FOUNDED IN 1999, THE SHERIDAN Visualization Design Institute was – and is – a pioneer in understanding the concept of "visualization". That is, essentially deploying technology to create simulations of that we cannot see or fully imagine.
Launched with funding support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, VDI is dedicated to innovation in the field of computer visualization, and specializes in developing high-quality, interactive digital media applications for education, training, and entertainment. Situated within Sheridan’s renowned high-tech animation teaching environment, the institute’s team of researchers, artists, and technologists has a successful ten-year track record of diverse projects produced in collaboration with corporate, government, and academic partners.
After VDI’s founding director moved on within Sheridan to spearhead a formal games curriculum in early 2007, Julia Walden was appointed director and has since worked with the institute’s team to focus on rapidly emerging areas of interactive digital media that are critical to both the institute’s and Ontario’s competitiveness. Walden says her work as a digital media policy analyst for the Ontario Ministry of Culture, after running her own company and working 24/7 for ten years, gave her time to step back and reflect on the rapidly evolving interactive digital media sector. By her definition, interactive digital media occurs at the intersection of technology and content. Each content project is built on the platforms that the unique software and hardware enables.
Recent VDI projects have focused on, for example, 3D games that use proprietary technology created by the Spatial View for the iPhone; new ‘touchless and clickless’ interfaces deploying low-energy motion analysis technologies; and a ‘mash-up’ tool created for use by civic and industry leaders at the 2007 Mississauga City Summit by retro-engineering a beta stage social media application. VDI programmed the tool onto laptops that Summit participants (including Mayor Hazel McCallion) used in breakout sessions to visualize and brainstorm solutions. The collaboration tool was a catalyst that inspired summit participants to solve problems and create new visions for their city in the form of their own personalized mash-up movie. Summit participants were keen to take home their mash-ups on a memory stick to distribute their messages among colleagues, friends, and family; i.e. their ‘social networks.’
This is the first in a series of exclusive interviews from mediaINTELLIGENCE.ca president and CEO Mitch Nadon profiling innovators in the media marketplace for Cartt.ca.
Mitch Nadon: What are the difficulties you, your lab and the institute face?
Julia Walden: The number one challenge is identifying funding for applied research. Initially, the work was hugely experimental and unique as visualization was an emerging field of research; however, now the field is competitive with other learning institutions and private sector companies building capacity. Also, as it falls into the general digital media sector, this creates a secondary challenge to make funders and stakeholders understand its importance and positioning relative to other sectors such as linear film, and animation.
MN: Why do our industry leaders and the media labour market place need to know about this?
JW: The world is increasingly complicated and visualizations help people to understand it. The New York Times, working with IBM’s technology, recognizes this and has created a ‘visualization lab.’ The lab allows people to go to the NY Times lab to create visual representations of data and information and that helps them to interpret and discuss in just the same way that VDI did for the Mississauga City Summit.
This is especially important to younger generations and is how young people learn now – they’re just always "ON." The people we are targeting are for the most part the demographic that grew up with video games and the most viable screen for this audience is mobile. The younger audiences want to take part in content creation so that hybrid amateur/professional content is at the core of the most successful social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
We knew that intuitively years ago when I worked with Martha Fusca, CEO of Stornoway Communications on her company’s successful bid for four digital channels in 2000. I could see it then. We created an interactive website called Canada’s braindrain.ca (now closed) with Canoe way back in 2000. Audiences could influence the content of the site by basically responding to questions which would trigger content to come forward on the site.
But the privacy and other issues; for example, copyright – with amateur-created content are well known. We recognize this. One of the researchers in our institute is leading a project in collaboration with children’s production company, Pipeline Studios located on Sheridan’s campus, on how to moderate peer-to-peer communication among children in a non-invasive, cost efficient way that permits more natural communication.
MN: How does business get created? where is the money?
JW: It’s important to bear in mind that while we conduct ‘applied research’ by working with companies and that is closer to the market than ‘pure’ research conducted, for example, in a university environment, it is the role of the collaborating company to create the business. Another model is to create a spinoff company should we develop a commercially viable product which is definitely a possibility given our track record. One of our biggest supporters is Ontario Centres of Excellence whose INTERACT program funds small projects of typically less than $15K and that require only 10% cash from industry partner. OCE covers the balance of cash costs and Sheridan puts in some in-kind. Our most recent OCE funded project was the proof of concept 3D game for the iPhone. OCE underwrote a three-way collaboration among Astral’s Family.ca, Sheridan Visualization Design Institute and Spatial View. This allowed Spatial View to take it to the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona so they’d have product to display.
MN: Who’s getting it? Who isn’t it?
JW: If you are asking about digital media, broadcasters have had a big voice in this country but it is increasingly difficult to protect them by regulation. They are, by and large, risk averse – by necessity – due to their responsibilities to their shareholders. It was only at the recent CRTC hearings when they said out loud what anyone who has watched You Tube already knows – that the value chain is broken.
If you’re asking about interactive digital media, a community of practicse has grown up over the past ten years among mostly Ontario’s small to medium sized companies represented by Interactive Ontario. These companies, which also includes major games studios, are exploring new business models all the time. The most recent evidence of this was Ubisoft’s announcement last July that it will open a full new studio in Toronto.
Visualization is understood by enterprises such as IBM. In addition to the visualization tools, IBM was an early adopter of virtual immersive worlds such as Second Life. Learning institutions are teaching inside Second Life as well, and many of the innovators in this area are the military who use virtual worlds for training.
MN: What needs to be done to get this message across? Can it be gotten across?
JW: To be candid – there are lots of conferences full of sessions about this. For example should you review successful grant proposals to a recent Social Sciences Research Council Research Grants call under the Text Image Sound Program – you can see that many of the learning institutions got funding to hold discussion sessions which is helpful; however, the Visualization Design Institute proposed a practical project that would provide a model project.
Canada seems to be stuck at a stage where people talk about the importance of digital, typically not making the distinction between digital and interactive digital such as games and social networking. People who are in the position of granting funding support have to take some risks and fund projects – projects that they may not understand fully due to the specialized expertise required by interactive digital media practitioners.
This is where the real growth potential is and Ontario needs to capitalize on its resident expertise to stake its place in the world of interactive digital media.
