tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386398292024-02-07T04:54:28.047+00:00The DDM Collective - in the MetaverseInvestigation of Virtual Worlds for Art & Design Teching and Learning at Leeds College of Art.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-3529704287620728392010-03-06T09:23:00.002+00:002010-03-06T09:25:09.433+00:00Shared Media in Second Life Viewer 2<object width="400" height="220"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QdyoZC1_aqQ&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QdyoZC1_aqQ&hl=en_GB&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="220"></embed></object><br />
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Trying out the new shared media - `web on a prim` with our Moodle course in the new Second Life viewer 2.0.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-81659659291579732452010-02-23T13:37:00.004+00:002010-02-23T13:38:23.973+00:00Game Art Module in Second LifeNewish Term, Newish module to use Second Life, where we are introducing 1st years to explore Virtual Environments. <br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4381355403/" title="Zoning up the Collective Island by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img alt="Zoning up the Collective Island" height="240" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2435/4381355403_f2c8b2a406.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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So far, using Megaprims to divvy up the college's island, using scaled floorplans of their project to determine the size of their building zone. The students have been introduced to the basics of second life, from texturing and modelling with SL prims and Maya for Scuplties to customising and creating animations for their avatar, concurrently as they've been developing concept art / and schematics for a prototype of a game level / virtual world space.<br />
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The students choose from several environment option, which was to give a breadth of different ways an online 3D world could be used.<br />
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1) - a Cthulu-esque Sunken Temple - "At the Mountains of Madness" - designing concepts for a Tomb Raider type puzzle quest area for a single player<br />
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2) a floating Steampunk Island village - for a MMORPG<br />
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3) a 3D virtual walkthrough of a future Internation Space Station in the year 2050<br />
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4) an educational collabrotive game to teach Electricity (keystage 2/3 ) with the theme of Frankenstien's Castle.<br />
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The reasons for choosing these's types of environments, was to take benefit of working vertically on the Second Life island. So Cave Temple on Ground, Floating Islands 200ms up - Space Stations 500ms up - so there was less overlapping of building projects. <br />
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Anyway , early days, hopefully over the next few weeks start seeing stuff appear.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-67106826482150103662010-02-05T20:48:00.003+00:002010-02-05T20:50:25.197+00:00Slideshow Presenter on Reaction Grid<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4333361640/" title="Slideshow Presenter in Reaction Grid by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img alt="Slideshow Presenter in Reaction Grid" height="400" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/4333361640_4b2228d70d.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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Finally, got round to copying a version of my whiteboard across to <a href="http://reactiongrid.com/">ReactionGrid</a>.<br />
This version lacks the overlay tools, but now has a nifty touchdetection control for the pointer instead. <br />
One of the advantages of ReactionGrid (or other Opensims) is that this slideshow board can be resized beyond Second Life's usual 10m prim limit - the version in the image is 30ms wide ... with nothing stopping me making it as wide as the sim :)<br />
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<i>( gee that's powerpoint on terrifying scale! )</i><br />
<i> </i>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-47926458664389156012009-11-18T18:29:00.001+00:002009-11-18T18:30:48.554+00:00Video Streaming on the Collective Island<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4114772185/" title="Streaming Video working on the Collective by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img alt="Streaming Video working on the Collective" height="450" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2745/4114772185_598f8667b0.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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With our college getting a Quicktime Streaming Server up and running, I can finally look at some ideas of how to combine Live Video with Second Life activities. <br />
Certainly it starts opening up the opportunity of broadcasting live performance works at the college into a SL gallery context, as well as RL/SL mashup performances.<br />
I certainly want to look at ways of getting the students to take ownership of it - as a way of creating live shows / and mixed reality events.<br />
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What's good is the server is constantly on (<i> well if it doesn't crash </i>) - and the streams are accessible from outside the college firewall. Presently live broadcasts have to be done from within the college, so we'll have to see if in the future we can get access to the Quicktime server when we're offsite. <br />
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Something I'm quite excited about exploring in the future, is how it can also be tied into Life Long Learning & Creative Industry events - by streaming guest speakers from the college into SL - to be accessible by far a field Alumni, and 'friends' of the college who can't attend in RL. <br />
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Anyway , that's the new toy to play with for a while....Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-88654472290435932402009-10-12T11:08:00.007+00:002009-10-12T12:13:09.362+00:00Exploring Shot Composition Basics with SLI've played with creating some Photography Grid HUD's before, and I thought I'd refine it into a post comparing two classic principles.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Rule of Thirds </span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4003860671/" title="Rule of Thirds Grid by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2675/4003860671_6ac65f4e22.jpg" alt="Rule of Thirds Grid" height="220" width="400" /></a><br /><br />The Rule of Thirds, is the division of the frame into equal thirds vertically and horizontally. The intersection of the lines are considered focus of interests, and the lines themselves can help balance out the element of the shot.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4003911679/" title="Rule of Third Layout by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2579/4003911679_f4a6ebd07a.jpg" alt="Rule of Third Layout" height="220" width="400" /></a><br /><br />The focus of interest here is the face - which falls into the topright intersection. The body ( mainly head and spine ) falls on the right vertically third. and the ground lies along the bottom third.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4004624778/" title="Rules of Third Shot by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2444/4004624778_21fb55faf3.jpg" alt="Rules of Third Shot" height="220" width="400" /></a><br /><br />The Final Shot -<br />more info on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds">Rule of Thirds here<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Dynamic Symmetry</span></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4003863233/" title="Dynammic Symmetry Grid by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2602/4003863233_7dd99c14ed.jpg" alt="Dynammic Symmetry Grid" height="220" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Dynamic Symmetry is based on the Golden Section. Draw lines diagonally from each corner of the frame, then draw lines perpendicular to the first lines that go back to the opposite corners. Again the intersections of the lines are the hotspots of interest.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4003910893/" title="Dynamic Symmetry Layout by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2589/4003910893_599d08638c.jpg" alt="Dynamic Symmetry Layout" height="220" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Again the focus of interest is the face, falling into the top right intersection. The body falls vertically between the two areas of interest, and the ground runs through the areas of interest on the bottom.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/4003864471/" title="Dynamic Symmetry Shot by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2456/4003864471_77b6b98e39.jpg" width="400" height="220" alt="Dynamic Symmetry Shot" /></a><br /><br />The Final Shot.<br />Some further info on <a href="http://goldennumber.net/art.htm">Golden Section / Phi 1.618 here - </a><br />and quite a creepy video on Golden Mean here - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zWivbG0RIo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zWivbG0RIo</a><br /><br />With either principle of composition, it is important to keep things simple - particularly having only ONE focus of interest.<br /><br />Personally I prefer the dynamic symmetry layout - which seems more visually exciting when applied to a HD video framing.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-30845393960121257922009-06-21T12:23:00.004+00:002009-06-21T12:39:30.094+00:00Design for Digital Media - End of Year Show 2009 in Second Life<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3646069343/" title="Design for Digital Media - End of Year Show in SL by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3653/3646069343_685a8988a5.jpg" width="450" height="280" alt="Design for Digital Media - End of Year Show in SL" /></a><br /><br />Now open to the public - <a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Collective/189/33/36">The Collective</a> Island is host to the Leeds College of Art's - End of Year Show for the BA(Hons) Design for Digital Media course..<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3646092839/" title="End of Year Show - Design for Digital Media by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3573/3646092839_c691f43e85.jpg" width="450" height="280" alt="End of Year Show - Design for Digital Media" /></a><br /><br />In the studio building, you can find examples of Development work and Screenshots from Final Year Project work, plus links to their web-portfolios.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3646069335/" title="Design for Digital Media - End of Year Show in SL by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3575/3646069335_3be000fe77.jpg" width="450" height="380" alt="Design for Digital Media - End of Year Show in SL" /></a><br /><br />Streaming in the second room of the studio building, is a 15 min showreel of Moving image work... on it you'll find a Personal tale about Epilepsy, 3D Animation, and Music Videos...<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">plus its got a nifty reflective floor... :)</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3569958265/" title="Student Project - taking over half the college's island :) by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3579/3569958265_d13b73d04d.jpg" width="450" height="240" alt="Student Project - taking over half the college's island :)" /></a><br /><br />The big part of the SL exhibition is the work of Jetsunami Duell ( Rob Kirk in RL ) - who's built a half sim medieval city inspired by the Discworld books. It is designed for Virtual World Community Role players, as opposed to being a game level. The work has its own distinct look - with all textures been hand rendered... giving it a cartoony look...<br /><br />The Show will be up for several weeks, but once is gone - it'll be gone... wiped clean for a new semester of teaching.<br /><br />SLURL - <a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Collective/189/33/36">http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Collective/189/33/36</a>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-10520659235368182292009-06-03T17:48:00.008+00:002009-06-03T18:28:18.427+00:00Exploring Blue Mars<a href="http://www.bluemarsonline.com/">Blue Mars by Avatar</a> - is another MMORPG/VW environment on the block. Eventually giving developers a big set of tools to create a wide range of online experiences. Blue Mars creates a unified login system, allowing your avatar to move between diverse Virtual Spaces using the same tech.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fj2yO2ai7PM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fj2yO2ai7PM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Montage of the Blue Mars demo spaces, showing how the technology can be used for a community spaces and games. It uses <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CryEngine_2">CryEngine 2</a> for the graphics, giving some impressive shaders for high quality graphics in a VW. Lots of potential for developers to create rich environments and online game content.<br /><br />For Educators, this is no SL replacement in terms of casual idea development and experimenting.. it is a Dev Heavy technology, but has bags of potential for some Serious Games, or creating visually rich virtual campuses.<br /><br />Also its now a good opportunity to consider bringing in students/staff on Games Design / Digital Media courses to help develop content for other departements.<br /><br />Its hard to judge how useful Blue Mars will be based on these Demo's, as ultimately you can create whatever space you want, so its now down to some exciting developers and community building stuff going on, if it is to succeed.<br /><br />Of the short time I've played with it , and looked at the other BM preview tools, my vibe is that it is more comparable with Multiverse - <a href="http://www.multiverse.net/index.html">http://www.multiverse.net/index.html</a> , than Second Life.<br /><br />Also if you want to get a good feel for Blue Mars - you could also get a copy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crysis">Crysis</a> for your PC ( which you can find in the bargin bin now ) - as it comes with the Sandbox Editor modding tools, that allows for machinima making too. - here's an example - <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R_i-0lZoj4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8R_i-0lZoj4</a>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-8485557087065675492009-05-26T16:50:00.008+00:002009-05-26T17:08:05.738+00:00Virtual Environments Module - Year One<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3565976489/" title="Virtual Environments Module - Year One - Energy Saving House by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3580/3565976489_03f2007840.jpg" width="450" height="325" alt="Virtual Environments Module - Year One - Energy Saving House" /></a><br /><br />In the future I'll write a proper longer post about this module, but for now, here's some pics and link to a flickr set for a Virtual Environments module that finished last week.<br /><div align="center"><!-- Start of Flickr Badge --><br /><style type="text/css"><br />#flickr_badge_source_txt {padding:0; font: 11px Arial, Helvetica, Sans serif; color:#666666;}<br />#flickr_badge_icon {display:block !important; margin:0 !important; border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0) !important;}<br />#flickr_icon_td {padding:0 5px 0 0 !important;}<br />.flickr_badge_image {text-align:center !important;}<br />.flickr_badge_image img {border: 1px solid black !important;}<br />#flickr_www {display:block; padding:0 10px 0 10px !important; font: 11px Arial, Helvetica, Sans serif !important; color:#3993ff !important;}<br />#flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:hover,<br />#flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:link,<br />#flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:active,<br />#flickr_badge_uber_wrapper a:visited {text-decoration:none !important; background:inherit !important;color:#3993ff;}<br />#flickr_badge_wrapper {background-color:#ffffff;border: solid 1px #000000}<br />#flickr_badge_source {padding:0 !important; font: 11px Arial, Helvetica, Sans serif !important; color:#666666 !important;}<br /></style><br /><br /><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.flickr.com/badge_code_v2.gne?count=5&display=random&size=s&layout=h&source=user_set&user=85818353%40N00&set=72157618823127398&context=in%2Fset-72157618823127398%2F"></script><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/" id="flickr_www">www.<strong style="color: rgb(57, 147, 255);">flick<span style="color: rgb(255, 28, 146);">r</span></strong>.com</a></div><br /><!-- End of Flickr Badge --><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/sets/72157618823127398/">Flickr Set of Projects</a><br /><br />In the module, the students were set a brief to create a prototype experience based around an area from the <a href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm">DirectGov website</a> . The students were advised to focus their projects on the themes of 'Environment & Greener Living' or 'Health and Wellbeing'<br /><br />It was decided to take this module into a more corporate use of Virtual Worlds, rather than a more personal immersive experience, so the students could experience and reflect on designing for a broader audience and content creation issues. It was also an introduction to how games and VW's could be used for serious subject matter.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-21060362595060251782009-04-26T20:47:00.004+00:002009-05-20T12:07:50.760+00:00Building a new 'lighter' Communal Whiteboard<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80WLXf0zXHpTF0SISkRPqd56szs5wEFhVbv6u46doD6jv9koC0zs2x9BLaJj1RHr3sFH4UAGk24HpVGneDzHEO0LHYMNH45ZsKXFqUEf8COApGaVgtkODCeIjF7NaIdOTfZLR/s1600-h/Picture+2.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 396px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80WLXf0zXHpTF0SISkRPqd56szs5wEFhVbv6u46doD6jv9koC0zs2x9BLaJj1RHr3sFH4UAGk24HpVGneDzHEO0LHYMNH45ZsKXFqUEf8COApGaVgtkODCeIjF7NaIdOTfZLR/s400/Picture+2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329105094431841538" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Its nearly been 3 years since I made my last <a href="http://metalab.blogspot.com/2006/06/communal-whiteboard.html">whiteboard</a>, and I thought it was time to do some tweaking to make a more '<span style="font-weight: bold;">lighter</span>' version.<br /><br />This '<span style="font-weight: bold;">lighter</span>' version removes the troublesome overlay tools, that seemed rarely used... and focused on just one 'Pointer'.<br />It uses the newish -<a href="http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Category:LSL_Touch"> llDetectedTouch functions</a> - which allows a user to touch anywhere on the image - and the pointer will move to it. This is so much more friendly than before, originally I had to take control of the avatar - and use arrow keys to move the pointer around, which was made worse when the SL client had the 'Release Keys' button removed.<br /><br />The new whiteboard can also be turned to any angle, without effecting this function... again the original used sim co-ords, so you had to stick the Board either North,South,East or West facing, and soooo many people wanted it at 45 degrees in the corner of a room.<br /><br />You can also 'Scale' the board to fit your place, without any adverse action to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Aspect Ratio button</span> on the board - which now set to be proportionate of the scaled board's size. So resize the board down to 2ms wide if you want it in your office, or keep it 10ms wide for the lecture hall.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">It still keeps the most important thing though .... group access.</span><br /><br />Allowing other avatars to add images to the board by holding down the CTRL key while dragging images/textures over it and also allow other avatars to delete images from the board's slideshow.<br /><br />A simple addition but it allows a group to add to and edit a group slideshow / photoessay.<br /><br />If you are more of the didactic nature, you can always switch on the Lock, which only allows the Owner to work with the board.<br /><br />So, just giving it a little roadtest first, and then in a week or so... put it out in the wild.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-67086386857107310702009-04-22T17:10:00.003+00:002009-05-20T12:08:24.478+00:00Creating Content in Second Life ( slideshow )Presentation from Learning in Virtual World Conference at Sunderland on 21st April 2009 - supported by RSC-Jisc Northern and HE Academy.<br /><br /><div style="width: 425px; text-align: left;" id="__ss_1327948"><a style="margin: 12px 0pt 3px; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; display: block; text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/angrybeth/creating-content-in-second-life-1327948?type=presentation" title="Creating Content in Second Life">Creating Content in Second Life</a><object style="margin: 0px;" height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=slideshowsunderland-090422120514-phpapp02&stripped_title=creating-content-in-second-life-1327948"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://static.slidesharecdn.com/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=slideshowsunderland-090422120514-phpapp02&stripped_title=creating-content-in-second-life-1327948" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><div style="font-size: 11px; font-family: tahoma,arial; height: 26px; padding-top: 2px;">View more <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/">presentations</a> from <a style="text-decoration: underline;" href="http://www.slideshare.net/angrybeth">angrybeth</a>.</div></div><br /><br />This slideshow is aimed at people with little to no knowledge of content creation tools in Second Life.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-30994855502707664562009-04-22T13:58:00.014+00:002009-05-20T12:13:17.401+00:00Using the Multi-Cam Machinima SwitcherA while ago, I built a multi-camera switcher in Second Life, when the new CameraParameters function was added to LSL....<span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://angrybethshortbread.blogspot.com/2006/04/angry-tv.html">[link]</a></span> , a little while later I updated it - with cam points the user could move, via editing the linked prims..<span style="font-size:85%;">.<a href="http://angrybethshortbread.blogspot.com/2008/09/machinima-multicam-switcher.html">[link]</a></span> and then eventually I got round to writing a blog post about it. <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">( amazing what you can achieve in 3 years ... )</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHAT is the Multi-Cam Machinima Camera Switcher (MSMCS)?</span></span><br /><br />This tool creates instant vision cutting between 8 camera setups much like a TV Vision Mixer swtiching between multiple cameras in a studio. Using the MSMCS you can block out a range of camera positions, that when you go into production, you can jump between. This is particularly suited for when Machinima is streamed LIVE out of Second Life particularly Interviews style shows, allowing the camera operator to cut from Closeups of Avatars to a wider shot of the stage etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For educators</span>, this tool can also be used to exlpore conventions of Film and Video production, particularly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/180_degree_rule">Crossing the Line ( 180 degree rule )</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_cut">Jump Cuts</a>. As well as developing an understanding of Multi-Camera shoots, when access to Real Life equipment is limited. Also it could be used as a way of quickly developing animatics for video productions.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">For Machinima Filmmakers</span> - understand the limitations of this tool, it may be useful for some circumstances and not for others.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">HOW to USE the Multi-Cam Machinima Camera Switcher. (MCMCS</span>)<br /></span><br />1. Build your Set, Stage, Interview Room.....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh9BP_3IOUlp_EeWaC8hrGJ6m4mipHQvwuae1M4cl0VlLonXXnj8V78hnJm6jHOEkuRgrYEZior4x69le1CQQykCAI7KmNaje5d5OCUA4bm6qzsrJ1kwrGo3ZGz_gJvvDCiZ-P/s1600-h/Picture+9.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh9BP_3IOUlp_EeWaC8hrGJ6m4mipHQvwuae1M4cl0VlLonXXnj8V78hnJm6jHOEkuRgrYEZior4x69le1CQQykCAI7KmNaje5d5OCUA4bm6qzsrJ1kwrGo3ZGz_gJvvDCiZ-P/s400/Picture+9.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327515482078522978" border="0" /></a><br /><br />2. Rez the MCMCS - and place the big grey square so its somewhere in the middle of your set.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDaFyrluMPdwEskLTyGFptr_BjAVaMyfjvFLT4L18UI7eNUWHsWm8npuG8j2GQasolAViVUnnS15u71e3p2XdsPwk8Wph3zm8m0-2HpiUuD_mp1ED6HhInrvXfbGBBYLFmarH/s1600-h/Picture+10.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqDaFyrluMPdwEskLTyGFptr_BjAVaMyfjvFLT4L18UI7eNUWHsWm8npuG8j2GQasolAViVUnnS15u71e3p2XdsPwk8Wph3zm8m0-2HpiUuD_mp1ED6HhInrvXfbGBBYLFmarH/s400/Picture+10.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327515889647741026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />3. Whilst in 'Edit Mode' - move the MCMCS vertically down until the big grey block is under your set...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAETrFkSxfjHTEqIGnzVWQRC_Kr0cgwxMAQB9JY4rfkTe0u47DGdfGNO6lW7bb_3lygDK9fwbPmdIl-AUMXzgSecV438NAnB1TQs6uH52zej6uiqFNaiKS4ygXgHJC1hjAGbwk/s1600-h/Picture+11.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAETrFkSxfjHTEqIGnzVWQRC_Kr0cgwxMAQB9JY4rfkTe0u47DGdfGNO6lW7bb_3lygDK9fwbPmdIl-AUMXzgSecV438NAnB1TQs6uH52zej6uiqFNaiKS4ygXgHJC1hjAGbwk/s400/Picture+11.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327517048870141970" border="0" /></a><br /><br />4. Now to edit the individual cameras - in edit mode panel - click on edit linked parts --- <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >( click on image below to enlarge it )</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhSB6VL9ih2ZAH1y0sJkBpjOGotDGbUoEESc1XrCxzzEwcR8KZYGi-DzS8Itz9vKf0foT9MfiNfjTKKeEBuQ-ad71ULNYPLX-oqbWY1etX5KqjJQTKm3RKXMRqc6-S51A4QwG/s1600-h/Picture+12.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 165px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhSB6VL9ih2ZAH1y0sJkBpjOGotDGbUoEESc1XrCxzzEwcR8KZYGi-DzS8Itz9vKf0foT9MfiNfjTKKeEBuQ-ad71ULNYPLX-oqbWY1etX5KqjJQTKm3RKXMRqc6-S51A4QwG/s400/Picture+12.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327519832165510242" border="0" /></a><br /><br />5. Each Camera is identified by Colour and settext above it... ( red is camera one ) - the sphere prim is the camera's position , the cube prim the camera's target <span style="font-style: italic;">(ie. where you want to look).</span> Whilst in edit linked parts mode, move the sphere and cube prims to set up the camera shot.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyhf6U4-EllOlJLSuxPqpQBOYymjMk3gwYPVWXxKq3OH37toODduQM8BeINfsKKhlY8qgunkQO4O7KKoH6kE0OigkR9JFB8V-MmsnN5_qUMxTptS-LJ9WiL8H881pt86OUztw/s1600-h/Picture+13.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 279px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyhf6U4-EllOlJLSuxPqpQBOYymjMk3gwYPVWXxKq3OH37toODduQM8BeINfsKKhlY8qgunkQO4O7KKoH6kE0OigkR9JFB8V-MmsnN5_qUMxTptS-LJ9WiL8H881pt86OUztw/s400/Picture+13.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327520444370624930" border="0" /></a><br /><br />6. Sit on the camera to see what the shot looks like... ( sitting on the camera makes all the cam prims and particles disappear )<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72GON6Qt8sGuZBqNaQ1x7L1wRzTL4sLAkJYOXTIUIjD590euIZujBvHSfHC9q57d-2rU6Ez9IMw8QE45ynttAc1dCbvG4run9SAff-3LPCJ0_ROJaoajx4wcdpK4pir-L6pEr/s1600-h/Picture+15.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 387px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg72GON6Qt8sGuZBqNaQ1x7L1wRzTL4sLAkJYOXTIUIjD590euIZujBvHSfHC9q57d-2rU6Ez9IMw8QE45ynttAc1dCbvG4run9SAff-3LPCJ0_ROJaoajx4wcdpK4pir-L6pEr/s400/Picture+15.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327523145932633378" border="0" /></a><br /><br />7. Camera One ( the red one we just edited ) is selected by pressing the Up Arrow, and your camera view should be updated like so...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsacdXEjmpvtg9I_pjM_1jt4CaaY0BndQQ1Z4S6aijkpGwLh-l478BhpryBkiCfUNRI388xo8oOSvQ-qlfAFvnQPV2s_EOcBjoJbgw5JCZuYIaBdCOk1shM-GfrJTb1kMw36k/s1600-h/Picture+14.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBsacdXEjmpvtg9I_pjM_1jt4CaaY0BndQQ1Z4S6aijkpGwLh-l478BhpryBkiCfUNRI388xo8oOSvQ-qlfAFvnQPV2s_EOcBjoJbgw5JCZuYIaBdCOk1shM-GfrJTb1kMw36k/s400/Picture+14.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327523827127528482" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />8. Stand up your avatar , and go back to point 4, and repeat the process with all the other coloured pairs, to give you upto 8 different camera shot framings.<br />Each Camera Prim has floating text above them denoting the camera number and the corrosponding arrow key that needs to be pressed.<br /><br />-------<br /><br />If you think this is useful for you - you can pick up a copy outside my TechGrrl Store for L$ 25<br /><a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gourdneck/197/233/67">http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gourdneck/197/233/67</a>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-30727556370584482562009-04-16T16:22:00.010+00:002009-05-20T12:16:48.878+00:00How Big is the Mono Lisa?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Mona_Lisa.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 600px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Mona_Lisa.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mona_Lisa"><span style="font-size:85%;">Mona Lisa, 1503-1506, Leonardo da Vinci</span></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >unless you've been to The Louvre, most of us have experienced this painting through books, the web and student posters... but actually how big is it?</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9epT0SMtLFbimdkvjsYqmOG2RIfZZ6PWph8Vgu9rD58Xr2Cnqsvy1s0YyiGGN8IzbOljSx6T0Ro1oYPUWUzSB4C8VcVQoeuX9oJxapYx-Al1dR30hVFEM5fDl6jq1pm9Mt9U/s1600-h/Snapshot_004.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia9epT0SMtLFbimdkvjsYqmOG2RIfZZ6PWph8Vgu9rD58Xr2Cnqsvy1s0YyiGGN8IzbOljSx6T0Ro1oYPUWUzSB4C8VcVQoeuX9oJxapYx-Al1dR30hVFEM5fDl6jq1pm9Mt9U/s400/Snapshot_004.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325325467886734866" border="0" /></a>Basically I'm having some thoughts on how to entice the Critical and Contextual Studies dept onto our Second Life island...<br /><br />A quick straw poll of students around the college when asked how big was the Mona Lisa, only a few could give an accurate size. Though all are familar with the history of the painting, the feeling for its real size is, <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >I suspect</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, skewed by props on TV & Film, seeing the picture on the web, and proportionate to its famousness.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">The Mona Lisa is 77cms x 53cm ( 30inch x 20 7/8inch )<br /><br />One thing I've always liked about Second Life galleries is you can get a sense of scale of a painting or image </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >(as the artist may or maynot of intended)</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, something that's lacking when you see the same image embedded in a webpage or powerpoint presentation.<br /><br />Having the avatar to scale the art against at least starts lending itself to an understanding of the intentions of the artist..<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0C5Ee8P0l_1bsl5mWWTkt9BXIPwFNvXBJ_HaeWPrzFgULLgk837X4oswsqnx7AIIKj09dIorW2ivseDrLJHrVPRgfueWqRJre8_VeCfusoeHYAIp1mni94hJfkqGnv6N9J0I/s1600-h/Snapshot_005.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0C5Ee8P0l_1bsl5mWWTkt9BXIPwFNvXBJ_HaeWPrzFgULLgk837X4oswsqnx7AIIKj09dIorW2ivseDrLJHrVPRgfueWqRJre8_VeCfusoeHYAIp1mni94hJfkqGnv6N9J0I/s400/Snapshot_005.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325331549868616338" border="0" /></a>Here's Pablo Picasso's </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >Guernica</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, again you can get some engagment with the scale of the piece, which would be lacking from a book or web-based picture.<br /><br />With a bit of skill, a tutor, rather than using a powerpoint presentation, could present a virtual tour of a gallery space</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" > ( be it as a group, or simply a tutor's view presented on a video projector ) </span><span style="font-size:100%;">could create even more opportunities to discuss the art works.<br /><br />I'm using fine art works as an example - but the same principle could also be applied to graphic design and advertising - looking at the use of scale with posters & billboards, by placing them in galleries as well as simulated spaces (eg. shopping mall ) -</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" > ( hmm, maybe a corporate example, but hopefully you get the point ) - </span><span style=""><span style="font-size:100%;">allows for a critical discussion of how the image works in the space and its intended audience. Particularly useful for spaces, that students might not get ready access to.<br /><br />Secondary, having a 3D online gallery to place work in, is also a great tool to explore some of the curatorial skills of a putting an exhibition together. Not only does a student have to sort out the collection of images, but can think about how they are placed within the space, and against each other. This can translate to a real life show - allowing several options to be considered before hanging the work.<br /><br />One thing to take into account is Second Life's propensity for taller than average height avatars,<br />and the default camera position - does make things feel smaller than reality, so playing with the camera ( viewing in mouselook ) and using other props that allow for a sense of real world scale will compensate for this.<br /><br />Personally, I still think its important to go on the physical field trips to a gallery when one can, but its great to see projects like this arriving in Second Life - a replica of <a href="http://www.dresdengallery.com/information.php">The Old Masters Pictures Gallery, Dresden</a> - that's only a TP away..<br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WRXzH57GEN4&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WRXzH57GEN4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br />SLURL - <a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dresden%20Gallery/128/128/27">http://slurl.com/secondlife/Dresden Gallery/128/128/27</a><br /></span></span></span>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-45228509042620148082009-03-29T14:46:00.004+00:002009-06-04T06:18:19.175+00:00Playing with Processing, Pachube and Second LifeContinuing my play with pachube - which is really handy if you want to quickly prototype something that connects SL and RL stuff.<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/g-yfnW7vMjc&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/g-yfnW7vMjc&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="400"></embed></object><br /><br />A Camera tracking script in Processing, updating info in Second Life, to rez a prim at similar position.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-4642075936560584272009-03-28T12:35:00.006+00:002009-05-20T12:10:22.834+00:00Playing with PachubeFinally had a little time to investigate a web-based service called <a href="http://www.pachube.com/">Pachube</a>. For those that have not heard of it, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pachube</span> is a service that enables users to share and connect real time sensor data from objects, devices and environments both real and virtual.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ></span><blockquote><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The key aim is to facilitate interaction between remote environments, both physical and virtual. Apart from enabling direct connections between any two environments, it can also be used to facilitate many-to-many connections: just like a physical "patch bay" (or telephone switchboard) Pachube enables any participating project to "plug-in" to any other participating project in real time so that, for example, buildings, interactive installations or blogs can "talk" and "respond" to each other.</span><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">from <a href="http://community.pachube.com/?q=node/1">Pachube website</a></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></blockquote>It is currently in beta, so I had a little play to get an idea of the fundamentals. To make full use of the service you need to be given an API key, to allow you to access <span style="font-weight: bold;">outputs</span> and create<span style="font-weight: bold;"> inputs.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3392320826/" title="Playing with Pachube in SL by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3628/3392320826_811b5a67a2.jpg" alt="Playing with Pachube in SL" height="400" width="400" /></a><br /><br />This windsock object in Second Life, is connected to an Output feed from a Weather Station in Grimsby, that returns data as a comma seperated values.<br />The windspeed data, is used to effect the tension of the flexiprim that makes the windsock, making it visualise windspeed in a more familiar fashion.<br /><br />Anyway, this was a simple exercise to see how Pachube works with an object in SL.<br /><br />Using this principle, Second Life environments can be controlled or respond to realworld realtime data through Pachube, for example an Arduino Microcontroller, that allows for some physical interactive object/wearable computer to control Virtual Content. The reverse is true, and objects in Second Life can be used to send data to a Pachube feed to be shared, allowing for an avatar - to make a realworld installation change.<br /><br />In my experimentation, I had a play with <a href="http://processing.org/">Processing</a>, and created a simple sketch that was effected by Second Life data on a input feed I created. It is important that if you are using Pachube with Processing you download the <a href="http://www.eeml.org/library/">EEML Library</a>.<br /><br />Whilst Pachube is in beta, data is refreshed every 5 secs, so GET(ing) and POST(ing) data to a feed, can't be any faster. So for the moment, don't expect to create dynamic updating several times a second... ( which would be great if I was pulling Avatar data into some Motion Graphics program in Processing )<br /><br />Whats great with Pachube though, is that its a community of shared data, so many users could take the data and use it in different ways.... particularly for myself, I may take real world information simply to be part of some generative artwork in SL, whilst others may want to visualise the same data in another way. From this, interesting and unexpected results could happen..Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-31668248143030531532009-03-12T18:11:00.003+00:002009-05-20T12:10:41.362+00:00UCreative - Second Life Island<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/2848534180/" title="UCA Campus (under construction) by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/2848534180_9cbc8f9ab7.jpg" alt="UCA Campus (under construction)" height="240" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Back in Summer of 2008, I was asked to build a Second Life presence for <a href="http://www.ucreative.ac.uk/">University of Creative Arts</a> - (a specialist art uni, which is an amalgamation of five UK based colleges in Kent and Surrey ). As the campus was split across several towns, SL was being explored as a potential way of creating a virtual community of practice, where graduate and post-graduate students could get together.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3349761714/" title="UCreative SL Island by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3607/3349761714_973715b1f2.jpg" alt="UCreative SL Island" height="240" width="400" /></a><br /><br />I was commissioned to create a basic low prim scaffolding for an interdisciplinary island of arts, and also create something that gave a imaginative flavor of what could be achieved in virtual worlds, rather than slavishly re-creating the realworld campus.<br />The build was designed to get people navigating and around a 3D space fast especially by flying, but a teleport system was also in place to get around quicker, or those still learning to control their avatar.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3349761174/" title="UCreative SL Island by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3600/3349761174_404572692f.jpg" alt="UCreative SL Island" height="240" width="400" /></a><br /><br />The approach I went for, was to create a Giant Tree, where the foundations of its base, formed the main lecture theater spaces, as well as public areas of exhibition and marketing - a scuplture/art garden, a more traditional white cube gallery space, and a sandbox area, on the ground.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3348932253/" title="UCreative SL Island by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3449/3348932253_5925fb7453.jpg" alt="UCreative SL Island" height="240" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Very simplified tree branches formed platforms, that would be given over to specific areas, eg. moving image, fashion, communication design, and also staff development. Finally high up above the clouds was a private sandbox area.<br />This use of height within a sim, was to make efficient use of the island, rather than everything flat on the ground.<br />Hopefully this system also keeps information/areas apart, but not completely compartmentalised. As it was a shared island, discpline areas could share space and resources - creating opportunities for students to work across courses.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-86693209386403311462009-03-08T21:22:00.003+00:002009-05-20T12:11:04.907+00:00Avatar Skin and Clothes Map<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3338539861/" title="Avatar Skin and Clothes Map by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3338539861_f4c2ca425a_o.png" alt="Avatar Skin and Clothes Map" height="300" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Avatar skin and clothes map for workshop in content creation in Second Life for 1st Years. Feel free if you think its useful.<br /><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3338539861_f4c2ca425a_o_d.png"><br />Download</a>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-75633418360410198962009-03-08T19:52:00.003+00:002009-05-20T12:11:26.552+00:00Avatar Attachment Points<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3339061334/" title="Avatar Attachment Points by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/3339061334_0078daeaab_o.png" alt="Avatar Attachment Points" height="300" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Map of Avatar Attachment Points... for workshop teaching SL content creation to 1st Years. Feel free to download a copy if you find it useful.<br /><a href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/3339061334_0078daeaab_o_d.png"><br />Download</a>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-35923376872198971532009-02-22T17:10:00.005+00:002009-05-20T12:11:45.646+00:00WoW educators on Twitter<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3032873670/" title="DethBeth hanging with the Lich King by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3296/3032873670_3ddeb19f2b.jpg" alt="DethBeth hanging with the Lich King" height="250" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Educator?<br />on Twitter?<br />play World of Warcraft?<br /><br />then join us on <a href="http://twittgroups.com/group/eduwow">http://twittgroups.com/group/eduwow</a><br /><br />or if flickr is your social media tool of choice<br />then share your pics at<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/1044051@N21/pool/">Educators in World of Warcraft flickr Pool</a>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-51798311192167133522009-02-13T12:18:00.002+00:002009-05-20T12:12:11.325+00:00DDM Collective 3rd Year Lineup<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3276587918/" title="The Collective by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3526/3276587918_b4d0e64a6d.jpg" alt="The Collective" height="150" width="400" /></a>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-14860489304492160232008-12-14T12:12:00.007+00:002009-05-20T12:12:27.802+00:00First impressions of PS3's HOME<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3106473029/" title="Center of Plaza by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3127/3106473029_ac9e846278.jpg" alt="Center of Plaza" height="230" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Eventually I managed to log into HOME (open beta) - playstation 3's new virtual world - at 5am GMT on the 12th Dec... until then it seemed the PS Network was taking a hammering.<br /><br />My initial response was to compare it more to <a href="http://www.twinity.com/en">Twinity</a><a href="http://www.kaneva.com/"></a>, than a true Second Life alternative... ie. private apartments and group spaces, linked to a central hub world, no 3D or scripted user generated content (yet) , <span style="font-style: italic;">and a lack of sophisticated camera controls that will make it a pain to create interesting machinima with its beautifully rendered world - ( but hey, that's part of the challange of machinima ))</span>.<br />Its a very sanitised experience, perpetually a bright midday summer's day ( which actually gives me a migrine ), avatars that can only be human and in peak condition <span style="font-style: italic;">(ok I'll grant you can be slightly chubby and have worry lines )</span> and a controlled branded experience of Sony and partner products ( <span style="font-style: italic;">which was to be expected. </span>)<br /><br />My curiosity of this new Virtual World has been peaked for several months (watching the lucky ones running around in a closed Beta), and I was always interested to see if it offered any educational benefits or opportunities. Particularly it was the Group tool and Clubhouse space that caught my eye. As this offers the opportunity of creating a small community within HOME.<br />Initially you are given a private apartment (<span style="font-style: italic;"> a lovely oceanside flat</span> ), but this is a space only you can manage, not give shared control.<br /><br />A <span style="font-weight: bold;">Club</span> is an option you can purchase for £3.59.. this gives you administration of a group title ( choose wisely - as you can't change it later ) - to which you can invite or people can request to join. Along with the group, you are given a default <span style="font-weight: bold;">Clubhouse</span>, where your friends can meet, even if you are not online.<br />When you purchase, Sony imply that in the future, there could be monthly costs to running a group.. but during this open beta ( till end of march '09 ) its a one off payment.<br /><br />At present, the default clubhouse is a dojo style interior, but from the greyed out option in the clubadmin tools, it looks like in the future you will be able to purchase new spaces.<br />It also seems you can only create One Club per avatar which you have ownership of, so again think before you create. I have yet to see if there is a limit to the number of other clubs you can join, in Second Life it is annoying that you can only join 25 groups, so I wonder if the same is true here, but at the moment, it's free to join someone else's club.<br />As admin you can allow other members to help administrate the group and content of clubhouse. ( <span style="font-style: italic;">similar to flatmates in a Twinity apartment </span>)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3106473033/" title="Furniture Limits in Home Spaces by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3161/3106473033_85e359bfdd.jpg" alt="Furniture Limits in Home Spaces" height="300" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Within the clubhouse, you can add furniture, to a limit of 40 items... this could easily be used up, particularly as I'm interested in using the Clubhouse as an Art Gallery, and I can foresee that I will need picture frames for each photo or image I upload into the space.<br />At present you can't purchase any media or image frames<span style="font-style: italic;"> ( I'm assuming as this is the start of an open beta, Sony are probably wanting to present a positive image, so avoiding the user's opportunity to post copyrighted material up in spaces, or the inevitable clubhouse or private space full of Porn Pictures, or simply they are trying to avoid the server's been jammed up with content. )</span>, but I have seen images from the closed beta that show their existence - linky to a photo from <a href="http://eightbar.co.uk/">edpredator</a> - <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/epredator/2117246451/in/pool-924121@N20">http://www.flickr.com/photos/epredator/2117246451/in/pool-924121@N20</a><br /><br />Within the Clubhouse, you have a <span style="font-weight: bold;">bulletin board</span> tool by default...<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/3106473037/" title="Bulletin Boards in Clubhouse by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3277/3106473037_98149ab8b5.jpg" alt="Bulletin Boards in Clubhouse" height="300" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Sadly the bulletin board is a tad disappointing. Posts are limited to a subject line of 32 characters, and a message of around Twitter length. Only admins can post messages to the board, so at best its more like having sticky notes on a fridge, or a simple way of announcing group meetup dates.<br />The Posts are also censored - you can only used approved words - ie. no swearing, and it also denies you posting up Telephone numbers.<br />I tried putting in web links, which appear, but are not clickable. So you can't use the bulletin board as a portal to web content.<br /><br />----<br /><br />I'll reserve a final judgement, as the Open beta rolls out new 'Appliances', 'Picture frames' and new content hopefully over the next few months.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Things I would love to see appear in the future are </span>:<br /><br />Use PS3 webcam to send a videostream into the Clubhouse, <span style="font-style: italic;">be a simple way of presenting a conference or similar.</span><br />Stream Audio, or at least play audio content that's uploaded. ( I'm assuming a PS3 Internet Radio Station is on the cards, if not - they're missing a trick ) - a pragmatic solution is to use the pre-existing voice chat for now.<br />Objects or Tools, to link up outside webpages.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Anywho - if you're an educator exploring HOME - my avatar's name is AnnabethAnnabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-39170821734585144752008-10-28T12:23:00.010+00:002009-05-20T12:14:19.675+00:00Using Camera controls in Second LifeAs I'm doing a workshop on using Second Life to teach video production skills at Stirling University this week. I thought it would be useful to create some images to explain the camera controls in Second Life.<br />Feel free to take a copies and upload into Second Life if you find it useful.<br /><a href="http://flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/sets/72157608449493777/">Flickr set here</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/2981375000/" title="Selecting your Attention by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3032/2981375000_a178a84066.jpg" alt="Selecting your Attention" height="400" width="400" /></a><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/2980480575/" title="zoomcam by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3142/2980480575_2e219b198c.jpg" alt="zoomcam" height="400" width="400" /></a><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/2980480569/" title="orbitcam by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/2980480569_0917732bfc.jpg" alt="orbitcam" height="400" width="400" /></a><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/2980480567/" title="pancam by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3027/2980480567_743e223df9.jpg" alt="pancam" height="400" width="400" /></a><br /><br />or teleport to <a href="http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Collective/98/42/34">http://slurl.com/secondlife/The%20Collective/98/42/34</a>Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-86283316056606941272008-09-23T08:44:00.007+00:002009-05-20T12:13:54.005+00:00Exploring the 'rule of thirds' in Second LifeWhilst doing a real life digital camera induction, I had some thoughts about creating some tools to help explore some of the conventions of photography composition, particularly a rule of thumb called 'Rule of Thirds'.<br />This led to making a HUD overlay, that presents a grid, dividing up the screen into thirds. ( if you change your screen resolution, edit the HUD so it stretches to the edge of the screen )<br />The lines and intersections of these lines, are regarded as the sweet points of balancing a composition.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/2881928532_e6557dd44d.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/2881928532_e6557dd44d.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >A Rule of Thirds - HUD - used to aid balance of elements in a photographic composition</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2881928592_886e5da69b.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3261/2881928592_886e5da69b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Beach and Sea fall along the horizontal lines, whilst Angrybeth falls along the left vertical line.</span></span><br /><br />Though its a simple tool, what excites me, is that it shows Second Life can be used to explore some photographic fundamentals... which if you are based at an institution that may lack a breadth of equipment to do this practically in Real Life, gives us a Virtual opportunity. <span style="font-style: italic;">( thankfully at our college we have enough equipment, so each student can have a camera, but I know of other places where this resource can be a limited access )</span><br />Also I'm interested in using Second Life as an 'interdisciplinary' space, here the tool could be used by students exploring Game Art and Design, who may not traditionally do a project with photography or video , but maybe are exploring shotframing and composition within 'cutscenes' within a video game.<br />For those that dabble with a range of digital media, Second Life is a great place to reinforce ideas and skills of video / photography production that transfer well to 3D animation or virtual environments.Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-22612705967828495472008-07-16T11:01:00.005+00:002009-05-20T12:14:52.631+00:00Embedding - Just Leap In - 3D scene into MoodleHaving a play with the new closed beta of <b><a href="http://www.justleapin.com/">Just Leap in</a></b>, a web browser based virtual world. Like <a href="http://www.lively.com/html/landing.html">Google Lively</a>, you can embed the player into your own webpage. So to have a dabble, I embedded the Just Leap in code into a label into Moodle.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/annamorphic/2673300945/" title="Embedding 'Just Leap in' - 3D Scene into Moodle by AngryBeth, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3026/2673300945_9cf0c68f49_o.png" alt="Embedding 'Just Leap in' - 3D Scene into Moodle" height="320" width="440" /></a><br /><br />Now more of these web-based virtual worlds are starting to emerge, might be a second wave of interest in virtual world teaching and learning. I hope some of these web-based VW's start to allow scripting and content creation on par with Second Life, and then it'll really start to get some synthesisAnnabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-90040506422102762772008-07-01T15:02:00.007+00:002009-05-20T12:16:16.846+00:00End of Year sandboxAs part of end of year let hair down, a few of the more SL engaged students continued to develop some extra curricula personal work in the Collective Sandbox. Here's some pics....<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/2627289403_354b8963c0_b.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/2627289403_354b8963c0_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2628106914_b8c9dd1695_b.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3187/2628106914_b8c9dd1695_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Rob's fantasy build...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/2628106548_b06b690d6c_b.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3113/2628106548_b06b690d6c_b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Phil's mad scientist lab...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvh8gHcYOP0TspgHnp4oKoGaCJLydNiiihtjlVBQsqKe3Zgm2EUoyyPg66tYMO9zw9rXnwBxX4mRmU51do95behVEzDxe0fwFVmCSTMZH4pU12lhSDzDZ0LHGGoOa5Y0-AGViq/s1600-h/student_001.bmp"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvh8gHcYOP0TspgHnp4oKoGaCJLydNiiihtjlVBQsqKe3Zgm2EUoyyPg66tYMO9zw9rXnwBxX4mRmU51do95behVEzDxe0fwFVmCSTMZH4pU12lhSDzDZ0LHGGoOa5Y0-AGViq/s400/student_001.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5218064923842931458" border="0" /></a><br />Steve's maze temple...Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38639829.post-66489969939119289832008-04-10T11:13:00.006+00:002009-05-20T12:17:10.533+00:00The DDM Students in SL - Machinima<embed src="http://blip.tv/play/AbmBUwA" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="300" width="400"></embed><br /><br />A casual vox-pops catching the thoughts and interests of the DDM students using Second Life. This short machinima documentary was created by 2nd Year student Steve Searle, as part of the optional pathway in Moving Image.<br />I thought I'd share it with you...Annabeth Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11847770265177617088noreply@blogger.com0