Reflection of final project

For this project, because we had more time, we were able to spread the workload out more compared to the video project. Before Thanksgiving break, we got together to figure out what type of new media we were going to use for the project. Originally, we were going to do a podcast, as well as a pamphlet to go along with the podcast. However, the idea for the pamphlet got scratched because we found that we were not really critiquing Bahktin and Austin’s ideas. Therefore we decided to do more of a conversation podcast that brings up questions about how both Bahktin and Austin’s theories relate to new media like the internet. This was important because Bahktin and Austin’s theories are about language genres and performative utterances, and how these are captured and varied in everyday language dependent on the people and situations that arise. So over Thanksgiving break Lauren wrote a good chunk of the podcast because she felt like she had a better understanding of the theory because she had taken a class that addressed Bahktin; and when we got into class on Tuesday we finished writing the Austin part and the actual critique of the theories. When we recorded Tuesday night, we had a major problem of time. The podcast had run into eight minutes, which was a full minute over the time frame of six to seven minutes. Cutting was probably the most difficult aspect of this because the theory is so complex, explanations and examples are crucial for understanding the theory. We ended up shortening sentences, taking out any unnecessary jargon, and even cut out a whole paragraph that was an example of speech genre. To me, this was not that big of a deal because later in the next paragraph we go through another example. After doing the initial podcast, the editing aspect of this project was not very difficult. We added sound effects to emphasize points and also to make it not sound as if we were just talking the entire time. I think having the timeline was effective in that it gave us a good idea as to how much time we had before the project was due, and so we were not rushing at the last minute to get things done. We ended up recording on Lauren’s computer, which made it easier to record and make edits in a quiet area where there would not be a lot of disturbance. Overall, I think this was a good project in regards to having us really analyze theory as well as apply it to modern technologies. I wish the time limit had been a bit more liberal, because it was difficult to get in everything we had to say; but having to edit and look at the larger picture of what you wanted to convey to your audience was part of why the time limit for this project was enacted. This time limit did hinder our ability to discuss the theory thoroughly as well as critique it to the extent that we had originally intended to.

What are the two paradoxes as discussed in Mediation and Remediation?

One of the paradoxes that Bolter mentions in his piece is that hypermedia could ever be thought of as achieving the unmediated. Images and sounds always bombared the viewer or listener, and taking away these goes against how over time these images and sounds have been increasing and increasing. Bolter also mentions is how people avert their gaze while viewing something. the example that he uses is MTV, and how the viewer does not have a fixed gaze, it is going back and forth and is not fixated. Another paradox that Bolter mentions is how hypermedia strives for immediacy, transparent digital technologies always end up being remediations, even as, indeed precisely because they appear to deny mediation. By erasing certain things, it takes away from the original meaning or intent of the original piece.

Questions from Bolter Reading

1. What exactly is digital hypermedia, and how does it relate to MTV?
2. Do you agree that all mediation is remediation?
3. Do you think that visual media can be compared to linguistic media?

1. On Monday after it rained, I was walking down fourth street, and there was part of the gravel that had been pulled up from the parking lot; it created this bumpy surface that had been covered with rain, but the rain was low enough that parts of the gravel were sticking up.
2. I turned the lights off in my room one night before closing my blinds, and all of the street lights littered the black surroundings.
3. The USPS is right outside of my apartment, and the design on the glowing sign in the front has the weirdest design, and i still can't figure out what it's supposed to be, but it looks cool.
4. I was crossing the street and there was a tread pattern from a person squealing their tires on the street
5. I made bruschetta wednesday night and I never really looked at it when I finished it, but it actually looks really pretty as seeing as it's homemade.
6. I noticed a spiders web while walking up to my car in my apartment complex, and the design of it was really intrecat and cool.
7. When I was at Allerton, there was a snake that was right in front of me that started unraveling itself and wiggling its tail, despite freaking out a little bit, it looked really cool.
8. Also while at Allerton, there were a lot of hills there that were eroding, and the paths that the water made through the dirt looked really cool.
9. i went by one of the ponds on campus while going to McKinley, and someone threw a rock in and the ripples of water were really pretty.
10. Since its getting cold out, birds are flying south, and i noticed a bunch of them flying together in a v formation

Project Reflection

For this project, Lauren and I decided to do a documentary on Allerton Park and Retreat Center. We decided that since Lauren’s dad was coming up for Dad’s Weekend, I would do the interview Saturday morning and she would do the editing of the footage and interview that I conducted. It is about thirty miles away in Monticello Illinois. After getting the camera, I figured out how to use the tripod, how to go back on the tape, etc. The next morning, I got there at around 9am, and took shots of the actual Allerton mansion where I took video of the artwork around the house. I had an interview with Linda Bailey at the Visitors Center. She went through the history of Allerton, the gardens, her favorite artwork, the organizations and weddings that go on there, etc. I spent a good hour speaking with her and she got out a map and went through where everything was. After the interview, I went through all of the gardens, and then set out to find the major sculptures that Allerton had purchased for the estate that Linda had specifically mentioned in her interview.
Overall, taking the video of this project was really interesting. We had typed out questions to ask Linda, but when I met with her, I gave her the questions, but told her to talk about what she thought would be beneficial for us to know. I ended up just starting the camera, and let her just talk, and I told her how we could edit out what we did not want, but I wanted the interview to be as seamless as possible. Lauren and I had discussed before I went that we would cut out me asking questions. Therefore, when I gave her the questions, I told her to just incorporate the questions into her talk about Allerton. It ended up going very smoothly that way, I only had to interrupt a couple of times for her to repeat something, or to go into depth as to what she personally liked about Allerton, her coming to Allerton etc. Also there were some noise interruptions where she began again with her sentences. Overall it was extremely informative, and it was fun to go around and take footage of what I thought would be appropriate to go with what she spoke about in her interview regarding the sculptures and garden. I tried getting footage of the inside of the house, but because there was a conference going on, the front desk let me stand in the entrance way and just take footage from there, so I had to make a lot of use out of the zoom function on the camera. One thing I had a lot of trouble with was keeping the camera steady when I zoomed in on high sculptures, or in the house where I was trying to get as much footage from the limited area I could stand in.

The authors touched on many different points through individually writing separate paragraphs. Did that help you in gaining a better understanding of what they were trying to accomplish and what they were talking about?

I think so, it was interesting on how putting in different ways on how editors try to omit different authors, or the conflict between authors on whose name goes first was completely ridiculous and interesting. I don't understand how they came up with the conclusions that eliminating authors so there is only one, or putting certain authors first made a difference in which people read the books.

1. Why would the authors of the Kinsey Institute sex survey quarrel for that long as to whose name goes first? when readers read the title page, do they naturally assume that the person whose name is listed first did more research or is more important than the other author? or was their argument legitimate?

2. Why do you think. as stated by the authors, that scientists who do research and fail to argue or 'squabble' are more likely to fail?

3. Do you agree with the idea stated that if two authors were mentioned on the title page of the book "The High Cost of Death" would mean less sales? Do people actually look at the fact that there are multiple authors and decide against reading the book?

1. last wednesday when it was really windy, there were leaves that formed a perfect 'tornado' and went in a straight line down Green Street
2. On the surveying building, there is a big chunck of the base ripped off and the texture looked really cool
3. in one of my classrooms, there was a bulletin board full of colorful flyers that i've never noticed before
4.Walking up the stairs in my apartment, there is color rubbed off the wood on the side of the actual stairs, and the color is rubbed off on the same spots on all the stairs, which is weird because it is not where the foot falls when going up or down them.
5. on the back of the chair in front of me in one of my classes, it has a bunch of drawings and doodlings on it, which look pretty cool when you can't make out all of the specific details.
6. in one of the buildings the walls were cracking and made really cool designs across the ceilings.
7. looking out of my apartment window the street lights make a cool design at night
8. when i stopped at starbucks i put cream in my coffee and i caught it right at the point when it was making a bunch of swirls before it dissolved
9. when walking my roommates dog, it jumped in a pile of leaves and they flew up and back down to the ground, and the random layout of them looked pretty cool
10. when i was walking to class, the sun peaked out and made really cool shadows on the sidewalk from the tree it was peaking through

3.Many of the ideas discussed in this article seem more like tools that directors use to further there view points. A good example of this is Micheal Moore. He uses many of the visual faux pas to further his ideas. Besides the information he misrepresents, he uses visual misrepresentation as well. So, when a visual conflicts with what was said, is it necessarily bad?

It is bad in the sense that he is trying to pass fictitious things off as facts. It is misrepresentation. He is stating that it is news, or, an 'enlightened aspect of news', and yet it is for the most part false, and he is just trying to make himself famous. It he did not call his 'documentaries' fact, then there would not be an issue, but because he tries to come off as an intelligent source for news that is not true, he loses the sense of his work to be considered a serious form of documentation. Therefore, he uses the tools for a documentary well (except from what Hampe discussed as doing interviews, which Michael Moore does do).

1. How did the effect of the close-ups with the boy and 'Miss Darling' ruin the type of effect that Hampe was going for?

2. therefore, can cameras really capture what the person in the moment is seeing?

3. how would a silent film be shot differently due to the lack of sound?

podcast

The first thing I did for this project, was decide that I wanted to do something a little more upbeat; so I decided I wanted to do a podcast about the best upcoming Christmas gifts for 2008. Luckily, my sister works for Target Corporation in Minneapolis, so she has had the Christmas catalog of the 2008 since August. So all of the items on the podcast is what Target and other retailers are going to be promoting this Holiday Season.

First, I wrote out an outline of what I wanted to say in my podcast. However, my voice did not sound enthusiastic, and I did not have a so called ‘radio voice’ that meshed with the music that I had decided to use, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’ by Johnny Mathis. So I had one of my friends record their voice on Audacity. I was unable to download Audacity on my computer, so I tried to use Garage Band. However, due to the many people in the library, it was difficult to record in the library. So my roommate let me download Audacity on her computer.

After we recorded his voice, I used the microphone to record sounds off of Youtube.com. In order to get the sound effects in-between the different takes, I had to highlight the recording after where I wanted to put the sound effect, duplicate it, then delete the top line portion, add the sound effect, then paste the duplicated part of the end back to the end of the added sound effect. I had to do this for the picture sound, the ‘You’ve Got Mail’ sound, the WII sounds, then the Elmo Live sounds.

Next, I had to add the music to the talking audio. I deleted the beginning bells of the song because they were just annoying and ear piercing. I then did a fade in so the loudest part was ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’, I then did a fade out so the audio was audible. Because on Audacity you cannot lower the volume to different volumes throughout the song on Audacity (you could do it on Garage Band, but not on Audacity), so I cut the song after the fade out, created a ‘new track’ underneath it, cut the beginning part of the audio up to that point, then lowered the sound to a softer level so the speaker was easier to hear. The other problem with the audio was that the song was not long enough at all. So I copied the middle portion of the song, found a similar interlude later in the song that matched the portion at the beginning, and pasted that portion in a ‘new track’ portion underneath it. I had to do this twice in order to make the song long enough for the podcast. The timing ended up working out perfectly for the length of the podcast including the additional sound effects that were added.

3) Does equipment make a difference? (if the picture is clearer or easier to hear, are you more likely to gravitate toward a 'professionally' made one compared to a lesser quality one?)

I think it does make a difference. if someone is looking to really connect with the documentary, perhaps one that is a lesser quality would better connect with you. however, for me personally, i prefer to watch something that is theatrically advanced, but then it takes away from the documentary feel. in the reading, it was discussed how the author was asked what kind of camera was used when taking a meaningful picture, and he laughed about it later because he used a cheap kodak film. his point was that the characters in the picture made the picture, not the equipment. while i do agree with this idea, i think the equipment adds a certain finese to the final product.

Questions for Sept. 14

1) How come documentaries aren't as popular today?

2) would you consider 'reality tv' a form of documentary?

3) Does equipment make a difference? (if the picture is clearer or easier to hear, are you more likely to gravitate toward a 'professionally' made one compared to a lesser quality one?)

WAM

WAM syllabus

file:///Users/labuser/Desktop/WAM%20Syllabus.pdf

2. What did Val do instead of making a physical prototype of the museum?

She instead made a cd and had you 'go through' the different exhibits. For example, she did one on Hollywood, and made it really boring (highlighting the ironicy of it as seeing as it dominates our culture today) and she did a 'music room' where she had different kinds of music. but it was through a cd and she gave the listener a pamphlet to follow along with.

Questions for week of Oct. 7

1. what is the difference between 'soundly engineered' and digital?

2. what was the point of Val making the Hollywood room boring? would you have done this? is it ironic?

3. both students created a pamphlet to go along with their 'cd'; do you think this took away from the point of creating a 'sound experience'?

Response for Sept. 30

1. The sound matters reading discusses how a voice can help a reader focus on words. Does that take away from the meaning of the words and add more emphasis on sound or vice versa?

I think it adds more emphasis on the words because it can emphasize different aspects of the sentence to create different meaning to it. Therefore, the words never change, just how you say it. That means that the words are the independent variable, so the sound depends on the words.

My original idea for this project was to incorporate government with the market. There has been a lot going on with the current 700 billion dollar bailout for mortgage companies. However, this turned out to be much more difficult than I had thought with the angles of the buildings, and of the difficulty of photoshop itself.

My first idea was to photoshop in the White House onto Wall Street, however, the White House was too wide and I could not find a photo of Wall Street that would have allowed the White House to fit in and not look awkward. I then tried to incorporate two signs of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue; however, there were not any two signs that looked right together.

Finally, I decided to try and put a sign in of Wall Street in front of the White House. I found a photo of Wall Street online; it had a picture of the flag behind it and a photo next to the sign. I had to crop the photo of Wall Street so it just showed the green rectangle. I then had to put the sign in front of a picture of the White House. Overall, this would normally be a simple project for someone who is familiar with photoshop, however, this ‘simple’ project took over two hours of me trying to figure out how to use photoshop, therefore, this was a huge feat on my part. I first saved the pictures to the computer, and then dragged them to the photoshop icon at the bottom of the screen. I first tried ‘cheat’ a little by using Windows as opposed to Mac, however, I quickly found out that it was way easier to drag the pictures and ‘drop’ them onto the photoshop icon at the bottom of the screen. Cropping the photo of ‘Wall Street’ was the most difficult part for me. I kept on resizing it instead of taking out the background and the picture on the side. My other problem was ‘merging’ the two pictures together. I kept taking the Wall Street picture and dragging it to the White House picture. It took me a while to realize that the White House was layered on top of the Wall Street picture, so, after I realized that I had to delete about twenty Wall Street Signs. I did remember to move the Wall Street layer in the little box over the White House picture, therefore making the Wall Street picture on top of the White House picture.

The text I used in this photoshop picture was ironically the other picture that I used, therefore, I did not have to really add text, and the picture provided it. The text on the picture says “Wall Street”, this brings in the relevance of Wall Street to the government. I did not think that putting a building from Wall Street would have made as much of an impact because that would not be as obvious. The sign of Wall Street reminds me of the article ‘Language in the Landscape’. When seeing a green rectangle, we automatically assume that it is a street sign. It is very rare that we see street signs that are not green. It states in the article “they (words) charge and activate the environment, sometimes undermining, sometimes reinforcing our perceptions.” After the past few weeks on Wall Street, it is becoming more evident of Washington’s influence on Wall Street. Therefore, this picture would reinforce our perception of Washington’s involvement in Wall Street.

Response to readings from Sept. 22

Do you agree that language really does not identify things or objects? What would be an alternative to this then if you agree?

I don't know of anything else that really can identify an object. i guess language does a good job at describing the object, but there is no other way that you can identify it other than with language. you can't really use other objects to identify it, therefore your only resort is to use language. Like, if you were going to try and identify what a 'bicycle' is, you can't use another object to describe it, and even then you run into problems of identifying what that object is too. language really is the best way for identifying objects.

Readings for Week of Sept. 22

1) why are alternative spellings considered wrong? For example QuickTrip compared to KwickTrip?

2) I'm confused on the state ment, "Such signs, therefore, never merely provide information" (p. 94 paragraph 1)

3) Do you agree that language really does not identify things or objects? What would be an alternative to this then if you agree?

Westie's playing tag

i'm thinking about getting a westie when i graduate, does anyone know somebody who has one so i can ask them some questions about them?
thanks!

3. Why are action comics so detailed?

After asking this question myself, I reflected on this idea of why comic strips like 'Batman' or 'Superman' are so detailed, and i think it is to give the action more realism. In giving more detail, it makes the reader feel like the action is more realistic as opposed to just a smilie face flying across the sky. It also takes the humor out of the comic if it is a more serious storyline.

Questions for week of Sept. 15th

1) on page 31, it states that 'cartooning isn't just a way of drawing, it's a ways of seeing', however, is this seeing what the action is or amplifying the simplification of it?

2) on page 33, is it that we see ourselves in those objects, or are they made to look like faces when they are designed?

3) if deemphasizing features in a character, why do comic books like 'Batman' or 'Superman' put more emphasis on details?

This stencil is one of the most famous pictures of Marilyn Monroe. Not only was she extremely popular in the fifties, but even today she is still spoken of as a Hollywood star. I chose to put the word ‘Nobody’ underneath the stencil because Monroe is one of the most recognizable figures in Hollywood. Therefore, putting the word ‘nobody’ emphasizes the irony of how Hollywood builds these actors and actresses up to be more than just people. Nowadays, the average citizen knows more about what is going on in celebrity’s lives as opposed to what is going on in politics. On the news, celebrities like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton make headline news stories while important world issues are pushed aside as rather side notes.

This photo of Monroe displays iconography through her reputation as a sex symbol in Hollywood, as well as her ill explained death. This is only a headshot of Monroe; however, the facial features portray the seductive behavior Monroe brought to Hollywood, through her modeling as well as her acting. She was put into roles that played up her reputation as a ‘dumb blonde’ actress and exploited her petite figure. This stencil exemplifies her Hollywood glamour after she had established herself as a Hollywood actress.

When people see a stencil of Marilyn Monroe like this one, it can bring up thoughts of conspiracy, due to the circumstances of her death. On paper, it is reported that it was an overdose and ‘probable suicide’, however, there was not a substantial amount of evidence to support this. This ghostly stencil of Monroe draws up questions of what was really the cause of her death, and whether rumors of mafia ties or the Kennedy’s were involved do hold some merit.

If I were to put this graffiti up anywhere, I would put it in a place like, outside of a movie theater, or a movie rental place, or even in Hollywood itself. Even before Marilyn Monroe’s Hollywood glamour in the 1950’s, Hollywood artists have been put on a pedestal up higher than people who do make a difference in society. They are given superstar status for entertaining the public and are paid handsomely for it. Now, I am not trying to belittle their work, but, the amount of glory and money these artists are given is a bit over the top. Putting a glamour shot like this that is well known to most people with these words underneath it will hopefully remind them that these are just regular people, and acting is their job, just as teaching is another profession, or working in a business is another. When I look at this image of Monroe, it symbolizes to me Hollywood glamour, and shows how someone can work from nothing to becoming one of the most memorable people in Hollywood history.

Answer for Reading for Sept. 9th

3.If you send two separate messages within a design, does it necessarily have to disturb visual unity?

Not necessarily. If the two messages correspond with each other, they can help compliment each other, or even get the message across more subtly. The two messages can create more unity. If they are different though, it also could disturb the visual unity, therefore making the messages stand out more and have a stronger effect on the audience.

Questions for Sept. 9th Readings

1) In the reading "Design Basics", it discusses the two aspects in art, content and form. Can a piece have just one of these two aspects? Or are they interdependent?

2) Also in the "Design Basics" reading, it addresses hwo the artist thinks about the audience. Does the artist then cater to what he thinks the audience thinks is art, or is he creating it for himself?

3) On page 127, Wysocki has the reader consider what "contains" the page/screen. What does he mean by 'contains'?

Answer to Week 1 Reading

2) Immediacy depends on hypermediacy, Bolter explains how filmmakers use live-action footage as well as computer compositing, is there any other examples of hypermediacy with other types of media?

Bolter uses the example of webcams on the internet as another form on hypermediacy. This shows an example of hypermediacy through a different media other than television. Another exxample of inernet hypermediacy he uses is the CNN website, where he states that 'arranging text, graphics, and video in multiple panes and windows and joining them with numerous hyperlinks; yet hte website borrows its sense of immediacy from the televised CNN newscasts'.

Questions for Readings from week of Sept. 1st

1) In the "Introduction" by Jay Bolter, he states that 'Media technologies are agents in our culture without falling into the traps of technological determinism'. What exactly is technological determinism, and how does it relate to media technologies, such as tv, the internet, etc.?

2) Immediacy depends on hypermediacy, Bolter explains how filmmakers use live-action footage as well as computer compositing, is there any other examples of hypermediacy with other types of media?

3) How, in 20th century art, can a viewer look at or see through the piece (for example Bolter uses the example of collages)?

Nicole's Bio

My name is Nicole, and I am from Overland Park, Kansas. I am a political science major at the University of Illinois, where I am in my senior year. This past summer I interned at a department store, therefore I really like to shop. I really like to shop online at Nordstroms, because there are not any close to Champaign Illinois, and they have different items there than what you can get from anywhere around here. I like to check my Facebook frequently to stay connected to my friends from Kansas, high school, and from around here.