creating displays of virtual objects and events

Creating Displays of Virtual Objects and Events

Marie Vans(amvans.Lapis

March 5, 2014

This: and this:•

Why Should we care?

Are now This: And This:

Documenting Virtual Worlds

• Objects you build exist only in your inventory or in the VW environment if pulled out• No other way to back up your work in-world

– Except maybe give copies to another avatar• Other VW programs may let you import/export

objects, but generally not in SecondLife

What if we want to re-create it?

Intricate Builds Modified over time

Similar Experiences & Events

Capturing Spontaneous Events

Jousting Dance

Meeting new friends Saying Good-bye

Document Builds

The Butcher The Baker

The Candlestick User?

Capturing Your Work

Books about Tudor Architecture Book that can be thumbed through

Artifacts related to the Tudor Era A Machinima documenting the Renaissance Faire

Machinima, Photography, & Machinima of Photography

• Default Mode: Take pictures using your in-world camera where ever you go and save them to your hard drive.– In-world events– Field trips– Your own builds– Other people’s builds– Your environment– Whatever you might want to keep a record of.


• Use a video screen-capture program to record events real-time– Not very easy if you have to interact heavily• Especially the free-version of Fraps where you

have to hit F9 every 30 seconds.– Can freeze your system and you won’t be able to

move easily in-world– Try very hard to get the back of your head out of the

picture – learn how to use mouse-view and your keyboard to move the camera around


• Things I learned the hard way:– Forgetting to turn off button clicks and ambient sound in

preferences.– Getting rid of unnecessary windows (like mini-map,

minimized inventory)– Turning off notifications (“A hot new outfit has been

released by….”)– Turning off tags when there are a lot of avatars in the

picture.– Pan around to keep it interesting, it becomes boring if you

use the same angle and focus for the whole shoot.• Remember– You probably won’t use all the footage you take• BUT…you can’t add back what you don’t have


• Editing– Get a good video editing program so you can cut your head

out of the picture in the event it shows up.– Put photos, into an order that makes sense, such as the

correct sequence of an event…tell a story– Mix it up – try interspersing photos with video.– ADD Titles – it helps the viewer figure out what they are

looking at– Get an audio recording/editing program (like Audacity) – Give everyone credit

• If you use royalty free music, make sure to give the artist credit and add the URL so viewers can find it for themselves.

A final message

–Videos and photos can be kept outside of the VW environment• YouTube, Vimeo, Picassa, Facebook,

other Social networks• But… no guarantee your favorite social

network will still exist in 3-5 years• So…keep copies of your photos and

videos backed up on your own computer &/or storage devices

creating displays of virtual objects and events

Education