Proposal

I would like to do my paper on video editing as an art. I found this to be the most interesting topic over the semester and most easy for myself to relate to. I am going to go deep into the many techniques used to make video art, the history of video editing, and all around basic facts of video editing. Upon completing this essay, I hope to gain a better understanding of the post modern style of art.

Proposal

My idea for this paper is to write about video games as forms of art. I am going to explore some games that have been very artistic and then more about the amount of art that has to go into making a game. It is my hope that in the end I will have a better understanding of all the art processes and be able to argue this point more since this is becoming such a bigger topic lately.

Proposal

I'm going to try my hand at writing about political activism. The Yes Men exhibition really got me thinking about how people can make a difference. Up until then, I kind of assumed all think-tank groups were evil. And this one just completely changed my outlook.


I intend to focus my paper on their hijinks, similar groups, and how us, mere mortals, can do similar things to help.

Paper Proposal

For my paper, I want to write about video games and their sound and video. I want to take those two aspects and incorporate them into the interactive principle of video games. So I guess, the paper might be about video game interactivity. While doing research, I found some very interesting information about Fluxus and a common shared history between the movement and the creation / birth of video games. I am going to incorporate that into my paper and demonstrate and show how video games interactivity is continued from, and built upon, the Fluxus interactivity of incorporating the audience.

Final Paper Proposal

My final paper is going to be about anime (Japanese animation, Japanimation, Japanese cartoons) and how it has influenced the way that cartoons and animation have evolved in the U.S. I'm going to explore how the colors in cartoons have changed and have gained a wider variety, stories have been more complex, and what characters look like in U.S. cartoons.

((Kenneth DeRivera))

Paper Proposal

My final paper is going to be about the development of computers and games. It covers a decent amount of time and encompasses many topics. Learning more about early computers and how the tubes are used will be extremely interesting. Also I can link 3D modeling into my paper towards the end or gaming and show how that has developed over the years as well. I have already checked out one book from the library. High Score the illustrated history of electronic game, starts off with information on computers and how they correlated to early games. I also researched and found many other books that will be helpful. Also, pertaining to 3D modeling, I can look into Maya and other software that I will be using in later years. Ergo, I am reading and writing about topics that pertain to both this class and my future studies.

Proposal

For my final paper I was planning on writing about either virtual reality or the aspects of computer media. I find them both interesting and something I would like to write about. I still have yet to go to the library. However on Columbia's library page, I found various books about each topic. I also know that the internet will have great resources as well. I plan on visiting the library tomorrow and gathering not only books but maybe articles too. I still have yet to figure out what exactly I'm going to focus my paper on, but I'm most likely going to decide between the two.

Paper Proposal

For my paper I wanted to write about virtual worlds and virtual reality environments or maybe computer art but I have found more books about virtual world environments and reality than I have about computer art. So far I have been to the library but I haven't found the actual books yet so I am still looking for them, but I have looked online a bit for virtual reality and environment technology.

Final Paper Proposal

I am planning on doing my paper on Abridged Series' or Parodies and the impact they have on today's video viewers. I plan on covering some back-story on YouTube itself, before going into my main topic, just for some history about it. I have not been to the library as of yet, even though I know we were given the chance last Wednesday. Since I knew I had class on Tuesday in the same building I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and go then. Yet unfortunately, I have been struck with illness and did not go to school today (Tuesday). However, I plan on going to either of the libraries near my apartment this weekend, since I don't have to work at all. I will definitely visit the school's library the following Monday or Tuesday. I have found a couple of sources online that have been of use to me so far. I did find some interesting information concerning the techniques that go into making an Abridged Series or Parody. I also plan to address the legal regards of them versus the actual show, game or whatever the parody is based of off; and any other information I find worth including.

((Myssy Hoffower))

Proposal

For my paper I am going to be writing about new media art. I will touch mostly on the digital aspect of it. I will also touch on how media art has changed over the years. I will go into detail about the ways media is shown these days. I got three books from the library already, and found articles on my topic. I am looking for new articles now because those seem to be the most helpful. They have more current information in them. I also plan to use the web as a source.

Proposal

I would like to do my paper on a history of video art in Europe. I would like to research the pioneers of the art in many of the European countries and see what the social/economic conditions of the time were and such. I want to compare what brought these people of different regions to make video art. I would also like to discuss the varying types of video art created from country to country. I have already been to the library and checked out a book. I also have a list of books that are available at the Columbia library that have to do with my topic. I plan on going to check these out soon and continue my research. The book I have right now is about the history of Dutch video art, and I have the bin numbers for Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. I also plan on checking out the Harold Washington as well as scouring credible web resources.

(Charlie Cole)

For Nov 24 - Paper Proposal

For Nov 24, please blog about your proposed final paper project. You can change your proposal later, if necessary, but I want to know what subjects you are researching. Please write at least 10 sentences about your proposed topic, your research so far (trip to the library, or library database) and the results of your findings.

No Reading Response

There will be no reading response due his week. Think about your paper topic and what approach you will take to writing about it.

CITY LIFE (montage)

As we may think

After reading the first few pages of this article I realized that it had obviously been written many years ago. My curiosity prompted me to do a search for it online and I found out that it had first been published in 1945. This information alone made the article that much more interesting to me. One of my favorite sections, and the part that stuck with me the most, was the concluding paragraphs of section three. Its almost weird how the author of this piece, Vannevar Bush, more or less predicted the future of some of the technology that we now have today. In his paper he says, “The advanced arithmetical machines of the future will be electrical in nature, and they will perform at 100 times present speeds or more.”, which is almost a perfect description of a computer. To build upon this observation he also says, (about the previous mentioned device) “they will be far more versatile than present commercial machines (ex. Laptops/notebooks) ; “They will be controlled by a control card…” (ex. Memory card) ; “they will select their own data and manipulate it in accordance with the instructions thus inserted, they will perform complex arithmetical computations at exceedingly high speeds, and they will record results in such for as to be readily available for distribution or for later further manipulation”, (ex. programming) ; as well as, “such machines will have enormous appetites (ex. computers with large memory capabilities). This section really made me ponder the question weather Bush, and other thinkers/writers like him were exceedingly capable of understanding the process of technological evolution, or if perhaps because of people like them, and the fact that they made record of their ideas through writing, inventors were eventually able to bring their “ideas” of the future to life. It is my opinion that technological advances could not exist with out first exploring the ideas of people just like Bush.

As We May Think

This article was very interesting. It begins talking about how scientists communicate between each other. It then develops into something a bit more relatable to the reader. Discussing how we always will record our information on some type of storage device. Camera, video, and audio are just the standard ways of recording data. The act of taking a photo is never going to get old because of all the technology that keeps be released.

Reading Response: As We May Think

While the reading was very long and winded, in was an interesting read. I have no qualms if you have to dig deep into something in order to get you message across, but someone ought to the him that "short and simple" works just as well.

I was very much intirgued when he talked about technology and how it will continue to grow better and better, you can't help but agree that this is true. For example, I remember when cell phones used to be big and bulky and now they can fit in your pocket, surf the web, download music, play movies, etc, etc. While some technologies may seem as if they have not evolved much recently, doesn't mean that sooner or later; they are gonna get tired of tickering with something else and go......."Hey, I bet I can improve this for awhile...." What things are improved tends to depend on what is the main interest that has people intrigued. Right now it's cell phones and the next day we might finally have our flying cars. I've always wanted a flying Delorean.........

"As We May Think"

This article was very detailed and interesting. He goes in depth about all the technology and how it has been advanced. When he talks about how photography is never going to stop advancing, is a true statement. Or anything really, there's always going to be something better than the last, it keeps getting more and more advanced by the minute. Bush invents his own technologies that we should be pretty familiar with now. For instance, how he describes about the digital camera that snaps pictures and can be easy to view right away.

It's such a shock and amazed me to read this and think how little of some technologies have actually advanced since this article was published during 1945.

As We May Think

This article was very long winded, but very interesting. I understand why he had to go into such depth as the image he was trying to conjure up was of something not yet invented, leaving him only to the use of examples. I like how he was talking about the progressiveness of technology in many fields and how the recording and storage of information had not been well thought out yet, but was inevitable. He spoke about how with more technologies, and better means of recording them, we were making the increase in technologies quite steeper and would continue to do so with new developments. His ideals were that we no longer would have to spend half our lives scouring the libraries to catch up with modern technology, but we would be able to easily access this information on a global scale and work off of it. He also spoke about the inevitability of micro... everything. In short spans of recent years we were able to shrink the size of many machines while retaining or even increasing the quality of work the produce. I also enjoyed him talking about integrating our speech into recording data. I had no idea the Vocoders and Voders were around at those times. He argued the efficiency of these, along with radios and cameras to record observations and in turn help collect data to further scientific progress. His thinking was just far beyond his time and I think he had a lot to do with the way things are headed technologically.

(Charles Cole)

As We May Think

Although the article, As We May Think was a little boring, I found it overall interesting. But I wonder what audience Bush was trying to reach with this. I would like to read another one of his articles to see if he is dry as a writer or if it was just this article. I have a feeling it is him, because the article has so much substance. I enjoyed the idea of technology for the future. This article reminded me of the book Fahrenheit 451. I enjoy the idea of technology in the future. I found the memex to be interesting as well. This idea of knowledge being stored in a specific place like furniture is interesting in itself, but again the way that Bush writes makes it difficult to enjoy.

As We May Think

I thought the article was a little dry, I also don’t prefer articles with wording like while over a white background in small black text. But it does make you think about how much technology has advanced, the memex reminded me of this old machine that they sometimes have in libraries that lets you read small print or print in magazines larger and how that has been replaced essentially by doing a simple Google search. The dry camera was great technology back in the day, but now the great technology of today is face recognition software, non-blurred pictures, and so on technology. The card reading machine that reads the hole punched cards is replaced by a computer or some sort of higher technology machine that requires no human input besides putting in the actual card. The female telephone operators replaced with the very simple 3 digit area code.

The whole meaning of the article to me is that everything is replaced, and will be replaced. No matter how hard scientists work on technology it will be replaced in the future.

Bush Article Response

As We May Think, by Vannevar Bush, is a very insightful and inspiring article. Science has taken us so far and we have so far yet to go. One line that really stuck out to me was the following "Science has provided the swiftest communication between individuals; it has provided a record of ideas and has enabled man to manipulate and to make extracts from the record so that knowledge evolves and endures throughout the life of a race rather than that of an individual." It is miraculous. There are so many that think of science as evil and yet Bush says its important for it to outlive the individual. The individual, or a small collective of individuals, are the ones making the discoveries that will supercede them. All for the evolution of knowledge, and all, hopefully, for the betterment of humanity.
The end of the article consisted of Bush contemplating the possibilities of future photography and recording devices. Many of his ideas are either currently in existence or already passed. Reading about his idea’s shows where humanities relentless creativity can take us. Bush considered a camera that could capture something and then show the photographer nearly instantly. Digital cameras can do just that via an LED (light emitting diode) screen. They also store pictures, have special effects, automatic light adjustments, shake protection, and many other additions that Bush probably could not conceive at his time.

As We May Think Response

When I first read this, I was very confused as to what this guy was talking about in this article and it was not very clear to me. I had copy and pasted the info from the web page so I can read it on the train. I failed to see that the article was written in 1945. Going back to the web page and seeing that little piece of important information cleared thing up ten fold for me. The article made sense.

Having said that, it is a very interesting article. He predicts many of the things that we take today for granted, such as the "dry photography" he talked about. Digital cameras are just a normal everyday occurrence to us now. We give it no though to how the process works and are not baffled by it. We just know that we can take a picture and look at it instantly.

After reading the article and acknowledging that it was written in 1945, I was reminded of a video I saw on YouTube. I forgot what it was called or who the video featured, but it was an old black and white film in which a professor or scientist or someone was talking about the future of communication. He was predicting that two men would no longer have to be in proximity of each other to have a conversation. They could be on opposite sides of the country. He was essentially predicting the internet and social networking sites. There was some other topics he also addressed in the video that came true, but the internet part was what I remembered most. If anyone knows the video I am talking about or has seen it, its pretty crazy cool.

Overall, this article was a good read. I always enjoy reading or hearing something from someone predicting the future and then acknowledging them to be right. It's somewhat creepy in a way.

As We May Think

While reading through this article the only thing that i kept coming back to was how close Bush came to certain technologies as they are now, even though he wrote this back in the mid 40's. When talking about photography I drew this to modern day digital cameras, he even says at one point that he believes that at one point dry photography of his day wont even need to be wet to be developed. For making this thought back in 1945 that is extremely good or one lucky guess. I also wonder if Bush would expect to have the dry photography way taught in nearly every photography 1 class in the nation. That and how some of the bigger more, expensive cameras can not only digital but film at the same time. Bush would also have been blown away by the resolutions that are allowed from today's cameras.

As We May Think

Though the article was first written in 1945, Vannar Bush's "As We May Think" has actually manifested quite nicely in current technology.

All I could think of, for the majority of the time that I was reading the essay was: Did this guy ever hear of the Internet? Wikipedia? The Internet Archives? GOOGLE?! Then I remembered it was written in the days of WWII and was immediately astounded by the fact that this guy was spot on about everything.

Dry Photography has manifested as the digital camera. The verbal-to-text has manifested as programs learn to understand vocalized commands and can read text on the screen to the visually impaired. Computers can calculate thousands of numbers every second just as he said - faster too. He even discussed the idea of tagging, though while he was mentioning it on a personal usage level, we often use it on a very broad level. Even blogger supports tagging on this very post, which, should I choose to label it, will be tossed into different collections and then be sorted into a cloud - the very cloud of "association" that Bush was talking about!

All in all, an absolutely great read, even if it was a little bit difficult to get through.

Reading for Nov 10 - Vannevar Bush

Reading for Next Week
1945 Vannevar Bush, "As We May Think"
As We May Think - Magazine - The Atlantic