Confluences: An American Expedition to Northern Burma...TheBioBulletin, created for the Hall of Biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History in 1998, was a groundbreaking

Robin White [email protected]: 646/472-5145

TEAMRobin White Owen, Producer

Ellen Zhao, Designer

Till Bergs, Developer

SCOPE• Interaction Design

• Graphic Design

• Application Development

• Content Management System

Confluences is not your typical exhibition about an expedition. Curator Erin L. Hasinoff views

expeditions as “cosmopolitan adventures” that were a “confluence” of the knowledge and

cooperation of local indigenous people, with the expertise of organizers, scientists and sponsors.

The 1935 Vernay – Hopwood Upper Chindwin River expedition relied on Yunnanese muleteers,

Burmese guides, Goan skinners, and Kachin porters and guides.

At the interactive kiosk, visitors discover how difficult and extraordinary the expedition was. They

can navigate using maps or a timeline. Along the way they will hear birdsongs, read diary excerpts

and watch clips from film footage of the expedition, shot by Henry C. Raven, associate curator at

AMNH. They can see the locations as they look on Google Earth today.

The Digital Media Lab at the Bard Graduate Center commissioned MediaCombo to take the

exhibition content, developed by students under the guidance of curator Hasinoff, an AMNH

postdoctoral fellow in museum anthropology, and then develop an interactive kiosk presentation

that would allow visitors to follow the expedition party during its three month journey.

Our work encompassed designing the user interface, developing the application and

providing a Content Management Sysytem for Bard to work with going forward.

Confluences: An American Expedition to Northern BurmaINTERACTIVE TOUCHSCREEN


TEAMRobin White Owen, Producer & UX designer

Jessica Findley, UX and graphic designer

Eric LoPresti, Flash Developer

SCOPE• Content Research, Development

& Scripting

• User Interface Design

• Graphic Design

• Programming - Flash

• Image & Footage Research & Rights Acquisition

• Original Vieo producton & Editing

MediaCombo’s mission was to develop engaging touchscreen interactives that would

introduce kids to the actual methods of inquiry that paleontologists use to study dinosaurs and

learn about their behaviors.

Three computer stations were designed for an exhibition inside the Dinosaur Moveable

Museum, sponsored by Bloomberg. This 37’ long converted recreational vehicle brought the

latest discoveries about dinosaurs to schools, libraries and community centers around New

York City. The exhibition was designed for Grades 3-8.

The first program, Trackways, focused on how paleontologists learned about dinosaur behavior

from studying their footprints and comparing them to the footprints of modern animals. The

second one, Feathers, compared the varieties and purposes of feathers in dinosaurs and birds.

The interactives included games, original and archival videos, and demonstrations.

The third computer station played How a Dinosaur Becomes a Fossil, an original animated film

that follows a coelophysis from its death 200 million years ago to its discovery as a fossil in

20tth century New Mexico.

We built an Administration menu to allow the Moveable Museum staff to control the displays

and audio levels for all three programs.

American Museum of Natural HistoryINTERACTIVE KIOSKS AND VIDEO ANIMATION 2006



Scott Sinkler, DP

Samantha Orme, Animation

SCOPE• Original Filming

• Post-Production

• Commissioned Sound Effects and Animation

If you were looking for signs of life on another planet, what would you look for? We asked kids from the New York Hall

of Science’s After School Science Club to help us answer that question.

Exhibit Planner Rita Hoffstadt designed an activity to guide the children in their discoveries and come up with a list of

basic characteristics that define life. It’s not easy! Even scientists have a hard time agreeing on a definition.

We organized a 3-camera shoot in the Museum’s science lab to document the kids’ discovery process, and created

animated graphics to illustrate the three traits that scientists agree are shared by all life. The 5-minute program is an

MPEG2 file that plays on an Adtec Edje player, with a silent attract loop.

New York Hall of ScienceSIGNS OF LIFE BEYOND EARTH/VIDEO



Phil Wilhelm, Designer

Rob Womack, Programmer

Cameron Hickey, 3D animations

SCOPE• Interface Design

• 3D Animations

• Flash Animation

• CMS for visitor video approval/upload

• Enigma Machine Game

• Programming and Installation

When the Museum of Science took over Boston’s Computer Museum, their challenge was to shrink an entire

museum into one exhibition. We created seven computer stations and a companion web site that highlight key

moments, concepts and breakthroughs from the history of computing, and provide a high level of interactivity.

Working with materials and direction from the Museum, we visualized the history of The Computing Revolution by

creating unique user interfaces for each of the seven kiosks:Enigma, Whirlwind, UNIVAC, Personal Computers, When

Computers Go Bad, Hacking,and 21st Century.

To give visitors some experience with a well known antecedent of modern computers, we recreated a working World

War II Enigma Machine where they can try their hands at creating and decoding messages, and under- stand the

tremendous achievement of breaking the German code.

We developed a video capture tool for two of the stations; visitors can tell their own horror stories at When

Computers Go Bad, and they can predict the future of computing at the 21st Century station.

It was essential for Museum staff to be able to review and edit these visitor videos, so we developed an admin tool

that allows Museum staff to review the recorded videos and then update the selection to be featured on the kiosks,

from their own desktops.

We also created four short, 3D-animated films detailing the inner workings of computers, teaching visitors about

Binary Counting, Vacuum Tubes, Magnetic Core Memory and Integrated Circuit Chips.

Museum of Science, BostonTHE COMPUTING REVOLUTIONINTERACTIVE KIOSKS



Natacha Ruck, Producer

Despina Papadopolos, Producer/Interface Designer

Phil Wilhelm, Designer

Rob Womack, Programmer

AWARDSWorldfest Houston Gold, 2001

AAM Muse Awards Silver, 2001

Summit Creative Silver Award, 2001

Communicator Award, 2000

U.S. Intern'l Film & Video Fest., 2000

SCOPE• Interface design

• Graphic design

• Video editing

• Programming

Live From Cardiac Surgery is an interactive program that takes LSC visitors behind the closed doors of an operating

room at Morristown Memorial Hospital, demonstrating dramatically how science and technology can make a

difference between life and death.

The program presents 20 minutes of video, divided into the 8 main steps of surgery. Visitors can click on the Time

Line to view the main steps of the coronary artery bypass surgery, rewind, fast forward, or watch the video all the way

through.

They can also play interviews with the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and other members of the surgical team; learn

about the tools used in the surgery; and explore basic facts on the heart, the circulatory system, and the risk factors

that cause heart disease.

The focus on people and professions adds another dimension to the program, encouraging students to consider

careers in medicine as part of their options.

The entire program is in English and Spanish, in order to reach many more of LSC’s visitors. The interactive is

positioned next to the Live From…Theater, and allows people to learn about the surgery when no live program is

scheduled in the Theater.

Liberty Science CenterLIVE FROM CARDIAC SUGERYINTERACTIVE KIOSK



Peter Shelton, Editor

SCOPE• Script Writing

• Image Research

• Original Filming

• Post-production & Subtitling

When the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) opened their Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit at the

Bronx Zoo, they wanted to persuade visitors to support WCS gorilla conservation efforts in Africa.

We were asked to produce a trio of short videos that people would encounter before they left

the exhibit that were designed to encourage on-the-spot donations.

The first video presents the earliest gorilla footage ever filmed, during George Akeley’s 1919

Congo expedition. His face-to-face encounter with these animals inspired him to advocate with

King Leopold of Belgium to create Africa’s first national park, to protect the gorillas.

The second video is about George Schaller’s groundbreaking field studies of Congo gorillas in

the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. In the third video current WCS scientists recall their unforgettable first

encounters with gorillas and talk about why it’s so important to save these incredible animals.

Wildlife Conservation Society THREE MOUNTAIN GORILLA CONSERVATIONVIDEO


TEAMMichael Owen, Producer

Robin White Owen, Producer


Natacha Ruck, Producer

Scott Sinkler, DP

Sarah Keller, Researcher

SCOPE• Research

• Script writing

• Original filming

• Post-production

The BioBulletin, created for the Hall of Biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History in 1998, was a

groundbreaking approach to presenting current up-to-date information in a permanent exhibit environment. The

large screen (8’x12’) video display, and its related computer kiosk programs, were designed to be destinations where

visitors to the Hall would find the latest biodiversity news.

For the inaugural presentation, we researched, wrote and produced 4 video programs on biodiversity issues around

the globe, and created extensive additional content for the computer kiosks nearby. Stories ranged from how

conservation scientists benefited from having access to NASA satellite data, to the global impact of millions of acres

of forest fires in Indonesia, to the importance of studying fresh water fish habitat in Gabon.

The BioBulletin video successfully conveys the essential details of complicated biodiversity stories, makes science

timely and relevant to museum visitors, and encourages them to learn much more about each subject at the

computer kiosks nearby.

American Museum of Natural HistoryHALL OF BIODIVERSITY VIDEO AND INTERACTIVE KIOSKS


TEAMMichael Owen, Producer

Robin White Owen, Producer


Boyd Matson: Writer

John Hazard, DP

SCOPE• Script research

• Original filming

• Post-production

• Commissioned graphics

• Original music

Before National Geographic had a television channel, they had a TV series, a magazine show hosted by Boyd Matson.

Boyd introduced the natural history documentaries that aired every week.

We were brought in to enhance these “host wraps,” by taking Matson on location around the US to discover

local stories that he would report during his segments. The subjects ranged from wolf conservation programs

in Yellowstone National Park, to the birth of flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, from grizzly bears in Montana to

prehistoric sharks in the Rio Grande.

We researched, wrote and produced stories with Boyd, over an eight-month period, in Yellowstone National Park, Big

Bend National Park, Kitty Hawk North Carolina, Fire Island, NY and other locations.

National Geographic TelevisionNATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER VIDEO

Documents

Confluences: An American Expedition to Northern Burma...TheBioBulletin, created for the Hall of Biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History in 1998, was a groundbreaking