REBECCA E SPITZER

After the interface of our original working implementation was proven terrible last week, I worked up some new elements for the next phase of implementation in Microsoft Blend, which is an XAML godsend when you want to spend 30 minutes doing a three hour project. It generates some additional markup to deal with in the C# editor that we’re using for the Surface, but not a lot; I really enjoy using it.

At any rate, the central rehearsal review panel was redesigned to a vertical panel from a horizontal panel, which has pros and cons. The major problem with this is that the timeline across the top doesn’t have as much space to expand from side to side; a panoramic timeline is why we originally chose a horizontal interface. However, it turns out that resizing the timeline wasn’t as much of a problem as we thought it would be – it is slightly smaller, but still readable. The big plus side of moving to a vertical implementation is that we were able to get rid of the expanded timeline and move the notes under the video, which makes a lot of sense visually and frees up space elsewhere on the surface for other workspaces.

Those other workspaces are the previously discussed “Recent Notes” panel, which is actually smaller in our real implementation than pictured below, and the “Individual Note” panel, which is useful when a single note is pulled out of the stack for review. Additionally, I created a informational key to live at one edge of the Surface, providing data about the show itself and the list of current logged in users (and their colors).

The workspaces, as seen in Blend, not quite as implemented:

These elements are somewhat different in the actual implementation, which we’re working out now. It’s coming along slowly but is starting to actually LOOK good as well as function well. When we’ve finished the coding tonight and tomorrow, there will be more accurate screencaps to share!