1,199 research outputs found

    Towards the improvement of self-service systems via emotional virtual agents

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    Affective computing and emotional agents have been found to have a positive effect on human-computer interactions. In order to develop an acceptable emotional agent for use in a self-service interaction, two stages of research were identified and carried out; the first to determine which facial expressions are present in such an interaction and the second to determine which emotional agent behaviours are perceived as appropriate during a problematic self-service shopping task. In the first stage, facial expressions associated with negative affect were found to occur during self-service shopping interactions, indicating that facial expression detection is suitable for detecting negative affective states during self-service interactions. In the second stage, user perceptions of the emotional facial expressions displayed by an emotional agent during a problematic self-service interaction were gathered. Overall, the expression of disgust was found to be perceived as inappropriate while emotionally neutral behaviour was perceived as appropriate, however gender differences suggested that females perceived surprise as inappropriate. Results suggest that agents should change their behaviour and appearance based on user characteristics such as gender

    Investigating facial animation production through artistic inquiry

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    Studies into dynamic facial expressions tend to make use of experimental methods based on objectively manipulated stimuli. New techniques for displaying increasingly realistic facial movement and methods of measuring observer responses are typical of computer animation and psychology facial expression research. However, few projects focus on the artistic nature of performance production. Instead, most concentrate on the naturalistic appearance of posed or acted expressions. In this paper, the authors discuss a method for exploring the creative process of emotional facial expression animation, and ask whether anything can be learned about authentic dynamic expressions through artistic inquiry

    Emotional avatars

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    Generation of Whole-Body Expressive Movement Based on Somatical Theories

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    An automatic choreography method to generate lifelike body movements is proposed. This method is based on somatics theories that are conventionally used to evaluate human’s psychological and developmental states by analyzing the body movement. The idea of this paper is to use the theories in the inverse way: to facilitate generation of artificial body movements that are plausible regarding evolutionary, developmental and emotional states of robots or other non-living movers. This paper reviews somatic theories and describes a strategy for implementations of automatic body movement generation. In addition, a psychological experiment is reported to verify expression ability on body movement rhythm. This method facilitates to choreographing body movement of humanoids, animal-shaped robots, and computer graphics characters in video games

    Cinematography and choreography: It takes two to tango

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    As a practicing dancer and choreographer with a developing interest in film, the lifelong struggle (where many have gone before) to capture and accurately depict choreography on screen, intrigues me. Who should dance the camera or the choreography? These are questions that have been pondered by choreographers and theorists for centuries, with pioneers such as Busby Berkeley and Maya Deren each finding their own answers to success. This thesis discusses the creation and production of dance film, and the importance of movement in front of and behind the camera lens. I believe experimentation and research are the most effective methods for deciphering this choreographic code, therefore I have developed three short dance films using principles encountered in literature and cinematographic research. Prim, Cut and Mate This body of work is about false facades, external judgment, social stereotypes and the view through rose coloured glasses. I am interested in audiences forming opinions rather than merely observing what is presented in a mindless state. I have endeavored to push the audience to question why they have made particular conclusions, and how these conclusions reflect on them

    'Boys don't dance, do they?'

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    In 2005, the Warwick Arts Centre launched the ‘Boys Dancing’ project through the formation of the West Midlands Boys Dance Alliance. Aimed exclusively at boys and young men, the project has offered a range of performance-making opportunities with male professionals including Liam Steel (DV8, Stan Won't Dance) and David McKenna (Beingfrank Physical Theatre), with a view to challenge the perception that dance is primarily an activity pursued by girls and young women. The project involves boys of all abilities and all backgrounds from communities in schools, youth centres and pupil referral units. The stated aims of the project are to nurture discipline in participation, skills development, creativity and creative decision-making, self-esteem and teamwork skills, as well as performance skills in dance and choreography. Drawing on gender studies, ruminations on the negative associations of boys and dance and interviews with key participants, this article explores why and how Boys Dancing has deployed rehearsal, dance and performance methodologies to overtly and covertly challenge normative discourses around boys, young men and masculinity

    Dance/Movement Therapy and Competitive Dance: An In Depth Self Evaluation

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    I used artistic inquiry self-study methodology to extend my knowledge, awareness, and understanding of how dance/movement therapy (DMT) and counseling concepts can positively alter and enhance my personal dance aesthetic, style, and pedagogy. Reflection is a personal process that can deepen the sense of self and can lead to significant discoveries or insights, while self-assessment is a process that involves establishing strengths, improvements, and insights based on predetermined performance criteria. Using artistic inquiry gave me the opportunity to study, analyze, and document where and how the DMT process and concepts have developed within my natural teaching approach. Engaging in this study presented me with a clearer understanding of the specific DMT concepts that enhanced my natural approach to working with competitive dance students. The research detailed how the combination of these concepts have improved my pedagogic style and are utilized in a field of work not as yet broadly addressed by dance/movement therapists

    Visual Embodiment of Psychosis: Ethical Concerns in Performing Difficult Experiences

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    Arts-based health research has increased dramatically in recent years. Many academics are collaborating across disciplines including health and social sciences, humanities and the arts. Using artistic modes of research representation allows for a different way of participating and may enhance the likelihood of making an impact (negative or positive) on the audience and, consequently, on artists and researchers. This paper focuses on the concept of ‘dangerous emotional terrain’, used to describe the potential negative impacts of using the arts, in this case dance, in research dissemination. We focus on a seldom-explored area – the impact on artists embodying research results of difficult lived experiences. The potential for harm to performers engaging in arts-based research requires consideration. Actors and other artists and their experiences of depicting suffering and pain, for example, remain relatively unexplored. What are our responsibilities to performers taking on this role? What are the ethical implications of engaging in such work? This paper explores these questions and identifies four strategies to tackle emotional impact: reflexive practice, creation of a safe and supportive environment, address issues of audience, and focus on balance between types of performance, and between work and home

    Reflections: Battling Body Image as a Dancer

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    Reflections is a dance I choreographed and performed on February 25, 2022 in studio 205 Campus Center Building at East Tennessee State University. The dance explores the relationship between a dancer’s mind and body and uses mirrors and repetition to express the dancers’ perception of their flaws and insecurities. The following thesis, Reflections: Battling Body Image as a Dancer, analyzes the artistic elements of the choreographic process, my experiences as a dance student at ETSU from 2018-2022, as well as my training in my youth. My research for this thesis involves exploring the history and craft of choreography including the fundamentals of Laban Movement Analysis. In addition, my research includes a survey concerning body dysmorphia in dancers. In theory and practice, I accepted the challenge of stepping outside my comfort zone to create an emotional and physical dance composition that serves to demonstrate a dancer fighting a battle with body image

    The Language of Dance

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    Dance, like most other art forms, is not intrinsically representational. In fact, the expressive, ritualistic or aesthetic dimensions have often had primacy over the referential over the course of its variegated history, and in much modern and contemporary dance, the representational element is sometimes deliberately suppressed as part of a reaction against the romantic ballet tradition. However, the fact that dance events have so frequently been conceived on the back of literary works in Western culture indicates that some level of semanticization of movement is not only possible but also widely recognised. Indeed, some dances are so closely bound to a preceding literary work that they may be considered as “intersemiotic translations” (Jakobson 1992), i.e. rewritings of a verbal text in a kinetic sign system. This is particularly the case with ballet, as we see here. There have been a number of theories put forward as to how dance represents elements from the outside world. The earliest analyses assumed that it acquired its signifying potential from the way in which human beings physically relate to each other and to their environment in everyday life, thereby positing something inherently ‘natural’ and universal about the kinesthetic code. More recent commentators, on the other hand, emphasise the importance of culture in determining not only the semiotic significance of particular movements but also the way in which those movements are conventionalised into genres. The aim of this paper is to examine the semiotic code that is the Western dance tradition in order to try to isolate some of the ‘signs’ that may be mobilised by choreographers and performers for the purpose of intersemiotic translation. These are exemplified with reference to different ballet versions of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
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