A VJ Centered Exploration of Expressive Interaction Jonathan Hook 1 David Green 1 John McCarthy 2 Stuart Taylor 3 Peter Wright 1 Patrick Olivier 1 1 Culture Lab School of Computing Science Newcastle University, UK 2 People and Technology Dept. of Applied Psychology University College Cork, Ireland 3 Socio-Digital Systems Microsoft Research Cambridge Cambridge, UK {j.d.hook, d.p.green, p.c.wright, p.l.olivier}@ncl.ac.uk john.mccarthy@ucc.ie stuart@microsoft.com ABSTRACT This paper identifies key themes of expressive interaction for VJs. VJs are visual artists who use digital media to express themselves to an audience during a live audio- visual performance. Those designing for the expressive use of technology can gain insight from an articulation of expressive interaction from the perspective of VJ practice. This is developed using a novel qualitative methodology designed to be sensitive to the subtle and tacit nature of expression. We detail our methodology, present the results of its application to a group of VJs and conclude with a discussion of the implications our findings may have for those wishing to design for VJs, or those in related domains that involve expressive interaction with technology. Author Keywords Creative response, dialogue, documentary film, expressive interaction, methodology, thematic analysis, VJ. ACM Classification Keywords H5.m. Information interfaces and presentation (e.g., HCI): Miscellaneous. General Terms Design, Human Factors. INTRODUCTION Expression, “the action of making known one's thoughts or feelings” [22], relates to the conveyance of ideas and emotion through the manipulation of a medium. In music for example, expression inhabits the nuances of a performance and is often associated with communicating emotion, or evoking an emotional response, in the audience [4, 23]. Similarly in art, a work is said to be expressive if, for an observer, it arouses a particular feeling or emotion [18]. Hence, if it is to contribute to the design of expressive interaction, HCI needs methods that are sensitive to the more nuanced spaces of user activity that expression inhabits. Moreover, a deeper understanding of expressive interaction would assist those wishing to design for the growing body of expressive and creative users of technology and would provide a distinct standpoint from which novel ideas about interaction may be developed. In this paper we make two contributions to the field of expressive interaction. We provide an analysis of the important qualities of interaction for one group of users for whom expressivity is pivotal, video-jockeys 1 25 (VJs). Our findings provide a novel perspective on expressive interaction, which has the potential to inspire and guide future discussion of the topic in HCI. The methodology we developed to explore expressive interaction for VJs involved a novel twist on qualitative research methods that responds to the creative nature of the group involved. The methodology used combines two well-known approaches to qualitative research, documentary film [ ] and Focus Groups, and includes a novel Creative Response activity. As well as helping us to understand VJ practice, our methodology may also be a useful mechanism for exploring other creative and expressive settings. EXPLORING EXPRESSIVE INTERACTION AMONG VJS VJs adapt and appropriate technology in order to attain expression through visual media. Indeed, it might be helpful to consider them as pragmatic designers [7] who in the development of a performance evaluate technology primarily in terms of expression. By studying the qualities that underpin the VJ’s relationship with technology we sought to uncover insights from a novel perspective that will assist in the understanding of expressive interaction. We also believe that this approach will help to inform the development of expressive interfaces for both the VJ and potentially those in related disciplines such as electronic music. VJing and other creative performance domains have been considered previously in an interaction design context. A primary concern of this research was the relationship between performer and audience. Interactive surfaces have been designed to make the audience aware of a VJ’s actions using enhanced visibility [17] and collaboration [32]. Empirical studies have also explored aspects of this relationship [9] and addressed issues including the spectator 1 The VJ is a visual artist whose practice is based upon the live performance of visual media such as video or computer generated imagery; a comprehensive description can be found in [8]. Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. CHI 2011, May 7–12, 2011, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Copyright 2011 ACM 978-1-4503-0267-8/11/05...$5.00.