Final product

My original project (click here for the description) was followed pretty closely, except for a few changes in content which I’ll explain in the following paragraphs.  It turned out looking as I initially pictured.  I really wanted to examine the linearity of a narrative through a line from one place to the final destination.  The only visual aspect I am not pleased with is that the Platial interface does not allow for customizing the map.  For example, if I wanted the viewer to see a close-up as they enter the map.  I would have liked some artistic freedom as well, but I realize in order to do that, I will just have to create my own site.

As I was working on my mapping project I realized it had a lot of potential if I had more time and better resources.  The roadtrip was arduous enough as it was, and having a project to do along the way was bittersweet.  My partner was happy to be helping me out since she was stuck in the passenger seat for 35 hours, but it was often difficult to get the right shot.  There were also times when we weren’t speaking to each other for whatever reason and during those long stretches of time no photograph was taken.  Of course, the map could be filled further if I had an extra day or two to spend taking pictures, but my brief timeline left no room for it.  I uploaded all of the pictures I had on my camera that were descent.  Many were of nothing at all and I believe those were missed attractions or signs because I remember that happening a lot.  

One problem that I didn’t anticipate was getting images at night while we were in motion.  My little point-and-shoot just wouldn’t cooperate…either that or my shaky hands were the problem.  To fix this problem I used the video option on the camera which worked quite well.  It wasn’t until I started uploading the images that I realized Platial does not support video or audio files.  So there are some blank spots for that reason as well.  Text was difficult to incorporate because the images I manipulated were “drive-by” shots that were really meant to be silly.  I added what I could, particularly when there were no images.  As long as the trip was, not much worth mentioning happened…not that I want to share with anyone anyways.  

The Platial interface was descent to work with.  A few glitches in the server were making it difficult to upload the images at a reasonable speed.  At a few points I was able to manipulate five images while uploading one to Platial.  Other than that, the program works pretty well.  I uploaded them directly from my computer instead of creating another step and putting them on Flickr first.  Had I wanted to use found images to fill in the gaps, Flickr would have been useful.  As much as I liked Platial, I think if I did a similar project I would use another mapping tool such as Flicker, or create my own interface so that I could incorporate video and audio files as well.

The process was a way of preparing for part of my thesis project so it was useful to view different narrative structures available in a tool such as Platial.  The obvious linearity of a roadtrip is what I was hoping for, but in the program you are also able to choose by icon, place, or title which images to view.  The project has assisted me in narrowing my focus for my web project and provided some possible interfaces to use, even just as examples from which I may create my own map.  New media has only become relevant to my artistic practices in the last year, but will certainly affect media choices I make in the future.