Week 11: Common Craft

I’m kind of obsessed with Common Craft, the website that makes the “____ in Plain English” videos. It reminds me about what McLuhan said about how we treat the new mediums like the old mediums. Common Craft uses cut out drawings and felts to ‘plainly’ explain how different things work.

My favorite video is “Zombies in Plain English”. I sent it to everyone I know.
When it comes to learning how certain technologies work, reading about it can be completely useless to me. I love to use different programs and applications, but the technology behind them usually go right over my head. Computer technology can be really uninteresting to me unless someone shows me or explains it to me using examples and metaphors. Common Craft goes just far enough that I don’t feel like I’m being treated like an idiot, just more like a kid, which is fine because it helps.
I like the look of different genres being mixed together too. Paper cut out drawings and felts, hands moving the drawings around, ect.

Week 12: My Thoughts about Digital Media

As someone who doesn’t have any previous experience with digital media, I found this course a great introduction to the mad amount of creative and productive projects which can be produced from learning the skills the course teaches.

My favourite part of the lab class was the flash project. It was difficult at first because it was so different from anything I’d ever done before, but once I spent some time on it (okay A LOT of time and a lot of help from other people) it got to be really awesome to see the project advance. I had no idea I could learn to create something like that in such a short period of time. Again, it was a great introduction to what I could possibly create in the future if I kept working with the program.

My favourite part of the lecture class is the creativity of the slides. It’s a really great representation of how the use of digital media can improve any type of presentation. It’s great to learn about current uses of digital media, because it makes it more interesting and important to learn about.

As far as improvements go; I would suggest having more assistants in the media lab (229) during class times and times around project due dates because a lot of students have to wait hours to get questions answered because the one assistant is helping a list of people ahead of them. This is hard on the students and the assistant.

In regards to the lecture, I would suggest either slowing the slides down a bit or posting them all on Blackboard. I can sometimes keep up with taking notes, but then I have no time to answer questions.

Although I have decided to wait until I have had a taste of the video and other courses next semester before deciding what I want to focus on in the future, I know I won’t be spending most of my time in digital media classes. However, like Lauri has said, digital media is in everything we do, especially if I choose to focus on video. The reason I know I won’t be taking a lot of digital media focused courses in the next few years is because, although I enjoy working on computers, I don’t want to spend EVERY MOMENT while I’m at school/work working on one. Audio allows you to work on boards, create sounds, record sounds, work with other people etc. While it doesn’t always have to be this way, digital media can be completely done on the computer and without the help of anyone else. I like to work in groups, even if it is challenging and frustrating at times.

The most important skill I learnt from this course is probably flash, although web design will no doubt come in handy as well. With Flash I can do everything from animation to movie credits. Web design is handy because, no matter what you do, your company will have a website, and if you know how to make one, then it will save you from having to pay someone else to do it for you. I think Photoshop is essential, but I didn’t actually learn much about Photoshop in this course. The most important thing I learnt from the lectures was definitely the CRAP principals. I have never been very good at visual art, but now that I know to use the CRAP principals, I know I can create something that looks professional and attractive.

Week 10: Web 2.0

Characteristics that define Web 2.0:

1. Dynamic content, viewable on multiple platforms

Twitter has a new application called tweetwally.com. Tweetwally allows you to customize a page that will only display the tweets which you want to follow. The content on Tweetwally is dynamic as well as user generated and social: Web 2.0. Tweetwally can be used for multiple platforms like projectors and smart phones.

(http://www.tweetwally.com/blog/2009/11/25/2/introducing_tweetwally)

2. User contribution (user generated content or user generated value)

YouTube is a perfect example of user contribution. YouTube is a website which relies on content of the users. Not only does YouTube rely on the users’ content, but YouTube also keeps track of the most popularly viewed videos, videos being watched now, as well as allowing users to comment and rate the videos. The video created by the guy who wrote “one world” on his hand and received thousands of video replies is an example of user generated content and value.

2. Social media

Facebook is generated by online media that provides opportunities for socializing, connecting, and sharing. Facebook is the ultimate socializing network; users create profiles (creating an image and personality: online identity), event pages (organizes and plans parties and meetings), groups (connecting people who have a similar interest or hobby), ect. Facebook also allows users control what other people see and what they don’t. Connecting through Facebook is easy. People will never get bored of connecting with people in new and different ways. The need to share pictures is one of the main reasons Facebook has become so popular. Socializing, connecting, and sharing: Web 2.0.

4. Online applications (http://www.go2web20.net/)

http://memoov.com

Memoov.com is an example of an online application of Web 2.0. memoov is a website which allows the users to create simple animation movies and post them up on the memoov site and YouTube.com. Memoov is dynamic, generated content, which is shared amoung users = Web 2.0.

5. Harnessing collective intelligence

BitTorrent is a program used for sharing audio and video. Users upload and download files for and from other users.

BitTorrent uses Peer-to-Peer Networking (P2P): communication/file sharing between users/computers/nodes ect.

Flash Project

can't upload :(

Artist Statement

For my animation project I have created an interactive Family Tree. I got this idea because I want an easy way to keep track of and keep in touch with my family. Someday I hope to turn the project into a family website, but for now I’m keeping it simple and close to my parents.

I started by spending a lot of time on the phone with my parents asking about names, dates, and who is related to whom. Once I knew whom I was going to include in my family tree I tried to draw it on a piece of paper. Turns out families don’t really look like trees. It took a while before I came up with a style that looked good and made sense.

Once I had a solid sketch I sat down in front of the computer and copied the sketch onto Flash. I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to fill the tree in after I drew the outline. I eventually put the tree on Photoshop, filled it in on there, and took it off as a .psd file. Then, inspired by a flash project watched in digital media lab, I erased a small amount of the tree in the second frame, and then a little more on the third frame, and so on. Once I had erased the entire tree I reversed the frames and watched the tree grow.

I wanted the tree to have some life to it so I created a movie clip of a leaf blowing slightly in the wind. I spent hours trying to make it turn at the right point, and then I had mistakenly created a tween within a tween, so it was going too fast. After lots of help and time I eventually got the slow tween I wanted and added the movie clip all over the tree.

The buttons on the tree were a little tricky too. I made them grow in the over stage so the words are readable, but then some of the names overlapped or escaped the screen. I played with this for a while before I realized I could simply make the stage larger so see the names when they escaped the page. If I had the time I would make the tree a bit smaller and find a way to make the names readable without adjusting the stage size.

The profile frames were easy to make but consumed a lot of time. I couldn’t find the right type on Flash so I created all of the text on Photoshop then imported the file over, which didn’t always fit, so there was a lot of re-saving and re-importing. I had to compile pictures and information about people, some of whom I don’t know very well at all. I decided for the purpose of this project I will keep the profiles simple, but if I were to expand the project I would make the profiles more personal, and definitely include birth month and date, not just the year.

I kept the color scheme simple. I knew the tree was going to be brown, the leaves green, and then I experimented with the background until I realized a light yellow with spray painted yellows and oranges looked best. I wrote down the exact green and brown that I liked and copied these colors for the text and picture frame in the profile frames. Brown: 4F2509 Green: 07a507.

Finally, I added a forest ambiance to the project and the effect tied everything together beautifully.

Week 6: Flash Family Tree

Week 6
Describe your idea for your Animation/Interactivity assignment (which is due in Week 9). What inspired this idea? Which examples shown in lecture/lab gave you inspiration? What other examples exist on the Internet that can act as examples/inspiration? (Link to them and describe how they are relevant.) What will you have to do to accomplish your idea (e.g. any research, skill building, etc.)? Which techniques in Flash will you employ to make it happen?

For my animation project I have decided to create an interactive Family Tree.

I got this idea after recently meeting up with a family member (whom I’m not ever sure how I’m related to) and talking about other family members (which I can’t remember the names of). She told me that she has a section of her family tree copied down, and that she knows of other people in the family who have done the same. She asked if I could take on the responsibility of the records she has been holding onto. I realised immediately that the best way to keep all this information was online.

Someday I hope to turn the project into a website, but for now I’m keeping it simple and close to my parents.

An example from class that helped me figure out how to make the tree grow. I learned I have to draw the full tree, place it on a future key frame, and then work backwards, erasing more parts on every previous frame until I reach the first frame which only has the roots.

I looked up a bunch of flash examples online, but none were very similar to what I have in my head.

This is the only video I could find that even remotely looked like what I wanted. It’s really cool but way beyond what I can or want to do right now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUaE0UlGYxE

I want people’s names be buttons on the tree and when you click on one you go to another frame which has a short bio and picture of that person.

For my movie clip I’m going to have small leaves on the tree which will constantly be waving in the wind.

I haven’t chosen music yet because I know that will be easier to choose once more of the project is done. All I know is that I want it to be subtle.

Week 8: Digital Footprint

We recently discussed our digital footprints, and how important they will be when we begin our careers. I realized about a year ago that I needed to adjust my privacy settings on my Facebook page. I don’t mind having pictures of me at parties, as long as I still look respectable. I doubt my future employers are going to expect me to look like I don’t have any fun. I have friends who have Facebook albums of them doing drugs and other things which I know would repel any employers from hiring them.
In regards to web pages, I looked up maggiemacpherson.com/.ca/.net and the address is not taken yet. I want to buy the .ca one for sure and maybe the .com one too. I hope I am successful enough some day that people are actually thinking of me when they Google my name. When I Google my name I get a few other Maggie Macpherson’s on Facebook, one on LinkedIn, and a mention of a woman in the New York Times who works in Film. So it looks like I have a good shot at having a distinctive Digital Footprint.
Wikipedia split up Digital Footprints into two types: passive and active. A passive digital footprint is created by other users, such as being mentioned in a blog or article or being tagged in another user’s photo. Active digital footprints are created by the user, examples include creating your own Facebook page and albums, creating your own blog, writing an article, or creating a web site.
The passive digital footprint scares me. I have had to ask people to delete or un-tag photos of me before and it is not fun. Luckily, I have no enemies, and hope to keep it that way, but if I did, it doesn’t take much to spread rumors throughout Facebook and Google and anywhere online. This is why I am glad that teachers teach their students to find credible sources, we need to know not to trust everything we read, because someday it may be about us. Facebook and YouTube have pretty much made everyone possible paparazzi. This may not be such a bad thing though. Actions have consequences, especially in a time which is so obsessed with communication.
I have a prediction about the digital community and gossip. It’s not even really a prediction since it has already started. I think that there will be very little if any credible online information anymore. Before Web 2.0, most people believed everything they read came from facts. They may have disagreed with it, but, compared to now, they didn’t wonder whether or not the entire story was made up. Now, everything we read needs to be questioned. Also, when I hear about a celebrity or anyone being pursued by the media, I usually feel sorry for them. They are people, they make mistakes, and if my life was under a spot light then I would have a few scandals on my record too. I think the public is realizing this and, I hope, we stop obsessing over the mistakes of people around us and start celebrating their accomplishments and use mass communication to learn from each other instead of hurt each other.
I got a little side tracked there…in short I’m going to work on my digital footprint this winter holiday and maybe create another blog or web site.

Week 7: Scopitone Videos

http://scopitones.com/

Scopitone videos:

Bright colors on the set and costumes

Colors look washed out on video

People dancing, woman show a lot of skin...

“flashes” and “scratches” on frames

Long takes, not many close ups


Modern Videos:

Animation: Boom Boom Pow

Clubs

Clear pictures and colors

Short takes, different angles and locations

Lots of close ups


I was surprised how similar the Scopitone Videos are to todays videos. Obviously they have many differences, but a few things stuck around: singers in different locations, women using their sexuality/showing skin, dancing, branding (representing their "look" or "type")