Topic

“Creating New Content with New Internet Technologies – How to Use Web Services, Web3D Modelling and Online Communities for Innovative Content Creation”

Date

6.-11. Sept. 2002

Participants

23

Organiser

ICNM

Speakers

13

Venue

Salzburg

Projects Developed

yes

Key Presentations

The Highlight was the 1^st Europe-wide presentation of FireFrame by Michael Dean, UK, a web service which already had proved hits with major designers. FireFrame is a set of tools that enable designers to construct their own web applications. Fireframe was created to provide the defining line between functionality and design. It serves the web designer by providing the sort of functionality usually provided by the backend. With Fireframe the designer is freed from having to resort to an army of backend programmers for essential functionality.

The second well-recognized and much appreciated keynote was the presentation of “Ceremony of Innocence” by Gerrie Villon who was awarded the first EUROPRIX in 1998. “Ceremony of Innocence” is a mysterious love story told through interactive correspondence of postcards and letters based on the Griffin and Sabine Trilogy by Nick Bantock. In 1995 Peter Gabriel appointed Gerrie Villon to produce “Ceremony of Innocence”.

IST Projects

·         The OSCAR e-Content Project

·         BALKANET - Design and Development of a Multilingual Balkan WordNet

·         MUMIS - Multimedia Indexing and Searching Environment

·         PEACH – Production and Publication Environment using Agents for Creating Information Channels

·         ACTIVATE - New Access and Services for Cultural Content

Essential Outcome and Findings

• Web Services can be a solution for companies  of good designers which outsource the programming – the question of quality was raised
• Online Communities are not used that way it was supposed to be on a hype of the Virtual Reality – it was discussed that avatar based communities will come back in broadband times, but need to be connected to some other idea (e-Business, e-Learning)
• 3D in web is an application which will be more often used in the broadband era. Even though standards are differ and authoring tools still lack of easiness, web 3D will convince due to the blurring of imagination and reality, will be used for location based services, e-Business, Education and Training, Scientific data Visualization, Security, Medicine, Sports and Entertainment, Winning Project: “Domshof in Bremen” was presented
• Searching and Indexing: Combining of Text-based Searching and Video Based Searching. Need of video-processing for time adjustment. Open question, how to handle subjective information?
• Presented project: “Ceremony of Innocence” is a multimedia art project, which really combines art and business (see also SW 8). Such examples are seldom to find and then extremely costly

Cross Recommendations

Producers Needs:

Get information overview on technologies and tools available was highly appreciated. Participants had no idea about indexing techniques and about the WordNet. But presentation is demanded to be less difficult and more targeted to direct use for producers.

Young Producers are eager to get information on Starting a business, Practical Information on Production Processes from successful producers are highly appreciated.

Participants get more familiar with new tools and techniques if they can try in hands-on sessions.

Services are highly appreciated which allow back-end designers to use tools to implement 3D, avatars, digital stories in their application.

Researchers Profit:

The presented projects were covering narrow topics, so cooperation was initiated. Even though it were technical projects, the consortia should think about developing it for producers’ usage.

Other comments

The program included a Business Plan and Financing Presentation and Workshop. Participants learned basic facts to start up a business with a project idea. Financing possibilities were presented including the funding through EU Framework programs. Participants got familiar with these programs. In the Workshop groups of participants developed theoretically small projects and thought about the whole business chain, including detailed planning, evaluation of surroundings and financing. The hands-on session was highly appreciated and was evaluated to be of direct use for their work.

Participants Workshops was introduced as format, Participants react extremely positive and took the chance to present their own projects to the experts. These formats should be developed further.