Program

Keynote

What do machines need to know to become better cinematic storytellers?

Speaker: William Bares, College of Charleston

Abstract: In this talk I will discuss issues related to gathering knowledge of narrative and cinematic techniques which can be used to train machines to be better visual storytellers using the medium of film. I will summarize recent work and spotlight related contributions that will be presented later in the program. Teaching in the Computing in the Arts program at College of Charleston has focused my own research in exploring new ways to broaden participation in computing through applications in the creative arts. This focus has led me to develop Story Blocker, an accessible, Web-based virtual 3D platform for learning cinematic storytelling skills. I will discuss how this platform might be used to collect annotated examples of cinematic scenarios. In closing, I will invite attendees to share their thoughts on the future direction of efforts to collect rich knowledge sources that connect narrative and cinematography.

Bio Sketch: William Bares is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at College of Charleston and holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from North Carolina State University. He specializes in developing intelligent assistants that collaborate with humans to create cinematography for virtual environments. His teaching and outreach efforts as part of the Computing in the Arts program seek to broaden participation in computing through applications in the visual arts.