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The Temporal Window: Explicit Representation of Future Actions in Improvisational Performances

Published: 22 June 2017 Publication History

Abstract

Improvisation often requires performers to anticipate each other's upcoming actions to coordinate their performance. Traditionally, improvisation does not involve explicit representation of upcoming actions, relying instead on implicit cues and overt gestures. Providing a concrete representation of these actions may impact the nature of improvisation. To explore how performers use such a representation, we introduce the "temporal window", a shared workspace for collaborators to indicate upcoming actions shortly before those actions are carried out. We describe versions for music and storytelling, and present results of an observational study of use of these systems by 11 pairs of participants. Participants used the temporal window in various ways, including using knowledge about upcoming actions when performing live, and adjusting upcoming actions based on knowledge of both the live performance and upcoming actions. These observations can inform design to support improvisation as well as other systems that support anticipating upcoming actions.

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Cited By

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  • (2022)“It’s Fun not to Know”: The Role of Uncertainty in Text-Based Online Collaborative StorytellingInteractive Storytelling10.1007/978-3-031-22298-6_15(229-248)Online publication date: 4-Dec-2022
  • (2017)The AntWriter Improvisational Writing System: Visualizing and Coordinating Upcoming ActionsInteractive Storytelling10.1007/978-3-319-71027-3_38(336-340)Online publication date: 14-Nov-2017

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  1. The Temporal Window: Explicit Representation of Future Actions in Improvisational Performances

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    C&C '17: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM SIGCHI Conference on Creativity and Cognition
    June 2017
    584 pages
    ISBN:9781450344036
    DOI:10.1145/3059454
    • General Chairs:
    • David A. Shamma,
    • Jude Yew,
    • Program Chair:
    • Brian Bailey
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    Published: 22 June 2017

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    Author Tags

    1. anticipation
    2. collaborative creativity
    3. coordination
    4. improvisation
    5. negotiation

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    C&C '17
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    C&C '17: Creativity and Cognition
    June 27 - 30, 2017
    Singapore, Singapore

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    C&C '17 Paper Acceptance Rate 27 of 94 submissions, 29%;
    Overall Acceptance Rate 108 of 371 submissions, 29%

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    Cited By

    View all
    • (2022)“It’s Fun not to Know”: The Role of Uncertainty in Text-Based Online Collaborative StorytellingInteractive Storytelling10.1007/978-3-031-22298-6_15(229-248)Online publication date: 4-Dec-2022
    • (2017)The AntWriter Improvisational Writing System: Visualizing and Coordinating Upcoming ActionsInteractive Storytelling10.1007/978-3-319-71027-3_38(336-340)Online publication date: 14-Nov-2017

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