The multimedia package, “The Whale Hunt,”  was created and produced by Jonathan Harris and Andrew Moore, they both shot the 3,214 photographs of their nine day trip from Newark, NJ to Barrow, Alaska.  Harris, however, did all of the written pieces of the final project, while Harris was there to shoot the majority of the large frame formatted pictures.

This project was created to allow viewers to experience the tradition behind whale hunting with the Inupiat Eskimos moment by moment. However, there was a twist to this documentation; pictures were taken at a five-minute interval at a speed based on heart rate. At times of excitement, a maximum of 37 pictures were taken in five minutes and at times of boredom, the rate of pictures taken was far less.

            The purpose of this project was to create a series of documentation pieces with photographs and a recorded heartbeat that allows viewers to experience that rush of adrenaline or even the dullness these two men experienced while tagging along on a tradition based event.  Harris created the heartbeat portion of the project because he wanted to understand the use of computers and “emphasize” with their perspectives. This created a bonus for any viewer, he or she not only could visualize what was going on, but could also understand the emotion behind it as well. 

            When you enter the site, the main page only consists of a single picture, a link to “begin the whale hunt” first, followed by links to the statements, highlights, interface, credits, and faqs sections. Its plain white background, subtle gray font, and vividly colorful picture are very eye pleasing. It is a simple layout, is easy to navigate and the contrast between the white background and picture draws in the viewer.

            The package was broken up into the sections stated above, it was the easiest to start and read the “statement” section first. It laid out the whole reason behind doing the project, how it started and the basic information one may need to know to understand what they were going to look at when looking at the series of photographs.  It was very helpful that Harris included this portion; it set up what was going to be viewed and therefore was understood more so if someone were to start with by just clicking on “begin the whale hunt.”

            The “highlights” portion was just as helpful as the statements, it broke down the thousands of pictures taken into the most important, labeled them with captions, and allowed viewers to visually see the story from beginning to end without having to go through 3,214 photographs. It was interesting and easier to follow than trying to navigate through all the photographs taken throughout the whole trip.

            The “interface” told viewers what each part, caption, label, symbol and so on meant and represented. It was easier to understand the “begin the whale hunt” slideshow after fully reading this portion; it broke each section down and told viewers what to expect when he/she were to see it. It was very helpful as well in understanding the whole mission and final product of this package.

            The “credits” part of the package was like a mini-biography of each individual involved in the production of the project. This, again, was very helpful as well when trying to understand who everyone was and what their partake in this was. It allowed viewers to get to know the people behind the scenes and somewhat feel like they could understand why they were there and doing this. The “faq” portion was a simple question and answer portion created by Harris that answered questions he thought every viewer may have after seeing his final outcome.

            The biggest and most interactive part of “The Whale Hunt” was the 3,214 photographs, viewers could pick three different ways to view all of them: a mosaic mode, timeline, or pinwheel.  This was the project in a whole; it captured every waking, and non-waking moment the men experienced while on their trip. You could choose which pictures you wanted to view by cadence, or excitement level; the context, or area the photos were taken; the concept, or certain ideas like blood, prayer, food and so on; and the cast who was involved in the photos. This allowed viewers to see the whole project at once, or narrow it down to specific parts they were interested in seeing.

No one person will experience this package the same, there are so many different ways to go about viewing the package and understanding it because nothing has to be done in linear order. However, the only part of this package that creates some confusion is having the “begin whale hunt” link above the rest, therefore most would click on it first. That is very confusing if someone is just seeing all these pictures for the first time. The introduction of the project and what all these pictures mean should be the first seen and above the rest so people can read and understand what is going on.  Also, when you click on “begin the whale hunt” there is no link that will take you back to the homepage where you can explore all the other portions of the project.

This multimedia package, as a whole, was very entertaining, easy to follow if navigated correctly, and opened a porthole into the lives of something different that many would never be able to experience. The thousands of photographs was the porthole, they were able to really draw the viewer into what was going on and include him/her in on the action. It was the most compelling part of the whole project.