The first Review meeting

16th August 2011

The first review meeting was basically about giving my panel an introduction to where the project has travelled and grown so far. Since it's something that has a bit of a background that I'm taking forward, they had to get to know the project a little bit and soak it all in, so this panel meeting was primarily about getting to know the project.

I showed them parts of the new and old books and laid out where I am, what needs to be done and who does what.

The feedback received from each panel member was very relevant.

A said that my focus should be on the story at this point because that's the ultimate hook for people.

I should look at creating a storyarc, my points of conflict, the strength of the characters 

and also know my story so well that I can tell it in one sentence.

P spoke about getting to know the framework for my project. getting into the coding potentially, and being aware of the skeleton that's going to be used to create my story.

He then went on to say that perhaps instead of making all this effort to get this story out there, one should focus on first creating a platform or engine of stories that let others make stories for the ipad  on it too.

He also then brought up how sometimes knowing too much about a project can make it too contrived.

V brought up some wonderful myths pertaining to the peacock character in particular, he said that apart from murugan, there's also a distinct link to Krishna because of his blue skin and peacock feathers. He told me of a few beautiful stories about Krishna, indira, rain and a mountain, all of which linked up very nicely to this particular character. It was followed by a discussion about how these characters don't have to mimic myths but understanding backgrounds could make my characters stronger. :)

The next meeting is yet to be decided.

in the meantime though, I've started work on my prototype! 

REVIEW MEETING 2

September 22nd 2011

In this review Prayas was out of town and so It was me,Vijay and Anders.

A lot of time had passed since my first review and so there was a lot of progress to show particularly on the development front.
- I had a working first prototype,
a number of illustrations  and some pretty detailed storyboards.
Most of the month of september was spend fixing on the developers and making files development ready,
also deciding on how much of Khoya was possible in the span of time that was available to us all.
I was also just about getting into Animation then too.

The Advice given by Anders and Vijay was particularly about the scope of the project.
Khoya is quite a mammoth of a project and so one of the biggest issues has always been making it work in the timeframe given. I had a long chat with them about how I was feeling dissatisfied with just doing book one as my diploma even though it made sense because the content wasn't as rich as the content in book 2.
The feedback from Anders was to-
1.Work on the characters a bit more.
2.Accept that book 1 is what it is and it can be beautiful in all its machines. work on making it beautiful and owning it (this advice became very important)

Vijay's feedback was that like  a temple sculptor, one has to find one's moment of satisfaction when one thinks the work is complete. And It's better to do one book beautifully than more in a rush.


This meeting became a key point in how I took on the first book then onwards and created artwork that I loved. :)

REVIEW MEETING 3

October 21st 2011

By this meeting, I'd been to London and given a talk at Wired, animated most of my slides and gotten pretty much 3/4th the way with my project. This blog also documents all the work that's been done illustration wise.

I presented all my illustrations and animations to Vijay and Anders (we couldn't get in touch with prayas)
and we went through each piece and animation and looked at how we could make it better.

Anders still felt my characters needed to be more interesting, and that has been solved since.
Vijay was saying it might be interesting to see how Mudras from classical dances in india could help me in character design and the poise of the bodies I draw.
this was really interesting feedback because it brought in a sense of indianness and taking from the traditions in a very deep way.

the animations were turning out nicely they both said and were excited to see the new prototype.

One thing that was decided was that I'd be submitting a keynote prototype to Srishti,
and then presenting my actual prototype at my reviews.
this was agreed upon by everyone.


My type needs work.
this is pretty clear. So my next meeting with Anders is going to be about fixing all the type in my book.
It's all coming together.

Diploma Proposal

Diploma Project Proposal 2011

SHILO SHIV SULEMAN

AVX-402

1.THE DESIGN BRIEF

To explore how New Technology can be used in an Interactive Narrative to bring out the Magic of a Fantasy story for Children.

To create a Contemporary Indian story that brings together Mythology, Environmental Issues and Technology in a creative and interactive way.

To employ and explore the potential of Touch Screen interfaces to create real and immersive fantasy experiences for Children and create one of India’s First iPad/tablet  narratives for children.

To take forward a project that began in Srishti to the market and see it developed and produced.

THE BACKGROUND

I’ve always been a bit of a technophobe, fearing that if I got sucked into a computer screen I would lose my relationship with the natural world. In 2009, in dialogue with Mukhtiar Ali the Sufi Singer, we discussed how nothing had changed since the Mahabharat, lofty chariots in the sky are not unlike our aeroplanes. We came to the conclusion however that Magic had been replaced by Machinery. 

I found this quite disturbing.

If anything, Machinery (and technology) should enable and actualize magic, not kill it. So I started working on Khoya, a series of interactive narratives for children in the Toy Lab. 

In it’s first avatar: Khoya became an Augmented Reality book for Children. It was amongst the first of it’s kind in the country and explored the boundaries of technology and tangibility.

In it’s second incarnation, I started to work on the second book of Khoya on the tablet platform. As my diploma project, I would like to get Khoya produced and out into the market.

THE NEED

• The iPad and Tablet market and technology is less than 2 years old and herald the beginning of a complete revolution in User Interfaces and the way we interact with technology. 

It also marks the beginning of a new and increasingly MULTISENSORIAL way of Storytelling. For the first time in the history of human storytelling TOUCH is an active component along with sound,movement, time, visual and text, in how narratives are experienced. However, very little work has been done in this space so far that really explores and actualizes the potential of a mobile touch screen interface. 

• On a more personal level, Khoya is my mind/heart child. Having now worked on it in Srishti twice already, it’s become a project that brings together all my learning in one place. It also challenges me to work with a technology that is absolutely new and something I would have never imagined myself doing when I joined Srishti. 

• Having worked with mythology on multiple occassions in Srishti, Khoya is a way of using all that I have learnt to create my own mythos that is both Indian and Original and New.  It doesn’t attempt to recycle old myths but create a universe of it’s own.

• Though the final product itself isn’t a tangible object and remains on screen, the interactions aim to make the child Aware of their natural surroundings, Act upon and understand environmental issues that threaten the earth as well as Inform the children of where the current developmental module is heading towards through Interactions that involve movement and getting out into natural spaces.

2. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. How can we design children’s multimedia that encourages children that retains the magic and potential to imagine of old-ways of storytelling but uses the strengths of a new medium?

2. How can we make children more sensitive and aware of the Earth and the current state of the Environment through an immersive technological and narrative experience?

1. How can one use the mobility of a tablet platform to get children away from screens and begin exploring the world?
2. What are the most crucial aspects of the design and creating a story? Interaction? Visual? Story? Sound? 
3. How can one raise funding as an artist to put a personal project into the market without losing rights to my work or the majority of the profits? 
4. Can one create original and new mythologically inspired material to create an Indian Story?
5. How can one really integrate touch as a propellor of the story and create a connection between the narrative and the child’s immersion and interaction?
6. Can I bring together my love for books, animation, storytelling, sound and magic all in one narrative? 

2. APPROACH/PROCESS

1. Research and Inspiration

Though a lot of the preliminary research was done for Khoya during the Toy Lab, I would get back into a short immersion into understanding the building blocks of  children’s fantasy and mythology as well as conversations with Children of a fantasy reading age and build the story.  Also consolidating this data in an interesting way.

1. Planning, Scripting and Storyboarding

While designing for any Interactive Narrative there are two layers of scripting and Storyboarding: The first is the script of the storyline itself. and then a storyboard/prototype of all the interactions and the permutations-combinations that they lead to.

This would also include working on budgets and sourcing skillsets. 

3.Character Design and Environment Design

This would include concept sketching, moodboards and creating final character sheets and environment sketches.

4.Production and Compositing

Getting into final production of illustrations and layouts as well as co-ordinating the writing, sound and development and animating all the scenes needed.

5.Prototyping Interactions

Creating a prototype that the developers could easily translate into code.

6.Development

On the completion of the prototype I would get into co-ordinating and working with coders to create a functional product that’s ready to launch by December 2011 if not before.

1. User Testing

Post production one would have to go through intense user testing and bug fixing in collaboration with the developers.

8.Documentation

With a project like Khoya which is full of rich content, I’d like to use my documentation book as a project of it’s own. The tangible guide to the universe within Khoya.

3. RESOURCES

In order to create and launch an iPad application into the Market I would have to create and organize a team to work together

The following skills would be needed for me to progress:

1. Writing skills

2.Funding

3. Publishing

4.Sound Design

1. Development

1. User Testing

7.Marketing

3. LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Successfully working with  Technology despite my previously technophobic background
• Discovering fantasy in technology for myself and understanding it’s value
• Working on an end to end product that I own and manage.
• Understanding Interactive design and how to create interactions that last beyond a gimmick and actually contribute to the story as well as the larger ideal backing it.
• Discovering how to engage children with their natural environments using a mobile technology
• Pushing my artwork and illustration style to another level of finesse and depth
• The process of effective and beautiful documentation
• Working from a very Indian context to create something which is fresh and International.
• Working with Marketing, Budgeting, Management and other aspects of production that I have never gotten into. 

Thanking You

Shilo Shiv Suleman

AVX401

The Earth Laughs in Flowers

Jasmine.

More details on her sooooon :) 

the original sketch

Here's character that's a mix of a flower and old indian actresses/dancers.

There are 5-6 such characters. Each of them is based on a different flower. 

this particular one is jasmine and I'm just about done with her. But I need + want some feedback!!

Basically I've been trying to give her a waxy-white jasmine kinda feel. Very few other colours and almost an ethereal glow. I'd like her to feel like she's fragrant almost.

The main inspiration for these have been the apsaras (in the previous post)

Old hindi actresses and Mata Hari :) 

Khoya- Back in Black

So right now, I've just started working with Khoya in it's second avatar with the Toy Lab (website coming sooooon)

 I've been thinking about all the narrative possibilities with the I-pad and how 'storytelling' would evolve through it.

So far, a lot of the narrative explorations with the Ipad haven't really opened up to what 'Touch' can do to a story, they seem to be a translation of a book onto 

another medium with minor adaptations like being able to turn a page or make somethings on screen move around.
Imagine...it's the first time we have here Word, Image, Sound, Movement, Time and Touch come together to create a narrative experience. 

It's fascinating! :) 

As you may remember, 'Khoya' means lost, and it's a fantasy narrative for children and adults about the disappearing natural world and the power of the imagination to re-establish a link with childhood, with love and with nature.

In the second chapter, it deals entirely with the Earth element and becomes a journey into the imagination. I've just about started initial interactive explorations with the Ipad but some of the ideas are turning out to be very exciting and unlike anything I've ever heard before.

Bringing together the technological and the tangible. Magic and Machinery. :)