Choose and Move Your Own POV (point-of-view): Interactive 360-degree video of on-line performances from the MTV-U Woodie Awards

A while ago I blogged about a 360-degree video camera that supports web-based interactivity:  Yellowbird 6 lens 360 degree video camera creates interactive 3D videos, thanks to Harry Brignull, a user experience consultant. This technology is spreading.

A recent post by Tracy Swedlow, an owner/author at Interactive TV Today, highlights how it has been used to shoot video of hockey as well as music experiences in her article:  Immersive Media Powers 360 Degree Interactive Video for CBC/Radio Canada and MTV Networks (12/8/09) Tracy also mentions that the recent MTV-U Woodie Awards performances were filmed in 360 degree video by Immersive Media, and can be viewed on-line.

It is worth taking a look at the videos, even if you aren't interested in the performers!

At any point in the 360 video, you can pan around to see that moment as it happened, from every direction.  You can look at the excited audience,  the video art backdrop, the lights bouncing off the drum-set, parts of the ceiling or the floor of the stage.  Each time you view the video, you can have a different experience.

Below are a couple of screen shots of the performances, with links to the MTV-U Woodie Awards website, where you can watch the videos.  The first screen shot shows is a picture of the lay-out.  Viewers can choose their point-of-view by clicking and dragging on the video as it is in motion, or by moving the point-of-view selection box in the panel below the video.

Death Cab for Cutie Meet Me On the Equinox (Live)

Below is a screen shot of the bottom half of the video only
The Dead Winter: Treat Me Like Your Mother (Live)

Note:  I stopped the video to look around the 360 panorama as a still picture, but when clicked to view the rest of the performance,  the music kept playing, but the video did not continue. This is probably a kink that needs to be worked out.  Panning around the video during the action was not a problem.

Clipse- "Popular Demand"/I'm Good (Live)" Medley

2009 Woodie Awards Performances (non 360, higher quality)
2009 Woodie Awards Performances in 360
Immersive Media

World Builder: Interaction of the Future?

World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.

If you've seen this 9-minute video, you won't mind taking another look. It was created by Bruce Branit depicting a man who builds a holographic world sometime in the future. Branit is a visual effects artist, who reportedly used the Lightwave 3D graphics platform for post-production.

The music was composed by Randy Skach.

Data and Information Visualization Resources for Economics, Finance, and the Current Crisis

I posted a variety of links to data and information visualization resources that might be helpful to those of you who are interested in exploring our current economic crisis:

Economic Sights and Sounds: Links to Data and Information Visualization resources for Economics, Finance, and the Current Crisis

I'm using the Economic Sights and Sounds blog as a repository of information and links for use in a collaborative interactive multimedia time-line of events surrounding the current situation.

Link to "Internet of Surfaces" Photo Examples

Take a look!
INTERNET OF SURFACES: Photo Examples of Screens of All Sizes

More pictures will be added.

Revisiting the Cambridge Guide to Multimedia Learning

The Cambridge Guide to Multimedia Learning, edited by Richard E. Mayer, the "father" of this fairly new discipline, is a great resource for people involved in instructional technology and application development.

According to Mayer, "the focus of this handbook is on how people learn from words and pictures in computer based environments. Multimedia environments include online instructional presentations, interactive lessons, e-courses, simulation games, virtual reality, and computer-supported in-class presentations."

As I revisited the various chapters in this handbook, I realized that people interested in topics such as information visualization, computer-supported collaborative systems, and data-driven decision making might find some value from this book.

What I'd like to see next from Dr. Mayer is a handbook that focuses on ways people learn, think, and communicate through interactive multimedia that is presented on screens of all sizes. This is important, given the explosion of large interactive whiteboards in classrooms, large-screen displays in the home, and mobile devices that now contain higher-resolution screens.