May 3-7, 2005
Thesis Presentations
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| Walk a Mile... (working title) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Author(s): | Damon Kane | |
| Instructor: | Migliorelli, Frank | |
| Class: | Final Project Seminar | |
| URL: | http://itp.nyu.edu/~ddk9151/thesis.html | |
| Documents: |
Preliminary Outline(Word Document)
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| Documents: | Define and Defend(Word Document) | |
| Keywords: | ||
| I want to use video to help change people\'s perceptions and stereotypes they have of others by having them experience life from someone else\'s point of view. | ||
| I think that a media enhanced installation can influence and change peoples perceptions of how they view each other. To that end, I will design an installation that will place the user in the viewpoint and experience of another person, using branching video and sound. The end goal being that with this insight and multiple-choice perspectives, the user will be better able to relate to and understand the experience and viewpoint of another person. | ||
| Personal Statement: | I’ve often wondered about the statement/phrase/cliché (paraphrased), “You don’t know how the other man lives until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes.” It basically encourages us not to judge people based solely on our personal perspective and viewpoint, because you never know what they’ve gone through. After taking a class on interactive computing in public spaces, I started thinking about how to use technology to visualize that saying. I think that when we get to know someone, it makes them ‘human,’ and we’re less likely to generalize or objectify them – getting rid of the ‘us vs. them’ mentality. Even if we agree to disagree, at least we can respect each other as people.
So I started thinking about how this could be done as an installation and all that it would entail. My idea centers on using video as the main source of interaction, shot from a first-person perspective. I would hope that anyone who goes through the installation would be less likely to jump to conclusions about someone who doesn’t reflect ‘them’ – whatever those cultural, physical, or spiritual attributes may be. My plan is to have several videos with choices plugged into them – similar to the Choose Your Own Adventure book series when I was a kid. There are three choices to make, and possibly 3 different ‘plot’ junctures. Video monitors will surround the user, and they will enter some information in a database before entering to ensure a nice ‘opposite.’ There are so many possible choices to script out, but hopefully I’ll be able to choose compelling & believable ones that will make each person think. Ideally, the user will make a choice based on his background that has dire consequences in the scenario they’re in. Additionally, I’d like to make it so that the user doesn’t know who she is initially. | |
| Audience: | Anyone and everyone. | |