On the relation of ordinary gestures to TV screens

Abstract

We present an interaction analysis based on ethnographic fieldwork of how physical movements, including gestures, are produced by viewers in front of television screens in a sports bar. Understanding ordinary life and specifically television watching in social situations will benefit the discussion of the potential of gesture techniques for controlling interactive televisions in various locations. Challenges for system design include body movement recognition, since movements can have many different purposes and are directed simultaneously at the screen and co-viewers. Moreover, gestures as elements of conversation are sometimes negotiated and overlapping. Since these ordinary movements are hard to automatically track and analyse, suggested systems might lead to demands on viewers to restrain their accustomed movements and adapt them in ways that might be considered awkward. We also reveal new design opportunities that draw upon the ways viewers' gestures are influenced by ongoing broadcast.

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