I now have two ideas for my final project. I think the one I'm going to end up trying to do involves an "historical documents archive" containing "found" materials from a period in "history" involving a zombie invasion.
The idea is this-- there was a zombie invasion at some point in the early 21st century. After years of struggle and turmoil, the virus causing the zombie invasion appears to have died out, and isolated survivor settlements across the US started cautiously coming out to take stock of the new world. As they began exploring the old cities, now ruined by incursion of undergrowth, etc. they discovered several servers that had not been destroyed. On these servers are blog posts, videos, pictures, all from a group of survivors attempting to make it to safety. These fragmentary survival stories are being gathered into a historical archive as what is left of mankind attempts to make sense of the past.
That's how the website will be set up, anyway. The physical "meat" of the project will be the blog postings, made from computers, cellphones, and voice chat to the blogs, as well as several photographs and videos, and perhaps even a videolog, with transcriptions to match.
It should be a fun project. I have volunteers ready to help expand the blog postings, as well as dress up as zombies and stage photos.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Group project post
There were several group projects showcased on Thursday that I found interesting and clever. One of these was Sonja and Camille's project involving a "reversed ethnography" type interview, a fairy tale with various parts acted out by puppets, and a "choose your own adventure" style method for the reader to control the story.
What caught my attention the most was the various different methods and techniques they used to create the experience. The story was fun and hilarious, and the puppet theater videos really added to it, since the text was a little long in parts, effectively breaking up the text and making it more interactive.
Overall this was a great project. I appreciate the various things they did, and the hilarity as well.
What caught my attention the most was the various different methods and techniques they used to create the experience. The story was fun and hilarious, and the puppet theater videos really added to it, since the text was a little long in parts, effectively breaking up the text and making it more interactive.
Overall this was a great project. I appreciate the various things they did, and the hilarity as well.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Group Project post
I'll be working on the group project with Kelly and Brian. Although I missed class last week, I did email Kelly to see what we had due for this week, as she and I had already discussed working together on the group project. She let me know that we had set up the groups, and that she and Brian had discussed using the Center for History and New Media archives to do a project involving our remembrances of 9/11. I think this is a great idea, and have been considering what I would want to include from my personal experiences, as well as exploring some of the media available on the archives to see what would fit in best.
When 9/11 happened, I was living in Arlington, at the River House Apartments-- about as close as you could get to the Pentagon without actually living at the Pentagon. My 9th floor apartment overlooked the Pentagon, in fact. I found some photos that I took from the roof of my building and from my window on 9/11 that I think could be useful for this project, so I'd also like to include those. Some sort of a slideshow with text of our memories accompanying a set of images might be a good way to approach this project.
When 9/11 happened, I was living in Arlington, at the River House Apartments-- about as close as you could get to the Pentagon without actually living at the Pentagon. My 9th floor apartment overlooked the Pentagon, in fact. I found some photos that I took from the roof of my building and from my window on 9/11 that I think could be useful for this project, so I'd also like to include those. Some sort of a slideshow with text of our memories accompanying a set of images might be a good way to approach this project.
Friday, March 21, 2008
What is a narrative?
I think the broadest definition that can be applied to narrative is that it is a story, imagined or not, long or short, told for the purpose of entertainment or enlightenment. Is that definition too restrictive for today's more modern or technology-based creative writing?
What does a narrative need, at the very least? I think at the least, it needs to be engaging. It should have some sort of basic plot, characters, a general structure that can be followed and makes sense, perhaps even cause and effect. Poems generally aren't narratives, although they do often tell a story, and for me it is because they don't have these things.
Defining narrative within terms that accept and include things like hypertext literature is not easy because these forms of literature resist interpretation or grouping into genres-- and many of them tend to be less structured or more visual than we would consider a classic story format to contain.
A narrative doesn't have to be something independent of the reader, I don't think-- hearing a narrative doesn't have to be a passive act--and I think things like MMORPGs should count as narratives. Are they perhaps a more dynamic narrative, where the actions of the characters/readers cause the narrative to change as it is being created? I think so. The interactive nature of online materials suggests that this process should be dynamic and the word narrative alone implies a static, unchanging sort of story.
So to define online media and games in terms of narratives, I think we need to change the definition of narrative to fit within the online framework. Or, better yet, create a new framework to define this new media by.
What does a narrative need, at the very least? I think at the least, it needs to be engaging. It should have some sort of basic plot, characters, a general structure that can be followed and makes sense, perhaps even cause and effect. Poems generally aren't narratives, although they do often tell a story, and for me it is because they don't have these things.
Defining narrative within terms that accept and include things like hypertext literature is not easy because these forms of literature resist interpretation or grouping into genres-- and many of them tend to be less structured or more visual than we would consider a classic story format to contain.
A narrative doesn't have to be something independent of the reader, I don't think-- hearing a narrative doesn't have to be a passive act--and I think things like MMORPGs should count as narratives. Are they perhaps a more dynamic narrative, where the actions of the characters/readers cause the narrative to change as it is being created? I think so. The interactive nature of online materials suggests that this process should be dynamic and the word narrative alone implies a static, unchanging sort of story.
So to define online media and games in terms of narratives, I think we need to change the definition of narrative to fit within the online framework. Or, better yet, create a new framework to define this new media by.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Remix project response
The current remix project show was very interesting. I was very impressed both by the effort most of my classmates put into their projects, and the amount of creativity showcased. Many of the ideas shown were fresh takes on old concepts, and they really worked.
One of the most interesting remix projects involved Kelly Kries' Alice in Wonderland images. Alice in Wonderland is my favorite childhood book; my parents taught me to read at an early age because I wouldn't stop badgering them to read it to me. Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland examines the fantastical and the bizarre, turning concepts to the side and requesting you interpret them in a new light. That's what Kelly has done with her project.
The pictures were especially interesting. The flowers inserted throughout the image of the raging river were suggestive of the rose gardens Alice runs into, both in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. The images taken as a whole, with the fragmented thoughts and sentences parsed throughout them, remind me of what Alice's mind could look like; confused, somewhat frightened, as she's being carried along by the tide of raging madness that is Wonderland.
I am also appreciative of the amount of work put into reworking the pictures, being something of a dunce with Photoshop.
One of the most interesting remix projects involved Kelly Kries' Alice in Wonderland images. Alice in Wonderland is my favorite childhood book; my parents taught me to read at an early age because I wouldn't stop badgering them to read it to me. Lewis Caroll's Alice in Wonderland examines the fantastical and the bizarre, turning concepts to the side and requesting you interpret them in a new light. That's what Kelly has done with her project.
The pictures were especially interesting. The flowers inserted throughout the image of the raging river were suggestive of the rose gardens Alice runs into, both in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. The images taken as a whole, with the fragmented thoughts and sentences parsed throughout them, remind me of what Alice's mind could look like; confused, somewhat frightened, as she's being carried along by the tide of raging madness that is Wonderland.
I am also appreciative of the amount of work put into reworking the pictures, being something of a dunce with Photoshop.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
2nd Blog Response Post
I've considered and rejected several ideas for the Remix project to this point. I've decided to work with both public domain or creative commons materials (namely photographs) and my own work, in order to remix an old poem of mine. I'd like to present interesting images, with the text of the poem moving over the images, and perhaps even with sound in the form of myself reading the text. This is a pretty ambitious undertaking, though, considering I've never worked with the tools I have available before-- namely the Microsoft Expressions suite and Silverfish.
If this doesn't work out, and it turns out to be too much, I have another project that could be a possibility. It is text only, and I don't feel like I would enjoy working on it as much, but if necessary at least I have a backup.
If this doesn't work out, and it turns out to be too much, I have another project that could be a possibility. It is text only, and I don't feel like I would enjoy working on it as much, but if necessary at least I have a backup.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
ELC blog response
I have to admit, the idea of electronic literature is not one that I accept easily. Being a classic book-geek, there are a host of reasons, both emotional and logical, that make me highly skeptical regarding the validity of the online medium as an effective conduit for All Things Literary (yes, I capitalized that phrase on purpose.)
I work on the computer; I play on the computer. I don't use the computer, often, as a vehicle for exploring literature. I have to admit that a lot of that is grounded in the physical, tactile, and emotional connections that sitting down with a thick, old, hard copy of a book and a cup of tea give me. While I recognize that this alone should not be enough to turn away from exploring hypertexts, or online literary collections, it *is* a stumbling block, and one that I have to consciously force myself past.
That should help explain the mindset with which I approached exploring the Electronic Literature Collection.
And it might also make my apparent surprise at the rich, complex depth of this site even more interesting.
After exploring the ELC, I had to admit a few things to myself. Among them was the fact that as regards interactivity, the online medium has one up on the print medium. Reading a book is a somewhat passive act, engaging only the mind and the imagination. Many of the texts presented on the ELC, however, engaged not only the imagination, but also presented visual and auditory elements that added an additional layer of complexity and engagement to the reader (or should I say the watcher? Do we need a new term to encompass both the passive act of reading, and the active act of watching or listening, that these texts present?)
If the saying goes that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, I think it's no stretch to suggest that you shouldn't judge an electronic story by its representative graphic. I really had no concept of what I was getting myself into while clicking madly on various diferent bits of medium and was pleasantly surprised at what I ended up with.
I settled down with a piece called "I, You, We" by ...... I suppose I expected to find a poem, a story, some sort of rather traditional form or style hidden behind a graphic comprised of overlapping words; the usual, the typical, transferred to a new medium. What I got was something entirely different.
"I, You, We" is akin to magnetic poetry. Perhaps one of the most interactive pieces on the ELC, I enjoyed the constant, shifting sentences, the simple, brief poetry the lines suggested as they intersected one another. I felt more as if I was creating this poem myself, engaged and interested in the process of linking together words with the express purpose of instigating emotion or realization. The process was strangely mesmerizing; when I left the screen alone for a few moments and it began to move on its own, I found myself tracing the path familiar words made as they slid across the screen. This was an experience entirely different from the print experience, and one that would in fact not be possible from my beloved, solid books.
I think my problem revolves around the concept of comparing reading print material to interacting with online materials. They are not the same; I'm not even sure they're similar enough to really compare effectively. These are two different modes of imparting information, and while I think I'll still be more inclined to pick up a book, I'm no longer prepared to write off the online medium as an effective conduit for spreading not only new ideas, but new forms. The literary elitist inside me was confronted with the idea that the boundaries I've set for myself are perhaps not as rigid and smugly righteous as I thought they were-- and that can't be a bad thing.
I work on the computer; I play on the computer. I don't use the computer, often, as a vehicle for exploring literature. I have to admit that a lot of that is grounded in the physical, tactile, and emotional connections that sitting down with a thick, old, hard copy of a book and a cup of tea give me. While I recognize that this alone should not be enough to turn away from exploring hypertexts, or online literary collections, it *is* a stumbling block, and one that I have to consciously force myself past.
That should help explain the mindset with which I approached exploring the Electronic Literature Collection.
And it might also make my apparent surprise at the rich, complex depth of this site even more interesting.
After exploring the ELC, I had to admit a few things to myself. Among them was the fact that as regards interactivity, the online medium has one up on the print medium. Reading a book is a somewhat passive act, engaging only the mind and the imagination. Many of the texts presented on the ELC, however, engaged not only the imagination, but also presented visual and auditory elements that added an additional layer of complexity and engagement to the reader (or should I say the watcher? Do we need a new term to encompass both the passive act of reading, and the active act of watching or listening, that these texts present?)
If the saying goes that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, I think it's no stretch to suggest that you shouldn't judge an electronic story by its representative graphic. I really had no concept of what I was getting myself into while clicking madly on various diferent bits of medium and was pleasantly surprised at what I ended up with.
I settled down with a piece called "I, You, We" by ...... I suppose I expected to find a poem, a story, some sort of rather traditional form or style hidden behind a graphic comprised of overlapping words; the usual, the typical, transferred to a new medium. What I got was something entirely different.
"I, You, We" is akin to magnetic poetry. Perhaps one of the most interactive pieces on the ELC, I enjoyed the constant, shifting sentences, the simple, brief poetry the lines suggested as they intersected one another. I felt more as if I was creating this poem myself, engaged and interested in the process of linking together words with the express purpose of instigating emotion or realization. The process was strangely mesmerizing; when I left the screen alone for a few moments and it began to move on its own, I found myself tracing the path familiar words made as they slid across the screen. This was an experience entirely different from the print experience, and one that would in fact not be possible from my beloved, solid books.
I think my problem revolves around the concept of comparing reading print material to interacting with online materials. They are not the same; I'm not even sure they're similar enough to really compare effectively. These are two different modes of imparting information, and while I think I'll still be more inclined to pick up a book, I'm no longer prepared to write off the online medium as an effective conduit for spreading not only new ideas, but new forms. The literary elitist inside me was confronted with the idea that the boundaries I've set for myself are perhaps not as rigid and smugly righteous as I thought they were-- and that can't be a bad thing.
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