explore the development of generative systems using a range of media and software for OnLine or OffLine (CDROM/HD) environments. Previous experience of authoring environments would be helpful, although a range of models will be available for modification and mutilation. The workshop will explore audio and visual media formats.

Who is it for?: Organisations and individual new media practitioners interested in exploring generative systems for OnLine or OffLine (CDROM/HD) environments.

Screening: 6.00PM>: Sherwell Centre.

Screening of digital archive material from the WRO Centre for Media Art, Poland.

DataSpace zero-g: Yuri’s Night Celebration / Discussion: 6.00PM-late: Plymouth Arts Centre.

On the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first human flight into space, i-DAT and Plymouth Arts Centre hosts a Yuri’s Night Celebration. Looking to the future of gravityless art and other cosmic investigations, participants and space-artists will explore possibilities through chatshow style discussion, installations, and celebratory fun.

As part of a global Space party (http://www.yurisnight.net), the DataSpace discussion will explore conjunctions of transcultural and progressive practices, creating strategies for artists to infiltrate space industry technologies such as microgravity simulations / Chair: Lorelei Lisowsky [i-DAT].

Saturday: 13/04/02.

Institutional Practices: 10.00AM-6.00PM: Sherwell Centre.

#1.Models: 10.00AM:

This session will examine different models of media art institutions that promote and disseminate digital technologies and their modus operandi: their structure, management, funding, programming, production and dissemination, audience development and future strategies for development. Issues to be addressed will include the importance of models for institutions; the demands of an infrastructure; how new media institutions can be made flexible and not condemned to a fixed building; how peripheral institutions can act as centres of activity.

Speakers: Luca Dal Pozzolo [Fondazione Fitzcarraldo, Italy] / Clive Gillman [FACT, UK] / Anne Nigten [V2, The Netherlands] / Chair: Bronac Ferran [Arts Council of England].

#2. Art-Commerce: 2.00PM:

This session will focus on the relationship of digital media institutions to industry in local and non-local contexts. For instance, to what extent is artistic research a development process for commercial interests, how can a sense of artistic integrity be maintained whilst remaining open to creative possibilities and how useful is the distinction between public and private spheres? The contradictory benefits of industrial links will be investigated through a discourse which questions how these tensions might be embraced as part of the creative dynamic of cultural production using digital technology.

Speakers: Jordan Crandall [Artist and media theorist, USA] / Marina Grzinic Mauhler [Institute of Philosophy at the ZRC SAZU, Slovenia] / Simon Ford [Mute Magazine, UK] / Chair: Violetta Kutlubasis-Krajewska & Piotr Krajewski [WRO Centre for Media Art, Poland].

Contact:

The Institute of Digital Art and Technology

School of Computing

University of Plymouth

Drake Circus

Plymouth

PL48AA

t: ++44-01752-232541

f: ++44-01752-232560

e: contact@i-dat.org

Location:

Workshops: Babbage New Media Studios on the University of Plymouth Campus.

Conference: Sherwell Centre on the University of Plymouth Campus.

V01D

adelmootranto Projects 20/05/200113/04/20203D, Architecture, Digital, RIBA, virtual reality

22ND JUNE – 22ND JULY 2001.
Through digital processes, forms of architecture are changing. The definitions of buildings, spaces and places have all undergone transformation as digital processes alter the way we design, construct, conceive, present and ultimately experience architecture. As architecture transforms its identity and role, it is an appropriate point to reflect upon the methodologies that have emerged in recent times. To document the less tangible, to critique the crazy and explore the subtle. The V01D show provides the public and architects a chance to see unusual and cutting edge forms of digital architectures. From virtual reality systems, 3D fly-throughs across extraordinary landscapes, and what happens when you let children play with VR technology, the show promises to extend our understandings of buildings as new media emerges and transforms our world. Exhibition runs from 22nd June 22nd July 2001. This exhibition coincides with the Royal Institute of British Architects Architecture.

C O N T E N T S
preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .04
walking with avatars fiona bailey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
new improved reality digital skin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
stephen perrella interview oliver lowenstein, encoding by limbomedia .22
we like technology general lighting and power . . . . . . . . . . . .30
occupied territory iain borden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
habitaculus chris speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
psychometric architecture mike phillips . . . . . . . . . . . .52
extending architecture peter anders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
playground geoff cox and drmm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
V01D
22nd June – 22nd July 2001
Edited by Chris Speed and George Grinsted
Produced by The Institute of Digital Art and Technology,
Plymouth Arts Centre, limbomedia and Digital Skin.
ISBN 1 84102 087 7
Digitally printed in the UK
Download PDF…

MEDIASPACE

adelmootranto F-Hv1.0, Projects 26/11/200026/07/2021

A series of satellite TV and Journal publications. A networked telematic comic.

MEDIASPACE:
The intent of ‘MEDIASPACE’, whether in its ‘dead’ paper-based form, or the ‘live’ digital forms of satellite and internet, is to explore the implications of new media forms and emergent fields of digital practice in art and design. ‘MEDIASPACEÍ is an experimental publishing project that explores the integration of print (‘MEDIASPACE’ is published as part of the CADE (Computers in Art and Design Education) journal Digital Creativity by SWETS & ZEITLINGER.), WWW and interactive satellite transmissions (‘MEDIASPACE’ interactive satellite transmissions were funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), the British National Space Centre (BNSC), and WIRE (Why ISDN Resources in Education) and use Olympus, EUTELSAT and INTELSAT satellites via a TDS-4b satellite uplink. (incorporating live studio broadcasts, ISDN based video conferencing, and asynchronous email/ISDN tutorials). The convergence of these technologies generates a distributed digital ‘space’ (satellite footprint, studio space, screen space, WWW space, location/reception space, and the printed page). There is also a novel and dynamic set of relationships established between the presenters (studio based), the participant/audience (located across Europe), and the reader. As an electronic publishing experiment in real time (‘live’ media) delivery, combined with a backbone of pre-packaged information (‘dead’ media content), the ‘MEDIASPACE’ transmissions provide a provocative model for the convergence of ‘publishing’, ‘networked’, and ‘broadcast’ forms and technologies.

Some text and images recovered from the WIRE transmissions:

EADTU WIRE TRANSMISSIONS

European Association of Distance Learning Universities (EADTU). https://eadtu.eu/

Information for Reception Sites.

Test Transmission

22.10.96 11.00 – 12.00 GMT

Discovering Multimedia

05.11.96 12.00 – 13.00 GMT

Managing the Multimedia Process

03.12.96 12.00 – 13.00 GMT

Creating Multimedia

07.01.96 12.00 – 13.00 GMT

Virtual Environments

04.02.96 12.00 – 13.00 GMT

Multimedia and the Internet

04.03.96 12.00 – 13.00 GMT

“In a social situation, the number of people involved in a conversation or other symbolic exchange is the ‘space’ in which learning occurs.”

(Rom Harré et al, 1985)

“A boundary is not that at which something stops but, as the Greeks recognised, the boundary is that from which something begins its presencing. That is why the concept is that of horismos, that is, the horizon, the boundary. Space is in essence that for which room has been made, that which is let into its bounds. That for which room is made is always granted and hence is joined, that is gathered, by virtue of location, that is by such a thing as the bridge. Accordingly spaces received their being from locations and not from ‘space’.”

(Martin Heidegger, ‘Building Dwelling and Thinking’. 1954)

The network diagrams below try to illustrate the expected interactions and structures to be explored through out the transmissions. The physical structures have been broken down into the transient and the static.

Transient:

Green disks represent the reception sites;

Purple balls the ISDN asynchronous tutorials;

Red disks the studio transmissions.




Static:

Blue disks the permanent sites of the World Wide Web site and the First Class server.

Of course, the reception sites and the studio are static, however for the purposes of the MEDIASPACE they only exist for the duration of the transmission.

“There is not only this sharpening and refinement of the brain going on, but there has been what our great grandparents would have considered an immense increase in the amount, the quality and the accessibility of knowledge. As the individual brain quickens and becomes more skilful, there also appears a collective brain, the encyclopaedia, the Fundamental Knowledge System, which accumulates, sorts, keeps in order and renders available everything that is known.”

(The Shape of Things to Come, H.G. Wells, 1933)

A train ticket represents a journey from A to B whilst at the same time representing a location (the train seat or carriage) for a duration (the time of the journey from beginning to end). In a similar way the MEDIASPACE transmissions are a broadcast from A to B, whilst at the same time evoking an extended location for the duration of each broadcast (stretching out, through networks, across the boundaries defining the space of each site), a new kind of space, hopefully a landscape of interactivity.

The Studio:

The Hoe T.V. Studio is located about a mile from the Satellite Uplink and is linked by a direct land line. The Satellite Uplink is based at the main University of Plymouth Campus. The studio has been producing educational and professional programmes for a number of years and is equipped with professional broadcasting and editing facilities.

The MEDIASPACE Transmissions regularly use chromakey to provide back drops for the presenters.

Video output is taken from the workstations on the studio floor and mixed with the camera feed. This allows the presenters to interact directly with the computer screen.

Each programme usually uses 3 cameras, one in a fixed position for the majority of the chromakey shots and the two others roaming around the studio.

Production team: Will Bakali / Kate Bryant Mic Cady / Geoff Cox / Culver Epps / Dave Flynn / Debbie Goacher / Dan Livingstone / Rob Morrison (SGI) / Jill Mortimer / Joe Nash / James Norwood / Mike Phillips / Chris Speed / Adrian Vranch

Guests: Roy Ascott (CAiiA) / Brian Eno / Andy Finney / Tony Tucker (Macromedia) / Simon Turley /

EURONET Broadcasts (circa 1999).

“Wire – Mediaspace”: Converging technologies for distance learning in multimedia

A. Vranch, M. Phillips and R. Winders.

Computing Service, University of Plymouth, Seale-Hayne Campus, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6NQ, UK.
Paper prsented at the CAL 97 Conference “Superhighways, Super CAL, Super Learning?” University of Exeter 23rd – 26th March 1997

Keywords: Satellite, IT and learning, Multimedia, Rural, developing and remote areas, Video conferencing

Abstract

The University of Plymouth is developing an expertise and infrastructure for effective delivery of communications, information and learning at a distance. This strategy fits within a regional framework comprising seven main campuses, separated by some 200 km at the extremes, close links with local Partner Colleges and a lead role in RATIO, an initiative to set up a regional network of telematics centres for distance learning. “Wire” (Why ISDN Resources in Education?) is a three year European project offering five distance courses to ten Euro Study Centres. The University of Plymouth contribution to Wire is “Mediaspace”, a multimedia course comprising a series of live, interactive satellite TV transmissions, with supporting sessions, using ISDN video conferencing, remote control, file transfer, FirstClass electronic conferencing and WWW server access. This paper describes the development, delivery and evaluation of the Wire – Mediaspace course in terms of identifying combinations of converged technologies that provide effective distance learning. This project has implications in terms of technology transfer of experience and evaluation techniques to developments in regional and inter-regional distance learning courses. In a situation of rapid technological change the approach and outcomes of Wire – Mediaspace are expected to have an impact on delivery of effective distance learning for some time to come.

Introduction

The University of Plymouth and the South West region

The University of Plymouth is situated in the South West of England, distributed over seven main campuses in the counties of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, separated by some 200 km at the extremes. In addition, the University has developed close links with local Partner Colleges of Further and Higher Education and is the lead partner in the RATIO (Rural Area Training and Information Opportunities) project, an initiative to set up a network telematics centres in the region for distance education and training. Within this regional framework the university is developing an expertise and infrastructure for effective delivery of communications, information and learning at a distance.

The “Wire – Mediaspace” course

“Wire” (Why ISDN Resources in Education?) is a European project to evaluate the effectiveness and costs of using ISDN for the delivery of distance learning courses. The project is funded and managed by the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities in Heerlen, The Netherlands as part of the European Open University Network. Partners from Finland, Belgium, UK, France and The Netherlands contribute to the project as course providers and course recipients through their Euro Study Centres, with support from telecommunications companies.

Wire is a three year project offering five distance courses to ten Euro Study Centres. The University of Plymouth contribution to Wire is “Mediaspace”, a series of live, interactive satellite TV transmissions, with supporting sessions, using ISDN video conferencing, remote control, file transfer, FirstClass electronic conferencing and WWW server access. The strategic importance of Wire – Mediaspace The current commitment for distance delivery of courses by the University is to over sixty telematics reception sites in the south west region, including campuses of the University, Partner Colleges and RATIO training centres. The Wire – Mediaspace project is a key contributor in identifying appropriate combinations of converged technologies that deliver effective, viable learning at a distance.

Development of techniques to integrate live satellite TV with other converging technologies for distance learning

Early live satellite TV transmissions with audio participation

The roots of the current Mediaspace series in the Wire project go back several years to the early trials at Plymouth that explored the potential for distance learning via live interactive TV broadcasts. In the early years of development the interaction with the viewers was achieved mainly using audio conferencing. In the early series of “StarNet” broadcasts the format of programmes was based on a professional presenter, with studio guests who were the business studies subject specialists. Interaction with viewers was by telephone and the presenters used standard handsets to talk to viewers, who dialled in via an audio bridge. The handsets in the studio were later replaced by studio microphones and speakers which made interaction with viewers appear more natural on screen, a key factor in enhancing viewer acceptance of the approach, identified via questionnaire responses.

Early experiences with audio conferencing in live transmissions identified technical problems, including a form of audio feedback called “howlround” and the general need for a specially trained operator to be available at the receive site. From this was developed the concept of the “facilitator”, a trained member of staff who was able to ensure that the satellite receiver was tuned in properly and who could oversee the use of audio conferencing equipment. This was important to provide an environment in which the viewer would feel relaxed and willing to participate, again a key factor in enhancing viewer acceptance.

Early integration of computers into live satellite TV transmissions

As the broadcasts in StarNet and other series progressed an interest developed in using computers to enhance the programmes. Graphics for presentation and electronic communication for interaction were identified as two key functions for the use of computers in this way. For example, a low-cost 286 PC computer was used for running an animation in a 1990 programme on computer viruses. In the “Solstice” series, interaction with electronic mail was explored using simple X25 communications into the studio and this helped to provide more feedback with viewers, although mail messages were not always delivered promptly. In the Solstice series librarians were trained at a distance in the use of computer-based library search techniques (Hughes, 1991).

Development of converged technologies for live satellite TV transmissions

Following these initial pilot broadcasts, techniques for using computers in live satellite programmes have been under constant review, in line with the appearance of new developments in the TV, computer and communications industries. Use of computers for presentations was developed further in the IT Training by Satellite series (Vranch, 1993) in which a Macintosh screen output was interfaced to the control room via a Mediator to provide quality computer images for broadcast in a combination of presentations of “bullet points” and animations and for live demonstration of specific software. A novel aspect of this approach was that for the first time it was the presenter who was in control of sophisticated computer-based presentation and graphics input to the broadcast, rather than the director in the control room. This innovation opened up the possibilities for a different, less formal approach to presenting live programmes that is now used in the Wire – Mediaspace series. It also demonstrated the analogy between using a computer to present a live TV programme and delivering a lecture in a modern auditorium. Early versions of Mediaspace were developed as single TV broadcasts using analogue video conferencing and X25 electronic mail on a much smaller scale than Wire – Mediaspace (Honeywill et al., 1995).

Wider availability of ISDN video conferencing has enhanced the potential for interaction with guest presenters and questions from viewers, both of which added much to the content and style of live transmissions. This development was also enabled the presenter in the studio to get visual feedback from the viewers at a distance, again improving interaction and making live TV presentations analogous to lecturing in a large, modern lecture theatre.

Course content, interaction and evaluation

Interactive TV transmissions

Details of topics covered in each transmission of this multimedia course are given in appendix 1. Technical details of transmissions are given in Appendix 2. Interaction is provided in the live TV sessions by ISDN video conferencing and FirstClass electronic conferencing, directly into the studio floor (figure 1). Additional input from viewers is made possible by telephone or facsimile to the control room and this input can be relayed immediately to the presenters. The FirstClass system provides a flexible means to obtain live feedback from viewers unobtrusively and enables efficient management of dial-in for ISDN video conferences. Video conferences are used to bring guests “into the studio” at a distance and to interact with viewers for comments and questions. In addition, the FirstClass electronic conferencing system enables an interactive dialogue between all participants before, during and after the transmissions.

The presenters control the delivery of the programme content from the studio floor as computer presentations and this output is integrated in the control room mixer with video conference PC output, CRO “back projection” technology, audio and camera video outputs, to provide the transmitted signal. The studio director is in voice contact with the presenters and studio staff at all times.

Interactive support sessions

Interaction in support sessions is provided in both synchronous and asynchronous form. Interactive ISDN video conference sessions, with associated remote control via Timbuktu and ISDN file transfers enable student peer to peer and student/tutor interaction in learning and facilitate distance collaboration in multimedia projects. Asynchronous interaction is on-going via the FirstClass conferences, following up ideas generated in previous TV transmissions, adding content during the programmes and providing topics for interaction in the next TV programme or in the next ISDN video conference session. The FirstClass conferences provide an on-going record of the progress of the support sessions in an interactive dialogue and a forum for sharing files as attachments. A WWW server adds a further dimension to this sharing process.

This record is an important resource which can be revisited and built on as the course progresses and can be used later in conjunction with video tapes of the live programme by new groups of students.

Evaluation

Evaluation of Mediaspace is on two levels. First, the course is evaluated in the context of the Wire project in terms of the effectiveness of the combination of technologies used with ISDN compared with other approaches. Second, there is an evaluation of the approach adopted to identify its success in delivering effective distance learning specifically for multimedia as a course topic.

In both cases evaluation is made from a combination of questionnaires and analysis of interaction from video tapes of live programmes, logs of video conference sessions and from analysis of the FirstClass conferences throughout the course. Specific software has been developed to extract key information from the FirstClass conference log files, in addition to manual analysis of the content of conference threads and the comments within.

Implications for future distance learning developments

The Wire – Mediaspace project gives rise to specific outcomes which have implications for future distance learning work, including:

further consolidation of experience and expertise in identifying the balance needed in technologies for effective distance learning;
development of methods for evaluation of distance learning, based on the use of converged technologies;
the technology transfer of this research-based approach towards application within mainstream activity, for example the University of Plymouth Institute of Health Studies learning programme, RATIO courses and other regional or inter-regional activities.

In addition, as technologies available for delivery of distance learning materials develop, so the present approach of evaluating solutions for effective convergence of technologies becomes more relevant. For example, development of high bandwidth regional, metropolitan or international networks can offer an alternative to satellite for delivery of broadcast quality video, although there may be limitations for mass, simultaneous broadcast over a large area using these terrestrial networks. Nevertheless, principles and evaluation procedures developed in Wire – Mediaspace will still be applicable to these developments.

The use of the satellite data carrier signal, for data broadcast at 100 Kbps at the same time as TV and video, offers new opportunities for mass, simultaneous distribution of learning materials. Furthermore, moves to transmit live TV programmes using MPEG2 digital compression are now taking place from the University of Plymouth uplink, with the cost advantage of reduced satellite rental charges, since only one-eighth (Glover, 1996) of the satellite transponder is required.

Even in a situation of rapid technological change the outcomes of Wire – Mediaspace are expected to have an impact on delivery of effective distance learning for some time to come.

References

Glover, P. (1996) Interactive Digital Television by Satellite, Proceedings of On-line Educa, Berlin, 13 – 15 November

Honeywill, P, Phillips, M and Vranch, A. (1995) Converging New Technologies for Art and Design Education. Proceedings of Digital Creativity, the First Conference on Computers in Art and Design Education (CADE ’95), Brighton, UK, April.

Hughes, A (1991) Project SOLSTICE. ASLIB Information, 19, 11 & 12.

Vranch, A. T. (1993) Staff Development and Training by Satellite in the University of Plymouth, Proceedings of Olympus Utilisation Conference, Sevilla, Spain, 20 to 22, ESA WPP-60, 247 to 252.

Acknowledgements This work was funded by the European Association of Distance Teaching Universities, with matched funding from the University of Plymouth. This funding support is gratefully acknowledged.

This document was added to the Education-line database 15 October 1998

autoicon

adelmootranto Projects 30/05/200016/01/2021

It’s as though he’s alert to the current debate in the House of Commons chamber. We briefly discuss love, pain and flowers and when I ask him about the internet, he amusingly replies, “Excuse me?” Even with its Y2K interface, Autoicon is a technological wonder. It doesn’t just imagine black people in the future, it preserves them so that they arrive there safely and in their own image.

Kadish Morris (2020). ‘Union jack swastikas and space-age braids: Thirteen Ways of Looking – review’, The Guardian, 28 October 2020. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/oct/28/thirteen-ways-of-looking-review-cultural-identity-herbert-art-gallery-coventry (Accessed: 16 January 2021).

Autoicon is a dynamic internet work and CD-ROM that simulates both the physical presence and elements of the creative personality of the artist Donald Rodney who died from sickle-cell anaemia. The project builds on Donald Rodney’s artistic practice in his later years, when he increasingly began to delegate key roles in the organisation and production of his artwork. Making reference to this working process, AUTOICON is developed by a close group of friends and artists (his partner Diane Symons, Eddie Chambers, Richard Hylton, Virginia Nimarkoh, and Keith Piper) (ironically described as ‘Donald Rodney plc’ who have acted as an advisory and editorial board in the artist’s absence, and who specified the rules by which the ‘automated’ aspects of the project operate. http://www.iniva.org/autoicon/

Backstory:

“I can remember the exact location (though the time is vague – early afternoon of 1997) that it became apparent that the body politic of a white middling (class/age) male would be of little interest. On a stretch of road, half way up the A38, just outside Buckfastleigh, frequently travelled with Donald in an ageing 2CV back in 1990, enroute to install Visceral Canker for the TSW 4 Cities Project. Bizarrely I had recently enacted a personal interpretation of this collaboration through my auto-exsanguination following an ulcer burst a year earlier, and this temporality of the body was a factor in the birth of Autoicon. Memories of all that blood (emerging into the twilight from a Cornish gun emplacement, bloodied, damp and freshly electrocuted) conjured up half forgotten conversations with Donald. In particular the one about the ticking clock that marks the passage of time for all sufferers of Sickle-Cell Anaemia – something about a life expectancy of 36/37 years. I had worked with (or like many of the Donald Rodney PLC – for) Donald on many occasions since our time at the Slade School of Art (1985-87). Back then it was the soundscapes for his installation at the ICA and the donation of my work space, drawings and BBC B I/O boards for the cameraman to walk all over when filming his feature on the State of the Art TV programme. There were other bits and pieces but most notably Psalms (with Guido Bugmann). Autoicon would seem to consolidate that period of time, it embraced our many conversations of parallel generic histories sitting in front of Bentham’s glassy eyes, gave new meaning to a history of medical data and, like the original Autoicon, engaged playfully with an inevitability. The mid 90’s were the age of the wannabe avatar, VRML showed such promise and cyberspace was almost tangible. To be in it, part of it, breathing the data, was an ambition being played out in media arts projects all over the world. Yet there was something ghostly and hollow about these apparitions, they were, for the most part just pixels, vague representations that could neither feel nor be felt. My hope was that, through Donald’s body of work and body politic the Autoicon marked an avatar upgrade that was both a homage to Bentham’s original and as rich and complex as his vision for his physical body. A 20th Century Autoicon would have to be embrace the flesh as much as it would the trace data that leached from the temporality of its owner. My work has since, from time to time, attempted to explore the relationship between meat and data, A Mote it is…, Exposure and the various projects in Bio-OS have all attempted to capture the physical, projected and data body beyond the simple two dimensional representation. But the Autoicon needed to be Donald Rodney – and so we set about making plans from his hospital bed for an Arts Council England GFA application…”

Mike Phillips, 10/10/14.

Donald Rodney Autoicon CD:

donald.rodney:autoicon v1.0

http://www.iniva.org/autoicon

README AUTOICON is a dynamic artwork that simulates both the physical presence and elements of the creative personality of the artist Donald Rodney who – after initiating the project – died from sickle-cell anaemia in March 1998. It builds on Donald Rodney’s artistic practice in his later years, when he increasingly began to delegate key roles in the organisation and production of his artwork.
Making reference to this working process, AUTOICON is developed by a close group of friends and artists (ironically described as ‘Donald Rodney plc’) who have acted as an advisory and editorial board in the artist’s absence, and who specified the rules by which the automated aspects of the project operate.
This CD-ROM, in parallel to the internet version (http://www.iniva.org/autoicon), is automated by programmed rule-sets and works to continually maintain creative output. Users will encounter a ‘live’ presence through a ‘body’ of data (which refers to the mass of medical data produced on the human body), be able to engage in simulated dialogue (derived from interviews and memories), and in turn affect an auto-generative montage-machine that assembles images collected from the user’s hard-drive (rather like a sketchbook of ideas in flux).

Through AUTOICON, participants can generate new work in the spirit of Donald’s art practice as well as offer a challenge to and critique the idea of monolithic creativity. In this way, the project draws attention to current ideas around human-machine assemblages, dis-embodied exchange and deferred authorship – and raises timely questions over digital creativity, ethics and memorial.
Further information on the artist and his work is included on the CD-ROM.
For more information email autoicon@iniva.org

INSTRUCTIONS
This software requires no specific installation – it is designed to run straight off the CD-Rom. However, it does require a working installation of Apple’s QuickTime 4. The installer is provided on the CD-Rom in a folder called ‘QuickTime 4’. Please ensure you have fully installed QuickTime 4 before trying to use AUTOICON.
To launch the AUTOICON software, insert the CD into your CD-Rom drive. Navigate to the files on the CD-Rom (Macintosh users should double click the icon that appears on your desktop, Windows users should browse inside ‘My Computer’). Double-click the ‘AUTOICON’ application icon.

The software takes a few moments to start up. Once loaded, click the ‘Continue’ button to launch the software. Interact with the AUTOICON by typing text into the field in the centre of the screen. While you engage in a discussion with the AUTOICON, a montage will be derived from bits of images found on your own hard-drive.
The ‘Activities’ menu allows you to view other aspects of the project, including a slideshow and artist biography. You can also choose to watch the montage in progress, or you can examine the software’s internal memory. External links to the AUTOICON web site and for email feedback are also provided.

If you would like to export the generated montage, choose ‘Save As…’ from the ‘File’ menu.
To leave the AUTOICON, go to the ‘File’ menu, and choose ‘Quit’.

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Macintosh:
Power PC Processor (G3/266 pref.)
System 8.0 or later
32mb RAM
Quad-speed CD-Rom Drive
QuickTime 4 (installer provided)
Windows:
Pentium P200 Processor or higher
Windows 95, 98, NT or 2000
32mb RAM
Quad-speed CD-Rom Drive
QuickTime 4 (installer provided)

CREDITS
Software written by Adrian Ward (adrian@signwave.co.uk). Produced by Geoff Cox & Mike Phillips; STAR (Science Technology Arts Research, University of Plymouth), inIVA (Institute of International Visual Arts) and Signwave, with support from the Arts Council of England (New Media Fund). With contributions from Eddie Chambers, Richard Hylton, Angelika Koechert, Virginia Nimarkoh, Keith Piper, Gary Stewart & Diane Symons. Media courtesy of the artist’s estate and Black Audio Film Collective. Thanks to Pete Everett, Dave Grogono, Ruth Kelly, Paul Khera and Elliot Lewis.
Project © Copyright 2000 STAR, inIVA, Signwave & the estate of Donald Rodney.
Autoicon engine © Copyright 2000 Signwave and its licensors.
HTMLField component © Copyright 1998-2000 Doug Holton.
Media © Copyright 1999-2000 various sources.
QuickTime and the QuickTime logo are trademarks used under license.

Published by the Institute of International Visual Arts (inIVA) and STAR.
inIVA,
6-8 Standard Place,
Rivington Street,
London, EC2A 3BE, UK.
Internet: http://www.iniva.org
Tel: +44 20 7729 9616
Fax: +44 20 7729 9509
STAR (Science Technology Art Research)
School of Computing, University of Plymouth,
Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
Internet: http://www.CAiiA-STAR.net
Tel: +44 1752 232541
Fax: +44 1752 232540

Donald Rodney Autoicon Launch at inIVA:
Invitation: