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Scripted Design

Class 1: Introduction

25 March 2024

  1. Introduction
  2. Schedule
  3. Exercises
    1. Introduction
    2. Navigation
    3. Contextual instructions
    4. Contextual rules
    5. Daily videos
  4. Scripted design presentation
    1. Next class

Introduction

This week’s class introduced the course and key themes. It established the idea of script as instruction (as seen in Ollie’s PhD research).

Schedule

10.30 - 11.30
Course overview (looking through course documentation)

11.30 - 12.00
Exercises

12.00 - 13.00
Presentation on scripts

14.00 - 16.30
Exercises

Exercises

Introduction

At the start of the class, students were asked to write a basic physical movement (e.g. “keep your right arm moving”) on a piece of card. Cards were shuffled and redistributed, and students introduced themselves whilst obeying their cards’ instruction.

Students wrote basic physical instructions (e.g. “only move sideways”) on a piece of card. The cards were collected, shuffled, and redistributed. In pairs, students navigated away from the classroom for 15 minutes, obeying the pair of instructions, and recording video of their experiences. We then discussed the way the instructions were created, and how they changed everyone’s behaviour.

Contextual instructions

Students gathered instructions from their environment. What instructions are there on objects, walls, clothing, etc, in everyday life? These instructions may be decontextualised and re-used later.

Contextual rules

Students were asked to reflect on their own practice, and examine if they have any internally or externally imposed constraints on the way they work. The class then discussed these constraints. Responses varied hugely, but in general, there was an agreement about the distinctions between rules, constraints, and guidelines.

Daily videos

Finally, students decided on a set of constraints to use in the creation of their “daily videos”. Students had to decide a simple set of rules they’d follow in order to make 1 video per day for the duration of the course. Students must be able to make their video in less than 2 minutes each day, including setting up, and cleaning up (if necessary).

Examples of previous films made in this class can be found on the Exhibition page of this site.

Scripted design presentation

Ollie gave a presentation on Scripted Design, similar to this talk at Central St Martins:

Next class

Class 2 Class 3