SmartSeat
Class Interaction Design Studio
Project Duration 1 month
Team Size 4 members
My Role
Solution Design
Script Writing
Acting
B-Role Footage
Minor Video Editing
What is SmartSeat?
SmartSeat is a wifi-enabled car seat that uses a combination of weight-detection and GPS technology to notify caretakers immediately if their baby has been left alone in the car.
The Prompt
Our project assignment was to create a kickstarter video sketch of an IoT concept that utilizes wifi-enabled weight sensor technology to solve a real-world problem.
The Challenge With Our Design Space
Caretakers who accidentally leave a child alone in the car are often loving and responsible parents. There is a heavy social shame associated with forgetting one's baby anywhere, let alone in a hot car. The challenge was this: if caretakers bought our product, they would be admitting that they are capable of making a mistake that could kill their baby. We had to be tactful in our messaging so that caretakers were motivated to use our life-saving product without feeling like they were the type of caretakers who needed it.
“If caretakers bought our product, they would be admitting that they are capable of making a mistake that could kill their baby.”
How We Stepped Up to the Challenge
The receptiveness of our audience came down to the tone of the video. At first, we used a tone of fear so that caretakers would be motivated to use SmartSeat to prevent a disaster. We cited statistics for the number of child fatalities. We used deep, suspenseful music. And we showed video clips of babies in distress. However, caretakers were alarmed by this tone and wanted to disassociate themselves from a situation in which they needed our product.
“Rather than appealing to a fear of being bad caretakers, we instead appealed to the desire to be outstanding caretakers”
We had to rethink our approach. So rather than appealing to our users' fear of being bad caretakers, we instead decided to appeal to their desire to be outstanding caretakers. To support this, we used parent testimonials expressing a desire to be responsible. We used lighter, hopeful music. And we showed babies in a state of health and happiness.
The Process
Writing the Script
The written script could not be written in isolation without considering the associated video at each frame. We therefore wrote the script scene-by-scene by think about both the audio and the video. Click the below excerpt to see the full script.
Recording the Audio
We recorded the audio track of our script in a sound booth for higher quality. It took several takes and slight modifications on tone of voice to design the effect we envisioned.
Our team takes turns recording our audio track and checking for quality.
Recording the Video
We created a shooting schedule to organize which each scene would be shot. We make the script available for each actor at shooting time and learnt how to operate A/V equipment.
