Congratulations!

What a great job! Many people were talking about it...Congratulations!
Proudly,
Teresa






Images courtesy of DailyClipArt.net

Looking Gooood!

See you tomorrow :-)

Get ready to Activate VIP style!

Hey everyone,
hope you're all excited for some V.I.P action tomorrow!

8:30 is the meet up time, in class. We're going to do some work on our roles, including some dry runs to work everything out. It's important that we get great mob communication down before we start the real event.

Breaks-
If we're gong to give it our all and get really into role, it's going to be a little tiring. so about halfway through the event we're going to have a short "deactivate" wehere we sit down (most of us will have been standing or running around the whole time) talk about what's going well and relax for 15 minutes. That way we'll avoid wearing out and go back in refreshed and more effective.

In terms of the rain-
It's been decided that we're still doing it outside, apparently it's supposed to be light showers with some heavier downpours, so we'll just have to time our breaks strategicly.
Paparazzi- you should wear something with a hood.
Fans- could you bring umbrellas?
Body guards- using a large black umbrella to try to cover themselves and protect the "celebrity"


Lastly,
Anyone who hasn't paid their part to the budget should bring in money tomorrow so I can check your name off the list.

Thanks for reading, see you guys tomorrow,
Christine

Press Passes

Hey everyone, I've got all the press passes done so you can take a look. If anyone else is making a last minute switch to paparazzi just make sure you send me a photo of yourself by tonight.

Confirming Equipment & furniture...

Hi class, here is what I'm preparing for tomorrow. If there's something missing please let me know. Thanks!

1) getting IT to show us how to use/access the auditorium projection screen, computer, projector, wireless mics
2) studio light for announcers
3) tripod
4) not sure if you needed this... a video camera? Please let me know

Organization Team: WEATHER CONSIDERATIONS for tomorrow!

Hi Everyone,
It looks as it will be raining heavily tomorrow.
Considering this - will we be moving our mobbing to strictly inside? or will we mob outside? IF so, how will this affect our costuming and logistics?

Is there anything else we need to consider re. our operations tomorrow with the impending rain?

Organization Team

Marketing Team - Promo

Be sure to check out the Facebook group: Activate V.I.P
and check off ATTEND! so that your friends know about it.



click here

Update from Organization Team - ROLES

Marketing Team - UPDATE

The Marketing Team would like to know your opinions on the promotional posters
that will be posted on the OCAD network (facebook). Please tell us which one you
like best by leaving a comment!



(In order from left to right) ONE . TWO . THREE . FOUR

Please vote by number.

The chosen poster will be posted up on Tuesday morning, Wednesday the latest!

Thank You =]

Tech Team

For the day of the event we need some computers connected to a projector with a projectile screen. Cameras will be connected with a USB cable to the computers for uploading pictures, we will also use borrowed lights from school and perhaps a walkie talkie to communicate. So far there is no cost in terms of material as we have cameras and can also borrow from school.

Tech. Team Update

For the mock blog we can setup two projectors, one projecting an image of a blog layout and the second we can have projecting the images of the people, both projecting on the same screen. i dont know if the school has any self standing projector screens, but we can always resort to a wall or a dry erase board.

in terms of uploading the pictures after every "swarm" the cameras come back to the tech. station and we simply upload them, while that is happening we have another person work on projecting the uploaded images.

Prices for walkie talkies at Lakeshore Radio, for a full day rental of 2 hand sets it cost $45. Do we need a third hand set?

As for the strobe lights and portable speakers we can get those both at Active Surplus for under 15$
the strobe light is portable, and runs off of batteries for $9.95



The portable speakers i can make for under 5 dollars. they are small and cheap running completely off or the ipods batteries





our approximate budget is &55 including the walkie talkie rentals

Budget and Roles

Hey everyone,
The budget's going to be fairly low. The marketing, organization, and documentation teams don't need any funding. This leaves technology, who hasn't given me tehir budget yet-
I'm going to post the budget as 51$ for now, so that if they don't get back to me by tonight at least we'll have enough for walkie talkie rentals, because they haven't discussed anyhting else they need.

So everyone should bring 3$ tomorrow!


Tomorrow we'll be assigning roles, so everyone should be thinking about what they'd like to do. The choices are: Paparazzi (3), Mob Boss(1), Body guards(3), and T.V. hosts (2).
It's being assumed that the tech crew will stay at the tech station during the event.

It helps if you already have the right outfit and props for the role your doing:
Pap- Camera, camera bags, comfy shoes
Body Guard- Black clothing/suits, dark sunglasses
Fans- Autograph book, camera
Mob Boss- something semi-formal


The organization team will also show you some clips of what your roles will be like, and have a quick chat with each of the roles groups. In all, this should take about 10 minutes.

Thanks for reading, see you guys tomorrow,
Christine

Documentation Team Update

We propose to make a hosted documentary that encompasses the class JOURNEY throughout the project. It will be about the evolution of our “Activate” class project from the idea phase up to something fully realized. We plan to capture the class in action – thinking, discussing, planning, creating, etc. The documentary will capture three major parts of our “journey” – The concept phase, the solid planning phase, and the actual event itself.

There will be roles for each of the team. All of us will be capturing footage and pictures of the class in action, but there will be one main host and cameraman, as well as video editor. Materials for our team are our own cameras and computers, as well as rented out video cameras from the AV department.  

MARKETING TEAM - WEEK 4

Current Budget: $0

Blog Design
Current blog: www.activatevip.blogspot.com
Using blogger as the main host for the blog will be convenient for the project since we already know how to post.
The blog should be able to focus on one image for at least 15 minutes so that people can have the chance to see it.

* prefer 2 laptops
- 1 for updating/uploading the images so that viewers can't see the process
- 1 for refreshing the page on the projection screen

Press Passes
We were able to get the lanyards and covers for free.
Using the colours from the blog on the press passes will make a connection for people.
Once they see the colours, they know where it's from.



Number of paparazzi for the event?

Promotion of the event
- Poster ("We Are Here")
- The posters will be posted around the school (event area) in the morning before the actual event begins



Costumes
- BODYGUARDS
- black suits/clothing
- sunglasses
- PAPARAZZI
- camera bags
- cameras
- comfortable shoes
- FANS
- autograph notebook with pen
- personal cameras
- MOB BOSS
- wear something semi-formal

ORGANIZATION TEAM - STATUS REPORT

Status Report from Organization Team: 09.MAR.25

Discussion Point #1:MOBBING Time
Outcome: Mob to stay with each TARGET for 2-3 minutes - depending on TARGET's response - length of time to be modified by Studio Head and Mob Boss

Discussion Point #2: Talkshow vs Blog
Outcome: Live commentary by two hosts of pictures projected onto a wall

Discussion Point #3: Assigning of Roles
Outcome: studio head - Christine, mob boss - ?, fans - 3, paparazzi - 3, body guards - 3 tech station - 3 (where one can act as camera person but helping with tech station work- ideally tech lead), tv show hosts 2


Next Steps:
1. Solidfy Camera Shifts - to refine with TECH TEAM - process on day of play
2. Assign Acting Roles and quick training session on Friday, 27.MAR.2009 - note: some roles will be inherent - based on current groups ie./ tech team
3. Solidfy communication process between Studio head, mob boss, and tech lead for day of play - requires input from Tech team ie./ equipment/signals etc.

TECHNOLOGY TEAM

Experience proposal





User Scenario:

April 3, 2009. Alice was walking Downtown in a sunny day, she was planning to go to the AGO and the stop by Kensignton Market. Suddenly, when she was on her was to AGO walking near the Buttlerfly park, a random person caught her attention saying "What are you doing women! Chup Chup.. they are all waiting for you, It's late. QUICK QUICK!!" The person dragged her and hold her hand and lead her toward the door. This person open the auditorium door and gently pulled her in.
Somebody inside said.. "Oh my god, you are finally here, quickly.. put this in" (Giving her some weird and fashionable clothes). Alice didn't know what was going on, but she decided she was going to do, what these people were asking her for.
She put the custom in.. and another random person dressed in black, just like the rest of the other strange people, lead her toward some steps covered with big red carpet saying "go on hun, they are waiting".. Aliced walked and as soon as she walked on the red carpet a bunch of camera flashes and big screaming crowd appeared. Then she realized it was a fashion show.. and knew she had to walk to the front and backward again.. She was so excited that she couldn't believe her eyes, she was excited and scared at the same time because she didn't know what was going on. After she went back behind the stage she changed her clothes back to hers and still excited said.. "wow.. you guys are crazy.. That was awesome" ..
Somebody with black uniform lead her out to the park and interviewed her abaout her experienced... A experience design!! :-D

There's only one Paparazzi Experience Yeah!!!

Hi class, I got confirmation from Nancy's class that they are doing something different than ours. So no worries as there is no other Paparazzi experience!

Our Design Refinements

Hi class, below is what we collectively decided for our design so far.

Please see the Organization Team's winning proposal here - for details your team should brainstorm on: http://ocadexperiencedesign1409.blogspot.com/2009/03/organization-team-detailed-proposal.html

Each team should present updates related to their team role next class. Please see the list below to help you brainstorm and prototype for next week. I suggest you make your presentations as professional as possible. Try to sell your well thought out and well illustrated ideas to the class :-)

1. We are designing a surprise "Paparazzi" experience which will float around the designated areas for Activate
   
2. There will be a mob, fans, commentator, projected live feed and blog
3. Communication on the floor will happen through radio or cell phones (tbd)
4. We are considering strobe lights and speakers to enhance the experience of camera flashes and fans
5. Spot lights for where the tv crew will be is being considered
6. Selling of photos (how about autographs hee hee?) are being considered
7. Press passes will be worn
   

Teams & Emails

Hi Class, the first person in each team is the team leader, and Christine is our Studio Head. Please email me if you have questions... See you all next week!

Documentation
Johann jt08je@student.ocad.ca
Jagat ja08kf@student.ocad.ca
Farzad ft08qm@student.ocad.ca
Anita at08ti@student.ocad.ca

Marketing
Peiji q08se@student.ocad.ca
Alyssa ah08jl@student.ocad.ca
Mandana mr08ok@student.ocad.ca

Organization
Lorene ll08ok@student.ocad.ca
Christine cl08nl@student.ocad.ca
Rozlyn rd07ol@student.ocad.ca
Xinwei xl08yg@student.ocad.ca
Tim ts08lh@student.ocad.ca

Technology
Behrad bn08fh@student.ocad.ca
Curtis cm08up@student.ocad.ca
Monse mr08oj@student.ocad.ca
Lexa ls08lf@student.ocad.ca
Guru gt08og@student.ocad.ca

Organization Team - User Scenario - Proposal

I am on my way to my Friday afternoon class. It is such a beautiful day. As I approach OCAD, I am circled by a mob of people. They are taking my picture and asking for my autograph. One guy is wearing a PRESS PASS?? One person kept yelling, "IS IT TRUE? IS IT TRUE?".... Is what TRUE?? I am so confused?!?! What is going on? Do they think I am someone else? I'm not famous? Or am I?? As I enter the building they leave me alone.. phew!! I've escaped! But as I turn the corner, I see myself projected on the wall?! What is going on now?! I see Joan Rivers and Tim Singleton taking about how I'm denying the whole event? and appearing not to know what is going on?? I swear.. I have no idea???!! Then it dawns on me that the first years are playing ACTIVATE! I've been had... NO I've had my FIFTEEN minutes of FAME!

Organization Team - Detailed Proposal

OrganizationTeam - Scenario & Budget

Documentation Team's Scenario + Budget

Scenario
Its ACTIVATE day. I walk into OCAD from the main entrance and I’m hearing a lot of chatter and people in the left hallway near the auditorium. I see people in a line and a person at the door which seems to be one of the organisers of the event. It’s finally my turn and he tells me that I can go inside. I walk in and I’m in a narrow hallway, and there are curtains on either side which are making the hallway dark. Behind the curtain I hear a lot of noise and chatter and a loud music going on. Now I’m starting to regret this but there is no way back. Another person is waiting for me at the curtain and tells me that it’s now my turn and I have no idea what she means by that. I push the curtain aside and everyone starts clapping, there are a lot of people with cameras and they are all looking at me. There is a light beamed on me which is making things hard to see especially since my eyes are getting adjusted to the light. I have to plans on going in but the person at the curtain pushed me in and tells me to hurry up and go. I follow the red carpet toward a huge real-time projection of myself. Everyone is making such a big deal, I feel like a star! The paparazzi below the platform I’m walking on are constantly taking pictures. I take another turn and finally see the exit. Once I exit I’m in Butterfield Park and everything is quiet and back to normal.

Budget
Approximately $300

Marketing Team Refined Scenario

Alyssa, Mandana, Peiji

Scenario
Today is the ACTIVATE event at OCAD and I get the chance to walk around the different areas and take part in the many activities made by first year students. As I approach room 190 I see two people wearing black suits. There is a sign on the door that says "FREE FASHION SHOW" and I decide to check it out. The two 'ushers' open the door slightly for me to go in and close it behind me. A long red carpet stretches out in front of me with a row of spotlights at the end and upbeat music playing. As I begin to walk down the runway a sudden camera flash catches my attention. People dressed all in black are waiting on either side of the runway watching me. I feel confused and extremely self-conscious as I walk down the aisle and see people taking notes and flashing there cameras at me. I quickly decide to turn back and leave the room. As I exit the fashion show I give a sigh of relief and laugh at my 15 seconds of fame.

Budget
Maximum $425 ($25 per student)

Tim's Scenario

I walk through a door marked V.I.P. and turn a corner. I hear loud fast paced music and as I turn the corner a light flashes and I realize that I am on a long runway surrounded by people. Certain people have cameras taking pictures and others are making notes on what I wear. I grow self conscious as I walk down the catwalk turn and quickly walk back out the door.

Activate: Floor Plans

Hi class, here are the four possible locations for our experience design: Butterfield Park, Auditorium, Room 167, Hallway into auditorium area, and the main lobby.

Mini Guitar

A friend of mine was telling me a story about how his friend always wanted to play the guitar but his parents couldn’t afford to buy one, even a cheap one! So one day he told me he went to the toy store and saw a toy called “Mini Guitar” which was very cheap. This guitar looked very different from a real guitar, first of all it did not have neck just a body, with some strings. He asked the store owner what is this mini guitar, the owner replied well this is very similar to a guitar but it is made with MDF which is a cheap material also this guitar doesn’t have a neck only few strings to play with which makes it even cheaper. One other good feature of this guitar is that there is no tuning required as long as the strings are tight enough. The strings can be replaced if they break or become too old. The he thought this is the perfect choice for the guy who wants to real guitar because it is like a real guitar but cheap enough to be able to get him started, so he bought the mini guitar gave it to his friend as a gift. Now that guy has a real guitar a good one, he busks around Toronto and often plays in gigs and small shows!!

R2D2

Farzad is 10. He and his dad are huge Star Wars fans. Farzad’s dad collects Star Wars action figures and toys and today he has bought the new R2-D2 toy. He put it on the corner of his office desk to be amused every once in a while. Farzad sneaks into his dad’s office to check out this new R2 toy. He is pleased to see that its head and legs move and he isn’t looking at a solid statue; his dad has a lot of those and they are no fun. After playing around with the moving head and legs he flips the switch in the middle and is thrilled to see R2 come to life as his head starts to spin! He quickly flips the other switch and watches R2’s lights go on. After all the spinning noise Farzad’s dad walks in his office and tells Farzad to get his own.

This R2 model can’t do everything that a real R2 does, such as opening doors in life and death situations and hacking computers and spaceships. But some of the things he can do include: spinning his head 360 degrees, moving legs, and lights! And since this is a very complicated robot I had to design it so that it is easier to operate. Visibility: To indicate what state the robot is in, other than the wildly spinning head, I made sure there is enough light shining through him to be seen even in daylight. Affordance: Since R2 has a lot of buttons and none of them do anything, I made sure the two that actually do something are different. They are flip switches as opposed to buttons and also the way they are shaped will help the user know that it is a flip switch. Feedback: When the user flips a switch the lights go on instantly also I made sure for the spinning head, that the engine is noisy. Mapping: Since there are two switches on this R2, they look different. Since its main function is the spinning head, the switch for the head is bigger than the switch for the lights.

The Coin Clock

Rebecca is six years old and has just received her allowance. She wants to save her money for a new toy she wants so she goes to put it in her piggy bank, which is designed to look like an old fashioned alarm clock. The slot on the top affords that is is where the coins must be inserted and is the interface where the interaction with the toy begins. The shape and size of the slot also acts as a constraint to suggest that each coin will only fit through the slot in a certain way and one at a time. As Rebecca pushes each coin into the slot they bounce off a metal spring underneath that has bells and plastic rings attached to it. This creates a gentle tinkling sound and causes the bells on top of the clock to shake back and forth. The use of audio and visual feedback lets Rebecca know that the interaction was successful. It is familiar as well because it acts as a metaphor for the actions of a real alarm clock, which may degrade over time but are still recognizable. Having a piggy bank that resembled a clock could also be seen as a metaphor for the concept that 'time is money' and the idea of putting money away for another time. With these metaphors incorporated into her toy Rebecca learns the importance of saving her money in a fun and easy way.

Feed-A-Frog

This is a toy designed for children between the ages 3-6 years. its in a gameboard format, the action is jumping and the metaphore is a frog.
User scenario Little Booby and his mother sit down to play a new game he got for Christmas called Feed-A-Frog. Bobby tells his mother that the frog has to cross the pond and get to the top of the hill where all the flies are so that the frog can eat. Bobby then shows his mother how to play the game. He first places the frog on the starting lily pad and goes on to show her how he makes the frog leap. “poke the frog in the bum” Bobby says” like this!” Bobby pushed down on the rear end of the frog and the frog leaps forward. Bobby continues pushing down on the back of the frog until the frog gets to the top of the hill where all the flies are. His mother then says “wow bobby good job, how about we both play?” bobby then plays the game with his mother to see who can get to the top of the hill with the least amount of jumps.

Visibility- the frog is always in the same position only when you push down on the "bum" does it activate and jump.

Affordance- the shape of the frog implies that some action needs to be proformed at the rear end in order for the action to work.

"Krusty, the ball man"

User Scenario
It was the 4th of March and Karan's 16 birthday was just around the corner and his dad was looking for a very special present to give him; however, Karan has always been very picky about his stuff, not everything makes him happy or interested. He enjoys his time playing toys and his dad was looking for a toy that could cover his expectations for his b-day present.. and well, since Karan liked watching clowns on the TV making magic tricks and see them be thrown or bitten by cannons , his dad went to Toy R US and found just was he was looking for: A toy with the shape of a clown getting prepare to be bitten by a cannon.
Finally, the day of the birthday came and Karan was very excited about what his dad got him for such a special ocassion. He ripped the package off and immediately realize that it was a very interesting toy to play with, that needs precision and concentration. He noticed there was ball hanging right in between the legs of the clown. He hold it and then he let it go, he noticed that the ball went right through the middle of the clown and backwards, just like a pendulum. After a while of several try outs, he realized that if he put a bit more strengh when letting the ball go, the ball was able even make a 180 angle and get right into the clowns cap. This made the toy a lot more challenging for him, but he was able to finally find a toy that was hard for him, since all the toy he had were very simple and boring. He thought that this type of toy really made him think and concentrate, and it was not boring anymore. He loved his birthday gift and now he cannot wait what next years present will be all about.

Extra Notes-
1. The ball need to be taken from the center of the clown by hand.
2. The usual type of strength required in order to get the ball right into the clown's cap should be neutral: not be too hard but neither to light.

The Amazing Acrobat Toy
The Metaphor – tumbling circus performers, the action of the toy reflects the action of an acrobat.
User Group – 4-6, very simple action, no small pieces
Interface – handle/knob
Affordance – the handle affords turning in two directions, forward and backward.
Visibility – the toy hangs motionless before interaction begins and after it ends. During interaction, the acrobats are in noticeable motion which proceeds downwards. If interaction occurs in a cycle, the visible motion would begin at the top, flowing to the bottom, but would cascade on alternate sides making a continuous pattern.
Feedback – the toy offers visual, audible, and tactile feedback. Visual motion occurs when the interaction occurs, the falling action creates some noise (if the prototype was made of wood, audio feedback would be louder and stronger), and you can feel the weight shifting as the toy is operated.
Constraints – is the handle is rotated in the wrong direction nothing will happen, signalling to turn it the other way. However, it is easy correct and figure out the constraints.
User Scenario – Juliana is 5 years old and just got a new toy. She is fascinated by the amazing acrobats as they perform a tumbling trick. The toy is easy for her to use, activated by simple turning motion. She sees the handle and knows to grab it, the two way arrows on the handle knob would help her realize that she can turn in two directions. By turning the handle towards or away from her, Juliana can activate the acrobats and watch as they leap down and over each other. Since the toy does not need to be reset she can enjoy endless acrobat action without assistance from mom or dad. Juliana is quite amused with the fun optical illusion, there are no small parts to lose, and enjoys being able to play without help.

A 6 year old girl named Sarah is fascinated by books and animation features. She admires the characters in them. One day, she went to a toy store to buy toys, then she finds a toy that seems to represent like a treasure book. Due to her interest in them she opens the rope tied on it and pushes the cover of the book up. To her surprise, there are her favourite cartoon characters and also characters that existed before her popping out of it. She is fascinated by seeing and visualizing them in front of her.

Flower Power Spray

Once upon a time, the sun was shinning and they sky was clear. It was a perfect day for Noel’s 6^th birthday. The party was well on its way when Noel’s best friend Alexis brought her a brand new toy. It was a pretty flower standing in a frame with leafs sticking out of the frame. By examining the mapping of the toy Noel noticed the visibility of a big red button much in contrast with the surrounding black background, behind the frame. She then understood her affordance needed in order to play with the toy, she had to activate the interface by pressing the red button. Due to the constraints created by placing the button behind the frame Noel had to turn the frame around to reach it. This directed the front of the flower away from her face and into the unsuspecting face of her friend Bobby who still thought it was a flower in a frame. Curiously, Noel presses the red button and the feedback she received was the water spraying out from the center of the flowers face right into the face of her poor friend Bobby. Noel laughed with joy as the toy engaged Bobbies sense of touch ( the wetness) and Noel's sight. Also, she noticed the mobility of the flapping leaves which then returned to its original state showing when the interaction was finished. Then she was surprised to notice the elegant smell that wafting in the air from the small squirt of water. Delighted with her new found toy Noel and Alexis ran around the party trying to show their other friends the surprise about their little picture of a flower.

Age Group: 6- 8 years old

Squee-ed

Squee-ed


Steven is a five-years-old, who loves to play with water and is a huge fan of aquarium. Thus, his parents decide to give him a Squee-ed, which is a mini aquarium belonging to himslef. Steven’s Squeed-ed is a transparent column made of soft plastic. There are three squids in his mini aquarium. He sees there are two little hand symbols, which are formed into a pose of holding the continer, so he holds the continer, and places his thumbs on the two little hand symbols. Then, he trys to squeeze the continer.WOW!!! those squids are actually moving as if they are alive! They start diving as Steven squeezing the continer, and floating up as he release it. Steven is so happy and proud that he gets a mini aquarium that belongs only to him.

User Group: children age 3-6.

Visibility: There are two symbols of hands, which suggests user to hold the continer and squeeze it. As user squeezing the continer, the squids inside the continer would move downwards, and as user release it, squids would move back to the top of the continer.

Affordance: Squee-ed is targeting on the user group of age three to six. As the fact that users are little children, they may not have much strength comparing to elder children, so that they would recognize they need two hands to hold the continer and squeeze.

Feedback: As children squeezing the continer, the “squids” would move to the bottom of the continer; as they release it, “squids” would go back to the top.