Final Project

My final project is well on its way to being complete. My to do list includes placing a mask around the stage so that the information is not visible outside of the stage when the view is set to full screen. I also need feed back from the class about the number of scenes that are included in each path and what feeling is being conveyed by each scene. I am fairly happy with the majority of the project but my judgment may be cloudy since I have seen the project continually.

state of the funion

My work on this final project has gone towards experiments with light and color using simple shapes and movement to create a complex repetition of the shapes overlapping and using transparency to show complexity in the stacking of layers.

My progress on the project is that I have put together a collection of svenes that reflect either a positive feeling or a darker/negative feeling. I've created about ten of them and need to create ten more. The project has not been set up with the proper code yet, but the code is not the most difficult part since my controls are going to consist of jumping to certain frames and scenes, basic time-line controls. I plan on having this all done by Thursday.

audio_lab

For my audio assignment I wanted to play with the mixture of sounds much like the simple flash sites that we linked to. I used the slider functions that we learned in class, but I would have liked to do something that resembles fruity loops like the "sheep_beats".

Although I have fun messing around with my own mix of sounds, I'm not sure that it will be interesting for others. I've always liked messing around with production boards and this is what this feels like.

Essay

visual acoustics


Out of all the sites that I went to, I thought that this one was the best as far as sound and graphics. Overall the look and feel of the site was more and important to me than the amount of fun that I had. It made me feel like I was doing something more important if it looked like the graphics had some eloquence behind them.

In visual acoustics you have several brushes / instruments that you can choose from: piano, violin, flute, guitar, harp, strings, upright bass, and tenor sax. Turning on the instruments and adjusting the variables of volume and delay adds an interesting mix for interactivity, although it took me a minute to figure out what the delay actually did,(if one delay is set to low it cuts off the other instruments that have delays set at a high number.)

The graphics emit from the mouse controller as you move over a color field that looks much like a color picker in Adobe, the graphics flow smoothly as the notes play from the points that your mouse hits on the grid.

It wasn't the most fun I had going through these sites but I felt like it was the best put together.

Working on project

At this point I am concentrating on producing scenes for my flash document. I want to get some of the beginning scenes done so that I can see where the project is going visually. I think that this will help in [pushing the work forward.

Site Map looks simple because it is combining the labels for negative and positive outcomes.

Chart

Chart is recreated, does it need to be totally redone in a new style? I think I like the clinical look of the original.

opening page

project

For my final project I will be using the graph based on transition psychology to map out a path of interaction. The graph splits into several directions depending on what route a person could take when faced with transition, these differences will be shown through color and shape contrasts and the user will be given options for the particular path they wish to take. The point of this project is to use projected light in order to create an environment that enables the user to control the psychological feel in the room according to the choices they make on this path of transition. Most of the research on transition psychology has been done in order to benifit employees and companies, my hope is to take this information and turn it into something that can be experienced and observed, and learned from in an artistic setting instead of a corporate setting that might feel a need to control your life transitions in the best interest of the company. This would be an attempt to put soul into transition psychology. My main goal is to create atmosphere with light, and I think that the simple terms used in the graph can be illustrated with color and simple shape interaction.

Project ideas

I want to explore transition psychology and use this graph as inspiration for my graphics.










1. I could use this graph as like a roller coaster ride, to show how it could feel. Like you're actually riding on the graph and its ups and downs.

2. I could use the graph as a template for how the user would navigate through pages and encounter the different parts of transition.

3. It could be a test for fight or flight.

This is the site I used for reference: http://www.eoslifework.co.uk/transprac.htm

Computer Programs

the programs I use, like flash, create an interface that enable me to accomplish a goal in a short timeframe.

portfolio site

Working on this portfolio site has braught up some issues about how to make things appear to be professional. It seems to me that I am stuck between working in a loose style that depends on personality and dynamic visuals and working in a style that looks formal to a certain degree.
This may be a misconception by me, maybe it just needs to have a function that follows an expected formula for portfolios, and that the look of it doesn't matter.

Portfolio Mocks

quiz #2

1. You want to change frames into keyframes in order to to signal a stopping point on your timeline. Creates an envelope of information between two keyframes, this envelope can then be motion tweened, etc...

2. Easing in is taking a motion tween and slowing down the motion at the beginning of the action.
It is used to create the illusion of gravity and weight. The value of easing in is positive.

3. Easing out is taking a motion tween and slowing down the motion at the end of the action.
It is used to create the illusion of gravity and weight. The value of easing in is negative.

4. In a motion tween, between two keyframes, you set the tint in the first keyframe different than the second in the properties panel for the object.

5. A guide layer just above the layer that contains your object/symbol.

Portfolio Site

When approaching the portfolio site, I struggle with the idea of how far to take it. Does it need to be a clean international design
or should it be full of character and be playful. Well clean be fun dependening on the colors I guess. When does clean become simplistic and boring? This makes me think that a site should be simple like a business card, but business cards can be fun too.

The sites that I like the most that have been done in flash contain an element of real life texture: paper, wood, textiles, etc... To use vector graphics only seems to be one dimensional when compared to the alternate option. Relates to real life.

Quiz #1

1. A symbol is an object that appears in your library that can be used multiple times on a stage.
An instance occur es only once on a stage, and you name its instance in order to manipulate it with action script.


2. It uses vector graphics easily, so it is scalable and resolution independent

3. A keyframe defines a section of frames and can help preform a function, frames
hold information but are not able to perform a function without a keyframe.

My Net.Art

I wanted something simple to start out with. I used some video that I already had and tried to go for a simple black on black feel.

Marc.Net

My Pocket

MyPocket


This project seems to reflect the ideas of net.art as I understand them most clearly. It takes the process of analyzing spending habits, a process that is happening constantly around the globe but is hardly noticed, and exposes it in a creative way. This says net.art to me because it uses technology and art to make a statement. I'm not sure that this statement is good or bad, is it good or bad to have our spending tracked, I geuss it depends on who is doing the tracking or who is being tracked.

This statement interested me: "Influenced by today's techno-cultural milieu, MYPOCKET presents a hybrid interface to a living physical/digital process."

Does net.art create interfaces in which to view our lives in all its glories and pitfalls, its excitement and mediochrity, just as any other art would except that it is expressed in this new world of code, unseen technology and software?

These "Time Quilts" seem like sketches of moments, in some ways it is very similar to how memory works or dreams, in flashes and recalling certain impressions on the mind.

Net.Art

Can the Net.Art experience can be described as a subversive? Should this movement be catagporized by being unsatisfied with what is handed to us by those who seem to be in control of code and/or information?



Is Net.art a movement that seeks actions that may have negative consequences, especially when appropriating material, or trying to subvert the stronghold of corporations on a resource that could be used for creative community building. Community building that is not based on merchandising, but based on creating new ways of thinking about our future and how our lives are shaped by the world we live in today, especially when it comes to ideas not excepted by the mainstream or majority.



Is net.art about one particular thing, or is it just a mess of things labeled Net.art that could very well have its own label, especially now that the net is connected with our lives in an almost seamless fashion. Should net.art just be called public art.

Q and A's

Question 1. Since digital media entered the field of art has the perception of art changed?

Answer: The perception of art has changed inevitably due to the fact that our reality has changed. We can now associate with a visual language that has been created that did not exist before video or computers or internet. As the digital world continues to change so will our cultural language so will our art.

Question 2.A relevant section of digital art represents Internet based art. The Internet hardly existed, but artists conquered already this new field for their artistic activities. Can the work of these early artists be compared with those who work with advanced technologies nowadays? What changed until these days? What might be the perspectives for future developments?

Answer: Work created today is built on the the expriments of the past. I have seen plenty of sites that use new technology to create an image that appears to use low-fi technology, even though it is obviously running much smoother than the originals ever could. In order for the field to progress into the future, the technology of today must be pushed to its limits and manipulated beyond its original use, much like the technology of the past was put through. (although the technology of the past may still be the technology of today)


Question 3.The term "netart" is widely used for anything posted on the net; there are dozens of definitions that mostly are even contradictory. How do you define "netart" or if you like the description "Internet based art" better? Do you think "netart" is art, at all, if yes, what are the criteria? Are there any aesthetic criteria for an Internet based artwork?

Answer: I define net.art as a need to express oneself through the technology that has been presented by the internet and It would be to my liking that this expression be to the contrary of mainstream ideas in order to expand the horizons of the viewer. It should beautifully unexpected.

Question 4.Dealing with this new, and interactive type of art demands an active viewer or user, and needs the audience much more and in different ways than any other art discipline before. How do you think would be good ways to stimulate the user to dive into this new world of art? What do you think represents an appropriate environment to present net based art to an audience, is it the context of the lonesome user sitting in front of his personal computer, is it any public context, or is it rather the context of art in general or media art in particular, or anything else.? If you would be in the position to create an environment for presenting this type of art in physical space, how would you do it?

Answer: I think having an art show at a gallery, in public, sounds silly for an interactive piece that could be posted on the internet, but creating an atmosphere in a public place that strives to get people exploring and creating interactively, will promote the idea to our culture that this is fun or this is serious and I can be a part of this new thing that is creating excitement. This approach could bring net.art and any other low-fi interactive art together in one place, creating opportunity for even more exploration combining the two. Any space would do as long as you had the funds to create a vision that unified the space.

Question 5.As Internet based art, as well as other art forms using new technologies are (globally seen) still not widely accepted, yet, as serious art forms, what do you think could be an appropriate solution to change this situation?


Answer: I think that it is just a matter of time. It may not ever be seen as a viable art form until it has investment growth possibilities, as so the world goes. I think that as long as the work is able to move people it has already become art, it is up to the viewers to except the world they live in and except that these technologies are only an extension of how we live and how we will continue to live, just like paint pigments or the photograph have become art, they are just a part of who we are and they are accepted that way.

http://www.shiftwork.org.uk/work/motion/index.html

related to shiftspace


The work on shiftspace and shiftwork uses dance, music, and video to create an atmosphere that is hard to describe. It can be uneasy at times but mostly beautiful in its interactions between the movement of the dancers interacting with the shape of the format in which they are presented. The user interaction is limited, which allows for maximum attention to be given to the flow and subtlety of its content. I am not particullarly a dance fan, but the availability of the work to be played in my own setting, at my own pace, and at my own discretion made dance more appealing to me. This aspect brings me to the realization of what interactive media can be, given the time to explore and given something interesting or mysterious to explore, the reaction of the viewer, and counter-action of the artist can be endless and gratifying for both.

Vuk Cosic

Should net.art be concerned with making money, is that not the opposite approach to what makes Internet art so cool in the first place. The fact that it rellies on its own set of standards. I could see finding a way to make money by providing something that is av ante-guard, something that cannot be produced again, and selling this piece of work. But once you start thinking about money, who are you going to sell to, and doesn't this question already start to influence your work. I know that in professional painting, writing , or any kind of art, once you start trying to appeal to someone or some group, this can begin to take the fun out of some of the creative process. Just think if for a second that your favorite band started off in their endeavours creating music in order to make money, they would be Marky Mark or The Monkeys, sure you may be able to sing a couple of their songs off the top of your head, but did they really do anything for society? I just think that it becomes dangerous once you start making art for money, But then again, I may not understand the concept of art for money, and maybe the greatest art in the world is the one that lies and steals money from your pocket, much like a concert poster would or an ad for a great tasting cup of coffee.

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