Dynamic Rehearsal Project from Rebecca Spitzer on Vimeo.

We did get a lot of great feedback, though, so that was really rewarding! I’m pleased with how much we got done, and it seems so was everyone else.

We’re spending this week wrapping everything up, making a display website and commenting up our code files. What a crazy couple of weeks!

Because so much of the interface involves dynamically generating elements of the interface based on who is logged in to the system and what data is most recent, we decided to start with a one of the most basic and difficult elements of the interface: the timeline. For every rehearsal displayed by the interface, there is a timeline generated to display which actors are onstage at particular times, as well as where notes were taken on their performances. To work with this, we started from scratch, building a number of original classes (ie: “Rehearsal”, “Person”, “Timeline”, “Note” objects, etc) and then writing methods to dynamically generate an image.

The second aspect of the interface we chose to implements was the parsing of notes files. We have a computerized pen that will record the notes a director takes, and we need to be able to import that information into our program, creating new Note objects and assigning them to the right people and timestamps. Though the notes do not display at this point, we have been able to parse them in – very exciting.

Personally, I focused most on the design of the interface of the project, which has been one of the more disastrous aspects of this milestone. Without any data to work with, I drew up a basic interface; it was difficult, however, to visualize how it would look with an actual timeline, video, and notes. It wasn’t until last night (well, morning, really) that we finally returned from Thanksgiving break to integrate our work together, and at that point we realized we were working with a terribly ugly and confusing interface. (I think we started calling it “the ugliest interface we’ve ever made,” actually.) Currently, it looks like this in the simulator:

(We’re not sure where that grey border at the bottom is from, why the interface doesn’t fit on the screen, or why some notes are black. Debugging will be fun!)

So! For the next deadline, we’ve decided to overhaul the interface. One of the biggest hurdles to get past is making our interaction workspaces show up in ScatterView panels, which are able to be moved around the Surface with gestural interaction. I will be reorganizing this main interaction space into a smaller ScatterView panel, as well as designing a smaller “Recent Notes” panel and a singular “Note” panel so that users can pull a note from the list to view individually. Hopefully, this will make the application easier to use, more collaborative, and more aesthetically pleasing. Everything needs to be resdesigned before we can continue to program interactions though, so we’ll be jumping in to the design tonight. We’ll also be filming a rehearsal tonight (of the show I’m working on, Gibraltar, which opens Thursday) so that we can have some accurate, useful source material for our final presentation.

Overall, the programming and design of the project have both been difficult; I think every member of our team is struggling at every turn. We have made huge amounts of progress since our paper prototype, though, so I have hope that we will be able to both fix the problems we’re facing and continue to implement more interactivity. I’m excited to see how the next two weeks go, and I’m also excited to see more progress on the projects other groups are working on, for everyone’s presentations on their functional prototypes were great!

Our system is created for the general use of a theatrical production team: director, cast, and crew. A typical user has extensive experience in theatre, but not with computers. With the assistance of our system, they will be able to enjoy the benefits of computer-assisted analysis, review, and documentation of rehearsals without a basis of knowledge about computers or programming. 

The system will record the rehearsal process with video, audio, location information, and text. Video and audio will be provided by an installed video camera, location information will be provided by RFID tags worn by actors, and text will be automatically sourced from notes being taken by the director, stage manager, and other members of the production staff. With computerized pens, we will be able to digitally record the notes being taken by these users. All interactions take place within the theater space. 

The interaction with our system is primarily with the Microsoft Surface. The video camera will be linked to the Surface, automatically recording when the Surface application is activated in Rehearsal mode. Actors only need to wear their RFID tags when they are onstage (to record at what points they enter and exit the stage space) and production staff members only need to write with computerized pens, which electronically record, convert and transfer their notes to the Surface. All other interaction is with the Surface. 

At any point, any user can log into the Microsoft Surface application tailored to their production, which will store and sort the data recorded during rehearsals. Upon logging in, a user is provided with a tailored selection of recent rehearsals. For the most common user, an actor in the production, the Surface application would provide a number of workspaces: an area within which video and notes from the most recent rehearsal could be reviewed, an area within which the most recent unread notes for the actor could be reviewed, and thumbnails with which older rehearsals and notes could be accessed. With these workspaces, a user is able to both review their performance and quickly see which areas of the production need further work. 

To begin a user’s interaction with the Surface, they only need to place their hand on the surface to bring up their workspaces: recent rehearsal, recent notes, and thumbnails. Once these spaces are open, they can be moved around the surface and resized as necessary. A user can replay video, shuffle through notes, mark notes as read, and compare rehearsals to review their progress. Within the main workspace, there are three main elements. At the top of the space is a global timeline of the entire rehearsal. The times in which the given actor was onstage are noted on the timeline with a color-coded bar, as are all notes for the actor. On the left side space is the video display and an expanded timeline, showing a more specific portion of the rehearsal. The section highlighted in the expanded timeline is noted with brackets; identical brackets also appear on the global timeline. The expanded timeline can be pushed to the left or right to move to a different point in the video. On the right side of the screen is a list of notes relevant to the highlighted portion of the rehearsal and to the current user. Each note is displayed with markers to show what type of note it is and which user it pertains to. Notes can be marked as read or unread, and notes that the user is finished with can be discarded. The full list of notes is also scrollable at the top and bottom. Notes in the panel are also sortable by character or type by selecting the tabs to the right side of the panel. This notes panel can be collapsed into the workspace if the user is solely interested in the video. 

The system can also be user collaboratively, with multiple users. To join the review process, a second users needs only to place their hand on the surface, which will add their profiles to existing workspaces. The most recent shared rehearsal will occupy the recent rehearsal space, and any recent unread notes targeted to both users will appear in the recent notes space. Together, multiple users can watch video, discuss notes, and review their progress. In expanded rehearsal panels, information about all active users are displayed: on the global and expanded timelines, the appearances of all users are denoted with extra bars and in the notes panel, only notes pertinent to all active users are displayed. Information about a certain actor can be deactivated by selecting the appropriate tabs to the right side of the notes panel. Multiple users may choose to open more than one expanded rehearsal workspace to compare videos. 

With this system, a theatrical production team gains the ability to record, analyze, and review their progress without having to alter their usual rehearsal routine. Information in the form of video, audio, location, and text is put together to provide a comprehensive record of the rehearsal process. The system will aid in the review process and facilitate a more collaborative approach.

Our team also worked to put together the following storyboard elements, though recent conversations have led to some basic changes.

a bird’s eye view of our setup
(the large purple areas are audience seating)

our main interaction screen on the surface

our main collaborative screen on the surface

other workspaces

a more detailed interaction storyboard

More about our proposed changes to come!