Origins - overview

The Visual Assistant (VA) is free downloadable software for visualisation in 3D environments (especially theatre performance).

The main aims of the VA are as follows.

It has been designed through the study of the underlying working practices of creative people
It is recognised that 'creative practice' is a different kind of work from more routine, or 'technical practice'.  By working alongside creative practitioners, some aspects of this difference have been observed and translated into the code or language of the software (what others might refer to as the 'interface').

It enables the activity of 'sketching' on a computer screen
The VA is primarily interested in supporting creative activities in the real world, as thus aims to support creative processes, rather than be concerned about products.  As with a sketch, the possibility of failure is not demoralising.  Rather, the free nature of the medium encourages experimentation.

It uses collage as a representational form, rather than photorealism
Almost all 3D computer graphics is built around Euclidean geometry.  Scenes are rendered according to this geometry and are supposed to be read in the same way.  This has serious limitations, especially for creativity, where a less closed system, is preferable.  The scenes produced in the VA are more like 3D collages, with the assemblage of roughly cut images with definite boundaries.  Like collage, this enables the re-use of existing material which is transformed by a new context of meaning.

It explores the relationship of 2D to 3D representation
There is no clearly worked out set of conventions as to how 2D images should behave in 3D space.  The VA explores a 'code' (in Eco's sense of the term) through which this may be realised.  Features such as lighting, for example, cannot be represented in the normal way.

It is very simple to learn and use
Despite its innovative form, the VA has aimed (and to a large extent has succeeded) in being accessible to even novice computer users.   The intention has always been that a person should be able to see it being used for five or ten minutes and feel confident enough to have a go.  Then, within a relatively short period of time, they should be competent enough to build simple models with confidence.

It is an example of appropriate technology
Many software products aim to exploit the latest capabilities of computer systems and one suspects that the needs of users are not always to the front.  The VA uses the technology that is required, and nothing more.  It has always fitted onto a floppy disk and will run in as little as 8Mb of RAM. 
 

The long-term VA project aims to explore a range of forms of creative practice (fine art, designer-maker practice, photography, creative writing, etc.) in order to address larger questions of the relationship of digital technologies to the real-world processes of creativity.  As a first step in this process, development has been primarily involved with the theatre and with the creative activities that precede a live production.
 

The following comments from users of the VA express what has been achieved...

• it creates atmosphere rather than detail;

 
• it enables me to describe an environment within which action can take place; 

 
• it helps overcome the tyranny of the televisual close-up; 

 
• it can be a medium for visual improvisation.