With the rapid increase in online video services, multimedia retrieval systems are becoming increasingly important search tools to users in many different fields. In this paper we present a novel retrieval interface, "FacetBrowser", which supports the creation of multiple search "facets", to aid users carrying out complex search tasks involving multiple concepts. Each facet represents a different aspect of the search task: an assumption of this work is that search facets are best represented by sub-searches, providing users with flexibility in defining facets on the fly, rather than using pre-defined categories or metadata information as used in many other exploratory search interfaces [3, 8, 17]. Such facets can be organised into "stories" by users, facilitating users in building up sequences of related searches and material which together can be used to satisfy a work task.

Awareness of another's activity is an important aspect of facilitating collaboration between users, enabling an "understanding of the activities of others" [1]. Many environments where multimedia search is required are collaborative in nature, such as when a group of artists and animators are engaged in the production of a multimedia product. In this paper we introduce a study which used a novel evaluation methodology, where pairs of users competed to find the most relevant shots for a topic, with the aim of evaluating the role of awareness within an environment conductive to its use. Results based on event log and questionnaire data are reported, and conclusions presented illustrating some of the issues and pitfalls of using awareness in a video search system.

With the rapid increase in online video services, video retrieval systems are becoming increasingly important search tools to many users in many different fields. In this poster we present a novel video retrieval interface, which supports the creation of multiple search "facets", to aid users carrying out complex, multi-faceted search tasks. The interface allows multiple searches to be executed and viewed simultaneously, and allows material to be reorganized between the facets. An experiment is presented which compares the faceted interface to a tabbed interface similar to that on modern web browsers, and some preliminary results are given.