for those interested in human rights issue, i thought this opinion piece offers an alternative view as to what an Act or Charter might do.

Bob Carr - Rights Charter Like A Dead Parrot

Presentation Running order

WEEK 11

9.30: '' Catherine, Jocelyn, Jennifer

10.00: 'Second Life Art Group' Audrey, Sam, Leigh, Boris, Julia

10.30: 'Chrysalis' Sarah ,Shari, Jack, Christina

11.00: 'Colouring It Blue' Clara

11.20: 'Beijing and Athens - the Olympics' Maika, Talin, Anthony, Jessica

WEEK 12

9.30: 'Wake Up' Anna, Hannah, Cainan, Annidette, Michelle

10.00: 'The Phone' Clementine, Louise, Darin, Alex, Annabelle

10.30: 'In The Shadows' Stacey, Ali, Lyndall

11.00: 'Interactivity & immersion within CryENGINE® 2 - The Leading Game Engine of Today' Vijay

11.20: 'Working Title' Christopher, Carolina, Nic, Belinda

Icinema reflection- clem russell

Hi all,
Same as below, I know I’m a bit late so apologies! But better late then never! I really enjoyed the Icinema excursion. For the last two years I have walked past that the Icinema and wondered what went on behind those doors. In terms of what actually occurred the overall feelings of excitement I originally felt from the prospects of an excursion remained through out the experience, but were consistently challenged as we ventured further in to the degrees of reality and technology that Icinema presented.

The most intriguing part of the event (for me) was the 3D televisions! I was fascinated and intrigued with what we (the human) became in that room. As the elements that surrounded us began to encompass some degree of life, I felt my existence challenged. It was almost as though we became a hybrid with the screens (the floating ones that is) Everything had its own purpose yet heavily relied upon the other factors for its existence/reasoning of being there! We ultimately controlled the screen choice, but they inturn controlled our attention or choice of what to watch (as there was so many options at once) so who was governing who became blurred. I hope I’m making sense! This made me feel slightly insignificant compared to the technology that was on exhibit. That life had progressed way past the point of me living in the 3D world, and TV – Internet existing only in the 2D world.

To simplify what I am trying to say, overall I felt all the elements of the Icinema made a me feel less like an individual and more like a human/technology cyborg, in co-existence with the room! I felt transported, yet that transportation on some level was to the places we were visiting, but more a trip inside the visions being seen. I felt as though I was the camera or technology viewing the selected scenes.

This gave me a new outlook in to the directions education and experience are taking. The possibilities of being with out moving are becoming more and more a reality. (Kinda second life sims type experience)

Thus, Overall I think this type of technology has great potential but we as a society must be careful when using it not to exploit its power. I think the ways in which it could aid most industries is incredibly amazing but there is nothing like personal experience and we must be careful to remember the differences between actual 3D and technologically stimulated 3D.


Just to add! Also, it was really fun! Made me feel a bit dizzy and sick at times! Also made me feel like I needed a holiday! I loved the beach and driving part as well! That was slightly trippy yet an overall wicked experience.

Icinema - related mediatization info

Hi Guys,

I know im about three weeks late but i thought id quickly post my thoughts on the Icinema excursion we took the other week. I found the whole environment very surreal and exciting. I think in terms of the interaction photos (of different places and countries) i was afraid that one day this might influence peoples decisions to travel at all. If one was able to go, see, and experience a place without leaving their living room (or movie room) I am worried they would be content with this. It frightens me that this may be a possibilty in the future as it would have devistating effects on tourism and poor countries that rely on international tourism.

On the other hand as a spectator I really enjoyed both the theatre performance done with the round 360 camera. It really displaced me and made me feel as if i was secretly watching the performances without the performers knowing! I felt as if i had been in the real life 'honey i shrunk the kids' and i was a teenie tiny person sitting in their set.

Finally i thought the idea of working with other industries to furthur the prospects of simulation training is absolutely incredible. as i said in the theatre i can think of a single company that would prefer to place their trainee staff in the dangerous 'real life' experience as opposed to the simulation experience! I feel they might be on a winner there!!

I also wanted to add to the blog a film clim and web page that i thought you might want to check out. It is an idea that my group are using to base our performance proposal on, however it is seriously clever and an exciting prospect for the future of performance!!

www.playingforchange.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Thanks,

Hannah

Case Study: 'In the Shadows'

Lyndell Walsh, Ali Saad and Stacey Neumann

Our group has chosen to do a case study on 'In the Shadows' a very recent theatre work which was performed at PACT Youth Theatre in Erskenville from the 29th to the 3rd May this year. The work was created and performed by 'Stage Juice', an emerging Sydney theatre group which is run and produced by many UNSW associates including Katy Green and Tom Hogan. It was an extremely short work lasting only approximately 40mins and incorporated dance, music and projection as well as prerecorded and live video.
Our study is particularly aimed at deconstructing the performance's relationship to surveillance and liveness as well as highlighting the obstacles experienced by emerging artists in Sydney when engaging with new media technologies.
The artistic director, performer and creator of the work, Katy Green has agreed to do a video interview with us so we can use some of the footage in our presentation. Perhaps even begin the presentation with Katy introducing the work with a short summary as there was no video taken of the performance. Photos and diagrams will also be used to describe the performance.
We plan to compare our personal impressions of the performance with it's intended impact upon audiences to assess its relative success (or failure) and possible room for future improvement, tempering this analysis of course with a recognition of its low budget and limited access to new technology.

Microsoft’s DirectX®10 - Experience a whole new level of gaming Interactivity and Immersion

I intend to focus on Microsoft’s DirectX®10 (Microsoft 2009) as a media technology which is used in todays video games as a graphic accelerator.

I will be using examples from game titles like Crysis™ (Electronic Arts Inc. 2008), Wanted Weapons of Fate (Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. 2009), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Activision 2009), and so on.


Image courtesy of Electronic Arts Inc. 2008; Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. 2009; Activision 2009

By doing so, I would be demonstrating the level of interactivity and immersion that these games are capable of. I will be linking up my findings with the notions on ‘Interactive Art: Installation and Cinema’ and ‘Video Art’ from Micheal Rush’s New Media in Late 20th-Century Art.

Bibliography
Activision, 2009. X-Men Origins: Wolverine Official Video Game Site. Available at: http://www.uncaged.com/ [Accessed May 12, 2009].

Electronic Arts Inc., 2008. EA : Crysis : Age Verification Page. Available at: http://games.ea.com/crysis/ [Accessed May 12, 2009].

Microsoft, 2009. DirectX® 10. Available at: http://www.gamesforwindows.com/en-US/AboutGFW/Pages/DirectX10.aspx [Accessed May 12, 2009].

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., 2009. Wanted Weapons of Fate Video Game | Gameplay Trailers, Videos & Downloads| XBOX, PS3, Playstation & PC Game. Available at: http://thewanted.warnerbros.com/ [Accessed May 12, 2009].

SLAG

Ladies and gentlemen. Presenting
SLAG
(Second Life Art Group)
As a small collective we are interested in the ways a person may represent themslves in a un-monitored, anonymous virtual realm. We seek to juxtapose this with a similar representation of self in a real world situation, immediate and personal. We will pose the open question, Tell us a Story. The boundaries of this question being intentionally vague. What is a story? Who is a story about? Does a story present a truth? Can a story tell a story about the self? Is a story personal or impersonal? Fictional or Factual? When posed with this question, how will the stories differ between the two realms of existance?
We will stage two story telling events, one in the online world of Second Life, and one in an analogous place in the Real World. We will ask people and avatars to tell us a story and these will be recorded.
These stories will form the text and basis for a realworld live event. a multi/inter medial performance. The stories will act as a script, and will be both enacted out, analysed and juxtaposed against each other. Ideally this performance will be simulcast in the realm of Second Life as well. We hope to embody both the virtual and breathing avatars of average participants.

We are interested in how the simple idea of storytelling is altered through different forms or percieved contact. In an anonymous, virtual world, where speech is untraceable, and people are un-recognisable, will the stories be different to a traceable, recognisable and known real world?

So keep your eyes here for when you can participate and become part of the SLAG project.

Julia, Leigh, Audrey, Sam, Boris.

Identity Definitive (I.D) - [working Title]

Group Proposal -

Nic Douglas, Karolina Kosla, Christopher Childs-Maidment, Belinda Elchaar.

The departure point for our project developed from Question 3 (a) of the guidelines: "applies to an aspect of the Australian community". Of course it is an innocent guide to help in the structuring of our projects (we know you were not trying to subversively control and limit our process Bryoni : ) !!) But when you take a close look at this kind of guide and its application in the performance industry what does it mean for our creative freedom?

Our group has decided to explore how the mediatisation of the Australian image through film affects how others perceive us and how we then perceive ourselves. Furthermore we will seek to show how these characteristics can potentially lead to a stagnation of identity within the general community and the film industry.

In keeping with the ‘interventionist’ outline of the project we aim to produce an 'Australian' film that doesn’t contain any popular, iconised characteristics of the 'Australian' identity, and then apply to Screen Australia for funding to see if we fit into the 'significant Australian content'(SAC) guidelines (you can look at the guidelines HERE).
Although the film is our ultimate goal, the main body of the project is to set up a website that tracks the films creation as it develops from the story board to the finished product. The website would offer online participation, such as surveys, blogs and opinion polls to help identifying with what people believe to be 'Australian' and so further inform our process. By doing so we hope to question people’s perceptions of identity and prompt at least an awareness of the influence mediatised 'truth' can have.

As we found in the study of Phillip Auslander there is the notion that theatre imitated the 'live' and film imitated the theatre only in turn for theatre to imitate film. It would seem that this notion draws parallels to the way the Australian identity has been lived, expressed, appropriated and then played back to us. In seeing this playback we perceive a reflection that we then adhere to; we perform in ourselves what we have perceived, however those perceptions are based on our initial performance. It's this process that provides a potential loop that could lead to the stagnation of identity and as a result inhibit the creative process.

So what does it take to make an Australian film? Is it enough that the people physically involved with the process, from writer to crew, are 'Australian' even if the film is set in Africa? Or does it mean we have to tell an "Australian" story? What ever that may be. We would be interested to hear your thoughts on what you think it means to be Australian. If there is indeed a definitive label at all.

A really interesting and clever influence that we have looked at in considering our website is the site promoting an upcoming movie D9 LINK
It draws some parallels that we think really sit well with our topic. A person is a person regardless of their origin. A story is a story regardless of its origin. And in the film industry, in our community, in the world, that should be what matters.

Research Proposal

Research Proposal - Case Study

Jack Butler, Shari Marie, Christina Terranova, Sarah Milsted

The changing form of the human body and its extensions have become a critical focus for many modern dance performances; none more so than Craig McGregor’s Crysalis. Crysalis was one of three award winning dance films presented on DanseDanseDanse by Heure d’Ete Productions. In this fantasy world dancer McGregor plays the part of K a half insect, half metal-head-plated human, slithering around in a bath, wired up to futuristic technological devices that seem to give us an insight into his thought processes. Through this piece we aim to derive a further understanding of the ways in which the body is differentially understood in the modern world. Unpacking McGregor’s artistic commentary in Crysalis will enable us to understand more comprehensively his understanding of the ways in which the body interacts with the mind in a technologically mediated environment.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/home/technology/rape-game-rewards-sexual-violence/2009/05/11/1241893890294.html

since we were on the topic of a rape case in a virtual world - second life, i thought this article will highlight further issues about regulating virtual worlds.

i was thinking through about today's discussion on the case study, and realised that more likely than not, linden will not be responsible for the rape as the rape was not committed by them but by individuals in the virtual reality. however, the victim might be able to get some form of redress if he/she can demonstrate that there has been some form of negligence played on the part of linden and that they had a duty of care to her. i don't think it'll be possible to just sue them for psychological trauma as they probably never did permit such actions by another player and they probably had tried their best to monitor the situation but resources might be limited.

Depression is one of the most overlooked mental conditions in many societies around the globe. In Australia alone, 10% of the male population and 20% of the female population will suffer from this condition. However, most individuals do not recognise the need to seek help and the mental condition tends to be swept under the carpet until something triggers an extreme response to it – suicide. Every year, there will be around 2000 suicides occurring in Australia and a large proportion of them are individuals suffering from depression. Awareness of this condition is rising but is still lacking and this performance project proposal aims to help more individuals understand on a more confronting basis.

The performance project proposal will most likely be in the style of the typical public service commercial, except that there will be multiple commercials going on simultaneously. A part of the performance that will focus on demonstrating the possible symptoms of depression; another will be portraying the various types of depression. There will be a presentation of the consequences that may follow with and without help. These consequences could highlight the various methods of suicide for those who did not seek help and also, the various methods of recovery or managing of the condition.

Visual mediums will also be used, with snippets taken from films, such as 15 and Prozac Nation playing in the background with no audio. Photographs and a brief biography of various creative individuals, along with individuals from all walks of life will be placed around the space. Audience will be encouraged to participate by getting them to describe how they feel as they watch the performance. There will also be performers who will walk the ground and speak random thoughts in reply to the various responses. This will, hopefully, allow more individuals to recognise and retain the information provided that will be essential in identifying the condition.

Research Project Proposal

MEFT3353: Performance in a Mediatised Culture

Research Project: Case Study

Second Life

Cat Griffiths, Jocelyn Underwood and Jen Youkhana

Our group has taken on the concepts of immersion and interactivity, fascinated by the blur between real life and technology as opposed to its simple presence in the 21^st century. To explore these concepts, we are looking at Second Life, the virtual world accessed on the internet that surpasses anything seen virtually and interactively in recent times. It differs in that residents have near unlimited freedom to create and experience whatever they want as long as they agree to its terms and conditions of use. Just like in real life, you can hear the wind blowing, waves crashing on the shore, the call of birds, people talking and music playing. The sun goes down at night and you can see the stars. As well as this you can hang out with friends, not to mention being able to visit casinos, shopping centres, dance clubs and the movies, as well as attend special occasions like art gallery openings and fashion shows. While it is cartoony, it is not the visual that immediately blurs the user from distinguishing what is virtual, and what is not. It is the mental space and interactions that happen between the avatars that dedicated users cannot separate from their real life counterparts.

We intend to show how second life interacts with virtual technologies, as well as discuss the laws and rules that exist within this world. Also, we want to open a forum for immersion, discussing how and why people want to submerge themselves into a virtual world, and how their performance in this world influences and/or differs from their performance in their real lives.

To do this, we are going to set up a profile ourselves in Second Life, so we are able to interact with other avatars and explore the world that is offered. We want a first hand experience into the interactions that take place within the virtual world so we can effectively discuss the life presented online, and how immersion and interactivity are concepts that are only new to the ‘live’ experience in performance. We also look various motivations into creating an avatar on Second Life, and if these motivations help or hinder Second Life as experienced by the user.

Key Questions we will discuss:

• If the Virtual World exists and operates in the same way the real world does, what are the real motivations behind its creation at all?
• The concept of total immersion: Why is interacting with technology purely as a medium no longer enough? Why is a complete ‘one-ness’ (being ‘in’ the technology) with the medium (computer) a necessity?
• How does performance in a virtual world affect performance in the real world?

New Media Performances project called " Wake Up"

Group members: Anidette, Anna, Cainan, Hannah and Michelle.

Title of project: “Wake Up”

Aim: To alert the Australian society to its own naivety regarding the lack of Human Rights protection in Australia through a interactive and mediatised performance. A dedicated website to this campaign will be set up. Probably it would be named “wakeup.com.au”.

Our campaign slogan: “Wake Up”, will be graffiti-ed/givent out/advetised on TV, Radio and the Internet. In conjunction with volunteer celebrities, we hope to encourage people to view our website  which will inform more details about the main performance and how to get involved.

 There will be mobile ‘confessional’ video booths installed in major cities in Australia ( Sydney, Melbourne, Dawin, etc). These booths will invite all people to have an opportunity to have their say and ideas about human rights issues in Australia, afterwhich the videos will be uploaded to our website and will also be projected onto the buildings at the various performance venues. For example, Opera House in Sydney, Federation Square in Melbourne.

The final performance will be performed in various cities in Australia on a specific date. On that day, it will initiate the campaign with the ringing of alarm bells throughout the cities at a specific time. This is to highlight our aim that we need to “wake up”. It will be followed with a performance by street buskers and musician simultaneously playing music in the various cities. The performance will be streamed onto the “Wake Up” website and possibly through a TV channel like (JJJ TV or SBS etc).

Budget: we will be seeking assistance from volunteers, government organizations, universities and students, NGOs such as  Get Up? Action for Australia. (www.getup.org.au).

CASE STUDY – MEDIATISED PERFORMANCE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES OPENING CEREMONY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO BEIJING AND ATHENS.

CASE STUDY – MEDIATISED PERFORMANCE IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES OPENING CEREMONY WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO BEIJING AND ATHENS.

Anthony Kalergis, Maika Nguyen, Jessica Lawrence and Talin Agon.

The Olympic Games are a celebration of humanity through physical excellence in sport and the arts. The Opening Ceremony of both the recent Beijing 2008 Olympics and its previous in Athens 2004 extended the concept of mediatised performance to drastic levels never thought possible.
The issue of liveness, interaction, intimacy and audience experience is prevalent when analysing a live performance in a mediatised culture. Auslander’s Live Performance In A Mediatised Culture outlines the notion that that the ‘liveness’ of performance and mediatised culture is a fusion of a digital environment that incorporates the live elements as part of its raw material.
The Olympic Opening Ceremonies present mediatised performance in such a way. The presentation will be broken up into four distinct categories of how mediatised performance is used:
• Liveness
• Surveillance
• Embeddedness and Culture
• Technology
Each area will be addressed to the audience with a focus on how such areas are evident within the theatrical and mediatised performance of the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony.
The Olympic Ceremonies highlight the contemporary themes of technology becoming the forefront of society, culture, media & performance. In light of such ideas, the relationship between the body and technology is also intensified. This can be seen in the example of the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony in which hundreds of people wore lit-up body suits in which the technology was incorporated into their clothing, which in essence looked as though it was incorporated into the performers' being or selves. The physical participation of the audience within the Opening Ceremony, such as carrying flags or waving torches to create a light effect also incorporates technology as an extension of the individual. The relationship between technology and the body within the performance displays the embeddedness of technology within culture.
The concern for the fusion of technology and culture can be found in the Beijing Olympic Ceremony's theme of 'Civilization & Harmony'. The presentation of the Games relied heavily on the fact that the entire event was mediatised as a ‘live’ performance throughout the world at the exact same time through television broadcast, radio and Internet documentation. Thus in technology being so prevalent within the ceremony it must be asked how this comments on the contemporary notion of civilization and what we, the audience, consider to be reflective of modern day culture.
A live performance must appeal to every sense and emotion possible. A live performance, regardless of its presentation, must contain an intimate relationship and understanding with the audience of the present. The live is the current cultural experience of the audience, whether it is the experience of an original presentation or the reproduction of the original. This is dependent on the level of interaction between the performance and the audience, and arguably (according to Auslander) the level of realism of what is being experienced by the initial audience, irrespective of the time and space.
In this case the group will present a series of YouTube videos, images and minor case studies illustrating various media performances of the Olympics. These include the lighting of the Olympic flame in Beijing (an athlete hoisted into the air, running across the rim of the stadium, which is illuminated with visuals of China’s history and people), the ‘parade of history’ in the Athens 2004 Games illustrating over two-thousand years of history for the Greeks, the countdown to the start of the Opening Ceremony with thousands of Chinese illuminated drums and participants, and the Greek depiction of the development of the arts, sculpture and humanity in its elevation of a series of props and representations to the centre of the stadium.
The embeddedness of technology in culture and the human condition is reflected in performance artists' work such as Stelarc, who explores the symbiotic relationship between technology and the body. Such theories and concepts will be related to the Olympic ceremonies in order to draw conclusions about the relationship between the body and technology as well as embeddedness.
Auslander explains how the notion of liveness has shifted with the development of technology. Not realising that we all consume performance in a mediatised form, such liveness is simply distorted through sound amplification (microphones) to cinematic technique. We often don’t question the nature of liveness when we consume, especially if the consumption offers a particularly good perspective of a performance that we most likely couldn’t reach ourselves. Initially we are accepting. The Beijing Opening Ceremony depicts the traditional past in transition with the technological present. China’s seek for perfection has brought up two startling truths, that is, the digitally produced footprint fireworks and the singing girl who mimics another voice (both of which will be discussed in detail throughout the presentation). Living in such a mediatised world we are able to manipulate such things to a point of contemporary illusion; a new type of liveness.
In connection to this we have the concept of surveillance that we refer to not just literally but cinematically. We found that the Beijing government faced serious controversy with issues of censorship and the Games. Censorship is a form of control that directly correlates to ‘perspective’; the perspective of the performance we are offered, especially in relation to the Olympic Games as it was a largely mediatised and broadcast international event. Much like the ‘Big Brother’ effect, surveillance is kept to control a crowd but also control our experience. The unbelievable footage ties into the whole feeling of power in surveillance. Again we can reflect to the digitally produced footprint fireworks to completely comprehend the true nature of what is ‘unbelievable’.
Such theories will be presented to the class with paper handouts, visual YouTube and image presentation and class discussion. The Olympic Games definitely displays a creative blend of technology, surveillance and culture to create a broad physical and visual experience for the participating audience.

Auslander, Phillip ‘Introduction’ [excerpt] Liveness: Performance in a Mediatised Culture (Routledge, London and New York, 1999), pp10-39.

Group Proposal

Group Proposal
As a group we have come to a decision to tackle the topic of surveillance. We will be paying close analysis to the case study of new media technology such as the mobile phone. One particular program that plays on the notion of surveillance and mobile privacy is Fox 8’s The Phone. The show is part reality and part scripted and follows a game show premise where two phones are placed randomly in a city and when the phone rings someone answers. Whoever answers has three hours to find clues to help find the briefcase with $25,000 cash inside. Throughout the game, the phone will ring with information on what to do next. Two random strangers are paired up and sent around the town looking for memory cards that hold the secrets to the location of the briefcase. In this case study we will also be looking at the definition of embeddedness and how daily reliance on mobile phones allows the mobile phone to become a physical part of our daily living. We will also be looking to see how we can relate this to technological surveillance.Through our case study of The Phone we will be examining the following points:
Observation
Being watched or observed through tapping or hacking our mobile phones e.g. in ‘The Phone’, organizers are able to map out every thing we do daily because we are in constant contact with our phones

One of the major problems for this is the fact that we do not know where this surveillance information is going. As Giannachi says in The Politics of New Media Theatre (2007; pg42) it could be “operated by a public service, a private business, an individual or a group of citizens… We don’t know.”
Using this quote as a springboard we will examine the consequences of people understanding these hacking capabilities and how their use or interaction would differ.Would this change their normal performances/ behaviors in society and rather begin to behave through aesthetic, cultural, or quotidian performances as they know someone may be watching?
Identity

As Peggy Phelan discusses, identity and visibility does not always equal the truth. Therefore even extremely private conversations, where someone feels they are in a private space will be playing a role in some respect fitting into societies norms (for the surveyor). This defeats the concept of mobile phone technology bringing private to a physically public space (“hypervisibility” [Bryoni week 4 lecture]).
We will also be looking at ‘The Blast Theory’ and the theory of the “panopticon”, which is a prison building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the prisoners being able to tell whether they are being watched, thereby conveying what one architect has called the "sentiment of an invisible omniscience.” Bentham himself described the Panopticon as "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example." This is clearly relates to mobile phone surveillance, as the user of the phone has no way of telling if they are being surveyed.

Lou, Darin, Clem, Alex & Annabel

controlling technology with facial movements

watching good news week last night, it was mentioned that a new ipod has been developed where you can change the songs with a wink, frown or poking your tongue out... it was then added that the technology is hoped to be extended and used with other forms of technology. paul mcdermont joked about the absurdity of the extent technology and its everyday uses has come in saying something along the lines that, 'this technology is being proposed to be used around the house, with a simple wink devices can be turned on. its much like my lighting system at home, where a simple movement of the finger turns on the lights'... do you agree with this view that we are just becoming way too reliant on the embededness of technology in our lives and perhaps even finding new functions or uses that are completely unnecessary... 

Liveness & embeddedness in live performance

hey guys

the other day i was just listening to some music on youtube and found this video clip. they have strapped cameras on their instruments and microphones... great example of liveness and embeddedness i thought.

check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMVTKOoy1uk

spit parties

Hi Guys,
I thought the “23andme” web site might relate to last weeks lecture and Bryoni’s discussion comment on the father who had his daughter tested for the fast gene, (and what to do with that knowledge).

This American company offers online gene testing kits for $399 (there is a mother’s day sale if u buy 2 kits though…). Once your kit is delivered to your home you just have to spit into the tube and send it back to the lab. The DNA is then analysed in the lab and within 6-8 weeks you can view your genome from your online account. This is so you can explore your ancestry, health, and traits and is becoming popular in the States with many taking the test at the increasing “spit parties”, where friends are getting together to spit together.

https://www.23andme.com/

Puma "Lift" advertisment:

Understanding the notion of embeddedness & immersion within these virtual spaces. I found this piece of work that resonated well with the main gist of this course, that is, the performance being in some way affected by technology.

http://motionographer.com/theater/puma-lift/

Surface Computing

Yeah dude this microsoft Surface, is just like the Sixth Sense Project... through a touch screen the computing capabilities are literally at your fingertips. This thing can import photos from your digital camera through just laying it on the surface... talk about wireless. Its all in this Youtube clip i found    -     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKgU6ubBgJA&feature=related

insane!

The Sixth Sense

Human technology, that has been Nokia's slogan ever since the company was established. More and more devices today incorporate high technology into them without being complicated. It is evident as instruction manuals become more like product brochures as the operation of these devices are become more and more intuitive.



Take the Sixth Sense Project as an example. Masterminded by Pranav Mistry (The dude must be an alien), this project showcases the way of the future of how technology trully is at our fingertips.


Bibliography

Pattie Maes', “Pattie Maes demos the Sixth Sense | Video on TED.com,” March 2009, http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html.

Pranav Mistry, “Pranav Mistry,” 2009, http://www.pranavmistry.com/.

Impact

I'm sure you all saw Bryoni's email for Impact. Seriously do it. i did it last year. incredible course. But dont apply for vacant room, cos i am...

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.

suddenly noticing surveillance

after today's class i found myself oddly noticing surveillance cameras, so yes Christopher, i too noticed them after class. i really thought that online game called are you watching me? was so ridiculous, why would anyone play that game. maybe online is fun, but man that would be a work out if your the live player lol.

also i searched my house on google maps and my car is out the front, i dont know if im ok with that. house is fine but rego details... that's a little creepy.

enjoyed class however


talin

Surveillance and Identity in A Scanner Darkly

Talking about surveillance today reminded me of a film I really like called A Scanner Darkly.It was made around about the same time as Sin City and plays with similar animation and manipulation of footage. In a lot of ways I think it’s because they chose to approach the story using this medium that it’s a successful film. Some scenes just wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting if not for the stylised way it was approached.

Without giving too much away, the film is set in a futuristic world where surveillance plays a key role in society. Among other things the film also brings up notions about how surveillance can affect our perception of identity. 

Oh, and be honest now, how many of you where looking around for surveillance cameras as you left uni today…I know I was. Anyone find any?

Christopher.

This week's discussion is focused on surveillance and it got me thinking of the current trend of citizen journalism in Singapore, where individuals of the community reports on incidents that occurred in their presence. View: Singapore Seen and Youtube: Usual Singapore MRT Scene

The development of this new form of surveillance, has been rather interesting and somewhat disturbing, in a somewhat conservative Asian country like Singapore has, at least for my friends and I, made us feel the need to mind our p's and q's, creating in us the fear of possible public humiliation. This style of journalism was made possible as camera phones are more accessible than in the past.

Personally, this trend worries me more than state surveillance, as we could still possibly argue that the state only has power to use those videos for those specified in the relevant legislation. However, with citizen journalism, where can we draw the line and say that is getting out of control. "Privacy" is now a word with meanings that are rather limited in application.

Advertising and performance in a mediatised culture

Consumers in our mediatised culture are saturated with so much information and advertising that companies are increasingly looking outside the box to find a way of getting their product noticed. The performance of their product is no longer noticed in traditional formats. This YouTube scandal I saw on the Gruen Transfer is another example of how far companies are going to try and get noticed in a culture overloaded with information. Though this company hasn't gone about it in the right way I still found it an interesting scandal.
Man in the Jacket:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/gruentransfer/stories/s2525739.htm

http://www.blockh.net/#media
Another interesting performance.
Basically a well known game made to relate to real world events

You tube performance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWf_sy87qNI&feature=PlayList&p=C071628ECCAEAAAE&index=0&playnext=1
A cool performance/dance with interactive media. Uses a program called Max/Msp/Jitter.

I discussed about this in the group discussion last week about how advertising is making its way into theatre productions in Singapore.

Thought that I should share the news article regarding issue with the rest of you.

ChannelNewsAsia - Friends, Romans and Sponsors

I worked with one of the production companies mentioned in the article and was initially rather taken aback by the amount of items the company was sponsored from Braun Buffel, in exchange for product placements in the play, What the Butler Saw, which ran for approximately 2 weeks.

I am not quite sure whether this is happening in Australian theatres, maybe someone could enlighten on this point?

-- Clara

I came across these two videos a few weeks ago, perhaps you are already familiar with them; having just come into the course I’m not entirely sure what you have covered, but in case you haven’t I suggest that both videos are well worth watching. 

The first video; A Vision of Students Today, deals with modern students/ learning environments and the way they are influenced by a mediatised culture. 

The second; An anthropological introduction to YouTube, is a 55 min detailed presentation dealing with youtube as v global community; how it has evolved, and what it means to us today. 

I think there is a lot of information in this presentation that draws parallels to topics we covered today, like the notion Slavov Zizek expresses about virtual realities “Virtual Reality is experienced as reality without being one” (top left hand box, p2, of the hand out.) And there are plenty of examples of how the accessibility of YouTube creates a platform for performance.

Anyway, I thought it was really interesting and I hope you find it useful.

Correction - Causey quote essay question 5

See p167 of Causey, p94 of the reader for the correct quote reference.

Web links from weeks 1 + 2

i) Charlotte Moorman TV Bra for Living Sculpture
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1949726680377142300&ei=IjG2SaSTNorOwgOijtWVAQ&q=charlotte+moorman
ii) Hiroaki Umeda While Going to a Condition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MhwGL1mTyc

iii) Merce Cunningham Biped (1999)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1f3xr_merce-cunningham-biped_creation

iv) Paul Kaiser Ghostcatching (1999)
http://www.openendedgroup.com/index.php/artworks/ghostcatching/
http://www.cooper.edu/art/ghostcatching/

v) John Cage 4’33’’ (1952) http://www.ubu.com/film/cage_433.htmlVariations V (1965) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLOWy3ys8Ag

vi) Nam June Paik Zen For Film (1962/4)
http://www.ubu.com/film/paik_zen.html
vii) Laurie Anderson O Superman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8LquNy3fd8

'guerilla artist' banksy

Banksy replaced Hilton's CD with his own remixes and given them titles such as Why am I Famous?, What Have I Done? and What Am I For? He has also changed pictures of her on the CD sleeve to show the US socialite topless and with a dog's head. A spokeswoman for Banksy said he had doctored 500 copies of her debut album Paris in 48 record shops across the UK. She told the BBC News website: "He switched the CDs in store, so he took the old ones out and put his version in."

i thought this was a pretty interesting reaction to pop-culture and mediatised culture. is it a product of performance art? or is it art at all?

Essay Questions 2009

Due Week 10: Wednesday 20 May at office 9am (40%)
2500-3000 words

Choose one question from the following six questions:

1. In postdramatic form, ‘the quoted motifs, gags or names are not placed inside the frame of a coherent narrative dramaturgy, but rather serve as musical phrases in a rhythm, as elements of a scenic image collage.’ (Lehmann in reader, p168)

Discuss how two contemporary performances studied in this course engage new media technologies to inscribe the poetics of postdramatic form.


2. ‘Counter-surveillance… becomes not only about reversing the gaze but about opening a space for all sorts of reversal in relation to how the gaze and its imagery may be experienced.’ (McGrath in reader, p201)

What kinds of spaces are generated by the practices and performances of counter-surveillance artists? Account for the ways that two performances covered in this course shift the gaze of surveillance.


3. ‘“The cyborged body enters a symbiotic/parasitic relationship with information” (Stelarc 2002a). Again the body [becomes] the interface between inside and outside, between an aesthetic of appearance and one of disappearance…’
(Giannachi 2004 in reader, p60)

Is the cyborg performer symbiotic or parasitic in relation to information? How do they enact appearance and disappearance in play with such information? Discuss with relation to two examples covered in the course.


4. ‘Electronic civil disobedience performs, artistically, politically and economically, informatically, from within the world of information, acting principally at the level of the sign, performing through the modification of the meta-brand’. (Giannachi 2007 in reader, p33)

Discuss how two performances in the course have dealt with the possibility of cyber resistance or disobedience. How did they operate within, or without of, electronic space?


5. ‘The more interesting works of contemporary performance that are concerned with the problems of digital culture are in fact not disturbed by the illusions and aesthetics of the virtual, but are dealing with the material and biopolitics of embeddedness.’ (Causey in reader, p167)

Do you agree? Discuss the aesthetics of the virtual and the politics of embeddedness in relation to two performances covered in this course.


6. Devise your own question in consultation with me. The wording for this must be agreed by no later than week five.