Demos

Demos at IMX 2021?

Interaction with technologies and contributions in the field of Interactive Media Experiences (IMX) is often more meaningful and valuable than reading an article, or attending a presentation. By showcasing your work in live demos, a wide community of researchers, academics and industry agents will be able to directly interact with your contributions! In 2021, IMX will be showcasing all demos purely online. How can your demo be showcased to full potential on an online interactive platform?

The demos, as part of the conference, will be part of the adjunct proceedings, but will also have a dedicated area in the conference venue (or a dedicated remote presentation setup)  where you can present your work and interact with the participants of the conference to receive useful feedback and to network. Demos are, indeed, a great chance to start a discussion about the latest developments, challenges and opportunities in the IMX ecosystem.

ACM IMX demos are the perfect way to introduce, to the community, your work on media applications, prototypes and proof-of-concepts of technologies like emerging media, interactive TV experiences, VR/AR/MR experiences.

Possible topics of interest to the IMX community include:

Audience understanding

This topic focuses on advances in audience engagement with media content as a rapidly evolving activity across diverse platforms, devices, and timeframes. It welcomes contributions that seek to understand audiences using a rich variety of analytic approaches including sensing audiences, sentiment analysis, and measuring and monitoring quality of experience. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, consumption trends and behaviors in young audiences, sharing practices and communication strategies, identifying engagement patterns across diverse genres, platforms and demographics, scheduled versus on-demand content consumption, binge viewing, and multi-platform engagement.

Immersive and interactive content and experiences

This topic is suitable for papers where the primary contribution is the introduction of novel ways of experiencing interactive media content. This includes new forms of media content (e.g. VR, AR, MR, XR, 360°, live-streaming etc.) consumed in diverse ways including across multiple screens, platforms, and in immersive theatres. Application areas include entertainment and information including interactive and generative documentaries, transmedia storytelling, volumetric filmmaking, live performance broadcasts and object-based media productions. Papers in other application areas, such as education, healthcare, wellbeing and governance and decision-making, are also welcome.

Technologies, systems and interfaces

This topic focuses on technologies, systems, and interfaces that improve and advance our interactions with media content online, at home, or on the move. It encourages submissions describing technical advancements in streaming systems, content synchronisation for multi-platform delivery, and recommendation and companion apps. Additional areas for consideration include games engines for content delivery, location-based and context-aware applications and services and object-based media.

Production tools and workflows

This topic solicits papers describing procedural advances in the preparation, design, and development of media experiences. Areas of interest include new production processes for TV, online video, VR, AR, XR, and 360° formats. Novel tools and workflows using motion capture, volumetric capture and animation are encouraged, as are the presentations of innovative authoring and data-driven tools for interactive or multi-platform content development. In addition to papers describing technical innovations, this topic area is also interested in innovations originating from design and humanities perspectives detailing the authoring process for writing interactive content and the human-centered design methods used to realize these narratives. 

AI and machine learning

This topic focuses on the use of machine learning and/or artificial intelligence techniques to capture, generate, or understand social media experiences and includes areas such as verification and verification scamming, information diffusion, monitoring media bias, misinformation and fake news, predictability of real-world events, and crowd-sourcing and collective intelligence in rich media systems.

Business models and marketing

This topic focuses on the new business, marketing, purchasing, subscription, and monetising strategies encountered in the new media landscape of TV and online video. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, targeted advertisements, freemium products, programmatic media buying, in-programme recommendations and purchases, exploiting consumption data, monetising second screen experiences, and social media influencer strategies.

Cultural and social studies

The impact of the new interactive media and TV landscape on culture and society is powerful and raises many important and challenging topics for consideration. This area welcomes papers from a wide variety of theoretical and analytical perspectives examining structured reality TV, social media manipulation and targeting, media convergence and platform monopolies, intellectual property, remix culture, fan culture, media activism and participation politics, or tactical media practices. In addition, research concerning media violence, social media addiction, or issues of bias and ethics would also be appropriate for this topic.

Interactive Art

This topic focuses on findings about artistic expression through interactive content. It includes ways of inducing viewers to become more immersed in the work through interaction, or creating a new message through the process of interacting with the viewer and the work. This category is also receptive to new experiments and broadened interpretations of interactive art.

Virtual Communication

This topic covers studies to improve the social interaction lacking in virtual communication. It includes research to re-implement the natural relationships formed when networking in real spaces in a virtual communication environment through software or hardware systems.

Disruptive concepts and video-centric art

This topic focuses on disruptive media practises that seek to challenge traditional media consumption patterns and expand spectator experiences. Authors are invited to describe the design, development of (and response to) constructed video-centric work, or speculate about future-oriented media provocations. 

IMX is an inclusive, growing, interdisciplinary community, so if you aren’t sure whether the specifics of your research are in scope then (a) they probably are, and (b) please email demos@imx2021.com and the chairs will do their best to advise you.

INSTRUCTIONS

Demo submissions take the form of 4-page papers (not including references) written in the New SIGCHI Proceedings Format. All submissions should follow the ACM guidelines. There is a single column submission paper format.

This must describe the research and what will be shown during the demonstration; all submissions will be peer-reviewed and selection will be based on the novelty of the research and interestingness of the demonstration. Since the conference is going virtual/online, please let us know how you might be able to demonstrate your idea in a form best suited to an online format.

Demo submissions do not need to be anonymised. Please ensure that your submission answers the following questions:

• What is the scientific or engineering concept behind the work?
• What is the novelty of the work and how is the work different from existing systems or techniques?
• What will be actually shown during the demo?

For the past couple of years we have encouraged authors to provide a video alongside their paper submission. This has proven invaluable – the video not only helps to support the submission, but will also be included in the digital version of the adjunct proceedings, and thus act as a lasting record of what was shown at the conference. The following video demonstrates what a submission video could look like, and gives some practical information on how to create one: instruction video on Vimeo.

After acceptance, the details of the technical requirements of the demo should be provided to the demo chairs at demos@imx2021.com 

If you require any support in the preparation of your contribution due to accessibility reasons, please get in touch with our Accessibility Chairs at accessiblity@imx2021.com 

Submission Materials

1.  The form of 4-page papers (not including references) written in the New SIGCHI Proceedings Format. It should standalone as a piece of written work and must coherently describe your demo.
2. At least one “representative image” : 1500 x 1200 (at least 300 dpi at 5 inches wide, with depth proportional) or the highest possible screen grab. Images must be submitted in a 24-bit (RGB, 8-bits per channel) uncompressed, highest-detail JPEG format file possible. 
3. A Two-minute demo of captured video : This video can include multiple non-continuous edits (like a trailer), but do not use any post-production tools to enhance the images or speed. Files must be QuickTime, MP4, Windows Media, or AVI files no larger than 250 MB. All videos must be uploaded to the PCS submission system. No discs or drives will be accepted.

REVIEW PROCESS

Your submissions will be reviewed by chairs based on impact, and the quality of work. The review process will strive to recognize the potential of the submitted work for its future scientific, societal, economical or industrial impact.

AT THE CONFERENCE

IMX 2021 will be held virtually. At least one author must register to the virtual conference to give this presentation.

The virtual platform will allow attendees to watch the demo video and interact with the authors through video chat. The authors will also have the option to link to other online materials such as a poster or live demo URL.

Authors of accepted contributions will receive detailed instructions.

AFTER THE CONFERENCE

This year, accepted IMX demo submissions will be published in the conference proceedings, indexed by the ACM Digital Library.