Connecting Living Rooms: An Experiment In Orchestrated Video Communication

Consumer live video communication has now become an established communication medium, but the current systems are still quite limited in their ability to support natural communication in more complex interaction setups. What new features might be required to further expand live video communication? This paper suggests: "orchestration" -- i.e. the ability to automatically and in real-time (re)configure the communication system to the needs of the interaction context. The inspiration for
 communication orchestration is television production through mixing views from different cameras and camera reframing. This paper reports a specific study of orchestration carried out in the social setting of a group of friends communicating from three separate living rooms through television screens and multiple cameras. The orchestrated experience was evaluated against a static (split screen) connection, and was carried out via a questionnaire, analysis of automatic logs and interviews. In this case study, orchestration has been identified as providing for more intimate conversations, whereas, the static solution emerged to be better for conveying group awareness.