Responce 1 – AustinT

What is new media?

Like explained many times in this article, new media is a way of transportation, the transportation of information, mainly through the way of technology. The platform that is used for the information to be distributed through isn’t what matters, what matters is the idea of spreading information “many to many”. The goal is to acquire the knowledge and opinions of many people, attempting to avoid bias.

We see many times in media that information is skewed and altered to create a false image in peoples mind about the information being shown. This type of alteration comes from interpersonal media, or one to one,  and mass media, one to many. By only listening to one person and believing everything they said is going to influence your thoughts in a negative way. Hearing the opinions and experiences of many people is one of the best ways to get information, or to get it directly from the source. Your own experience is the best way to attain information. If we all listened to one person, naturally the information would get skewed. It’s like a game of telephone, with each person that gets handed down the information it can be misunderstood.

A good modern example of information being skewed and beloved by millions is our current president. The term “fake news” is now able to be used so loosely in media. Usually in the mass media situation you are able to question the people who are giving you the information, however if the source in the one to many situation is many situation is the president of the United States, the person with the highest power in the country, question almost makes you a minority because people should be able to believe the president without getting skewed information. However, there will always be people who will try to control what you know to benefit themselves.

PROBLEM: A DISAPPEARING LANGUAGE

Ian Larson wanted to help preserve the Passamaquoddy language from extinction.

• Solution A  Create a task force from a select group of Native American language experts, and ask them to write down a dictionary of words and their definitions. Enter these definitions into a database and build a Web site that allows anyone to search for terms and hear their pronunciation. Hire a high-profile Web designer and marketing firm to ensure that as many people as possible learn about this resource.
• Solution B  Distribute laptops with video cameras to school kids in the Passamaquoddy community, and ask them to record their grandparents telling stories in Passamaquoddy. Upload these to a Web site along with the grandparents’ definitions of particular words used in the story, and make these words searchable via a tag cloud.

Solution B seems to apply the ideals of new media, using the many to many thinking. Although solution A would also be helpful in preserving information, by just writing definitions it doesn’t really preserve the culture. Sharing detailed experiences would be able to provide much more information rather than just what a word means.

PROBLEM: NEGLECTED RUINS

Evan Habeeb wanted to make people aware of the beauty of abandoned buildings.

• Solution A  Assemble a film crew and visit abandoned homes, factories, and other buildings. Bring lights to illuminate these spaces dramatically, and record ambient sounds like dripping water. Edit the footage onto a DVD to create a compelling account that documents these relics for posterity, and distribute copies to historical societies across the state for their collections.
• Solution B  Build a Website that allows adventurers to print stickers they can leave behind in abandoned buildings they explore. Create the stickers so they can be scanned by a mobile phone to reveal a Website built to feature photographs taken by those explorers.

Solution B is a textbook definition of what new media means. Using technology to bring information and experiences together on a single platform is perfect for the many to many idea.

PROBLEM: MISUNDERSTANDING COMPUTER ANIMATION

Ryan Schaller and Jason Walker wanted to help people understand the many layers required to create a computer-animated film, including wireframe, textures, and light effects. As a case study, they created an animation depicting a cartoon archaeologist digging for ancient artifacts.

• Solution A Design and build a touch-screen interface that allows viewers to “rub” away layers of the film with their hands to reveal previous stages of the animation as it plays.
• Solution B  Create an iPad application that documents each stage of the animation process, using stills from the archeologist film as illustrations. Explain techniques such as ray tracing, motion capture, and morphing. Include links to companies that create animation software such as Autodesk.

Even though solution B could be more effective when learning, I believe that solution A would be more successful. The accessibility of solution A would make the animation more engaging and would make a person retain attention for the project.

PROBLEM: A BROKEN FOUNTAIN

Danielle Gagner wanted to renovate the waterfall fountain under the skylight in the middle of the University Union, which had fallen into disrepair.

• Solution A  Repurpose the existing plumbing to irrigate a garden planted in the former fountain. Research the types of plants that would grow well together at different levels of the fountain, and meet with dining hall staff to find out what herbs or vegetables they might add to salads and other offerings. Then plant these in collaboration with the sustainable agriculture club on campus, and invite students to pick the resulting parsley, strawberries, and other fare from the garden for their lunch.
• Solution B  Use Google Image Search to download photographs of natural bodies of water such as streams, rivers, and the ocean. Combine these with nature footage from sources like National Geographic and the Discovery Channel to create a multichannel video installation that projects images of flowing water and rippling waves onto the fountain, which has been covered with theatrical screening. Supplement the moving images with the sound of a babbling brook emanating from surround-sound speakers mounted on the ceiling.

Although there isn’t any technology involved, solution A uses the ideas of a many to many or community to complete its task. And although the goal isn’t to convey information, it is to repurpose and be useful again to a community.

VISUAL ART IS TOO STATIC

Although some art is very static, i think the problem is that people do not have enough exposure to visual art that isn’t static. A popular online database where professional artists can have their work shown and get more exposure may be able to diminish the opinion of visual art being too static.

Theatre of the Oppressed

We start this story of by learning that Augusto Boal, the main character of this article, is jailed and tortured and sent around the world in exile. Now, this may not be seen as oppression by media but it is oppression of media. Boal wanted to create a forum for people who were being oppressed, a place where they could speak their mind and share their experiences. However, the oppressive government obviously does not want a revolt against their ways. So they had murdered, jailed, and tortured people who had participated in this forum.

In Boal’s theatre he switches the roles around, adding humor to the traditional way of theatre. He gives out power to the people who do not usually get it. The audience controls the plays and attempts to solve the problems presented. The audience takes many different approaches to solve the problems, getting the ideas of many and seeing what works.

These ideas presented in this story are similar to the ideas that we study in new media. Giving the community a voice to solve a problem, many to many. The audience reflects the people who don’t usually have the influence or power to speak their mind. By giving them control and able to work together, this is what we do in new media. Many people are able to be heard, giving voices to the little people instead of just having to listen.

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Response 1b

1-List your topic/issue and your proposed intervention  (Eg UMaine requires immunization for students matriculating, but Maine has a law that allows citizens to refuse immunization. UMaine should explain the pros and cons of each choice, educating students, and give students this option)

A problem I have had in the past is art theft. Online everyone seems to think everything is open source, free to use without any credit given. I have heard many arguments like “artists don’t care if they are credit they should just be glad their artwork is being shown” I see a lot on places like Instagram where people will just screenshot and post it to their own page and not credit any artist or just write “Artist: ?????????” It is extremely frustrating to see and deal with.

2-List your top strategies, how they work, and why you would use them.

I would like to use a create a statement to get people talking about the topic. I feel like the only people who care about this are the artists themselves. Maybe a statement such as “Parents create a baby, artist create art, if someone steals your baby and clams it as their own it is terrible, art being stolen and claimed by the thief is never talked about” I know this is an extreme comparison but I would at least want to get people talking about the subject. Much like the people who made the European movie with an American superhero, their goal was to create a conversation rather than presenting another art piece.

3- Describe how you will reach your target audience:  Consider effectiveness, as well as aesthetics, fun, surprise, or any other aspects that make the strategy appealing. What does this say about the conventional line between serious & playful? What is that line doing there? Who does it benefit?

I’m hoping that this would make it so people who are online will start to become aware of art plagiarism rather than just the artist. Personally, i have heard only 2 other artists talk about this subject before and it makes me extremely frustrated because its almost like once it happens you cant do anything about it. I want it to be presented as a serious topic and I want it to benefit the artist so they feel that online is a safe place to present their work and get exposure by themselves.