Presentation 1
4/19
Hsieh, Ashley Fu-Jun
Jung, Matthew
Seetharaman, Sonia Lakshmi
Stooker, Elissa Ann
Johnson, Dustin
Ikeda, Tiffany Miyumi
Lindquist, Alexis
Freddie Wong
Presentation 2
4/26
Allison, Mike
Gieszelmann, Erik Edward
Hogan, Andrew M
Lee, Matthew David
Nakasone, Elizabeth
Skelly, Patrick
Shepherd, Anastasia Ruth
Clair, Pierson
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
it's not all whimsy!
This is too funny not to share... It's an old new broadcast from the early 90s about "the Internet" (gasp!) They talk about it as if it's this other world completely separate from normal human communication. As silly as it is now, it kind of got me thinking about the potentials of internet-based projects versus the option of making a DVD for this project, so I thought I'd post it. I met with my advisor today and she was discussing the options of installation art with me as opposed to using the internet... I'm torn...
Does anyone have thoughts on whether projects are more useful or "better" online or are more legitimate as a separate piece?
Friday, March 2, 2007
Platforms Magazine
Hi guys!
This is the online magazine I'm in this month.
Platforms
It has art, photography, poetry, prose, music, interviews, and pretty sweet website design.
Check it out and let me know what you think! And submit your own stuff!
Your loving classmate,
Ana
Sonia's Proposal: Take Two (sorry, it's not all that different from take one)
Sonia’s Midterm Proposal: Take Two
Title: Theory or Theology: The Search for Truth in Science
Abstract:
For the past 35 years, physicists have been consumed by a problem that, if solved, would in essence be the “theory of everything”: string theory. After years of trials, experiments, and absurd mathematical calculations, the amount of evidentiary proof is at a resounding nothing. We have no data, no images, and no reason to believe it’s true; so why do we believe it’s true?
Has science become a religion rather than a science? Why would we believe something without any proof? I am studying the movement of science into a non-innovative realm, in which modern scientists are relying to much on the dogma of its elders, instead of being revolutionary and breaking boundaries. I would like to show my audience that the new face of science may actually be narrowing the job market and discouraging young students from pursuing a career in scientific research, because they do not see an opportunity to be the Einstein of the new era.
Methodology:
(I’m not really sure about this yet)
Because string theory is an excellent example of my argument, I will probably start by defining the bare bones of string theory. I will give the audience an opportunity to do an experiment in deductive reasoning, to make them understand how scientific theories are produced. From there, I will go into the development of string theory, allowing the audience to understand (non-mathematically) how string theory emerged, and hopefully they will be able to see the narrowed exclusivity of this particular theoretical argument.
The next step is to show the reader other examples of how science is losing its empirical basis. Maybe include interviews with prominent scientists as well as journalists. Present the fact that many scientists who reject string theory cannot find jobs, and therefore we are effectively blocking the progress of science. From here, I will move to address science education, and why students are turning away from scientific study due to the stagnation of scientific research. In term of scientific education, I would like to interview students and various age levels to find out how they respond to scientific study and why many of them are turning away from it.
Media Presentation and Justification:
I haven’t really addressed media in full yet, but I don’t want the presentation to be a boring one-sided scientific “powerpoint.”
After our discussion, I was considering the possibility of allowing the viewer to add to the project, that way it is constantly changing. This might indicate that it will be an online project instead of a DVD. It really fits in with my topic, because I don’t want to be talking at the audience, I want it to be a dynamic conversation, where they can put forth their own ideas while responding to my own.
I would like to include interviews in a sort of interactive format, where there are hot buttons that the user can click on to get more information or a further understand of a topic. Also, I think it would be beneficial for the sake of the string theory explanation to use an animation or visualization. I would also like to design some minor logic games using deductive reasoning to show theoretical evolution.
One of the important points of my project is to show how science is losing it’s creativity—the kind of creativity that led people to come up with theories in the first place. For that reason, I want to incorporate some interactive creative aspect to the project, where the audience can express themselves in a non-mathematical, completely creative way—I think doing that might open up some people to new ideas instead of being stuck with the old ones. This is a difficult concept for me to explain on paper, but I will try to come up with a better phrasing for it soon.
Title: Theory or Theology: The Search for Truth in Science
Abstract:
For the past 35 years, physicists have been consumed by a problem that, if solved, would in essence be the “theory of everything”: string theory. After years of trials, experiments, and absurd mathematical calculations, the amount of evidentiary proof is at a resounding nothing. We have no data, no images, and no reason to believe it’s true; so why do we believe it’s true?
Has science become a religion rather than a science? Why would we believe something without any proof? I am studying the movement of science into a non-innovative realm, in which modern scientists are relying to much on the dogma of its elders, instead of being revolutionary and breaking boundaries. I would like to show my audience that the new face of science may actually be narrowing the job market and discouraging young students from pursuing a career in scientific research, because they do not see an opportunity to be the Einstein of the new era.
Methodology:
(I’m not really sure about this yet)
Because string theory is an excellent example of my argument, I will probably start by defining the bare bones of string theory. I will give the audience an opportunity to do an experiment in deductive reasoning, to make them understand how scientific theories are produced. From there, I will go into the development of string theory, allowing the audience to understand (non-mathematically) how string theory emerged, and hopefully they will be able to see the narrowed exclusivity of this particular theoretical argument.
The next step is to show the reader other examples of how science is losing its empirical basis. Maybe include interviews with prominent scientists as well as journalists. Present the fact that many scientists who reject string theory cannot find jobs, and therefore we are effectively blocking the progress of science. From here, I will move to address science education, and why students are turning away from scientific study due to the stagnation of scientific research. In term of scientific education, I would like to interview students and various age levels to find out how they respond to scientific study and why many of them are turning away from it.
Media Presentation and Justification:
I haven’t really addressed media in full yet, but I don’t want the presentation to be a boring one-sided scientific “powerpoint.”
After our discussion, I was considering the possibility of allowing the viewer to add to the project, that way it is constantly changing. This might indicate that it will be an online project instead of a DVD. It really fits in with my topic, because I don’t want to be talking at the audience, I want it to be a dynamic conversation, where they can put forth their own ideas while responding to my own.
I would like to include interviews in a sort of interactive format, where there are hot buttons that the user can click on to get more information or a further understand of a topic. Also, I think it would be beneficial for the sake of the string theory explanation to use an animation or visualization. I would also like to design some minor logic games using deductive reasoning to show theoretical evolution.
One of the important points of my project is to show how science is losing it’s creativity—the kind of creativity that led people to come up with theories in the first place. For that reason, I want to incorporate some interactive creative aspect to the project, where the audience can express themselves in a non-mathematical, completely creative way—I think doing that might open up some people to new ideas instead of being stuck with the old ones. This is a difficult concept for me to explain on paper, but I will try to come up with a better phrasing for it soon.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Anastasia Shepherd - next iteration of thesis proposal :)
The space for where I write random titles:
PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY
Deaf dreams/Blind dreams
Occursions?/Excursions/occurances
banality security
.... still working on these, ignore them for now.
Abstract:
I’m interested in creating an interactive art piece that mixes the genres of documentary film, animation, gaming, and expressionistic/symbolic fine arts. I would like to explore the subject of imagined realities in disobedience of social constructs in this piece. I want to visually document situations in which people physically obey societal constructs and the norms of reality, but show through interactive options that the mind is given possibilities without the limits of reality and society. An interactive web-based art piece that combines flash animation with video and traditional animation would be an optimal presentation for this thesis.
Audience:
I would like this piece to reach a more diverse audience than a gallery-style installation video would. By putting it on a website, I hope to make it possible for anyone to look at it and get something out of it. The concept is universal, therefore the presentation should allow for universality, as well. The interactive format will help a great deal in accomplishing that goal. Website-based projects democratize art and interactivity allows for a fluid and nonlinear narrative thread.
Methodology:
I am making the argument that the pressures of normality and the constrictions of physical reality are escapable through dreams, fantasies and imagined scenarios. With that in mind, humans have more freedom to impact their own “real” lives through utilizing their “waking dreams” and learning not to fear them.
By using a creative approach that mimics the decisions to conform or not conform that everyone faces constantly, I hope to show that it is unnecessary to live in your head. To make the impossible real is my goal.
I feel that many or all of these restrictions of life are self-implemented and can be overcome. Connections to other human beings are feared, shared consciousness is considered impossible, exploration is considered odd, and silliness/whimsicality and imagination are considered childish. I’d like this project to reflect how life could be different through personal revolutions. With interactivity embedded in the project, I hope to show people a set of new and accessible possibilities for life and inspiration.
The project in its final phase will consist of still shots of video taken in a variety of places, with no actors. It will resemble security camera feed. The viewer will be able to guide the mouse to hot spots that will zoom in to a piece of the scene and then give more hot spots. When explored, these will provide layers of fantastical and anthropomorphic animation and experimental sound. People’s faces will morph, regular objects will transform, and the normality and banality of the scene will be undermined. Then, the hot spots will disappear and reality will be restored. However, small changes will be made every time an animation is explored, and by the end of the project, the “real world” will be overrun with the “imagined.”
Media Presentation and Justification:
Optimally, the thesis will be presented as a website-based piece that includes flash animation, video, and traditional animation. Since the project requires interactivity to give the viewer choices and to let one explore the project on one’s own, it is necessary to have it in this multimedia format. A film would be too passive. The passivity of the video in the project will be acted upon by the viewer’s interactive choices. The piece will provide a stance that explores how the “imaginary” (unreal images that create new meanings in reality) must be utilized by the individual. The project’s philosophy is built on curiosity and choice, so this medium is ideal. The paths of the project will give the audience choices that have the potential to create a world where reality and fantasy are indistinguishable from one another.
PSYCHOBIOGRAPHY
Deaf dreams/Blind dreams
Occursions?/Excursions/occurances
banality security
.... still working on these, ignore them for now.
Abstract:
I’m interested in creating an interactive art piece that mixes the genres of documentary film, animation, gaming, and expressionistic/symbolic fine arts. I would like to explore the subject of imagined realities in disobedience of social constructs in this piece. I want to visually document situations in which people physically obey societal constructs and the norms of reality, but show through interactive options that the mind is given possibilities without the limits of reality and society. An interactive web-based art piece that combines flash animation with video and traditional animation would be an optimal presentation for this thesis.
Audience:
I would like this piece to reach a more diverse audience than a gallery-style installation video would. By putting it on a website, I hope to make it possible for anyone to look at it and get something out of it. The concept is universal, therefore the presentation should allow for universality, as well. The interactive format will help a great deal in accomplishing that goal. Website-based projects democratize art and interactivity allows for a fluid and nonlinear narrative thread.
Methodology:
I am making the argument that the pressures of normality and the constrictions of physical reality are escapable through dreams, fantasies and imagined scenarios. With that in mind, humans have more freedom to impact their own “real” lives through utilizing their “waking dreams” and learning not to fear them.
By using a creative approach that mimics the decisions to conform or not conform that everyone faces constantly, I hope to show that it is unnecessary to live in your head. To make the impossible real is my goal.
I feel that many or all of these restrictions of life are self-implemented and can be overcome. Connections to other human beings are feared, shared consciousness is considered impossible, exploration is considered odd, and silliness/whimsicality and imagination are considered childish. I’d like this project to reflect how life could be different through personal revolutions. With interactivity embedded in the project, I hope to show people a set of new and accessible possibilities for life and inspiration.
The project in its final phase will consist of still shots of video taken in a variety of places, with no actors. It will resemble security camera feed. The viewer will be able to guide the mouse to hot spots that will zoom in to a piece of the scene and then give more hot spots. When explored, these will provide layers of fantastical and anthropomorphic animation and experimental sound. People’s faces will morph, regular objects will transform, and the normality and banality of the scene will be undermined. Then, the hot spots will disappear and reality will be restored. However, small changes will be made every time an animation is explored, and by the end of the project, the “real world” will be overrun with the “imagined.”
Media Presentation and Justification:
Optimally, the thesis will be presented as a website-based piece that includes flash animation, video, and traditional animation. Since the project requires interactivity to give the viewer choices and to let one explore the project on one’s own, it is necessary to have it in this multimedia format. A film would be too passive. The passivity of the video in the project will be acted upon by the viewer’s interactive choices. The piece will provide a stance that explores how the “imaginary” (unreal images that create new meanings in reality) must be utilized by the individual. The project’s philosophy is built on curiosity and choice, so this medium is ideal. The paths of the project will give the audience choices that have the potential to create a world where reality and fantasy are indistinguishable from one another.
Erik Gieszelmann's confused ramblings (midterm)
Title: Nonexistent
Abstract: From the warring royal courts of chess, to the business tycoon-ery of Monopoly, to the creation of stars in katamari damacy, most games come with a built in plot. Game designers are now trying to leave these embedded narratives to make a new type of game with an emergent narrative.
As seen in games like The Sims, an emergent narrative game does not have a built in plot, but attempts to produce a story based on the actions of the player. When you can make your sim become a criminal, police officer, or many other jobs, giving the player freedom not presented with an embedded narrative game.
The problem most game designers and players have with these emergent narrative games is their complete lack of structure. Whether your Sim is a cop or criminal, the world around him does not change much outside of the money he makes. Some designers try to counter this by making games like Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire, embedded narrative games with multiple paths, where your actions in the game (measured with a good to evil meter) affect your path through it. Even with these multi-pathed games, you still have embedded narrative, you just have more than one.
For the purpose of seeing if it can be done, I propose a game in which no plot or story is revealed until the player's actions dictate that story.
Abstract: From the warring royal courts of chess, to the business tycoon-ery of Monopoly, to the creation of stars in katamari damacy, most games come with a built in plot. Game designers are now trying to leave these embedded narratives to make a new type of game with an emergent narrative.
As seen in games like The Sims, an emergent narrative game does not have a built in plot, but attempts to produce a story based on the actions of the player. When you can make your sim become a criminal, police officer, or many other jobs, giving the player freedom not presented with an embedded narrative game.
The problem most game designers and players have with these emergent narrative games is their complete lack of structure. Whether your Sim is a cop or criminal, the world around him does not change much outside of the money he makes. Some designers try to counter this by making games like Knights of the Old Republic, and Jade Empire, embedded narrative games with multiple paths, where your actions in the game (measured with a good to evil meter) affect your path through it. Even with these multi-pathed games, you still have embedded narrative, you just have more than one.
For the purpose of seeing if it can be done, I propose a game in which no plot or story is revealed until the player's actions dictate that story.
freddiew midterm
Abstract:
Short internet videos are a new, wildly popular, emergent form of entertainment, perfectly suited to the increasingly low attention span culture we now occupy. The sheer volume of viewership and visibility of particularly popular videos opens up a world of yet unexplored possibilities in both the commercial as well as the creative realm. The fact that many memes from viral web videos have successfully migrated from internet culture to popular culture indicates that this form of entertainment is by no means confined to the boundaries of electronic medium. As of now, there have been no prominent traditionally scholarly analysis of this new form of entertainment, perhaps owing to the difficulty in writing about a primarily visual, constantly moving medium. It is a topic uniquely suited to a multimedia based scholarly approach.
I am attempting to deconstruct the elements that comprise viral videos that achieve a degree of internet notoriety and popularity. In doing so, I hope to help my reader understand how the average web user views, processes, and in turn propagates video media that he or she encounters. My assumption behind this project is that the internet audience is, contrary to popular belief, predictable, and while trends and general tastes are certainly mercurial, there exist common elements that are in fact shared by self-created and self-propagated media.
I will distill a number of theoretical "formulas" for popular internet videos from shared elements found in popular internet videos. The core of my project would be to then test the actual effectiveness of my formulas by applying it to a number of self-created videos and tracking their popularity. As there is often an author/viewer correspondance present in these videos, I will also fabricate and assume the various personas behind each video, responding to the viewers. In this way, this might be considered an interactive video project, or more specifically, a series of short interactive video projects linked by a common thread.
While my audience is also an unwitting test subject, the real audience for this would be for the more academically minded, as they are aware of the fact that these videos are constructed with the sole purpose of achieving a high degree of internet popularity, and are also privy to the thought processes behind them.
I intend for my final delivery format to be a website documenting my thinking and process, as well as containing the various videos themselves.
Methodology:
To answer what makes an internet video popular, I will analyze commonly seen elements in popular videos, past and present, and distill them into generic formulas which I will then use as a blueprint to create videos of my own. Meanwhile, I will also document the making of process to yield insight into the thinking behind each decision. I intend to use the web video format as the primary way of presenting information, and necessarily will be also creating a webpage for the project as well.
Media Presentation and Justification:
I will be using the web video form with website to present this project. In this way, the form of the project will reflect the actual content. The personas created for each video too will interact through the medium of the video sharing websites.
Short internet videos are a new, wildly popular, emergent form of entertainment, perfectly suited to the increasingly low attention span culture we now occupy. The sheer volume of viewership and visibility of particularly popular videos opens up a world of yet unexplored possibilities in both the commercial as well as the creative realm. The fact that many memes from viral web videos have successfully migrated from internet culture to popular culture indicates that this form of entertainment is by no means confined to the boundaries of electronic medium. As of now, there have been no prominent traditionally scholarly analysis of this new form of entertainment, perhaps owing to the difficulty in writing about a primarily visual, constantly moving medium. It is a topic uniquely suited to a multimedia based scholarly approach.
I am attempting to deconstruct the elements that comprise viral videos that achieve a degree of internet notoriety and popularity. In doing so, I hope to help my reader understand how the average web user views, processes, and in turn propagates video media that he or she encounters. My assumption behind this project is that the internet audience is, contrary to popular belief, predictable, and while trends and general tastes are certainly mercurial, there exist common elements that are in fact shared by self-created and self-propagated media.
I will distill a number of theoretical "formulas" for popular internet videos from shared elements found in popular internet videos. The core of my project would be to then test the actual effectiveness of my formulas by applying it to a number of self-created videos and tracking their popularity. As there is often an author/viewer correspondance present in these videos, I will also fabricate and assume the various personas behind each video, responding to the viewers. In this way, this might be considered an interactive video project, or more specifically, a series of short interactive video projects linked by a common thread.
While my audience is also an unwitting test subject, the real audience for this would be for the more academically minded, as they are aware of the fact that these videos are constructed with the sole purpose of achieving a high degree of internet popularity, and are also privy to the thought processes behind them.
I intend for my final delivery format to be a website documenting my thinking and process, as well as containing the various videos themselves.
Methodology:
To answer what makes an internet video popular, I will analyze commonly seen elements in popular videos, past and present, and distill them into generic formulas which I will then use as a blueprint to create videos of my own. Meanwhile, I will also document the making of process to yield insight into the thinking behind each decision. I intend to use the web video format as the primary way of presenting information, and necessarily will be also creating a webpage for the project as well.
Media Presentation and Justification:
I will be using the web video form with website to present this project. In this way, the form of the project will reflect the actual content. The personas created for each video too will interact through the medium of the video sharing websites.
Pierson's Midterm Concept (repost)
Something happened to the last 2 posts I made... so here is the combined post...
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Title: Testing the Security of theUS
First Post - Simplified Version of Above
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Title: Testing the Security of the
Abstract: I am exploring the human cost of security as it relates the tension between security and other considerations (political, ethical, financial, and technological) in order to provide for a more secure environment. This will focus on threats that are posed to the
Methodology: I am going about this by looking at current security mechanisms that protect our travel and transport industries, air, sea, land while looking at ways to bolster support for different types of security. I am going to do this by creating an interactive tool in which users can reallocate the national security resources and then test the reallocation against simulated threats.
Media Presentation & Justification: This thesis will be an interactive tool which allows users to take the current state of security and the current budget and change different components of the security strategy be it airport security, scanning of containers being off loaded at ports or border security. The user will be able to reallocate current resources and then test them with a virtual attack. Users will be able to allocate at a high level, the entire airport infrastructure, the borders, sea ports, etc. They won't be able to boost security at LAX by 5 screeners.
This will most likely be a Flash tool with a globe which shows threats and vulnerabilities which can then be adjusted and corrected. However, I might use a Sim engine which will allow me to build an environment on top of the existing infrastructure.
It is important to use an interactive user adjustable tool for this as there is no easy way to do threat verification, validation, and modification while looking at the citizen response in a text environment.
First Post - Simplified Version of Above
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I am exploring the human cost of security as it relates the tension between security and other considerations (political, ethical, financial, and technological) in order to provide for a more secure environment.
Andy Hogan's Midterm Parte Duae
A MULTIPERSPECTIVAL PRESENTATION OF THE MANY FACES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT: PRINCE, SOLDIER, WARRIOR
Abstract
I am exploring the many historical interpretations of Alexander the Great in an attempt to determine how ancient historians, a well as writers throughout the centuries, have looked at the body of work existing about Alexander and interpreted this to form a comprehensive picture of the man (unfortunately, without the benefit of any digital help). Of course the written word will be an integral part of this project, but Alexander will also be seen through the eyes of the sculptors, painters, and countless artists who have tried to form the visual images throughout recorded history of this enigmatic man. The primary goal of this work is to aid whoever is experiencing the total project in understanding how one of the most dynamic leaders in world history accomplished what he did and how he and his actions were later seen. As a part of this, recent work in the field of Alexandrian studies will be included which calls into question many of the ancient sources and their interpretation of certain aspects of his life, i.e. his mother, Olympias, and her influence on his subsequent undertakings, the burning of the Persian royal palace of Persepolis, and others. Simply stated, I want to produce a muti-perspectival project aimed at the academic reader (or any serious lover of history) that will have several elements of the documentary style as well. This would more than likely take shape as a DVD (much like what we saw with the Labyrinth project on Bobby Kennedy) which would engross the participant with information and various interpretations of the man, the world he lived in, what drove him to undertake what he did, how he was seen then, now, and the position he assumes in recorded history. Ultimately, this will force people to see how the sources are not in concordance and how even the simplest facts cannot be agreed upon. Moreover, while experiencing the project, the viewer will learn what various scholars (ancient and modern) claim regarding Alexander, because, in the final analysis, all that can be known about one of the most dynamic leaders in history is what we can glean from several contradictory authors.
Methodology
As stated above, and worth bearing repeating, Alexandrian studies are a paradox because nothing can truly be known about the man himself to a certainty, despite the corpus of works concerning him. Many of the sources disagree; what I would attempt to do is allow a participant to physically see where the disagreements occur and how little moments of disharmony add up over the course of the main narratives. The focus of the project would center on answering what we, as scholars, can truly know about Alexander, and then view the many ways he has been reinterpreted throughout the years based on various findings that continue to come to light. Can we only know, as most academics believe, that all we can take from the histories are what the author says Alexander did, or, can we say with any degree of certainty that he actually acted in that manner? The modern scholarship that does exist about Alexander is quite fascinating and is worth contemplating alongside the ancient scholarship as well. There is one particularly fascinating book that was recently published by Elizabeth Carney in which she completely rejects every negative interpretation of Olympias, Alexander’s mother, in the secondary sources as a misrepresentation of a strong and powerful woman who lived in a brutal time. I feel that the modern scholarship will give the project the extra component that will aid the viewer in appreciating how many ways something can be reinterpreted, which is a major portion of what I am attempting to do.
Media Presentation & Justification
First and foremost, I find that most people can’t make their way through the ancient corpus of works about Alexander, much less make the distinctions among the different traditions that they hail from. Even academics find actively keeping that information in mind and in an organized fashion to be a challenge. Trying to guide most people through the visual representations is easier by far. There is a rich and varied body of visual interpretation including incredible sculpted busts of the man, both as warrior and civilian, ancient statues, coinage, medieval illuminations, and a host of art from the Renaissance through the 19th centuries. By combining the two elements of the written and the visual, interest in the subject would be greatly bolstered. Moreover, by making the sources painfully obvious via tabs or citations of some sort, people could literally see the similarities as well as the discrepancies side by side. I haven’t decided beyond the historically accepted artistic representations of Alexander if any cinematic projects deserve to be spliced into the project proper, but some (such as certain portions of Oliver Stone’s Alexander) do capture certain moments which are in concordance between sources. As stated above, I want to do this on a DVD somewhat in the same comprehensive method as the Labyrinth project viewed on Kennedy. I truly believe that this could be a fascinating experience wherein the viewer could learn in one place about the many aspects of the man. Keep in mind, though, that this knowledge would not be presented as “this is what Alexander did”; it would be “this is what Arrian or Curtius said Alexander did”. From that basis, and after experiencing the project, I would allow the participant to make their own decision as to whether the source serves a more literary purpose (Callisthenes says Alexander did this and there remains some degree of suspicion as to its historical veracity) or a more historical purpose (Alexander did this and Ptolemy reported it). This needs to be done in a multimedia format because of the efficiency in assimilation and presentation of the information. I would attempt to arrange the project in such a way that the person experiencing it would be able to guide their learning in fields that interest them.
Abstract
I am exploring the many historical interpretations of Alexander the Great in an attempt to determine how ancient historians, a well as writers throughout the centuries, have looked at the body of work existing about Alexander and interpreted this to form a comprehensive picture of the man (unfortunately, without the benefit of any digital help). Of course the written word will be an integral part of this project, but Alexander will also be seen through the eyes of the sculptors, painters, and countless artists who have tried to form the visual images throughout recorded history of this enigmatic man. The primary goal of this work is to aid whoever is experiencing the total project in understanding how one of the most dynamic leaders in world history accomplished what he did and how he and his actions were later seen. As a part of this, recent work in the field of Alexandrian studies will be included which calls into question many of the ancient sources and their interpretation of certain aspects of his life, i.e. his mother, Olympias, and her influence on his subsequent undertakings, the burning of the Persian royal palace of Persepolis, and others. Simply stated, I want to produce a muti-perspectival project aimed at the academic reader (or any serious lover of history) that will have several elements of the documentary style as well. This would more than likely take shape as a DVD (much like what we saw with the Labyrinth project on Bobby Kennedy) which would engross the participant with information and various interpretations of the man, the world he lived in, what drove him to undertake what he did, how he was seen then, now, and the position he assumes in recorded history. Ultimately, this will force people to see how the sources are not in concordance and how even the simplest facts cannot be agreed upon. Moreover, while experiencing the project, the viewer will learn what various scholars (ancient and modern) claim regarding Alexander, because, in the final analysis, all that can be known about one of the most dynamic leaders in history is what we can glean from several contradictory authors.
Methodology
As stated above, and worth bearing repeating, Alexandrian studies are a paradox because nothing can truly be known about the man himself to a certainty, despite the corpus of works concerning him. Many of the sources disagree; what I would attempt to do is allow a participant to physically see where the disagreements occur and how little moments of disharmony add up over the course of the main narratives. The focus of the project would center on answering what we, as scholars, can truly know about Alexander, and then view the many ways he has been reinterpreted throughout the years based on various findings that continue to come to light. Can we only know, as most academics believe, that all we can take from the histories are what the author says Alexander did, or, can we say with any degree of certainty that he actually acted in that manner? The modern scholarship that does exist about Alexander is quite fascinating and is worth contemplating alongside the ancient scholarship as well. There is one particularly fascinating book that was recently published by Elizabeth Carney in which she completely rejects every negative interpretation of Olympias, Alexander’s mother, in the secondary sources as a misrepresentation of a strong and powerful woman who lived in a brutal time. I feel that the modern scholarship will give the project the extra component that will aid the viewer in appreciating how many ways something can be reinterpreted, which is a major portion of what I am attempting to do.
Media Presentation & Justification
First and foremost, I find that most people can’t make their way through the ancient corpus of works about Alexander, much less make the distinctions among the different traditions that they hail from. Even academics find actively keeping that information in mind and in an organized fashion to be a challenge. Trying to guide most people through the visual representations is easier by far. There is a rich and varied body of visual interpretation including incredible sculpted busts of the man, both as warrior and civilian, ancient statues, coinage, medieval illuminations, and a host of art from the Renaissance through the 19th centuries. By combining the two elements of the written and the visual, interest in the subject would be greatly bolstered. Moreover, by making the sources painfully obvious via tabs or citations of some sort, people could literally see the similarities as well as the discrepancies side by side. I haven’t decided beyond the historically accepted artistic representations of Alexander if any cinematic projects deserve to be spliced into the project proper, but some (such as certain portions of Oliver Stone’s Alexander) do capture certain moments which are in concordance between sources. As stated above, I want to do this on a DVD somewhat in the same comprehensive method as the Labyrinth project viewed on Kennedy. I truly believe that this could be a fascinating experience wherein the viewer could learn in one place about the many aspects of the man. Keep in mind, though, that this knowledge would not be presented as “this is what Alexander did”; it would be “this is what Arrian or Curtius said Alexander did”. From that basis, and after experiencing the project, I would allow the participant to make their own decision as to whether the source serves a more literary purpose (Callisthenes says Alexander did this and there remains some degree of suspicion as to its historical veracity) or a more historical purpose (Alexander did this and Ptolemy reported it). This needs to be done in a multimedia format because of the efficiency in assimilation and presentation of the information. I would attempt to arrange the project in such a way that the person experiencing it would be able to guide their learning in fields that interest them.
Elissa's Midterm Proposal Part II (?)
Only the amazing Beth (thanks!) commented on my draft, so I have no idea where to go with this! I guess I'll just keep it like it is for now because it makes sense to me...
Title(s)
Internet Killed the Radio Star: The transition of marketing mediums in the music industry or How's It Going to Be: the future of music marketing or Carry On My Wayward Son: the transition of marketing mediums in an ever-changing music industry
Abstract
Music marketing was a static issue until the digital age. I will be exploring how it has evolved over the past 50 years and the avenues the field must take to be successful in the future. This is important because standard marketing and promotional techniques need to continue to adapt to the digital market and not rely so much on traditional methods like radio and print. While these are still viable mediums, they should no longer be considered the primary avenue of music marketing in this complex digital world. For instance, websites like purevolume.com and garageband.com allow for bands to market themselves, but how to market these websites to potential users - both bands and fans? In researching this topic, I will uncover types of marketing that are effective in reaching unique market segments and demographics, and demonstrate methods that could be effective in targeting these groups in the future. This will be based upon market research and interviews with professionals in both the music and business fields. The best way to present both the past, present and future of this field is to use an experiential format, where the "reader" can travel through a sample marketing campaign using both old and new methods, and decide at the end which was more effective to them. This project will be useful to both artists interested in promoting their music and to companies who represent music and other media.
Methodology
This project is making an argument that music marketing needs to get more creative in order to reach its target audience, and suggesting ways in which it can succeed in this endeavor. I want to speak with those that currently work in the marketing field to get their opinions on how marketing has changed since they began working, and also uncover their marketing processes. I would also like to speak with those that work in related business fields such as advertising, public relations, and artist management to see what they feel are the best ways to adapt their contributions to ensure that new music marketing is successful. Obviously the most important aspect of this project however will be market research on various market segments - consumers and musicians alike and their respective demographics. I also want to research and do some case study-type work.
Media Presentation
I am seeing this project as an interactive "click and learn" journey through the history of music marketing, and then have it turn into a visualization of a discussion about where the industry is today, and the results of the market research into current techniques. Then I want to have the user experience some marketing techniques and at the end, judge which were more effective to them, and once they choose, have that lead into an explanation of the positives and negatives of each way, going from the oldest model to the newest idea for the future of marketing. Then at the end I would like to present again a visualization of a summary of ideas for the future. The project will flow much like a paper but will have varying ways of using multimedia in each segment (interactivity, visualization, experiential, etc.) to keep it interesting. Marketing is itself not a subject that can be adequately described on paper, as very little marketing is done on paper. You must have multimedia to show the complexity of the subject, and especially in that this project relates directly to music, which obviously can only be heard in order to experience it.
Title(s)
Internet Killed the Radio Star: The transition of marketing mediums in the music industry or How's It Going to Be: the future of music marketing or Carry On My Wayward Son: the transition of marketing mediums in an ever-changing music industry
Abstract
Music marketing was a static issue until the digital age. I will be exploring how it has evolved over the past 50 years and the avenues the field must take to be successful in the future. This is important because standard marketing and promotional techniques need to continue to adapt to the digital market and not rely so much on traditional methods like radio and print. While these are still viable mediums, they should no longer be considered the primary avenue of music marketing in this complex digital world. For instance, websites like purevolume.com and garageband.com allow for bands to market themselves, but how to market these websites to potential users - both bands and fans? In researching this topic, I will uncover types of marketing that are effective in reaching unique market segments and demographics, and demonstrate methods that could be effective in targeting these groups in the future. This will be based upon market research and interviews with professionals in both the music and business fields. The best way to present both the past, present and future of this field is to use an experiential format, where the "reader" can travel through a sample marketing campaign using both old and new methods, and decide at the end which was more effective to them. This project will be useful to both artists interested in promoting their music and to companies who represent music and other media.
Methodology
This project is making an argument that music marketing needs to get more creative in order to reach its target audience, and suggesting ways in which it can succeed in this endeavor. I want to speak with those that currently work in the marketing field to get their opinions on how marketing has changed since they began working, and also uncover their marketing processes. I would also like to speak with those that work in related business fields such as advertising, public relations, and artist management to see what they feel are the best ways to adapt their contributions to ensure that new music marketing is successful. Obviously the most important aspect of this project however will be market research on various market segments - consumers and musicians alike and their respective demographics. I also want to research and do some case study-type work.
Media Presentation
I am seeing this project as an interactive "click and learn" journey through the history of music marketing, and then have it turn into a visualization of a discussion about where the industry is today, and the results of the market research into current techniques. Then I want to have the user experience some marketing techniques and at the end, judge which were more effective to them, and once they choose, have that lead into an explanation of the positives and negatives of each way, going from the oldest model to the newest idea for the future of marketing. Then at the end I would like to present again a visualization of a summary of ideas for the future. The project will flow much like a paper but will have varying ways of using multimedia in each segment (interactivity, visualization, experiential, etc.) to keep it interesting. Marketing is itself not a subject that can be adequately described on paper, as very little marketing is done on paper. You must have multimedia to show the complexity of the subject, and especially in that this project relates directly to music, which obviously can only be heard in order to experience it.
Tiffany's Midterm Proposal
IML 346 Midterm
a) TITLE: HAPPINE$$: Flawed Perceptions of Reality
b) ABSTRACT:
I am studying how everyday personal and social decisions affect one's happiness because I want to find out how economic principles can explain differences in people's self-reported levels of happiness. By doing so, I am trying to help the average person gain a better understanding of the discrepancies between how he perceives a decision and the actual reality of the outcome. In turn, the user may learn simple concepts in economic theory so that he is better equipped to make more informed decisions that will have a positive effect on his happiness. Hence, my goal is to help the average layman learn about how to use economic analyses to make better decisions, because people do not always make decisions that will maximize their happiness. I want my project to be both interactive and informative, and since I want this tool to be accessible to everyone, I may design my project as an online website.
c) METHODOLOGY:
I am going about making the argument that the average person does not correctly forecast or backcast his experienced happiness by developing a tool or simulation that mimics the process of making a decision. This may be accomplished by a four-fold method: 1. Have the user complete a questionnaire relating to what is to be learned or decided upon. 2. The user will make an actual decision or complete a simple task similar to those summarized in textbooks. 3. The user will complete a post-task survey. 4. A results section will use economic analysis to explain their decision. The goal is to have the user come to the realization that their perception of a decision may be different from the actual outcome because the average person fails to take into consideration changes in aspirations and adaptation, as well as other social and economic forces that play a role in determining one’s happiness.
d) MEDIA PRESENTATION & JUSTIFICATION:
This thesis will include an interactive media simulation of classic experiments from the field of economics and social psychology in order to show the user how the principles of economic theory relate to happiness. This may include the use of music or unfavorable sounds to mimic an unpleasant situation, or the use of a classical symphony or work of art to induce feelings of pleasure or satisfaction. Rather than simply telling the user about happiness and economics, this thesis will allow the reader to gain first-hand experience with the topic. Such experiences cannot be attained through traditional textbook learning and hence require multimedia.
a) TITLE: HAPPINE$$: Flawed Perceptions of Reality
b) ABSTRACT:
I am studying how everyday personal and social decisions affect one's happiness because I want to find out how economic principles can explain differences in people's self-reported levels of happiness. By doing so, I am trying to help the average person gain a better understanding of the discrepancies between how he perceives a decision and the actual reality of the outcome. In turn, the user may learn simple concepts in economic theory so that he is better equipped to make more informed decisions that will have a positive effect on his happiness. Hence, my goal is to help the average layman learn about how to use economic analyses to make better decisions, because people do not always make decisions that will maximize their happiness. I want my project to be both interactive and informative, and since I want this tool to be accessible to everyone, I may design my project as an online website.
c) METHODOLOGY:
I am going about making the argument that the average person does not correctly forecast or backcast his experienced happiness by developing a tool or simulation that mimics the process of making a decision. This may be accomplished by a four-fold method: 1. Have the user complete a questionnaire relating to what is to be learned or decided upon. 2. The user will make an actual decision or complete a simple task similar to those summarized in textbooks. 3. The user will complete a post-task survey. 4. A results section will use economic analysis to explain their decision. The goal is to have the user come to the realization that their perception of a decision may be different from the actual outcome because the average person fails to take into consideration changes in aspirations and adaptation, as well as other social and economic forces that play a role in determining one’s happiness.
d) MEDIA PRESENTATION & JUSTIFICATION:
This thesis will include an interactive media simulation of classic experiments from the field of economics and social psychology in order to show the user how the principles of economic theory relate to happiness. This may include the use of music or unfavorable sounds to mimic an unpleasant situation, or the use of a classical symphony or work of art to induce feelings of pleasure or satisfaction. Rather than simply telling the user about happiness and economics, this thesis will allow the reader to gain first-hand experience with the topic. Such experiences cannot be attained through traditional textbook learning and hence require multimedia.
Matt Jung’s Revised Midterm Proposal
a) Title: “Let’s Go To Jail! The Mashup and the Future of Music”
b) Abstract
Topic: The Mashup Genre of Music (e.g. Danger Mouse's "The Grey Album")
Interface: DVD
Genre: Interactive Game with components being Essayistic and Encyclopedic
Main Message/ Thesis: The mashup genre is important to music's future in our modern remix culture, as it becomes easier for the average person to become a participant. However, the genre will only be allowed to flourish so much as copyright enforcers allow it.
c) Methodology
The project would have two sections.
-An expository presentation of the evolution of the mashup. The presentation would be a timeline where the user could click on certain works and learn more. It would cover the mashup’s roots in jazz and hip-hop to its emergence as an independent genre.
This collection will be an introduction to the genre, and will also show that its popularity is rapidly increasing.
-A display of my new creative work. I will create a mashup album and document my process. Since I am a music performance major, I feel this creative musical process will be a valuable learning experience in my academic field. This will also show how technology is allowing more people (like me) to become participants in our remix culture.
d) Media Presentation & Justification
-The whole DVD experience would be a game, in which every copyright infringement is counted in a video game type counter. Every time a copyrighted piece of music is heard, every time a copyrighted image is shown, and every time an instance of my new work’s infringement is displayed, the DVD will keep track in terms of a jail sentence. The more the DVD is used, the higher the jail sentence. This will hopefully show how limiting copyrights are to the genre. With all the creativity by myself and others showcased on this DVD, it will show how copyrights are hurting that creativity.
Hopefully, this project will:
-Introduce and explore a new and rapidly growing form of music
-Allow me to create musically in the form of a new art piece (as musical creation is central to my major)
-Have a meaningful message and give a meaningful warning to society about the future of music
-----------------------------------------------------
Matt Jung
b) Abstract
Topic: The Mashup Genre of Music (e.g. Danger Mouse's "The Grey Album")
Interface: DVD
Genre: Interactive Game with components being Essayistic and Encyclopedic
Main Message/ Thesis: The mashup genre is important to music's future in our modern remix culture, as it becomes easier for the average person to become a participant. However, the genre will only be allowed to flourish so much as copyright enforcers allow it.
c) Methodology
The project would have two sections.
-An expository presentation of the evolution of the mashup. The presentation would be a timeline where the user could click on certain works and learn more. It would cover the mashup’s roots in jazz and hip-hop to its emergence as an independent genre.
This collection will be an introduction to the genre, and will also show that its popularity is rapidly increasing.
-A display of my new creative work. I will create a mashup album and document my process. Since I am a music performance major, I feel this creative musical process will be a valuable learning experience in my academic field. This will also show how technology is allowing more people (like me) to become participants in our remix culture.
d) Media Presentation & Justification
-The whole DVD experience would be a game, in which every copyright infringement is counted in a video game type counter. Every time a copyrighted piece of music is heard, every time a copyrighted image is shown, and every time an instance of my new work’s infringement is displayed, the DVD will keep track in terms of a jail sentence. The more the DVD is used, the higher the jail sentence. This will hopefully show how limiting copyrights are to the genre. With all the creativity by myself and others showcased on this DVD, it will show how copyrights are hurting that creativity.
Hopefully, this project will:
-Introduce and explore a new and rapidly growing form of music
-Allow me to create musically in the form of a new art piece (as musical creation is central to my major)
-Have a meaningful message and give a meaningful warning to society about the future of music
-----------------------------------------------------
Matt Jung
Pat Skelly's midterm (for the time being)
Title: Tracing the origins of graphic literature in
Abstract: Rather than focusing on the current states of animated literature in both
Drawing from this point, I will also examine (albeit to a nominal extent, or at least as much as pertains to the question/topic/relevance at hand) the influences that underwent the origins of the graphic literature. From Egyptian hieroglyphics to Near-East cylinder seals to cave drawings (?), similarities and differences will be raised to help discern the possible origins.
There will also be a focus on the more contemporary aspects of each – in what format they are in (manga, comic, anime, cartoon), how they are read (serialized strip, short comic, manga, graphic novel, TV/film), audience, and others.
For an audience, I hope to aim this project at a more scholarly group this time, as opposed to the layman. Through this, hoping that the readers have some familiarity with the material at hand, it will be easier to get right into the core analysis of the topic, without having to dumb things down enough so that everyone and anyone can understand. However, this is subject to change depending on how deep into the origins I wish to delve.
Methodology: This should be a relatively simple, straight-forward presentation (at first) of each culture’s origins for their graphic literature and mediums. From this, the project can start with some of the earliest graphic mediums known (hieroglyphics, per se/for example), then move onto each culture’s actual beginnings. In effect, the first part of the project will be a timeline (possibly modeled after the digital wall in the IML).
However, after the timeline, some of the more interesting, interactive features will take place. At this point, the project will show how, if at all, the media relate to each other in the following, but not limited to, categories: artistic style, origin, influence/cultural significance, use of multiple media (only art, mostly art, mostly text, etc.), and layout.
I also hope to examine the current state of each medium as it is seen in each medium’s respective country, as well as on a global scale. Examining how these original multimedia presentations use current media to expand their message and use would add insight not only into their current plight, but possibly the future of graphic literature as well (will the mediums lose the page in exchange for the webpage?).
Media presentation and justification: Hands-down one of the most obvious tools to use will be Flash, as that will allow the viewers/audience to interact best with the project, as well, it is also the most fit way to present the information. Not to mention that a timeline would work best in Flash, as it could act like an interactive movie, if needed.
However, Sophie would also be an apt way to present the information if only because it’s a blend of Flash, Powerpoint, and the like.
Other notes: Since this topic has already gone through two changes, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if it goes through at least another one, not only to reflect the new information I come across, but to appease my own ever-changing viewpoints.
Dustin Johnson's Mid-Term Post
Title: Cinematography: A Language Without Words
Abstract:I am focusing on the little studied art of cinematography in critical studies. Any given film has a rich and complex text of its own that can be drawn upon by simply isolating the visuals. Cinematography is a complex semiotic language using such elements as color, grain, exposure, latitude, contrast, composition, shot angles, and depth of field to tell a story or create an emotion. This symbolism can come in the form of a specific motif in a given film, or can become a part of the conventions and iconography of a genre. Because cinematography has been so tied to ceaseless technical innovation from its beginnings, a given implementation of the visual language of cinematography may actually be tied to an era of technical development and experimentation.
First, I wish to expose and decode this language and its complexity to the student, lay-person, or even scholar not already willing to actually materialize the subconscious interpretations of the text on their own. Secondly, I wish to show how this encoded language appears throughout other media in specific relation to a given text. I plan to do so by choosing at least one film from within the last decade with significant use of the elements that I will define, and tracking both the influences that that film has had on films and other media since its release, as well as backtracking to as many of the influences on it as possible, back to the influences on its influences, and so forth.
One example could be the extremely unique style of Tony Scott's film, Man On Fire, as it is clearly influenced by the Director of Photography's experiments on the BMW film Beat the Devil which can be seen as an extension of the styles used in Swordfish and Gone in Sixty Seconds, which are arguably influenced by the type of standout cinematography seen in Traffic, which not surprisingly came shortly after Three Kings, one of the more notable uses of the now well known “skip bleach” process. After Man on Fire came works like Last King of Scotland, Jarhead, and even Babel that used similar styles, influenced likely by the most recent as well as that which influenced the most recent and so forth. The similarities in style will, in the actual project, be broken down into more specific elements, and definitive examples of each element being compared will be given as each connection is drawn.
The project will be pedagogical in that it teaches its users how to look at cinematography as a cultural art. The concept explores the layered effects of the influences on the subject film and the film's influences on other media, therefore is also multi-layered. The interface design will combine still photos (screen shots) with video clips, and with text as various means of exploring the concepts, therefore it is also comparative. The project is interactive to the extent that the user decides how he or she wishes to explore the multi-layered content through the interface. The project is visualization both in how it shows the material of the subject media, as well as visualizes the theories. In a straight forward way, the project is also annotation, as it combines images and moving images with textual explanations.I will probably do the entire project in Flash (a program in which I can call my self a fully competent designer, if not a programmer) and allow the user to navigate it.
Methodology:I am going to solve the scholar's conundrum of discussing cinematography as a critical and theoretical aspect of film. Often we study the cinematography of one film, or even of certain genres, but never in depth, and never are those concepts of cinematographic theory applied to the entire study of film. I hope to take cinematography from a film to film context into the broader context by connecting cinematography among different films, and perhaps even among other cultural products that relate such as advertising, commercials, print design, web design, music videos, book covers, etc. If this is going too far, it is enough for me to just bring out patterns and contexts among films for distinct styles of cinematography that are weakly discussed and defined as of yet. The use of an interactive multimedia platform like Flash will allow the user to explore at their own pace the information that I can present to them, and hopefully it will be in the order that makes the most sense to them and that best satisfies their curiosity.
Media Presentation and Justification:Because the terminology that exists to describe cinematographic theory is so limited and or so poorly known, using media to visualize and exemplify every part of the thesis will no doubt make possible what would otherwise be a tedious and confusing mixture of description and definition. So rather than writing a paper that would force the reader to look up information to figure out what the author is talking about, using a multimedia interface, the author can provide that information as he goes.
Here we go, here we go again...Ashley Hsieh Midterm Proposal
TITLE:
Welcome to the Hong Kong Drive-Thru: how Wong Kar-Wai depicts the relationship between the transnational and the local
ABSTRACT:
In recent years, films are more and more becoming a global commodity. Films are being co-produced and distributed internationally, featuring transnational film stars and transcultural elements. However, how does transnationalism affect the idea of national identity?
I am interested in analyzing Wong Kar-Wai’s 1994 film, Chungking Express, because I am trying to find out how his works express transnational qualities and concerns. I want to show my audience how transnationalism helps a film’s international distribution and reception but also obscures the idea of the “local”.
My thesis will be aimed at a peer audience consisting of people, college-aged and older, possessing some, but not expert, knowledge of cinema. The audience will be able to engage in an interactive and experiential interface.
METHODOLOGY:
The primary aim of my thesis is to illustrate the relationship between the transnational and the local. I am arguing that transnationalism weakens the concept of national identity.
Transnationalism is a relatively new concept that has stemmed from efforts to globalize and loosen national borders. In terms of the film industry, transnationalism can be quite positive. It allows for the global distribution of films meaning that a film can seek a larger, international audience. However, transnationalism also has its downside. In order to appeal to this larger, international audience, many “local” or national qualities are watered down. Wong Kar-Wai’s films depict the tension that exists between the transnational and local, especially his 1994 hit Chungking Express. Chungking Express was internationally acclaimed and found a global, pan-Asian and western, audience; as a result, Wong Kar-Wai became a world-renowned filmmaker. This perked heightened international interest in Hong Kong films.
Wong Kar-Wai both accepts and is wary of transnationalism. He embraces his international audience and he showcases many of his transnational influences in his films. In Chungking Express, he draws from French New Wave and Hollywood Film Noir for inspiration. However, he also brings attention to the loss of national identity through his thematic depiction of characters experiencing major identity crises.
I will depict these ideas and concerns through an interactive and experiential interface. In the main menu, the audience member will be presented with three different platforms he/she can choose from: “The Mu-Shu Delight: or Hong Kong’s fictitious national identity”, “The Hong Kong Hamburger: or transnational elements”, or “The Happy Meal Prize: or international reception”.
“The Mu-Shu Delight” will explore the absence of national identity in Hong Kong, including a brief history of Hong Kong, tracing its colonial history, the international immigration to Hong Kong and relating the events surrounding its return to mainland China. I will then explore Wong Kar-Wai’s treatment of characters, desperately trying to reinvent and discover their identities.
“The Hong Kong Hamburger” will allow the audience to maneuver around certain spaces within Hong Kong. Hot spots will be present revealing transnational elements and influences present within Chungking Express.
The last platform, “The Happy Meal Prize”, will trace Chungking Express’ global reception and success.
MEDIA PRESENTATION & JUSTIFICATION:
My thesis will be presented as a DVD-ROM. I will use programs such as DVD Studio Pro to create an exploratory and interactive interface in order to illustrate the “local” Hong Kong space and the ubiquitous transnational elements that exist within this space.
In order to illustrate transnational themes present in Wong Kar Wai’s work, his transnational influences, as well as international reception of his work, the interface will have three platforms. Each platform will allow the audience to maneuver around and click on informational hot spots. These hot spots will utilize text, using After Effects, images, music, narration, and video, using Final Cut Pro.
Welcome to the Hong Kong Drive-Thru: how Wong Kar-Wai depicts the relationship between the transnational and the local
ABSTRACT:
In recent years, films are more and more becoming a global commodity. Films are being co-produced and distributed internationally, featuring transnational film stars and transcultural elements. However, how does transnationalism affect the idea of national identity?
I am interested in analyzing Wong Kar-Wai’s 1994 film, Chungking Express, because I am trying to find out how his works express transnational qualities and concerns. I want to show my audience how transnationalism helps a film’s international distribution and reception but also obscures the idea of the “local”.
My thesis will be aimed at a peer audience consisting of people, college-aged and older, possessing some, but not expert, knowledge of cinema. The audience will be able to engage in an interactive and experiential interface.
METHODOLOGY:
The primary aim of my thesis is to illustrate the relationship between the transnational and the local. I am arguing that transnationalism weakens the concept of national identity.
Transnationalism is a relatively new concept that has stemmed from efforts to globalize and loosen national borders. In terms of the film industry, transnationalism can be quite positive. It allows for the global distribution of films meaning that a film can seek a larger, international audience. However, transnationalism also has its downside. In order to appeal to this larger, international audience, many “local” or national qualities are watered down. Wong Kar-Wai’s films depict the tension that exists between the transnational and local, especially his 1994 hit Chungking Express. Chungking Express was internationally acclaimed and found a global, pan-Asian and western, audience; as a result, Wong Kar-Wai became a world-renowned filmmaker. This perked heightened international interest in Hong Kong films.
Wong Kar-Wai both accepts and is wary of transnationalism. He embraces his international audience and he showcases many of his transnational influences in his films. In Chungking Express, he draws from French New Wave and Hollywood Film Noir for inspiration. However, he also brings attention to the loss of national identity through his thematic depiction of characters experiencing major identity crises.
I will depict these ideas and concerns through an interactive and experiential interface. In the main menu, the audience member will be presented with three different platforms he/she can choose from: “The Mu-Shu Delight: or Hong Kong’s fictitious national identity”, “The Hong Kong Hamburger: or transnational elements”, or “The Happy Meal Prize: or international reception”.
“The Mu-Shu Delight” will explore the absence of national identity in Hong Kong, including a brief history of Hong Kong, tracing its colonial history, the international immigration to Hong Kong and relating the events surrounding its return to mainland China. I will then explore Wong Kar-Wai’s treatment of characters, desperately trying to reinvent and discover their identities.
“The Hong Kong Hamburger” will allow the audience to maneuver around certain spaces within Hong Kong. Hot spots will be present revealing transnational elements and influences present within Chungking Express.
The last platform, “The Happy Meal Prize”, will trace Chungking Express’ global reception and success.
MEDIA PRESENTATION & JUSTIFICATION:
My thesis will be presented as a DVD-ROM. I will use programs such as DVD Studio Pro to create an exploratory and interactive interface in order to illustrate the “local” Hong Kong space and the ubiquitous transnational elements that exist within this space.
In order to illustrate transnational themes present in Wong Kar Wai’s work, his transnational influences, as well as international reception of his work, the interface will have three platforms. Each platform will allow the audience to maneuver around and click on informational hot spots. These hot spots will utilize text, using After Effects, images, music, narration, and video, using Final Cut Pro.
Alexis' Midterm Proposal
alindquistMT346.doc
The Language We Don't Talk About:
Hearing Time and Place in Film Scores
“I am exploring the film score as a universal language, because even the lowest lay-man can understand the musical color that creates a sense of time and place, in order to elicit the cinematic and cultural importance of this “ignored” art.”
Abstract: This project delves into the world of musical color specifically in relation to the creation of the sensation of a time and place in cinema. It is targeted for any film listener (even the blind). A pedagogical website will launch a multi-layered, interactive game.
Methodology: The project will be accessed via the internet through a flash site. The flash site will explain the purpose of the project, give directions for the game both through literature and audibly, and will have teaching tools in regards to musical color in film scores. The game will be accessible via the flash site and will also be created in Flash. The game is completely audio based. The user will be assigned missions, for example “Go to Scotland.” The user will hear a score; if it does not implicate Scotland, then the user may left click and a new score will play. It is as though the user is digging forward in search of Scotland. When the user finds the assigned time or destination, then they may right click and sounds will notify them of their correct or incorrect answer. There are no points and the game loops; it literally could go on forever. It is just a simple exercise to allow the user to become aware of their personal interpretation of musical color.
Why in General? As a whole, this project will effectively argue that musical color has become a language across cinema and American culture. The user’s experience will leave them with a greater awareness of the power of the film score in their film experiences and even life.
Media Presentation & Justification: This thesis will include a flash website with film clips, sound clips, visual images, and game devices to allow decision making in order to let the user to declare their own connotations when they hear score motifs. This project should be in multimedia because film scores are a language that is heard, not written. Also, this project requires the allowance of users to make decisions in a way that cannot be done in an essay.
::The changes I made between my initial proposal and this one are that I immensely simplified the flash game and educational material covered in general. There is only one 'world' in the game instead of three and the idea of exploring the evolution of film scores was discarded completely. Even though the project is much simpler now, there is always the possibility that next year I will be able to expand it again.::
Beth's Midterm Proposal
TITLE
The Role of Toxin-Antitoxin Gene Pairs in Cell Death/Cell Survival in Escherichia coli
ABSTRACT
Toxin-antitoxin pairs are pairs of genes that encode the information necessary for the generation of a toxin and an antitoxin. Within a healthy cell, toxin and antitoxin proteins are simultaneously produced, and bind together to form a complex that is harmless to the cell; however, in an abnormal cell, the toxin protein accumulates, disrupting normal cellular functions and ultimately causing cell death. For this reason, toxin-antitoxin pairs have been implicated as key components of programmed cell death mechanisms and the plasmid addiction system (a mechanism in which a cell dies if it does not receive a copy of a small, circular piece of DNA called a plasmid). Understanding the basic mechanisms underlying programmed cell death and plasmid addiction is an important step in gaining insight into disorders/diseases caused by uncontrolled cell proliferation like cancer, and may yield important molecular tools for initiating death in specific, undesired cells in laboratory experiments.
The aim of this project is to generate a miniature database documentary about toxin-antitoxin pairs, and more specifically toxin-antitoxin pairs in the bacterium Escherichia coli. This will be a referential and educational tool that includes a review of toxin-antitoxin pair literature, as well progress on toxin-antitoxin pair research being conducted in the Finkel laboratory at the University of Southern California.
PROJECT GOAL
The primary goal of this multimedia project is to generate a miniature database of information regarding toxin-antitoxin pairs in Escherichia coli. This will be an interactive project that can be used as either a source of reference for people conducting research on toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli, or an educational experience for people, both in the general public and in other scientific fields, that have an interest in learning about toxin-antitoxin pairs.
To accomplish this goal, the information contained within this project will be made accessible to both the lay person and the professional researcher: a researcher can browse through the project, looking at current information and research about toxin-antitoxin pairs and bypassing explanations and images that describe basic knowledge (e.g. transcription and translation), while a lay person can browse through the project, bringing up annotations (textual and/or visual) that explain concepts they do not know or understand.
RESEARCH GOALS / METHODLOGY
The specific aim of this research project is to conduct an extensive literature review of toxin-antitoxin pairs in the bacterium Escherichia coli. This project will be comprised of five major components: (1) general information about toxin-antitoxin pairs, (2) toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli, (3) proposed theories for the role of toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli death and/or survival, (4) potential applications of toxin-antitoxin pair research, (5) progress with research that I am conducting in the laboratory.
The first component of this project will present a broad overview of toxin-antitoxin pairs – the background information. It will begin with two basic concepts that are crucially important to toxin-antitoxin pair action, programmed cell death and plasmid addiction (a mechanism in which a cell dies if it does not receive a copy of a circular piece of extra-genomic DNA called a plasmid). The discussion will continue with the identification of toxin-antitoxin pairs on bacterial genomes, what they are, how they are thought to act, and their potential significance for cell death or survival.
The second component of this project will concentrate on the main focus of this project, toxin-antitoxin pairs on the E. coli genome. This section will include information about each of the toxin-antitoxin pairs identified in E. coli, their locations on the E. coli genome, their putative modes of action, and other pertinent information.
The third section will be focused on the major theories regarding the purposes of these toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli. The theories proposed by the two major camps of toxin-antitoxin pair research, the Gerdes laboratory and the Engelberg-Kulka laboratory, will be discussed here, as well as the theory proposed by the Finkel laboratory.
The fourth, and final section of the literature review, will be concerned with the potential applications of toxin-antitoxin pair research. Understanding the mechanisms of toxin-antitoxin pairs is a major step forward in understanding programmed cell death mechanisms, and possibly the mechanisms underlying the termination of programmed cell death abnormal proliferation of cells (e.g. cancer). Additionally, toxin-antitoxin pairs have the potentially of being a very useful molecular technique that can be used to terminate certain, unwanted cells in controlled experiments.
The final component of this project will be concerned with my own research. This section will consist primarily of the protocols and processes that are involved in my research, with a little bit of data. Realistically, there will be little data to present, as current research endeavors are focused on the generation of mutant E. coli strains required for the study of toxin-antitoxin pairs.
PROJECT FORMAT AND JUSTIFICATION
Data presentation is one of the most important aspects of the scientific process, regardless of whether the project is a literature review or laboratory-based research. The publication of papers and the presentation of works at conferences and symposiums allow researchers to present their findings to the scientific community, as well as the general public. This generates a forum for the discussion and exchange of ideas, which is inherently important to scientific progress.
There are three primary modes of presentation in scientific disciplines: paper publications, oral presentations, and poster presentations. Despite the inherently scholastic nature of science, which demands careful note-taking, attention to detail, and the analysis and interpretation of data, there are many aspects of science that are better explained through images, especially for lay audiences or those unfamiliar with the research topic. These components include physical, chemical, or physiological mechanisms, experimental procedures, and data. For instance, it is much easier to understand how a neurotoxin can cause paralysis via a schematic drawing or an animation, than it is to read a dense passage detailing each step in the process. Likewise, it is much easier to understand data presented as a graph than as a list of numbers.
For this reason, the multimedia format of this project will be a database documentary. It is critically important to maintain a textual, scholarly component in the presentation of this project because of the scientific nature of the research: at the core of this project is a literature review of toxin-antitoxin pairs in the bacterium Escherichia coli, and secondarily, data collected from ongoing research. However, there are multiple components of this project that are far better served by visual aids: pictures, animations, interviews, etc. A database documentary will allow for the incorporation of both scholastic and multimedia components, as well as allow the audience to explore and learn about toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli at their leisure and personal level of understanding.
The Role of Toxin-Antitoxin Gene Pairs in Cell Death/Cell Survival in Escherichia coli
ABSTRACT
Toxin-antitoxin pairs are pairs of genes that encode the information necessary for the generation of a toxin and an antitoxin. Within a healthy cell, toxin and antitoxin proteins are simultaneously produced, and bind together to form a complex that is harmless to the cell; however, in an abnormal cell, the toxin protein accumulates, disrupting normal cellular functions and ultimately causing cell death. For this reason, toxin-antitoxin pairs have been implicated as key components of programmed cell death mechanisms and the plasmid addiction system (a mechanism in which a cell dies if it does not receive a copy of a small, circular piece of DNA called a plasmid). Understanding the basic mechanisms underlying programmed cell death and plasmid addiction is an important step in gaining insight into disorders/diseases caused by uncontrolled cell proliferation like cancer, and may yield important molecular tools for initiating death in specific, undesired cells in laboratory experiments.
The aim of this project is to generate a miniature database documentary about toxin-antitoxin pairs, and more specifically toxin-antitoxin pairs in the bacterium Escherichia coli. This will be a referential and educational tool that includes a review of toxin-antitoxin pair literature, as well progress on toxin-antitoxin pair research being conducted in the Finkel laboratory at the University of Southern California.
PROJECT GOAL
The primary goal of this multimedia project is to generate a miniature database of information regarding toxin-antitoxin pairs in Escherichia coli. This will be an interactive project that can be used as either a source of reference for people conducting research on toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli, or an educational experience for people, both in the general public and in other scientific fields, that have an interest in learning about toxin-antitoxin pairs.
To accomplish this goal, the information contained within this project will be made accessible to both the lay person and the professional researcher: a researcher can browse through the project, looking at current information and research about toxin-antitoxin pairs and bypassing explanations and images that describe basic knowledge (e.g. transcription and translation), while a lay person can browse through the project, bringing up annotations (textual and/or visual) that explain concepts they do not know or understand.
RESEARCH GOALS / METHODLOGY
The specific aim of this research project is to conduct an extensive literature review of toxin-antitoxin pairs in the bacterium Escherichia coli. This project will be comprised of five major components: (1) general information about toxin-antitoxin pairs, (2) toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli, (3) proposed theories for the role of toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli death and/or survival, (4) potential applications of toxin-antitoxin pair research, (5) progress with research that I am conducting in the laboratory.
The first component of this project will present a broad overview of toxin-antitoxin pairs – the background information. It will begin with two basic concepts that are crucially important to toxin-antitoxin pair action, programmed cell death and plasmid addiction (a mechanism in which a cell dies if it does not receive a copy of a circular piece of extra-genomic DNA called a plasmid). The discussion will continue with the identification of toxin-antitoxin pairs on bacterial genomes, what they are, how they are thought to act, and their potential significance for cell death or survival.
The second component of this project will concentrate on the main focus of this project, toxin-antitoxin pairs on the E. coli genome. This section will include information about each of the toxin-antitoxin pairs identified in E. coli, their locations on the E. coli genome, their putative modes of action, and other pertinent information.
The third section will be focused on the major theories regarding the purposes of these toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli. The theories proposed by the two major camps of toxin-antitoxin pair research, the Gerdes laboratory and the Engelberg-Kulka laboratory, will be discussed here, as well as the theory proposed by the Finkel laboratory.
The fourth, and final section of the literature review, will be concerned with the potential applications of toxin-antitoxin pair research. Understanding the mechanisms of toxin-antitoxin pairs is a major step forward in understanding programmed cell death mechanisms, and possibly the mechanisms underlying the termination of programmed cell death abnormal proliferation of cells (e.g. cancer). Additionally, toxin-antitoxin pairs have the potentially of being a very useful molecular technique that can be used to terminate certain, unwanted cells in controlled experiments.
The final component of this project will be concerned with my own research. This section will consist primarily of the protocols and processes that are involved in my research, with a little bit of data. Realistically, there will be little data to present, as current research endeavors are focused on the generation of mutant E. coli strains required for the study of toxin-antitoxin pairs.
PROJECT FORMAT AND JUSTIFICATION
Data presentation is one of the most important aspects of the scientific process, regardless of whether the project is a literature review or laboratory-based research. The publication of papers and the presentation of works at conferences and symposiums allow researchers to present their findings to the scientific community, as well as the general public. This generates a forum for the discussion and exchange of ideas, which is inherently important to scientific progress.
There are three primary modes of presentation in scientific disciplines: paper publications, oral presentations, and poster presentations. Despite the inherently scholastic nature of science, which demands careful note-taking, attention to detail, and the analysis and interpretation of data, there are many aspects of science that are better explained through images, especially for lay audiences or those unfamiliar with the research topic. These components include physical, chemical, or physiological mechanisms, experimental procedures, and data. For instance, it is much easier to understand how a neurotoxin can cause paralysis via a schematic drawing or an animation, than it is to read a dense passage detailing each step in the process. Likewise, it is much easier to understand data presented as a graph than as a list of numbers.
For this reason, the multimedia format of this project will be a database documentary. It is critically important to maintain a textual, scholarly component in the presentation of this project because of the scientific nature of the research: at the core of this project is a literature review of toxin-antitoxin pairs in the bacterium Escherichia coli, and secondarily, data collected from ongoing research. However, there are multiple components of this project that are far better served by visual aids: pictures, animations, interviews, etc. A database documentary will allow for the incorporation of both scholastic and multimedia components, as well as allow the audience to explore and learn about toxin-antitoxin pairs in E. coli at their leisure and personal level of understanding.
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