Motion Hollow: A WebVR experience for annotating movement qualities on dance content

Η εκτενής έρευνα που πραγματοποιείται στον τομέα της ανάλυσης κίνησης έχει οδηγήσει στη δημιουργία πολλών θεωρητικών πλαισίων και κανονισμών για την αναγνώριση και επισημείωση κινητικών ποιοτήτων που παρατηρούνται στην ανθρώπινη κίνηση. Παρά το γεγονός αυτό, τα πλαίσια αυτά είναι δυσνόητα για ανθρώπους με ελάχιστο ή μηδενικό επιστημονικό υπόβαθρο σχετικό με τον τομέα. Για αυτό τον λόγο, η διαδικασία επισημείωσης κινητικών ποιοτήτων από απλούς χρήστες παρουσιάζει μέχρι στιγμής πολλές δυσκολίες. Η πτυχιακή αυτή στοχεύει στην επίλυση αυτού του προβλήματος, αναπτύσσοντας μια διαδικτυακή εφαρμογή επισημείωσης των κινητικών ποιοτήτων που παρατηρούνται στην κίνηση τρισδιάστατων ανθρωπόμορφων μοντέλων που εκτελούν χορευτικές κινήσεις. Η εφαρμογή παραθέτει στον χρήστη ένα σύνολο προτάσεων που περιγράφουν με απλό τρόπο τις διάφορες ποιότητες και ζητά από τον χρήστη να επιλέγει ποιές θεωρεί ορθές για κάθε χορευτική κίνηση που συναντά. Η πτυχιακή αυτή ερευνά επίσης τους διάφορους τρόπους που μπορεί η εφαρμογή να γίνει πιο ελκυστική για τον χρήστη, έτσι ώστε να τον παρακινεί να ολοκληρώσει την εμπειρία. Γι’αυτό το λόγο, για την ανάπτυξη της εφαρμογής επιλέχθηκε ο συνδυασμός του MEAN Stack μοντέλου και του A-Frame, μιας τεχνολογίας που χρησιμοποιείται συχνά για την ανάπτυξη 3D/VR/AR διαδικτυακών εμπειριών. Μετά την ολοκλήρωση της ανάπτυξης του πρωτοτύπου, πραγματοποιήθηκε διαμορφωτική αξιολόγηση με 8 χρήστες. Κατά τη διάρκεια της αξιολόγησης, προτάθηκαν εναλλακτικές για την βελτίωση της ευχρηστίας και του περιεχομένου της εμπειρίας, δίνοντας χώρο και στην ανάδειξη πιθανών μελλοντικών επεκτάσεων. Ωστόσο, παρά τα όποια ζητήματα, οι συμμετέχοντες δήλωσαν πως βρήκαν την εμπειρία ενδιαφέρουσα και ευχάριστη. Ολοκλήρωσαν την εμπειρία πληθοπορισμού δίχως να χάσουν το ενδιαφέρον τους, κάτι το οποίο δεν συμβαίνει συχνά σε παρόμοιες δραστηριότητες και καθιστά αυτή τη πτυχιακή επιτυχημένη στον στόχο της.There are a lot of conceptual frameworks derived from the extensive research conducted in the field of movement analysis that are being used in the process of the identification and annotation of qualities in movement. However, these frameworks are not easily comprehensible by people with minimal or no scientific context related to the field, especially when used raw without being molded and expressed in a more user-friendly manner. In the interest of tackling this problem, this thesis covers the process of developing a web-based crowd-sourcing experience where a set of simple questions are used as a theoretical framework for the annotation of movement qualities in dance moves performed by 3D animated models. This thesis also investigates ways of making the crowdsourcing experience more appealing, in order to encourage the full engagement of the users. Therefore, the MEAN Stack model was chosen along with A-Frame, a web framework for building 3D/AR/VR experiences, for the development of the application. After developing a first prototype for the experience, a formative evaluation was carried out. 8 people participated in the evaluation suggesting improvements regarding the usability and the content of the experience. Moreover, the participants’ feedback led to the formation of ideas regarding possible future extensions. In conclusion, setting all issues aside, all the participants found the experience very interesting and pleasant. They were able to complete the whole experience without losing interest, a fact which is not frequently the case when it comes to crowdsourcing activities and renders this thesis successful in its goal

Moving across page, stage, canvas: theatrical dance as a form of intermedial translation

This thesis examines two works of contemporary dance, Marie Chouinard’s Jérôme Bosch: Le Jardin des Délices (2016) and Mathieu Geffré’s choreography for the ESD company Froth on the Daydream (2018), as examples of intermedial translations into dance. In doing so, it proposes a conceptualization of translation through the lens of theatrical dance. In the last decade, the concepts of multimodality and intermediality have prompted a revision of inherited notions of text, language, and translation. This has led translation scholars to stretch their definition of translation so as to include text produced in and through other media, including dance. A number of articles and book chapters from the fields of Dance, Literary, Intermedial and Translation Studies have been published that make the case for the usefulness of the concept of translation for interpreting dance performances. Building on these works, this thesis reverses the question and asks how theatrical dance can help us understand intermedial translation. It does so by mapping the “implicative complex” (Tyulenev, 2010: 241-242) of dance, such as creativity, ephemerality, and the dramaturgy of bodies, onto the realm of translation. The theoretical framework is tested on two very different case studies: Chouinard’s choreography is based on Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, while Geffré’s on Boris Vian’s novel L’Écume de Jours. The methodology combines live attendance at the performances with footage analysis and ethnographic methods such as semi-structured interviews and participant observations. The first case-study focuses on issues of agency in translation, while the second looks at the way in which intermedial translations constitute “performative acts of memory” (Plate and Smelik, 2013: 2), comparing Geffré’s choreography with previous intermedial translations of Vian’s novel into film, opera, and graphic novel. Translation emerges as a creative and corporeal (and therefore political) practice deeply intertwined with issues of memory and struggles for representation. The analysis of the case-studies, together with the theoretical work that precedes it, contributes towards a redefinition of translation within the field of Translation Studies.Esta tese analisa duas obras de dança contemporânea como exemplos de traduções intermediais: Jérôme Bosch: Le Jardin des Délices (2016) de Marie Chouinard e a coreografia Froth on the Daydream (2018) de Mathieu Geffré para a companhia ESD. Propõe-se aqui uma conceptualização da tradução através das lentes da dança teatral. Na última década, os conceitos de multimodalidade e intermedialidade levaram a uma revisão das noções herdadas de texto, linguagem e tradução. Como consequência, várias investigadoras da área de tradução ampliaram a própria definição de “tradução”, incluindo textos produzidos por outras meios, como, por exemplo, a dança. Ao mesmo tempo, numerosos trabalhos foram publicados nas áreas dos Estudos de Dança, de Literatura, de Intermedialidade e de Tradução, apontando para a utilidade do conceito de tradução na interpretação de apresentações de dança. Baseando-se neste corpus teórico, a tese inverte a questão e pergunta como é que a dança teatral nos pode ajudar a entender a tradução intermedial. Isto é feito mapeando o “implicative complex” (Tyulenev, 2010: 241-242) da dança, como a criatividade, a efemeridade e a dramaturgia dos corpos, no domínio da tradução. O quadro teórico assim construído é testado em dois casos de estudo muito diferentes: a coreografia de Chouinard, baseada na pintura O Jardim das Delícias de Hieronymus Bosch e a coreografia de Geffré, criada a partir do romance de Boris Vian, A Espuma dos Dias. A metodologia combina a visão ao vivo das performances e a análise de filmagens com métodos etnográficos, entre os quais entrevistas semiestruturadas e observação de participantes. Se, por um lado, o primeiro caso de estudo se concentra em questões de agenciamento na tradução, por outro, o segundo examina como as traduções intermediais constituem "atos performativos de memória" (Plate e Smelik, 2013: 2, tradução minha), comparando a coreografia de Geffré com outras traduções intermediais do livro de Vian para cinema, ópera e romance gráfico. A tradução surge como uma prática criativa e corporal (e, portanto, política) profundamente entrelaçada com questões de memória e a luta pela representação. A análise dos casos de estudo, juntamente com o enquadramento teórico, contribui para uma redefinição da tradução no âmbito dos Estudos de Tradução