Object-Oriented Interactive Cinema

Candidate: Adrian Jones
Type: Master of Applied Science, Interactive Art (MASc-IA), School of Interactive Art and Technology
Date: April 11, 2003
Senior Supervisor: Kenneth Newby
Thesis: Download Thesis Document

Abstract

This thesis presents a formalized conceptual model for researchers in multi-linear interactive cinema. This need for standardization is not surprising given the breadth of backgrounds of interactive cinema researchers: digital artists, filmmakers, computer scientists, mathematicians, narrative theorists, cognitive psychologists, semioticians, etc. This thesis has two principle objectives: (1) To provide a robust model that unifies the main concepts discussed in the emerging field of interactive cinema; and (2) To aid interactive cinema composition and multi-linear narrative generation by providing mechanisms and procedures to use as conceptual scaffolding in the construction of an interactive cinematic work. The model takes a modular approach to cinema by sub-dividing the medium into its constitutive parts, which are reassembled at run-time into a final cinematic experience based on user interaction. To achieve a strong theoretical foundation, the model is based on object-oriented modeling techniques, and this is called the Object-Oriented Interactive Cinema model, or OOIC.

Since the invention and rise of new media, digital interactive storytelling has evolved considerably, but it is still far from full actualization. OOIC is a form of new media; it is a form of digital cinema; and it is part of the interactive cinema research discipline, yet it also stands apart as a unique model for incorporating interactivity into the cinematic narrative. To help lead interactive cinema into a mature art form, the OOIC model (1) Describes a systemic approach to narrative composition and structure, dividing narrative in story and plot; (2) Presents an extensible, universally applicable representational framework, based on an object-oriented class structure, to describe an interactive cinema project's media objects; (3) Presents a design methodology for incorporating graph theory, transition matrices, and state diagrams into the composition of multi-linear narratives using film objects; and (4) Establishes principles for advanced interactivity within a cinematic context by outlining principles for user interaction and navigation.

A project that was created using the OOIC model is described at the end of the thesis. The project demonstrates the model's applicability and effectiveness at aiding in the analysis, structure, design, and composition of a multi-linear cinematic work.