Sketch 1: Three Cameras

Alicia Ott, Kevin Ramser

Our goal is to create an installation in which a single user becomes the center of an interactive multi-camera system. The user stands in the center of a configuration of three monitors, each displaying a live feed from one of three webcams trained on the user.

Our goal is to create a dynamic environment in which the user first learns that their movements have an effect on the switching and processing of the camera feeds. With this awareness, the user can then experiment and play with the effects of their interactions on the system.

The primary functionality of the system will rely on face-tracking to control parameters such as frame delay, x/y image position, color keying, etc.

This setup enables viewer a viewer to self-selectively “activate” themselves, becoming both the user and the subject of a semi-immersive media space, while the remaining viewers maintain a critical distance. Our piece is more of an experiment than a lesson. We don’t know how the user/subject(s)/viewers will interact with the technology, what actions may break or undermine the system, or how the number of audience members and their reaction to the user’s experience may shape the user’s interaction with the system.