ShapeShifting TV: interactive screen media narratives

Ursu, M.F., Kegel, I., Williams, D., Thomas, M., Mayer, H., Zsombori, V., Tuomola, M.L., Larsson, H. and Wyver, J. 2008. ShapeShifting TV: interactive screen media narratives. Multimedia Systems. 4 (2), pp. 115-132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00530-008-0119-z

TitleShapeShifting TV: interactive screen media narratives
AuthorsUrsu, M.F., Kegel, I., Williams, D., Thomas, M., Mayer, H., Zsombori, V., Tuomola, M.L., Larsson, H. and Wyver, J.
Abstract

This paper presents a paradigm, called ShapeShifting TV, for the realisation of interactive TV narratives or, more generally, of interactive screen-media narratives. These are productions whose narrations respond on the fly (i.e. in real time) to interaction from active viewers. ShapeShifting TV refers to productions made mainly with pre-recorded time-based material, in which variation is achieved by selecting and rearranging atomic elements of content (e.g. video clips) into individual narrations. The aimed quality of the productions (e.g. narrative continuity and aesthetics) is at least that of good traditional linear TV programmes. The artefact which determines the way individual stories unfold, called the narrative space, is authored and tested by experts before the delivery of the programme. However, the adaptation of narrations to input, at delivery time, is automatic. ShapeShifting TV is a generic paradigm; it is neither production nor genre specific. Furthermore, it is not confined to television; it is about screen media in general. ShapeShifting TV is founded on a computational language called Narrative Structure Language (NSL) and is accompanied by a comprehensive software system for authoring and delivery (which implements NSL). These were successfully employed to the creation of a number of ShapeShifting TV productions, which extended genres such as drama, documentary and news with interactivity. This paper defines the ShapeShifting TV paradigm, outlines NSL and the associated software, and presents two ShapeShifting TV productions.

JournalMultimedia Systems
Journal citation4 (2), pp. 115-132
ISSN0942-4962
YearJul 2008
PublisherSpringer
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/s00530-008-0119-z
Publication dates
PublishedJul 2008

Related outputs

Pauline Boty: Artist - Model - Actor - Blonde
Wyver, J. 2023. Pauline Boty: Artist - Model - Actor - Blonde. London

Blonde Noir
Wyver, J. 2023. Blonde Noir. London

All's Well That Ends Well
Wyver, J. 2023. All's Well That Ends Well. United Kingdom

RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon: Ten Things I Think I Know, or, Of Course We’re Making a Movie
Wyver, J. 2023. RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon: Ten Things I Think I Know, or, Of Course We’re Making a Movie. in: Smith. E. (ed.) Shakespeare Survey 76: Digital and Virtual Shakespeare Cambridge Cambridge University Press. pp. 9-16

The screen language of lockdown: connection and choice in split-screen performance
Wyver, J. 2022. The screen language of lockdown: connection and choice in split-screen performance. in: Allred, G.K., Broadribb, B. and Sullivan, E. (ed.) Lockdown Shakespeare: New Evolutions in Performance and Adaptation London Bloomsbury Academic.

Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain
Wyver, J. 2021. Coventry Cathedral: Building for a New Britain. London

‘Filming the invisible’: Barrie Gavin in conversation with John Wyver
Wyver, J. 2021. ‘Filming the invisible’: Barrie Gavin in conversation with John Wyver. Journal of Popular Television. 9 (1), pp. 15-28. https://doi.org/10.1386/jptv_00039_7

Visions of electric media: television in the Victorian and machine ages
Wyver, J. 2021. Visions of electric media: television in the Victorian and machine ages. Early Popular Visual Culture. 19 (1), pp. 91-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/17460654.2020.1863272

Drama Out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today
Wyver, John 2021. Drama Out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today. Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies. 16 (1), pp. 62-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749602020982748

Drama Out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today
Wyver, J. 2020. Drama Out of a Crisis: A Celebration of Play for Today. London

Book Review: Seeing by Electricity: The Emergence of Television, 1878-1939
Wyver, J. 2020. Book Review: Seeing by Electricity: The Emergence of Television, 1878-1939. Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies. 15 (4), pp. 426-428. https://doi.org/10.1177/1749602020951653a

Bert Hardy: Exercises with Photography and Film
Nead, L. and Wyver, J. 2020. Bert Hardy: Exercises with Photography and Film. British Art Studies. 15. https://doi.org/10.17658/issn.2058-5462/issue-15/nead-wyver

RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon
Wyver, J. Forthcoming. RSC Live from Stratford-upon-Avon. Stratford-upon-Avon

Screening the Royal Shakespeare Company: a Critical History
Wyver, J. 2019. Screening the Royal Shakespeare Company: a Critical History. London Bloomsbury.

Hamlet
Wyver, J., others 2018. Hamlet. London

The road to Civilisation: early television journeys to Greece
Wyver, J. 2018. The road to Civilisation: early television journeys to Greece. in: Hobden, F. and Wrigley, A. (ed.) Ancient Greece on British Television Edinburgh Edinburgh University Press.

Exploring the lost television and technique of Fred O'Donovan
Wyver, J. 2017. Exploring the lost television and technique of Fred O'Donovan. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 37 (1), pp. 5-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/01439685.2016.1272807

Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy
Wyver, J. and various 2017. Donmar Shakespeare Trilogy. London

Scenes from Cymbeline and the language of the early television studio
Wyver, J. 2017. Scenes from Cymbeline and the language of the early television studio. in: Hatchuel, D. and Vienne-Guerrin, N. (ed.) Shakespeare on Screen: The Tempest and Late Romances Cambridge Cambridge University Press. pp. 56-70

An Intimate and Intermedial Form: Early Television Shakespeare from the BBC, 1937-39
Wyver, J. 2016. An Intimate and Intermedial Form: Early Television Shakespeare from the BBC, 1937-39. in: Shakespeare Survey 69: Shakespeare and Rome Cambridge Cambridge University Press. pp. 347-360

‘A profound commentary on kingship’: the monarchy and Shakespeare’s Histories on television 1957-65
Wyver, J. 2016. ‘A profound commentary on kingship’: the monarchy and Shakespeare’s Histories on television 1957-65 . in: Morra, I. and Gossedge, R. (ed.) The New Elizabethan Age: Culture, Society and National Identity after World War II London I.B. Tauris. pp. 267-288

Myriad mediations: Henry Moore and his works on screen, 1937-1983
Wyver, J. 2015. Myriad mediations: Henry Moore and his works on screen, 1937-1983. Tate Publishing.

The filmic fugue of Ken Russell’s Pop Goes the Easel
Wyver, J. 2015. The filmic fugue of Ken Russell’s Pop Goes the Easel. Journal of British Cinema and Television. 12 (4), pp. 438-451. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2015.0279

Television and the Anti-Realist Theatricality of "not Shakespeare"
Wyver, J. 2015. Television and the Anti-Realist Theatricality of "not Shakespeare". Shakespeare Bulletin. 33 (4), pp. 543-568. https://doi.org/10.1353/shb.2015.0055

Screening the RSC stage: the 2014 Live from Stratford-upon-Avon cinema broadcasts
Wyver, J. 2015. Screening the RSC stage: the 2014 Live from Stratford-upon-Avon cinema broadcasts. Shakespeare. 11 (3), pp. 286-302. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450918.2015.1048280

Serjeant Musgrave's Dance and the politics of possibility in two television adaptations
Wyver, J. 2014. Serjeant Musgrave's Dance and the politics of possibility in two television adaptations. Critical Studies in Television. 9 (3), pp. 89-99. https://doi.org/10.7227/CST.9.3.9

Television
Wyver, J. 2014. Television. in: Stephens, C. and Stonard, J.-P. (ed.) Kenneth Clark: Looking for Civilisation London Tate Publishing. pp. 123-32

'All the trimmings'? The transfer of theatre to television in adaptations of Shakespeare stagings
Wyver, J. 2014. 'All the trimmings'? The transfer of theatre to television in adaptations of Shakespeare stagings. Adaptation. 7 (2), pp. 104-120. https://doi.org/10.1093/adaptation/apu020

Julius Caesar
Wyver, J. 2012. Julius Caesar.

Dallas Bower: a producer for television's early years, 1936-39
Wyver, J. 2012. Dallas Bower: a producer for television's early years, 1936-39. Journal of British Cinema and Television. 9 (1), pp. 26-39. https://doi.org/10.3366/jbctv.2012.0058

Screen play: theatre plays on British television
Wyver, J. and Wrigley, A. 2012. Screen play: theatre plays on British television. Viewfinder: Moving Image and Sound, Knowledge and Access. 86.

Art of faith
Wyver, J. and McCarthy, J. 2010. Art of faith.

Macbeth
Wyver, J. and Grant, S. 2010. Macbeth.

Interactive documentaries: a golden age
Ursu, M.F., Zsombori, V., Wyver, J., Conrad, L., Kegel, I. and Williams, D. 2009. Interactive documentaries: a golden age. Computers in Entertainment. 7 (3). https://doi.org/10.1145/1594943.1594953

TV against TV: video art on television
Wyver, J. Forthcoming. TV against TV: video art on television. in: Comer, S. (ed.) Film and Video Art London Tate Publishing.

Hamlet
Wyver, J. and Grant, S. 2009. Hamlet.

Tv against TV: video art on television
Wyver, J. 2009. Tv against TV: video art on television. in: Comer, S. (ed.) Film and video art London Tate Publishing.

ShapeShifting TV: interactive screen media narratives
Ursu, M.F., Kegel, I.C., Williams, D., Thomas, M., Mayer, H., Zsombori, V., Tuomola, M.L., Larsson, H. and Wyver, J. 2008. ShapeShifting TV: interactive screen media narratives. Multimedia Systems. 4 (2), pp. 115-132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00530-008

The eternity man
Wyver, J., Blight, R. and Fleetwood, A. 2008. The eternity man.

Spider in the city: la machine in Liverpool
Wyver, J. 2008. Spider in the city: la machine in Liverpool.

Art of faith
Wyver, J. 2008. Art of faith.

Vision on: film, television and the arts in Britain
Wyver, J. ten Brink, J. (ed.) 2007. Vision on: film, television and the arts in Britain. London, UK Wallflower Press.

Conceiving ShapeShifting TV: a computational language for truly-interactive TV
Ursu, M.F., Cook, J.J., Zsombori, V., Zimmer, R., Kegel, I., Williams, D., Thomas, M., Wyver, J. and Mayer, H. 2007. Conceiving ShapeShifting TV: a computational language for truly-interactive TV. in: Cesar, P., Chorianopoulos, K. and Jensen, J.F. (ed.) Interactive TV: a shared experience Berlin Springer.

Patterning reconfigurable narrative: interactive cinema as architectural elevation within 3D interactive digital environments
Richens, P., Sussner, J. and Thomas, M. 2006. Patterning reconfigurable narrative: interactive cinema as architectural elevation within 3D interactive digital environments. Digital Creativity. 17 (4), pp. 243-256. https://doi.org/10.1080/14626260601074243

The art of Henry Moore
Wyver, J. 2005. The art of Henry Moore.

theEYE
Wyver, J. 2002. theEYE.

Macbeth
Wyver, J. and Grant, S. 2001. Macbeth.

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/91232/shapeshifting-tv-interactive-screen-media-narratives


Share this

Usage statistics

132 total views
0 total downloads
These values cover views and downloads from WestminsterResearch and are for the period from September 2nd 2018, when this repository was created.