Final Corpse-Andrea Bryant

John Note

John Curall-Exquisite Corpse

Installation

Plan and realize your Second Life Installation as an installation in Physical Space. Think carefully about how the concept will translate from the virtual environment to the physical environment. Since you may not be able to create all the surfaces and objects physically that you used virtually, what kinds of modifications will you have to make in order to get the same concept across?

Think about Margaret Morse's three concepts of:
1) the mobility of the viewer and the mirror of the screen
2) the de-centering of the viewer's orientation and identity
3) the viewer as "replicant"

Write a paragraph to accompany your installation, and attach it as a Note to your Second Life installation.

We will put up the final installations in TV Studio #1 for class on October 14.

New World Notes Second Life Blogger Wagner James Au

Mixed Reality Portrait

Plato's Cave

Bruce Nauman Corridor Installation

Gary Hill's Tall Ships

Bill Viola Ocean without a Shore

Peter Campus Three Transitions 1973

Mixed Body

I was so intrigue when I saw the Mixed Body performance. I thought it was interesting how the pictures where to be projected in real time and the dancers interpret the movement of the fingertips. It really added to the show not knowing how the dancers were going to move. I thought it was so inventive to mix the movement with organization yet it was not organized because we did not know how the movement would be translated. The show was constantly changing with fresh pictures and fresh movement. To offer so many forms of expression the viewer was able to still focus on what was being presented in front of them. I think it was above interactive because it engaged the actor and the viewer.

Story Time

Installation Proposal

I intend to use the conventional idea of story telling but incorporate the elements of media to do it. I will design the initial beginning of the story in Second Life using music, words, and structures built in Second Life. The visitor will be able to immerse themselves in the story actively by touching the certain points, porting to websites and moving to different locations. It will never be clear what will happen next and how the next part of the story will be delivered.
An actual installation can exits in the real world with active walls, computers and music to heighten the effect. I chose this method because it incorporates mediums that I am interested in. I want to experiment with how people receive information, how a story can be more active, how the imagination can be worked and intensified.

Reading and Assignment

Reading for Sept. 30

Body and Screen
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/wide_angle/v021/21.1morse.html

Based on the ideas in this reading, re-write your Installation #1 proposal for your Second Life installation, AND START TO BUILD YOUR INSTALLATION IN SECOND LIFE. In your new Installation #1 proposal, please address Morse's ideas about ritualistic installation art in which the video screen is a mirror or window, a plane in space that is a reflection or an opening that offers "change" or transformation to the viewer/participant." Post your new proposal, and work on your installation in Second Life.

Re: Chris Marker's "L'ouvroir" in Second Life:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loisstavsky/3623142397/

video-textured objects in Second Life

1. create an object
2. select the Edit Tool
3. select the object
4. go to Texture and click on the Texture icon
5. inside the LIBRARY, and inside TEXTURES, Select Default Media Texture

Web Cinema

What is web cinema?

Web cinema is the gateway to the future. It is completely different than any other type of cinema, allowing loads of different genres to the plate. There are only a few things that existed before web cinema that sort of resemble it. Those being shows such as "America's Funniest Home Video's", or any other show that uses peoples' home footage. Other than that, any web cinema now is something that is partially or completely new.

What could web cinema be?

Web cinema is sort of doing what the digital camera did to photography. It is opening up the world of cinema and video in general to a whole new world of people. I feel that there will be really serious web cinema sites that will emerge, and then there will be the ones that are only for webcam/phone, or there will be genre websites created. Eventually the amount of these videos uploaded to one site will be too much, and with things like Ipod Nano's coming equipped with a video camera, this might happen really soon. I feel that web cinema will have a more distinct place in the near future.

John Curall-Interesting video

I found this interesting video.

I don't know if you watch the Emmys.

I personally don't, but there was a segment on there about internet video that I thought was entertaining and relevant to our new media discussions.

Here is the link to watch it on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaT31eOoB54

If your not familiar with this, the group doing the segment got nominated and won an Emmy in the first ever category Short-format Live-Action Entertainment Program.

Im not sure if your aware of this internet short movie called "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog".

It was made by one of my favorite television writers during the writers strike.

He is a television writer/show producer that is very interested in exploring the internet medium.

If you have not seen this video, let me know and I'll try to find it for you.

It's a lot of fun!

Proposal #1: Virtual World

I have an idea for a virtual world where the ground is constantly changing and moving. It would not move rapidly, but it would shift from different sorts of terrain and earth. For example, one hike through the city could consist of a rock climb, a trek through the desert sand, a frozen pond to glide across, etc. The surfaces of the ground would change constantly so that if the avatar were to stand still, they would still experience the change of land beneath them. By filming different surfaces with tracking shots I could create a feel of movement that could be both shown in real play and in reverse. Then this video could be projected on the surface of second life.

What is web cinema? What COULD web cinema be?

What is web cinema?
Web cinema seems like it is unlike any other form of media (closest to video games). It allows the viewer to experience a world in both time and space, much like a movie can. However, movies do not allow many options in how you experience that world, while web cinema gives more. The reason I say it is closely liked to video games is because much like web cinema, video games allow you to experience the world that you are presented with, rather than observe it.

What could web cinema be?
Web cinema could be the wave of the future. Filmmakers can use this idea of experiential media can be used in many other realms, and not just the web. Filmmakers can use this as a way of thinking outside of the box and creating an alter reality that their viewer can be a part of, from the inside.

John Curall-Streaming Remix II

Here's my second remix video.

A lot of this footage is from my early experiments with using a camera.

Not that I have gotten that much better, but some of this is a little shaky.

Also, the music might be a little cheesy.

Let me know what you think.

Here is the Vimeo Link: http://www.vimeo.com/6720137.

Make sure you let it load completely before you start playing it.

I had a lot of trouble getting it to load.

John Note- Virtual/Real world installation idea "Memory Gun"

I have a skate video coming out in most likely February of 2010. My idea is to make the DVD menu, and titles for the video all using cut out letters, a projector, and MODUL8. Modul8 lets you map out where exactly you want light to hit, and you can do it for multiple shapes and objects. This means that the DVD menu will be set up in the real world, and afterwords I will place invisible buttons over the words "play all", "Chapter Select", and "Bonus Features". I will set up my idea in Secondlife, just to have a virtual idea of what it will look like, and then will proceed to cut out the letters, and go at it one day in a studio. For the DVD menu, I will also have skaters skating back and forth pass the letters to show that it is an actual installation. An example of the letters at the end of this that I will be using, and an example of MODUL8 in action.

"Mixed Body" Response

I did not get a chance to go to the performance on friday, but I was very interested in the way they were approaching dancing in general. Who would have ever thought that people would be able to dance by following someone's fingertips, and actually make it look extremely cool? The way that they are using lights, projectors, video camereas, computers, and music all in one just to perform dancing is unreal. I would have really liked to see the whole show. I also think it would be really cool if they incorporated Modul8, and had shapes on the dance floor as well that lit up and changed with the music or something.

John Curall-Virtual/Real World Video Installation Proposal

My idea for a video installation project would be called "The City... always moving, always still".

This would include both video footage of city life as well as a photo collage of some sort in a "viewing experience". In the real world this would be a location that could surround the viewer with audio and images (both video and still). In Second life a viewing experience place would have to be created where on certain walls there would be video and on others there would be photo collages. I am not quite sure how Second Life works completely yet, but it would be great if when viewers reach a certain place in the environment a message or audio clip would play adding to the environment and the participatory experience. I am not sure yet of what the exact media content of "the city" would be, but that's the rough idea of the set-up that I have. I am completely open to suggestions and collaborations on this idea.

"Mixed Body" Performance Reaction

I had the opportunity to go back and see the Performance of "Mixed Body" on Friday. I was very glad I did. It was very interesting and inspiring. I am very interested in the collaboration of technology and performance artist and this was an excellent example of that. Further, I feel like in making it a participatory experience where viewers can interact with the performers and be right on stage with them it added to the experience and made it that much more engaging. I like the abstract nature of the piece which allowed the viewer to make some of his or her own thoughts about the experience. However, I feel like there were very specific statements the artists wanted to make and they were lost a little in the abstractness. I found the dialogue in the music to be very unclear at times. I also thought the facial recognition video was so abstract it was little hard to understand the message or what the video images were representing. All in all the I found the performance to be powerful and engaging. I hope to see more projects like this in the future from these artists or others. I would like to maybe even get the chance to collaborate on a project like this myself some day. At the very least for cool factor alone this performance gets high marks from me!

What is Web Cinema?

This week's reading talks about the idea of Web Cinema. It seems like even the author is unsure how to define it as the word "Cinema" has associations that make it difficult to associated with the majority of works found on the web. If we stick with this terminology, web cinema could be used to define those web videos that are functioning on a higher intellectual or artistic plan and give the viewer as sense of the experience that have we viewing cinema in the real world. This is a think why he talks about the work in Second Life. Because video placed on there can give one that same sense the have in the world cinema, one which is difficult to recreate on a site like you tube, because it is very difficult to create any kind of viewing environment. I for one am not sure we need to label everything and associated with other art forms. This is its own art form and should be treated as such. Cinema can just be itself with all the associations and connotations that come with that term. Let web video be its' own art form and define itself.

remixology

So i've been having trouble getting my video on blogger. I uploaded it to Blip yesterday and tried embedding it, but for some reason the aspect ratio didn't fit on the blog post. I then tried uploading to youtube and vimeo from the tech center but everytime I did I had an error when the video was 92% loaded, so I've just decided to post the link to my video. I hope you enjoy

http://blip.tv/file/2611317

password=streamingmedia

Philly Day to Night

A view of different area of Philadelphia starting during the day, slowy falling ino the night.

The readings this week reminded me of some things I found when I was taking my Media and Culture class. In an online article there is a discussion of why traditonal forms of tv production are dead.

Link: http://gravitymedium.com/2008/03/25/why-traditional-tv-production-is-dead/

Also, there is a consultant and educator that feels that VJ's are the way of the future.

There is a video where he talks about why here: http://www.rosenblumtv.com/?p=758

Sites like youtube seem to be literally reshaping how we perceive video production.

As far as the discussion of remixing goes, it has been said many times that there are no new ideas. If this is true, then the best we can hope for is reinvigorating and re-imagining old ones by combining and mashing up old ideas. I for one am excited by the possibilities of this covergence.

Avant Garde Article

This article brings up a lot of good points. Youtube has created a new type of video or film, and a lot of the world is participating in these new types of videos. There are probably hundreds of new genre's created because of Youtube, and stated in the article, all of these genre's are just put into one name, called a Youtube video. Before youtube existed, you would never see a crystal clear HD video of a snail crawling around just for your viewing pleasure, (http://www.vimeo.com/6535098) and this type of video is completely awesome and fun to watch. I completely agree that Youtube has created a new art form, and has opened up a whole new level of film and media. It has also given people a new way to show their own work, which could only be done in film festivals, or could only be shown to a few select friends.

Remember the World

This is a remix of footage I captured from all over the world, placed with music from the band Sigur Ros. The remix is representative of memories. Some stick out in my mind more, while others seem like a blur. It was shot on a Panasonic SD camera, which explains the low grade quality.

Assignment for Sept. 23:

1) Read http://www.furtherfield.org/displayreview.php?review_id=351 and blog your response to the question, "What is 'web cinema'?", and the question, "What COULD web cinema be?".

2) work on creating your Second Life avatar

3) learn how to navigate with your avatar in Second Life.

4) Proposal #1: Installation in Physical and Virtual Space. Write one brief paragraph for a rough idea of your first video installation, that could exist in the "real" city, and that could be prototyped in Second Life. Blog it.

5) Blog your response to the Mixed Body installation that we will visit tonight.

The Traveler

Avant Garde

While reading the article "Avant-Garde" I was preparing to slam my head against my desk, and felt a potential correlation to the reason why newspaper sales are slowly on the decline. I by no means feel as though the author Virginia Heffernan is a bad writer, or even had trouble expressing herself. I just personally found her argument to be a bit of stretch, and by argument I'm referring to her belief that Youtube has become a platform for art. I understand that there are many interpretations of art, and I respect everyone's opinion on what is art, but I do not believe that a large portion of what is loaded to Youtube (99%) to be art or remotely artful.

The single part of the article that bother me the most is when the author says, " But what's surprising is how little the homemade videos resemble the pro goods". A large amount of professionals do not use Youtube at all, and when they do its only for promoting purposes because Youtube does have a large audience.

Heffernan noted that the "haul" and "fail" videos often attracted 100,000 views, but failed to mention the way that Youtube. The way that Youtube functions as a website can only be described as a snowball effect. The more popular a video gets, the more the video is recommend to viewers who could be watching a video of a completely different subject. On top of that, there's a large number of videos that get popular just because they have a similar name to another popular video. For example there was an incredibly popular song this summer called Ms. Officer. My friends back home made a remix of the song, that had nothing to do with the topic other song except for the fact that they used the same chorus. Just by having the same name, this video that my friends made received 331,424 views!?!?!

Honestly I feel as though at the beginning of this response I had a very concise point about this article, but now it's mainly become an angry rant. All I can truly say is that I strongly disagree with this article.

Remix Change

links 9/9/9

Reading for Next Week (Sept. 16):
Uploading the Avant-Garde, by Virginia Heffernan, from the New York Times Magazine, Sept. 6, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06FOB-medium-t.html
and
Remixability & Modularity, by Lev Manovich, 2005
www.manovich.net/DOCS/Remix_modular.doc
Blog your responses!

Assignment for Next Week (Sept. 16)
Remix and Blog Part 2.


To view today:

Manhatta: on this blog
Manhattan Bridge Piers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgXveBf_l6k

Bush/Blair Mash-up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nupdcGwIG-g

Viral 1: http://www.starsareblind.com/2009/07/24/jill-peterson-kevin-heinz-wedding-entrance/
Viral 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd79E6I5CV4&feature=related
Viral 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbr2ao86ww0&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Elemondrop%2Ecom%2F2009%2F08%2F04%2Fviral%2Dwedding%2Dvideo%2Dthe%2Ddivorce%2Dversion%2F%3Ficid%3Dmain%7Chtmlws%2Dmain%7Cdl4%7Clink3%7Chttp%253A%252F%252Fwww%2Ele&feature=player_embedde


Boomerang : Volume 1, Program 2

Martha rosler: Volume 1, Program 4

Television Delivers People: Vol 2 Prog 7

Wonder Woman: Vol 2 Prog 7

Deutschland Dada Part 1: ubuweb
http://www.ubu.com/film/herbst.html

Guy Debord: The Society of the Spectacle
http://www.ubu.com/film/debord_spectacle.html

Creative Commons
http://creativecommons.org/
http://creativecommons.org/about/licenses/

Streaming Media Technical Support 9/9/9

Streaming Media Technical Support 9/9/9


Task: Downloading files from Archive.org:

1. You may want to download the smaller MPEG-4 files, in case your internet connection can’t quite handle the fuller-resolution MPEG-2 files.

2. Once you have chosen a file to download, click on the link for the file format of your choice. Allow the movie to load fully.

3. Click on the arrow at the lower right hand corner of the Quicktime window to drop down the menu, and select Save As Source. Save the movie to a specified folder on your harddrive.

4. In order to avoid any issues with your downloaded clip, it is a good idea to rep-process it, to be sure that you have not downloaded a “streaming” clip that requires an internet connection to play. Import the movie to Final Cut and re-export it before trying to edit with it. Use the same video codec that you downloaded, i.e., if you downloaded the MPEG-4 file, then re-export the clip as an MPEG-4 file, to maintain best quality. Re-name the clip when you export it to be sure not to mix it up with the original download.


Task: uploading a clip to YouTube:

1. Once you have signed up for an account on YouTube, sign in and click the UPLOAD button.

2. You can upload a high-resolution file to YouTube, as long as your internet connection can handle it. YouTube will re-process the clip to play smoothly online. So you don’t have to start with a low-resolution file.


Task: embedding the youTube video in your blog:

1. to embed the uploaded YouTube video in your blog, click the “share and embed options” in the upper right corner of the Video Upload Box, just under the word “success”.

2. Select and copy the embed code.

3. In the StreamingMedia2009 blog, click “NEW POST”. Paste the embed code into the body of the post, and publish.


Task: embedding a video file from your desktop directly to blog:

1. Click “NEW POST”. Click on the small “film clip” icon to embed a clip, and click the BROWSE button to find your video file. Then type a name into the next blank.

2. Uploading will begin. Don’t close the windoe or hit the “PUBLISH” button until the upload has finished. Then Publish.

John's Remix

Unfortunately, I could not find my video project stuff from my Media Arts class. All I could find was the photo montage project we had to do in Final Cut so I had to use that. I remixed it with some stuff from a Twilight Zone radio show and some creepy music both of which I found on archive.org. As well as a public domain sound effect I found. Now it has a very different message.

Experiment Change

I found some footage that kind of works with my Experiment on Change piece I tried to do this summer.

a walk to the river

This is a simple 16mm film i shot last year of the decaying philadelphia waterfront. The film had a theme loosely based on industry and nature, city vs man, a transition from one to the other and back. I mixed it with a poem by Wendy Burk that deals with a similar theme.

Philly Bomb

A remix of some footage i had of buildings in Philadelphia that are torn down or old with broken windows, accompanied by the sound of a 1940's news broadcast of a Plane mistakenly dropping a bomb on a town. The meaning.....

Parts of Philadelphia look like a bomb got dropped on them.

Streaming Media (FMA 4240)
Wednesdays Room 19, 5:30 PM – 9:20 PM

OVERVIEW
This production course explores video as a digital, networked art form. We will consider the full spectrum, from popular social networking contexts to interdisciplinary, responsive art forms, looking at the process and form of digital video as a dynamic, participatory, non-linear form.

You can post your writing, images and videos here: