Final Reading Response

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.

I picked the "Brainstorm: The Art of Instant Gratification" article by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg because the main pic, which is a pic of a digital camera with a variety different pictures flashing on the screen. This particular image caught my attention and made me to find out what the article is about. I love taking pictures and I figured that this reading was going to be about photography or something similar of that subject.



2. What are the main points of the essay?

A big portion of this article discusses photography and its past, and it's rapid growth and popularity since it was first featured. One of the paragraphs mentions the "almost biblical" feeling that the early photography process has with all of it's steps and procedures and how amazing the photograph would seem after being processed. It goes on talking about Kodak and their brownie camera and its contribution to the history of photography; and how technology and Kodak reduced the process of photography down to about 2 steps. Polaroid won over pop culture however with it's instant "picture taking" increasing the gratification by eliminating numerous, tedious steps that once stood between photographers and their photos. And it also talks about the digital camera and how it brings the people of the 21st century instant gratification with it's one,two,three, click process. The photographer's of today's world have a different perspective of memory because the album of this century is on the Internet in"cyber space" and can be digitally enhanced by various websites.


3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?

As a film major the history of photography is vital because it's like the mother of film; and as a media artist it important to know how this form of art started off in order to continue its process.I'm also very interested in photography so I really connected with this article on that note.

Drift 2 Video hardware/Software Response

1. How was your experience with the Olympus digital camera? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?

My experience with the Olympus camera was pretty regular, the quality of the pictures were pretty good. The one thing I didn't like was the fact that I couldn't zoom in while recording unless I had already zoomed in when taking a picture. I have a Kodak camera and the Olympus camera has more of a finer focus when taking portraits but I like my camera better because it's easier to delete footage and add effects while shooting.One of my strategies was imitating bouncing and this camera was pretty steady the picture wasn't perfect but at the same time it wasn't completely blurry while I was making the camera "bounce". My ideal cam would be the new touch screen cam that recently came out. I like that camera because I like things with touch screen and I also like all the special effects and extra things it features.

2. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?

I used windows movie maker for my first two silent clips and Quick Time for my other clips. I used windows at first because it was the only software available to me at the time and I used Quick Time because it was recommended and it seemed like it would be better for me to use because I really didn't know what else to use. This was my first time using Quick Time and I liked it allot but I just wish I would've been able to see all of my frames instead of constantly exporting constantly. It would've been easier for me to edit my clip if there was a sort of framing track or something like that. The effects and filters impressed me and I really had fun using them for this project, I will probably use Quick Time again but only for smaller projects because I really did have a problem with the exporting.

Reading Response 2

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.
I chose The Future of Music by John Cage, I usually pick out articles that seem interesting to me or have a title that stands out, which is why I chose this one.
2. What are the main points of the essay?
Cage talks about the way music is composed and heard in the present time, (which is the early 1900's when he wrote it) and how he believes it will be composed in the future. His central message however is in Capital letters and are spaced above each idea. He truly believes in the devices that were currently being used in the 20th century and estimates the impact it could have on the future. He also comments on how the latest sound inventions mimic past century devices and says that, "we are shielded from new sound experiences" seemimg eager to explore the possibilities these devices could do with out referencing to their precursors. Overall there's a tone of excitement through out the passage which makes it more of an interesting article.
3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?
This article shows me the excitement and possibilities we put on new inventions and as a media artist, you have to be aware of recent discoveries because they can be convenient for up-and-coming projects. It also makes me look at Cage's ideas and see how relevant are they compared to the equipment that exists today; making me appreciate and acknowledge technological advancements.

Audio/ Hardware Response

1. Discuss your experiences with building your microphones. Was this process more or less what you thought it would be? How did your microphone rig work on your Drift walks? Were you able to capture both overall ambiance and extreme closeups? Describe your ideal microphone and recorder setup, with unlimited time and money.

I liked building my microphone even though it took me forever to build it because we didn't have enough equipment for everyone, but it was fun. It was quicker than I thought it would be but that's only because I really didn't know what to expect so I just figured it would take longer than it actually did. The microphones were really convienient, they weren't heavy at all so it made recording easy, I captured a wide range of sounds. My ideal mic and recorder setup would be, probably just to have a mic that captures more than just one type of sound. Like I would've liked to have made a mic that captured regular sound and then maybe even capture sounds of like peoples heart beats like a stehoscope or ultrasound because I like the sounds that both instruments give off. The recorder would stay the same pretty much, except I wouldn't want to have to set the recording volume to manual all the time.

2. How was your experience with operating the MiniDisc recorder? How does this recorder compare to other audio equipment you've used? In an ideal world, how would your recorder of choice function?

The MiniDisc recorder was alright I almost dropped it a couple of times but I ended up catching it each time. I'm glad it was small and pretty light because it made it easier to record and travel at the same time. I've never used any audio equipment before so this was a good first time experience for me. My ideal recorder would probably have a sound effect button so that as you're recording you could alter your sounds.

3. Discuss the audio-editing software you chose and your history with this application. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?

I used audacity,this was the fiirst time that i've used an audio-editing software and I think I did pretty good for my first try. I didn't think I would understand it because it looked complicated but after playing around with it for a while I began to understand the concept. I choose audacity because it was already under my file and I really didn't know about any other software at hte time. I will use it again at least for some of my sounds on my drift 2 project since I know how to use it now and I might download another software just to try something new.

Ten Questions for Drift 2

Describe the atmosphere of your Drift 2 location. What’s the significant about the location?

Is there anything in this location that produces an abnormal or exhilarating sound?

What are the dominant colors in this location? How do they impact the “scene”?

Are there any hidden passages in this area?

What would you classify this area as? Why?

What type of people generate in this particular area?

Do you have access to a specific angle off a building that you could shoot from?

Are there any mountains or valleys in the area?

Does this area have a significant amount of animals in the area? (Does every house have pets like dogs?)

Is there a pond or creek near the area? Can you hear it from the location that you’re at?

Drift Assesment Q&A

1. Describe two situations that aggravated, bothered, shocked or otherwise stressed you during Drift 1. (Please note that the situation CANNOT be technology-related.)

Some of the things that frustrated me during my drift walk were things like not having enough sonic varieties, it seemed like every corner I stopped at had pretty much the same sound. Like you could always hear busses pulling off or car breaks and engines in just about every stop I made. I also didn’t like the way the people at Qdoba kept staring at me when I was recording by there, but I guess with all my equipment I looked kind of suspicious or something.

2. Describe, with details, two situations during Drift 1 in which you felt unusually peaceful, at ease, or contemplative.

I had a few peaceful moments during my drift walk one of them was at a staircase where I was recording at and it was kind of peaceful to me because the people in the neighborhood weren’t outside and the block was quiet except for occasional footsteps here and there. I also felt peaceful by the fountain on Lake Drive, I think it was the sound of water that made me felt relaxed.

3. Describe three surprises or unexpected situations you encountered on your Drift and in the days that followed. The surprise could stem from your expectations that conflicted with "on the ground" realities, cultural or social issues of which you were previously unaware, feelings and reactions that you did not expect to have, appearances and soundings of things you did not expect, good or bad outcomes of "on the spot" decisions you had to make, or the discovery of "deeper" realities in the materials you brought home. (Again, skip anything technology-related!)

I really didn’t run into any surprises or cultural/social issues during my walk because I did my walk during the late afternoon early evening time; and most of the people that I’d encountered were pretty much coming from work or the grocery store and going home to unwind. I did hear a couple arguing though, and overheard a few conversations from some of the apartments. Which was kind of unexpected because I didn’t think it was warm enough to have windows open on the day of my walk but apparently I was wrong. I’m happy with the spots I chose though, because overall I recorded some good sounds and enjoyed the process.

4. Describe your favorite experience, situation, place, or recollection from your Drift. Be specific about what happened, how you felt, how you reacted, and why you think this particular experience affected you so much.

My favorite spot would be the Qdoba stop just because I liked the variety of sounds I recorded there and I got to put my recorder on a tree branch right in front of Qdoba which was sturdier than I thought it would be. And even though it wasn’t the quietest spot, it was a pretty calm environment which gave me a good start because it made me feel comfortable.

Reading Response 1

1. Identify the article you have selected and why you chose it.
I chose the "This American Life" article because the title seemed interesting . The article talks about artists who've made maps using the five senses, sight, smell, touch, hearing and taste. Each summer these people pick a sense and only using that sense they map out a piece of their world. These people pay very close attention to detail in order to bring a sense of reality to their maps. This article considers maps to be very important because they focus on a particular street or region. According to the article this is "the age of maps" just about all of the maps in the world today have been created within the last 100 years.

2. What are the main points of the essay?
One of the main points of this article is to show how important maps are to our world, and how the world we live in can be completely remapped based on our senses. Some of these people like Dennis Wood, would create maps out of addresses of a certain neighborhood. He also made maps out of graffiti in the neighborhood and he believes these maps represent these neighborhoods and show the potential of the whole world. Toby Lester, another map creator would make maps based strictly on sound he focuses on the harmonies of everyday sound which was inspired by a distraction between his heater’s hum and computer’s fan. There’s also an electronic nose which will be able to track smells like “decaying bacteria”, and Channel Perfume which are the only smells it can really identify until more research will be done. The electronic nose is expected to be used first for mainly, scientific purposes because it can detect certain gas sensors. There’s also a women who made a map using touch by listing possible diseases and her obsessive hypochondria behavior. She talks about her life within the last ten years by explaining her lumps, cramps, and rashes which she believed would be a symptom to some severe condition. For example the year 2005 for her would be mapped out as the year of the brain tumor and for weeks she would be convinced that she had bad headaches and that she feels a knot by her ear which is the “tumor”.

3. How are the ideas or arguments in this article relevant to your own practice as a media artist?
Media and the five senses kind of work hand in hand because most mediums include visual and audio examples. This article sort of put a an emphasis on our senses and it sort of opened up a creative window for me because I got the idea that I can use other senses besides sight and hearing to make media projects. The idea of making maps focused on nothing else but sound or smells is intriguing because most people only visualize maps as a visual source and don’t realize that the visual is so much more because of the things you smell or hear or taste in that particular area.