-Webcam culture -Human/Machine relationship and interaction -Surveillance (on a personal level, as opposed to Government surveillance) -Sound translation into visuals -Monotony of the computer and technology-centric society -“Cocoon” concept (the potential for a space in which people are comforted by the 1-on-1 interaction between themselves and their own personal computer interface

Media devices and tools

and-distortion-webcam/

to-imagery-software/

-During the 10 minute period, participants will be seated at their own computers (the cluster of 8 desktops in the back of the room) -Their attention will be divided between the webcam interface and the VDMX5 projection, though the computers will “demand” their attention more and more as time passes -After a while, pop-up screens with text will start to appear, and the user will be prompted to hit space bar to continue. The pop-ups will continue to come, and the messages will be written in first person, as though the computer were a sentient being trying to communicate with the user

-At first, we tried moving some computers over to the corner of the room so that we could construct a tent over top of the computers. Our plan was to make the space as intimate and cocoon-like as possible, but for practical reasons we decided to simplify and just use the eight computers in the back. We believe that the intimacy will still be present because of the close interaction between user and computer.

-We have already tested the Marky webcam and VDMX5 on individual computers; we just have to coordinate it on a larger scale. This will be accomplished using a javascript timer, which Jason has prior experience with. -Ben has done several tests with the voice distortion device, and has uploaded them to soundcloud. We just have to make a new voice recording using the script we wrote.

-By Thursday: Web Component-timed overlays (webcam interface and pop-up screens, etc) -Tuesday and Thursday: working on recording voice loop and setting speakers up -Before final presentation, we will likely run a test of the entire entire presentation so we can make any adjustments that need to be made -One of us will record personal interactions between computer and user (the individual experience), and will edit video documentation. Another will be recording the experience as a whole (getting everyone in one shot and panning between the computers and the VDMX5 projection so we can get the “big picture”