EXPLORE HIGHGATE: an IPTV Video Story Plan

Application Domain

---

In the past, TV interactivity has been severely restricted by the lack of an adequate return channel. So-called “red-button” interactivity depended on carousel (or phone connection) delivery, and was slow and unsatisfactory for modern viewers. Broadband-delivered IPTV allows for a much higher level of interactive experience, but TV producers lacking technical skills to develop for games-type features have tended to out-source interactive development to third-party specialists. Research has identified this as a major problem, from the point of view of creativity, cost, and workflow. The aim of this use case is to show how a TV producer with typical domain skills might use INSCAPE’s 2D features to create a story plan for an interactive guide to a local area, to be submitted to a commissioner. This is in line with identified needs for more locally-based broadband-delivered services, with a business model based on local as well as national advertising. INSCAPE features would provide a detailed storyboard and plan of the interactive story, animated by a working demonstration (draft voiced commentary and sketches, photographic stills and rough video as “placeholder” illustrations) to be submitted to a commissioner for comment, revision and approval Once “red-lit” producers would move on to a full production using high quality video assets at the standard appropriate for a particular delivery channel.

Story Outline

---

Highgate occupies the northern heights of London, with panoramic and spectacular views in many directions. It is a beautiful area, rich in parks, buildings and cultural history, complex and rewarding to explore. The concept here is to offer an IPTV/broadband delivered interactive resource, enabling users to make a virtual tour. Although outside the scope of INSCAPE itself, users in a final version would be encouraged to contribute their own narratives and images to expand the resource with personal knowledge and enrich the experience.
 

The Presentation

The experience begins with a short introduction to Highgate with a montage of images and audio commentary. Active buttons appear to encourage users to click and begin the exploration of individual parts. Users are also offered a parallel interface with a map of the area highlighting the interactive options at a glance. Each exploration is planned as a short video/stills sequence with commentary. Users follow the linear story, but are invited at various stages to explore sub themes, which when finished return them to the previous section, or back to the map to start a new exploration. The appearance of on-screen button/s is a prompt to explore a sub-theme. So, for example, a user seeing/hearing about Waterlow Park (“the garden for the gardenless”), will see Lauderdale House and by clicking be able to bring up a mini sequences about its history, and the people who lived there like Nell Gwynn the actress and mistress of Charles II. Another part will show the site of the house of the poet Andrew Marvell, and clicking bring up details of his life and work. At the end of each mini-sequence, the user will return to the point of departure in the previous sequence. The planned user interface is shown below.

Proposed Elements

General Introduction to Highgate, the village and surrounds (Pond Square, High Street, Highgate Hill, West Hill, Gatehouse etc)

Map – invitation to explore

Famous Highgate People (Nell Gwynn, Coleridge, Dickens, Marvell, Ruskin, etc)

Waterlow Park (history, Lauderdale House, gardens)

Hampstead Heath

Kenwood House

Highgate Cemetery

Highlighted INSCAPE Features

---

Explore Highgate will use INSCAPE’s core story planning features to show how a story can be built using keyframe illustrations, and an interactive story matrix developed and represented. In addition it will show how layers can be used to imbedded hotspots into video to provide choices by clicking on buttons.

The Story Planner will be used as a dynamic storyboard, to write scripts for individual elements illustrated with sketches or photographs. The main aim here is to conceive and plan the overall narrative together with its interactive elements and cross links. As the experience is assembled, new possibilities for interactive links will emerge and be added to enrich the story matrix.

The Story Editor will be used to assemble individual visual and audio elements and insert hot spots into the introductory video by superimposing layers.

The Stage Editor will be used to assemble, preview and test the story. Playback features will be used to provide a working model of the proposed story for commissioners to try out and test.