'Subway', despite being an implausibly huge download, was and is an attractive and compelling demonstration of narrative execution on the Web. It presented a concise graphical arrangement of differing audio visual elements, combined in the structured form of a portfolio, harnessing the capabilities of Macromedia Director to the end of showcasing the potential benefits and inherent attractions of user-controlled interactivity and synchronous audio-visual compositions.
September 06, 2000|Layer 2/4
Arnaud's style is a fusion of vernacular elements, arranged in such a way as to draw the eye towards points of focus that lie separate from the navigational structure of the piece as a whole, and therefore toward the content of the visual and technological creativity. Users are urged and encouraged to rework the interplay between the visual and aural elements of his work in an exploratory fashion, allowing the piece as a whole to generate new contexts and meanings. There is a great deal of detail packed in to his work, and it relies heavily on the user being conversant in the intuitive action grammars of the Web. In this way it is rewarding, intriguing and decisively culturally specific.
September 06, 2000|Layer 3/4
UP The new Deluxe edition is more a micro site than a full-on portfolio, but that is not to say that it does not have its' own kind of content. Where the first version perhaps had a more extensive range of presentations, 'UP' emphasises the wide range of user interactivities that make technology useful and entertaining. In and of itself it is graphically compelling, but it also calls into question conventional notions of authorship by abandoning virtually every separate element to the aesthetic discretion of the viewer/(reader?).
September 06, 2000|Layer 4/4
As always this is the province of the initiated few (read: web designers) as opposed to the uninitiated many. But in fairness, in order for techniques such as these to permeate more mainstream venues and contexts it is obviously necessary for those creating the language to become familiar with its' capabilities. If anything Elixirstudio champions those capabilities. It does so by manifesting the underlying editorial functions of interactivity in terms of its ability to rewrite graphical and semantic contexts, using simple mouse interactions and intuitive graphical signgage. Simple but effective alterations, implemented in a very smooth interface make this site a joy to look at, and play with. Where we go from there is a question we are left to deal with.
September 06, 2000 | Layer 1/4
