Monthly Archives: October 2013

October 3, 2013

Desperate to define.

The talk of collections of things in the Manovich reading reminded me a bit of the concepts of mosaic that i have been pondering as it is one of my niki topics. The idea of a collection of many things building one big thing, like a mosaic or a database was familiar. The reading touches on the experience of video games and how they work using algorithms and create their own logic, I have already talked much about video games before, but it was interesting to have the idea of “What is a Video Game?” revisited in this reading.

The reading then goes on to discuss how new media is redefining basically everything, or at least, forcing us to use word out of context. From creativity to the definition of narrative, apparently we are using the word narrative more loosely, which i can recognise. I found this idea particularly interesting though, that perhaps new media is advancing so quickly that we are struggling to define it or figure it out even as we are creating it. Not to mention the idea that it is so foreign to us we are desperately attempting to classify it using words such as ‘interactive narrative’ inappropriately, just because we need to make sense of what has taken over the world and media these days.

This relates to an idea touched on in the opening of the Seaman reading, that, like databases, humans wish to define, categorise, contextualise, etc. I think these ideas link very nicely.

October 3, 2013

Unlecture 10: Creative freedom and labels.

There were many interesting ideas raised and discussed in this weeks lecture, as well as building upon ideas from previous weeks. for example, the main takeaway idea from the 80/20 reading was that networks do not form randomly, they gradually assume a logical network. Also, the idea that hubs are like those people in friendship groups who seem to know everyone. But although they know everyone, they know most of these people on an acquaintance level, so they have many weak connections, like a hub. When i got home i also had fun with The Oracle of Bacon website which illustrates how Kevin Bacon is a hub in Hollywood. These are the kinds of people that create the ‘small world’ network.

Something i have been pondering a lot since the lecture is the idea of creative freedom. It was suggested that we don’t have creative freedom in many ways as rules and codes have already been decided. The example of somebody wanting to make a sci-fi movie was used; the person wants to have the set up exactly like the lecture room for example, but people say ‘that’s not sci-fi, there’s no sci-fi stuff,’ which means the person would have to conform to the rules and codes of what a sci-fi film is to make this film. Also, there was the example of films being rectangular, why not shoot one that is a circle? And it is viewed on a circular screen.

Now i don’t think this is a question of “why don’t people think for themselves when they create,” i would say it is more of what has been mutually agreed upon over time. People can create circular films if they want to, if there is a specific effect they desire, and they can make a film in the lecture theater if they want to as well, there are no rules stopping them, the film just wont be sci-fi, because ‘sci-fi’ is a classification term. You are only constrained while making that film if you decide initially ‘I want to make a sci-fi film,’ because then, yes, there are certain aspects that make things sci-fi, because sci-fi is a classification system. The first person to ever make a sci-fi film didn’t have constraints, but these films were grouped together and given a name based on similar properties. But if you are  just deciding to make a film, there are no rules and regulations that you must abide by. Also, you can make a circular film if you want to, there is nothing saying you cant, but over time people have found that watching rectangular movies is easier on the eye and mind, because it is similar to the way we see through our eyes. So it depends on what you label your creation as, if you want an easy to watch film, then yes, rectangular has been decided as being best.

So in that way, i didn’t really understand the point Adrian was trying to make, i guess that people should think about possibilities rather than just following the norm without questioning it. But the examples didnt really prove anything for me. If you label something before you create it, then you must create it to fit that label, that is obvious. It is ridiculous to say Titanic could be a sci-fi film because ‘screw constaints!’ because sci-fi is a classification of a genre, and Titanic does not fit the classification, so instead it is classified as something else.

However, if the point was supposed to be about letting your creations have agency, and not to force them to be something, then yes, I agree. I do find this a lot when i am writing essays etc.

October 2, 2013

Remember this, future Jackie:

It hit me this week that i have been more slack with updating this blog recently, usually saving all my posts for Thursday night. I have the intention of doing  it more regularly and not so far between, but assignments have been catching up to me and this is usually the last thing on my to do list. I have been pondering whether i really will continue to use this blog, for example, over the summer. I wont have readings to write on, and relying on my everyday observations of networked media around me to fuel three blog posts a week seems rather unlikely. Without readings and lectures to draw on this blog will either take one of two paths.

1. the posts will become quite rare

2. the subject matter will change. Perhaps i will begin blogging about other things. Not saying this blog will  turn into a fashion blog or dedicated to some fandom, however, if it is going to survive, i need to be able to explore new things. I intend for this blog to be a record of my creations and achievements, which i have already taken a step toward publishing, such as in this post, so in order to keep it from stagnating, i must continue to create. Not a bad incentive to create more frequently.

As soon as we were given the task of creating and developing a blog, i knew there would be different reactions to this from the cohort. Some people rarely post, loathe the blog, are counting the days until it is no longer required, whom i am not critical of as i have been forced to create blogs for subjects in the past and despised the experience, so i know where they are coming from. Actually when i heard we would be keeping a blog as part of this subject i thought to myself ‘oh man, these things never work, this is going to be annoying,’ however, i have since decided that since i haven’t been creating as much as i used to, i should invest time and effort into creating this blog and everything in it, as well as using it as a place to document my creations and efforts. Since early in the semester, i made a commitment to the blog which i don’t plan to go back on. Who knows, after the next few weeks, and after i (hopefully) pass this subject, this blog could stagnate, but i think i will use the fear of that happening to pressure me to create more. For this year, I can remember every painting i have done, every piece of sound or video i have recorded and edited, every piece of writing and essay i have produced, and i think that is disgusting. Coming from 2012, a year where i created too much to remember or even count, to this, no wonder i feel like a stagnating person.

So although this blog was, for many people, just another assessment, i see it as an opportunity; to make a commitment to it and keep a promise to myself that i will begin creating again, rather than consuming, and i really don’t intend to break this commitment. On a similar note, my mother told me how she recently ran into someone i knew in primary school, and they had a short exchange about how i have always been the type of person to be set in my ways and stick to my decisions, so i guess i should live up to that reputation.