my first kinetic typography piece…
Andrew Robbins
cest le vie
Posted in March 2012 …
NMD204: Assignment 9
This was our first motion assignment for the class. Take one logo and turn it into another…
Release: Tools
I will be using a variety of tools through out the process of this project. In the beginning stages I will be designing the characters and scene by free hand on paper. I will then transfer into a digital media and use an array of editing and animation software to bring motion into the project. These tools include Anime Studio Pro, After Effects, Illustrator and possibly Premiere. Also, I will most likely use tools such as online animation tutorials to really add some nice effects and other aesthetics to bring the animation to a higher quality of work.
Release: Format
The format of this project will be a 2D/3D hand drawn animation. I will most likely develop the characters and scene on paper. I will storyboard the narrative then use various programs to add motion. The video will be designed to appeal to a large audience and is meant to be shared via social networking. The format is somewhat difficult to describe, so I have started posting links to animations with similar styles to what I hope to achieve. This includes duration, content, animation style, etc.
I like the characters in this animation. The simplicity of how they are drawn leaves more room for other aspects of the narrative. It seems to be a good balance between simplicity while still having enough detail to show the necessary emotions and reactions. I want to focus on the meaning and message of the video rather then getting caught up in too much details. In this sense, the characters will represent the idea of ‘everyman’.
This style of animation is somewhat like what I want in my own. I like the mix of 2D animation in a 3D space. I also think that the camera movements are nice. If I can achieve a similar look in my own style, the cinematography will definitely strengthen the message as it will draw the audience in. For example, the reason the recent ‘Kony’ video was so popular was because of its unique cinematography that captured the audiences attention from the get-go.
The video will then be posted online and promoted. The idea is to bring the video into a social network as to gain as much attention as possible. The more people who see the video the more people will start asking questions about how the power and authority is distributed amongst the college campus. In the end, we want students to understand that they can take their education into their own hands and really get the most out of their time at the university.
NMD206: Release Content
The content of this release will be a short, satirical animation on how the education system we are involved with is structured. I hope to exemplify the unfair distribution of power through a metaphorical narrative called “The College Stand”. In the short, a character will walk up to the ‘College Stand’ and will pay the fee for college. Once payed the character running the stand will give the consumer no choice and tell him “this is what you get for your money” and that is that. The unsatisfied costumer will become disgruntled as he walks away from the stand. Deciding this is not fair and unjust, the character will build his own college stand. The next cut will be a new stand with the main character running things, a line of customers around the corner and the old stand completely barren. At the end, a short message may be displayed stating facts about our education and how we have the power to structure it for ourselves.
The purpose of an animation such as this, realistically, is to simply raise the thought. I believe too many students do not question or even understand how to get the most out of their education, seeing the university and its professors in a hierarchical structure sets them up to believe they are not the ones in charge…even though they are paying for it. If this simple video can get enough people start thinking about this concept then eventually the right questions may be asked that would start the reversal of the current power structure.
NMD206: Intent 3
Running with my previous post, I want to make a satirical animation designed with the intent to be shared in social networks. The video will be used to incite conversation and controversy about a specific issue. I want to design the project around something that can be easily related as well as local and personal. In class we discussed many students unrest as to how the modern college is structured. The point was brought up that we pay all of this money to go to school. Once we get there, we are told for our money this is what we get, if we do not like it…its our problem. Many, including myself, believe this should be reversed. We should pay and say this is what we want for our money…I want to learn this! I have decided to use this issue as my foundation. I will then design a short animation to raise questions about how are education is being structured and where the power should be.
NMD206: New Project Proposal
The other day Joline dropped a bomb on our class, saying that we she was thinking about dropping the curriculum for the rest of the semester and offered us the opportunity to propose a project that we would like to work on for the last month or so of school. She told us that while we should keep in mind that it should relate to New Media, we should not let that define our ideas. I think that this is a unique opportunity that should not be wasted. However, I really want to keep my project related to New Media in some way. I have very much enjoyed my time-based classes at the university and I was thinking that I would like to do an animation of some sort. Animations can take a lot of time and work, and I do not want to undertake something to large for the time we have left, so I think the narrative should be short, but with a strong message. I really like mixing serious and or controversial issues matched with comical animation. I feel like with that sort of combination you are able to attract viewer attention while still getting your voice out there and if done in the right manner, these shorts can be come very popular and even viral- which would fit nicely with the NM many to many theory through social networking (much like the Kony video). As far as actual subject matter, I have yet to determine. I need to decide on a political or social issue that people, more specifically myself, are concerned and care about. One possible idea is that while social networking is very popular and powerful, we must not forget about the world around us and personal, face to face interactions- an animation illustrating the concern for real-world social interaction. Another idea would be an animation focused around some campus issue or event- maybe communication between majors or even the parking issue although I would hope for something slightly more important.
Anyways, the idea must be developed further obviously, but I appreciate the ability to decide for myself what is important and what I wish to work on. If class time is spent as a workshop in developing ideas and design, I believe it will afford us, the students, to truly break out our boxes and try new, exciting things that can be inspirational and informative.
NMD205 Approach: Destination Automation
For this assignment, we were supposed to make an approach at automating our own or one of our peers ‘scores’ from the pool. I chose to work on Derrick’s ‘Appicture’ daily photograph project. My goal was to use pseudo code to write a program that could automatically generate a random assignment for the daily project. My idea is to create three separate arrays that contain various parameters, such as filter, lens and subject matter. The next step would be to create a statement in which a random element from each array is called to create an assignment template that can be switched out for each random selection.
//Assignment generator for ‘Appicture’
//This program generates assignment content. It describes the assignment in relation to three perameters with random values, it is up to the user to find lens, filter and subject matter to carry out assignment.
//Create arrays for all three perameters in assignment generator.
Lens= [telefoto, wideAngle, fishEye, macro];
//as many lenses as desired…
Filter= [sepia, blacknWhite, vibrant, stencil, burntPaper, hopenChange];
//as many filters as desired, all arrays can be updated and added to.
Subject= [family, friends, fun, emotion, entertainment, food, sports, architecture, socialEvent, weather, automotive, work]
//this array should be updated frequently to ensure user interest and activity.
//Get random values from each array.
Lens.random;
Filter.random;
Subject.random;
Assignment= (“Take a photo of” +Subject “using a “ +Filter “and this” +Lens ”.”)
Assignment.get
Graphic designed by Derek O’Brien:
NMD206: Class Work 3/15
Speaking of Deep Play and what it takes to be a man in today’s society we were discussing instances in which a person has been broken. In movies and in TV there are many examples as well as in real-life unfortunately. I brought up the example of a new television series called “Homeland” in which a POW returns from captivity after 8 years of no contact. While there are underlying twist and drama to the show, it is forced to recognize the exact moment when the man was pushed over the edge and completely broken. The main character is made to kill his fellow friend and POW as the captors film and taunt.
Here is a link:
http://www.sho.com/site/homeland/home.sho
Edge of Art: Chapter 2 Response
Chapter 2 has definitely been the most relate able chapter thus far in the course for me. I cannot say that I am the most avid gamer, but I do have some experience and could connect with much of what was said. The first prompt asks us to consider the level of violence that comes with most games these days. An easy example of violent games is ‘GTA’. The game is based on the fact that you are put into this populated environment and left to your own devices to make moral or immoral decisions. I think that this attraction to violence carries the same undertones that an attraction to speed or danger has. Many people would like to try things or fantasize about doing things that they could not or would not do in real-life. Having said this, I think that the reason that these games are so commonly intertwined with violence and danger is because these games afford us the opportunity to experience these emotions and actions without the serious repercussions and consequences that would normally follow.
The second prompt questions the idea of arrest in games. I take its meaning as a separation of the user and the game, forcing the user to question choices and weigh decisions. For example, games with real-time developing plot lines that change and grow as the user plays and decides which choice to make and an attempt at a desired goal. This can be anything between challenging the idea of taking one path or the other or choosing to kill a character or choosing to help him or her. In some games you even earn points as to being a good guy or bad guy based against the decisions the user chooses to make. This requires the user to make some decisions that rest on some very basic moral or emotional levels.
The third prompt questions what happens when games break through the digital world into the real world. I think that this can go either way, good or bad. Much like problems with children practicing wrestling moves and getting hurt or killed in their own living rooms, games can inspire unsafe events. In the same respects, it could inspire one to try something new or different because it allowed the user to ‘test the water’ by experiencing something through games without the fear of consequence or failure. People are always going to make good and bad decisions and I believe that we cannot limit or creativity to the fear of what decisions they may inspire. The best we can do is caution and warn against making poor choices and promote the idea that these games are the window for which we can experience and emulate behavior we should not engage in the real world.
The fourth prompt questions gender roles within the gaming community. I think that this ties into a lot of what we have been discussing. These games offer an opportunity to experience something that we may not be able to try in any other setting. Many violent games are geared towards the male population while there are games for raising families and making food that are more commonly geared towards the female demographic. There are also examples that twist these gender roles. For example, Tomb Raider is a very popular game. The game offers violence, danger, adventure and puzzle solving. While this sounds like a game geared towards a male demo., the user’s character is a female. The question here is whether or not it matters that a guy picks up the sticks to play as a woman. Do they enjoy the fact? Do they even notice it? Does it ‘erk’ them or deter them from playing the game?
“In its raw form, gender can be arresting, as the hit counts of porn sites readily attest. In the context of gaming, however, gender more often serves as a character embellishment meant to drive rather than halt the story. Yet without moments of arrest, games that invoke or rely on gender as a plot device usually fail to transcend stereotypical roles for male or female characters.”(Edge of Art, 81) – As this reads, ‘an embellishment meant to drive…’ comes to meaning as I have been trying to describe. This idea that elements such as female characters are meant to drive the game rather then halt play. Again, just offering a unique opportunity that leaves the user to his or her own choice as a worth while experience or rather the opposite.
The final prompt asks about how the US Military uses gaming as a recruitment device in today’s society. This to me seems to be a slippery slope. On the one hand, games have been developed so far and have become so realistic that they can and maybe should be used to train soldiers on how to operate in war-time situations. On the other hand, many kids play these games for all the reasons discussed above and do not fully understand a true life level of violence and danger. It seems almost not fair to tempt young people with all the excitement and ‘cool effects’ that come with the game. It seems slightly misrepresented.