Week 12, end of the road... Thinking back to the beginning of the semester I recall not knowing what the course was like, and most importantly not knowing whether I would like it. Well, the end result surprised me...
The course was useful for me as a first year student, as an introduction to different aspects of digital media. It was also important in developing an understanding of the necessesity and presence of digital media in any modern media.
The course was succesful in teaching the basics of different formats of digital media, and most importantly creating an interest (at least in me) about digital work in the modern media.
The most important, and enjoyable skill I learned in this class was the Flash Animation. Flash is important in modern media because it allows the ability to create animation for any platforms, in different formats, whether a commercial or a cartoon. I am considering using Flash in my future studies, and work.
Thank You for a great semester!
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Week 11: Daft Punk
This is going to be the last post of online discoveries and findings. I was thinking of things I could do for this week's post when I came upon reflecting all the themes we covered in this year's digital media class. We covered design principles, animation, motion, and most interestingly (at least to me) the evolution of the music videos. I set out to find a music video that combines multiple core elements that we covered in class.
One such video is Daft Punk's "Around The World:"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWMM8EmMZ-E
The video successfully combines the contrast and shapes of different colours to deliver it's message. The motion (though not digital) is executed in excellent synchronization with the music. I also find this video, though unvoncentional, works well in delivering the universal message of global culture.
One such video is Daft Punk's "Around The World:"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWMM8EmMZ-E
The video successfully combines the contrast and shapes of different colours to deliver it's message. The motion (though not digital) is executed in excellent synchronization with the music. I also find this video, though unvoncentional, works well in delivering the universal message of global culture.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Week 10: Web 2.0
Here are some of the examples I found for each of the characteristics of web 2.0
1. dynamic content, viewable on multiple platforms
http://www.nfl.com/
The site for the National Football League, is perhaps one of the best examples for this particular characteristics. The website alone offers live updates on games, videos, pictures, news stories about every team, and tonns of special content. The advantage here, is that virtually all of those are available for access from your cellphone. Choosing the parameters through your mobile phone you can get updates on your favorite team anywhere.
2. user contribution (user generated content or user generated value)
http://www.youtube.com/
In the modern world of digital media there is no alternatives or comparisons to YouTube. The website is entirely user generated, where you can post anything from your family vacation to a music video you made about your favorite band. The recent adaptation of YouTube for cellphones is a huge plus for the website on its way towards becoming the most visited website on the Web.
3. social media
http://www.meetmeinto.com/
The local website features perhaps one of the largest online communities in Toronto. Users are able to create a unique profile, write on each other's pages, and view pictures from events around the city. One advantage over Facebook? The interactive forums that encourage you to come up with your own threads for any given the theme or topic.
4. online applications
http://www.musicovery.com/
If you have heard of http://www.pandora.com/ a website that builds a playlist based on whether you like one song or the other, meet Musicovery. What's great about it is the fact that the playlist that is generated for you is based on the specifics of your mood, musical era preference, genre, AND whether you like a certain song or not.
5. harnessing collective intelligence
http://www.blogger.com/
If you are reading this, then you know about Blogger. The website allows you to post anything from your philosophical opinions on the state of the world, to jokes you make with your friends. Tagging text and images creates an advantage in letting your blog be known to the rest of the world.
1. dynamic content, viewable on multiple platforms
http://www.nfl.com/
The site for the National Football League, is perhaps one of the best examples for this particular characteristics. The website alone offers live updates on games, videos, pictures, news stories about every team, and tonns of special content. The advantage here, is that virtually all of those are available for access from your cellphone. Choosing the parameters through your mobile phone you can get updates on your favorite team anywhere.
2. user contribution (user generated content or user generated value)
http://www.youtube.com/
In the modern world of digital media there is no alternatives or comparisons to YouTube. The website is entirely user generated, where you can post anything from your family vacation to a music video you made about your favorite band. The recent adaptation of YouTube for cellphones is a huge plus for the website on its way towards becoming the most visited website on the Web.
3. social media
http://www.meetmeinto.com/
The local website features perhaps one of the largest online communities in Toronto. Users are able to create a unique profile, write on each other's pages, and view pictures from events around the city. One advantage over Facebook? The interactive forums that encourage you to come up with your own threads for any given the theme or topic.
4. online applications
http://www.musicovery.com/
If you have heard of http://www.pandora.com/ a website that builds a playlist based on whether you like one song or the other, meet Musicovery. What's great about it is the fact that the playlist that is generated for you is based on the specifics of your mood, musical era preference, genre, AND whether you like a certain song or not.
5. harnessing collective intelligence
http://www.blogger.com/
If you are reading this, then you know about Blogger. The website allows you to post anything from your philosophical opinions on the state of the world, to jokes you make with your friends. Tagging text and images creates an advantage in letting your blog be known to the rest of the world.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Week 9: Flaaaash!
18 hours of work over the last 3 days, and the assignment is finally done!
Unfortunately, couldn't post a workable .swf file to this, but here is my artist statement:
The concept for “A Thought” uses the idea of combining drawn components of first animations (the notepad cartoons) and the modern techniques of Flash in an animation with a unique message. The work combines elements of photography, motion, text, drawings, and sound in one, in order to appeal to the viewer. The concept of drawing or doodling on paper in a Flash animation further assists in bridging the gap between the two different eras of animation. While “A Thought” provides an insight into the opinions of the creator of the work, the idea behind the animation is to also raise universal questions from its potential viewers. Thus, the work’s purpose is to provoke a thought or a reflection within the viewer.
While the piece has no specific intended target audience, it can appeal to several different audiences at the same time. Consumerism is an issue that affects all age groups in a modern society, and thus the message of the work is universal. The use of jazz music in the work may appeal to a slightly older crowd, while the photographs of classrooms can attract university-aged audiences. The concept of drawing can be interesting to a younger audience.
The animation was created in Adobe Flash with graphics drawn in Adobe Fireworks and Flash. Some of the central graphics in the work include the dollar sign, a person’s face, and the dollar coin. The most prevalent technique used in this Flash animation is the motion tween. This kind of tween is used to animate instances of graphics as well as text in the work in order to make it more appealing and presentable. Several movie clip symbols on their own separate layers are also used in the work to create the repetition effect (most noticeably the moving background of lined paper and the rotating earth). The work also uses a combination of two separate audio tracks to convey the message behind the animation. Another aspect of the work features stop-motion photography. This is created as a result of placing consecutively taken photos on frames in succession in order to create the effect of motion.
One of the anticipated challenges for this work was the organization of thought and recreation of the speech in form of images. The biggest challenge in reality however, was effectively synchronizing the sound with the motion on the screen. Because there is no way to check bits of sound for each frame, the movie had to be watched over and over again after making minor adjustment in order to perfectly synchronize the sound with the motion on the screen. This challenge was dealt with through tedious work and attention to the detailing in layer construction, because certain motions were used for specific phrases in the speech it was easier to add more detail after the essential “skeletal” animation was laid onto all of the layers/
The assignment further reinforced theoretical material that was taught in lecture and helped secure the knowledge of Flash concepts such as different tweens, action script, and the meaning of symbols in a flash animation. Although the work turned out not as grandiose as perceived in my mind at first, it is a satisfying effort. The work successfully addresses several target audiences with its universal message.
I think the quality of the work in my section was very high. What surprised me the most though, were the storylines and ideas behing some of the animations. Good job to everyone!
Unfortunately, couldn't post a workable .swf file to this, but here is my artist statement:
The concept for “A Thought” uses the idea of combining drawn components of first animations (the notepad cartoons) and the modern techniques of Flash in an animation with a unique message. The work combines elements of photography, motion, text, drawings, and sound in one, in order to appeal to the viewer. The concept of drawing or doodling on paper in a Flash animation further assists in bridging the gap between the two different eras of animation. While “A Thought” provides an insight into the opinions of the creator of the work, the idea behind the animation is to also raise universal questions from its potential viewers. Thus, the work’s purpose is to provoke a thought or a reflection within the viewer.
While the piece has no specific intended target audience, it can appeal to several different audiences at the same time. Consumerism is an issue that affects all age groups in a modern society, and thus the message of the work is universal. The use of jazz music in the work may appeal to a slightly older crowd, while the photographs of classrooms can attract university-aged audiences. The concept of drawing can be interesting to a younger audience.
The animation was created in Adobe Flash with graphics drawn in Adobe Fireworks and Flash. Some of the central graphics in the work include the dollar sign, a person’s face, and the dollar coin. The most prevalent technique used in this Flash animation is the motion tween. This kind of tween is used to animate instances of graphics as well as text in the work in order to make it more appealing and presentable. Several movie clip symbols on their own separate layers are also used in the work to create the repetition effect (most noticeably the moving background of lined paper and the rotating earth). The work also uses a combination of two separate audio tracks to convey the message behind the animation. Another aspect of the work features stop-motion photography. This is created as a result of placing consecutively taken photos on frames in succession in order to create the effect of motion.
One of the anticipated challenges for this work was the organization of thought and recreation of the speech in form of images. The biggest challenge in reality however, was effectively synchronizing the sound with the motion on the screen. Because there is no way to check bits of sound for each frame, the movie had to be watched over and over again after making minor adjustment in order to perfectly synchronize the sound with the motion on the screen. This challenge was dealt with through tedious work and attention to the detailing in layer construction, because certain motions were used for specific phrases in the speech it was easier to add more detail after the essential “skeletal” animation was laid onto all of the layers/
The assignment further reinforced theoretical material that was taught in lecture and helped secure the knowledge of Flash concepts such as different tweens, action script, and the meaning of symbols in a flash animation. Although the work turned out not as grandiose as perceived in my mind at first, it is a satisfying effort. The work successfully addresses several target audiences with its universal message.
I think the quality of the work in my section was very high. What surprised me the most though, were the storylines and ideas behing some of the animations. Good job to everyone!
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