How to Improve the Production Process for interactive TV with semi-formal Methods

The central question for this paper is how to improve the production process by closing the gap between industrial designers and software engineers of television(TV)-based User Interfaces (UI) in an industrial environment. Software engineers are highly interested whether one UI design can be converted into several fully functional UIs for TV products with different screen properties. The aim of the software engineers is to apply automatic layout and scaling in order to speed up and improve the production process. However, the question is whether a UI design lends itself for such automatic layout and scaling. This is investigated by analysing a prototype UI design done by industrial designers. In a first requirements study, industrial designers had created meta-annotations on top of their UI design in order to disclose their design rationale for discussions with software engineers. In a second study, five (out of ten) industrial designers assessed the potential of four different meta-annotation approaches. The question was which annotation method industrial designers would prefer and whether it could satisfy the technical requirements of the software engineering process. One main result is that the industrial designers preferred the method they were already familiar with, which therefore seems to be the most effective one although the main objective of automatic layout and scaling could still not be achieved.

TV REGIONAL NO VALE DO PARAÍBA - SP: expansão, aspectos da audiência e modos de inserção local

Investigação sobre a regionalização das redes de comunicação, em especial a televisão, fenômeno que representa uma realidade de segmentação da comunicação massiva. Objetiva-se analisar e classificar as emissoras regionais de televisão com relação aos seus modos de inserção local, observando-se suas especificidades, programação, estratégias de comunicação e ações de conquista de identidade com a comunidade onde estão inseridas, além de tentar compreender como se deu a expansão da televisão nessa região, desde a implantação da primeira emissora, em 1988, na cidade de São José dos Campos SP. Tomando-se como recorte de estudo, as emissoras de televisão regional de sinal aberto no Vale do Paraíba, estado de São Paulo, foram realizadas entrevistas semi-abertas com profissionais das áreas comercial e de programação das mesmas e aplicados questionários junto a uma amostra da população do Vale do Paraíba que representa os telespectadores potenciais da área de cobertura dessas emissoras, a fim de se identificar a percepção que o público receptor tem a respeito da presença e atuação das televisões locais. Conclui-se que os diferentes modos de inserção local das emissoras influem diretamente na relação de identidade das mesmas com os telespectadores da região.(AU)

TV REGIONAL NO VALE DO PARAÍBA - SP: expansão, aspectos da audiência e modos de inserção local

Investigação sobre a regionalização das redes de comunicação, em especial a televisão, fenômeno que representa uma realidade de segmentação da comunicação massiva. Objetiva-se analisar e classificar as emissoras regionais de televisão com relação aos seus modos de inserção local, observando-se suas especificidades, programação, estratégias de comunicação e ações de conquista de identidade com a comunidade onde estão inseridas, além de tentar compreender como se deu a expansão da televisão nessa região, desde a implantação da primeira emissora, em 1988, na cidade de São José dos Campos SP. Tomando-se como recorte de estudo, as emissoras de televisão regional de sinal aberto no Vale do Paraíba, estado de São Paulo, foram realizadas entrevistas semi-abertas com profissionais das áreas comercial e de programação das mesmas e aplicados questionários junto a uma amostra da população do Vale do Paraíba que representa os telespectadores potenciais da área de cobertura dessas emissoras, a fim de se identificar a percepção que o público receptor tem a respeito da presença e atuação das televisões locais. Conclui-se que os diferentes modos de inserção local das emissoras influem diretamente na relação de identidade das mesmas com os telespectadores da região.(AU)

Nostalgic representation of reality in television fiction: an empirical study based on the analysis of the Spanish television series Cuéntame cómo pasó

The Spanish transition from dictatorship to democracy is often described as an example of negotiation or agreement between the elites (Sánchez Cuenca and Aguilar, 2009: 433). Journalistic and political elites, aware of their important historical role, agreed a consensus on certain issues (democracy, constitution, amnesty) or characters (King Juan Carlos I), in order to ensure the stability of the democratic process (Zugasti, 2007, 2008). Television, which articulates the discourse of the masses, has been one of the basic means used to illustrate the development. Among the highlights of recent major audiovisual content, Cuéntame cómo pasó (2001-present) -a TV-series designed to explain changes with a nostalgic tone in Spanish society since 1968 until today- stands out. By choosing a random sample of episodes for this research we propose to verify the validity of the representation of the political process which contextualizes the series. By analyzing many elements, such as the opinions of the main characters, their personal, political and geographical situations, we try to show the construction of a focal point that sanctifies the official version. We also stress the pacifying and nostalgic tone, which constructs stereotypes and taboos about the process and which characterizes this series as a symbolic culmination of the democratization undertaken by the elites.

Augmented and Virtual Reality techniques for footwear

The use of 3D imaging techniques has been early adopted in the footwear industry. In particular, 3D imaging could be used to aid commerce and improve the quality and sales of shoes. Footwear customization is an added value aimed not only to improve product quality, but also consumer comfort. Moreover, customisation implies a new business model that avoids the competition of mass production coming from new manufacturers settled mainly in Asian countries. However, footwear customisation implies a significant effort at different levels. In manufacturing, rapid and virtual prototyping is required; indeed the prototype is intended to become the final product. The whole design procedure must be validated using exclusively virtual techniques to ensure the feasibility of this process, since physical prototypes should be avoided. With regard to commerce, it would be desirable for the consumer to choose any model of shoes from a large 3D database and be able to try them on looking at a magic mirror. This would probably reduce costs and increase sales, since shops would not require storing every shoe model and the process of trying several models on would be easier and faster for the consumer. In this paper, new advances in 3D techniques coming from experience in cinema, TV and games are successfully applied to footwear. Firstly, the characteristics of a high-quality stereoscopic vision system for footwear are presented. Secondly, a system for the interaction with virtual footwear models based on 3D gloves is detailed. Finally, an augmented reality system (magic mirror) is presented, which is implemented with low-cost computational elements that allow a hypothetical customer to check in real time the goodness of a given virtual footwear model from an aesthetical point of view.

CHAMADAS PROMOCIONAIS: INFORMAÇÃO E PERSUASÃO NOS INTERVALOS COMERCIAIS DA TV RECORD

As chamadas promocionais são consideradas como um comercial da emissora. Através delas, o conteúdo da programação é divulgado para persuadir o público a assistir os programas. Esta investigação identificou que o uso de apelos verbais e visuais, aproxima as chamadas da linguagem publicitária. No entanto, as semelhanças com a publicidade não se dão no momento da exibição das peças. Baseando-se no conceito de redundância proposto pela Teoria da Informação e na Teoria da Aprendizagem da Mensagem, de Carl Hovland, a pesquisa realizou um estudo de caso das duas primeiras temporadas de A FAZENDA, exibidas na Rede Record de Televisão. Pôde-se concluir que as chamadas do reality show não foram exibidas de acordo com os conceitos publicitários de GRP, cobertura e frequência, desperdiçando o espaço dos breaks e causando superexposição das mensagens autopromocionais.

TV REGIONAL NO VALE DO PARAÍBA - SP: expansão, aspectos da audiência e modos de inserção local

Investigação sobre a regionalização das redes de comunicação, em especial a televisão, fenômeno que representa uma realidade de segmentação da comunicação massiva. Objetiva-se analisar e classificar as emissoras regionais de televisão com relação aos seus modos de inserção local, observando-se suas especificidades, programação, estratégias de comunicação e ações de conquista de identidade com a comunidade onde estão inseridas, além de tentar compreender como se deu a expansão da televisão nessa região, desde a implantação da primeira emissora, em 1988, na cidade de São José dos Campos SP. Tomando-se como recorte de estudo, as emissoras de televisão regional de sinal aberto no Vale do Paraíba, estado de São Paulo, foram realizadas entrevistas semi-abertas com profissionais das áreas comercial e de programação das mesmas e aplicados questionários junto a uma amostra da população do Vale do Paraíba que representa os telespectadores potenciais da área de cobertura dessas emissoras, a fim de se identificar a percepção que o público receptor tem a respeito da presença e atuação das televisões locais. Conclui-se que os diferentes modos de inserção local das emissoras influem diretamente na relação de identidade das mesmas com os telespectadores da região.(AU)

Cracking the USA? Interpreting UK-to-US TV Drama Translations

For well over half a century, British TV drama production has both inherited from and aimed to appeal to nations and cultures beyond the UK, particularly the lucrative (yet notoriously tough) US TV market. However, in the context of mainstream American broadcasting, British-produced imports have never been anything more than a peripheral presence on US small screens. A currently prominent production strategy aiming to counter the mainstream US TV market's aversion to foreign-sourced drama, in an attempt to access prime-time broadcasting positions, is a process which can be labelled as UK-to-US TV drama ‘translation’: the ‘recreation’ of British-based dramas within an American cultural framework. Whilst the cultural reconfiguration of game show and reality/lifestyle TV formats has received heightened critical attention in recent years, investigation into the international translation of TV drama remains less developed. This paper investigates both the internal textual operations and the external production dynamics involved in the process of UK-to-US TV drama translation, drawing on direct interview material from industry professionals. The UK and US versions of the crime drama Cracker constitute the core translation case study, utilising the close analysis of text and production context as a lens through which to examine the mechanics of UK-to-US TV drama translation.

Supporting collocated and at-a-distance experiences with TV and VR displays

Televisions (TVs) and VR Head-Mounted Displays (VR HMDs) are used in shared and social spaces in the home. This thesis posits that these displays do not sufficiently reflect the collocated, social contexts in which they reside, nor do they sufficiently support shared experiences at-a-distance. This thesis explores how the role of TVs and VR HMDs can go beyond presenting a single entertainment experience, instead supporting social and shared use in both collocated and at-a-distance contexts. For collocated TV, this thesis demonstrates that the TV can be augmented to facilitate multi-user interaction, support shared and independent activities and multi-user use through multi-view display technology, and provide awareness of the multi-screen activity of those in the room, allowing the TV to reflect the social context in which it resides. For at-a-distance TV, existing smart TVs are shown to be capable of supporting synchronous at-a-distance activity, broadening the scope of media consumption beyond the four walls of the home. For VR HMDs, collocated proximate persons can be seamlessly brought into mixed reality VR experiences based on engagement, improving VR HMD usability. Applied to at-a-distance interactions, these shared mixed reality VR experiences can enable more immersive social experiences that approximate viewing together as if in person, compared to at-a-distance TV. Through an examination of TVs and VR HMDs, this thesis demonstrates that consumer display technology can better support users to interact, and share experiences and activities, with those they are close to.

The user participation on facebook pages of the three Portuguese tv news channels – RTP3, SIC NOTÍCIAS, AND TVI24

In recent decades, the national and international media contexts, in particular television media, significantly changed. The role that social networks, in particular Facebook, have taken as a content diffusion platform is unquestionable. Nowadays, traditional media (radio, newspaper, television) use the Web’s potential to distribute news content (Canelas, 2011). Currently, all TV news channels in Portugal have a website or a page on social networks. TV stations have increased communication channels with the public on digital platforms and study strategies that promote the participation and interaction with the news content (Cazajeira, 2015). The TV / Internet convergence will not only reach the content, but also the consumer, who becomes an interactive and participative audience. This reality imposes on journalism a continuous and updated news production system, dependent on a user being permanently connected to the Internet (Cazajeira, 2015). In fact, a report launched by an autonomous institution that has the function of supervising and regulating the media Portugal (ERC, 2015), confirms the relevance that social media has assumed in the publication and consumption of news. Social networks are recognised as one of the most important means for news media consultation, right after television, and the practice of sharing news is very common among consumers of online news in Portugal. Furthermore, when compared to other countries analysed by Reuters Institute (Newman, Levy, & Nielsen, 2015), Portuguese consumers are those who make the most comments to online news, preferring social networks to news sites. Considering the importance of new online platforms for journalism, this study aims to present a quantitative analysis of user participation on the Facebook pages of the three Portuguese TV news channels, specifically RTP3, SIC Notícias and TVI24, between 8 and 14 February 2016. To track this participation, the following parameters were used: the "like" button as a way to study the demonstration of publication interest; "sharing" of a particular element, be it a photo, a video or a text, on the user Timeline, the Timeline of a friend or by private message. This monitoring is important to understand the dissemination of news content; and the comments area. The number of comments will help understand the dynamics and the discussion that the publication has on the public. The results of 1063 posts indicate that of the analysed parameters - "Like", "Comment", and "Share" – the one with the greatest power of participation among the users of the pages of the three Portuguese TV news channels is the "Like" system, followed by "Share" and then "Comment". The theme that generates the most user participation with "Likes" and “Comments” parameters are "Science and Technology", “Education” and “Humorous/Satirical/Unusual”. Finally, the publications available end of the night (10pm-1am) has better participation rates.

The presence of three Portuguese TV news channels (RTP3, SIC NOTÍCIAS, and TVI24) on facebook

In recent decades, the national and international media contexts, in particular television, media significantly changed. Although they were not created for the purpose, the role that social networks, in particular Facebook, have taken as a content diffusion platform is unquestionable. Nowadays, traditional media (radio, newspaper, television) use the Web’s potential to distribute news content (Canelas, 2011). Currently, all TV news channels in Portugal have a website or a page on social networks. TV stations have increased communication channels with the public on digital platforms and study strategies that promote the participation and interaction with the news content (Cazajeira, 2015). The TV / Internet convergence will not only reach the content, but also the consumer, who becomes an interactive and participative audience. This reality imposes on journalism a continuous and updated news production system, dependent on a user being permanently connected to the Internet (Cazajeira, 2015). In fact, an ERC report (2015) confirms the relevance that social media has assumed in the publication and consumption of news. Social networks are recognised as one of the most important means for news media consultation, right after television, and the practice of sharing news is very common among consumers of online news in Portugal. Furthermore, when compared to other countries analysed by Reuters Institute (Newman, Levy, & Nielsen, 2015), Portuguese consumers are those who make the most comments to online news, preferring social networks to news sites. Considering the importance of new online platforms for journalism, this study aims to present a quantitative analysis of user participation on the Facebook pages of the three Portuguese TV news channels, specifically RTP3, SIC Notícias and TVI24, between 8 and 14 February 2016. To track this participation, the following parameters were used: the "like" button as a way to study the demonstration of publication interest; "sharing" of a particular element, be it a photo, a video or a text, on their own Timeline, the Timeline of a friend or by private message. This monitoring is important to understand the dissemination of news content; and the comments area. The number of comments will help understand the dynamics and the discussion that the publication has on the public. The results of 1063 posts indicate that of the analysed parameters - "Like", "Comment", and "Share" – the one with the greatest power of participation among the users of the pages of the three Portuguese TV news channels is the "Like" system, followed by "Share" and then "Comment". Analysing the thematic that create the most user participation with "Likes" and “Comments” parameters are "Science and Technology". “Education” and “Humorous/Satirical/Unusual Finally, the publications available end of the night (10pm-1am) has better participation rates.

Media Gótico: O Crime e seu Duplo Ficcional na Literatura, TV e Cinema

Crime possesses a dual nature deriving from its portrayal in the media leading to duplicity in the act of witnessing crime which by showing reality inevitably transforms it into a different kind of reality. The direct relationship with the Gothic genre is very naturally justified by real crime seeming to replicate fictional crime and vice versa, thus originating various forms of the lack of distinction between reality itself and fictional reality, or between truth and falsehood, which many writers and artists associated with Gothic aesthetics have always relied on, and numerous examples of this can be found in the works of Edgar Poe, Patricia Highsmith, Chuck Palahniuk and many others. While real crime may take the Gothic novel as its prototype, it turns out that nowadays television has taken on this role. Examples of this phenomenon are the recent symptoms of obsessive dependence on TV series such as C.S.I., Criminal Minds, The X Files, The Following and Dexter, showing a tendency for television series to replace Gothic novels, thus revealing a perverse attraction for witnessing violence through the same means that transmit the daily news featuring violent events in different scenarios of war all over the world.