Media actors: characters in search of an author

Interactive experiences benefit from natural interactions, compelling communication, and ease of implementation. We show how, according to these principles, interactive media architectures can be categorized as scripted, responsive, learning, or behavioral, and give examples of applications in each category. We then propose the perceptive architecture based on media actors. We endow media objects-expressive text, photographs, movie clips, audio, and sound clips-with coordinated perceptual intelligence, behaviors and personality. Such media actors are able to engage the public in an encounter with a virtual character which expresses itself through one or more of these agents. The result is a novel method for interactive media modeling which finds applications in multimedia, electronic art, interactive performance and entertainment