Interactive storytelling video
I got the idea of the theme since Chenyu mentioned the place “Mary King’s Close” and here is the background of this place:
Mary King’s Close is a historic close (a type of alleyway) located in Edinburgh, Scotland. The close dates back to the 17th century and was named after Mary King, a prominent merchant, and member of the town council.
For centuries, the close was used as a bustling center of commerce, with numerous merchants and tradespeople residing and working there. However, in the 17th century, the terrible plague reached Scotland from the continent and in 1645 this narrow cobbled street was completely blocked off and six hundred people were abandoned in the homes of this lane with the Black Death, their daily food, drink, and coal being brought in through the window. Legend has it that some of the families infected with the plague were bricked up and starved to death, all of whom eventually died in their homes. Since then, ghosts have surfaced here, making it one of the most haunted places in the world.
In the late 19th century, the close was covered over and incorporated into a new building, the Royal Exchange, and remained forgotten and inaccessible for many years. In 2003, the close was rediscovered and opened to the public as a tourist attraction. Today, Mary King’s Close is one of Edinburgh’s most popular tourist destinations, offering visitors a unique glimpse into the city’s rich history and the lives of its residents from centuries past.
https://www.wanderingcrystal.com/marykingsclose/
https://www.realmarykingsclose.com/about-the-close/
Implementation
Mary King’s Close goes from a bustling commercial center to a plague infested hellhole and finally to a horrific haunted house. My idea is to create a video to present the changes and tell the story.
In the video, we can render the atmosphere of the place at different times through scenes&point cloud color changes, different lens transportation, various sound effects(e.g. the busy streets, the screams of people suffering from illness, ghosts, etc.), and background music. (If we have time, we can also add some effects to the video content to add richness)
In prep, we can scan as much material as possible from different times and places. This scanned material from reality does not necessarily have to correspond strictly to the scenes in the story. We can use material from suitable scenes to fill out the story, just as we would with a camera for a short dramatic film.
For the final, I like Molly’s idea of three projection screens. I would probably prefer to use one main screen to show the video content and the remaining screens to show the sound visualization in conjunction with the sound in the video, with some sensors to interact with the user and provide an immersive experience for the audience.
Yuxuan Guo
7 Feb 2023
