Final Project MPM33B 2012

The Cassandra Project 
Kayla Clark and Nancy Johnson

This project is a new media narrative created using a blog application. The theme represented in this piece is a based on the premise that you can never really believe what you read, or in some instances, what you see. The internet provides opportunity to become educated on a variety of topics but only if you are reading a source of integrity and truth.  This blog contains information that is both based on fact and that of fiction. It is up to the discretion of reader to believe the written word without question or perhaps the reader will be unsure of what is written and realize that the written word is often questionable.  

http://thecassandraproject2012.wordpress.com/

MPM 33B Reading Documentation

On getting paid by Jessica Hesche

Pricing

It’s an interesting article and I think definitely worth the read.  As a designer, let’s say for ease, a graphic designer, person who does up wonderful logos for varied businesses.  Working in a company has its benefits, that’s my point – there could be health, medical benefits, or sick leave benefits, as a freelancer, well chances are slim to create enough revenue to get yourself a good benefit package.  As the article speaks to, you be just designing and not having to deal with the clients directly as much as freelance.  For freelance, there is no buffer, you are the main point of contact and that’s that.  No middle man to take care of the client’s needs and just as the article states, you may end up being their therapist, or needing one yourself.

Rights management

Who owns your work? This is a very tricky area and it’s all fair and fun to say we own all of our work but let’s be honest, companies, really want to own their logo and while you might be lucky and be paid well for all your creative efforts, you can be almost sure  - unless you are a seasoned pro, you won’t be paid well enough. 

Hische speaks about pricing in term of charging an hourly wage.  I think this is a really good topic to look at.  The most important part she talks about is knowing yourself well, how much time do you spend on say a logo design?  Really?  One thinks oh maybe it’ll take 15 hours but unless you are really good at timing yourself then a mere 15 hours is likely going to be a guestimate and  sadly probably not in your favor.  It is good practice and it should be taught in a design program, that you clock your time, just jot it down, 10 minutes here, an hour here, another 20 minutes.  You will be surprised at how quickly time adds up – truly amazing.  So as Hische says, you have to really have to be able to know yourself in terms of design time.

Internships

I agree with her advice of not to take internships if you can at all avoid them.  I think it’s true that you might end up getting the endless coffee take out runs.  If a company really is serious about training interns it will be quite apparent in the first few weeks, if you are just sitting around or doing aimless errands – run.   The exchange between an employer and an intern is a two way street and as Hishe explains it usually isn’t.  It’s ok if you are 19, living at home and your parents don’t mind you living free for a while – while you gain some experience, but make sure it’s worthwhile.

The Buttry Diary

I found this article to be interesting and insiteful as to how  to write good copy for a blog or website.  It would seem to me that Buttry has a good grasp on his writing schools and I find it slants toward journalist writing.  I’ve read the document and can’t find any thing much to say than that is good advice, they are good tips .  I especially like the tip about not including something you have dug around for and found something that you really want to add, but sometimes it just isn’t relevant by the time you get the focus of your article.   It’s a good idea to sometimes, just let it go. 

Another suggestion maybe he could have added is to read other’s blogs and really look at the writing style of person’s blog.  It is more just informational driven, it is stark and to the point, does it contain humor; what is it about it that captures your attention and makes you return?

10 steps to better blogging by Dan Frommer

I enjoyed this article more so than the previous because Frommer made a little more shall we say down to earth.  It’s obvious he has learned something along the way  and he wants to share it in a very simple and clear way.

Write the site that you want to read. 

Again this is a good tip.  If you read other’s blogs or magazine articles and you like their style, chances are you are going to be writing with the same writing elements in your own work.  Be yourself.  I’ve had writer friends who write in a way that doesn’t sound like them at all, so it doesn’t seem genuine to me at all.

Attribute well — the way you’d want to be attributed.

This is very important, if someone had eluded to one of your articles in their works and didn’t give you the credit, how would that feel?   It would be beyond rude and if you want to feel good about  you and the work you do, give credit when credit is due and they in the similar community/field will return that favor.

Care about your design

Don’t let the flashy flash animations, the long videos, take over your site.  A site is made to be informative not a mode of digital media entertainment – unless that’s your intention.

Good article, very simple; easy to read and good advice.

MPM33B Group Project - Beat Jumper

Beat Jumper is an online, multiplayer game, which allows the users to interactively create melodic compositions during play. The randomly generated bass and soprano tones blend together to produce a unique melody accompanying the background music. The musical inspiration came from a game called Dinamoh.   

I created the background images which were designed to compliment the characters.

MPM33B Skype and Seek

MPM 33B

Project Due date: February 1, 2012

Group members:

Kayla Clark

Sheri Fernandes

Nancy Johnson

Olivia Kolakowski

Title:  Skype and Seek

We initially started with a concept of using Skype and providing participants with objects and categorizing them in a similar way as the app game Pictureka.  In the second week we changed the concept a little in terms of categorizing objects.  We set up two computers in one room and two in the other, all using Skype accounts.  There were two teams, with each having a team captain that would give in instructions to their relay team members communicating through skype.  There were two rounds of the game.  Two members of opposing teams would relay from the classroom to the object room, receive instructions of what type of object to find and place them on the table. Then return to the room and one of their team mates would relay next to the object room.  A few  examples of an object instruction:  Something that gives light, something that makes noise, something that makes leaves a mark etc.  We had two projections in the classroom so the other classmates would be able to see the other room.

Problems we encountered:  We had feedback at the beginning in the room of objects which we weren’t expecting, and I found that to film in a small room was difficult as there wasn’t much room to stand far enough back.  But overall I think it was successful and we had fun.  

Video from object room

MPM 33 Final Project / Document Response

Medicine Wheel 
Projection, Installation
Size: 18 inches in diameter

Materials used: wood, quilt fabric, cotton fabric in 4 colors, leather strips - braided and a Pico projector. 

This artwork is an installation time based narrative with back  projection. This piece is meant to bring awareness of self in regards to our interaction and connectivity with the four directions, as a holistic perspective viewed by Anishinabek First Nations. The Medicine wheel is a visual to show the colors represented of the four directions and the projection provides elements in relation to each of the directions. Audio is included which is human heartbeat, which is representational of our connection to Mother Earth.

The four directions, north, south, west, and east, are viewed through projection, each area is separated by braided leather, to separate each direction.  Color fabric is wrapped around a wooden circle which indicates the colors for each direction.  Words are projected through the circle, describing aspects associated with each direction, such as North-Mental, South-Physical, West-Emotional, and East-Spiritual.  Each direction also has a medicine which is used in ceremony, North-Sweetgrass, South-Cedar, West-Sage and East-Tobacco.  In a Medicine wheel teaching, I have learned that the self is at the center of the wheel and by acknowledging all the directional elements; a person hopes to achieve a better balance of life.  The projection of Self ripples out and the cycle continues, loops back to the 4 directions.  I believe that our actions effect other human being, our energy ripples out, and that all things, are connected. Our existence is dependent on how we treat our earth as Mother Earth sustains us.

Budget:

Fabric                        $40

Wood                        Recycled

Frame                       Recycled

Leather                     $20

Projector                   Free via the cage

 

A Manifesto for Networked Objects Response – Cohabitating with Pigeons, Arphids and Aibos in the Internet of things –

Why Things Matter

Julian Bleeker is an engineer and seems proud to say that is his expertise.  In this article he suggests a new phrase, a postism of Spimes.  Bleeker writes about  “blogjects”, which focuses on the “participation of “objects” and “things”- things that participate with the social networking of the Internet.

Bleeker gives an example of a “blogject” which is a pigeon that blogs.  A project done by Beatriz da Costa, a flock of pigeons rigged with equipment that can communicate with the internet, GPS locations and has sensors to measure environmental pollutants, thereby according to Bleeker, they become first class citizens and they inform us of information that is important to our well being.   I understand what the deal is here, but I have to say to me, a pigeon is still a pigeon. 

These “blogjects” have three characteristics that set them apart from other internet objects: they track and trace themselves, they are able to retain “history” and they are considered to have a form of agency, they have a voice. I’m not sure how much I buy into the blogject self agency theory, sure maybe they can transmit their collected data, but there is still human interaction involved along the way.   While the information sent by the pigeons may create human communication by logging that info, by in large it still has to be interpreted by humans. 

Bleeker talks about video surveillance in New York, there are video cameras everywhere.  Now there’s an application called iSee, which will give information of where the cameras are so you can avoid them as much as possible.  Even in Toronto, we are unaware of how much we are under surveillance, and I am intrigued by how the affects us on a behavioral social level.  Does it really keep crime stats down?  I like to think it does and personally I don’t object to surveillance but then again, if I were to suddenly take on ‘criminal’ activity, I would not be happy about video surveillance.  Our relationship to Space has been changing with technology.  We are not alone, or at least in large metropolis areas, we are not alone.  

What I think is the most important key of this article is that Bleeker wants designers to think about how Things can be implemented into our ever changing world, that blogjects can augment our environment. Things that are well designed may have the capacity to create awareness in political, environmental and social ways.

MPM 33 Communication with Hybrid Environments

Phase 2 Prototype - Elements Project (this prototype was basically scrapped and I created the Medicine wheel project)

Had a chat with Norm and I've changed my project a little.  Adding an interactive element is easier said then done and so I'll be making one prototype of the 4 elements.  I think to try to make all 4 right now is a little over ambitious.   I decided to start with the element of fire.  So I bought a few small sheets of acrylic and made a few 'flames' by just using sandpaper to scratch the surface.  I have the sequence for the lights made using processing and arduino - just tweaking to do there.  I will be adding a heat sensor which the participant will activate via a small butane torch, yes Dave, I said torch!  The hard part is getting the heat sensor added in which will activate the light sequence and this is a processing bit that I don't look forward to.  Wish me luck!
Here is a short video of the very rough prototype.  Using the flat leds works well, but I'll probably need a strip of them instead.

MPM 33 Communication with Hybrid Environments project progress

Proposal (This was my initial proposal which later became The Medicine Wheel)

Introduction

Elemental is an installation based art piece. This instillation is a visual representation of the 4 elements, earth, air, fire and water.

Project description

Elemental is an instillation piece that encourages the viewer to consider how each element is connected to each other in terms of our ecology.  Human survival is completely dependent on these elements; we cannot survive without any one of the elements missing. We need water to keep ourselves hydrated, we need the sun for our plants to grow, we need the earth to grow plants for nourishment and we need air to breath.  These are essential for our existence and our survival is contingent on all of the elements working in harmony. The project will focus on one of the elements, as this will eventually be a 4 part series.  The first element will be that of fire and there are 4 acrylic panels, each having a flame etched into the surface.  The bottom of the panels will contain a u channel with a strip of leds.  The viewer will use a small torch to start the led sequence, thus engaging the viewer in connecting with the elements. The light sequence will stop as the resistor cools and will only begin again upon fire touching the resistor.

Conclusion

As a new media artist this instillation is a visual representation, which is meant to convey a message of sustainability.  It is an attempt to initiate acknowledgement the elements of earth, air, fire, and water. Elements asks the participant to simply question and investigate his/herself personal connection to the four elements. In our modern society is greatly dependant on new technologies and it is important to reflect on the very basic of elements, which sustain us.

Purchased small acrylic panels – they are not wide enough

Purchased 4 RGB leds

Budget to date:

Purchased items               

RGB flat leds ( 4 single)                                                            $16

small acrylic panels                                                                   $12

Need to purchase larger acrylic panels  approx.                       $60.00

8x10 and they need to be ½ inch thick

Led strips x4                                                                              $30.00

U channels                                                                                 $20.00

Progress to date:

Tried a regular rounded led and el wire to light up panels, but realized a flat led to butt up flat against panel would work better.

Light sequence completed using an Arduino – still need to add code for heat sensor.  Made a prototype just to see what it might look like, it’s pretty rough at this point. Scratched flame into acrylic with sandpaper and placed over top leds and the image lights well enough, but a strip of leds would work better to allow the light to emit through the entire panel. 

Next step: 

Getting the heat resistor working with code in processing, so the light sequence begins when the resistor is heated and then stops when cooled a little. Purchase thicker acrylic panels and strips of leds.