"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world."
- Joel Barker
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Webisodes
Remember a few years back when the writer's strike happened? Well, I do. I remember not being able to watch any good TV, the scandals that happened with Ellen DeGenerous and Jay Leno, etc. Anyways, to get around the strike and provide audiences with new forms of entertainment a number of various webisodes were developed. Two of these in particular are called The Guild and Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog.
The Guild is a much simpler webisode that began with a budget of $50.00! THAT'S IT! Each episode is about two or three minutes which is totally convenient given how sporadic I tend to get on the internet with Facebook et al. Felicia Day (who also stars in Dr. Horrible) is the principal of the show and is highly entertaining. Basically the show is about a group of people who have developed a sort of ambient intimacy - an intimacy establish online without ever truly witnessing each other in the flesh. Anyways, the plot line involves one member of the group actually meeting up with another in person and all the creepy/hilarious things that happen afterwords. It's a show about internet nerds/geeks who spend their lives playing computer games. Felicia Day sort of makes a mockery out of these types of people not because of their interests but rather because they invest their entire lives in it thus (in my opinion) taking away from aspects of life (socializing FO REALLL) everyone should experience.
Here is the link to that webisode if you're interested:http://www.youtube.com/user/watchtheguild
Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog stars one of my favorite people: Neil Patrick Harris. I love him. He is absolutely hilarious in this series of webisodes which ran on a much higher budget than The Guild. The production values are better, the settings are more expansive, the technology more innovative, etc. Anyways, the story is basically about Dr. Horrible (Harris) and his desire to take over the world. He is a rather clumsy fellow which makes for impeccable entertainment. There are also elements of classic American story lines like: the guy can't get the girl, the bully that picks on the underdog, adolescence, etc. This episodes are much longer so do save time for that. Definitely worth a look though as I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here's the link: http://www.drhorrible.com/
AND ALL THIS SHIT IS FREEEEEEE!!!
The Guild is a much simpler webisode that began with a budget of $50.00! THAT'S IT! Each episode is about two or three minutes which is totally convenient given how sporadic I tend to get on the internet with Facebook et al. Felicia Day (who also stars in Dr. Horrible) is the principal of the show and is highly entertaining. Basically the show is about a group of people who have developed a sort of ambient intimacy - an intimacy establish online without ever truly witnessing each other in the flesh. Anyways, the plot line involves one member of the group actually meeting up with another in person and all the creepy/hilarious things that happen afterwords. It's a show about internet nerds/geeks who spend their lives playing computer games. Felicia Day sort of makes a mockery out of these types of people not because of their interests but rather because they invest their entire lives in it thus (in my opinion) taking away from aspects of life (socializing FO REALLL) everyone should experience.
Here is the link to that webisode if you're interested:http://www.youtube.com/user/watchtheguild
Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog stars one of my favorite people: Neil Patrick Harris. I love him. He is absolutely hilarious in this series of webisodes which ran on a much higher budget than The Guild. The production values are better, the settings are more expansive, the technology more innovative, etc. Anyways, the story is basically about Dr. Horrible (Harris) and his desire to take over the world. He is a rather clumsy fellow which makes for impeccable entertainment. There are also elements of classic American story lines like: the guy can't get the girl, the bully that picks on the underdog, adolescence, etc. This episodes are much longer so do save time for that. Definitely worth a look though as I thoroughly enjoyed it. Here's the link: http://www.drhorrible.com/
AND ALL THIS SHIT IS FREEEEEEE!!!
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Noah Wardrip-Fruin
He is the author of the text book that we are using in class and he recently gave a fantastic lecture at the Tisch School of the Arts discussing in depth the rationale behind his latest book, Expressive Processing.
I found the lecture to first and foremost be highly entertaining. I have to hand it to him, its not easy to make programming sound fun (for some people, anyways, myself included...). I was interested to hear his opinions regarding the dialogue that takes place within video games and former models programmers would use to communicate with the players. We came to discover certain models that are in fact mere manipulations of words and answers - they seem to make sense at first but after careful observation one can easily point out their flaws. Wardrip-Fruin's goal is to create a video game that conveys complex characters through their dialogue as the game draws on.
I was introduced to various video games in particular, Noah's favorite: Star Wars. He showed us on a projector a simulation of various scenes within the game that he has experienced. After he showed these to us we spent time decoding the meaning and trying to decipher ways that we could make it better. At the end, he discussed extremely complex ideas that while extremely fascinating, were quite difficult for me to understand.
Noah Wardrip-Fruin is the author of Expressive Processing and is a professor at University of California at Santa Cruz. Check him out through google if you are interested he was an awesome guy and a great teacher.
I found the lecture to first and foremost be highly entertaining. I have to hand it to him, its not easy to make programming sound fun (for some people, anyways, myself included...). I was interested to hear his opinions regarding the dialogue that takes place within video games and former models programmers would use to communicate with the players. We came to discover certain models that are in fact mere manipulations of words and answers - they seem to make sense at first but after careful observation one can easily point out their flaws. Wardrip-Fruin's goal is to create a video game that conveys complex characters through their dialogue as the game draws on.
I was introduced to various video games in particular, Noah's favorite: Star Wars. He showed us on a projector a simulation of various scenes within the game that he has experienced. After he showed these to us we spent time decoding the meaning and trying to decipher ways that we could make it better. At the end, he discussed extremely complex ideas that while extremely fascinating, were quite difficult for me to understand.
Noah Wardrip-Fruin is the author of Expressive Processing and is a professor at University of California at Santa Cruz. Check him out through google if you are interested he was an awesome guy and a great teacher.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Awesome Videos
Below are links to video’s that I watched in my New Media class – each one viral, entertaining, intelligent, and certainly worth taking a look at. For class I am required to write a brief blurb about each one, so below are my opinions, reactions, comments, etc. regarding each video.
Bingo
The video begins with a clown interviewing a patient. I thought that this was quite interesting because it creates a sort of reversal of roles – the exact opposite one would expect. While one may (hopefully!!) think that a doctor trumps a child in intelligence and maturity, in this film we see a doctor that is much less sane than his patient (scary, right?). I think that this opposite-of-the-expected aspect of the animated video helps enhance its surrealist qualities. I found it to be very trippy. The overall idea of the film is that once you succumb to a false reality everything sort of falls into place. I do not want to ruin the video for those that haven’t seen it but wish to, so I will stop here.
Ryan
This video is perhaps one of the best animated short films I have ever seen. The style of the video was such that I was flabbergasted that the figures onscreen were mere illustrations rather than real people. Much like Bingo, the animation was quite realistic in portrayal; except with this film the director enhances the realism by incorporating actual dialogue from the human versions of the animated characters of the story. There was a great deal of emotion in the film as it struggles with issues such as the power of money, loss of love, alcoholism, drug use, and depression. My favorite part of the film though was the shift in perspective between the interviewer and the interviewee. The director did a great job allowing his audience the climb into the minds of both his main characters. Oh yeah, it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2005!
Sand Beasts
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/10/creating_the_sand_beasts.html?ps=bb1&sc=emaf&sc=emaf
This video is insane. While I think that it shows extreme technological innovation and ambition on the part of the engineer, I do not agree with his attempts to play god. His desire to transform machines into living beings of their own right is downright strange and risky. I felt as if science fiction films of the past were finally coming to life. What he demonstrated appeared to be a lack of human control over machines which, in my opinion, is stupid.
Water Printer
This is the coolest thing ever. I cannot even imagine how much time and calculations went into constructing such a masterpiece. I am so jealous that this is in Japan. And I only watched a few minutes of what it can do. I am sure that the possibilities are endless.
Bingo
The video begins with a clown interviewing a patient. I thought that this was quite interesting because it creates a sort of reversal of roles – the exact opposite one would expect. While one may (hopefully!!) think that a doctor trumps a child in intelligence and maturity, in this film we see a doctor that is much less sane than his patient (scary, right?). I think that this opposite-of-the-expected aspect of the animated video helps enhance its surrealist qualities. I found it to be very trippy. The overall idea of the film is that once you succumb to a false reality everything sort of falls into place. I do not want to ruin the video for those that haven’t seen it but wish to, so I will stop here.
Ryan
This video is perhaps one of the best animated short films I have ever seen. The style of the video was such that I was flabbergasted that the figures onscreen were mere illustrations rather than real people. Much like Bingo, the animation was quite realistic in portrayal; except with this film the director enhances the realism by incorporating actual dialogue from the human versions of the animated characters of the story. There was a great deal of emotion in the film as it struggles with issues such as the power of money, loss of love, alcoholism, drug use, and depression. My favorite part of the film though was the shift in perspective between the interviewer and the interviewee. The director did a great job allowing his audience the climb into the minds of both his main characters. Oh yeah, it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2005!
Sand Beasts
http://www.npr.org/blogs/bryantpark/2007/10/creating_the_sand_beasts.html?ps=bb1&sc=emaf&sc=emaf
This video is insane. While I think that it shows extreme technological innovation and ambition on the part of the engineer, I do not agree with his attempts to play god. His desire to transform machines into living beings of their own right is downright strange and risky. I felt as if science fiction films of the past were finally coming to life. What he demonstrated appeared to be a lack of human control over machines which, in my opinion, is stupid.
Water Printer
This is the coolest thing ever. I cannot even imagine how much time and calculations went into constructing such a masterpiece. I am so jealous that this is in Japan. And I only watched a few minutes of what it can do. I am sure that the possibilities are endless.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Quote of the Day
"We, in this country, in this generation, are - by destiny rather than by choice - the watchmen on the walls of world freedom." - John F Kennedy
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Meet Diplo
He is probably my favorite producer/DJ right now. He's done work with M.I.A. Santogold, Drake, Britney Spears, Radiohead, and Daft Punk. Quite an eclectic range of artists. He is part of a group called Major Lazer that I am going to see at Terminal 5 in mid-October (Crookers and others are performing too). I cannot wait to see these dudes in action. Take a listen:
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Next Lady GaGa (well, sort of...)
Meet Ke$ha (pronounced KEH-SHA). She is currently RCA's latest muse and is showing all the signs, in my opinion, of a star. Time will tell.
Although she is not quite as avant garde or seemingly innovative as Lady GaGa, I think she is going to pump out hits like a mofo in a very swift, quick manner much like the new "princess"* of pop (*I dispute this title whole-heartedly, talk to me in person if you want my reasons). BUT, girl is making some CATCHY records! There is a link where you can download the song for free too - it should be printed on the YouTube video screen posted above. Another few songs I really like by her are: Hearts on Fire (remix), Backstabber, and Butterscotch. Currently I think you may only be able to listen to the demo's but I am positive you can find stuff on Last.fm or my trusty friend Google.
Enjoy.
Although she is not quite as avant garde or seemingly innovative as Lady GaGa, I think she is going to pump out hits like a mofo in a very swift, quick manner much like the new "princess"* of pop (*I dispute this title whole-heartedly, talk to me in person if you want my reasons). BUT, girl is making some CATCHY records! There is a link where you can download the song for free too - it should be printed on the YouTube video screen posted above. Another few songs I really like by her are: Hearts on Fire (remix), Backstabber, and Butterscotch. Currently I think you may only be able to listen to the demo's but I am positive you can find stuff on Last.fm or my trusty friend Google.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Imagine...
...being able to describe the whole world in just one sentence.
This is what William Faulkner claims is the goal of a novelist. It kind of reminds me of Mondrian, who tries to explain and/or see the world through primary colors. Why I correlate them is that both are attempting to explain something extremely complex with another thing that is rather extremely simple. (Sentences = the basic element of a paragraph. Primary colors = the basic element of all color)
Here is something to feast your eyes on while thinking about it. Do the Boogie Woogie with me!
This is what William Faulkner claims is the goal of a novelist. It kind of reminds me of Mondrian, who tries to explain and/or see the world through primary colors. Why I correlate them is that both are attempting to explain something extremely complex with another thing that is rather extremely simple. (Sentences = the basic element of a paragraph. Primary colors = the basic element of all color)
Here is something to feast your eyes on while thinking about it. Do the Boogie Woogie with me!
Monday, September 14, 2009
A few videos...
I always love a good old fashioned success story. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Perhaps this is why I came to love SuBo so much. This video to me is pretty much SuBo.2 but with a muuch better looking contestant. Also, the way that the show was edited to show specific reactions all added to that same SuBo illusion that what was happening was in some way miraculous or magical. Still makes for great entertainment, though....
This makes me proud to be an NYU student...
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| CNN's Magic Wall Conspiracy Thriller | ||||
| ||||
You have to love John Stewart. Everything the man does is absolutely hilarious and his team is down right stellar. This is an awesome parody about CNN's use of the touch screen technology developed at NYU. Highly entertaining...
Sick. What would happen if someone sang to this music or lyrics or something were added? Britney Spears, perhaps??? Never seen anything like it before. It's like listening to David Guetta!
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