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BashoCams
are cameras enabling people within a virtual social network but in
dislocated mobile settings, to create collaborative narratives with
rhythmical sequences of photographs. The goal of the project is a new
type of sharing of personal moments
between friends at different locations, which combines the evocative
qualities of photography with the collaborative
aspect of networked performances.
The project's team consists of Lalya Gaye and Svante Hermansson.
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Rhythmical sequence of juxtaposed photographs with
corresponding timing (the pictures are actually seen one after the
other)
Photographic rhythms, virtual social networks, networked performance,
visual narratives.
The idea is that using BashoCam, people connected within a virtual
social network can create a common narrative with rhythmical sequences
of photographs that juxtapose their realities.
Creating photographic rhythms
A first person rhythmically shoots a series of pictures that
turn into a loop when she is done. The rhythm of the picture-taking is
preserved in the loop: when and how long a picture is shown in the loop
corresponds to when and how long the camera's button was pressed when
taking it. The user can see the sequence of photographs on her own
device as she is making it and watch the loop develop.
Visual narratives spreading
through a virtual social network
When the loop is ready, it is sent to the user's closest
contacts in her virtual social network. Her contacts can then take
pictures rhythmically that get inserted into the original sequence,
while preserving its tempo. However, the images in the loops are shown
in sequences, not next to each other on the screen: a comparison would
be to add a layer of snares in a drum sequence where the bass drum has
been laid by someone else. The loops are then sent on to each user's
own contacts and continue to spread for some time. As each person
constitutes a network node with different constellations of friends and
contacts, the loops increasingly differ as they take different paths
through the network. The loops only spread through the network during a
certain amount of time so that all user's input to the original loop
are kept close in time.
Browsing through the various
versions Users should be able to follow the paths of the loops
and
access their versions as they are developing. An option could be to
select particular nodes for example by clicking on a friend's icon, for
example.
So far, we have implemented a simple prototype running on a laptop that
illustrates the concept but does not yet have networking features. The
next steps in the project are to port the application to mobile
devices, connect them through a social network, evaluate each step of
the prototyping process with users, and finally perform a qualitative
user study.
The current prototype uses the same hardware platform as the older
version of the context camera: a laptop with the screen used as
viewfinder, a webcam as lens and a small mouse as
triggering button. The image processing is done in the computer
graphic platform Gapidraw.
This prototype allows you to take rhythmical sequences
of pictures, see them develop into a loop on the screen in real time,
insert new pictures to the loop as a new user, and save the resulting
loops. The first sequence starts looping when releasing a loop button.
The programme also shows the loop's time line and the position and
length of each picture inside it.
Hardware
Photographic sequences: Action Sampler
and Stop-Motion Studies
Collaborative photography: Picollage
Spreading rhythms: TapTap
Rhythm Machine, Dooper/Looper
and Fireflies
Social Networks: FOAF
Mobile Networked Performance: CosTune and Malleable Mobile
Music
 
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