Within the project lifeClipper2, the challenge of design is to make the fusion of the real and the virtual as seamless as possible. The starting point of the production is the geographical or cultural context of a cultural asset. By means of adapting structures, cutting techniques and spatial conceptions from established media such as film and architecture, the base of a genuine audiovisual language is developed for Augmented Reality. The design work aims at a spatiotemporal dramaturgy that satisfies the demands of user interaction: pausing, changing direction, choosing a particular way and walking pace. Audiovisual elements are colour, form, brightness, contrast, transparency, distortion, abstraction, volume, pitch, etc.  as well as their spatial and temporal positioning.  

Besides the elaboration of an appropriate design for content including project visualizations, urban planning and tourism, the research project lifeClipper2 investigates different qualities of perception in 3D. Thus, the project participates in the discourse of the impact of new media on our understanding of what is “real”.

lifeClipper2 is doing “research through design” (vs. “research about design), nowadays an established method in design research. In so-called scenarios (see SCENARIOS), the different aspects of content, design and technology are collected. The design process aims at experiences rather then products. In individual case studies, decisive parameters such as light, shadow and transparency are explored. To measure these parameters, a hand-held unit is used.