First Temple Visit

Revised Simplified Structure

Opening Page/Screen: General Introductory Video of Hare Krishna
-
Image of the front of the temple with group leaving for street parade: Enter The temple/Join the Street Parade

When inside temple:
Options: Prayer Room Or Ashram

Prayer Room - Video of Prayer/Still screen with text in the temple room/Button to switch to (start) service /Items Educational

Ashram - What is the Ashram (Video/Text) Different Doors/Meet different people

If Street Parade is chosen:

- Video of Street Parade - Meet the People in the Parade - 3 Interview

Notes From Meeting with Sandra Guadenzi

Klynt - project gallery 

Contact directly 

Research exhausting projects 

Wonda

Awra amba experience 

Docubase 

Idocs

Look at tools 

What I want to communicate

What journey to go through 

What u want them to learn 

Putting person in a space

Architect 

Land in experience 

Journey opposed to story 

Organising a space for people to navigate into your space 

Who is the person watching 

Where do u position the user 

What do u want them to go through and experience and understand 

KLYNT OR WONDA

TREE STRUCTURE 

Who is it for????

How to look at the world differently 

Why should it be interactive 

Ask questions 

Get viewer to give opinion and ask questions 

Idea Change

Getting access to Churches and Mosques has proven more difficult than we originally anticipated. Even though we have used many means of contact from Facebook messaging to emailing to around 20 London-based mosques and churches, we received 0 replies from Mosques and three to four replies from churches, all saying that they cannot consider our request as they get very busy and prayer time is likely to be disrupted.

As a personal side project of mine, I recently visited London's Hare Krishna temple, the Radha Krishna in order to take some photos for a photography series. Whilst at the temple, I learnt a lot about the Hare Krishna movement and met some great contacts, hopefully meaning access is likely to be easier. I then became very excited about the idea about using this as a base for our interactive documentary, as it is a religious movement that isn't seen as particularly mainstream and that converts  people from all over the world, despite their ethnic background. I have sent a proposal to my contact at the Hare Krishna temple, Kumari, and am currently awaiting for the go-ahead.

Update: I have since exchanged these emails with my contact at the Radha Krishna temple, confirming our access.

I took the photos below on my first visit.

Church Email Draft

Dear Sir/Madam

I am a student at the University of Westminster studying Contemporary Media Practice. Me and two other students are currently working on a web-based interactive documentary project aiming to educate people about religion, looking particularly at the Christian and Islamic faiths and the individual communities found within them, highlighting their positive attitudes and values.

We hope to enlighten the general public of Christianity's peaceful and harmonious ethos by displaying an educational digital tour of the ______ church, whilst meeting and interviewing some of the people involved within your religious community. We expect that this will show the importance of the space and individual members' religious values.

In order to create this, upon your permission, we would require access to the ______ Church for a few days with minimal equipment in order to carry out some filming.  Our presence in the space will be very non-intrusive and of course we entirely respect the needs of the church and its users. We are very flexible with filming times and are happy for you to dictate these, as we understand the significance and value of service times.

If you are content with our proposal, it would be great to begin filming as soon as possible. In addition, if we could arrange a preliminary visit in order for us to gain a better understanding of the church's layout and the way in which it operates, that would be very beneficial for us. We have read and fully understand the protocol for filming as laid out on your website and realise that you may ask for a headed letter from our institute of study (the University of Westminster), so we will happily oblige if this is needed.

Thank you for considering our request.


Yours Sincerely,
Kieran Panchal

Draft Email for Islamic Central Mosque

Dear Mr Saddique,

I am a student at the University of Westminster studying Contemporary Media Practice. Me and two other students are currently working on a web-based interactive documentary project aiming to educate people about religion, looking particularly at the Islamic and Christian faiths and the individual communities found within them, highlighting their positive attitudes and values.

We hope to enlighten the general public of Islam's peaceful and harmonious ethos by displaying an educational digital tour of the London Central Mosque, whilst meeting and interviewing some of the people involved within your religious community. We expect that this will show the importance of the space and individual members' religious values.

In order to create this, upon your permission, we would require access to the Mosque and Islamic Centre for a few days with minimal equipment in order to carry out some filming.  Our presence in the space will be very non-intrusive and of course we entirely respect the needs of the Mosque and its users. We are very flexible with filming times and are happy for you to dictate these, as we understand the significance and value of prayer.

If you are content with our proposal, it would be great to begin filming as soon as possible. In addition, if we could arrange a preliminary visit in order for us to gain a better understanding of the Mosque's layout and the way in which it operates, that would be very beneficial for us. We have read and fully understand the protocol for filming as laid out on your website and realise that you may ask for a headed letter from our institute of study (the University of Westminster), so we will happily oblige if this is needed.

Thank you for considering our request.


Yours Sincerely,
Kieran Panchal

Church Contact Details EF

London International Christian Church - 02082487362

ChristChurch London - office@christchurchlondon.org or 02073846486 (if press enquiry, contact Andy Tilsley)

London International Church of Christ - http://www.thelondonchurch.org/ChurchWide/ContactUs.aspx?Region=London

Hillsong Church - hello@hillsong.co.uk or 02073849200

Christ Church Spitalfields - admin@ccspits.org or 02073772440 (open church Sunday 1 - 4pm, weekdays 10 - 4pm)

Christ Church Kensington - admin@christchurchkensington.com or mark@christchurchkensington.com

New Life Church - office@newlife-london.org.uk or 02074824907

Grace Church Greenwich - http://www.gracechurchgreenwich.org.uk/index.php?zonename=contact23

C3 Bloomsbury - info@c3bloomsbury.church or 07572805592

Life City Church - hello@lifecity.org.uk or 02086864010

Christ Church East Greenwich - info@christchurcheastgreenwich.org.uk

Commonwealth Church - 08451303334

Christ Church Fulham - admin@ccfulham.com or 02077364261 or 02077316849

Harrow International Christian Centre - administrator@hicc.org

New Life Bible Church - 02082044590 (must book to speak to church leader)

St Peters Harrow (Mick Warwick, lecturer) - office@stpetersharrow.org or 02084226297

Kings Church Harrow - hello@kingsharrow.org or 02084235238

Meeting Feedback

• Look for mosque/church similarities
• reinforces our intentions
• contact mosques and churches 
• attempt to rearrange meeting with sandra 
• research into the mosques and churches themselves 
• look into potential softwares that we could use for our iDoc 

Jesus in Islam - Religion Research

Jesus in Islam

Jesus
Islam honors all the prophets who were sent to mankind. Muslims respect all prophets in general, but Jesus in particular, because he was one of the prophets who foretold the coming of Muhammad. Muslims, too, await the second coming of Jesus. They consider him one of the greatest of Allah’s prophets to mankind. A Muslim does not refer to him simply as “Jesus,” but normally adds the phrase “peace be upon him” as a sign of respect.
No other religion in the world respects and dignifies Jesus as Islam does. The Qur’an confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Qur’an is entitled “Mary”), and Mary is considered to have been one of the purest women in all creation. The Qur’an describes Jesus’ birth as follows:
“Behold!’ the Angel said, God has chosen you, and purified you, and chosen you above the women of all nations. Mary, God gives you good news of a word from Him, whose name shall be the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, honored in this world and in the Hereafter, and one of those brought near to God. He shall speak to the people from his cradle and in maturity, and he shall be of the righteous. She said: “My Lord! How shall I have a son when no man has touched me?’ He said: “Even so; God creates what He will. When He decrees a thing, He says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is.” [3:42-47] Muslims believe that Jesus was born immaculately, and through the same power which had brought Eve to life and Adam into being without a father or a mother.
“Truly, the likeness of Jesus with God is as the likeness of Adam. He created him of dust, and then said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was.” [3:59] During his prophetic mission, Jesus performed many miracles. The Qur’an tells us that he said:
“I have come to you with a sign from your Lord: I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it and it becomes a bird by God’s leave. And I heal the blind, and the lepers, and I raise the dead by God’s leave.” [3:49] Muhammad and Jesus, as well as the other prophets, were sent to confirm the belief in one God. This is referred to in the Qur’an where Jesus is reported as saying that he came:
“To attest the law which was before me, and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden you; I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear God and obey me.” [3:50] Prophet Muhammad emphasized the importance of Jesus by saying:
“Whoever believes there is no god but Allah, alone without partner, that Muhammad is His messenger, that Jesus is a servant and messenger of God, His word breathed into Mary and a spirit emanating from Him, and that Paradise and Hell are true, shall be received by God into Heaven.” [Bukhari]

Taken from http://ilfordmosque.org.uk/faq/

Mosque Contacts EF

London Central Mosque* - http://www.iccuk.org/page.php?section=media&page=protocol (information for filming etc on website under "Media" header) X

East London Mosque - http://www.eastlondonmosque.org.uk/contact/general-enquiry X

Islamic Centre of England* - icel@ic-el.com or http://www.ic-el.com/en/contacts.asp X

Hounslow Jamia Masjid and Islamic Centre - admin@hounslowmasjid.co.uk X

Croydon Mosque and Islamic Centre - enquiries@croydonmosque.com

Ilford Islamic Centre* - ilford-islamic-centre@hotmail.co.uk X

Baitul Aziz Mosque - 02073787764 or https://www.facebook.com/BaitulAzizMosque/ X on FB

Palmers Green Mosque, Muslim Community and Education Centre - enquiries@mcec.org.uk X

Harrow Central Mosque and Masood Islamic Centre - info@harrowmosque.org.uk X

Bait Futuh X

Fazl Mosque












http://mosques.muslimsinbritain.org/maps.php#/mosque/1357

Question Bridge - Interactive Documentary

http://questionbridge.com/

Question Bridge is an innovative transmedia project that facilitates a dialogue between a critical mass of black men from diverse and contending backgrounds and creates a platform for them to represent and redefine black male identity in America. The project is a platform for Black men of all ages and backgrounds to ask and respond to questions about life in America. We created it to stimulate connections and understanding among Black men, but we also wanted to show the diversity of thought, character and identity in the Black male population so rarely seen in American media. In essence, we want to represent and redefine Black male identity in America.

Their intention is to break down the negative perceptions people have about Black males. American media rarely shows whole, complex and authentic images of black men, so by creating a space where these images can live, we hope that people will start to see things differently

"It’s a method used by those who want to create honest expression and healing dialogue among members of a particular group. It works like this: first, one person asks a question looking into camera, as if they are talking directly to another person. Later, another person responds by talking directly into a camera. This question-answer exchange, the Question Bridge, reduces the stress of normal face-to-face conversations and makes people feel more comfortable with expressing their deeply held feelings on topics that divide, unite and puzzle. This was the central approach used in the project. It provides the consumer with the opportunity to navigate through many questions asked by subjects as well as watching the answers from many and even answer the question themselves. 

"After the overwhelming success of the art installation, we wanted to expand the conversation and make it easier for Black males to participate across the country. So we created the site and app. And since questions and answers are added constantly, this creates a living archive of Black male voices that can be searched by location and timeframe – essentially generating a map of Black male identity. We want that map to be heavily populated in the next few years, so from September 2014 to summer 2016, the website and mobile app will be our main focus as we push for our participation goal of 200,000 Black males. We think that this will help us gain visibility as a place to find authentic Black male voices."

This section of the documentary is very interesting in terms of the layout of the videos. There are 5 different videos placed in a line and one of the subjects ask a question. Meanwhile the other 4 subjects are looking in his direction to make it seem as if they're there with him and listening. After the man asks the question, they all respond simultaneously and this looks very natural and flows very well. It makes it seem like they are all together side by side in a single space. Also the slight rotation in the end videos provide a sense of depth and perspective to the screen and almost drag the viewer in. 

We could use several aspects of Question Bridge for inspiration for our project, specifically the layout of the 5 screens as this works very well in engaging the audience. Also the way in which the subjects answer each others questions and even flow from each others statements could work very effectively in our project when intending to show the similarities and parallels between religions. For example, several subjects could be placed and edited together, speaking coherently after each other to form a single statements, implying a similar belief or view for several religions. The interaction and responses between characters is also a very effective method and we could look into including this in our piece. 

this technique could be used in ours to show the similarities and parallels 

Klynt Tutorials/Examples

http://webdoc.france24.com/billet_retour_bagdad/#Menu_

http://bruxelles.tv5monde.com

http://webdoc.france24.com/Gaza-Confidential/#intro

http://alpes-home.com/visite-interactive/#Home_1_-_Accueil

http://www.goodlife.film/#Experience_the_present

Sounds of Street View

http://www.amplifon.ie/sounds-of-street-view/index.html
"Sounds of Street View" is a multi-sensory tour featuring a unique 3D sound experience where you can explore and navigate through three chosen locations using it like google maps.

The 3D sound for "Sounds of Street View" is create through 5 different key elements which come together to produce the immersive 360 spacial audio which accompanies 360 video. These 5 elements are Placement, Distance, Bearing, Ear Imitation and Inverse Square Law. Below are short videos provided by the project which briefly explain what each aspect is and how they affect the audio. Also provided is the coding used by the project

Coding Template

/**
*  Adds a marker to the Street View map
* @param {Object}  data      settings for this marker, properties include...
*
*  {
*   data.name: String to be used as a name for this marker,
*   data.lat: Lattitude to use for position of this marker
*   data.lng: Longitude to use for position of this marker
*  }
*/
this.addMarker = function(data){

  var marker = new google.maps.Marker({
    map         : obj.panorama,
    title  : data.name,
    position  : new google.maps.LatLng(data.lat, data.lng),
    icon  : 'data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7'
  });
  
  obj.markers.push(marker);

}

Coding Template

define([], function(){

  var rad = function(x) {
    return x * Math.PI / 180;
  };
  
  /**
  * Calculates and returns the distance between 2 google latlng objects
  * @param {google.maps.LatLng}   p1   google LatLng position
  * @param {google.maps.LatLng}   p2   google LatLng position
  * @return {number}   
  */
  return function(p1, p2, metric){
    var R = 6378137,  // Earth’s mean radius in meter
    dLat = rad(p2.lat() - p1.lat()),
    dLong = rad(p2.lng() - p1.lng()),
    a = Math.sin(dLat / 2) * Math.sin(dLat / 2) + Math.cos(rad(p1.lat())) * Math.cos(rad(p2.lat())) * Math.sin(dLong / 2) * Math.sin(dLong / 2),
    c = 2 * Math.atan2(Math.sqrt(a), Math.sqrt(1 - a)),
    d = R * c;  // d = the distance in meter
    return d;    
  }
});

Coding Template

this.updatePan = function(lat, lng, heading){

 // Calculate base angle between the user and the sound
 var xDiff = data.lat - lat,
     yDiff = data.lng - lng,
     angle = Math.atan2(yDiff, xDiff) * (180/Math.PI);

 // Add POV heading offset
 angle -= heading;

 // Convert angle to range between -180 and +180
 if (angle < -180) angle += 360;
 else if (angle > 180) angle -= 360;

 // Calculate panPosition, as a range between -1 and +1
 var panPosition = (angle/90);
 if (Math.abs(panPosition) > 1) {
     var x = Math.abs(panPosition) - 1;
     panPosition = (panPosition > 0) ? 1 - x : -1 + x;
 }

 // Set the new pan poition
 sound.pos3d(panPosition, 1, 1);
}

Coding Template

this.updatePan = function(lat, lng, heading){

 // Calculate base angle between the user and the sound
 var xDiff = data.lat - lat,
     yDiff = data.lng - lng,
     angle = Math.atan2(yDiff, xDiff) * (180/Math.PI);

 // Add POV heading offset
 angle -= heading;

 // Apply lowpass filter *if* the sound is behind us (11,000hz = filter fully open)
 var freq = 11000;
 if (Math.abs(angle) > 90) {
     // User's back is to the sound - progressively apply filter
     freq -= (Math.abs(angle) - 90) * 100;
 }
 
 sound.filter(freq);
}

Coding Template

this.calculateVolume = function(distance){

 // Calculate volume by using Inverse Square Law
 vol = 1 / (distance * distance);
 // Multiply distance volume by amplitude of sound (apply ceiling max of 1)
 vol = Math.min((vol * data.db), 1);

 if (vol < 0.01) {
     if (sound.isPlaying) {
  obj.stopSound();
     }
 } else {
     if (!sound.isPlaying) {
  obj.playSound();
     }
 }

 return vol;
}

Creating your own

"Sounds of Street View" also provides you with the opportunity to create your own version, giving you a step by step guide on how to proceed in creating your own immersive tour.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Statement of Intent Feedback

• Consider types of religion, would it be best to focus more on more underground beliefs?
• Consider access to places of worship - start early in order to ensure it is gained.
• 360 degree vid cameras now available at university store, could be usable for interactive google maps/Abbey Road style tours
• Research Sounds of Street View 
• Distance and volume of sound - perspective 
• Sandra Gaudenzi - arrange tutorial for more iDoc feedback
• Klynt/Adobe Muse - possible software for interactive website building (Klynt appears more user friendly)

Arranging a Tutorial with Sandra Gaudenzi

Google Abbey Road

https://insideabbeyroad.withgoogle.com/en/all-access/studio-1/1023#x=-0.506&y=0.125&z=0.854

Inside Abbey Road is an interactive virtual tour of the famous Abbey Road studios, made in collaboration with Google, utilising their 360 degree Google Maps style technology. This creates a very immersive experience as it allows the user to walk through as though they are actually in the space, going at their own pace and focussing in on different things within the space. There is a further layer of interactivity added as there are points of interest within the space that can be clicked on in order to find out more information via text or through video. We would like to recreate something similar within religious spaces and can use this as inspiration.


https://www.lynda.com/Lightroom-tutorials/Welcome/447239/514599-4.html

Project Proposal

Initial working title: 

السلام عليكم
Peace Be With You

Summary: 

We propose to create an interactive documentary highlighting the similarities between people of different religions despite their religious beliefs causing conflict. Our experiential interactive documentary will take viewers through two places of worship, a Christian Church and an Islamic Mosque, providing the participant with the opportunity to meet members of each religious community. Through the introduction of these characters, the audience will gain insight into key issues each religion is facing whilst understanding the parallels that both groups share.

The documentary could begin with a split screen, showing the same perspective of the outside of each religious building. The viewer will then be able to select whether they want to visit the Church or the Mosque first, which will initiate a quick tour around either building. We then hope to introduce members of each religion, focusing on the issues their religion faces, but also their personal beliefs and values.

We’ve also considered visiting both the mosque and the church and shooting very similar shots frame by frame, and giving the option to the participant to press down on the spacebar in order to switch between the two different videos. This would be a very literal way to show the parallels between the religions.

Presentation Intentions:

Interactive Documentary - Screen based

Inspiration/Key References: 

http://kabulportraits.nfb.ca/main.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cllWl1u1fj0 https://insideabbeyroad.withgoogle.com/en/welcome https://www.teamgaza.nl/en/ https://digitalsynopsis.com/advertising/honda-civic-type-r-the-other-side/

Interactive Doc Home Screen Mock Up