Roadmap - nonmodernist/magic-lantern GitHub Wiki

Something Like a Magic Lantern Roadmap v2

Automated Desktop Research Companion for the Media History Digital Library

🎯 Core Vision

Transform Magic Lantern from a command-line tool into an elegant desktop application that brings the aesthetic charm of early cinema journals to modern research workflows.

🖥️ Desktop App Development (HIGH PRIORITY)

Core App Polish

  • Apply consistent 1901 Optical Magic Lantern Journal theming throughout
    • Period-appropriate typography
    • Sepia-toned color palette with brass accents
  • Results viewer improvements:
    • Pagination for large result sets - sort of implemented with "view more results" button
    • Visual result cards with preview excerpts
    • Ability to select specific results for export
    • Ability to load previous results into the viewer
    • "Fetch Full Text" for selected results
    • Export to formatted PDF reports
    • Back to top button
  • Search progress enhancement - style console output
  • Design polish and standardization review

User Experience

  • Simplified onboarding:
    • Profile selection wizard
    • Three core profiles with clear use cases - critical reception (reviews), production news, adaptation
    • Link to documentation for how to build custom profiles
  • Tooltips explaining each setting
  • Sample CSV with well-known films for testing
  • Post-search guidance: "Now what?" tips for working with results

🌐 Website (HIGH PRIORITY)

Landing Page

  • Design in same 1901 journal aesthetic
  • Hero section: "Research at the Speed of Lantern Light"
  • Feature showcase with animated demonstrations
  • Testimonials section (once we have beta users)
  • Download button
  • "See it in action" video/GIF demos

Content Strategy

  • "What is Magic Lantern?" explainer
  • Use case examples with before/after workflows
  • Sample results showcase
  • Researcher testimonials and case studies
  • Blog for updates and research tips?

Community Building

  • Newsletter signup for updates?
  • Beta tester recruitment form
  • Profile sharing gallery
  • User success stories

📊 Profile & Pattern Refinement (MEDIUM PRIORITY)

Testing Framework

  • Automated profile testing against representative film sets
  • A/B testing different weight configurations
  • Community feedback mechanism

Pattern Improvements

  • Visual pattern tester in the app
  • OCR error correction suggestions
  • Publication pattern crowd-sourcing

🚀 Distribution & Onboarding (MEDIUM PRIORITY)

Packaging

  • Mac app ??
  • Windows installer
  • Auto-update mechanism

Documentation

  • In-app help system with period styling
  • Video tutorials?
  • Sample research projects
  • Profile creation guide

🔄 Feedback Loop System (LOWER PRIORITY)

Community Features

  • Search strategy recipes
  • Research collaboration features?

Results Analysis

  • Design a way to analyze search-results.json

🎨 Design System (ONGOING)

Visual Language

  • Complete style guide based on 1901 journal
  • Icon set with period-appropriate imagery
  • Animation guidelines (subtle, elegant)
  • Print-ready report templates
  • Logo variations for different contexts

📈 Future Enhancements (BACKLOG)

Advanced Features

  • Batch processing multiple research projects?
  • Integration with citation managers

🎯 Success Metrics

  • Short term: 5 beta testers providing feedback
  • Medium term: 50 active users, 5+ shared profiles
  • Long term: Cited in 3+ academic papers, sustainable community

The key shift here is prioritizing the visual, user-friendly aspects that will make Magic Lantern accessible to researchers who aren't comfortable with command lines. The 1901 journal aesthetic should make the tool feel both scholarly and approachable, while the profile editor will democratize the customization that makes the tool powerful.

✅ Finished

Publication Pattern Improvements - DONE!!

  • Audit base-patterns.js against actual Lantern item IDs to catch missed publications
    • start with 5 high weighted publications
    • Test regex patterns with edge cases (abbreviated titles, OCR errors in IDs) - doing as I audit
    • Document which patterns catch which ID variations for future debugging - doing as I audit
  • Add patterns for publications mentioned in profiles but missing from base patterns
  • Clean up the "exhibitors" mess

Desktop App MVP Features

  • Simple GUI for CSV file selection (no more command line for basic users!)
  • Progress bar for long-running searches
  • Basic results viewer (formatted nicer than raw JSON)
  • Profile selector dropdown
  • "Stop" button for interrupting searches

Desktop Profile Selection & Display ✨

  • Basic profile editor UI started → Simplify to profile selector
  • Create clear profile showcase:
    • Display what searches each profile runs (with examples)
    • Show which publications are prioritized
  • Import community profiles feature (keep this!)
  • Visual profile editor → Link to edit .profile.js files directly - this sort of works - a modal pops up with instructions