Reflection

After this assignment, I have made great process in the operation of Max and I realized that inspiration is very important at the same time. Maybe I adapted to the way East countries educated me, which let me feel it was very hard for me to take the initiative and do a work alone. However, during the process we made a production, inspiration is the most basic, and this assignment requests us to do some interesting things.

So, according to the requirement of assignment, we are required to start with a specific emotional/intellectual goal: to make audiences feel or think about something. At first, we just want to make two extreme expressions which are a smile and angry because we think these two faces occupy lots of people’s emotion and this can make a sharp contrast. Then we set a voice induction system which can detect the volume and then according to your voice from small to loud, the image will turn from smiling faces to angry faces. After that Amy think we can enrich the meaning of our production according to our daily life, so, she points out that we can make this production as a ‘class warning system’, which remind people when you voice is loud in the class and it will disturb other classmates. Then with the help of the teacher, we set up some numbers to make the voice system more sensitive, when people’s noise reaches a certain volume, the smiling face will change to the angry face, and there is a camera to catch the audience’s face and freeze in the window at that moment. I think this is a very interesting and meaningful work for each of our group members because we have contributed to what we have learned and our own unique ideas during the process.

However, after we show our work to other students, lots of problems arise. Some of the classmates said that when they shouted in front our computer, they feel embarrassed instead of angry. At the same time, when they were testing, the sensitivity of voice is not very good, participants need to shout many times to succeed. So, they suggested us to adjust the sensitivity to be stronger to make it more sensitive. At the same time, when our teacher tested other’s work, I feel these works are really attractive and amusing. I have very appreciated these unique and interesting assignments because these works reflect their inspirations and creativity.

ACMI is the most profound lesson for me at this stage because it inspires me to open my mind and help me to get some inspirations. There I can see a lot of interesting, unique and charming works of art. Although I have not understood them fully, I am always be attracted to them. I remember when I stood in an open small room surrounded by cameras and I know if I did some actions the cameras will catch these moments. At that time, I felt the artist was trying to communicate to me and I was involved in this interactive art. I love this feeling, and I find that art is like magic, I want to explore its mystery. So, my independent work is based on the works in a museum, and with the help of my teacher, I think I made an interesting work.

In the previous reflection, I mentioned that our biggest problem is that we cannot show our idea clearly via Max. However, throughout the development of study 1 to major project, I have learned some knowledge about the creative process. For example, often when thinking creatively I can image an end product before having completed any research or strategic thinking. Setting a goal can allow me to have a clear mind and create motivation to work towards it, so I think this can be beneficial to the whole exercise. I think I still need to explore the technical producers in Max, I believe this is not something that can be grasped overnight. Once you understand the terminology and system, you can use it adroitly. Also, I have learned a great deal from my peers throughout these studies. Each student has created a range of amazing works which show their creativity and uniqueness.

After these two stages of assignments, I firmly believe that I didn’t choose the wrong studio. Although I doubted in the beginning, and I also considered whether I was suitable for this studio, during this time, I find the meaning of making a program. So, I believe it is important to push yourself into things that you may not be as comfortable with, I choose lights, camera, interaction with the understanding that I was providing myself with a challenge. Overall, it is important to remember that I chose this studio in order to push my media abilities. As my skills develop, I hope I can make a complete product independently. I am really looking forward to seeing what everyone come up with over the remainder of the semester.