Better than OBI WAN KENOBI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today we were talking about the future of media and interaction, and here is the real live Obi Wan Kenobi technology, today.

My friend works at Cisco Systems and this is one of the projects they have been working on. You can see the technology at work at around 56 seconds into the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcfNC_x0VvE

i cinema reflection

thinking about immersion, i really did feel this on our excursion to the i cinema.
The glasses that made the work 3D really did it for me. i felt immersed in the work as the glasses make you focus on what is in front and it's effect is so great that you dont notice anything else, but when you take the glasses off, you feel you are just in a room with other people.
was the work also interactive? well i definetly thought so. the animated figures moving around the space made me feel that they knew i was there, like it was something we as humans are sharing with the animated figures. wer'e immersed into their space.
the whole room just gave me this feeling that tvisionary is now on human level. it is that developed and influential that we are one with the medium.
some negatives that i found was that, while interacting with the technology, i felt isolated. alone. when we were clicking on all the screens, i felt it has lost it's liveness because it is all there, stored and ready to be watched, and watching it alone as opposed to tv that your sharing with people all over the world, was kind of unsettling. on a whole i really enjoyed the experience, i did feel i was transported to another place when the glasses were on. however did feel a bit dizzy afterwards.

talin

Sex Machine

Here's that kissing-technology-thing I talked about in class today.

Looks like fun, huh? Lol.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1173831/Sealed-kiss-The-phone-lets-send-long-distance-smooches-loved-ones.html

iCinema Response

The issue of liveness, interaction, intimacy and audience experience is prevalent when analysing a live performance in a mediatised culture. In acting as a participant within the iCinema last week, I actually got the chance to realise and experience our discussed theories of liveness from early on in the course. Standing amongst the ruins, strolling through Bondi beach, driving around Tamarama beach and exploring a Mine completely changed my perception of liveness. The first three were recorded events, however were simulated and presented to the audience as the present. The audience experienced the sounds and visual landscape of these representations and were put into a live, moving reproduction of them, sometimes with alterered elements such as a mythical animation flying about the screen. I run on the ideology that liveness is measured on the level of intimacy and immediacy as experienced by the audience. To the extent of the iCinema, though it has not completely achieved the experiences of liveness, (if ever) it did seem a surreal experience, that is the experience was noticably not real but extremely interactive, intimate and arguably immediate. I think imitacy and liveness was not completely achieved here due to the idea that the audience were constantly reminded of their location within the room as the centre and were separated from the screen during the panoramic presentations. Intimacy was achieved on a higher level through represenations of the Mine when the room was completely dark, 3D goggles were on and people felt as claustrophobic as a real mine would feel...I also noticed myself ducking below a projected beam as it seemed to hit my head...and even though I knew it wasn't real...I caught myself out continuously ducking for cover. 3D visual effects bring a great deal of liveness as it confuses the brain to thinking what is immediately real and what is fake. It blurs the distinctions between the real and fake, between the present (live) and past (recorded). The panoramic representations however would have seemed extremely surreal if the audience were placed within realistic positions. Driving through Tamarama Beach was not as "live" and realistic as it caused motion-sickness between a few people (and myself) but also due to the fact that it was constantly moving at a fast pace. It is not realistic for a standing audience to suddenly be thrown into the environment of a moving vehicle when you can clearly see your surroundings and walk around...this distorts reality and liveness due to a clash of experience. The iCinema however, is advancing towards that blur between reality and the projected...I give credit to the use of 3D glasses, however the centre platform which the audience stands within should be darkened moreso than what it was within the iCinema to enable complete psychological and visual immersion into what is being projected to the audience. When the audience forgets about their physical position...it is then when liveness is truly successful.

DizzyCinema…the iCinema experience.

Ugh, going over the bridge…reminded me of feeling sea sick, Christina I know where you are coming from. But! Despite my discomfort and need to look at the floor for a couple of minutes, isn’t it incredible just how much these ‘artificial’ worlds can affect us in the ‘real’ ’live’ world.

A few people commented on feeling disorientated and uneasy, but there were also a lot of people who commented in the blog and on the day about feeling as if they were “in a lift” as the image in the rainforest was moving. This same deception of the senses takes place in the mining scenario, your perception of reality is so engaged that you end up dodging bolts in the ceiling (as I’m sure many of us did) or, say in Griffithas case, end up feeling “slightly claustrophobic”.

Lyndell made a comment about the potential sedentary effect this kind of experience could have on people’s experience of travel. As Jocelyn says in her response “if they could take images from all over the world and create the same illusion there would be no need to travel”. And I agree, at least with the possibility of this deep immersion into an artificial world. 

The mind can be tricked into feeling motion sickness and vertigo. The senses of sight and hearing are already taken care of. If the technology can be developed to replicate smell , taste and touch, then really what is there in that world that allows us to differentiate between it and our own.

Someone said while we where standing ‘in’ the ruins that if there had been a breeze it would have completed the feeling of being there. Imagine if you were born into that world. It would be just as real as…well, ‘reality’ is. Something I find a little unnerving. Bring on the Matrix?

Despite the distant implications of this technology I think that Karolina makes a very valid point in saying “performance can be mediatised in order to more fully convey the thoughts and ideas of the performance piece, it doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.” 

It’s easy to develop a negative perception of the way technology impacts performance and society as new information and possibilities challenge what we are used to. But I agree, this medium allows for some very interesting approaches that diversify and develop how we appreciate what we can achieve through performance. 

It was a great experience and it will be interesting to see how this technology develops…

...or did we ever really leave?

icinema excursion

Visiting the icinema, the experience brought life to the concepts we have been addressing in class. We were in this sort virtual world where we felt apart of the visual images. These ideas of liveness, immersion, interactivity and embeddedness became so much more apparent. The panoramic video footage, meticulous sound and the ability to navigate through the medium opens up your thoughts on future technology.

After a little while I felt quite dizzy, I found my eyes were too closely focusing on the pixilation of the images; I think that had something to do with the low resolution. I’m not as tech savvy as some might be so the experience was intense, I couldn’t even fathom how someone could even produce such a brilliant piece of work. I think this new kind of environment is the way of the future.

iCinema Excursion

The iCinema excursion was a completely new experience to anything I've encountered before. I was impressed by the level of technology and capabilities iCinema presented for opportunities of live and mediatised performances. There were moments in the cinema, particularly when we saw all the television screens with different images projected, that caused a sensory overload for me. Because there was so much data and images to absorb, I was overwhelmed and ended up lacking focus on one particular element or image as I struggled to capture everything, in the end not really absorbing any of the images.

My senses also reacted differently to what was shown/heard. My ears and sound were the dominant sense and when there were images as well as sound, like in the Wooster Group's clip, I found myself visually attracted to what I was hearing, so my sight was dictated by what I as hearing, and ignored the clips where there was only the visual and no audio.

iCinema

The iCinema, like the iPod and the iMac, is pretty cool. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3D still photographs which were shown at the beginning of the tour. I thought that they were marvelous and i liked the fact that it gave the viewer time to survey the image and experience it in great detail. It simulated and represented the locations very well and it was an interesting substitute for the real. 

Also, the panoramic video footage was stunning and effective. It was instantly engaging and hypnotic. For me the video navigation program was an innovative way to communicate a slew of different footage. It was practical, engaging and easy to learn. The tagging system, however, is too subjective. The way that video is catalogued in terms of colour, emotion, and gender is too broad and determined by the perceptions of the programmers; but this can be changed. The low resolution footage also hampered the experience as contemporary media goers are accustomed to pristine images.

The iCinema is an appealing option for new mediatised performance cultures. It offers new ways to coordinate and structure information. It seems to be the way of the future!

Impressions on iCinema

The iCinema is a captivating visual spectacle. When we first entered the chamber I felt a strange resemblance to the cockpit of an aircraft. I know that there are few physical controls in the iCinema and its expansive space is quite dissimilar to that of a cockpit; yet the idea of information wrapping around the user is what bore the resemblance for me. The idea that there is so much information being presented that you couldnt possible consume it all at once. Once I had come to terms with this realization I think the skill in operating this environment was much the same as we would normally operate outdoors or in a large hall; to simply focus you attention on one element in the space. It doesnt seem like a hard concept to grasp but inside the iCinema, initially we assume we will be able to utilize it in the same fashion as we use TVs or computer screens, that all of the information presented is in focus and can be absorbed. This however is not the case. The process is actually quite engrossing and only a couple of times did I find my self slipping out of the immersion (did anyone else try tipping their head from side to side? It breaks the 3D effect which was a little strange)

Week 6: iCinema incursion

My experience involved many sensations and feelings. I automatically felt teleported to the virtual world becoming immersed and interactive with technology.

Following on, when the rainforest visual came up, I could also hear bird sounds which gave me the impression; I’m on a trek walking through nature, imagining the aromas. This relates to Auslander’s theory of liveness, how mediatization awakens the sensory norm. I sat still in awe and wonder, thinking of far technology has evolved and the direction it was going when watching the landscapes of cultural sites, the car travelling, and the selection of entertainment moments. My eyes worked hard just to catch a glimpse of every part of the screen making me feel dizzy though still wanting more. The liveness of this performance conveys and how it fits together with the everydayness of mediatization becoming more naturalised.

The excursion to the icinema

The excursion to the icinema was unlike anything that I have ever experienced before. The way that liveness was effectively merged into a virtual world was amazing. For example in Rain Forest 3D I felt like I was fully immersed into the rain forest. In There is Still Time Brother by the Wooster Group the 3D had an extremely ‘live’ effect. I felt like I was in the room with the characters! This feeling was increased through the use of 360-degree camera angles (also in Eves Drop). No matter which way I turn my head I could see something interesting and new, like In real life.

I enjoyed the 3D images in Place – Hampi and Secret Anglzor. The images of the elephant and the Buddhist figure eating were very cute. Again, the 3D effect enhanced the liveness.

The 3D TV camera set on top of a car in spherecam was an interesting experience especially with the use of fast and slow motion. I did not enjoy it so much because I felt quite ‘car sick’. However the fact that a performance could have such a dramatic physical effect on me just proves its effectiveness of immersing with the audience.

Over all I felt that I learnt a lot about how students are experimenting with virtual technology. I think its great how these students are working with the engineering (mining) faculty to create training programs. I am looking forwards to seeing this technology being used in a more mainstream environment in both performances and for other functional uses.

Week 6 Blog Entry - iCinema Excursion

The usual assumption in regards to displayed media is the notion that the real is transported into the virtual world. This is often the case in movies and games when you feel completely absorbed and immersed within the story or the game play.

Contrary to this believe, my experience at the iCinema was the reverse as I felt the virtual environment came to live instead. The Advanced Visualisation and Interaction Environment or AVIE (UNSW 2009) has the capability to render two-dimensional images and footage into more interactive three-dimensional ones along with the help of the three-dimensional glasses. The illusion is very appealing however it left me feeling dizzy after an extended period.

It is interesting to look at the iCinema as a performance medium in a sense that it has both elements of liveness and mediatized within it. Perhaps Auslander’s theory that we often perceive reality only through the mediation of machines(Auslander, 2008) comes to effect in this case as well.

Bibliography
Auslander, P. (2008). Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture. London: Routledge.

UNSW. (2009, April 24). Infrastructure AVIE. Retrieved April 24, 2009, from http://www.icinema.unsw.edu.au/projects/infra_avie.html

icinema excursion

I thoroughly enjoyed the immersive experience I encountered at the icinema. This feeling lasted throughout the rest of the day, even after I had left the enclosed room. I felt like I had been on a journey and seen a part of the future that everyone around me on the street was unaware of. The immersion happened instantly as the rainforest environment surrounded us and slowly panned up towards the tree tops as we fell to the rainforest ground.

As each exotic destination appeared my neck couldn’t turn quick enough to take in the images from every angle. I did however find the animated projections placed in Hampi distracting as I was watching the flying bird-man and missed seeing the rest of the beautiful surrounding landscape. The use of these mystic creatures broke with reality which caused a momentary break in my immersive feeling as I didn’t feel I was in the surreal environment anymore, just a viewer again.

As setting up more and more advanced “home cinema experiences” is becoming a hobby for many people and their private lounge rooms in today’s western society, I couldn’t help but imagine the addictive T-Visionarium in the Harvey Norman catalogue in the not too near future!

iCinema: The Matrix and WALL-E

I really enjoyed the i-Cinema excursion. I enjoyed the location videos the most. They were perhaps simplistic as they just showed the location with perhaps some animation added for extra interest. For me they felt the most real, the most live, you could say. The rainforest scene when it panned upwards made me feel almost like I was going up in an elevator, bit of a strange sensation. The Hampi scene was the absolute best though. I felt like I'd been transported by magic to that actual location it felt so real. I think it felt the most real out of all the presentations as the landscape didn't move but I could look around. In contrast though the drive around Sydney felt perhaps less real but made my body feel more. I felt like I was on a rollercoaster ride, especially when it sped up and I felt like I was going to fall over a few times.

The location scenes also made me think about where technology is headed. If it can simulate reality that well then perhaps something like WALL-E is possible and humans will become completely sedentary, not needing to go anywhere because you can get a better experience sitting in your lounge room. Almost like not needing to go to theatre as television is a more comfortable experience (not that I agree with this). Also perhaps a situation like the one shown in the Matrix could arise with humans living entirely in virtual reality believing it is reality. Definitely thought provoking stuff.

iCinema

In the iCinema I felt totally amazed consumed by the presentation. It was fascinating to view images in 3D and learn about the technology that was used in creating the works. Like most of my peers dizziness was one of the main physical sensations I felt. I also lost sense of space which worked well with the feeling of being totally immersed in the the images and sounds which surrounded me. This made me think about how liveness was being altered by items we were being shown. It was challenging liveness by looking at images which were recorded live and then reconstituted to be shown on film for an audience who were placed in an immersive environment (with the help of the 3D glasses and large screens) to feel like they are actually viewing the images live. The illusion of liveness was created very well in the film but such things as the computer generated elephants that were added tampered with the illusion, but were still very cool.
It is exciting to think about the future of performance with this technology becoming available for projects in performance like in Eavesdrop and There is Still Time Brother which played with theatre in the round. It would also be wonderful to see when the technology starts becoming interactive and being used as an incorporated element in performances with live bodies.
I hope there will be opportunities to return to the iCinema to see the developments in the technology and some of their new projects.

My thoughts on iCinema!

Firstly i thought iCinema was amazing, I loved every bit of the experience. I felt as if I was instantly transported to another place. Something that is unreal became instantly real. I question these thoughts and concepts because it's so crazy how displaced i felt yet i loved it.

The advanced mediatized technology and sound scape really evoked a sense of realness and liveness which related to Auslander's reading. I could relate to his points on the effects of media and how it's live. It transports you! I was so present in the city traveling scene that i had to sit down as I felt motion sickness. I was so amazed at the fact i had a physical experience and had to sit down.

The artistic and creative aspects of the projects really inspire me they all are so innovative and different, from the rain forest to the T Visionarium to the Wooster Project they all incorporate media in a different way to project something very real and present.

Truly awesome experience!!!

Virtual reality has always fascinated me, with it beginning since i went for a virtual reality space ride in Singapore's Science Centre. Entering into the space and awaiting the screening of the videos, I felt transformed into a child once again, awaiting for that ride that will fascinate me for days.

I particularly enjoyed watching T-Visionarium. It reminded me of this television advertisement of a television, in which a man turns on his television to reveal the virtual reality world the TV indulges him in. The integration of technology into our everyday lives is also one of the main driving point for major brands like LG and it intrigues me as to how reliant we can be when it comes to technology.

After the viewing, despite the slight dizziness, I began fascinating about how the future will potentially be like with such technology. I honestly could not visualise a better way of TV surfing after that experience. Such futuristic technology could potentially enhance our lives and after this trip, I seriously hope it comes soon.

being transported to the icinema

After going to India last year I did not think that so soon would I return to this rural Jurassicesque place.  The minute we entered the realm surrounded by these boulders, palm trees, ancient ruins and rice patty fields, I knew I was instantly back in Hampi.  Nostalgia consumed me as I felt as though, for a minute, I was back in the beauty of this place that held so much significance to me a year ago.  My experience of the icinema was that of pure bliss and familiarity, regardless of the synthetic elephants, animated Garnesh and stereotypical Indian tunes, I felt a connection with this new media form by which I was able to lose sight of my ‘actual’ space and place! 

 

What a treat of an excursion, being exposed to this new media form, which I felt enhanced, a simulated environment, to the utmost potential other then actually being there.  This innovative technology is the closest I have felt we have come to teleportation and cannot wait to see the next phases of these projects and the evolution of our ever-changing mediatized culture. 

icinema

So my initial response is that it is such a shame that this space is mostly unavailable. unavailable to the public, and unavailable to the kind of pepole who might think of different ways to use this technology. But this is reasoned with the fact that it is a scientific research lab, not entertainment, and that it is a possible future, not present. I loved the sense of emmersion in the worlds that the VR could achieve, but found my self dis-orientated, and giddy often. I think this is something that our bodies will get used to over time and experience. Yes, i thought the animation was quite naff. But so did they, not a finished product. Still why animate indian gods? The video of moving on the back of the car was intertesting in the motion sickness, i felt strange like that i actually enjoyed feeling sick like that. I feel that as a technology and medium the icenema is developing and growing. At the moment it is not fully utelised by anyone and i feel that as it gains more exposure, and becomes more common place, we will see more works for this medium. I look foward to an emersive real world space, with real people.

iCinema--So Surreal!

Wow. This was a fantastic exhibit (albeit I did feel a bit dizzy after coming out into the blinding light and less wobbly real world).

I am often perplexed by modern art, but I think that what artists are doing with this new technology has purpose, requires skill, talent and is entertaining. I was particularly impressed and marveled at the two pieces Eavesdropping and There's Still Time Brother. Eavesdropping reminded me of the one article we read about how while watching theater you have the power to choose what to focus on: the wandering eye. Although this piece was still framed in a way, you had more power to choose what to focus on. You could hear a new story, see a new performance, every time you watch it, too. The way you choose to watch it one time will be completely different than in another time due to order and timing/length of your selection.

I also enjoyed watching There's Still Time Brother. The narrator was so mesmerizing. It was fascinating to watch these artists really experiment and play. It's as if you were watching them brainstorm and perform what was going on in their heads. The blurred effect on the sides enhanced this surreal perspective.

I thoroughly enjoyed these pieces and look forward to when these performances will become more public and mainstream!

iCinema Excursion

The iCinema experience was phenomenal; i was in complete awe of its' capabilities and its power to not only completely immerse my mind, but to go as far as to convince my mind to control my body in an irrational way!
To feel that I was in a lift ascending in a rainforest, to sitting on rubble in various countries across the world, to tuning into performances and other people's conversations by pointing a microphone at them - all without so much as moving from my spot on the floor - was an amazing experience. The physical visuals combined with the sound effects opened a new level of reality simulation; the mining tour had me feeling slightly claustrophobic, and I don't think I was the only one in the room dodging the 'bolts' on the 'roof'!
The complete submersion into a visual space went above and beyond any form of 'liveness' i have experienced through a screen; aside from the convenience (if not total bombardment of the senses) of the T-Visionarium, and feeling involved in the performance to the point where you felt performers speaking directly to you, the accessibility and interaction available to someone at the iCinema truely speaks to a 21st century culture!
The iCinema excursion truely showed me how far technology has come, and just when you think it has reached its limit, you are told that further animation and interactive liveness is being worked on - is it bad that i now watch the Foxtel HD ad's and think 'how primitive?'

Icinema experience

i just think that this weeks excursion (or incursion..) to icinema has really opened my eyes to what Bryoni has been trying to hammer into our heads for 6 weeks now. that media doesn't have to go against performance but it can more fully immerse you into it. the wooster group performance for example (especially in 3d) really made you feel like the group members were talking to you directly. as though they knew where you were in the room. i especially enjoyed the t-visunarium and also the dance performance filmed at nida. this performance was especially fascinating because it gave you the opportunity to see it from 6 different angles. when would you have the opportunity to see what a performance looks like from multiple perspectives in the 'live' experience of theatre? performance can be mediatised in order to more fully convey the thoughts and ideas of the performance piece, it doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. panaramic camera also enables us to see more fully everything that happens at the one time. in conclusion i guess, i really enjoyed this experience.. it was fascinating, sometimes dizzying, and very productive!

iCinema blog

I thought the iCinema experience was really mesmerizing and compelled my attention the entire time; I think the technology is very useful especially for educational purposes (e.g the mining tutorial) I felt as if I was really there, like my body was transported into the images. There were moments where the image was coming towards me and I moving away thinking it would hit me, knowing perfectly well it wasn’t real. The 360 visual really did make the rainforest and those pictures of India look truly genuine yet they weren’t. This reminds me of Auslander’s text how it’s not really live but a representation of a live event. The T-Visionarium, I thought was amazing but I was really distracted, didn’t know which clip to watch. The iCinema really demonstrates just how far technology has come in immersing itself with reality.

I really enjoyed the Icinema experience. I felt captured opposed to distracted. Responding to Jess's Blog I also do not understand why the elephants where animated I would have preferred to have seen real images as it would have continued the illusion of reality where as when these distorted images were presented I felt disconected from the illusion. When I saw the first images I thought to myself; if they could take images from all over the world and create the same illusion there would be no need to travell because I actually felt like i was there with in the image but I guess thats the whole purpose of it being a 'immersive environment.'

can you see me now

this show reminds me of 'can you see me now'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FL_gacn39k

icinema-tacky or affective?

I had a mix of responses. I didnt understand why there were simulated elephants used in the real landscape- wouldnt a real elephant look better? it just seemed disconnected & kitsch. Due to the ‘liveness’ of the event I felt like I was coming in and out of the experience; people’s movements or reactions around me would distract me & i would lose focus. However, when I responded to the images in a connected way the experience really captured my senses. Some of the displays made me feel like I was experiencing inertia; the motion of the camera sliding up from the rainforest floor to rooftop gave the illusion that though the floor was rising. Similar feelings of motion were created in ‘Spherecam’ and ‘Mining VR’, which at times made me feel uneasy (in a good way), mostly because I knew it wasnt 'real' yet it felt so much like it was.

icinema

it was a pretty surreal experience.
the flash animations they included on top of the photopgraphs worked really well, particularly the elephants - i thought they looked so real.

the thing that really blew my mind was the interaction of all the different television loops. i forget what it was called, but it was amazing. being so interactive and choosing footage to watch by the genre, colour, gender, emotion! crazy. very impressive.

another installation i liked was the eavesdropping one. although it was frustrating trying to follow one storyline, looking at all the scenarios in one perspective was cool.

overall i really enjoyed it!!!

testing blog

test

iCinema

There is a sense of displacement as if we are transported to the ruins of Angkor Wat. The video of a moving vehicle travelling on the streets of Sydney creates a dizzy feeling, like motion sickness. But we are stationary! The Wooster Group’s video allows me to interpret the narrative of that video according to where I was standing. The T_Visionarium seems like a massive YouTube screen. I noticed when the tags of single female was singled out by the guide, most of the clips beside the chosen clip were similar in orange warm colors. On the other side, was all the clips of men and they were mostly in blues, white and have fast motions. The Mining VR is very realistic. I almost want to duck when we hit the ceilings of the mine. Maybe they can do one for the military or defense forces. Or create a new computer game where one can participates with lots of people. Imagine Grand Theft Auto on a bigger scale? So much potential!

Hey guys more related internet things.
http://www.pjotro.com/site.php - doing the laurie anderson thing but online
www.omegle.com - its funny being annonymous

and also. unrelated. but a band i am in, The Splinter Orchestra, is playin a gig a pact theatre on thursday night, 16/4. support band is a guy how has set up 50 alarm clocks to go off in sync. the splinter orchestra is sydney's premier spontaneous improvising large scale group. up to 30 musicians creating soundscapes. should be good gig. come along.

The EYEBORG

I was just looking around on the net dreaming of the camera I would like to buy when I stumbled on this: THE EYEBORG! I think someone mentioned this before, but I thought I would post it so people can take a look.

Granular Synthesis

So after a bit of research it turns out that Granular Synthesis is a musical concept devised by some C20 composers, including Iannis Xenakis. The idea is that a sound is split up into grains, which are really small slices of the sound (around 10ms) which are then repeated and altered to create new sounds. It seems that the group Granular Synthesis have taken this idea and applied it to video as well. As the image oscilates between grains of video. Pretty Cool.
http://www.sfu.ca/~truax/gran.html
http://www.granularsynthesis.com/

the head bopping up and down at a rapid speed, to me, appeared to have manipulated my visual sensory. as i stared at the central image of the moving head, i felt as if the image was still, such that i could make out the individual's closed eyes and lips. it began with an image of a skull-like figure and slowly, as the frame speed increased, the still image of the face became increasingly obvious. at the same time, i felt the central image enlarging, as if slowly engulfing the space and pushing the side images out of it.

did anyone else experience this?

Technology immersing with objects?

Has technological advancement submerge with objects of the everyday?

For example the computer coffee table (youtube link)
It is basically a new windows system that looks like a table with touch screen abilities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWCgWCoeOg

And an art work by Alissia Melka-Teichroew called “Keys to Your Memory”

Keys to your memory is a USB designed to look like a Victorian era key. The ceramic bodied stick holds either 2GB or 4GB.



So what’s with new technology trying to look like everyday things? Do you think it plays on our feelings of nostalgia to reconnect with our past?

Technology=Modern Day Vampires and Zombies?

As the vibrating heads unnerved me while watching Granular Synthesis' Modell 5 I couldn't help but try to dissect why I was so disturbed by the images on screen.

Her movements were unnatural, her face became distorted, things were out of place on her face. Bryoni mentioned how control and manipulation were also at play here, how the face was being manipulated, the images were controlled by the technology. The effects manipulated us as audience members. And I realized that there was a striking similarity between the images and concepts to vampires and zombies.

Her face was scary like a zombie. Zombies are often distorted creatures. Vampires often move in unnatural ways, they also have the ability to manipulate and control their victims (as in Dracula with Lucy). What also scares us about Zombies and Vampires is how much more powerful they are than us--we can't really kill them. They are the "undead."

Similarly, technology is the "unalive." It can control and manipulate us. It is not natural. Is technology our modern day Vampire or Zombie? Vampires and Zombies used to be people's biggest fear--Is technology now our biggest fear? Are we absolutely mortified of the power it has over us?

Bill Viola's Newage altars and their significance

During the medieval times/Renaissance, altars/triptychs were created as a way to engage church folk. Now, these altars do not have the same effect on us as they did many years ago, they do not engage us as powerfully. For Bill Viola to create a new mediatised altar re-captivates us. I thought this was a bold move, but I'm sure if they had media back in the day, the would've wowed the common folk like this, too.

Hello everyone! Wed tute got me thinking about a really interesting performance that I saw recently at carriage works performance space called Trace Elements. It involved an interactive video instillation where you can see your self through a screen as well as projected images of other people, who aren’t really there. This was really interesting and a little scary, as you were looking at your self in an imaginary environment.

I also saw Night Garden and Road kill recently. Both incorporated mediated elements into live performance. I found that Night Garden used projections effectively to create surreal and spooky atmospheres. Road kill uses a radio on stage in order to heighten the ‘realness’ of the performance. There is also a scene where two dancers performed a duet with a torch. This very basic use of technology created such beautiful shadows and light movement. Even though the use of a torch seems like such a simple idea, I found it to be the most interesting and successful in the performance.

Christina

Harry Potter's Cloak

Did anyone read the article in the herald about the invisible cloak?

An invisible cloak could bring surveillance and voyeurism to a whole new level. It sounds quite far-fetched and definitely problematic if it used by the wrong person. 

From surveillance to mind control

Think about how this kind of technology really begins to shift what we mean by 'embodiment': SMH Mind Robot Controlled By Thought

And... back to that old fashioned thing called privacy, you can see how Google Street View is definitely polarising communities: SMH Villagers Block Google Mobile

hey guys if anyone else found this weeks lecture on surveillance really fascinating and like me questions the whole system of surveillance for safety then this site might be useful to you. it's from the surveillance camera players info..these guys are definately my new favourite activist group. and what's really great about it is that they don't pretend to be anything but what they are. anyway, check out the website for some useful info on both september 11 and columbine. like the title of the writing states: "nothing has changed. therefore everything must change"; i was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on what this means to them?


http://www.notbored.org/change.html

surveillance, art & other things

hey guys. i thought yesterday's class was really interesting, it got me thinking about a lot of things...& yes i also found myself looking for cameras.. one that i thought was rather strange, driving along the M5 i noticed a sign saying video & audio surveillance... i cant really think as to why they would need audio, wouldnt it just pick up traffic noise?

anyway... here's an artist that i think is quite relevant to the topic of surveillance... but i think it puts a rather quirky & fun twist on the whole issue! CAMERA VAN ARTIST, Harold Blank's van is covered in cameras and he drives the streets taking candid photos of people. some of which are really interesting!!

another thing that i thought was relevant to the course....

ONLINE BIDDING FOR JOBS- no need to stress over a job interview anymore, simply bid online for the job you want by naming the price which you are willing to work for!

and lastly, i cant quite decide if this is funny or creepy but a gay named 'Craig' left posters all over the melbourne suburb, windsor, stating all crazy sorts of things like he may have created a time machine...most people think he's just lonely and looking for a friend. interesting way of networking! click here to see photos of some of the posters!

Why bother twittering?

I randomly found this cartoon clip; it relates to our first lecture when we discussed society’s fascination with social networking sites. It’s basically a parody on the people who are obsessed with the site twitter. I thought it was pretty funny, what do u guys think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN2HAroA12w

And I totally agree with you Talin, why bother playing that game? Anyways after today’s lecture and all the google earth talk, I read in the newspaper today that it has become more common to divorced due to finding their partner’s car parked outside somewhere they shouldn’t be.