A basic class assignment turned into a successful mobile invention for a group of graduate students at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
Two ASU graduates from the institute created a mobile application that offers dance artists the opportunity to manage and monitor their own rehearsal videos.
Stjepan Rajko and Jessica Mumford, who graduated with master’s degrees in 2009, developed the mobile app.
In 2005, Rajko was assigned a simple class assignment for his “Performance and Technology” class: come up with a basic method to make dance rehearsals more efficient. Rajko developed the idea of the application for the assignment.
He envisioned a device that allowed a solo choreographer to play music and record rehearsal video by using voice commands.
In spring 2008, Rajko paired up with fellow graduate and dance student Jessica Mumford. Together, the two constructed a model of the mobile app at ASU, creating a way for artists to not only perform, but also produce and direct their rehearsal videos. They called their creation the Rehearsal Assistant.
The Rehearsal Assistant is an audio-video recording app for Android phones, and it’s also designed to work with a computer.
After rehearsal, users can go back, view, and edit the tape.
Before the app, Rajko said students would have an assistant film video and take notes of their performance.
“The app has taken place of the assistant,” he said.
Both Rajko and Mumford said the device is not designed only for dance and theater students but the rest of the public as well.
“The app serves many purposes for people of all ages,” Rajko said. “You can use it for attending an event or for watching rehearsal.”
A professor could, for example, record a student in a speech class, he said.
“It’s meant for everyone and its purpose is to annotate something live,” Rajko said.
The Rehearsal Assistant started as an app primarily for Mac computers and it took five to six months to develop. Rajko and Mumford eventually expanded the app to be used by other non-Mac computers.
The Rehearsal Assistant app was released in spring 2009. Since then, it has been downloaded roughly 70,000 times.
“Many students like that the app is so convenient and can be used for different reasons,” Mumford said. “We’ve created the app so that it can record and e-mail the video from a mobile phone. It’s flexible and you can easily record audio and annotate it in time for you.”
Political science senior Joycelyn Scott downloaded the app last spring and uses it to record audio for all of her professor’s lectures.
“In politics, debates are fast and the classes are large,” Scott said. “The app was easy to download and I can keep up with my lectures instead of taking so many notes.”
Today, Rajko and Mumford continue to develop the app to make it more efficient.
Mumford still works at the dance school at the Herberger Institute, while Rajko is in the process of getting his doctorate in computer sciences.
They are open to new ideas from their peers, and they welcome constructive criticism. Currently, they are working on contacting local artists who have an interest for using the app in rehearsal or research.
“It’s an ongoing project,” Rajko said. “Our hope is to expand the app and take the idea to the next level.”
Reach the reporter at kirsten.hillhouse@asu.edu
