last update: August 9, 2006
Taiker KTV
(sottie,
daniel, ian)
Ian Jang, Daniel Ding-Han Chen, Sottie Huang
[Taiker KTV Demo download] (needs to work with a Webcam and Attention Meter)
Introduction
TaiKer-KTV enhances the interactivity of the performer and the environment for a more responsive and joyful karaoke space. TaiKer-KTV demonstrates how karaoke players engaged with the song can interact with the whole physical space based on their physical reaction and body movement.
Karaoke (KTV) is very popular in Asia for entertainment and social events. Karaoke TV might reduce people inhibition by focusing people on its screen dance. TaiKer-KTV extends this be requiring people to express themselves with own figures and body movements for on screen performance. KTV is presented from traditional karaoke context, called Tai-Ker KTV (TKTV), which exploits 'head-shaking dance' to enrich the environmental projection as a way to support group performance. The purpose is to amplify the group activity phenomenon in KTV and to create an interactive way to enhance the joyful and relaxing atmosphere as well as to enrich the KTV experience with fun.
TaiKer characteristics were implemented into this music Flash KTV, allowing people to influence the karaoke environment with their head shaking dance. TaiKer-KTV responds to the party interactively. Whenever people are nodding or shaking their heads, it enhances the visual experience in the party environment with rotating and blinking lights.
'Tai-Ker,' or 'Taiwanese-style
guest' in literal translation, is one particular kind of culture on the lower
civic level to which native rock stars claim to belong. In Taiwanese dancing
circles, Tai-Ker's always have strong visual images and vivid outfits. They
like techno music, patterned design shirt, black suits, white socks on black
shoes, blue and white slippers, betel nut, and screaming while dancing...etc.
Shaking and nodding heads along with the beat of the techno is a common part
of the KTV culture.
In the implementation, an interactive music video was created in Adobe Flash
and was projected on a wall. The lyrics go with a nodding head indicator to
lead singing and dancing. The video is kept still and dull if it doesn't get
enough attention, getting more animated only whenever people dance like Tai-Kers.
Furthermore, the more people are engaged, the more special visual effects are
applied. Some general rules have been defined for the techniques of the music
video:
If one moves his/her body,
the image gets clearer.
If one nods his/her head, image switches faster.
If one shakes his head, the environmental light flashes more dramatically.
If there are multiple people participating, the media elements (i.e. symbols,
visual effects, texts and recorded screaming voices) have an additive effect,
creating a vivid mix of sound and imagery.
The T-KTV system contains a webcam, a video projector, Flash music video and the Attention Meter system, as show in Figure 6. The webcam is used to observe participants, and a video projector outputs the media for singer-machine-audience interaction. The contextual data, including number of participants, their attention, and whether they are moving, nodding, or shaking their head is interpreted by the Attention Meter system, determining the level of movements, especially for Tai-Ker dancing. A typical rave-party anthem-'Mei-Fay-Se-Wu' by Sammi Cheng is selected as the featured song. A Flash movie was implemented based on the song and receives interaction parameters from the Attention Meter, displaying an appropriate response on the wall projection with environmental visual effects.
This system was completely compelling. Around 100 people came up to it and immediately began making strong movements to make the people on the screen dance. Participants spontaneously tried to get others to join. The ease and success at creating a feeling of inhibition in the user was striking.
Publication
Lee, C.H., Wetzel,
J., Jang, C.Y., Shen, Y.T., Chen, T.H., Selker, T. Attention Meter: A Vision-based
Input Toolkit for Interaction Designers. Work-in-progress in CHI 2006. (Full-text
PDF)