Projects 6-7 (Polygonal Portrait, A Digital You), More...

DUE

4.29 (REGULAR CLASS TIME) : 

* READING 4 (NEW AESTHETIC)

http://www.webdirections.org/resources/james-bridle-waving-at-the-machines/

* SELECTION OF A POST FROM

THE NEW AESTHETIC TUMBLR

AND WHY IT APPEALED.

(ON YOUR BLOG)

http://new-aesthetic.tumblr.com/

5.6 (REGULAR CLASS TIME) :

* PROJECT 6

* SEMESTER LONG WRITE-UPS

* SOME FOOD. POT LUCK.

5.13 (FINAL, 10:15 AM MEETING TIME) :

* YOUR PRESENCE IN A DIGITAL

WORLD MEETING PLACE

* (RELATED) PROJECT 7

*

WORKSHOP HOURS

EVERY FRIDAY AND SUNDAY UP TO

THE FINAL MEETING, 1-4... SAVE

FOR MAY 3 (B.B. FILM FESTIVAL).

(WHICH IS AN EVENT YOU CAN

WRITE ABOUT, IF YOU NEED IT.)

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A S S I G N M E N T   6

Polygonal Portrait

"Learning About Blender 3D and Self"

*Phase 1 of a 3 part exploration into what we might consider the "3D World". With Blender 3D, we will be employing a technique called "box modeling". In laymen's terms, a very lo-res method of 3D modeling that is typically a precursor to a more defined model. However for our purposes and parallel to the ideas from "The New Aesthetic", we are going to be chivalrous to the concept of 'cubes' and 'minimalism'.

Workflow of Project 6

1.) Explore the fundamentals of Blender 3D (program)! A tutorial post I've written containing everything necessary to completing assignment is here :

http://welcometodigitalmedia.blogspot.com/2013/04/blender-3d-primer.html

For the record, the version of Blender I have employed for the write-up is 2.56. Fundamentals may apply if a different version, but be sure. Working computers in lab should have Blender installed.

2.) With techniques and fundamentals in mind, develop project. You are to create a self portrait. Additionally, a portrait of yourself you believe would be perceived from the lens of a machine. This is where the cubist visual-minimalism comes in handy for the college student without enough time to create a million-polygon rendition. You may be very, very liberal in your approach to your machine-esque self portrait. It may be your head or face. It may be a certain part or closely related object to you which summarizes your being. Your family may even be representative of you. Endless possibilities. But it is self portrait.

3.) Important enough to get its own bulletpoint : Model this as if it could fit on a large pedestal in the Sheppard Gallery in Church Fine Arts. Don't worry too much about in-program scale. You can 'scale' it where its going...

4.) The method of turn-in : Five snapshots rendered from Blender and posted to your blog. This way : One front-view, one back-view, one-side view, one-top view, and angle of your choice. Also, artist's statement about image's relationship to it being your portrait.

This is just an example I did (playing with the whole 'other things are me' schtick) inspired by Michael Murphy's work. I took a zoomed up pixel shot of Sonic from 1991, even further bitmapped it to look more primitive, and distorted the individual pixels by deleting 'polygons' from panels it mapped the image onto. You will likely surpass this, and I would hope you do.

Links for inspiration-

http://www.antonygormley.com/sculpture/chronology

http://www.marcdidou.com/#/en/Works/Sculptures

http://beautifuldecay.com/2013/01/24/michael-murphys-perfect-perspective-multi-layered-sculptures/

http://talent.adweek.com/gallery/Low-Poly-Non-Isometric/5131159

Keep the file safe! You will be exporting a .dae file of the mesh/model to use in the end.

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A S S I G N M E N T   7

A Digital You

"Visualizing Yourself in Second Life"

Now the yang to Project 6's yang, in a way. Instead of a machine telling you how to portrait yourself, you are telling a machine how to see you. Phase 2 of 3 of the 3D world.

Learning how to build an avatar will get nearly a whole in-class period of work, April 29. We will take a trip to the Dynamic Media Lab for it.

So keep calm and stay digital.

Representational Avatar/Self
Sign up for a free account and get acquainted with Second Life. Go to http://secondlife.com/ and sign up! Your first steps are to create a representational avatar/self portrait in the online community “Second Life”. If your computer allows it (more than likely yes) you are free to download the program for yourself. Test that out excessively. It must be reliable for the final meeting.

Follow these steps:

A) Start by changing your appearance functions to essentially create a self portrait in appearance and body shape as avatar. Either create or find clothing items that work for your self-portrait/avatar. Think of the tools available as a new type of drawing system – using this system to create the most realistic, representational depiction of the self.

 

Examples A and B. Your typical Second Life denizen.

Only without the white hair and lack of clothing.

Follow this tutorial. You'll learn a lot by 'doing', but this helps additionally.
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Appearance_Editor

B) Once you have created an avatar (or you have one that your previously created as a mirrored self, great!), save this as an outfit. Now you will start working with the skin template in photoshop to create a more realistic representation of your face and head.

Follow the link below. You can download a template (Photoshop

file - layered) to stretch out a front and side portrait on to

map your own face into the Second Life world engine!

This is the link for the head template to import. 
http://www.annotoole.com/CMFF/ (you will need CMFF_Master_Template_Head.zip)

This is a tutorial on making and importing skin. In a nutshell, simply enter at the top BUILD -> IMPORT -> IMAGE. It will only let you do so for 10 L (dollars in game). Using the lab fees available, I will ensure you receive a good amount of money from the Digital Lab (from myself and Joe DeLappe) to spend on importing images to map your face with. May take more than one try. After you've imported, you can simply enter the edit appearance mode, body -> skin -> face and use image.
http://www.avatars-3d.com/tutorial-template-secondlife/273-second-life-how-to-use-a-skin-template

IMPORTANT: To help customize yourself better, you may buy with $L (which the Digital Lab/department will supply to you) extra clothing. The online store accessible via Second Life is http://secondlife.com/shop/ .

 Turn in protocol-

1.) Post snapshots of your avatar in the Second Life world, in either exotic locales or the most mundane ones. As long as they are representative of you and a portrait of you. 'Ish.

How? Screen capture!

*In Second Life, disable HUD with Control + Alt + F1. To make image without menus.

*On Mac : Apple+Shift+3. It will save an image to your desktop.

*Of choosing : Crop and adjust lighting levels of image to your liking! Then post.

A minimum of three images. Artist statement : A short paragraph of this portrait's relationship to your Project 6 portrait.

My normal self. Out of disguise of infamous "DeBender of

the Universe" SL costume. Debating to show in class...

So we have two portraits of ourselves. That leaves...

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F I N A L   M E E T I N G

* The preliminary plan towards this meeting

(10:15 AM, May 13th) is to congregate in the

virtual world of Second Life.

In a sandbox portion of the world,

where we may install our own models

converted to .dae from Blender (and

importantly create new prims/models

within the Second Life world there),

we will install a virtual art show.

I will attempt, to import a replica of the

Sheppard fine arts gallery from down-

stairs into Second Life so we may install

on pedestals Project 6. Our personas

present (Project 7) will observe.

It is then we will critique project 7 via

type-chat one-by-one and just chat.

More details will be posted separately later.

In addition to an extra credit possibility.

After that, game over.

.

End Game in Sight

Gang,

I thought it would be beneficial to outline, in clear fashion (as we've nicely tarnished the syllabus schedule by now), what will occur in the final weeks leading up to Digital Media 1's finale.



Week 12 (Done)




4.22 - Week 13

+SIX presentations.

+An in-depth look into projects 6 and 7. The 3D world (modeling, avatars) can be complex. You will be assisted. The primary plan : Attack interfaces "Blender" and "Second Life".

+Screen a section (time pending) of the PBS special film Digital Nation.

+Use rest of time to work! Classes may start ending earlier towards the conclusion of semester.


4.29 - Week 14

+Discuss the final reading (The New Aesthetic).

+Take trip to the Dynamic Media Lab to each use a computer (some may have to remain in Digital Media Lab) in getting feet wet with Second Life. Again, using more time to work.


5.6 - Week 15

+CRITIQUE PROJECT 6.

+Use rest of time to work!


5.13 [SPECIAL TIME, 10:15 AM] - Final Meeting

+Meet in Second Life's virtual world.

+CRITIQUE PROJECT 7.

+Observe extra credit works.


And then... Game over.

The Postproduction LIST

Hey gang.

Here are the orders we decided (and decided for others) in the class. Of sections to make individual clips out of for the collaboration that is Project 5.

1. Patrick
2. Megan
3. Autumn
4. Sam
5. Elizabeth
6. Kenny
7. Chelsea
8. Jackie
9. Jeannie
10. Lauren
11. Crystal
12. Nick
13. Kristen
14. Michelle
15. Mikki
16. Mickey
17. Richard
18. Scott

Collaborating with the person before and after, I believe, will prove most relevant AFTER screening the progress of next week. So no need until then.

-B

Project 5 : Postproduction (Found Footage - Reading Crossover)

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DUE

MARCH 25

-Reading 3 (Section of Nicolas Bourriaud's

Postproduction.) No questions necessary

this time... Because... It is intertwined

with project 5! All about "postproduction".

-Make a 'Top 3' list of sections from the

reading you would be interested in

bringing to life via visuals. We will

discuss reading and assignment

more in class on this day and

assign sections for the project.

APRIL 1 (No joke.)

-First cut of Project 5 done and ready

to show. NO SOUND. Will make sense later.

More to be explained below. Specs and more.

Mentioned in class. COME INTO CLASS WITH FILE.
No need to upload to Blogger just yet.

APRIL 8

-Final cut of Project 5, still no audio.

A large duration of class shall be

utilized towards editing the sound

of our sections into one cohesive whole,

and making it a final collaborative.

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WORKSHOP TIMES 

Fridays and Sundays until return

from Spring break, 1-4 PM.

Will announce if otherwise.

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A S S I G N M E N T   5

Postproduction

"Crossover : Reading + Found Footage"

a.k.a.  a collaborative short film using existing

internet footage to make a visual representation of

Nicolas Bourriaud's Postproduction.

a.k.a. Frankenfilm

inspiration : https://vimeo.com/groups/foundfootage

reading location : https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B288S_z9geMudnRIcVFLeDYzU00/edit?usp=sharing

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http://archive.org/ (Thousands of existing free-to-edit video. Old time footage!)
http://keepvid.com/ (For taking footage off of a Youtube video.)
http://www.clipconverter.cc/ (A very good one also, for the fact it doesn't need java!)
Plus plenty more aggregates that exist in finding "found footage". Including those which we have possibly gone over in class.

This is an experimental assignment designed only for specific classes such as these. One which combines aesthetic-technical ability with academic study.

It is additionally both collaborative, but subjective to one's visual tastes at the same time. Ultimately, all 18 of your edits shall combine into a stylish, contemporary short film which runs at the 9-9.5 minute range.

You are not to shoot any of your own footage for this assignment. This may come as a relief for some of you possibly. BUT, we are to attack one of the most technical of all aspects when it comes to creating your own time-based work : editing. Essentially, for those any and all familiar with the language of cinema, everything ends on the editing floor. Some even question if the editor ultimately is the 'auteur' of a work of film or video having the final say and composition.

You will be locating any and all video footage you can put your hands on for this assignment in conjunction with a section/paragraph of your choosing (which will be finalized in class post Spring Break) of the reading. There are 18 divisions total and 18 members of our course. Here are the bulletpoints of the assignment below-

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★ Obtain your section of reading to visualize during the post Spring Break class.
★Your assignment is to be exactly, with no intro or outro credits, 30 SECONDS.
★Edit a visual representation to your paragraph/section using found internet video footage!
★A minimum of 7 cuts and/or transitions must be utilized in the 30 seconds.
★If a person, type of work, place, etc. is read.. strive to recreate it! Ask/look it up if unsure.
★All edits must be Standard Definition (4:3 Ratio; Exported 720x480) (edit upon export).
★All edits will run at 24 FPS (standard cinematic frame rate) (edit this setting upon export).
★Perhaps consult the person going before and/or after you on a proper transition between!
★And surely keeping in mind, we shall discover kinks that will occur along the way.
★INCLUDING... We may actually decide to make use of a single character that exists in each of our edits, which thematically ties each of our edits together even stronger. For our discussion, think of a character pertaining to the reading that has everything to do with the theories involved. We shall see if this is a do-able concept or not.

Once more, this is an experiment designed to not only emphasize the technical aspects of this course's study, but the theory behind what we are all doing.

Last time this experimental project was done (with Nicolas Carr's The Shallows : What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains), the result was mailed to the author and we received appraisal back in response. We shall do the same and send this result to Mr. Carr.

This assignment is laboriously easier, but slightly more mentally intensive. It may also be deceptively simple. In much lesser parameters, I expect a myriad of editing skills you will learn in between now and conclusion. I shall reiterate that all cinema/video ends on the editing room floor. This is a project that will literally begin and end on the editing room floor.

Good luck.

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Essay (To Write and Present On)

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S E M E S T E R   E S S A Y  T O P I C

a.k.a. Topic a Month in Advance

a.k.a. Writing About A Duet of Working Contemporary New Media Artists

a.k.a Presenting on A Duet of Working Contemporary New Media Artists

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1) This is a two part final assignment.  You will be creating a 5 to 10 minute presentation for class and writing a 1200 word paper on the same subject matter. These essays may contain images for reference as well, as the work is highly visual. Word count remains.

Helpful tool! http://www.wordcounttool.com/
Or you can count by hand.


2) Choose two artists (or artists groups ; collaboratives) from the following websites featuring literally hundreds of artists for you to explore.

http://www.eyebeam.org/people/current 
(search through "fellows" and "residents" for hundreds of amazing artists, links to their websites will generally be on their profile pages)

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~infoarts/links/wilson.artlinks2.html 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_art 

http://rhizome.org/art/ 

http://www.gamescenes.org/ 



3) Research your chosen artists. Make sure to record citations of where to find the works, links, etc. 


4) Choose ONE representative work from each of your artists for a total of two works to be considered in your paper and presentation - you may choose to include more works by these artists in your visual presentation to the class. 


5) Describe, analyze, interpret, compare and contrast the artist’s works, considering broadly their chosen formal and conceptual strategies, being careful to address genre (film, video, performance, interactive art, simulation, game art, etc) in your general analysis of the works. As part of your research, make an attempt to contact both of your artists to ask questions regarding the work. (If you don't hear back from them please note such in your paper and presentation). 

Important : You must as well reference readings from the class in considering the works in question. The three available to that point : Walter Benjamin, Video Art, and Postproduction. One or multiple references. Failure to do so gets points deducted. For the paper/blog post, make appropriate citations following standard academic paper guidelines (MLA or Chicago Manual Style).

Please limit your chosen artists/works to those created after 1980 - the only requirement is that the artists are somehow intrinsically involved in the creative use of digital technologies in their works. 

The intent here is to give you the opportunity to critically engage in basic research and analysis of artists and artworks while at the same time encouraging a greater depth of experience of various artist’s creative production and contexts. 

Here are some online resources to help you in considering how to critique, compare and contrast your chosen artist's works:


http://writingaboutart.org/pages/introduction.html

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/comparing-and-contrasting/

http://uwc.utexas.edu/handouts/editing



Grading: 

Your presentation and writing will be graded according to the quality of your research, the originality of your analysis, the clarity of your writing, design, and clarity of your presentation.

Important to note, going off a rogue presentation from the previous semester : Stay ON POINT. Your subjective theories about personal practice, as unique as it may be, may have little to do with the essay topic on hand.


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DUE DATES

(DETERMINED BY LUCK OF THE DRAW IN CLASS.)

(MIND YOU EACH HAS ITS OWN ADVANTAGES, EARLY OR LATER)

ESSAY GROUP ALFA [3.25 / WK10]

1. Autumn
2. Mikki
3. Chelsea
4. Patrick

ESSAY GROUP BRAVO [4.1 / WK11]

1. Nick

2. Mickey

3. Richard

4. Elizabeth

5. Sam

ESSAY GROUP CHARLIE [4.8 / WK12]

1. Lauren

2. Michelle

3. Kristen

4. Scott

5. Crystal

ESSAY GROUP DELTA [4.15 / WK13]

1. Jackie

2. Jeannie

3. Megan

4. Kenny

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