A graphics editor for benesh movement notation

Abstract

This paper describes an interactive computerized editor for Benesh Movement Notation that aids in the preparation of dance scores on a medium resolution colour display. Benesh Movement Notation is a two-dimensional system for recording human movement in three dimensions of space which has been successfully used in the preparation of scores for a wide repertoire of dances. The preparation and revision of Benesh scores is a lengthy and error-prone process which interactive editing techniques can greatly facilitate. We describe the current state and future extensions of a prototype editing system in which all user interaction is based on a menu-driven scheme using a graphics tablet. Extensive visual cues including iconic trackers and semantic information are provided at all times. Both user and system initiated dialogues are supported. This system has served as a testbed for a variety of man-machine interaction studies, allowing us to transfer the wealth of experience with interactive text editing to a related task: the preparation of dance scores. The project has given us a better understanding of the issues involved in implementing an effective user-interface.

Facilities for the graphical computer simulation of head and body movements

“…Such genotypical coding procedures start with hierarchical models of 3-D objects (body parts), including definitions of joints, the degrees of freedom for positional changes of the various parts, and the forces and torques (muscle activities) acting on them. Animation programs based on biomechanical principles (Armstrong & Green, 1985;Wilhelms & Barsky, 1985) are gaining importance for applications in sports, ergonomics, and robotics (Lee, Gonzales, & Fu, 1983;Rohmert & Schaub, 1988;Singh, Beatty, & Ryman, 1983), but their usefulness in nonverbal communication research is rather limited. By providing universal construction rules, biomechanical principles may offer an efficient basis for the formulation of algorithms in animation.…”

Dance in computer technology: A survey of applications and capabilities

“…It is compatible with other computer systems and uses a graphics terminal and printer to output high quality notation "manuscripts." Rhonda Ryman and her colleagues in the Department of Dance, University of Waterloo, are designing an interactive computerized editor for the Benesh Movement Notation system and are planning to use their prototype in the preparation of dance scores (Singh, Beatty, Booth, & Ryman, 1983 Keen (1973) and Zella Wolofsky (see Barenholtz, 1977), for example, both developed simple human figure visualizations of Labanotation commands. Until such time as dance movement (or any human movement, for that matter) can be directly recorded and encoded by the computer itself, NOTATE and other computerized notation and graphics programs will continue to play an important role in the collection and preservation of the dances of our time and may soon supercede photographic, film, and video recordings.…”