Designer / Producer / Programer
Glorianna Davenport
How can an extensible database of media content be used to support
a scaleable story? How much does the machine need to know about
content? Are there other parameters beside sex and violence which
should be responsive to a viewers request? How might such a
request be made?
The project focused on journalists' access to information during the
Gulf War. Three journalists from the Boston Globe newspaper and the
Director of Information Services for the military were interviewed
for this project. The resulting material was burned onto an optical
videodisk for computer-assisted retrieval and playback -- a
prototype of "the Smart VCR.".
Viewers use dials on their video screens to indicate their relative
preference for each of the subjects offered, their relative preference
for a particular story, and their prefered story length. Then, they
request the story from the computer.
The production and delivery concept seems most appropriate to
evolving news stories on topics such as war, elections, or urban
planning. Annotations and links between annotations were
determined by the creator.
Research Supervisor
Houbart G (1994).
"Viewpoints on Demand: Tailoring the Presentation of Opinions in Video."
MIT MS Thesis.