The Third Woman: Interactive Performance and Film-Game

OVERVIEW

The Third Woman film-game explores the theme of pervasive global threats of bio-engineered terrorism in the 21st Century. Participants interact with the film by voting on choices based on moral and emotional perspectives embedded in the film.

An interactive Mobile Video Game using sensing (via QR codes) on phones capable of using barcode reading software. Text options are sent after scanning. Choosing one causes film materials to be sent to participants’ mobile phones and also casts a communal votes for a large screen selection.

Photographing a QR barcode on a costume automatically downloads a text and when selected, a video clip presents thematic content by progressively revealing the chosen layers of a multipath contemporary film drama.

INTERACTIVE COSTUME PERFORMANCE

Performers, The Algorithmics, wear interactive costumes printed with QR-code images. They weave in algorithmic patterns across the stage, freezing in poses to trigger instructional visuals. Spilling off stage into the audience, the performers invite people to play the film-game and create new versions of the film determined by communal voting.

Participants playing the game become part of The Third Woman Interactive Performance.

The Third Woman interactive Performance & film-game was held at Galapagos Arts venue in Dumbo Brooklyn New York on 8th May 2011

THE EXPERIENCE

Models mingled with the audience to enable the scanning of QR codes on costumes. These released text options which allowed the previewing of multiple versions of the same scene on smartphones.

The coherence of the experience depends on a user successfully choosing from the texts delivered to their smartphone. There are nine options possible at each choice point. Choosing one allows a user to review a version of a film scene on their smartphone.

The main screen counts down during the scanning process and morphs a QR code image into a film-related image and displays the texts as they are selected by the audience

The selection of a text automatically cast an audience vote for the most popular scene version to be played on a larger cinema screen in the venue.

In such a way the audience constructed the choice of scenes which are shown as a completed film at the session end.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Homage to Graham Greene

Film clip "THE THIRD MAN" (Carol Reed 1949) by CANAL+IMAGE UK LTD

FILM-GAME THANKS:

Nita Tandon for the idea of “Vienna Underground”

Anna Dumitriu for the idea of “Miazma”

Eeva Kaipainen for “Virus-Art”

FILM-GAME PRODUCTION SUPPORTED BY:

Aalto University, Research group aivo AALTO, Helsinki, Finland

Aalto University, Department of Media, Medialaboratory, Helsinki, Finland

Arts Council of Finland

AVEK / The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture, Finland

Bath University Computer Science, UK

NY Art Projects LLC

Södertörn University, Department of Media Technology, Sweden

University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria

FILM-GAME PRODUCTION:

OBLOMOVIES OY in association with IOCT / FUSE MEDIA/ De Montfort University, UK © 2009

Further information:

www.thirdwoman.com

www.nyartprojects.com