In PB-3 we are using what I refer to as video sketching process to generate some innovative ideas. This is an example of using a design process in the production of media and points back to the key aims of the studio to use design methods and methodologies in media production practice.

The notion of “video sketching” was originally adapted from Miles’ concept of using sketching as a process in the production of interactive video for publication online. Miles experimenting with what is referred to as a ‘softvideo’, aimed to utilise the affordances of video, computers and the network, by working with (quote) “domestic, ready to hand recording technologies and editing tools” (56-7) (unquote). Miles proposes that the types of works produced are (quote) “informal, vernacular, serial, and aligned to a lo–fi sketch practice rather than being high resolution, professionally crafted and closed works”(56-7) (unquote).

For Miles the objective with softvideo, was a type of practice that utilised the serial and repetitive nature of the web. Videoblogging is provided as an example. This is an online video practice that relies on the regular posting of content and in most cases the use of ‘brevity’, to produce multiple small-scale video works, as a unified collection.

An example of Miles’ early interactive videos.

Miles, Adrian. Collins Street Melbourne (a documentary). 2 min., QuickTime, June 2001, videoblog:vog 2.0. http://hypertext.rmit.edu.au/vog/7.2001/collins.html (accessed 6 November, 2003).

Video sketching as a design method

The idea of developing video sketching into a design method occurred due to using Rosenberg’s concept of “poetic research” from the design field, in my doctorate study. I used Rosenberg’s notion of the “hunch” to invigorate what was a practice-led inquiry.

Rosenberg uses Bakhtin’s concepts of the “centripetal” and “centrifugal” as a way of understanding the relationships formed between the practitioner and the practice. The centripetal moves inwards and refers to an established body of knowledge, while the centrifugal moves outward to something that is yet to be realised: the centrifugal is intuitive, risky, a step away from conventions and norms (Rosenberg 2006). Applying the idea of following a “hunch” opened up my practice to being iterative and evolving. I became interested in what might happen to my practice, if there was space that allowed intuition to be followed, with the idea of not knowing what could eventuate. It was video sketching as a process that enabled me to utilise the void that had been created, to explore possibilities. Video sketching in combination with poetic research shifted my practice towards design.

Images from p 4-5, Rosenberg, Terence. “The Reservoir: Towards a Poetic Model of Research in Design.” Working papers in Art and Design (2006): n. pag. Web.

Sketching in design

Analysing the design process, Grocott puts forwards the notion of “figuring” as a method to visualise design research (67). Figuring as a concept is informed by Rosenberg’s idea of poetic research and the friction that occurs for the practitioner between the centripetal, what is known, and the centrifugal, the unknown. It is the discord between the two, according to Grocott, which enables the designer to come up with something original. Figuring as a concept is positioned within the broader notion of allowing “speculation” to occur, which is referred to as (quote) “an experimental, investigative space” (72) (unquote).

Two methods of drawing “diagrams” and “proposition drawings” are used by Grocott to frame figuring. These two types of drawing methods are taken from a taxonomy of drawing types created by Lawson from an evaluation of the processes designers use (45). It is Lawson’s outline on the “proposition drawing” that provides some insight into how video sketching is being used in my own practice and teaching, in relation to integrating it as design method into media production.

Lawson argues that the “proposition drawing” is situated at the very core of the design process and it provides a space for the designer to make a start. The proposition drawing puts out into the world an idea in a visual form that can then be used as a focal point to begin the design process. According to Lawson, the “proposition drawing” is what Schön would have defined as a sketch that enables a conversation to get underway.

In reference to Lawson’s evaluation of drawing in design, different types of drawing form an integral part of the design curriculum. Drawings as a form of visual representation are used to externalise what the designer is thinking and as Lawson states (quote) “may be seen as a kind of window into the designer’s mind and consequently into the designer’s knowledge system and method of mental representation” (33) (unquote). I propose that using video sketching, as a type of drawing in a different form, in media production, presents an opportunity for students to visualise ideas and explore a varied number of potential outcomes.

In PB-3, I see the sketching process as being used to encourage students not to settle on the first idea that comes along…instead the aim is to generate several varying ideas (and potentially make an unexpected discovery).

Booth argues that we are often taught to follow through with our first idea, which is referred to as “satisficing”, rather than explore lots of ideas and potentially a creative outcome that is much more significant.

Booth provides an example of a ceramicist teacher, grading students in two different ways. The first was based on a student making their best single pot, the second class on the amount of pots produced. In the class based on quality, students were quietly thinking and carefully considering options before picking up some clay. In the class working on producing as many pots as possible, students were busy, noisily playing and experimenting they worked constantly in the medium. It is my aim in this phase to get students to work things out by picking up a smartphone.

‘Eric Booth: Playful Brainstorming and Creative Experimentation’, music educator at Carnegie Hall, New York. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mly_OTeLcc

Follow up this blog entry and extend your understanding of the process sketching and how it being used in this context…by engaging with the readings that look at the concept of sketching in more detail. These are in the references section of the blog.

Write up a reflection in your diary that responds to these questions:

What is your understanding of the concept of sketching and how is being used in within the context of this studio?

How do you think video sketching could be applied to interactive video and authoring software like Korsakow?

References:

Booth, Eric. Playful Brainstorming and Creative Experimentation. Juilliard, Stanford, 2012. Video.

Buxton, Bill. Sketching User Experiences. San Francisco: Morgan Kaufmann, 2007. Print.
Grocott, Lisa. “Design Research and Reflective Practice.” Doctorate. RMIT University, 2010. Print.

Lawson, Bryan. What Designers Know. Oxford: Architectural Press, 2004. Print.

Miles, Adrian, ed. PIMP 01: Post-industrial Media: Education? . Melbourne: School of Media and Communication, RMIT University , 2012. eBook.

Miles, Adrian. “Soft Cinematic Hypertext (other Literacies).” Doctorate. RMIT University, 2012. Print.

Rosenberg, Terence. “The Reservoir: Towards a Poetic Model of Research in Design.” Working papers in Art and Design (2006): n. pag. Web.

Schon, Donald. The Reflective Practitioner. London: Ashgate, 1983. Print.