The image used for the header of this article is not a CAD rendering. Neither is it a fragment of a 3D model wireframe. It is a detail from the image mask I had to produce today in order to adapt a stock image into usable element for a motion graphics project I am currently working on.

Masking, matting, rotoscoping, keying… you name it – not exactly the favorite task for most designers, yet a necessary one. But does it have to be? In this article I would like to propose a solution that could potentially free the artists from the labor of building alpha channels for their images, earn freelancers some money and help the big stock providers expand their offering.

It is 2010 and today, more than ever, web is about collaboration. Musicians release their tracks online and offer them as multi-channel files for remixing. Google Wave is slowly changing the way we communicate and edit documents. Facebook allows us to upload, share, comment, organize, tag and re-post text, images and video. Social bookmarking sites such as Stumble Upon or Digg let us share our web discoveries, review and recommend content.

Isn’t it time for professional stock image sites to get similar treatment?

What I envision is plain and simple:

Allow users to share their vector and raster masks of the images (and possibly videos) over the same system that is used to sell them the original content.

Windmill Mask (created in approximately 90 minutes)

Above is the windmill mask that inspired this idea. I have spent approximately 1.5 hours creating it. (The entire project will use many more images and I estimate spending 2 days in a two-person team on creating masks for all of them.) Wouldn’t it be great if I could save the time by purchasing the mask together with the image? Or perhaps if I would be able to help others save the time they may spend repeating my chore by being able to upload the result back to the image bank?

Currently I have no such option. Every single designer who wants to have the cutout of this particular windmill will need to mask the image in their own time. I am convinced most of them would gladly pay a little extra fee to have the work completed for them.

It is worth noting here that some stock images do come with either alpha channel or a vector mask embedded in the file. Unfortunately, these are usually photographs of simple items on a studio backdrop – not that difficult to mask to begin with. When it comes to images captured outside of the studio – clipping path is a true rarity.

Here’s how the system could work:

When purchasing the stock images, the client is offered an option to also purchase the vector/raster mask for the image. The alpha image can be previewed on the site to ensure that it masks the objects client is interested in.

If the given image does not currently have mask available, the client is able to request one while browsing the images. Requests can also be made by either the photographer selling the image to the site or by the site’s own staff, browsing the library “behind the scenes” and identifying potential candidate images. If we go one step further, the mask request applet can feature a small drawing application where one is able to identify areas of the image that need to be separated using a simple highlighter.

Marked images are then listed in a separate section of the site, where freelancers, studios and rotoscoping artists are able to browse through them and fill the requests. The image queue can be sorted according to the demand to ensure quick delivery of the most requested masks.

Additionally, a client who purchased an unmatted image is able to sell the mask back to the stock site, ideally returning the cost of the image with some extra profit.

The entire system would, of course, need proper human supervision. Submitted masks would be tested to assure accuracy and quality. Mask requests would be screened to avoid spam and trolling. Finally the value of each mask would need to be individually determined for each image (a photograph of an apple on a white background is, after all, significantly easier to mask than, say, Taj Mahal).

A rating system for sold masks could also be implemented in order to promote the best authors and discredit slackers who managed to slip through the first level of verification.

Everybody wins (well, almost).

As a result of implementing such system, the stock image sites will expand their offering and generate greater profit. The (disturbed?) individuals who actually enjoy creating masks will be able to turn their skills into income. Designers will save time and be able to concentrate on creating better content, rather than manual labor. Finally, the pointless repetition of work will be eliminated, as designers will no longer need to create their own alpha channels for the very same images others already did.

The only losing party are the companies producing masking software… but let’s be honest. While these programs simplify the process of creating masks, there isn’t any one-click solution that would work for every image. Then again, perhaps the introduction of masking as a profitable profession could increase sales of such programs as freelances and new businesses open to supply the demand.

So, let’s see what tomorrow brings. Maybe in the near future we will actually hear the unthinkable words coming out of mouths of designers around the world: “I’ve finished early.”

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

My problem with these programs was always the boring routine of repeating the same basic lessons over and over. Rows and rows of asde sad desa ased dads sead deeds seeds sdsa needed to be typed over and over again.

While I am not a professional typist, I find my own 6-finger technique perfectly satisfactory for my everyday needs. I do, however make mistakes, especially when typing on an unfamiliar keyboard. I got so used to my own Logitech G15, that my typing speed and accuracy falls down dramatically when using a laptop keyboard or trying to type on someone else’s computer.

I often see people who type on the computer hitting the delete/backspace key several times a minute. Observing them made me realize that they more often than not tend to make mistakes around the same group of keys or words. That got me thinking:

How about creating a typing tutor program that analyzes your daily typing habits and suggests exercises and tips on how to improve your skill based on the mistakes you make?

Such program would reside in the background of the operating system, monitoring every keystroke you make. In other words, it would act as a keylogger. All the typed data, along with the mouse movement would be then stored in the program’s database, ready for analysis at user’s request.

The analysis algorithm would look for particular strings and patterns in order to determine problematic zones on the keyboard, or letter combinations. It could also analyze the general practices of the user and provide feedback on how to increase their efficiency.

Some examples:

• Search the input database for occurrences of backspace, analyze the preceding letters and match them with proper exercise words.
• Search the input database for occurrences of www.***.com and suggest the user to use ctrl+Enter for quicker typing of web addresses.
• Search the input database for strings of short data punctuated by short mouse movements and clicks and recommend using Tab button to navigate fields on the form.

The main obstacle to overcome while designing the program would be to ensure the security of the database and convince the users of it. With the current plague of keyloggers, it is understandable if the users would be hesitant to use the program.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Whenever the announcement starts on the speakers, I need to stop whatever I am doing and concentrate, memorizing the letters and digits of the flight number and re-assembling them by myself.

All this is due to the way in which the audio clips used in the system are recorded, and can be fixed with just a little bit of extra effort.

The problem:

Consider this message:
The flight number TK1764 from London to New York is now boarding.

If you read this announcement aloud you will have no problem understanding, and clearly communicating the message.

Now try reading this one aloud (take care of the punctuation):

The flight number.
T.
K.
1.
7.
6.
4.
From?
London.
To?
New York.
Is now boarding.

If you pronounced all the “sentences” correctly, chances are you ended up reproducing the way airport announcements sound perfectly.

During the recording, the voice talent would read all the letters of the alphabet, digits and destination names one by one. These are then stored on the P.A. computer as separate sound bits and re-assembled according to the announcement needs.

The system, however, does not take into the consideration the way humans process information.

The bits versus the words:

If you ask me for my telephone number, I would tell you it is: 535 – 784 – 0213. Whether you are taking note of it or trying to memorize it, breaking the number into easily processed “words” helps communicating it efficiently. What a brain recognizes are three “words”: fivethreefive, seveneightfour and ohtwoonethree.

If I have given you the entire number (5357840213 – fivethreefiveseveneightfourohtwoonethree) the amount of information contained in a single stream of information would be overwhelming, unless you are professionally trained to remember numbers.

Similarly, if I break the number into single digits (5 – 3 -5 -7 -8 -4 -0 – 2 -1 -3 – five, three, five, seven, eight, four, zero, two, one, three), it becomes even more difficult to understand. While each “word” is easy to understand, the fragmentation of the entire “sentence” makes memorizing the number a hard task.

The fragmentation of the message is what makes P.A. announcements so difficult to understand.

Human brain likes patterns. It likes melodies and phrases that “flow naturally”. Let’s look at our flight number (TK1764) again. If you read it aloud several times, you will notice that you break it into two parts: the letters and the number. You most likely read it as: teekay onesevensixfour. You would also apply proper intonation and accents on each of these words. In the starting syllables you would have the tone of your voice raise, and towards the end, descend back:

If “/” symbolizes the raising voice tone and “\” a descent, TK1764 would be pronounced as “/\ //\\”. Establishing a rhythm and melody within an abstract phrase increases the pattern recognition and helps the brain process the information efficiently. The first “T” is clearly the beginning of the sentence, while “4″ is the last word of it.

In the airport P.A. recordings, every letter and digit are pronounced as the last word of the sentence. They are read as if there was a period after each one. The resulting intonation looks like this: “\ \ \ \ \ \ “. Without the much needed melody, your brain needs to “record” each digit and number and then re-assemble it into a meaningful word. It requires concentration and effort resulting in a really inefficient mode of communication.

The solution:

There are two distinct issues that need to be addressed when creating an automated P.A. system: the recording method and the assembly process.

During the recording, the voice talent should not be presented with a string of numbers such as: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 0. Instead, the reading sheet should contain ten four-digit numbers. They should be arranged in the way that each of the 0-9 digits appears once in each of the four positions, while appearing completely random. Here is one of the possible arrangements:

1746
9062
2135
5928
8571
4203
0814
3697
6350
7489

It’s a little bit like a game of sudoku. When creating the script for the voice recording, it is important to note the following:

1. The same digit should not occur in any of the numbers more than once
2. The adjacent digits should never increase or decrease value by one (no 23, 56, 98, 21 etc.)
3. The numbers should look as random as possible

These precautions need to be in place, since the brain of voice talent works just like everyone else’s – and any patterns would be immediately recognized resulting in augmented pronunciation of these segments. (ie. We do pronounce 1234 differently than 7295).

Similar arrangement should be made for the letters, following all the instructions that apply to the numbers.

The recorded digits and letters should then be stored in separate libraries, each for a different position in the code:

First letter (contains A-Z)
Second letter (contains A-Z)
First digit (0-9)
Second digit (0-9)
Third digit (0-9)
Fourth digit (0-9)

During the playback, the audio samples would be taken from each library, corresponding to the letter/digit location in the code.

When re-assembled into flight code, all the letters and digits would now maintain a correct melody, as if read by a live announcer, rather than the automated system.

Finally the entire sentences should be recorded, to avoid words and phrases like “The flight number”, “from”, “to” etc. sounding out of place. During the recording of full sentences, the names of destinations can be put in the script and then used during the assembly.

Within the assembly process, the special care should be placed on timing and spacing between the words. Unnatural pauses between the words, letters and digits should be avoided, and the resulting sentences should resemble the intonation and melody of a live announcer.

Applications:

While the concept for this recording/assembly method was developed based on my experiences with airport announcements, the similar techniques could be used in any transit terminals, answering machines, automated telephone systems, and many other forms of audible information processing.

The messages created using this system will be easier to understand and memorize. They will also eliminate the sense of detachment for the listeners, through resembling the natural speech patterns in a manner much closer than the currently used software.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

People having problems finding their cars in the multi-story parking garages.

The problem and setup:

Most of the parking lots offer semi-automated ticketing system. When you enter, you receive a card recording the time of arrival. Upon exit, you need to either pay the fee or validate your stay and then use the same card at the exit gate in order to open it.

The cards record the time of stay either via a magnetic stripe or a printed bar code – keeping only a minimal amount of surface filled with the “operational data”. This leaves one side of the card unused – its either blank, or used as an advertisement space.

Commonly, a large percentage of parking lot users have trouble finding their car easily, especially after an extended stay. This applies mostly to the multi-story underground parking spaces. While the designers typically color-code the floors and provide the drivers with an alphanumeric sector coding – many still find it confusing and lose time searching for their car.

The solution:

I propose, that a simple map of the parking lot be printed on the reverse of the parking ticket. It should contain the floor plan clearly illustrating the entrances and the exits, as well as a space for marking the floor number.

As the driver parks the car, he or she would be able to mark down the car’s location and then have a handy reference when coming back to pick it up.

The map could also contain additional information, such as emergency exits and serve as a pocket reference in case of an accident.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.