Still destructing the map

This is part of the world map (part of Russia, Mongolia) that shows the outline of the political map.

I took the lines, disconnected one to the other and put it randomly in the right box. It becomes very interesting image, doesn't it? I got some conceptual ideas from this experiment that I'll show in the next post, when I finish cutting the lines.

Getting the outlines of the map

To work with maps, yes, I need to make it in layers (outlines, separated from typography, from colours, etc).

I, i, I, i, I, i

When I was scanning the notebooks, something got my attention: the "I" of the pages that people made when writing about themselves.

I like the idea of the "I" representing each individual. Each "I" has a personality because people did it themselves. Plus, each of us sees the world in "our" point of view. We are lots of "I"s. (Do you follow me?) I'm not sure if I'm going to use that, but this image and the concept of this gets my attention.

The drawings are repeted because I don't have all the images yet and I wanted to get a sense of quantity.
This is a speculative number of people who contributed to the notebooks.

Destructing maps...

I want to use world map as platform of the interaction. I am still working on that. I was literally destructing the map, but the way I make it (if it is ripped off, cutted in squares, in different shapes, etc) has to have a meaning (this was one of the questions by my tutor: why squares? That I couldn't answer). By the way, this blog is a very good resource to check what people have been doing with maps: http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/

The idea is that I want to break this human constructed national borders that for me, apart from political issue, makes no sense in terms of culture. The culture is not delimited by national borders. I want to show that everything is moving inside the map. "I am from Brazil, therefore I belong to that culture". Why is that? What culture exactly are we talking about? There are all kinds of people in the country I was born, all kinds of habits, cultures...

The story of our lives, what influences us during the journey of life, define ourselves that can be related to different cultures and groups and it is not closed to this or that nation.

Lots of thoughts are in my mind at the moment (I am basically questioning everything to get clearer in my thoughts), as you can see so I might have to focus in few aspects to be able to my point.

Finding solution

Finding solution, or better: looking for solution. This is a very pleasurable and anxious part of the process. It is actually the "design" itself, in my opinion. I got the content, I have an aim, now I have to find the best way to express it by image (and interactive).

I was making experiments with world maps and getting to a solution when I saw that everything was getting too complicate (not clear, punctual and precise), I was missing the track. This is very common to someone that is extremely involved in the project. I could see it just when my tutor asked a few questions that I couldn't answer. Everything has to have a meaning/concept. This is already very strong in my mind as a designer. But sometimes some images are so interesting that at that moment I got excited, leaving aside the most important thing (the essence of all this). I have to be aware of the essence, the strong points and I was missing it by the idea of how interactive it could be. It is very tricky working with Interactive Media sometimes, because the idea of interactive elements can be leveled up and miss the essential point. In interactive media, users have some "freedom", so things have to be very clear without sounding stupid or redundant.

So, I stopped to rethink what is the most important thing of all this. Get it simple, precise and strong.

I took a close look at some notebooks and got back to research.

Taking a look at the notebooks it got clear to me that the content doesn't explain itself. In a sense of, what I asked from people is not direct linked to what I want to show. It is mainly because I didn't want to ask straight forward. I believe that when you are far from the time/place you can see that with different eyes and see clearer what is really important from that. That is why I asked about the past. So, I can't just show what I collected because it can be completely misunderstood by the audience. To deliver the essential elements of the "story" I need to conduct people's mind to what I am thinking.

Well, everything here seems very obvious, but I need to record the process anyway.

Narrative Conference

I went to the Narrative Conference last weekend at the Encounters Film Festival and it was very interesting. It wasn't just about films but also about games, machinima, web-dramas, etc. It is very interesting to start looking the website as a narrative form, no matter if it is a comercial website or a story based website. I got this sense in the first term of this MA working with screenwriters. Before that I used to think about websites and audience just in terms of usability, what users are looking for, what they want to find, etc. And now (not discarting looking to the audience and the usability of the website) I also have in mind what I want to show, instead of just what users want to find. I get the author's point of view. You can see the website you're creating as narrative (a very interesting essay about it at the [A List Apart website] ). In the case of this project, for example, the story is about moving and leaving things behind. The narrative is not linear, but broken narrative (testemonies from people) that the audience will put it together by the main theme. The story will be shown by the way I make the interactive narrative. All the elements of the story should be delivered, which I believe they are: the testemonies and the moving. I can't think about anything more as essential elements for this story.

Some pages...

10 notebooks arrived!

I have received today 10 notebooks. Many thanks for those who sent it!!! I know that there are many that are already in the way. Can't wait to see!

The content of the notebooks are very interesting. I know might be too early to say anything, but I could notice something that I already believed: the dreams, the lacks, the desires are essencialy the same. What took my attention in these testeminies are not the diversity, but rather the similarities between one to the other. There are things that are human kind issues, rather than cultural.

It reminds me one song of Gabriel o Pensador, who inpired me for this project.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=GOvQByqZyBs

Tás a ver? (Gabriel o Pensador)
Estás a ver o que eu estou a ver? / Estás a ver estás a perceber? / Estás a ouvir o que eu estou a dizer? / Estás a ouvir estás a perceber?

Eu tenho visto tanta coisa nesse meu caminho / Nessa nossa trilha que eu não ando sozinho / Tenho visto tanta coisa tanta cena / Mais enbaquitante do que qualquer filme de cinema / E se milhares de filmes não traduzem nem reproduzem / A amplitude do que eu tenho visto / Não vou mentir pra mim mesmo acreditando / Que uma música é capaz de expressar tudo isso / Não vou mentir pra mim mesmo acreditando / Mas eu preciso acreditar na comunicação / Mas eu preciso acreditar na... / Não há melhor antídoto pra solidão / E é por isso que eu não fico satisfeito / Em sentir o que eu sinto / Se o que eu sinto fica só no meu peito / Por mas que eu seja egoísta / Aprendi a dividir as emoções e os seus efeitos / Sei que o mundo é um novelo uma só corrente / Posso vê-lo por seus belos elos transparentes / Mudam cores e valores mas tá tudo junto / Por mas que eu saiba eu ainda pergunto

Tás a ver a vida como ela é? / Tás a ver a vida como tem que ser? / Tás a ver a vida como agente quer? / Tás a ver a vida pra gente viver?

Nossa vida é feita / De pequenos nadas

Tás a ver a linha do horizonte? / A levitar, a evitar que o céu se desmonte / Foi seguindo essa linha que notei que o mar
Na verdade é uma ponte / Atravessei e fui a outros litorais / E no começo eu reparei nas diferenças / Mas com o tempo eu percebi / E cada vez percebo mais / Como as vidas são iguais / Muito mais do que se pensa

Mudam as caras / Mas todas podem ter as mesmas expressões / Mudam as línguas mas todas têm / Suas palavras carinhosas e os seus calões / As orações e os deuses também variam / Mas o alívio que eles trazem vem do mesmo lugar / Mudam os olhos e tudo que eles olham / Mas quando molham todos olham com o mesmo olhar / Seja onde for uma lágrima de dor / Tem apenas um sabor e uma única aparência / A palavra saudade só existe em português
Mas nunca faltam nomes se o assunto é ausência / A solidão apavora mas a nova amizade encoraja / E é por isso que agente viaja / Procurando um reencontro uma descoberta / Que compense a nossa mas recente despedida / Nosso peito muitas às vezes aperta / Nossa rota é incerta / Mas o que não incerto na vida?

Tás a ver a vida como ela é? / Tás a ver a vida como tem que ser? / Tás a ver a vida como agente quer? / Tás a ver a vida pra gente viver?

Nossa vida é feita / De pequenos nadas

A vida é feita de pequenos nadas / Que agente saboreia, mas não dá valor / Um pensamento, uma palavra, uma risada
Uma noite enluarada ou um sol a se pôr / Um bom dia, um boa tarde, um por favor / Simpatia é quase amor / Uma luz acendendo, uma barriga crescendo / Uma criança nascendo, obrigado senhor / Seja lá quem for o senhor / Seja lá quem for a senhora / A quem quiser me ouvir e a mim mesmo / Preciso dizer tudo que eu estou dizendo agora
Preciso acreditar na comunicação / Não há melhor antídoto pra solidão / E é por isso que eu não fico satisfeito em sentir o que eu sinto / Se o que sinto fica só no meu peito

Por mais que eu seja egoísta / Aprendi a dividi minhas derrotas e minhas conquistas / Nada disso me pertence
É tudo temporário no tapete voador do calendário / Já que temos forças pra somar e dividir / Enquanto estivermos aqui / Se me ouvires cantando, canta comigo / Se me vires chorando, sorri

Tás a ver a vida como ela é? / Tás a ver a vida como tem que ser? / Tás a ver a vida como agente quer? / Tás a ver a vida pra gente viver?

Nossa vida é feita / De pequenos nadas


Translation (I did it. Correct me if you see anything wrong):

"Do you see?"
Do you see, do you notice? / Do you hear what I’m saying? / Do you hear, do you notice?

I’ve seen so many things in my way / In our track because I don’t walk alone / I’ve seen so many things, so many scenes / More impacting than any movie / And if thousands of movies doesn’t express nor reproduce / The range of what I’ve seen / I won’t lie to myself believing / That one song is able to express all this / I won’t lie to myself believing
But I need to believe in communication / I need to believe in… / There is nothing better for loneliness
And that’s why I don’t feel satisfied / In feeling what I feel / If what I feel stays just in my heart / Even if I’m selfish
I’ve learned to share my emotions and its effects / I know that the world is a hank, just one yarn / I can see by their beautiful transparent links / Change the colours and values but it’s all together / Even though I know it, I ask
Do you see the life as it is? / Do you see how life should be? / Do you see how we want it? / Do you see life for us to live?

Our life is made of / little “nothings”

Do you see the horizon line? / Levitating, avoiding that the sky breaks / By following this line, I’ve noticed that the sea
Actually is a bridge / I’ve crossed and went to other sides / And in the beginning I noticed the differences
But in some time I’ve noticed / And I notice more and more / How the lives are similar / Much more than we think

The faces are different / But all can have the same expressions / The languages are different but they all have / Your words of love and your angriness too / The preys and gods varies also / But the relief that they bring are from the same place / The eyes are different and everything they look at / But when they get wet everyone looks with the same kind of look / No matter where the tear of pain comes from / It all have the same taste and the same appearance / The word “saudade” just exists in Portuguese / But there are always words when the subject is lack / Solitude scares buts he new friendship gives us courage / And that’s why we travel / Looking for another meeting, a discovery / That compensates our recent goodbye / Our hearts many times are feels compressed / Our routs are uncertain / But what is not uncertain in life?

Do you see life the way it is? / Do you see life the way it should be? / Do you see life the way we want it to be? / Do you see life for us to live?

Our lives are made / of small “nothings”

Life is made of small “nothings” / That we taste but don’t give the right value / A thought, a word, a laugh / A beautiful night, or the sunset / A good-morning, a good-afternoon, a please / Sympathy is almost love / A light turning on, a belly getting bigger / A child being born, thanks lord / No matter who is you, lord / No matter who is you, lady
To anyone that wants to hear me / I need to tell what I’m telling now / But I need to believe in communication / I need to believe in… / There is nothing better for loneliness / And that's why I'm not satistied to feel what I feel / If what I feel stays just in my heart / Even if I'm selfish / I've learned to share my defeats and my conquests / Nothing of these belongs to me / It's all temporary on the flying carpet of the calendar / If we have strengh to add and divide / In the time we are here / If you hear me singing, sing along / If you see me crying, smile

Do you see life the way it is? / Do you see life the way it should be? / Do you see life the way we want it to be? / Do you see life for us to live?

Our lives are made / of small “nothings”

Answering some questions

I've been receiving some questions by email about the return of the book and I would like to tell here as it might concern someone else.

I am asking for the return of the book by the 20th, but it can be posted by the 20th. I am prepared for the delay. ;)

The books doesn't have to be filled up. Don't worry if it is not complete. There are more pages than time for it.

Any further questions, please, don't hesitate to contact me (by commenting here or by email marianamota@marianamota.com).

Maps, maps and more maps

What am I doing at the moment? I am doing some experiments, literally surrounded by maps.









I don't want just to show what I collect in the notebooks. Although the material of all the notebooks are very interesting, I have a strong point of view that I aim to show in this project. And I want users to question some things that we are so used to think. Therefore I am doing some experiments to get the best manner to express that.

All these in sounds of Chico Buarque, Lenine, Jobim, Vinícius de Moraes, Caetano Veloso, Cazuza, Gabriel o Pensador and so many other Brazilian singers/songwriters/poets that has songs about social concerns, patriotism, etc. [my station at last.fm]

Postgraduate Interdisciplinary Evening

I will be presenting my project in development at the Postgraduate Interdisciplinary Evening on the 21st November at the Pervasive Media Studio.

Click here for more information:
http://www.pmstudio.co.uk/events/fri-21112008-700pm

I saw the first notebook!

Today I came across with one notebook to pass from one person to another. Although I was afraid of looking inside before the "right time" because it could mess up my mind and block my development at the moment, I couldn't help myself and looked the pages. I got really engaged in each page. And fascinated! I looked carefully each one. How precious is that. I was fascinated not just for the graphic of that, but, of course, for what people wrote. The diversity and the common aspects are so interesting.

At this moment I am developing how I am going to show the rich content I will collect through a website I am creating, which has an specific aim (I don't want just to show what I am collecting, but express an idea I have in my mind).

(I am not entirely sure if I should show the content in this blog. Somehow putting in a blog looses the preciousness. So, just a small thumbnail here.)

Seeing this book made me feel that there is nothing like taking the book in your hands and feel that. Each page was written in a certain place, by a certain person. How amazing is to get the sense of that! The book is a nomad itself.

Because the books are so important, I am planning to show all the books in the MA Media show, at UWE, which will happen in February. I will publish here as soon as I have the confirmed dates.

"The dark could be made out of light"

A special edition of the book was made for the private art exhibition "The dark could be made out of light", by Yves Kervoelen, which will take place in Cambridge-UK on the 15th November. There it will have a book for people to fill up during the exhibition.

Many thanks for the invitation, Yves.

Characteristics of the books

Size
The books should be small enough to be easy for people to carry them at the same time big enough to fit the information and a picture 10x15cm if anyone gets interested in attaching a photo.

Number of pages
Few pages. With the time I am giving for filling the book, it will be scary with the sensation of there are too many pages to fill in (although the book doesn't have to return totally filled in). Plus, if the book has too many pages it goes far away from the person I actually sent the book to, which means that the chances to get the book back might become fewer. But nevertheless it should have a relevant number of pages so I can have a good amount of data. It should also look a small book, not a folder.

I went to look for a notebook with 10 sheets (20 pages) but it was impossible to find. I got then the 20 sheets notebook. Actually when I got the book in my hands I realised that this option was much better for the reasons I mentioned above.

Quality
The paper of the pages should have good quality to not mark the other page when people are writing/glueing/painting on them.

Handwriting
Am I crazy to write in all the pages of the books and in all the 600 "thank you" small papers? No. But yes, I got crazy in the 3 nights when I wrote in all of them [click here to read my book-making-marathon]. But what made me go on writing and writing and writing was that I believe that if I want people to feel free and comfortable to experiment in the book I can't give them a beautiful printed, tidy blank page. Not when I am asking such a personal question. I wanted to create the nearest path between them and me. I am asking each one what they have left behind. Each page is my question to each one who takes part in this.

I ask people to write about their lives. I should give them my personal statement as well. In the first page of each book there is my statement of what I have left behind.

Graphic design
All handwriting for the reasons mentioned above. All the material is black ink in Kraft natural colour. I've put the title of the book behind the ribbon so it is discrete (more comfortable for people to write in it).

Why 32?
Well, my tutor and I decided that I should send 10 books. 10 seemed to be a good number to have enough data for me to work with. So, I arrived home and I thought, I will try to send 20 if I have enough people in different countries to send them. After all, we never know how many books will actually return to me, it is always better to have more than less. The next day I called the company that provides the book (the books come in packages with 2 each) and, you know what, "I would like 15 packages, please." "Sixteen?" "Hm, yes, yes, sixteen.". That is it. I know I might be crazy when all the books arrive with so much information. But, to be honest, I don't care how much work I will have, I'm really excited!

Why sending notebooks?

After deciding the aim of this project, firstly I thought of making a user-generated-content website (web 2.0), completely virtual. Why I decided not to? First because allowing users put whatever they want, even when I close fields and when I moderate the content, I have not much control of what they talk about, which means that my aim could be so diluted that would make what I wanted to show not clear at all, and therefore loose the strength. Plus, with so short-term project, when the project is a user-generated-content, at the end of the 3 months I would present an empty project, there would be no time for users actually contribute to that.

So, I inverted the process. Instead of developing and finishing a project and then start having the content, I decided getting the data first, for then develop from the specific data I get.

Adding this plan with my interest for real tactile things (which fascinates me more than any virtual media), I decided to get information in the real world, asking people one by one. There are many ways to get information from people. I decided the written word. I wanted a way that people could feel comfortable to tell their experiences and their lives. I wanted people to feel comfortable as well as important. So, for that, nothing better than a book (not a sheet of paper, but a book). You, writing about your experiences are being part of a book.

Making of

Hi! I decided to put available to you all the process of developing this project. I wasn’t sure about it because I thought it could influence how people contribute to the notebooks. But the process is always so interesting and sometimes even more interesting than the results (I don’t believe it will be this case because the data I get from the books are already very interesting) that I decided to make it open. I’ll be careful to not put too much information that I believe would influence the contribution, but I will try to put very much information that show how fascinating the process of making a project is.