Project Production Phase

36 PROJECT PRODUCTION PHASE A. Project Journal 12/17: Now that I’ve described the basic premise for each scene, I need to make a list of visuals that I should be on the look­out for. I’m creating a running list in case I come across a good setting or person who fits a profile. NOTE: I need to talk with a friend who works at a local bar to see if I can use it for the setting of Scene 5 (search convention). It would be best to shoot this interior setting at a place that will not be suspicious of a photographer. I also realize that I’ll need to get all people from any particular scene together in that same spot, which will take some planning. I need to take several shots of each subject, with the hope that I can capture some subtle gesture, expression, or characteristic movement that will create a nice stop­motion animation loop. I’m going to draft some rough starter text for Scene 1 (chat box convention). I’m only able to revise my creative writing drafts once I’ve had time to distance myself, so the sooner I can get a first attempt on paper, the better. Potential project names: → frag/mented portraiture → digital sketches
37 → conventional portraiture → un:conventional portraiture 12/19: After writing the first script for Scene 1 (chat box convention) (the one that utilizes a chat box convention), I realized that I need to take a more narrative approach. Rather than write exclusively in the first person (which is exactly how a medium like “chat” works normally), I want to try writing in the third person as well. This might better convey my aim to remediate traditional creative writing within these new conventions. I need to avoid simply mirroring the conventions as they usually appear. It works nice to have the chats in Scene 1 (chat box convention) bounce off one another, using repetitive words and phrases to highlight discrepancies in communication and ideas. I’m a little worried about the use of “fuck” since it’s not a term I’d ever say. But it works on two levels, and I guess creative writing is about creating a fictional voice, so I might leave it in. I want clicking on these pop­ups to auto­maximize the window. Not sure if this is possible with javascript. NOTE: The visual to accompany the chatboxese in Scene 1 (chat box convention) is developing into a possible video feed (using a webcam aesthetic, but pointing out instead of in). This is opposed to the idea of animating still images, which was in my
38 proposal. I need to secure equipment and brush up on final cut pro to make sure I can pull off including video. Themes so far: Scene 1 (chat box convention): ­ disillusionment with low career status­ naïve ignorance of how the world works ­ lack of communication in a relationship­ discrepancy in how each gender views same situation, feelings of insecurity manifest in an unnecessarily negative outcome ­ struggle within self to preserver through suffering, need to please others 12/20: Worked on scripting for Scene 4 (PowerPoint convention). After reviewing the David Byrne DVD, I realized that I want to focus less on the pure aesthetics of combining icons through custom animation schemes, and more on the content of the text onscreen. Ideas for ppt presentations: → take a well­known (public domain) poem and reimagine it using a standard template; animate the process of creating ppt by showing the way each textbox is used → present on the increase of promiscuous imagery exposed to young children and the potential effects it could have on moral standards; present from a father’s perspective using his daughter as the case study; exploit charts, graphs, argument rhetoric 12/21:
39 I worked on the PowerPoint part of my project today for Scene 4 (PowerPoint convention). I am trying to make something that is better suited for flash, but using native PowerPoint tools. I also want to incorporate some kind of poetry as displayed as though it were a corporate presentation. My theme is a thunderstorm. This isn’t really a portrait in the same sense as the others, but I think I can stretch my definition to define “portrait” as anything the captures the essence of a person, place, or thing. This would mean changing my master narrative to leave human subjects out of Scene 4 (PowerPoint convention). NOTE: I need to find a way to convert an animated ppt to a .mov file. There are costly software programs out there, so maybe I could use a free trial. Otherwise, I’ll have to rely on the user having PowerPoint installed­ and then add [click now] prompts throughout. 12/22: I purchased sever space and registered my domain name. I figured I would register my own name, and then make this thesis a directory beneath the root, in case I wanted to grow the site as my online portfolio. www.kimberlymhampton.com 12/27:
40 I found a program that will skin an existing RSS feed. The Pipes tool can seek out live feeds based on a keyword query and collate them into a single feed, and then this tool, called RSS­to­Javascript, can apply a css that I define. http://www.rss­to­javascript.com/p/RSSRDF­Converter___138.html My test feed: http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=im7RBVKR3BGfTIbinkartA My test feed rendered via javascript: http://kimberlymhampton.com/rss_test.html 12/28: I completed my first profile for Scene 2 (online profile convention). I think I’m going to have to rebuild the html page as a fake profile, rather than link to the live on linkedin.com. This way, readers won’t have to login. I can still include live links out, but I will most likely contain my fictional pages on my own server. This could also help focus the page so that readers recognize the context without being thrown off or distracted by pop­ups, ads, irrelevant page filler, etc. 12/29: I ordered a Canon digital camera today, so I should be able to start capturing images as soon as it arrives. The key will be to use high resolution settings so that blowing these photos up full­screen won’t compromise the quality of the images. 12/30:
41 Writing the facebook profile is proving harder than I imagined. Linkedin.com was easy because the site is about your job and how it defines you. Facebook is just about everything. I want to capture the portrait of a teenager caught up in this crazy social networking whirlwind, but I don’t want to simply create a straightforward profile that just happens to be fictional. I want the page to about something­ a comment on the social networking world. Checking other young people’s profiles, I see a lot of this: I can be rel hyped up 4rm time ta time, im cool wit jus bout every1 and dont get my bad side. Its really not much ta say unless u wana find out fa yoself. Fa my niggas: If im wit u or was wit u heres somthin u might wana read. If i cut yo ass or cheated on yo ass den dis aint a apology note, its ta let u no dat if i did one of these two things to u or both, i did it cuz obviously u aint doin wat u need ta do ta keep me happy. If i cant get it 4rm u den i can always get it from sumbody else. So dont sweat it ... jus work on it. I have ta have da attention n my relations if i dont den BYE BABY. Not sayin dat i dont put n any effort in my relations cuz i do i jus thought u should no. But besides dat im cool. LUV U MUCH!!! $** Brea Is LoVe**$ C.K $**5 ON DA Trigga**$
42 I also put up a photo and selected to be from one of the largest public high schools in the nation. I’m interested if anyone will “recognize” me and invite me to join their network. 1/02: After looking through endless teen profiles, I think that it would make more sense for my 15 year old to be on MySpace than Facebook. MySpace is much more oriented toward an adolescent aesthetic. 1/03: I completed the match.com profile, but I’m worried that it just comes off as girl­bashing since each anecdote is about how the character’s date was a ditzy airhead. The point I want to make is how the way people present themselves on match.com translates to how they really behave (or the first impressions they make in real life). I will have to get this part of the script reviewed to see if it translates clearly. I also changed this character to a guy because I had just done an adolescent girl for myspace.com, and I wanted to add more variation. 1/04: I completed the worldofwarcraft profile. This took much longer than I anticipated since I wanted to use the premise of the game as a metaphor for the background story of my character. The game is much more elaborate and nuanced than I expected, and I wanted
43 to ensure accuracy in case my audience happens to be familiar with WoW. Making a mistake in where night elves are from or the role they play would undermine the authority of the character. 1/05: I am going to pare down Scene 2 (online profile convention) from seven profiles to four. I can always go back and add more, but MySpace is too close to facebook, WoW includes a music playlist so that negates Napster, and the Hamsterster just got taken down. 1/07: I’m finding the scene with the browser history (Scene 3 (browser history convention)) to be very difficult. I need to use the metaphor of browser history to prompt the story line. Browser history: = being able to go back in time, revisit the past = documentation of the past, or private inner thoughts = thought process, one idea linked to the next in a transparent progression I think I’m going to use the oral history format for this scene, with each “document” (i.e. webpage in the browser history) accompanied by the interview of a person associated with my character.
44 1/08: I met with my friend, Tyler, who is attending law school, to research the character for Scene 3 (browser history convention). I want her to be the right kind of lawyer, and to write intelligently about it, I need to use the proper terminology for the field. I also logged into a friend’s Amazon account and found the tag cloud that is personalized just for him. I think I’m going to add a person to Scene 2 (online profile convention) that is simply this cloud­ no narrative. The keywords alone tell an entire story. 1/09: For Scene 7 (audio player convention), I need to find a song that has a heavy beat (since the beat is what you usually hear when someone on the train has headphones on). I also want to go with a theme that is about lost love (as opposed to violence or sex, which is what most rap songs seem to be about). Here’s my list so far; I Used To Love H.E.R. Lyrics Artist(Band):Common Artist: Ghostface Killah Lyrics Title: Josephine Lyrics Find A Way Lyrics
45 Artist(Band):A Tribe Called Quest 1/10: I want to integrate the narrative and the lyrics in a way that lets the character’s story comment on the song in some ironic way. Instead of looking for songs about lost love or something relevant to the character, I am instead looking for a song about something entirely opposite. I need a song about a man’s love for his glock that I can then relate to my character’s love for another person. I have to be careful not to trivialize a song that’s about a legitimate struggle (i.e. broad themes on race). I also found this “Quick Screen Recorder” that might be able to record the PowerPoint presentation from Scene 4 (PowerPoint convention) so that I won’t require my users to open an external application: http://www.etrusoft.com/download.htm 1/12: I began production on the main page and the internal pages that do not require visuals, since these photo shoots are scheduled for next month. I am finishing Scene 5 (search convention), the search engine pages. I’ve included the “feeling lucky” button but I’m not sure what page to bring up with this button. There are obvious connections between “searching” for a man or woman at a bar and “feeling lucky” but I’m not sure how to represent this. 1/14:
46 I worked on Scene 3 (browser history convention) today. I’m trying to figure out whether to use recreated “fake” pages that are more stable, or live pages that might change in the future. I’m leaning toward the same solution I used for Scene 2 (online profile convention) (creating fake pages that mirror live ones) since consistency might be best, and I don’t want to compromise the piece by letting other sites determine its functionality. I’m still behind schedule of obtaining visuals because it’s been more difficult than planned to get people in the same place at the same time. 1/17: For the WebMD page of the “web oral history” in Scene 3 (browser history convention) I am worried about using an actual article. In order to get the fictional person’s voice integrated into the page, I need to add information from a false resource; I don’t want to replace the actual author of the article since that would be plagiarism, but I don’t know how to give my character’s physician a presence on the page. I think I’ll try to replace the advertisement space with a call­out to “Meet Your Physician” or something like that, with the fiction part displaying as his bio. 1/19: I think I’m going to change Scene 6 (online catalog convention) from on the bus to in a gym. It will add some variation, and I have better access to photographing in a gym. Plus, I can still use my idea to utilize the zoom feature to zero in on a magazine model
47 (woman on bike can be reading mag). I haven’t written this one yet because I thought I might go another direction. I guess I’ll do a draft and see how it turns out. 1/22: The song I selected for Scene 7 (audio player convention) is apparently not available for download anywhere. I either need to rewrite the lyrics or find some way to rip if from the video on YouTube. 1/23: I met with my advisor, and we decided that the narrative needs to be more threaded. Elements have to tie in somehow to give the piece continuity. To make it clearer that the action takes place within the course of a single day in a single city, I am adding the element of an impending rain storm. This ties in perfectly with the most incongruous section, the PowerPoint portrait on the rain storm. Hopefully this will give the piece some integrity and consistency. I am also including references from across sections; Elena shows up in scene one, the man in scene two is the boss of the man in scene one. I need to do more of this. 1/25: I wrote Scene 6 (online catalog convention) today. I am using the zoom convention, but have switch from a train to a gym location. The magazine is still the portal to the fashion model’s portrait.
48 1/28: I programmed Scene 7 (audio player convention) today. I had to follow several Lynda.com tutorials (an online tutorial subscription service) to get the actionscript right. I still can’t figure out how to swapDepths, which should be easy, but I want a button outside the movieclip to control that behavior. I might have to set up a tutoring session with someone in the Emerson lab. I also am not sure how to sync the lyrics movieclip with the audio. I assume this can be done using keyframes. 1/30: I met with Jonelle, a fellow graduate student, to workshop the manuscript today. It was useful to have a fresh set of eyes on the text. I didn’t show it to her in context since I wanted to see if it could read as a series of paragraphs in its own right. She was pretty confused at first, but by the end she was finding the connections, and suggesting other connections to add. I think the pay­off of seeing how characters overlap is definitely worth pursuing. Jonelle also pointed out how inconsistent my approach was, even within scenes. At the very least, I should include the omnipotent “nar8tor” throughout (instead of switching between first person and third person). 1/31: I spent four hours on Lynda.com tutorials to learn the actionscript that will make it possible to manipulate the volume levels of Scene 7 (audio player convention). I
49 figured out how to create buttons to control volume, and how to load text dynamically, and how to toggle between that text and the image, but I still can’t get the text to scroll horizontally like a marquee. 2/01: I captured visuals for Scene 1 (chat box convention). The models came by my apartment this morning so that I could take photos of them all leaving the building at the same time. It was not as overcast as I had hoped, but I’m sure I can downplay the sun using PhotoShop. The photos came out alright, but it was difficult helping the models know how to look when the premise of the project is so difficult to explain. 2/04: I finished programming the flash for Scene 7 (audio player convention) and managed to get the text to load dynamically and then scroll. I programmed the whole thing using actionscript so that it loads without manually placing movieclips on the stage. 2/05: I finished programming Scene 1 (chat box convention) chat boxes. I need to read the chat into a recording device and then time the video footage to sync with the words in the text box. 2/06:
50 I cleaned up all the profiles to ensure that they were all set in Boston, in a single location. I created more ties among the characters as pay off for those readers who pay attention. I also edited the audio track for Scene 7 (audio player convention), and realized that the scrolling text was restarting each time the play button was pressed, which is frustrating and doesn’t work with my idea. Today was rainy, so I tried to get some photos, but it was too wet and too dark. I need an overcast day not a pouring down night. Hope the weather works out. Plan for tomorrow: capture interior shots, take Scene 8 (RSS feed convention) photos. I’m considering using video for capturing the candle flickering effect. I also plan to write the “static” prayers to mix with the universal dynamic prayers in the RSS feed for this scene. 2/07: Today I uploaded the site to my space on the server so I could see review the performance when running off the server. There are several problems: the mp3 in Scene 7 (audio player convention) takes forever to load, and does not synch with the scrolling text, video from Scene 1 (chat box convention) is also slow to load. In addition, I performed quality assurance on the site using a Mac with the huge resolution size that is typical of the Mac desktop. None of my pop­ups are properly placed. I think I may have to go back and have each main scene open as a pop­up with pre­ defined dimensions, and then find a way to have the smaller pop­up windows open
51 relative to that screen (right now, they are opening relative to the width and height of the entire screen). Another problem I ran into is how the site works in Internet Explorer 6.0 (I have yet to test 7.0). The main issue is the high security settings inherent to IE. Keeping pop­ups from being blocked is feasible, but I found that IE was also blocking active x and java scripting. I could not find a way to lower the security enough to allow my content to display. Question: can I mandate the browser, settings, and applications necessary to view my project? I don’t mean merely saying what the site is optimized for best display, but rather the minimal requirements to even see anything at all? 02/09: STATUS: • index: I think I want to play off the idea of "portraits" by putting each thumbnail in a frame and imitating an art gallery aesthetic somehow • Scene 1 (chat box convention): Big problem with window location. Looks great on my machine, but I know on your Mac desktop these are all off. Also, I haven't loaded the videos into these yet. • Scene 2 (online profile convention): Still haven't got images for this, but I will ­­ soon. Profile pages are done though, and I've done a lot of rewriting to interweave some of the characters.
52 • Scene 3 (browser history convention): I love how this looks when the pop­up screen actually overlays on the computer. There's got to be a way to program this mathematically, or else I'll have to resort to faking windows with flash. Ergh. • Scene 4 (PowerPoint convention): Should I split this presentation in two? The first half is about how the tools available in PPT can be manipulated to produce some very un­powerpoint­ish effects. The second half is about how the conventions inherent to PPT can be mocked when applied to a poetic aim. • Scene 5 (search convention): I changed the wording a bit to tie it to the match.com profile page in Scene 2 (online profile convention). • Scene 6 (online catalog convention): Should I add more text to this zoomify image? I want it to look like a textured background upon first glance. • Scene 7 (audio player convention): I thought I was using streaming audio here, but it takes so long for the audio to load that the whole text scrolls by before it plays. I need to (1) figure out how to stream in flash, and then (2) figure out how to sync the text­ scrolling movie clip to points in the audio. Everything loads dynamically though, so I can't use the timeline to do this. I need help. • Scene 8 (RSS feed convention): I want the rss feed to load on top of the image, so I had to insert the image as a table cell background, but I don't want it to repeat. Need help here too. 2/11:
53 Today I composed “prayers” for characters in Scene 8 (RSS feed convention). I authored both the prayer, and also the source, or the online forum most likely used by each given character. 2/12: I met with my advisor today to review the site. It’s difficult to review with all the “placeholder” images still in use. Before our class meets to check in I need to get real photos shot and uploaded. I also learned that my javascript to maximize window size doesn’t work with the Safari browser. I’ll have to find some conditional logic. 2/13: I reprogrammed all the new windows using absolute values. I still need to test this on a large­resolution screen, but as long as everything is anchored from the top left, then it should work. 2/17: I reshot the Scene 1 (chat box convention) videos. There was weird audio that ruined the first round. This second round is better. The weather is more fitting, and I was able to hold the camera a bit steadier. I still need to edit the video some­ putting in a timed fade, adding additional audio/sound effects. 2/18:
54 I integrated the video into scene1. I reworked it so that the video windows open first, and then launch each new pop­up in a domino effect. At least this gives the video a chance to load a little before the chat video begins to play. 2/19: I cleaned up my Scene 1 (chat box convention), but now I see that it’s loading with different window sizes and placement on my PC. Mathematically, it should not open two different size windows that are explicitly programmed to be the same pixel width and height. I can’t explain it. I’ve also reached my limit with the flash work. I need to call in an expert. I reshot the visuals for Scene 8 (RSS feed convention) for a third time. I want the lamp to match exactly so that clicking the candle gives the impression of flicking a switch to kill the light. I think it’s much better now. I also touched up Scene 2 (online profile convention)’s main image so that it looks less sunny, but I think I may have to reshoot that one anyway. We’ll see how the images of the people on the train come out. 2/24: I spent a few hours in the lab working on the flash component. I am going to need to consult an expert. 2/25: I met with my second chair today, Eric Gordon. It was very helpful. Our notes:
55 ­ Eric suggested using the intro page to convey my points better (e.g. context of a single day, linear threads, texture/tapestry of a city). I need to find a way to establish time and place on this page. Maybe a splash screen that suggests how to use the piece and how to approach the piece. ­ I need to communicate how to click on the pop­ups. I can turn the images into buttons using rollover action and mouse changes. ­ We discussed making the point more transparent. For Scene 8 (RSS feed convention) I added in the RSS apparatus to drive home the point that the viewer is seeing a dynamic feed. Eric was helpful because he verbalized the meaning of the piece in a way I haven’t done yet. He compared it to the Berlin City Symphonies that capture the “portrait” of a city through disparate snapshots, sounds, etc. My piece is also portraying characters in a city through the conventions that we normally use for the purpose of information or communication. I’m trying to exploit these conventions for more poetic, narrative aims. This goal should be made clearer in the piece itself somehow. 2/27: I took photos on the T this morning and they worked out pretty well. I think I have the man and young girl from Scene 2 (online profile convention). I still need to take a photo of the train interior minus people so that when you close the window, the person is no longer in the scene.
56 3/04: I worked on a flash intro today. I want to establish place and time. For place, I am using the google maps convention and iconography. I want it to look cinematic too, since the recurring theme in my piece is to twist these conventions for more poetic, artistic aims. For time, I’m looking into timeline interfaces. I want the user to begin with Scene 1 (chat box convention) and progress through the day. Maybe some indication of time should be included with the thumbnail. 3/05: I sent the near complete flash intro to Eric for feedback. I still want to end with the thumbnails as portraits superimposed on gallery walls. I’ll take photos at the ICA next Thursday to see if I get anything I can work with. No luck gathering photos for Scene 2 (online profile convention) with randoms. I need to take the T earlier to get people in isolation. I don’t like the bar scene photo backdrop either. I need to reshoot this. My RSS is broken and I don’t know why. I troubleshot the issue for an hour today. Very frustrating to think I had wrapped a scene and then find it’s mysteriously broken. 3/06: Today I reworked the whole main page to use flash. I was able to tie in the map visual as a physical anchor better using a dynamic interface. I had to rework all the javascript to work as actionscript, but it was pretty similar.
57 NOTE: I found this great resource for dealing with launching new windows with actionscript: http://www.flash­db.com/PopUp/JavaScriptPopUp.php?page=3 I also found this potential program for editing my avi files (couldn’t install on my office computer): http://www.nch.com.au/switch/. It might be simpler to learn than Final Cut Pro. I also got Scene 7 (audio player convention) working by compressing the mp3 file for faster loading, and reimporting some corrupted files. I fixed the external text file not loading simply by renaming it. Go figure. 3/08: Today was overcast and rainy, so I spent all morning riding the D line hoping to find suitable subjects in the right seats for Scene 2 (online profile convention) visuals (the one that takes place on the train, and uses online profile conventions). It’s Saturday though, so the trains were too crowded. I need to get people in isolation. It’s also easier to explain what I’m doing and get them to sign the talent release form if you catch them off guard in the early morning. 3/12:
58 I researched sound effects for the establishing shot of each scene. http://www.vionline.com/sound.html. I am going to need to record my own ambient sound for several scenes. 3/15: I finished programming Scene 7 (audio player convention). I got the text to scroll and match to the audio. I inadvertently cut off the song prematurely and overwrote the original, so I have to find a new original copy and then re­crop it. The looping is also not idea because there’s a brief pause. Instead of using the looping code, I think it would be better to get the variable that is endtext affect the variable that sets the location of the audio in miliseconds. I can’t figure out how to make the two functions (one that loads the audio and one that loads the external text file) speak to one another. I also located more ambient sounds using the FreeSound project, but I have to be a registered user, and I can’t validate my account since gmail is down. These background sounds are causing a slight problem in that the firefox browser seems to load the entire wav file before running the onload functions to create the pop­up windows. I don’t know why this is happening. I’m using an embed src code, so it isn’t streaming, but it should still allow other functions to run. 3/18: I added soundtrack audio to most scenes. I compressed the simpler wavs to 8bit which helped with the load time. Others are just going to have a delay. Since the establishing
59 screen stays open while the internal screens play out, it creates a nice “establishing” audio—and it gives it time to load. The only one I’m not sure about is Scene 4 (PowerPoint convention) since it’s about rainstorms, but told through ppt conventions. I don’t want to be too literal with a rainstorm soundtrack. On the other hand, I found a muted sound that conveys a rainstorm happening outside. I think this might work. 3/21: Today I manipulated my match.com person for Scene 2 (online profile convention). I think this pop­up window is well­placed because it creates the illusion of depth. To finish this scene, I’ll need my myspace girl to be in the back. I’m going to ditch the one I have now and try to get a friend to pose sitting sideways in seat toward the rear of the train. This will stack the windows to convey depth better. I also manipulated photos of my roommate for Scene 7 (audio player convention). I have the close­up image that swaps out for the interior monologue scrolling text. It works so perfectly on my lab computer, but it’s fragile and not hardcoded to synch up, so I’m terrified of checking it on other machines. It won’t even load on my PC which I can only attribute to a plugin or compatibility issue..?! 3/27: I added the 4th person in Scene 2 (online profile convention). I am having issues with scrollbars appearing in IE, so I resent all the new windows to scrollbar=no, but then I realized that when that same window is maximized, the scrollbar setting persists,
60 despite the overflow content. Using “auto” did not work either. I tried several things, including javascript on window.open and styles such as body {overflow:scroll}, and I can get it to work in all browsers except Firefox now. According to the help forums, this is not a new bug. I finally realized that I have to set scrollbars to “yes” and open an exactly sized window so that they won’t appear unless you resize the box. 3/28: I wrote focus group question for evaluating content. I plan to email them as an online submission form so that people can browse the site at their own pace, using their own machines and platforms. This should capture a wide variety of configurations to catch any plugin or pop­up blocker problems. I’m going to email the thesis class, and a few friends to solicit feedback, mostly on the quality and comprehension of content. In addition, I wrote some basic usability tasks that I plan to administer to people in my office while I observe and take notes. 3/29: I did a lot of finishing touches today. I clicked through the whole thing, and anything that was bugging me persistently I addressed with a fix or rewrite. I also set it up so that focus group participants can view it and fill out the survey I plan to put online tomorrow. The only thing left now is to fix a few more troublesome bugs, reshoot Scene 5 (search convention) images, and then turn to the feedback from the usability testing. I also want to write a statement and a “how to read this” document.
61 3/31: I fixed the audio that I accidently cropped too short in Scene 7 (audio player convention). Thank god I kept the original source file. I also drafted a focus group survey that I plan to distribute online. I will conduct usability testing in person, but I’m not sure with whom yet. 4/1: I met with the other graduate students in my class and we reviewed each other’s projects. They did not provide much feedback, but were willing to complete an online survey I posted to gather content­specific feedback. Eric Gordon, my second chair, stressed the importance of functionality­specific feedback, but I plan to address that as a usability test conducted under direct observation. I just want to change the visuals in one scene first. 4/07: Hopefully this will be my last photo shoot. I’ve arranged to meet friends of mine at a tavern where I can reshoot Scene 5 (search convention). I think the key is to get a good establishing shot, and marginalize the couple so that they appear in the background. 4/09: Photo shoot went well. Much better visual, in terms of quality and content. I also spend today reworking the soundtrack audio so that it loaded as a progressively downloading swf instead of a simple <embed src> tag. This has seemed to fix the
62 problem of browsers loading the entire .wav before opening the pop­up windows, but now I can’t get the sound to loop (despite having loop=”true”). Very frustrating. I want to send the survey out to more people, but I am waiting until I get these bugs fixed. I also have usability testing to conduct in the next day or two. 4/11: I worked on analyzing feedback from the survey and writing the completion phase of my production book. I’ve been implementing small changes in response to the feedback as I receive it. I also did usability testing today with 4 testers. It was very revealing. I found that users were able to turn off their pop­up blockers successfully. They also navigated innately. The major issues were load time and slow connections. 4/14: I presented to the graduate students in the pre­production class today. Positive feedback, but no real suggestions for improvement. 4/16: Finalize production book with feedback from committee. To­Do List This list was maintained throughout development phase as a means to establishing the scope of work for each scene, and also tracking tasks that I knew would be necessary but could not address immediately:
63 order Lynda.com tutorial subscription research laptops and cameras decide on domain name, purchase domain ­ ­ ­ ­ ­ find code to make clicking on image auto­maximize window. amend maximize code to work with safari set location of new windows using absolute values to accommodate various screen resolutions. check all scenes on various platforms/browsers Firefox on PC: good Firefox on Mac: resolution size is screwing up window placement IE6 on PC: too many security barriers IE7 on PC: not checked yet Safari on Mac: not checked yet fix slow soundtrack loading usability tests focus group online survey pop­up alert gateway page (decrease font size­ test with users) troubleshoot soundtrack loading INDEX: decrease font size add instructions/information behind links change thumbnails so they open window sized to establishing shot dimensions update thumbnails create pop­up alert to disable blocker add “skip” option update home.html/swf Scene 1 (chat box convention) draft script take images take video program edit video (add sound effects, timed fade, and balance levels) record and add audio to index page Scene 2 (online profile convention) draft script take images (still need myspace) program (rollover for wow) record and add audio to index page Scene 3 (browser history convention) draft script
64 secure locations program record and add audio to index page Scene 4 (PowerPoint convention) draft script explore PPT icons program: ­ play ppt once clicked record and add audio to index page Scene 5 (search convention) draft script take images (retake needed) program record and add audio to index page Scene 6 (online catalog convention) draft script experiment with zoomify program possibly reshoot treadmill images record and add audio to index page Scene 7 (audio player convention) revise script to integrate with larger story draft script revise script to integrate better compress mp3 for faster loading time program (still needs to sync) find program that auto­adjusts volume (flash?) http://www.flashdesignerzone.com/tutorials/t1052.php record and add audio to index page re­upload original mp3 that is not cropped Scene 8 (RSS feed convention) draft script shoot footage so dark and light images match create pipes feed for Scene 8 (RSS feed convention) (keyword filter = “pray” + “dear god”) find way to skin pipes feed so that it appears randomized and according to style sheet program record and add audio to index page
65 B. Script Development of Design Initially, I wanted to begin with a basic framework to establish the shape of the piece. This HTML page was what I used until I had gathered the images that would eventually become the thumbnails. mainpage: 12/09/07 Once I had created enough scenes, I was able to swap out the placeholder thumbnails with actual images. The page was still pure HTML at this point.
mainpage: 02/21/08 66 After meeting with Eric Gordon, my second committee member, I decided to add a splash screen that introduces the user to the main page with some context. At this stage, the main page became a SWF file in order to animate the map. mainpage: 03/15/08 The last thing I changed was to replace all the links to “about the author” and “about the project” with a simple “how to read this hyperfiction.” I wrote the how­to so that it covered both the instructions and the meaning behind the piece as a whole.
mainpage (final): 04/09/08 67 This is the first and final version of the “how to read this hyperfiction” documentation. The numbered instructions provide clear steps on how to navigate the piece. These instructions are supplemented with more general, contextualizing information about the purpose and the meaning of the piece. “how to” page: 04/09/08 I added the thumbnails since I realize how some users, especially visual learners, might more easily comprehend the instructions with a visual cue they later recognize. I added this gateway page late March since it became very clear that getting viewers to disable their pop­up blocker was essential to the piece. While this doesn’t offer a very aesthetically pleasing opening scene, its function is key. I included illustrated instructions so that users could easily identify the path for changing their internet settings.
gateway page: 03/28/08 68 This is Scene 1 (chat box convention). The first scene was shot early on. This was the one scene where I was able to get all the models in the same place at the same time in the same conditions. Scene 1: 01/21/08 I first authored the chat dialogue, and then programmed the chat box, and finally recorded the video to match the movements and duration of the chat. This is the scene for the “Amanda” character in Scene 1.
Scene 1: Internal Page 1: 04/11/08 69 This is the scene for the runner is Scene 1. It was created in the same model as the first character. Scene 1: Internal Page 2: 04/11/09 This is the scene for the couple in Scene 1. This took a different approach. Clicking the pop­up, in this case, launches both videos so they have a few moments to load. The code that launches the chat boxes is included in the video HTML pages so that they would load second, since this took considerably less time.
Scene 1: Internal Page 3: 4/11/08 70 My first establishing shot for Scene 2 (online profile convention) was not the one I ended up using. I took many photos, and later decided to use one that contained less people in order to facilitate layering pop­up windows upon it. The pop­ups in this iteration are all placeholders. Scene 2: 01/21/08 This is the establishing shot I ended up using. Originally I had the girl in the heavy jacket as a character, but was unable to digitally remove her from the scene. At this point, I was still looking for someone to represent the Match.com profile.
Scene 2: 03/15/08 71 By this point, I had captured the image of a man to represent the Match.com profile. Since I was no longer using the girl in the heavy jacket, I still needed someone to represent MySpace.com. Scene 2: 03/21/08 By April I had captured the image of the MySpace.com character. I actually photographed a girl in my office and superimposed her in this scene. I realize that it looks slightly non­ diegetic to the scene, but I have grown to appreciate this aesthetic, and I continued to design using this approach.
Scene 2: 04/01/08 72 This is the LinkedIn profile from Scene 2. I built this from scratch using the live LinkedIn site as a resource for graphics and URL’s. Anything that can be linked to without logging in is included in my page as a functional link. Anything that existed behind an access level was left as an empty link. Scene 2: LinkedIn: 01/15/08 This is the Match.com profile for Scene 2. This was a previous iteration before I had captured the final image of the man for the establishing scene.
Scene 2: Match.com: 01/15/08 73 This is the Match.com profile for Scene 2 once I had the final portrait in place. I used my friend’s photo from a vacation he took as the official “profile” photo. I also changed the biographical information to reflect a Boston location once I decided that all the characters would be grounded in the same city. Scene 2: Match.com 04/11/08 This is the first iteration of the MySpace.com page. Here, too, I used placeholder images until I had captured the final portrait. I also had the body of the narrative included only in the blue profile box.
Scene 2: MySpace.com: 01/15/08 74 This is the final version of the MySpace.com profile page for Scene 2. This has an actual snapshot from my friend as the official profile photo. I also moved some of the narrative into the “About me” space. Here, too, I updated the biographical information to be based out of Boston. Scene 2: MySpace.com 04/1//08 This is the WorldofWarcraft.com profile from Scene 2. This scene did not change much, other than to add faked updates to the “Latest Activity” section.
Scene 2: WorldofWarcraft: 01/15/08 75 This is the establishing shot for Scene 3 (browser history convention). This is a photograph taken of my boss’s desk. Scene 3: 02/21/08 This is the pop­up window for Scene 3 when it is expanded. This scene did not change much from its original design.
Scene 3: Browser History: 03/21/08 76 This is the Gmail page from Scene 3. I originally kept this scene very simple since some of the Gmail functionality would have been impossible to replicate. Scene 3: Internal Page 1: 02/23/08 This is the final version of the Gmail page from Scene 3. In response to feedback I received from the survey I administered that asked for a visual representation of this character, I decided to add the gchat feature so that users could roll over Gail’s name to see her photograph.
Scene 3: Internal Page 1: 04/11/08 77 This is the Flickr page from Scene 3. This page did not change significantly during the course of development. Scene 3: Internal Page 3: 04/11/08 This is the WebMD page from Scene 3. This too evolved naturally in its first iteration.
Scene 3: Internal Page 4: 04/11/08 78 This is the NetFlix page from Scene 3. The implication here is that Gail visited this page and put this movie in her NetFlix queue, which conflicts with her mother’s statement that Gail only pretended to like classic films. Scene 3: Internal Page 5: 04/11/08 This is the MeetUp.com page from Scene 3. This page changed only in the sense that the “meet­up” location moved from New York City to Brookline.
Scene 3: Internal Page 6: 04/11/08 79 This is the law firm’s corporate page from Scene 3. This mirrors an actual page for a real law firm, but I used this contrived “News” section to post information about Gail’s boss, as well as provide a text area for her boss to relay her account within the oral history. Scene 3: Internal Page 7: 04/11/08 Scene 4: 02/21/08 This is the establishing scene for Scene 4 (PowerPoint convention). This was taken in my office conference room. I scanned the handwritten note and laid that over the photograph in such a way that it slightly goes beyond the border of the photographed page. I was hoping to do more of this collage­like work, but this is really the only example of it.
80 This is the pop­up window from Scene 4 when it is maximized. Here I included the instructions as real font overlaid on the page for optimal readability. The first slide of the actual slideshow is shown here as a photograph of a projection. Scene 4: PowerPoint: 03/21/08 This is a scene from the PowerPoint presentation in Scene 4. I composed this presentation in one shot, working on the first part (manipulating the PowerPoint tools) and then shifting to the second part (appropriating PowerPoint visuals).
Scene 4: Internal Page: 04/11/08 81 This is the establishing scene for Scene 5 (search convention). This was the most difficult shot to do since bar scenes tend to be dark, and using a flash gives it an inorganic feel. This was my first attempt. Scene 5: 02/21/08 This is the establishing shot I ended up using for Scene 5. I don’t mind that it is darker since that coincides with the time of the fictional day.
Scene 4: 04/09/08 82 This is the male character’s pop­up window expanded from Scene 5. These were relatively simple to code and did not change during the development of the project, except to add the word “just” which gave it a more conversational tone. Scene 5: Internal Page: 04/11/8 This is the female character’s pop­up window from Scene 5 expanded. It, too, only changed in regard to the addition of the word “just.”
Scene 5: Internal Page: 04/11/08 83 This is the establishing scene for Scene 6 (online catalog convention). The photograph was only difficult due to a crowded gym. Also, I was unable to get solid audio of a treadmill running, so I had to layer in sampled audio from the Free Sound project. Scene 6: 02/21/08 This is the pop­up window expanded from Scene 6. Here I utilized the Zoomify tool that creates an image that you can then zoom into using preset navigation buttons in the SWF file. I continued to add text to create a texture behind the model that would only become apparent as text once the user put the zooming feature to work.
Scene 6: Catalog Page: 03/21/08 84 This is the establishing shot for Scene 7 (audio player conventions). This was a difficult shoot to time since I wanted a rainy, overcast day to reinforce the continuity of the fictional day. The pop­ up window image is only a placeholder. Scene 7: 03/22/08 This is the final version of the establishing scene. I took the photo of the character for this scene against a solid­ colored wall, and then added him to the scene.
Scene 7: 04/01/08 85 This is the pop­up window from Scene 7 maximized. This was the most difficult scene to program, so I worked with many placeholders that I knew I could swap out once the actionscript was finished. Scene 7: Internal Page: 02/21/08 This is the version of Scene 7’s internal page with the image of the character.
Scene 7: Internal Page: 03/21/08 86 This is the version of Scene 7’s internal page when the user toggles to the scrolling text by hitting the “play” button. Scene 7: Internal Page Text: 03/21/08 This is the final version of Scene 7’s internal page with the placeholder buttons replaced with actual shapes that represent the audio player conventions.
Scene 7: Internal Page Text: 04/09/08 87 This is the establishing scene for Scene 8 (RSS feed convention). This took several attempts to shoot so that the lamp would align exactly and clicking the pop­up window would replicate flipping a light switch. Scene 8: 02/21/08 This is the first version of the pop­up window for Scene 8 once expanded. It contained only dynamic feeds, and was therefore divorced from the characters that came before. It was also unclear that it was a functioning RSS feed.
Scene 8: Internal Page: 02/21/08 88 This is the final version of the internal page for Scene 8. I added the header and “add to feed” functionality to emphasize the convention for this particular scene. I also manually coded in fake “feeds” from the characters in the rest of the piece to give it some continuity.
Scene 8: Internal Page: 04/11/08 89 Development of Script Scene 1 Version 01/23/08 Girl #1: Nar8tor: Amanda should have left her apartment twenty minutes earlier. She knew this twenty minutes ago, but had gotten distracted by a music video countdown show on Mtv. Unfortunately, knowing the number one song on the charts was not a fact that would impress her boss. Mandee06: I can make it by 9 if I cut across the park. N: She had been late twice last week, and it had not gone unnoticed. M: I don’t see why it’s so vital to be seated at my desk on the stroke of nine. It’s not like we do any business in the first half hour of the morning. N: This was Amanda’s first job since graduating from Ohio University. She had planned to work for a fashion magazine. N: This morning she was headed to a satellite office for a local entertainment publication where she will spend the day making calls to convince businesses to advertise in the paper. M: These shoes are killing me. N: Amanda still dressed as though she were headed to the corporate offices of Vogue. M: Dammit. I’ll have to take the back stairwell to avoid the main office. N: Amanda was familiar with the phrase “paying your dues,” but she considered cold­ calling eight hours a day to be cruel and unusual punishment. N: She could still make it to work on time if she could only walk quicker­ but her heels made it impossible to pick up the pace. M: Sneakers don’t impress fashion editors. Signed off Couple#2 K: I wonder if I should bring up what happened last night. GoSoxx: Today is going to be rough. If I don’t get buy­in for my project at the meeting today, then I’m completely fucked. KittyKate: I’ve never seen him not want to fuck. He’s so distant lately. G: I’ve already spent thousands of dollars researching this idea­ how will I justify the expense if they don’t green­light it now? K: What did I do? He won’t even walk down the sidewalk near me. It’s as though he’s afraid my arm will brush up against his. As though the very thought of contact with me repulses him. G: I never got budget approval to have those samples. Steve is going to have my ass. K: It’s my ass. He noticed that I’ve gained weight over the holidays. I thought Mike was above those superficial values. Maybe this relationship is just physical one to him. G: This is the kind of negligence that can get you fired at my company. K: Maybe, now that he’s becoming so successful at his company, he thinks he can find a younger woman, more suiting to his status level. G: Well, at least if I lose my job, I know I’ll still have Kate. I wonder if she’ll want to go to dinner with me tonight.
90 K: I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for us. Signed off Woman#3 Myria72: Three miles. I can do three miles. M: Three miles. K: Three miles. K: Three miles. K: I can always walk the last mile if I have to. The important thing is to finish the full distance. M2: The important thing is to run until your fat melts off. K: I’ll take that path that follows the river­ bridge to bridge must be at least a mile. K2: You’re disgusting. K: Stop it. At least I’m doing something about it. I’m out here. It’s freezing, and I look ridiculous in these pants, but I’m out here. K2: You’ll never make it. You’ll get tired of trying. You’ll get sick of suffering when no one notices anyway. K: No, I can make it. One mile at a time. I’ll just run to that stop sign. And after that, I’ll run to the corner. And eventually I’ll make it all the way back home. K2: And he still won’t notice. He never notices anything you do for him. And running three miles won’t change that. K: Just three miles. K: Three miles. K: Three miles. Scene 1 Version 02/28/08 Girl #1: Nar8tor: Amanda should have left her apartment twenty minutes earlier. She knew this twenty minutes ago, but had wanted to see the top music video on Mtv’s countdown. Unfortunately, knowing the number one song on the charts was not a fact that would impress her boss. Mandee06: I can still make it by nine if I cut across the park. N: She had been late twice last week, and it had not gone unnoticed. M: I should call Elena and have her turn my computer on before I get there. Elena always gets to work early… and what a waste. With her looks, she’s bound to get promoted anyway. N: This was Amanda’s first job since graduating from Ohio State. She had planned to become an editor for a fashion magazine. N: Instead, on this gray morning, she is headed to the offices of a local newspaper where she will spend the day soliciting small businesses to place ads in the paper’s margins. M: Damn, I think it’s going to rain. And these shoes are killing me. N: Amanda still insisted on dressing as though she were headed to Vogue headquarters.
91 N: She might make it to work on time if only she could only walk quicker­ but those three­inch heels made it impossible to pick up her pace. M: You don’t become a fashion editor by wearing sensible shoes. Signed off Couple#2 K: I wonder if I should ask Tommy about what happened last night. GoSoxx: Today is going to be rough. If I don’t get buy­in for my project at this meeting, then I’m completely fucked. KittyKate: It’s the second week in a row that we haven’t fucked. He’s been so distant... G: If they don’t green­light this project today, then I don’t know how I’ll justify the expense I’ve already invested. K: I wonder if I said something at his expense… some insult I hadn’t intended. He nearly bristled when my arm brushed up against his just now. G: I never got budget approval to have those samples made. Richard is going to have my ass. K: It’s my ass. He noticed that I’ve gained weight over the holidays. I thought Tommy was above those superficial qualities. Maybe this relationship is just physical for him..? G: This is the kind of negligence that could get me fired at this company. K: Maybe, now that he’s becoming so successful at his company, he thinks he can find a better girlfriend, more suiting to his status. G: Well, at least if I lose my job, I know I’ll still have Kate. I wonder if she would want to go to dinner tonight. K: I wonder if this is the beginning of the end for us. Signed off Woman#3 Vixter72: Three miles. I can do three miles. M: 3 miles. K: 5,280 yards. K: …carry the 2… 15,840 feet. K: I can always walk the last mile if I have to. The important thing is to finish the full distance. M2: The important thing is to run until your fat melts off. K: Dr. Driskle said that any amount of activity has its benefits. Every step makes a difference. Every stair counts. K2: Dr. Driskle is a snarky little man who only knows what he reads in the brochures that litter his waiting room. K: At least I’m doing something about it. I’m out here. It’s freezing, and I look ridiculous in these spandex pants, but I’m out here. K2: But for how long? Do you really think you’ll last longer than five minutes… when even the sky above is threatening to sabotage you with impending rain? You’ll get tired of trying. You’ll get sick of suffering when no one notices. K: I’ll make it. I just have to run to that stop sign. And after that, I’ll run to the corner. And eventually I’ll make it all the way back home.
92 K2: Back to him… where he’ll hardly toss a tepid glance your way. You know he never notices anything you do for him. And running three miles won’t change that. K: Now two and three quarters miles left. K: 4800 yards. K: 14,520 feet. Scene 2 Version /01/23/08 Linkedin.com: Richard Stenson Username: [email protected] / password Facebook.com: [email protected] / password Match.com JoeJoeMcD Kimbim Hamsterster.com­ scratch thewarcraftking.ning.com [email protected] / password Scene 2 Version 02/28/08 Summary Middle management analyst with broad experience helping clients discover and obtain their desired career. Offers consultative services to analyze job skills and interests in order to identify the most suitable potential position. Richard specializes in the type of introspective self­analysis that helps my clients find a career that is both stimulating and fulfilling. He guides others to discover their passions, yet never takes a moment to evoke those same strategies to discover his own. As he waxes poetic on the importance of pursuing inspiration, he is mildly aware that, all the while, this work leaves him utterly uninspired. Richard convinces his clients that opportunity is ample and potential is limitless. He urges them to leverage their strengths and set ambitious goals. These hollow slogans belong on posters next to pictures of athletes and baby animals. The words have the distinct taste of cotton candy as he speaks them aloud. Specialties: Time management, people skills, the ability to appear productive, high score in Minesweeper Experience Senior Analyst Aperture Career Consulting
93 (Public Company; 201­500 employees; Staffing and Recruiting industry) January 1997 – Present (10 years 11 months) For eight years I was an "associate." I had an adequate desk, worked normal hours, got assigned low­stakes projects for small­time clients. When I became "senior" the only thing that really changed was the small print on my business card. Sometimes it seems as though I've managed to pull of a phenomenal scheme by stealthily extorting thousands of dollars from the company without having to sacrifice my time, effort, or even an ounce of my soul. And for a moment, I feel a charge of energy from this achievement. But then I wonder how I got to this point, where not being held accountable could be considered a measure of success. Associate Analyst Aperture Career Consulting (Public Company; 201­500 employees; Staffing and Recruiting industry) January 1989 – January 1997 (8 years 1 month) The associate level in your career is much like the college years in your life; you're no longer watched over so closely by your superiors, you're given license to explore your own interests rather than complete the requisite duties assigned, your future still seems unfixed and full of potential, your mistakes are dismissed as learning experiences. The prospect of being promoted from the associate level means graduating from these cozy conditions. I’ve suddenly become the authority figure that I used to bad­mouth in the lunch room. I am now culpable if a punk kid named Tommy blows my budget on some harebrained idea. The only real pay­off is that, while Tommy struggles to make a name for himself in the company, I enjoy the luxury of knowing that we all end up on the same road, at the same pace, with the same salary slung over our shoulder. I already knew that my future was poured from a mold and set out to dry. MySpace Contact Info Email: AIM: lillauren Mobile: 404.658.9832 Land Phone: 404.875.8843 Current Address: 1663 Willowgrove Street Decatur, GA 30033 Personal Info Activities: Lauren used to write stories. She would create elaborate tales of wizards and their guilds of magical minions. That was before she moved to this new town, before the 9th grade, before she was informed that creative writing would not earn her allies. And allies are essential in high school, as lines are drawn and you are drafted to the ranks of which the popular class deems you worthy. The kids at this school were different from the ones she had known back in Louisville. They dressed in clothes made from bright, skimpy fabric stretched thin. They talked
94 incessantly, bursts of laughter as loud as lockers slamming in the hall. And the names they called one another were words she’d ever heard before. So Lauren took up a new kind of creative writing. She studied the native language of these foreign people. She learned their lingo, their cadence. And then she authored her own words to mirror theirs. Lauren wrote a tale about a girl, named Lauren, who fit into this strange society of teenagers effortlessly. It was a brilliant work of fiction. Interests: The tale begins with an eloquent opening line: "its whatev bitches" With no pause for punctuation, Lauren's story takes off at a fevered pace. Interests: Rockstar Energy Drink F**K YEAH! gummy bears & pop laughing at Missy's drunk ass (_)(_) COCKtails ♥rocking out to Xtina *love* kiLLa frosties late nite yeah YOU know Jayz.....>>> my friends are the coolest str8t up no kid cause im oooh soo daNgeRoUs and don't forget it Favorite Music: Listening to the local hit radio station sufficed as research for this chapter of her story. soulja boy, kanye west, playaz, lil wayne, trey songs, beyonce, trick daddy, mary j. blige, missy elliot, jay­z pause for commercial then repeat Favorite Movies: Lauren found that her tale was best served by excess. In this genre, character development is achieved through amassment. Girl Interrupted, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, FEAR, DUMB AND DUMBER, Eternal Sunshine, and the Spotless Mind, All Freddie Crouger movies, The Ring 2, SAW, The Machinist, Batman, But I'm a Cheerleader, Almost Famous, Risky Business, Empire Records, Friday The 13th movies, Tommy Knockers, Pie, I still LOVE SLC PUNK, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Caddyshack, American History X, American Graffiti, Field of Dreams, Casablanca, The Lord of the Rings, L.A. Confidential, Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb), The Usual Suspects, Edward Scissorhands, Walk the Line, Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, The Princess Bride, Ghostbusters, The Italian Job, Legally Blonde, the Bourne series, Young Frankenstein, Fight Club, Office Space, Bridget Jones' Diary, Clueless, Sweet Home Alabama, Boondock Saints, The Notebook, Grease, American History X, The Four Feathers, Happy Gilmore, The Wizard of Oz, Fight Club, Sid and Nancy, The Wedding Singer Favorite Quotes: God has given you one face, and you make yourself another. ~William Shakespeare If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise. ~Johann von Goethe Match.com Headline: Hi there. Describe self: He had immediate regrets about his username. JoeJoe seemed acutely adolescent. JoeJoe is what you call your infant cousin or your toy poodle. The fact that the
95 username remained is indicative of Joe’s faith in the online dating game. He had signed up out of sheer boredom. This was just a fun distraction he could play on the computer, like Solitaire. Putting too much thought into his headline would be like publicly admitting that he cared what people thought of it. About my date: Joe was just looking for a nice girl. Joe's first date was with a girl named Kelli. Every time Joe said her name, he pictured the odd spelling in his head, and found himself pronouncing it with an awkward emphasis. Kelli's profile said she liked basketball, so Joe thought it would be fun to shoot hoops on the campus where he worked. Kelli found this choice of activity puzzling. She hadn’t actually played basketball before. But she had attended a Celtics game once in high school. Joe’s second date was with a girl named Amanda. She worked in magazine publishing. He assumed she worked in some creative capacity since her photos were all artistic portraits shot in black­and­white, taken from every angel except straight­on. Joe wondered if she had hired a professional photographer to take her match.com portraits, or if she had set the photo shoot up herself with a self­timed camera. He couldn’t figure out which seemed sadder. Joe’s third date was with a girl named Jess. She had three sisters, all younger, a cat named Pixel, and a collection of antique jewelry boxes. Her favorite food was pumpkin pie, her favorite thing to do when it’s raining out is read her favorite magazine, Cosmopolitan, and her favorite color was kelly green. Joe didn’t have a favorite color, and he suddenly wondered if he should devote some serious thought to the matter. His next immediate thought was that he shouldn’t go on any more match.com dates. Yet here he goes again, agreeing to meet a woman named Chandra after work that day. Her profile said she was “just looking for a nice guy.” He could certainly live up to that expectation. However, Chandra had suggested sushi, and Joe was already anxious about his inability to fluently operate chopsticks. Looking up at the sky through the dirty train window, he speculated that it might start raining at any moment. Ominous weather for an ominous blind date… Scene 3 Version 01/23/08 Middle­aged working woman with no children § Gmail: inbox My name is Gail Evans. I was born in 1970 in Jefferson Springs, a small town outside of Nashville, Tennessee. My father worked in sales, so he spent more time on the road than he did at home. My mother didn’t exactly embrace women’s lib, never holding her
96 own job, and so spent her life waiting for her husband to come home. I left Tennessee for New York City because I wanted to attend college someplace that seemed diametrically opposed to Jefferson Springs. As it turned out, that criteria became my guiding principle. My father worked for a small company, so I got a job with a giant law firm. My house growing up was full of cousins, neighbors, and exchange students, so I lived alone in a studio in Queens. My mother defined herself solely by her maternal role, so I focused on defining myself by anything but. § Flickr: New baby photos http://flickr.com/photos/richiewoods/106012082/ My name is Samantha Barrado. I’ve known Gail since our NYU days. Back then I was Samantha Wambaum. It was Gail who first started calling me Sam Wam­Bam. I tell my husband, Rick, that the real reason I agreed to marry him was to lose the nickname. Gail was a bridesmaid in my wedding. I remember how, while the other girls were fawning over my dress and collectively rigging my veil, Gail sat by coolly smoking a cigarette, rolling her eyes at the tittering flock. She wasn’t being condescending or derisive. She was just being Gail. I sent her photos of the new baby, even though I suspect she peruses them with that same smirking expression that she wore on my wedding day. § “late life pregnancy” google search http://www.google.com/search?q=late+life+pregnancy § WebMD: When Are You Too Old for Pregnancy? http://www.webmd.com/content/article/96/103758.htm My name is Dr. Driskle. I am Gail Evans’s gynecologist. She’s always been a model patient; she’s punctual to appointments, keeps her records current. She doesn’t obsess about her body or her health in any irrational way. I’ve found that many of my patients have gotten into these world wide web sites, and they’ve self­diagnosed themselves with a variety of disorders based on a checklist of symptoms they read on some internet page. Gail is very practical, and she’s never come to me with any nonsense of that type. § Netflix: 12 Angry Men http://www.netflix.com/Movie/12_Angry_Men/60004251?strkid=1838640535_0_0 My name is Lorraine Evans. I had Gail when I was still quite young. Her father and I were married right after high school, and I knew that Dale’s job would require traveling for weeks at a time, so we were determined to have children right away. Sometimes it felt like I was raising Gail as a single mother. I had to be the supportive parent one moment, and the disciplinarian the next. But we always got along just fine. I remember Sunday nights, when we would order take­out and watch a classic film. Gail always preferred the classics. The Brooklyn Book Club Meetup Group http://bookclub.meetup.com/18/
97 My name is Nelson V. Gomez. I know Gail from our weekly book club meetings. We are both relatively new to the group. Book clubs in the city are a little like dating; you try one out a couple times, and if there aren’t any sparks, you move on to the next. This Brooklyn group has been pretty interesting so far. We read Helter Skelter the other week. Most of the members found the book detestable and gratuitously violent. They couldn’t separate the writing from the crime. Gail defended the book as though she had written it herself. I think she had an odd regard for Charles Manson. Maybe it was the way he could manipulate people. I can tell from the way Gail gets frustrated with the group that this is a skill she holds in high regard. Newsletter: Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman, LLP http://www.bbwg.com/CM/Custom/TOCNewsletter.asp My name is Magda Cruz. I am a partner at Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman, LLP. I devote my time equally to real estate litigation and real estate appeals. Gail Evans came to the firm in 1990. I took her under my wing, as a protégé of sorts. She was quite ambitious. At first, I think she resented that I, so near her own age, had assumed a mentoring role, but someone had to help her find her way. She was simply not cut out to be a litigator. Transaction management was far better aligned with her skill set. Program on Careers in Law Teaching http://www.law.columbia.edu/careers/law_teaching My decision to become a lawyer had nothing to do with property deeds or utility assessments. Yet, here I am, slowly smothered to death by documents in four­inch binding, completely devoid of motivation. This day lacks drama, the kind of drama that comes from a live, unfolding trial. It doesn’t live up to the “you can’t handle the truth” energy that makes the profession ring with a sense of righteous purpose. So then, if I’m not meant to perform in the courtroom, maybe the classroom is my stage. Scene 3 Version 02/28/08 Middle­aged working woman with no children Gmail: inbox My name is Gail Evans. I was born in 1970 in Jefferson Springs, a small town outside of Nashville, Tennessee. My father worked in sales, so he spent more time on the road than he did at home. My mother never held a job, and so spent her life waiting for her husband to come home. My sister and I both left Tennessee for Boston because we wanted to go someplace that seemed diametrically opposed to Jefferson Springs. As it turned out, that criteria became our guiding principle. My father worked for a small company, so I got a job with a giant law firm, while my sister became a glamorous fashion model. My house growing up was full of siblings, cousins, neighbors, and
98 exchange students, so I lived alone in a studio downtown. My mother defined herself solely by her maternal role, so I focused on defining myself by anything but. Flickr: New baby photos http://flickr.com/photos/richiewoods/106012082/ My name is Samantha Barrado. I’ve known Gail since our NYU days. Back then I was Samantha Wambaum. It was Gail who first started calling me Sam Wam­Bam. I tell my husband, Rick, that the real reason I agreed to marry him was to lose the nickname. Gail was a bridesmaid in my wedding. I remember how, while the other girls were fawning over my dress and collectively rigging my veil, Gail sat by coolly smoking a cigarette, rolling her eyes at the tittering flock. She wasn’t being condescending or derisive. She was just being Gail. I sent her photos of the new baby, even though I suspect she peruses them with that same smirking expression that she wore on my wedding day. “late life pregnancy” google search http://www.google.com/search?q=late+life+pregnancy WebMD: When Are You Too Old for Pregnancy? http://www.webmd.com/content/article/96/103758.htm My name is Dr. Driskle. I am Gail Evans’s primary care physician. She’s always been a model patient; she’s punctual to appointments, keeps her records current. She doesn’t obsess about her body or her health in any irrational way. I’ve found that many of my patients have gotten into these world wide web sites, and they’ve self­diagnosed themselves with a variety of disorders based on a checklist of symptoms they find on some internet page. Gail is very practical, and she’s never come to me with any nonsense of that type. Netflix: 12 Angry Men http://www.netflix.com/Movie/12_Angry_Men/60004251?strkid=1838640535_0_0 My name is Lorraine Evans. I had Gail and Sandra when I was still quite young. Her father and I were married right after high school, and I knew that Dale’s job would require traveling for weeks at a time, so we were determined to have children right away. Sometimes it felt like I was raising the girls as a single mother. I had to be the supportive parent one moment, and the disciplinarian the next. But we managed. Sunday nights we would all order take­out and rent classic films. Then Gail confessed she didn’t like “old” movies. I thought it was something we had in common, a shared interest, but I guess that was only wishful thinking. The Brooklyn Book Club Meetup Group http://bookclub.meetup.com/18/ My name is Nelson V. Gomez. I know Gail from our weekly book club meetings. We are both relatively new to the group. Book clubs in the city are a little like dating; you try one out a couple times, and if there aren’t any sparks, you move on to the next. This
99 Cambridge group has been pretty interesting so far. We read Helter Skelter the other week. Most of the members found the book detestable and gratuitously violent. They couldn’t separate the writing from the crime. Gail defended the book as though she had written it herself. I think she had an odd regard for Charles Manson. Maybe it was the way he could manipulate people. I can tell from the way Gail gets frustrated with the group that this is a skill she holds in high regard. Newsletter: Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman, LLP http://www.bbwg.com/CM/Custom/TOCNewsletter.asp My name is Magda Cruz. I am a partner at Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman, LLP. I devote my time equally to real estate litigation and real estate appeals. Gail Evans came to the firm in 1990. I took her under my wing, as a protégé of sorts. She was quite ambitious. At first, I think she resented that I, so near her own age, had assumed a mentoring role, but someone had to help her find her way. She was simply not cut out to be a litigator. Transaction management was far better aligned with her skill set. Program on Careers in Law Teaching http://www.law.columbia.edu/careers/law_teaching My decision to become a lawyer had nothing to do with property deeds or utility assessments. Yet, here I am, slowly smothered to death by documents in four­inch binding, completely devoid of motivation. This day lacks drama, the kind of drama that comes from a live, unfolding trial. It doesn’t live up to the “you can’t handle the truth” energy that makes the profession ring with a sense of righteous purpose. So then, if I’m not meant to perform in the courtroom, maybe the classroom is my stage. Scene 4 Version 02/28/08 It starts out as a whisper A faint metallic din The sounds of someone sifting through a box of sewing pins It quickens with momentum Until a great barrage The sky becomes a concert hall erupting in applause The sheets are cold and callous They chop like knives of steel They pound the ground incessantly and force the trees to kneel But then, almost as quickly, The skies wring out their last And flashes in the distance serve as signs of what has passed
100 Scene 5 Version 01/23/08 I am sporadically looking for a tastefully seductive woman who is independent while still making me feel needed, publicly demure but completely uninhibited behind closed doors, who can fix loose shirt buttons, knows the make and model of her car, and finds Adam Sandler hilarious. I am desperately looking for a suave and sincere man who is passionate about his job but doesn’t define himself by it, debonair yet down to earth, who impersonates bravado with a knowing wink, will change the oil in my car without the lecture, and can remember the names of my friends. Scene 5 Version 02/28/08 I’m just sporadically looking for a nice, tastefully seductive girl who is independent while still making me feel needed, publicly demure but completely uninhibited behind closed doors, who can fix loose shirt buttons, knows the make and model of her car, and finds Adam Sandler hilarious. I’m just desperately looking for a nice, suave and sincere guy who is passionate about his job but doesn’t define himself by it, debonair yet down to earth, who impersonates bravado with a knowing wink, will change the oil in my car without the lecture, and can remember the names of my friends. Scene 6 Version 02/28/08 BIG (14pt #663300) Middle (13pt #996633) Little (12pt #CC9966) should put that new Kevin Spacey movie in my Netflix queue Stop staring. I know I took this job on my own accord. I know that it revolves around having people look at me; photographers, stylists, editors, woman reading on treadmills, men thumbing through their wives’ magazines. That doesn’t mean I enjoy it. That doesn’t mean I crave the attention, or the judging, or the cruel, explicit opinions on how I look. I don’t have an eating disorder. Many people would like to believe that I do. They want to think I got this job by cheating; that they, too, could work as fashion models if they were willing to cheat their bodies like me. I admit that I do stare at myself in the bathroom mirror longer than I probably should.
101 I forgot to file that dental claim this morning. It’s on the kitchen counter by the blender. Don’t forget to mail that in tomorrow. It’s important. Hooking my thumbs in these belt loops was not my idea. I think it looks ridiculous. This is never something I would do while waiting for the bus. This is never the look I would give the man sitting on the bench across from the bus stop. Don’t look too closely. Everyone thinks that high­def television is the future, an improvement on the technology of the past. But who wants to see people that clearly? Who wants to see the pores on the nose of the weather man? Or the blemish, caked with orange foundation, on the chin of the TV detective? The more we improve the technology to capture a person’s image, the more we expose the flaws of those on display. They won’t let Emily move to the second grade if her reading doesn’t improve. I know she’s struggling because she’s been so sick lately, but that excuse isn’t going to get her any further ahead at school. I should take a few minutes before bed time tonight to read through one of the books with her. God, what if it isn’t her illness? What if she’s simply not smart enough to pass the first grade? That veggie chili I ate for lunch is giving me gas. I wonder if the photograph has noticed? Scene 7 Version 01/23/08 [CUT­­ Yo Red Spider, is that 50 Cent Pac joint ready? Let me know, holla There's gonna be some stuff you gonna see that's gonna make it hard to smile in the future Yeah nigga! Haha.. let's go nigga, this is what it is.. 2pac cut his bald, you wanna cut your head bald (you pussy nigga). 2pac wear a bandana, you wanna wear a bandana (what do we have here now?) 2pac put a cross on his back, you wanna put crosses on your back. Nigga you ain't 2pac, THIS is 2pac. ­­]
I can’t believe you did that. All those months, wasted, with someone I didn’t Is it, money or women to funny know at all. She did it so effortlessly, like beginnings, tragic endings we were just an afterthought. Like there
102 I can make a million and STILL not get enough of spending And since my life is based on sinnin, I'm hellbound Rather be buried than be worried, livin held down My game plan to be trained and, military Mind of a Thug Lord, sittin in the cemetary Caught, I've been lost since my adolescence, callin to Jesus Ballin as a youngster, wonderin if he sees us Young black male, crack sales got me three strikes Livin in jail, this is hell, enemies die Wonder when we all pass is anybody listenin? Got my, hands on my semi shotty, everybody's bitchin Please God can you understand me, bless my family Guide us all, before we fall into insanity I make it a point, to make my peep bumpin warlike Drop some shit, to have these stupid bitches jaws tight was no we to begin with. [Chorus ­ 50 Cent] + (2Pac) Til Makaveli returns, it's all eyes on me (What do we have here now?) And you can hate it or love it, but that's what it's gon' be You shoulda listened, I told you not to fuck with me (What do we have here now?) Now can you take the pressure, that's what we gon' see (Gunshot) And you can hate it or love it, but I still have my pride. You shoulda listened when I said I was serious about you, but your casual indiscretion changes everything, and I’m a brick wall now. [50 Cent] Now since you're cryin for mercy I promise My success'll be the death of you Lo and behold you sold your soul God knows what would have happened if she hadn’t gotten caught? I’ve been lost since I found her that night. And now I’m free to be with whoever I want but it feels like I’m living in jail, this is hell Why do people always seem better in retrospect, even when they’re the one who fucked it all up? I make it a point to keep people at bay, and then I let one woman in and the stupid bitch ruins everything. But I’m not backing down. This is unforgivable. Keep on cryin for mercy but don’t expect me to suddenly care. You sold your soul baby and there’s nothing left of you for me anymore. Who are you to assume that I even want to work
103 Nigga there's nuttin left of you Look in the mirror, ask yourself who are you? If you don't know who you are, how could your dreams come true? Motherfucker, I sat back and watched You pretended to be 'Pac, you pretended to be hot But you're not (have here now?) ­ I see it so clear You can't take the pressure, you pussy I warned you not to push me You see me and chills run up your spine God made men the same, boy, but your heart ain't like mine Press, they look at me like I'm a menace I was playin with guns while your momma had your punk ass playin tennis I'm a nightmare, you see me when you dream Wake up, turn on your TV and see my ass again You cowardly hearted, you couldn't make it on your own Fuck The Source, I'm on cover of Rolling Stone (YOU PUSSY!) [Chorus ­ 50 Cent] + (2Pac) Til Makaveli returns, it's all eyes on me (What do we have here now?) And you can hate it or love it, but that's what it's gon' be You shoulda listened, I told you not to fuck with me (What do we have here now?) Now can you take the pressure, that's what we gon' see (Gunshot) [CUT­­ G­G­G­G­G­Unit! through this? I sat back and watched you try to defend what you did, but nothing you say will put my blinders back on I see it so clear now. So I’m not going to cave, I’m not letting you back in And you can hate it or love it, but that's what it's gon' be You shoulda listened, I told you not to fuck with me
104 Til Makaveli returns, it's all eyes on me (What do we have here now?) And you can hate it or love it, but that's what it's gon' be You shoulda listened, I told you not to fuck with me (What do we have here now?) Now can you take the pressure, that's what we gon' see (Gunshot) [2Pac] Whoa... ­­]
Scene 7 Version 02/28/08 I can't believe she betrayed me like that. This is hell picturing her with him, I never saw it coming, I wasn't even listening. It's so obvious now. Please God make her understand me she was like family. And now it's gone and I'm slipping into insanity. I make it a point to keep people at a distance, and I let one woman in and the stupid bitch destroys me. She thinks she can be redeemed. Well she can hate it or love it, but that's just not me. She should have listened when I told her I took us seriously. This indiscretion won't be forgotten easily. Now she's crying for mercy but I can't seem to care. Girl, you sold your soul and now there's nothing left of you. She loved the drama more than me, so as I sat back and watched she went and created controversy. I see it so clear now. I can't believe she betrayed me like that. This is hell picturing her with him, I never saw it coming. It's so obvious now. Scene 8 Version 01/23/08 ­dynamic RSS­ Scene 8 Version 02/28/08 Stylebites.com Dear god, my mother's taste in dresses is outdated... I pray that I still have a sense of style when I'm her age. Making Love Work If we’re both going to spend so much time worrying about things, I pray that we can at least worry about the same things in the same way. Dice Career Advice Blog
105 Sometimes I pray that some one at the company will take me to task… at least then I’ll know that I’ve been noticed. Runner’s Blog I pray that I have the same drive tomorrow as I did today. The Dilbert Blog There’s nothing left to do but get down on your knees and pray that the Gods of Corporate Life to take pity on your poor, over­caffeinated, under­motivated soul. Maxim Online Community Blog The more I pretend not to care, the harder it is to fall asleep at night, praying that talking to a real live woman could be as easy as those magazines suggest. TrueDater.com I pray that I never spend another evening with a man who eats sushi with his fingers. World of Warcraft Forum Don’t let my guild adopt a voice program… I can only pray that my identity can continue untainted with these people I consider friends. LawJobsPipeline I’m going to wake up tomorrow dreading the day ahead. God, I pray for a sign to help me find a career that gets me out of bed in the morning. Truth in Cosmetic Surgery Blog Would it help to pray that it doesn’t come to surgery? Am I vain for even wasting a prayer on such superficial requests? Adam’s Blogger Site I’m not praying anymore. I’m taking things into my own hands.
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