Meeting 18/03/08 – notes

Date:

18/03/2008

 

Location:

Library 129

 

Present:

Vijay, Lian, Richard, Ash, Pan

 

Apologies:

Ben, Matt, Paul, Seb, Parag, Shazad

 

Items discussed:

 

1. Agreed agenda
2. Trailer format & requirements
3. Documentary
4. Milestone 2 requirements
5. Game format
6. Any other business
7. Ratify minutes
8. Next meeting

 

2.                  The trailer being prepared for milestone 02 will be 1.30 minutes (90 seconds) long, it was agreed that there would be 15 seconds of intro, 60 seconds of explanation of the product in the ‘body’ and a 15 second outro.

a.      Filming for the trailer will require 3 people plus Pan

                                                              i.      Parag and Vijay will attend, 1 more volunteer is required to film on Thursday 20/03/08

                                                             ii.      Pan to look into whether a risk assessment is required

b.      All content for the trailer (3d, audio) is to be submitted to Pan on Wednesday 26/03/08

3.                  Seb to update the group on the documentary and for editing to begin

4.                  Milestone 02 will be far more media-rich than any of the presentations to date, each type of ‘media’ present within the product will be presented, i.e.

a.      examples of all in-game audio – original music, sound effects and collected music

b.      3d animations – both in-game and for advertising purposes

c.      tutorial “demo” of the game – video walkthrough of how to play the game

d.      new trailer

e.      clips from the documentary – band interviews etc

f.       all branding, advertising and imagery

g.      Working model of the game

5.                  Ben needs to provide Pan with details of how the ‘quiz’ section of the game will look for inclusion in the next trailer.

a.      Ash and Richard will start to write up questions to be included in the quiz

6.                  Other Business

a.      Ash to get a detailed breakdown of how the marks are distributed from Richard and Simon

b.      Ben to update the group on requirements for content submission

c.      Name of the game to be decided on

Next meeting:

Wednesday 26/03/2008, Time and location to be confirmed

Meeting 14/03/08 – notes

Date:

14/03/2008

 

Location:

Library 127

 

Present:

Paul, Parag, Vijay, Shazad, Lian, Ash, Pan

 
Apologies:

Seb, Ben, Matt, Richard

  
Items discussed:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Discuss feedback from milestone 1
   1. Game
   2. Audio
   3. Video
3. Draw up detailed list of responsibilities
4. Prepare milestone 2 presentation
5. Any other business
6. Ratify minutes
7. Next meeting

 

2.                  a.  Game – Ben to confirm he can introduce a 3^rd axis to the game (i.e. make it 3d)

b.      Audio – the following audio needs to be created:

a.      Sound effects for the character/logo

b.      Sound effects for the ‘in game’ action (impact sounds etc)

c.      ‘Winning’ music to be played when someone wins

d.      ‘Tense’ ambient beds to be produced for the quiz style game

e.      ‘Winning’ music to be played when question is answered correctly

f.       ‘Winning’ music to be played when player wins quiz game

c.      Video – A storyboard is needed for the trailer for milestone 02

3.                  Not discussed

4.                  Preparation will begin immediately for milestone 02 presentation

a.      18-03-2008 – Storyboard trailer for milestone 02 presentation and shooting list

b.      25-0305-03-2008 – All content to be handed over to Pan (3d, audio, video) for milestone 02 trailer

c.      31-03-2008 – Pan to deliver trailer and hand back to sfx team who will then synchronise the sound effects to the appropriate visual cues

d.     01-04-2008

                                                              i.      SFX track is handed back to Pan for final compositing

                                                             ii.      Powerpoint presentation is created

e.      02-04-2008 – Mock presentation

f.       03-04-2008 – Milestone 02 presentation

Action points:

• Variety of music to be composed to be played ‘in game’ – Paul
• SFX created for milestone 02 trailer and final game – Ash & Seb
• Logo to be animated into a variety (10-15) of 3-second ‘stings’ – Vijay
• Recording tracks with 2 bands – Parag, Matt & Rich
• Copy for narration to be written and recorded – Ash & Paul
• Deadlines for content required for game to be specified – Ben
• Final advertising materials to be produced and branded powerpoint template to be created – Shazad & Lian

Next meeting:

Tuesday 18/03/2008, 11:00-13:00, Library Room 129.TBC

Meeting 14-03-08 12:00-13:00 Library Room 127 – proposed agenda

Masters Group Project

Meeting – 14/03/2008 – 12:00 – Library room 127

 

Proposed Agenda:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Discuss feedback from milestone 1
   1. Game
   2. Audio
   3. Video
3. Draw up detailed list of responsibilities
4. Prepare milestone 2 presentation
5. Any other business
6. Ratify minutes
7. Next meeting

Milestone 01 – feedback

Feedback 01 – Key points:

• Player to be able to choose between Pong or Question games
• Cubes (BBC) logo was preferred as the most polished/professional
• Logos for product and company should be separate (the company logo is not important)
• Check for copyright issues on Pong game

 

Feedback 02 – Key points:

• Presentation
  • Include more media elements
  • Handouts with branding
  • Branding to be included on all content
  • More enthusiasm
  • Rehearse what you’re going to say
• Trailer
  • Wasn’t clear enough what the product was
• Product
  • The group is behind on product development
  • Breakdown content
    • Identify and detail every contribution
      • E.g. how many minutes of audio required/supplied etc
  • Replayability? High scores record etc
  • How will songs be played back
    • What media will accompany them, how will it look
  • Higher standard of in-game, interactive audio
  • Music to match game
    • “Winning” music played
  • Define branding better
• Milestone 2
  • Thursday 03-04-2008
  • Use whoever still hasn’t presented
  • Everything must be finished (“final draft”) to allow for final ‘tweaks’
    • Playable version of the game
  • New trailer
  • Well-defined list of roles and content being produced/work done
  • Complete set of marketing materials

Meeting – 12-03-08 – 12:00-14:00 Library Room 129 – proposed agenda

Masters Group Project

Meeting – 12/03/2008 – 12:00 – Library room 129

 

Proposed Agenda:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Branding/advertising materials presentation
3. Prepare milestone 1 presentation
4. Any other business
5. Ratify minutes
6. Next meeting

Meeting – 11-03-08 – Library Room 131a – Notes

Date:

11/03/2008

 

Location:

Library 131a

 

Present:

Seb, Paul, Parag, Shazad, Lian, Matt, Richard, Ash, Pan, Ben, Lian

 

 

Apologies:

Vijay

 

 

Items discussed:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Teaser Trailer presentation
3. Branding/advertising materials presentation
4. Artist liaison presentation
5. Final presentation spec presentation
6. Milestone 1 presentation planning
7. Any other business
8. Ratify minutes
9. Next meeting

 

 

2.                  Material for the trailer:

a.      All video footage has been gathered for the trailer – this includes ‘sample’ footage of 2 players ‘playing’ the game and some stills from Millenium Square.

b.      Several 3D animations have been produced showing the logo character displaying a variety of emotions

c.      Music has been produced to soundtrack the trailer.

                                                              i.      The narration has been recorded and added to the audio track

3.                  All advertising materials have been designed

a.      Feedback has been given and will be incorporated into the final design

4.                  Several bands signed up, more to be signed up by the end of the week. Video interviews have been conducted with the bands that have signed up

5.                  Not discussed

6.                  It was decided that Ben would lead the presentation with the following areas being covered:

a.      Group roles – to be presented by Ash

b.      Branding – to be presented by Shazad or Lian

c.      Artists – to be presented by Richard or Matt

d.      3D – to be presented by Vijay

e.      Music – to be presented by Paul

f.       Interactivity – to be presented by Ben

g.      Final presentation spec – to be presented by Ash

    

 

 

 

 

Action points:

• Trailer to be composited – Pan
• Advertising materials to be produced – Shazad & Lian
• Specific parts of the presentation to be prepared – Ben, Ash, Shazad, Lian, Richard, Matt, Vijay, Paul
• Continue to sign up artists – Matt & Rich

 

 

 

Next meeting:

Wednesday 12/03/2008, 12:00-14:00, Library Room 129

Meeting – 11-03-08 – 14:00 – Library Room 131a – Proposed Agenda

Masters Group Project

Meeting – 11/03/2008 – 14:00 – Library room 131a

 

Proposed Agenda:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Teaser Trailer presentation
3. Branding/advertising materials presentation
4. Artist liaison presentation
5. Final presentation spec presentation
6. Milestone 1 presentation planning
7. Any other business
8. Ratify minutes
9. Next meeting

Meeting – 07-03-2008 – Library Room 127 – notes

Date:

07/03/2008

 

Location:

Library 127

 

Present:

Seb, Paul, Parag, Vijay, Shazad, Lian, Matt, Richard, Ash, Pan

Apologies:

Ben, Lian

 

 

Items discussed:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Teaser Trailer update
   1. Video
   2. Music
   3. 3D
3. Branding/advertising materials update
4. Artist liaison update
5. Final presentation spec update
6. Milestone 1 presentation update
7. Any other business
8. Ratify minutes
9. Next meeting

 

2.                  a.  Video – Seb has been to Millenium Square – the ice rink is still up – enquiries as to when it would be taken down indicated the square would be clear for shooting on Friday afternoon before a stage is put up for Saturday. Permission has been granted to shoot from the upper floors of the Electric Press.

                                                              i.      Pan has supplied Seb with a list of required shots and diagrams indicating where these can be obtained in the Square

b.      Music – Paul presented a 30-second clip, it was liked by the group as it was felt it was suitably interesting but would still provide an adequate bed if we wished to add any narration to the trailer

c.      Vijay presented his 3d modelling and animation of the logo character, it was liked by the group and he will create several different animation sequences displaying a variety of emotions

3.                  Shazad presented several designs for business cards and posters to advertise the project – he will liaise with Pan to get these printed onto suitable paper.

4.                  Richard and Matt have several artists already signed up, they have been liaising with Seb to get video interviews

5.                  Ash checked with the group as to what we expect to present in the final presentation

6.                  It was decided the presentation would be fully constructed and have a trial run-through next Wednesday afternoon – by which time all of the multimedia content would be complete

9.       The next meeting will be on Tuesday 11-03-2008 at 14:00 – Pan to book the room

 

 

 

Action points:

• Trailer to be composited – Pan, Seb, Vijay, Paul
• Final presentation spec to be written up – Ash
• Artists who have agreed to take part to sign release form – Matt & Rich
• Advertising materials to be produced – Shazad & Lian
• Logo to be animated into a variety of ‘emotions’ – Vijay
• Bands/artists to continue to be contacted – Richard, Matt and Ash

 

 

 Next meeting:

Tuesday 11/03/2008, 14:00-15:00, Library Room 131a

Meeting – 07/03/08 – 12:00 – Library room 127 – proposed agenda

Masters Group Project

Meeting – 07/03/2008 – 12:00 – Library room 127

 

Proposed Agenda:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Teaser Trailer update
   1. Video
   2. Music
   3. 3D
3. Branding/advertising materials update
4. Artist liaison update
5. Final presentation spec update
6. Milestone 1 presentation update
7. Any other business
8. Ratify minutes
9. Next meeting

Meeting – 03/03/08 – notes

Date:

04/03/2008

Location:

Library 127

 
Present:

Seb, Paul, Parag, Vijay, Shazad, Lian, Matt, Richard, Ash, Pan

Apologies:

Ben

 
Items discussed:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Finalise product
3. Teaser Trailer update
4. Artist liaison update
5. Finalise group roles
6. Update on final presentation spec
7. Any other business
8. Ratify minutes
9. Next meeting

 

2. It was agreed that the product would take the following format:

• 2-player game
• At the start of the game each player selects a song they wish to hear (songs are provided by local bands)
• The players then play a ‘pong’ style game
• If a player wins the point then they are asked a question related to Leeds/local bands
• If they get the question right then the song they selected at the start is played, if they get the question wrong then they return to the ‘pong’ style game to play for another point.

 
3. Seb will be leading on the trailer. The trailer will comprise the following elements:

• Logo/Animation, Music, Video
• Vijay will animate the logo designed by Shazad and Lian to go at the start and end of the trailer
• Paul and Seb will compose music to soundtrack the trailer
• Seb will shoot some ‘example’ footage in Millenium Square of 2 ‘players’ ‘playing’ the game, he will also shoot footage of the Big Screen for the sample footage to be layered onto.
• Animated elements will be created to simulate what the game would look like.
• Pan and Seb will combine all of the elements into the finished 30-second trailer.

 

4. Richard and Matt have received positive responses from around 10 artists, they are currently drawing up a release form – which they will liaise with Ash about. They aim to have around 15-20 artists signed up by the end of next week.

 
5. The group roles were agreed upon as detailed in the document circulated by Ash

6. Not addressed.

7. For the milestone 1 presentation the following group members will be involved:

·         Seb – will present the trailer

·         Richard & Matt – will present the artists who will be involved, this will be accompanied by some media feedback (vox pops or similar) with feedback from the artists/public about the project

·         Shazad & Lian – will present all advertising materials

·         Vijay – will discuss the animation of the logo

·         Ash – will explain the group roles and give the specification for the final presentation

Action points:

• All branding and advertising materials to be completed by Friday – Shazad and Lian
• All music to be composed for trailer by Friday – Paul
• All video shot for trailer Friday – Seb
• Release form completed by Friday – Richard, Matt and Ash
• Logo to be animated into a short sequence – Vijay
• Bands/artists to be contacted – Richard, Matt and Ash

 

 

 

Next meeting:

Friday 07/03/2008, 12:00-13:00, Library Room 127

Meeting – 04/03/2008 – 14:30 – Library room 127 – proposed agenda

Masters Group Project

Meeting – 04/03/2008 – 14:30 – Library room 127

 

Proposed Agenda:

 

1. Agree agenda
2. Finalise product
3. Teaser Trailer update
4. Artist liaison update
5. Finalise group roles
6. Update on final presentation spec
7. Any other business
8. Ratify minutes
9. Next meeting

Meeting guidelines

Masters Group Project

Meeting guidelines and ways of working

 

1. There will be 3 sub-groups, each sub-group will have a nominated ‘spokesperson’ who will take notes at each sub-groups’ meeting. The spokesperson will then email the notes from each meeting to Ash (a.mann@leedsmet.ac.uk)
2. There will be an early-warning system in place. If for any reason a group member cannot complete the work they have started or cannot attend a meeting then they need to give at least 24 hours notice (where possible) to the relevant ‘spokesperson’. In the case of work not being able to be completed the spokesperson will request for relevant group-members to assist.
3. There will be a fixed agenda at each whole-group (catch-up) meeting, items for the agenda can be added before each meeting but there is a cut-off point (where reasonable) where agenda items cannot be added on the day of the meeting.
4. There is a general agreement of ‘politeness’ at meetings
5. Each group member will have a major and minor competency (e.g. Ash: major – project management. minor – audio)
6. Minutes/notes will be kept of each meeting, Ash will create a template for the meeting notes for each spokesperson to use, the minutes of each meeting are agreed on and ratified at the end of the meeting.
7. Meetings will be output-orientated with group members bringing examples of work to meetings.
8. Meetings will be held twice weekly

Feedback from product proposal

Dear All,

Many thanks for your proposals, based on your ideas we would like you to develop a product that meets the following requirements:

1 – A product which showcases the talent of local bands and performing artists.
2 – Including one interactive element/game.
3 – Is branded as an identifiable product for the Big Screen, Leeds.
4 – That includes a series of marketing materials for promotion (e.g. Video teasers / email mailouts / web banner adverts etc
5 – Produces at least 5 media components that comprise of the delivered product (e.g. Video content / 3D content / Audio content / Interactivity / Images)

For the Milestone One presentation the client expects (minimum expectation).

- A polished 30 second teaser which can be used to advertise the Big Screen product being developed.
- All finalised branding materials including logos and text designs etc.
- A list of local bands or artists that have been contacted and plans for the gathering of materials and vox pop interviews (would be ideal to see some)
- A full list of roles being undertaken by each group member (consider working in sub groups on different components) with timescales and expectations.
- A full specification of what the client can expect to have delivered at the final presentation.

We are concerned that little progress is being made and that none of the submissions met the requirements of providing a one page overview of a product idea with clear indication of how the product was to be developed. None of the submissions had any reference to other examples of work which we were able to sample as tasters of what you were trying to develop. If these proposals had been destined for a professional market they would not have met the required standard. Please try and consider yourselves as a professional company and as such present any material in a professional manner.

We look forward to seeing the material on 12th March at the Milestone One presentation.

Simon & Richard.

Bouncing Balls with webcam interaction

This is a test of using colour tracked images from a usb webcam as a surface for the balls to bounce off, works ok, need to try it with frame comparrison instead. Ignore the stupid sticking to each other thing the balls do, I’m gonna fix that now:P

I was thinking maybe some sort of game where there is only one or two balls and you get points for keeping them from hitting the edge of the screen and they gradually speed up? Could work well I think.

Jitter Bouncing Balls Mockup

Here is a short vid (no sound) of some shapes I made in Jitter (the visual part of MaxMsp) that react to eachother (ish) and bounce away and change speed.

The idea is to further this so that the Spheres react to images picked up from the live feed but that is still in progress.

A interesting effect that I will try to get a video of on here is that you can apply videos as textures to the shapes seen in the video. I.e, we could have some promo vid or whatever playing in each of the flying shapes. If it all works

Edit: Here we go, same thing as before but with video mapped as a texture to the shapes. Made them 2d for clarity, different vids can be mapped to different shapes if you want, we need to keep in mind processing power though.

Client pitch – initial plan

1. Annual debate on license fee has increased in intensity over the last couple of years due to steep increases in the license fee charge. This recent license fee debate requires the BBC to prove its worth. As such it is felt they need to carry out a more wide-reaching campaign of

• Explanation of services

• Awareness-raising of services

It is felt that the Big Screen could play a useful role in this campaign due to its prominent position in Leeds and the high amount of traffic it experiences as a result of this.

 

2. As such we plan to produce a selection of content which showcases the variety of BBC content and services available over their 3 main formats – television, radio and the internet (computer). Alongside these 3 formats we will also be highlighting the services of the Big Screen – noteable upcoming events as well as past successes (e.g. screening FIFA World Cup 2006)

 

3. Research into demographic of Big Screen footfall – varied:

• weekday: business people/students/hospital visitors

• weeknight: students/18-40 year olds – bars, restaurants

• weekendday: families/students

Resulting from this initial analysis it was decided that the content should be designed to have broad appeal.

 

4. ‘Family’ of characters idea was formulated (television, radio, internet & big screen) to more obviously link the promotional content to the relevant delivery vehicle.

 

5. [Example ideas] – explanation – refinement of characters needs to take place to ensure they are likeable and not ‘annoying’.

 

6. New ‘characters’ will feed into creation of a new, stronger brand for the Big Screen – currently felt to be slightly undefined and weak.

 

7. Content will have a pseudo-interactive element, the characters will be animated into a sequence wherein they interact with each other, this sequence will then be broadcast over a live feed taken from Millenium Square so it will seem as though the characters are walking around in the Square.

 

8. Content will also have a real interactive element, the audience will be able to decide which character’s footage they want to view by the majority of them in Millenium Square moving to a point in the Square relevant to that character’s position on the screen – this movement will be picked up by the camera already present on top of the Big Screen.

 

9. Television – content will be a selection of AV material, each showcasing an element of the BBC’s television content – e.g. Sports, Kids, News, Drama etc

Radio – content will be a selection of audio-heavy material (accompanied with visuals) to showcase the wide variety of BBC radio available

Internet - content will take the form of informative videos pointing out the various extra interactivity that is available via the BBC website. E.g. BBC iplayer

Big Screen – content will take the format of a promotional video highlights reel

 

10. The element of people interacting with the screen should mean the content will have a greater impact as the audience will feel they have ‘chosen’ to watch it as opposed to just being subjected to it as they walk past.

 

11. Plan – rough timeline – explain it is tentative and possibly subject to change over the next week as more details are finalised regarding the project.

 

Question for Ben

Would it be possible that each character has a set of say 3 possible videos or whatever that they could play – if the character is ‘chosen’ by the audience then one of these videos is picked at random. From my basic knowledge of Max I think this is probably possible but I thought I’d better check before I put it in the client pitch!

Max/Msp/Jitter Specs

http://www.cycling74.com/products/maxmsp
http://www.cycling74.com/products/jitter

“Although the Jitter architecture is general, it is highly optimized for use with video data, and performs with breathtaking speed. A robust set of mathematical operators, keying/compositing, analysis, colorspace conversion and color correction, alpha channel processing, spatial warping, convolution-based filters, and special effects deliver the building blocks for your own custom video treatments.

Jitter includes extensive support for Apple’s QuickTime architecture, such as the playback of all QT supported file formats, real- or nonreal-time file creation, editing operations, import/export capabilities, integrated real-time QT effects, video digitizing, QTVR, file format conversion, and more. QuickTime audio may be routed into MSP to exploit MSP’s powerful audio processing capabilities. For the production environment, Jitter provides support for digital video (DV) camera control as well as input and output via FireWire, and multiple monitor support for performance situations.”

Hope that’s helpful, please ask if you have any more specific questions about the programs. I’ll get an example of motion tracking in the next couple of days.

Ben

Meeting 02a – summary

Masters Group Project
Meeting 02a – 6^th February – 17:30-19:00

Present:
Ash Mann, Sebastian Budniak, Parag Oswal, Vijay Raj Dagar, Shazad Akhtar, Pan Vafeiadis, Paul Bradley, Ben Thompson

Apologies:
Matt Jones, Richard Doherty,

Discussed items:
Refine content idea
Presentation 01 – client pitch
Next meeting

BBC Blast animation

Possible ideas for our own ident? – I particularly like the flash through the various delivery vehicles at the end of the animation

BBC Blast animation

BBC branding

BBC Radio brand updates

BBC blast

Big screen documentation

Below are all the documents that were circulated in meeting 02 – if you were absent then please ensure you read them.

Big screen content

Big screen consent

Big screen tech spec

Big screen faq

Big screen submission guidelines

Big screen case study

Meeting 03 – schedule

Meeting 03 is scheduled for 12:00-14:00 next Wednesday (13th Feb) – we are in room 127 in the library.

We have our first assessed presentation next Wednesday so could everyone ensure they attend this meeting

Meeting 02 – summary

The notes for Meeting 02 will be going out today. Any questions – please contact me.
Summary:

Meeting 02 – 5^th February – 12:00-14:00

Present:
Ash Mann, Sebastian Budniak, Parag Oswal, Vijay Raj Dagar, Shazad Akhtar, Pan Vafeiadis, Will Brookes

Apologies:
Matt Jones, Richard Doherty, Paul Bradley, Ben Thompson

Discussed items:
Update contact details/skills assessment
Target audience
Logo
Content
Presentation 01 – client pitch
Technical spec
Next meeting

Pics for logo ideas