(www.americanhistory.si.edu/perfectunion)
Production company: Second Story
From the producers:
"During World War II, approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans
were forced out of their homes and placed in detention camps established
by the U.S. government. A More Perfect Union: Japanese Americans
and the U.S. Constitution Web site for the National Museum of
American History, explores a period in U.S. history when racial
prejudice and fear upset the delicate balance between the rights
of citizens and the power of the state. It tells the story of
Japanese Americans who suffered a great injustice at the hands
of the government, and who have struggled ever since to correct
this violation of civil liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Site visitors experience the story through interactive galleries
comprised of photographs, artifacts, and oral histories from the
Smithsonian collection. In addition, visitors can search an online
database of more than 800 artifacts from the collection, submit
memories and responses, and link to more resources and classroom
materials.
"The heart of this online exhibition is the "Story Experience"
comprised of 30 'gallery walls' featuring hundreds of items from
the Smithsonian's collection. The presentation borrows on traditional
exhibit design principles as opposed to print page-based or linear
broadcast designs. Visitors scroll across panels filled with photographs,
paintings, objects, artifacts, documents, first-person audio accounts
and interpretive text panels. Each of the six sections of the
experience features a distinctive look and sound: visual design
elements were derived from traditional Japanese fabrics, and an
original score was inspired by the Japanese Gagaku style of music."
The judges said:
“An in-depth site that does not overwhelm you despite
the vast amount of information available. Design is very clean
and sound is particularly impressive. One of the best exhibitions,
online or otherwise, I have seen in a long time.”
Installation
From
the producers:
"The purpose of this production was to present a compelling
and immersive video experience that examined the role of war correspondents
in a free society. The video drew from personal experiences, published
writings, historic photographs, archival film, news video and
original production. The presentation was on a 126 foot long,
nine screen video wall. The production supported a large traditional
exhibit featuring text panels, artifacts, photographs and videos
detailing the lives of war correspondents. Our core message was
that journalists who cover war are the eyes of the world and the
voice of those caught in the jaws of conflict. It is a calling
that involves great personal danger, extreme emotional duress,
and a constant balancing act between serving the public's need
to know, and protecting legitimate military secrets."
The challenge facing the producers:
"This was the largest most complex video production ever
undertaken by the Newseum, and involved more then 20 people working
over a period of nearly 18 months. A specially designed 9-lens,
9-recorder system was built specifically for the videowall, and
it captured seamless 9-screen images of military events. The single
most important lessen we learned is that when working on a large
canvas like this, pacing is critically important. It takes much
longer for a visitor to scan 9 screens and absorb all of the content
presented there, then to absorb content presented in a traditional
single screen theater. If the story moves too quickly, or the
text does not stay on the screen long enough, the visitor can
become frustrated. We tested the early versions extensively to
find the right balance between content and production value. What
started out as a ten minute production ended up being 26 minutes
long. Ultimately we decided that including critical content was
more important than keeping the video short. There was much discussion
about whether the video enhanced the exhibit or distracted from
it, but the visitor response to it was extremely positive."
The judges said:
"Video panels have a terrific rhythm. Used multiple projection
spaces in a refreshing way. Subject matter is dramatic and well
developed. Very engaging for the visitors."
Installation
From
the producers:
Visitors tour Alva Vanderbilt’s grand “summer cottage,”
Marble House, listening to her describe the creation of the house
she called her “fourth child.” From the memoirs of Alva,
her daughter Consuelo, Marble House Superintendent William Gilmour
and architect Richard Morris Hunt, the history of Marble House
(1888-1892) emerges. Built as a grand stage for Alva’s own
social ascent and the marriage of her daughter to English nobility,
it later became a backdrop for the women’s suffrage movement.
The script draws on personal diaries, letters, newspaper accounts
and oral history. The audio tour allows visitors to pace the tour
to suit their own interests. A core tour of about 35 minutes presents
the main elements of the story. Optional stops, totaling an additional
35 minutes add color insights into the history of the period,
the personalities, and the art and architecture. Giving visitors
control creates a more accessible learning experience.
Challenges facing the producers:
Creating a self-guided, sequential audio tour in a house as compact
as Marble House was a considerable challenge. Logical traffic
flow often conflicted with obvious story lines. The house is also
maintained with both its original décor in some rooms,
and décor from later periods of ownership in other areas.
The Preservation Society also decided to remain faithful to the
exact words of written memoirs from the principal characters.
As a result, the tour program required painstaking work by Preservation
Society staff, producers from Antenna Audio and the actors and
actresses who voiced the characters to create natural sounding
personae from an occasionally stilted literary form.
The judges said:
“The Marble House Audio Tour successfully avoided many of
the common pitfalls of historic house tours. It gave substantial
context by providing multiple points of view. The creative blend
of voices and original materials made the rooms come alive with
the history of the House and evoked a real space.”
www.historywired.si.edu
From
the producers:
"HistoryWired provides electronic visitors a glimpse into
the National Museum of American History's vast collections through
an innovative interface originally used to monitor the stock market.
The visit is driven by visitor interests, and reinforced by a
curatorial voice through stories, scholarship, and primary research
materials. The program emphasizes storytelling, and uses a lively
conversational voice. Visitors provide feedback to the Museum
and to each other by rating the objects. This is meant to mimic
the social atmosphere in a museum, and it also provides an opportunity
for visitors to shape the visit experience for others. The program
helps people find things they didn't know they were looking for.
Unlike most Web programs that narrow the field of possibilities,
this site allows or encourages people to come across interesting
and unexpected objects."
A tip from the producers:
"People have responded very positively to the program via
the comment form and visitor testing. We learned that everyone
moved through the program in different ways, many of which we
never anticipated. This indicates that success for this site lay
in providing meaningful experiences to visitors, no matter how
they approached the material."
The judges said:
“WOW! Lots of information that is well-written and effectively
laid-out. Innovative use of the Web. An amazing information grid
that brings a new meaning to database browsing. Creative use of
a data visualization technique taken from the financial industry.”
Installation
From
the producers:
"Voices of the Geniza is the key interpretive portion
of an exhibition concerning the Cairo Geniza, a hidden storage
room located within the ancient Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo Egypt,
which held a treasure trove of written fragments . These fragments,
some of which are on display within the exhibition, offer a rare
glimpse into the lives of Jews, Muslims and Christians living
in medieval Islamic lands. The multimedia presentation illustrates,
through dramatic readings and evocative imagery, the narratives
contained in 6 fragments. These fragments were selected for interpretation
due to their remarkable ability to transcend time and place, as
if they were being spoken by or about our neighbors. The presentation
consists of 3 simultaneously run videos. A pair of joined projections,
each 7' tall x 10' wide fill half the gallery with a visualization
of each narrative. In the other half the gallery, the fragment's
author appears as an apparition (through use of a Pepper's Ghost
technique) amid mounds of fragments and the rubble of the Geniza
cross-section.
Many of the pitfalls that might have been encountered producing
this multimedia installation were avoided by seeking out and finding
experienced technical advisors as well as by working with an exceptional
filmmaker. Tips: Observe visitor reactions in a variety of multimedia
installations to see what works and what doesn't; remain flexible
in your design and allow for a variety of hardware options."
The judges said:
"Recreations were extremely evocative of time and place.
Use of multiple projections was an interesting way to present
viewpoints. Great use of historic documents."
Installation
From
the producers:
When the Forest Ran Red chronicles the period leading up to and
including the stunning defeat of British General Edward Braddock’s
army by a much smaller force of French soldiers and their Native
American Indian compatriots in the dense wilderness of Western
Pennsylvania in 1755. A young George Washington, in ambushing
a small force of Frenchmen in Jumonville Glen, unwittingly sets
in motion the chain of events that touches off the French and
Indian War, the first true “world war,” between the
empires of Britain and France.
The film uses historical interpretation by scholars, battle recreations,
and period music. The events that set the stage for the transition
from colonial rule to democracy are rarely covered in school curricula
or the popular media. The exciting and fast moving presentation
raises awareness about this pivotal time period, and entertains
audiences in all demographic groups.
The release of When the Forest Ran Red comes at just the right
time to build awareness of Western Pennsylvania’s role in
shaping America during the French and Indian War, as the 250th
anniversaries of events depicted in the program occur between
2003 and 2005 and the seven Western Pennsylvania sites of the
French and Indian War become the subject of national interest.
A tip the producers learned from this project:
I found two things that were extremely helpful in working on this
project as the educational expert. I spent time reading the script.
The first time I read it through from a “does this capture
my interest” perspective. That read-through gave me a sense
of the rhythm of the action. The second time I read through the
script, I was looking only for vocabulary and sentence structure
over a 6th – grade reading level. I found it very helpful
to identify the reading level in developing related educational
activities and museum programming.
It was also very important for me to understand the larger historical
context for When the Forest Ran Red since it is but one episode
of the French and Indian War, also known as The Seven Years War.
As I continue to deepen my understanding about the time period
and the individuals who were involved in the conflict, I am better
able to draw connections between the history dipicted in the film
and the present. This is critical to making the film accessible
to our audiences, especially younger audiences.
The judges said:
“Scholarship is deep, structure is interesting and engaging.
Nice mix of reenactments, paintings, sketches and drawings. Good
job of presenting a seldom studied part of our past.”
Eternal Egypt, American Federation of the
Arts (Video)
 |
Head from a Statue of Thutmosis
III
Probably from Karnak
New Kingdom, Eighteenth Dynasty, reign of Thutmosis III (ca.
1479-1425 B.C.)
Graywacke |
Height 17 in. (44.5 cm)
Trustees of The British Museum
EA 986, acquired in 1875, purchased from Selma Harris
Note: Photography may not be cropped or otherwise altered.
Reproduction permission only for publicity in connection
with this exhibition.
|
The judges said: “Descriptions were concise. Video
was not overwhelming and enabled visitors time to view the exhibits
with “context” rather than didactics.”
From the Producers:
I especially like the ways in which [the video] incorporated the
objects that visitors are about to see. In particular, [the] use
of turning views and of details are well designed to encourage
viewers to look actively, rather than passively.
- Ann Russmann, AFA guest curator of the
exhibition and Curator, Department of Egyptian, Classical, and
Ancient Middle Eastern Art at the Brooklyn Museum of Art
As producers, we felt that Egyptian art can seem imposing and
remote, so people are often awed but also feel detached from the
objects in the galleries. We wanted viewers to get a feeling for
the personal meaning that many of these art works had for the
individuals who commissioned them. We chose four very different
pieces from the exhibition and told the story and personal significance
behind each of them.
- Robin White Owen, Owen Electric Pictures
Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from
The British Museum. The exhibition is organized by the American
Federation of Arts and The British Museum. This exhibition and
its national tour are made possible by Ford Motor Company. Additional
support has been provided by the Benefactors Circle of the AFA.
The catalogue is supported in part by Helen H. Scheidt.
Get to the Basement! Minnesota Historical Society
(Installation)
The judges said: “This object theater was very
entertaining and creatively staged. Sound was both evocative and
realistic.”
Shipwrecks of the Great Lakes, Inland Seas
Maritime Museum (Installation)
The judges said: "An original engaging topic; Great underwater
footage"
Rhythm Shakedown, Experience Music Project
(Installation)
The judges said: “Interesting presentation of something
familiar but not well understood: the recording of popular music.”
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