Hypervideo Expression: Experiences with Hyper-Hitchcock Frank Shipman, Texas A&M University Andreas Girgensohn & Lynn Wilcox, FX Palo Alto Laboratory

Central Question Most multimedia in hypertext retains the page-based model. How do the roles of links and the common structures generated change to fit the media?

Outline Hyper-Hitchcock Functionality Hypervideos Feedback on Hyper-Hitchcock Roles for Hypervideo Links Hypervideo Structures Summary

Hyper-Hitchcock

Hypervideos

Nine hypervideos each authored by 1-2 students in a Computers and New Media class Recorded up to 1 hour using a DV camera then authored hypervideo in HH Students had about 1 week for authoring activity.

Riding Down University Drive Most directly maps geographic structure Links are choices to stop in at sites along road.

Perspectives on Bridges Shows bridges between College Station and Austin. Presents different perspectives (roadway, construction, wildlife) in order. Links are to seeing different perspective.

“In Danger” Buildings Visits to buildings identified for demolition on TAMU campus. Links are to seeing interior and details.

International Dance Festival Shows bits of performances. Brief “how-to use hypervideo player” at start. Links are to seeing more and to next performance.

Game Walkthrough Shows what happens while playing game. Links represent choice points in game.

Preparing for the In-Laws How-to for cleaning and cooking, includes constant audio commentary. Links are to greater detail.

How To Make a Sandwich Presents choices in sandwich creation. Includes video of options. Links are to select another option.

Music Hypervideo public-domain video, remixed audio

Home Hypervideo idiosyncratic structure

Feedback on Hyper-Hitchcock

Evaluation of Hyper-Hitchcock Easy to use hypervideo player, to work with video clips, to create composites. Not as easy to manipulate composites and create links. Spatial parser correctly interpreted composites. Link labels were valued by many. Audio energy graph was only valued by a few. Automatic segmentation of source video into clips and automatic selection of in/out points did not help.

Structuring Problems Authoring the two separate structures confused some students Composition of video clips into linear videos Links between linear videos Need for greater explanation of how the two structures interact

Suggested Features Ability to have more than one link active at a time. Ability to specify for video to stop playing at decision point. Separate audio editor Text overlays and video effects

Roles of Hypervideo Links

Roles of Links Detail Links Prerequisite Links Related Information Links Alternate View Links Action Choice Links

Hypervideo Structure

Hypervideos Mimicking Hypertext Detail links resulted in sieves. Some sieves included links from one detailed section to the next (shortcuts). Related information links also created tangles. Alternate view links likely to generate mirrorworld or counterpoint structures.

Hypervideo Differences Split/joins and mirrorworlds used to merge alternate courses of actions or perspectives. Return behaviors used to cause merging paths, thus the structure looks like a sieve.

Summary

Hyper-Hitchcock used to author documentary, how-to, music, and home hypervideos. Links in hypervideos used for: details, prerequisites, alternate views, action choices, and related information. Structures in hypervideo were impacted by the inclusion of return behaviors.