The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

The Immersive Bestiary “The Tower of Beasts”

An immersive exploration without equal, poetic, beautiful and humourous all at once, into the heart of a universe populated by fascinating creatures from folklores that have marked the horizons and the ages…

SUMMARY

I Description II General and specific objectives III Creature origins and territories of reference IV Description and general criteria for a Bestiary creature V General scripting principles for the CD-ROM

VI Navigational principles and central metaphor 1- The animated exploratory interface: cartography of an evolving ecosystem 2- The animated index/thematic interface 3- Examples of navigation VII Research partners and co-creator students 1- Production teams 2- Instructions for collaborative production between professors and students 3- Specific scripting instructions for students and co-creators of the Bestiary Example of an interactive module: Melusina’s story 4- Canadian production team VIII Financing 1- Bursaries and subsidies 2- Other methods of financing IX Fall production schedule – Winter 2005/2006 X The creatures of the immersive Bestiary XI Graphic chart (points to remember) XII Miscellaneous

Conclusion

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“Who knows? Who knows if the turtle is not a rock that, with the force of dreams, manages to move forward...” Guy Marchands, québécois poet; excerpt from « Bestiaire »

I Description

This CD-ROM of interactive and immersive art introduces a universe beyond the usual, born from the imaginations of students and researchers of about 10 universities around the world, presented in an explorational and poetical way, where fabulous creatures from different countries reflect the folklores of each country.

II General and specific objectives The bestiary is an international co-production created within the context of the International University of Multimedia, and includes institutions from China, Brazil, Madagascar, France and Ile de la Réunion, and of course, Canada. This is an interuniversity project unique in its field, mobilising the talents and passions of a significant team of participants from all over the world. The bestiary, as its name indicates, constitutes a collection of work bearing witness to extraordinary creatures inspired by legend, gathered with a view to starting a rare and valuable collection. Some modules are imbued with cryptozoology, this pseudo-science dedicated to fabulous creatures, as scientific as it is serious, while other modules reveal a narrative fiction woven together as accurately as possible from legends. An exploration meant to truly keep a reader busy for hours, the goal of this bestiary is, first and foremost, to be an authentic audiovisual and poetic multimedia masterpiece, taking into account not only the undeniable cultural richness from numerous worldwide folklores, but also taking a specific interest in the creator (illustrators, authors, directors) and their search for inspiration. The audio environment will aid in the user’s complete immersion in this world of discovery, a feast for the ears, as well as the eyes.

Otherwise, this international research project and creative endeavour is of a totally unique type and is the largest university co-production of its type currently being undertaken.

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The knowledge of and ability to keep up with current working practices and multimedia approaches unique to each country (because numerous methods of project management may be revealed), aim to reflect all at once, a common vision of the way to understand the creation of media, facilitated by UIM. Therefore, in permitting the students and researchers of about 10 undergraduate educational institutions to work together, the project also allows participants to better understand and practice knowledge and expertise specific to each institution, connected by a common theme. In so doing, the Bestiary offers a unique opportunity for openness and learning as much in regards to format (to understand how others work and produce, with a view to adapting themselves to that) as well as in the basics (in order to learn different countries’ different scripting approaches used to present the legends) with total liberty and responsibility regarding the (re)presentation of their folklore. Finally, we aim to enter the immersive bestiary in the next competition for the Moebius Prize for Multimedia [Prix Moebius du multimédia] held in Montreal, in 2006. This will permit, if the work should be chosen, the better promotion and recognition of UIM’s educational and research contribution. It would also be the first multicultural project whose “paternity” does not originate from one single country. This is especially relevant in a highly competitive sector of professional production. If the project isn’t chosen at this stage (the deadlines being very tight), at least it might be submitted to other festivals and media arts competitions, and certainly, we hope, prepared for eventual commercialization.

III Creature origins and territories of reference

The Bestiary project (as open as it is continually evolving) is designed to keep growing over time, with the addition of new creatures, via new UIM university partnerships. Therefore, possible new UIM member universities would allow not only the extension of the International University of Multimedia, but would extend the reach of this project, by the richness of their multicultural offerings (new folklores and creatures from these new countries).

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IV Description and general criteria of a Bestiary creature

Each creature in the Bestiary (called a Beast), must absolutely have a legendary character, recognized by an oral historical tradition and connected to a specific region of the globe, (however closely- or distantly-related to different folklores that exist, even on the same continent) of UIM member countries.

We’re sorry to have to make such drastic boundaries, but we need to have a specific and limited list of creature types, so as not to drown in all the possibilities given the time constraints prior to the 2006 Moebius Prize, which currently constitutes the deadline for the production of a prototype.

The creatures may not be simple hominids, no matter their popularity. One student humourously introduced the project to a class by saying: “Santa Claus, the tooth fairy, ogres, dwarves and witches are not admissible.”

Conversely, the Bestiary will be an inventory of all hybrid creatures, whether they are semi-human (Jack O’Lantern) half-animal (the centaur) or whether they belong with the legendary hybrids (the Sphinx). We will not exclude the mythical, totally supernatural creatures (dragons, gargoyles, etc.). We will avoid as much as possible creatures that are linked to religious beliefs of the great ages and civilisations, unless those beliefs are firmly anchored in a folklore linked to a very specific story, geographic population or territory (in order to not recreate the entire egyptian, roman, and greek bestiary). Finally, creatures born from the fertile imaginations of some of the great writers (Verne, Tolkien, etc.) must also be set aside for the moment in order to make the production of the CD-ROM possible within a year.

V General scripting principles for the CD-ROM

Aims:

The user of this poetic-artistic CD-ROM undertakes a journey, as entertaining as it is instructive, throughout the whole of the multicultural content: an introductory and explorative journey into the heart of the utopic world of Beasts.

This fantastical universe, imagined by students the world over, sees legendary creatures from every time and place living together, having given life to the myths of civilisations in every corner of the world. In looking at a detailed map of this living bestiary, the user will encounter an imaginary and fabulous world where mythical creatures from every known horizon (from the chimera to the gargoyle, Wendigo Sasquatch and the Mandragore) evolve and interact freely by means of artificial intelligence scripting. The two types of navigation, exploratory or indexed, offer a metaphorical and living bestiary, as spectacular as it is fun to discover.

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These interfaces, strongly inspired by the Persian illuminations and the Book of Hours, aim to make this production a truly pictoral, iconographic and interactive masterpiece. The two navigational access points to the Bestiary - exploratory and indexed - both of them intuitive, instructional and entertaining in terms of user interaction, will present a range of creatures to look at in a random or customized and organized way. Each type of access will allow the user to meet each of the creatures over the course of an interactive module, within its own context, with its own habits and mysteries, which can be discovered by experimentation with the cursor and the user's imagination, in order to unearth all the secrets the bestiary holds. Throughout the entire length of the exploration, the user will be bothered by a mischievous, uncontrollable and indestructible little fly, who will seize the cursor and wake up, tease or harrass the creatures of the Bestiary, and who in turn, will constantly want to be rid of it. The behaviour of this hyperactive insect will therefore inject touches of humour (appropriate to the comical situations that sometimes arise between species) into the exploration of the Bestiary. Technical details: The resolution of your Interface will be 1024 pixels x 768 pixels. It will be done in the software Director, which can include flash content in it. It should consist in a file .exe with all the sounds and musics included within too, but in a linked external cast to optimise the weight of the file (.exe) during its loading. The maximum size of the projector file (.exe) will be 70 Mb.

VI Navigational principles and central metaphor The Bestiary is, first and foremost, a cartography of the utopic world where creatures from every horizon coexist, and who have taken refuge in an adapted version of the Tower of Babel legend, now become the Tower of Beasts. The choice of such a mythical metaphor is backed up by the famous passage of the Bible dedicated to the Tower of Babel, that becomes, according to the writings, the shelter of snakes, birds and other animals seeking refuge after the the abandonment of the construction site by humans. Getting to know the bestiary will therefore be a matter of exploring the various regions of the cartography of this parallel world (in random discovery mode) as much as discovering the various shelters and refuges the creatures have found in the Tower of Beasts, by continent and habitat type (within the thematic indexed search mode).

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1- The animated exploratory interface: cartography of an evolving ecosystem. The first means of discovering these creatures is random at the same time as it is exploratory – it consists of watching creatures pop up randomly as they move about their world (from a moving, detailed and aerial map view) animated as the creatures go about their activities according to the time of day and their habits.

2- The animated index/thematic interface The other method of discovering these creatures is to go to their common home, there where all have established their homes or stone lairs, and where they find their eternal refuge: the Tower of Beasts. Derived from the famous Tower of Babel and become for this occasion the Tower of Beasts, once it has been delivered to the animal creatures, as stipulated by the Bible, it should, according to legend, shelter birds, snakes and other creatures after the withdrawal and flight of humans. The Tower of Beasts is also a powerful and functional visual metaphor, serving as a search engine for the thematical and geographic indexation of creatures (by continent and country, as well as by habitat type [aquatic, subterreanean, forest-dwelling, aerial, etc.]).

3- Examples of navigation

The aerial map for example, will offer, by way of an artificial intelligence based on the time machine and the length of the user's Bestiary experience, an aerial view of the random evolution of creatures in their world. The user can, for example, observe the world at five in the morning (Beast time) and see satyrs, werewolves, wendigos and gargoyles coming home to rest, whereas the Centaurs, the chimeras, or the Chupacabra will wake and find food when the hours suit, according to the seasons, climates and laws of this otherworldly place (notably the user’s time machine, where 10 minutes corresponds to 4 hours of a Beast Day). In this way, the user will never have the same experience twice with the same creature, as presented according to the time laws of the world in random ways, in order that they may experience mysterious and different meetings, each time they use the program.

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VII Research partners and co-creator students

Given that the project is co-produced by undergraduate university student teams from about 10 different universities, brought together under the aegis of the UIM, the idea is to let each member university participate by inviting them to contribute creatures from their own country and continent to the Bestiary. Many creatures taken from Aboriginal legend in Canada will stand beside those of Brazil and Aztec, Inca and Mayan legend, and those of the Indian Ocean and Madagascar and Ile de la Réunion, will evolve beside those of China and Eurasia, with enough room for those of France and its close European neighbours. Several researcher-professors have already indicated their interest in being associated with this project and putting together a research team: - Edith Puiglambert (France): [email protected] - Gilles Methel (France): [email protected] - Rodolphe Séraphine (Ile de la Réunion): [email protected] If you wish to join the team, thank you in advance for contacting us and sending us your contact information. We hope many people will join so that the project can be as wide-ranging as possible! 1- Production teams The Bestiary, a university coproduction based on international collaboration, is a creative research project unique in its field. Join us and become co-creator of this inclusive world!

Call to partners researcher-professors and students of all UIM member universities for the Fall/Winter of 2005-06. Each UIM member university is invited to actively collaborate on or participate in the Bestiary project, via the concrete involvement of one of the researcher-professors, who wishes to see the Bestiary evolve within a transcontinental, multicultural and ethusiastic working atmosphere. It is up to the professor to get a few students (interested in being co-creators of the work) from their university together, and to supervise them (with respect to project information and follow-up) for meeting deadlines and instructions. The students (but professors are also invited to do this!) must conceive of and create one of the interactive modules, dedicated to a fabulous creature from their country. The scripting will – and indeed must – always be varied in terms of interactive concepts, but the graphic style must be followed as closely as possible (according to the graphic chart and examples supplied by Canada.) Therefore we call on the universities of France, Ile de la Réunion, Brazil, China and Madagascar to actively participate in the project so that it may see the light of day, by permitting some of their students to play the role of primary co-creators, by way of: a) a provided production schedule, punctuated by periods of creation: brainstorming, scripting, technical planning and prototyping of interactive modules for new creatures from their country (one, at least, from each student participant): October 2005 to April 2006. b) an intensive collaboration phase with various participating professors, researchers and students, selected within the framework of the 2006 summer school, held between May 1st and 13th at Ile de la Réunion, on the theme of the collaborative multimedia production of the Bestiary.

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This interuniversity education will, over the course of almost two weeks, alternate theoretical lectures relating to production (in the morning) and practical workshops on the questions discussed earlier, in the afternoon. In addition, this coming together of participating teams (whether they are complete or not) will allow the finalization of the integrational phase of each graphic module, as well as the essentials related to navigation, of the scripting and production of main summaries and interfaces, (permitting access to each graphic module) that will have been established during the year.

2- Instructions for collaborative production between professors and students

Each professor may work jointly on the project (In its general format, as within the specific interactive modules developed by students) but should be aware that there may be several universities in the same country, working on the project via their own folklores (as several member universities exist in China and in France) and that there are no limits to the number of possible participants. It will be up to each university to inform the other and to get informed, as to the choice of creatures of each participant and the instructions for the project. The weekly student workload should be anticipated to be as much as two hours per week, from September to April, with periods of more intense work in March, May and June. Concretely speaking, each student should find one or two creatures from their country, or close neighbour-countries that are creatures not entirely human (fantastical or animal, hybrids with a real- world geographical basis as the starting point for their legend – refer to Section IV of this document for their description. This means: no ogres, dwarves, witches, and other legendary human figures; only supernatural creatures. That done, the student will then need to script the module and its scenario, its environments, the audio-visual atmosphere, interactivity and the graphical universe, allowing the user to encounter the creature in its natural environment (to be created from the student's imagination) on one main interactive screen page. The user must also be allowed to discover fragments of the creature's legend by way of an exploratory and poetical interaction. Only a short written text will be accessible and left for the user to discover (hidden somewhere in the module, but first and foremost, placed in context) which summarizes the legend as a complement to the visual and interactive discovery of the creature, based more on atmosphere and lived experience, than on a didactical or encyclopedic approach. A specific bestiary font (elsewhere entitled “Bestiary”) for this text, was created this summer in Canada (see below).

This complementary information will be presented in a style that borrows from illuminated manuscripts, with this typography, or another that resembles it, comprising of an animated drop-cap letter.

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The student will create a typewritten script of the module, which will be the subject of exchanges with other groups of students from other universities (email distribution list to be established – thank you for sending us the participant contact information for this purpose) in view of getting feedback and enrichments from all involved. Then a technical outline will be created (storyboard, a simple representation of the screen with clickable zones and primary zones of action) and provided for the illustration of possible interactions with the creature. Finally, a prototype of the creature will be created, in the form of a module made using (preferably) Director or Flash – academic versions to be determined, created in approximately the required graphic and production style prior to finalizing it and submitting, at the end of January – February at latest, the finalized module. It should be noted that, in order to ensure the continuity of the audiovisual content, it may be that the graphic style of the module will be reworked with regard to certain details (in the most minor of ways, we hope!) by the Canadian team in the final phase of integration for a good sense of graphical continuity. But the main scripting, the visual as much as possible (so that we might also avoid an overload of work) and all interactivity will be true to the prototypes provided by the students in other co-producing countries. Please consult the graphic chart provided in this document (Section XI) for some guidelines.

3- Specific scripting instructions for students and co-creators of the Bestiary. One or more examples of interactive modules started in Canada during the summer of 2005 will be provided to you over the course of the fall (beginning of November at the latest) in order to illustrate both the artistic direction in terms of the audio-visual aesthetic of the project, which must necessarily be consistent as well as rigourously similar in terms of the way the material is dealt with and the main interactive sites of exploration - which must always be varied to create a curiosity and renewed attraction for each new creature and module. In terms of the starting scenario for each module, a definite narrative thread must be followed by each of the students working on the project. They must begin their module by keeping in mind the fact that when the user arrives within this module, their cursor will be represented by a fly, and that they will access the world of the creatures by way of a window in the Tower of Beasts, leading directly to the creature's natural environment (which may be the edge of a lake, the bottom of the sea or the mountain heights) without any difficulty whatsoever. The fly will be introduced at the start, as you might see a fly who landed on your computer screen, flying over the surface of the module in an aerial view (as soon as possible we will need to provide you with graphics, animations and movement scripts for the fly, so you can integrate them into your modules).

Certainly, the fly (because we know the reputation of bothersome, tiresome table flies for making people and animals crazy) after having spent some time overwhelmed, disoriented or swallowed, will always win out in the end, whether it is spat out or gets up from some kind of fatal blow.

The user’s cursor will be overtaken by the fly fairly often against the user’s will, until all the mysteries and possible interactions with the creature are exhausted, in order that the user might continue navigating to the other creatures within the main navigation interface (via the Tower or the Map).

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The exploration might therefore be surrealist, poetical, humorous or adventurous in nature (offering problems to solve) allowing the user to better understand or know the creature and its history.

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Example of an interactive module: Melusina’s Story Example of scenario only, for the moment. The interactive module, (in the form of an executable file (.exe) – created in Director, will be sent to you as an example, in November).

This will give you an idea of the first step you will need to take to create your creature.

Interactive module: the fairy-serpent Melusina (legend and scripting of the fairy-serpent, Melusina’s module). Legend: Summary of research on the creature

“Melusina’s origins are royal. Her mother, the fairy Pressyne, charmed her father Elynas, the king of Scotland, and made him promise before their marriage to never see her during her pregnancy. Elynas, forgetting his promise, broke it. Pressyne had therefore to seek refuge with her three daughters, Melusina, Melior, et Palatine, on the Forgotten Island (Island of Avalon).

When the daughters grew up they, using their fairy powers, decided to imprison their father in the magic Northumberland Mountain. To Pressyne this seeemed too severe a punishment, who cast a spell on her daughters.

She said to Melusina: "Every Saturday you will be a serpent from the waist down. But if you find a man who wants you for a wife, and promises not to see you on Saturdays, the normal course of your life will unfold. But if your husband should discover your secret, you will be condemned to torment, until the Last Judgment".

Melusina meets Raymond in the forest near Lusignan. Raymond, returning from a wild boar hunt in which he accidentally killed his uncle Aimeri, the Count of Poitiers, falls in love with Melusina and asks for her hand in marriage.

Thanks to her powers, Melusina succeeds in proving Raymond’s innocence. The fairy accepts his marriage proposal and makes him promise to not have any doubts as to her origins, and to never see her on Saturday. In exchange, she offers Raymond her fortune as well as many children.

Durring the first year of their marriage, Melusina undertakes the construction of Vouvant, Mervent and of the Saint-Maixent tower: enough fortresses to contribute to the immense power of the Lusignan family. One night was enough for her to build the most imposing fortresses (Tiffauge, Talmont, Partenay), churches like that of Saint-Paul-en-Gâtine, sprung up in the middle of fields, the towers of Garde à La Rochelle and Niort, and even the town of Lusignan.

One Saturday, pushed into it by the jealousy of his brother, the Count of Forez, Raymondin broke the rule and made a hole in the solid iron door leading to his wife’s room with the point of his sword. And this is what he saw:

"Melusina bathed in a great big marble tub, her body a woman’s down as far as her navel, combing her hair; from the navel on down, her body was a serpent’s, right down to the tail, which itself was as big as a giant’s hand. Her tail slapped the water so hard that water splashed up to the ceiling of her chamber".

A betrayed Melusina fled through the window with a cry, and her husband never again saw her in human form. However, legend has it that Melusina comes back for three days, each time one of the fortresses she built changes masters, and that she appears every time one of her descendants is about to die. She had a whole line of influential descendants. This aspect may be illustrated across the interactive module via an interactive, consultable family album.

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2. Scripting of the interactive module for Melusina, the Serpent-Fairy.

1. You have access to Melusina’s room via a window in the Tower of Beasts that leads to a long dark corridor in which there are several doors. You are in front of the locked door. You are represented by the curious fly cursor and skeleton key that allows you to interact with the main interface. The door is closed, but you can see a dresser drawer through the keyhole. Your curious fly cursor goes and opens the drawer.

You will find a parchment hidden inside the drawer, the fly pulls it out (with its legs) and drops it in front of the door where it unfolds, after having come through the keyhole, so that you can read it.

2. The parchment unrolls before your eyes and you can read the reason for which you are faced with a locked door. (It is Saturday, the day where Melusina is hidden from mortal eyes, like those of her husband).

To exit the page click on Melusina’s wax seal.

←Melusina’s wax seal.

As you enter Melusina’s chamber and get close to her tail, the fly will squash itself against the wall (permitting interactivity without the fly, used only for navigation on the map and in the Tower of Beasts) and Melusina’s serpent’s tail becomes your new cursor.

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There are several clickable zones that make the map more interesting, all the while informing you (in a more or less unscripted way) about the legend of Melusina.

3.1. When the cursor is passed over the ivy above the window, the flowers open.

3.2 When the user clicks on the sky with Melusina’s tail, the clouds will either be chased away, or night will fall.

3.3 When you click on the Madonna (Virgin Mary and child), the tableau turns over to show an explanation of Melusina’s curse, perhaps in the form of an agreement or pact.

3.4 Passing the cursor close to Melusina’s head turns it from one side to the other, slightly. When you triple-click on her shoulder, the cursor becomes the fly again and Melusina turns towards you, worried. Seeing it is you, a simple fly, she is reassured. You have just concluded your interactive experience with the serpent-fairy.

Examples of possible options: A family album of Melusina`s lineage (descended from Lusignan), a bottle of perfume on the dresser that starts an animation recounting Melusina’s history, a song describing the legend (as was often done in the middle ages during banquets, etc.): the idea being to base the animation of the poetical module on history and fairy tales.

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4- Canadian production team

The Canadian team, the core of production, in terms of the general supervision of the project and its initial start- up phase, (begun in Spring 2005) is composed of: - 20 undergraduate students in multimedia (among them, 2 graduating third-year students and one second-year student, who are supervising artisitic direction and writing). - 3 alumni students with Bachelors degrees in multimedia, one of whom has a Masters degree in multimedia, who will take part as professionals and technical help (programming, artificial intelligence, 3D graphics, music). - An extra teaching assistant for academic support for students in programming and for questions regarding material logistics and software (David Morin), and - a professor-researcher who can take responsibility for the general direction of the project production (Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry1).

Current list of the people on the Canadian Bestiary research team:

Production meetings and division of labour

Meetings and production assignments, undertaken since the summer of 2005 for research purposes, will extend into June 2006. Meetings will take place every two weeks in Room D-306 at the Rouyn-Noranda campus (Quebec) on Thursday, from 3:30 PM to 6:30 PM, with a student workload averaging 2 hours per week (approximately) depending on their course schedule (Fall or Winter session). Individual meetings with the researcher-professor will happen on Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons at her office, for specific student followup, according to their progress and out-of-class availability. Meetings via web-conference (using MSN, primarily) will occur when participants cannot meet physically within the same building.

Students active in undergraduate programs at UQAT (2005-2006) and their email addresses (where available):

1. Élise Massy, project leader and artistic direction – final project ART1217 + summer practicum [email protected] 2. Charlotte Desplanque, project leader and student artistic direction [email protected] 3. Stéphanie Bedard, writing director, third year graduate: final project ART1217 + summer practicum [email protected] 4. Samuel Bernier, lead programmer [email protected] 5. Véronique, [email protected] graphics 6. Valérie Côtes, [email protected] translation/correction 7. Alexandre Lemieux, graphics [email protected] 8. Jonathan Boivert, [email protected] graphic designer, 3D animator 9. Audrey Filion, [email protected] one interactive module plus research 10. Mercedes Torella, [email protected] graphics 11. Lucci Joseph, [email protected] one module and drawings 12. Louis-José Roy [email protected] graphics, webmaster and translation 13. Valérie Leduc [email protected] graphics

1 (Consult her personal website to see other research projects in which she is involved, or to find her curriculum vitae at the bottom of the page) : www.ludisme.com Otherwise the site will be a potential home for the Bestiary, accessible at this address: www.ludisme.com/bestiaire.htm 14 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

14. Marc-André Martin, 2nd year –DEC [college studies diploma] in multimedia studies 15. Jean-Simon Lemieux, graphics, animation [email protected] 16. Mathieu Gagnon, [email protected] graphics 17. Louis-José Roy, graphics webmaster, [email protected] 18. Valérie Leduc, graphics, [email protected]

Alumni students:

- Billy Lariviere, Music, programming, [email protected] - Réjean Lavoie, Jr. Music, 3D graphics, [email protected] - Alexandre Robertson Duffour, graphics, music, programming - [email protected]

Professors and assistants: - Francois Ruph, professor researcher, photographer [email protected] - David Morin, teaching assistant and programming support, [email protected]

UIM General Management: André Blanchard, UIM President: [email protected]

Entire Canadian team:

23 involved participants, more than 20 undergraduate students, 17 of which are actively registered in UQAT programs, 2 professor-researchers and a teaching assistant.

Others international teams (in French):

France :

Paris - Vélizy Étudiantes 2ème cycle – intéressées à l’université d’été: Florence noirez [email protected] Floriane macian [email protected] ; Sharon lim [email protected] Créature : la nymphe Péone Supervision ou personne contact : Édith Puiglambert [email protected]

Toulouse : 1er et 2eme cycles Supervision ou personne contact : Gilles Methel [email protected]

Florence Pistre le Drac Mathieu Babin Florent Cattelain Fabien Escoubet Antoine Falzon Dragon-tristan&Iseult- Johann Frizon Irish people-vive la guinness Cyril Izarn Salamandre (elemental Christophe Martins de feux) Gemma Munte I Tarasque ou Golem Armengou

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Sébastien Trezel Camille Urbain feu follet Marlène Bouche centaure ou dryades

Bordeaux : Supervision ou personne contact : Didier Paquelin [email protected]

Thomas Lucquiaud [email protected] Troll François Thibauld [email protected] Madragore Claire Casteig [email protected] Licorne Jenyfair Lacour Troll Mickael Choisi Troll Thomas Laffite Troll Amélie Dauvin Troll Claire Bihet Licorne Anne-Florence Gryzbek Licorne Vanessa Lunardelli Licorne Sébastian Cuturi Licorne Jean-Baptiste Abadie Madragore Olivier Roy Madragore Lucie Huet Madragore Laetitia Damiani Madragore Didier Paquelin [email protected] Supervision

Ile de la Réunion : 9 étudiants et un professeur. Supervision ou personne contact : Rodolphe Séraphine [email protected]

FORMATION MULTIMEDIA BAC+4 Didier Benoiton [email protected] Développeur PHP/MYSQL, ActionScript, C, C++, LINGO Issu d'une licence pro ILOI/Gobelins/Paris8 Cédric Zouao [email protected] Développeur PHP/MYSQL, ActionScript, C, C++, LINGO Issu d'un IUT en développement e-commerce Grimaud Christelle [email protected] Infographiste 2D - Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Director / Programmeur PHP/MYSQL, ActionScript Issu d'une licence pro ILOI/Gobelins/Paris8 Betty Zopire [email protected] Infographiste 2D - Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Director Issue d'un DNAP Beaux-arts Jean-David Hoareau [email protected] Infographiste 2D - Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Director Issu d'un DNAP Beaux-arts

FORMATION 3D FX BAC+4 Payet Stéphane Infographiste 2D/3D - Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, 3dsMAX/Maya Issu d'une licence pro ILOI/Gobelins/Paris8 Rodolphe Bax [email protected] Infographiste 2D/3D - Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, 3dsMAX/Maya Issu d'une licence pro ILOI/Gobelins/Paris8

16 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

Fierval Florent [email protected] Infographiste 2D/3D - Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, 3dsMAX/Maya Issu d'une licence pro ILOI/Gobelins/Paris8 D'Eurveiller David [email protected] Infographiste 2D/3D - Photoshop, Illustrator, 3dsMAX/Maya Issu d'un DNAP Beaux-arts Brésil :

4 Professeurs et 4 étudiants Nous attendons le détail des coordonnées (noms et emails) des participants ; voici les créatures choisies : La cobra grande (Le serpent amazonien) et le Saci (un petit loir avec une seule jambe, un bonnet rouge et une pipe). Supervision ou personne contact : Tunico Amancio [email protected]

Madagascar :

Nous attendons le détail des coordonnées (noms et emails) des participants et des créatures choisies. Supervision ou personne contact : J.A Rakotoarisoa [email protected]

VIII Financing

1- Bursaries and subsidies

A request for a $7000 (CDN) subsidy was made in March 2005 to the UQAT Fond Institutionnel de la Recherche (FIR). Because a significant number of requests had been made to the fund, only a portion of the requested amount - $2000 - was finally granted in May 2005. This subsidy served to finance the project start-up, via the work, didactic materials and the hiring of two students over the summer of 2005 (research and scripting of the main interface and its method of operation). We are currently researching existing subsidies to which we may apply, with the ministry of education, the Canada Council for the Arts, as well as with OFQJ, so that we may pursue applications for further financial aid in order that the project be undertaken, and specifically for the funding of students and professors trip to Ile de la Réunion in 2006. Another request, approved by UQAT, has just been submitted to the Fonds de recherche sur la Société et la Culture (Programme d'établissement de nouveaux professeurs-chercheurs-créateurs): for funding support of the Bestiary project, $15,000 for the 2006-07 year and $14,100 (interuniversity prototype phase) for the year 2007- 08 (desired commercialization phase). The answer to this request will be known as of April 25, 2006. It will be necessary for associated students and professor researchers to determine if subsidies would be possible for their own teams in their respective countries, as well as for general fees to cover the cost of production itself (for their own needs).

17 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

Production costs and total fees (up to the prototype phase, submitted to the Moebius Prize in 2006):

2006-07 Production Budget (needs) : - CD and DVD-ROM Burning – $ 300 - Server and hard disk space for storing saved data: $ 400 - Photocopies and art books for researchers: $ 300 - Purchase of research and tutorial media and documentation: $ 500 - Professional production licenses for Director, Photoshop and Flash Professional software: $1,700 - Budget for the creation of 5 sound effects and music tracks: $1 000 - Budget for translation (French, English and Chinese): $1 000 - Fee for AI programming for specific needs: $1,600 - Fees of impression of bestiary items (T-shirts, calendars, postal and Christmas cards and so on) for the fundraising campaign for the student group : (1300 $ + 200 + 500$ + 1000$) : $ 3000

Total production costs for 2005-06: $9,800

2006-07 Travel Budget summer school, final integration of the prototype (Canadian team):

- Return trip airfare Montréal-Paris-La Réunion in May 2006: $1,600 CDN per person - team composed of 10 students and one professor: Total: $16,000 CDN Accommodation: 2 weeks for 6 people, for a total of about $1,200 per person ($7,200 CDN in total): offered by the UIM summer school 2005 host institution at Ile de la Réunion, ILOI, - On-site transport (2 rental cars (7 passengers each) for two weeks): $1,500 CDN - Food: estimated at about $100 CDN per week per person; $2,500 Total travel study fees for May 2006 for 10 people: $20,000

2005-06 Budget grand total (production costs + transportation costs (travel study for the UQAT production team): $29,800 (CDN)

Requested from FQRSC (subsidy- maximum authorized by the institution) : $15,000 for 2006-07 ------

Production Budget 2006-2007 (needs): - CD and DVD-ROM burning and connexe fees by professionals to burn cds ready to sell of the Immersive Bestiary x 1000 units : $ 1600 - Server and hard disk space for storing saved data: $300 - Photocopies: $200 - Purchase of research and tutorial documentation and associated media: $500 - New professional licenses in case of update: $500 - Budget for translation (French, English, Chinese): $900 - Budget for artificial intelligence for specific needs: $1,300 - Budget for hiring research assistants ( the project will not be funded by the universities at this stage and will require that hired students be paid): $5 000 for 5 part-time students for one year.

Total production costs 2006-07: $10,400

18 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

Budget for production of prototype for commercialization 2007-2008:

- 2 Return airfaire Montréal-Paris in September 2007 + airfare Rouyn-Montréal to get me to Trudeau Airport from Rouyn: (to join my other research colleagues collaborating for the final phase of the Bestiary, (at the commercialization phase). : 2x $900 + 2x $200 Total travel fees: $2,200 CDN

Grand total (production fees + travel and production fees) for 2006-07: $12,600 CDN

Total Cost: $29,800 + $12,600: $42,400 (90% of which we hope to have funded by sponsors or subsidies) Other assumed (direct or indirect) costs:

Production costs of the Bestiary remain modest thanks to the wealth of human resources (students and professors) who, in return, as co-creators, will benefit from the unique and worthwhile experience of an interuniversity research projects).

Otherwise, the project benefits from existing infrastructures that allow the limitation of operating costs (rooms and computer labs, libraries and internet connection, computing materials, software and networks) that it can deploy via UIM member institutions.

2 – Other methods of financing

A- Other funding requests

A group financing request to cover 50% of the transportation costs of 10 members of the research-production team from Canada, in the context of the International University of Multimedia summer school will be made with the OFQJ (Organisme franco-québécois pour la Jeunesse) for a total of $ 9000.

This request is dependent on the subsidy program offered by the organization, and proposes that 50% of the travel costs be covered for a research/student team, within the scope of university activities. This could then cover half the cost of the Montreal-Paris, Paris-St. Denis-Ile de la Réunion trip, where courses specifically connected to the interuniversity Bestiary project will be held this summer (collection from all member countries of interactive modules, supervised by the Canadian team and integrated into the immersive search engine conceived by the UQAT research team in May 2005).

The total amount requested and submitted to this organization will be 50% of $2000 (individual transport/accommodation) x 10 people (I, as a young researcher under the age of 35, as director of the project, and 9 research assistant students who have worked since the beginning on this project).

The submitted request will be for $10,000 (50% of the $20,000 needed to cover the Canadian team’s travel fees for the complete integration of data from all of the member institutions onto the CD-ROM).

Other methods of financing are currently being planned by the Canadian student team, such as a fundraising campaign to support the production of the CDROM as well as the 2006 UIM summer school study trip.

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B- Sponsorship

Researching sponsorships will be an important part of the work of the student team, in order to be able to subsidize their travel costs for the summer school in May 2006 at Ile de La Réunion where the final integration of the project in its prototypical format will take place.

The partners to be searched out are essentially well-known businesses who want to ensure good visibility, and numerous local small- and medium-sized enterprises involved in social and cultural development within the associated regions (Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Québec, Canada).

C- Student Fundraising Campaign

Students on the Canadian team have met to plan several fundraising avenues and have come up with various possible ideas. They aim at finding 500$ per student, for a total of 5000$ before april 2006. Various products derived from the Bestiary (logos on tuques, calendars, bookmarks, colouring books, etc.) will be printed and sold before Christmas in order to cover part of the travel costs for part of the Canadian team’s trip to the summer school, as well as for production of the project. T-shirts with poetical themes on them (high-quality illustrations, logos and graphics pulled from the bestiary – representing, for example, stylized dragons or phoenixes, etc.) Humorous t-shirts could also be put up for sale. For example, yellow t-shirts, in the style of Canadian road signs, having black silhouettes of mythical creatures on them, with warnings such as the following, below the graphic: “Slow down. Centaurs crossing” or “Flying gargoyles, next 10 km”, etc. These will help publicize the project and create a certain contagious curiosity on the part of the public. As well, a series of promotional events punctuated by humourous fundraising slogans will be set in motion, such as “Unicorn for sale”; “Adopt-A-Beast!” (in the same way that the Adopt-a-highway sponsoring scheme works in the U.S.) have been envisioned in order to complete fundraising goals by permitting the creation of certain modules connected to popular Bestiary creatures, to be sponsored by the public (table of creatures up for adoption on request).

Sponsors and donors will be noted as such on the CDROM, and will receive a large format, full-colour rendering of their creature’s module, as well as email news about early sketches from the original production of the CD and possibly, a promotional prize for their role as Friend to the Bestiary (Special Edition). It is also possible that (still in a humourous vein) spaces - windows in the Tower of Beasts - symbolically represent calls to other potential sponsors (with “For Rent” written on the shutters of the window) in order to seek more financial backers (non-profit organizations or private enterprise). Prize draws in the form of raffles are also planned, in order to supplement the diverse fundraising efforts and campaigns.

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IX Fall-Winter 2005-06 production schedule (subject to change) (planning information to follow) Task list/ Duration Start End Test/correction Responsables Brainstorming - general interface May 05 Continuous Writing team Scripting: general interface Sept.05 May 05 Improvements Canada to be made during the summer school Scripting: 30 individual creature modules End of December November SDH’s Cours August 15 Interactivité (30 students) Graphics: Aerial world map End of End of November Elise/Charlotte August December Graphics: Tower of Beasts September. January Spring ‘06 M-André Martin Graphics: Grotto Fall Spring ? Animation: cave paintings: bisons and Fall Spring ? horses to dragons and to the schematic map of the World of Beasts Model creation: Tower of Beasts Jan-Feb March April Jonathan Boivert QTVR Compression: Tower of Beasts March April April QTVR Integration, Tower of Beasts and Spring Summer school Group work? access nodes leading to independent movies of individual creature modules Linear animation: from the aerial view of Winter ? the map towards the Tower of Beasts Animation of the cursor (the Fly) Fall ? Specific Bestiary character font for August End OK Alexandre R. Dufour illuminated texts. September QTVR Compression: Tower of Beasts Winter ? Graphics and random animations for the Winter ? windows of the tower. Graphics and animation of the illuminated Spring Valérie L. drop caps in each creature legend Graphics and animation of animated Sept. Dec. Dec. Jean-Simon sequences of random beast evolution on the world map 1st finished interactive module to send as August Nov Oct Charlotte an example to member universities, the Desplanque story of Melusina Deadline for submission of the other Oct Jan Dec All the associated countries’ interactive modules authors

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(integration) Continuity of the audiovisual esthetic of Feb May Summer School Graphics team the interactive modules from other countries, update and testing of the programming and movie access links Composition and creation of sound effects Oct Feb Alex. Robertson- and music tracks Dufour – Billy Lariviere – Samuelle D.H. and others? (Welcome) Composition and creation of sound effects Same as Ibid: Welcome to all! and music tracks above (we need to record numerous sounds for atmosphere) Receipt and integration of the prehistoric ? ? grotto before animation Scripting to print a graphic module Feb March March Samuel Bernier Creation of the Bestiary logo and legal Sept Nov All deposit of the production title Translation of the modules to English Sept Feb Valérie Cotes, SDH (text only) and from Chinese to French and others: welcome! and English (for the chinese modules) Integration of sounds and audio Spring Spring To be announced environments (movement effects on the maps and tower of roll-over and fade in/ fadeout type Place the creatures on the surface of the Sept. Dec Writing team aerial map Create the project website (information Oct Nov Oct The Cyber-Tapirs section - the research project – UIM – the (Canadian team for creatures chosen – creatures to be the Web Jam 2005 developed – Financing – Our sponsors; competition) the team – the schedule – daily journal – international exchanges section

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X The creatures of the immersive Bestiary

A – Current list of creatures being developed (Team Canada + cours d’interactivité class (2nd year undergraduate) including the name of the student currently working on it:

1. Dragon – Mercedes Torella 2. Cerberus – Patrick Bergeron 3. Basilisk – Frederic Mathieu 4. Sasquatch (Canadian Big Foot) - Kevin Plamondon 5. Beast of Gévaudan – Eric Touchette 6. Gulon – Véronique Bisson 7. Catoblepas – Sébastien Doucet 8. Chupacabra – Marc Alexandre Ladouceur 9. Criosphinx – Julie Roch 10. Dahu (Burin of the Alberta Mountains) – Louis-José Roy 11. Hydra – Samuel Bernier 12. Jackalope – Myrko Poitras 13. Maymaygwashi – Marc André Martin 14. Melusina (hybrid fairy) – Charlotte Desplanque 15. Minotaur – Abderrahim Baka 16 Argont - Nicolas Turgeon- Morin 17 Roc (Thunderbird) – Jonathan Boivert 18 Ice Edge monster –Etienne Begin-Thibault 19 Satyr – Steve Portelance 20 Sphinx – Ludovie Gauthier -Boileau 21 Tarasque – Julie Bertholet 22 Gouivre- Alexandre Lemieux 23 Wendigo – Charlotte Desplanque 24. Ungak (Spirit of Lake Temiscamingue) – Chantal Mathieu 25. Gargoyle –Valérie Cotes 26. Butterfly Man – Richard Harkans 27. Pegasus – Audrey Filion 28 Ahkiyyini –Mireille Bournival 29 Jack O’ Lantern – Dominic Goulet-Lapointe 30 Fairy – Jean Lessard 31 Kraken – Patrick Nadeau –Vallée

23 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

B- List of creatures needing development (students from member countries may also create modules on creatures from other member countries not chosen yet):

1. Cyclops 2. Manticore 3. Lycanthrope 4. Sphinx 5. Hydra 6. Elf 7. Abominable Snowman (or Yeti) 8. Medusa 9. Oni 10. Succubus 11. Cyclops 12. Angel 13. Harpy 14. Nymph 15. Unicorn 16. Elfish spirit 17. Centaur 18. Mandragora 19. Cat-wolf 20. Chinese Dragon 21. Golem 22. Triton (Male Siren) 23. Gorgon 24. Ghoul 25. Hippogriff 26. Butterfly Man 27. Uruk-Haï 28. Lich 29. Unicorn 30. Loch Ness monster (Nessie) Onocentaur 31. Phœnix 32. Rhinogrades (Snouters) 33. Roc, Rokh or Rukh 34. Salamander (elemental of fire) 35. Siren 36. Amphisbaena 37. Behemoth, Banshee, Bogeyman 38. Cagons 39. Dryads 40. Etin, Elf 41. Phantoms 42. Gorgon 43. Imp, Ifrit 44. Jersey Devil, Jabberwock, Jormungand 45. Kraken, Kludde, Kelpie, Ki-Lin 46. Lycanthropes, Goblin, Leprechaun, 47. Manticore, Undead, Mummies, Mandragora, Moires, Mothman 48. Nymphs, Nereids, Naiads 49. Oni, Orc, Ovinnik 50. Poltergeist

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51. Raicho 52. Troll, Tatzlwurm 53. Unhcegila (Uncegila), Unwaba 54. Vampire, Vodyanoy 55. Valkyries, Wendigo, Wyvern 56. Yâble 57. Leviathan 58. Shakopei (Inuit creature), 59 Outika etc… 60 Bucentaure 61 Chimera

C- Other creatures

There are, of course, other creatures to be created by other member universities who will add to the list according to their research (creatures from Chinese, ile de la Reunion and Madgascan legend, etc.).

XI Graphic chart (points to remember)

Generally, the Bestiary being an intentionally artistic medium, the graphic style should be realised as line drawings, and engravings as well as illuminated manuscript style. That is to say that cartoon-style drawings should be avoided: no black outlines, etc. Outlines are allowed, but they should be part of the drawing, created for texture and they should, more or less, be integrated into the picture (see examples). Where colours are concerned, avoid saturation of bright and fluorescent colours (depending on the module); use more nuanced colours and fewer flat colours, try to be inspired by the colours in illuminated manuscripts, earthy colours, deep colours, monochromatic and bichromatic colours and grayscale (see examples).

Let your drawing breathe: do not limit it with a predefined boundary: ideally, it should blend in with the exterior background; let your imagination go in terms of texture, décor (more linked with pure and natural environments). Let the drawing fade into texture and paper, try different traditional techniques (paper cutouts for animation, for example: it should be well-drawn, but 3 or 4 images maximum of simplified, limited movement animation are allowed: heads that move, wings that spread, etc.) Surfaces should not be saturated, nor totally filled. The precision of a shared bank of textures should be the goal. Let’s work on it, so we can put it on the website, for all to access!

25 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

Exemples of interfaces produced by the canadian team (on the 10th of December 2005)

The Griffin The Dahu

The Beast of the Gevaudan (One on the two) The Ice Edge Monster

The Basilic The Gouivre

26 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

The Cryosphinx Melusina

The Windigo The Kraken

------Other exemples of what to do or not :

Examples to avoid at all costs: exactly what we don’t want. Flat colours, large black outlines etc.…

Avoid black outlines.

As far as drawing and integration of decor (not too much detail) this is good, but the image is still restricted to the rectangular frame.

Same thing here – nice visual, but the frame is too present.

27 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

Here’s the typography of the Bestiary (other writing style inspired by calligraphies and illuminated manuscripts may be used):

The Bestiary typography will be useful in writing the summary of the legend, which you should write yourself, taking inspiration from existing texts (for reasons of copyright). Our writing team can help you do this. (Contact Stéphanie Bédard via email at: [email protected]).

Interesting examples for texts and illuminated manuscripts.

These examples are also interesting for the background textures and paper textures.

Examples for the map icons (for the animation group.)

Examples of little insect creatures for the cursor, icons for the map and good examples for the textures, drawings that are more in the style of engravings.

28 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

For the drawing on the left, even if we see the line, it is not a black outline, but the original line of the drawing, and it is completely integrated into the picture via colour gradations.

Example of integrated contour drawing, it is not the lines of a cartoon (compare above at right).

A good example of framing included in background (frame and not frame at the same time)

XII Miscellaneous

A project potentially extending itself over two years

The Bestiary project might possibly extend over a second and last year (2006-2007) leading towards a commercialization phase, once the prototype has been completed and presented at competitions, in order to be refined and sold to the public (refinement, compatibility tests etc.).

A funding request has been made to the Fond de recherche sur la Société et la Culture, au Québec, with this in mind; the requested subsidy amount is for $15,000 to finance the Canadian team (and its trip to the May 2006 summer school at Réunion) and the necessary costs for 2005-2006 production; and $14,100 for 2006-2007 for remunerations for student assistants and research and purchase costs of professional software with the goal of possible commercialization of the Bestiary.

29 The Immersive Bestiary – Le Bestiaire immersif U.I.M. Research Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

The Canadian team in relation to the other member-institutions

The Canadian team has taken the initiative in this research project in completing the essentials in terms of the core production work (visual, indexed search engine, artificial intelligence card that serves to connect each creature) as well as all the central elements of the program to which each of the interactive modules created by collaborating students and foreign researchers will be connected.

Otherwise, in order to meet deadlines where time constraints may not allow other countries to fully participate, Canada has chosen to create the modules of a few other folkloric creatures from other countries (and not just Canada) to be sure that creatures from pretty much all over the planet are illustrated and especially those from continents connected to the UIM. Furthermore, each member country may also go and pick from the list of available creatures and those that may possibly be created: this will certainly enrich the research of the collaborators.

However we will need help from any and all volunteers for the great number of related tasks (translations, various graphics, writing, illustrations, etc.): Therefore, your help is most welcome. For example, for the work from China, we would very much like help with translation of certain texts (English, ideally to Mandarin). We thank volunteers in advance for making yourselves known to the project directors (email address on page 13).

Conclusion

I hope I have made you aware of this unusual project and have been able to communicate the infectious passion that it inspires in all who are participating in it. Do not hesitate to contact me (preferably by email) to let me know whether you are interested in this project, or to ask any questions, if you require clarification.

Thanking you in advance for your attention and for the time you want to give to this project. Cordially yours,

Samuelle Ducrocq-Henry

Professor in multimedia theory and practice and new information technologies Département of educational sciences - Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue Email: [email protected] Tel (819) 762-0971 ext. 2284 Room C-322 Research website: www.ludisme.com Bestiary website: www.ludisme.com/bestiaire/

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