PhD Research Work.

UPDATE *** 15th September 2008 - Following July submission of 55k word thesis 'Interactive Film - Extending Narrative Perspectives' and the interactive film 'The Little Extras', my PhD Viva was held today at NCAD and was APPROVED.

UPDATE *** 16th December 2007 - The film (edit completed) is in an extended 'interactive development' phase. Several approaches and technologies have been tested in order to make the work interactive. These include Macromedia Flash, SMIL, DVD menus. Andrew Tully is working on a version in Macromedia Director. Previous approaches intended to make the film available as a large file download, the Director version looks as though it will be a folder with a series of files controlled by a Projector file. The result will be a single continuous presentation.

UPDATE *** 27th Sept 2006 - The title of the film has been changed to 'The Little Extras'. This line is used several times during the film and is more descriptive of the story in general. It also references the 'extra' perspectives available when the audience interacts with the story.I am currently working towards a PhD in History of Art & Design at the National College of Art & Design, Dublin, Ireland. At NCAD my research is supervised by Kevin Atherton and Dr. Paul O'Brien.

My work originally focused on the application of new technologies in film production but has since become more focused on interactive narratives. My aim is to produce an interactive film that is more 'film' than 'game'.

My work includes both written and practical elements. The practical side will concentrate on the production of an interactive film. This film is called 'The Last Hurrah' and has been developed from a story of a young woman who takes a house cleaning job with an elderly couple, only to find that she is asked to do some 'alternative' work to earn some extra money.

The film will be displayed in spatial montage with a 'Primary Narrative' playing on screen for the duration of the film and 12 'Embedded Narratives' being 'optioned' on screen for a limited period and only played if the audience 'activates' them. The 'Embedded Narratives' will offer the viewer the potential to view the same story from different perspectives (like alternate scenes) but will not be able to affect the outcome, nor will he/she be able to stop/reverse time.

The film never stops playing and does not repeat any frames (Embedded Narratives can be played concurrently or ignored to concentrate on the Primary Narrative).

I'm trying to represent a story which different audiences can watch from different perspectives but the story is still the same. Their choices of scenes selected will be recorded so the director can also include some surprises for specific viewing orders.

The film will be more about character development and will use a simple plot. The alternate perspectives will show both as victims and both as the user depending on what scenes you watch.