A Space of Time - A hypermedia story

A Space of Time is a non-linear hypermedia experience that is only possible thanks to computer processing power. The main purpose of A Space of Time is to take digital storytelling out of the realm of hypertext and into the realm of hypermedia. A story is non-linear because its narrative is presented outside of chronological time. Viewers of A Space of Time may see scenes from the "end" of the story before experiencing ones that introduce key characters. These scenes, however, are created in such a way that they are brief stand-alone glimpses into the lives of these characters.

The hypermedia experience is broken into more than 700 videos, 190 QTVRs and 18 Flash animations that are displayed in two different ways: 1) “Limbo” and 2) “Stream of consciousness”. The “Limbo” version of the story entails the exploration of a photographic quality Immersive Environment. As the user peruses the structure, different pieces of the main plot can be extracted. The virtual environment is a century-old building where part of the story itself unfolds. Interactive multimedia gives the user the opportunity to experience the same space where the scenes occur, augmenting the story's immersion effect.

Hypermedia is cleverly used in the “Stream of Consciousness” version, which creates a different linear piece every time it is experienced. The scenes and the complimentary videos that form the story are re-arranged by following a series of statistical formulas. New technologies and the latest computer processors permit immediate access to video streams, which in turn allows the shuffling and presentation of the scenes in different chronological order. The algorithms in A Space of Time not only reshuffle the content based on predetermined probabilistic patterns but also can eliminate or add video sequences to the final experienced version.