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The Whale Hunt

Image taken from the whalehunt.org

Two weeks ago I did an in-class presentation on The Whale Hunt – a very exciting PowerPoint presentation to be more specific. Here, I hope I can provide some more concise information in regards to this site than I did during my rambling mess of a presentation. For those not familiar, The Whale Hunt is a Webby Award winning web site by internet guru, Jonathan Harris.

WHAT IS IT?

Jonathan Harris spent nine days living with Inupiat Eskimos in Barrow, Alaska, photographing their annual whale hunt. He photographed the harpooning of two Bowhead Whales by the Barrow community. The site features all 3,214 photographs taken on the expedition. Photos were taken at least five minutes apart, even at night. The frequency of photos increased based on levels of excitement – to maximum rate of 37 pictures per 5 minutes.

Harris wanted to experiment with a “new interface of human storytelling”, in a way that allowed each viewer to experience the whale hunt differently. In doing so he takes an experience from the physical world and translates it optically so many people can experience it. Interestingly, the Whale Hunt also allowed Harris to appreciate the complexity of his work, and revaluate the role of the computer in order to humanise it: “Much effort is spent making computers understand what it’s like to be human (through data mining and artificial intelligence), but rarely do humans try to see things from a computer’s perspective,” he says on the Statement page.

HOW IT WORKS

If you navigate away from the homepage to BEGIN THE WHALE HUNT, you’ll see why Harris calls the Whale Hunt an “experimental interface” for human storytelling. You’re greeted by no less than all 3,214 photos taken in the shape of a colourful mosaic. This mosaic can then be switched to a timeline interface or a pinwheel interface in the right hand corner which works much in the same way. It’s when auto-play is clicked do things become really interesting – you don’t have to sit through every photo, as I first thought, but can completely navigate your experience. This supports Jakob Nielsen’s idea of the internet as an “active medium”. The most notable features include:

• The full sequence of photographs is represented by a medical heartbeat at the bottom of the screen; its magnitude indicating the frequency of photos and thus the level of excitement. You can skip straight to the action as indicated by the heartbeat intensity.

• Below the medical heartbeat is a row of small text and icons, indicating the metadata, or categories, featured in the currently viewed photograph. These include the CAST (who is featured in the photo), CANDENCE (the level of excitement at the moment), CONTEXT (where it was taken) and CONCEPT (what ideas are represented, such as blood, boats, food etc).

• The above categories can be isolated from the larger narrative by clicking the CHANGE CONTRAINTS icon in the centre top of the screen. You can then navigate what portion of the narrative is viewed, depending on your interest or curiosity. Multiple constraints can also be combined to make different sub-stories. For example, “Ronny” (CAST), “Blood” (CONCEPT), “Arctic Ocean” (CONTEXT). This is how Harris believes the storytelling process will be different for everyone.

WHAT’S RIGHT AND WRONG WITH IT

Of course the innovative interface is what makes this web site. The photographs are beautifully shot and coupled with the hands-on approach of the interface, there’s a real sense of immediacy to viewing it. The homepage is simple and inviting, a modest introduction to such a grand adventure. Given the sheer number of photographs; the site loading so fast is a testament to Harris’ web-making skills. The Whale Hunt doesn’t come without its support either, as the Homepage links to Statement, Highlights, Interface, FAQ, and Credits. These make sure you’re equipped with the right tools to navigate the whale hunt, while also giving it some context and additional information. If you’re like me, you’ll find it pretty hard to find your way around unless you know what all the shapes and links mean. The Highlights page is particularly useful for those that want a quick glimpse of the expedition.

Although Harris insists this is not political and he is merely acting as an observer and storyteller, I can’t help but feel like he does have somewhat of a moral obligation to this isolated community. His ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’ approach works more to enhance his portfolio – he may humanise the computer’s role but fails to be equally as effective portraying the people involved. Perhaps it doesn’t matter in the wake of his outstanding graphic achievement, but I like my adventures to come full-circle and, from a storytelling standpoint, he just leaves me hanging.

His supporting pages may be useful but I have qualms with anyone that links to explanations on Wikipedia, which is what Harris does. The only really great links are the ones that link to his former works – this then lead me to discover that he has a portfolio to die for. Without wanting to sound too nitpicky, this website could have also done with a small disclaimer warning of the graphic content since some of it is not for the faint-hearted.

MORE ABOUT JONATHAN HARRIS

Image taken from the whalehunt.org

Artist and computer scientist, Jonathan Harris, is a former two-time Webby Award winner for his creations WordCount and 10x10. Ted.com says about Harris: “His computer programs scour the Internet for unfiltered content, which his beautiful interfaces then organize to create coherence from the chaos.” All his amazing works can be found on his personal website, Number 27.

Image taken from webbyawards.com

FORMER WEBBY AWARD WINNERS IN THE SAME CATEGORY

The Whale Hunt won the 2008 Webby Award for Best Personal Website. Former winners include: Jonathan Yuen in 2007, Steven Sebring in 2006, This is our son, so far in 2004 and Nobody Here in 2003. All former winners are uniquely different in their approach, with an underlining excellence in graphic design. The personal website category has established itself as the ‘artist’ award for web-makers who choose to push the boundaries of online communication. 2003’s Nobody Here, in particular, is a mind-bending display of one’s random thoughts and boredom. Check it out.