courses@JLR

WHAT

Working in the same collaborative groups, you will create a multimedia installation that engages with the theoretical perspectives we have studied. Your artistic and/or critical project should exemplify and problematize, reveal the possibilities and limitations of, one or two of the key concepts we’ve covered so far. Your work will be site-specific to the Granoff Center's "living room" spaces and include a single-channel audio-visual component, a component that can be accessed via smartphone, and signage or other optional physical parts. Keep in mind that this is not a production course, and your project doesn't have to be technically ambitious to succeed. You will be evaluated based on your incorporation of course material, the originality of your critical approach, and the effectiveness of its presentation in the medium.

WHY

The goals of this assignment are to:

• continue to learn and mobilize technical and formal aspects of digital multimedia
• continue to explore strategies for communicating ideas creatively and multimodally
• further master theoretical concepts through direct engagement
• think through possible relationships between media objects and physical space
• share concepts and methods from our class with the larger Granoff Center community

WHEN

.single-channel materials (before Thanksgiving break) On Monday, November 21 your group will turn in the video you will have projected (mpeg4 format on a DVD or SD card). You should also prepare a sign (8.5x11 paper is fine) with the title and information about your artwork.

.installation (after Thanksgiving break) During our lab on November 29, we will be posting your signs and doing any other setup in the living room spaces. The projects will go "live" on November 30 and be up through the end of the semester.

HOW

.planning

You should touch base with your group soon to strategize and get in contact. Discuss your respective skills and talents and your goals for working together. You can start brainstorming ideas to work toward settling on a topic and approach. You can meet in person and/or converse virtually (by email, IM, messages or discussion on the course website, Google docs, etc.). After these issues are hammered out by the members of the group, you then might like to divide up specific tasks for further work and/or decide how to negotiate between the contributions provided by each member.

.physical space

The only required material object is a sign with the title and information about your project. You may create a traditional artwork placard or something more elaborate (the page from our multimedia workshop has some image design resources). Optionally, you may also place other physical elements in the "living room" space, with the caveat that building security cannot guarantee that valuable items won't be stolen. You may not remove the existing furniture unless you speak to Greg in advance to arrange it.

.audiovisual component

You will create a video to loop on the wall above one of the "living rooms." These play off DVD players provided by the Granoff Center (hooked up to a floor box and usually tucked under a chair or table). Including audio in your piece is optional – keep in mind that it may be difficult to hear detailed information in public space.

.mobile component

The interactive component of your installation can be anything viewers can access on a smartphone. You can assume they have a web browser, maps, and other popular apps like Facebook or Yelp. You may invite the audience to interact within the video itself, through information provided on your placard, and/or via another physical object that you provide. This could involve simply providing a URL or QR code or directing them to perform a particular task.

For any of the components, you may write/design/produce original material; appropriate and transform existing material from course texts, web pages, popular culture, etc.; or both. We're assuming that use of copyrighted elements is considered "fair use" (but please cite your sources).

You can find more resources and suggestions in the How To post.

EVALUATION

Your project should demonstrate an analytical synthesis of course concepts through a coherent collaborative artwork. Consider how the different components (video, mobile interactivity, physical space) will interface with each other and how passerby on the stairs will be engaged as viewers/users. There is no class presentation of this assignment since we'll all have the opportunity to experience your work in the building. A grading rubric (to be provided) will detail criteria for assessment, with 1/3 of the credit based on your critical approach, 1/3 on your audiovisual components and 1/3 on your physical/interactive components.

WHAT

Working collaboratively, you will create a multimedia web-based work that engages with the theoretical perspectives we have studied. Your artistic and/or critical project should exemplify and problematize, reveal the possibilities and limitations of, one or two of the key concepts we’ve covered so far. It should include at least two of the following components: text, hypertext/interactivity, images, audio, video. Keep in mind that this is not a production course, and your project doesn't have to be technically ambitious to succeed. You will be evaluated based on your incorporation of course material, the originality of your critical approach, and the effectiveness of its presentation.

WHY

The goals of this assignment are to:

• learn and mobilize some technical and formal aspects of digital multimedia
• communicate ideas creatively and multimodally (rather than through linear non-fiction prose)
• further master theoretical concepts through direct participation
• experience the collaborative process that is typical of digital production

HOW

.organization

You should touch base with your group soon to strategize and get in contact. Discuss your respective skills and talents and your goals for working together. You can start brainstorming ideas to work toward settling on a topic and approach. You can meet in person and/or converse virtually (by email, IM, messages or discussion on the course website, Google docs, etc.). After these issues are hammered out by the members of the group, you then might like to divide up specific tasks for further work and/or decide how to negotiate between the contributions provided by each member. Aim to finish the work by Monday 10/10 to leave some time to plan your presentation.

As a next step, come up with a draft of the presentation and the outline that reflects input from all group members, and go back over the suggested issues to be sure that you have considered all the relevant questions. Then, after the appropriate revisions, print up the final outline (including checked references), and decide precisely how you'd like to present your ideas to the class as a whole (for instance, how you will divide the various components of your presentation among the members of your group).

.platform

You may construct and host your work on the course website (using any combination of its modules: pages, files, videos, bookmarks, calendar). There's the possibility of installing additional plugins as long as they run on Elgg 1.6 (http://community.elgg.org/mod/plugins/all.php) -- talk to the professor about your concept and we can determine whether it can function here.

You may host all or part of your work on other online media sharing services such as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Google, etc. and/or use any external generators and shortcuts to build it.

You may also host your work on a personal web site by creating html pages or installing software (Brown has web space available). See the resource posts on web pages and multimedia for further suggestions.

.tools

Our labs/workshops will introduce some options for accessible web and graphics design, and you can also work independently in the multimedia lab where computer consultants are on duty. Remember that it is possible to do interesting things with simple tools that fit your skill level!

.components

Combine at least two! We will go over how to create and embed these in a web page. For any of the components, you may write/design/produce original material; appropriate and transform existing material from course texts, web pages, popular culture, etc.; or both. We're assuming that use of copyrighted elements is considered "fair use" (but please cite your sources).

TEXT The written word (but not necessarily organized in a linear/familiar way).

HYPERTEXT/INTERACTIVITY There are several different ways to incorporate options for users to choose, including: links (from text or images), javascript, Flash, YouTube annotations.

IMAGES May consist of photographs, illustrations, digital drawings, digital manipulations, collages, screen captures, slides, and so on.

AUDIO May consist of recorded or appropriated speech, music, noise, soundtracks, podcasts, and so on.

VIDEO May consist of filmed or appropriated documentation, scenes, stories, animations, visualizations, and so on.

.presentation

In addition to the project itself, your group will present the project to the class in our Tuesday lab on October 11. 2/3 of your grade is based on the critical and creative approach of the work, and 1/3 is based on your articulation of its rationale in the presentation.

You should demonstrate your work and explain your technical and conceptual process. Offer a close reading of the structure and content of your project and the theorist/theories you choose to draw from and complicate.

Some things to cover:

• how you made it
• what concepts you intended to express
• how well you feel your execution works (i.e. it's OK to include problems you ran into)
• how it engages particular course texts and themes
• how it engages other artworks or popular media

Each member of the group should speak at some point -- you can aim for 3-5 minutes each or around 15 minutes total (with the remainder of the time spent on class discussion and critique).

[an evaluation rubric is included in the PDF]

some examples: :) excellent vs. :/ could be better

In this informal writing assignment (similar to a 3-page paper), you will present an argument about the week's material that references at least one reading and one digital artifact. This response essay takes the form of a blog post on our course website, where the rest of the class can read and respond.

WHY

The goals of this assignment are to:

• develop critical writing skills that enable you to communicate your ideas clearly
• deepen your understanding and synthesis of course material
• learn to formulate an argument using theoretical concepts
• approach academic composition as a continuing process o engage with the blog as a medium different from the printed page

HOW

Taking the opportunity to write notes, brainstorm ideas, and/or outline before class will help you determine what questions you'd like us to address. You can take advantage of lecture and lab meetings to ask questions that will contribute to developing your argument.

To begin formulating an analysis, you could try sketching out the main ideas of the readings, and listing any consequences, contradictions or critiques they bring to mind. You could also list elements of the lab materials or other familiar digital objects that intersect with these thoughts. Your goal is to make a connection between concepts from at least one of the texts and a relevant artifact (whether that's something we look at in lab or something else of interest is up to you).

This essay is short response to the week's content. As such, you will most likely focus on one article or one particular idea from the readings, and on one page/feature/component of a website, artwork, platform, or other digital object. You should: explain the concepts from the text(s) that support your interpretation; describe the significant aspects of your artifact; and articulate, as a cogent argument, your synthesis of these.

Unlike a typical essay, your blog post does not need to have a formal tone and structure (e.g. an introduction and conclusion). However, it should consist of well-constructed paragraphs and readable prose and contain a clear statement of your main idea. To take advantage of the blog format, assume that your classmates are your audience, and aim to stimulate further disucssion (for example, you could pose questions explicitly). You are encouraged to include links, images, etc. in your post.

This assignment will be evaluated on the basis of your understanding of course material, the strength of your analysis, and how well you communicate your ideas. The accompanying grading rubric offers further guidelines about the characteristics of exemplary (and not so satisfactory) responses. We will go over the components of this assignment at our September 20 lab, and I can also provide individual consultations and/or handouts on writing skills if you'd like additional direction.

WHERE

To create your blog entry, first click "Group blog" in the sidebar of our group page. Then click "Write a blog post" in the sidebar of the blog page. You can set the access level ("Public" is the whole internet and "Group: Intro to Digital Media" is our class only) and save or preview your draft. Click the "Publish" button when you're done. See the HOW TO post on the website for further instructions.

You may wish to compose your blog post in a text editor (or word processor that supports plain text). Cutting- and-pasting to the web from Microsoft Word may result in unwanted formatting. To avoid this, you can click "Add/Remove editor" below the text entry field to paste as plain text.

SPACES

This class meets a total of four times a week: lectures on Monday and Wednesday, an evening "lab" session, and a small-group discussion section (assigned individually at the beginning of the course). All sessions will be interactive and invite your participation. We will be utilizing the resources of the innovative new Granoff Center for the Creative Arts -- the configurable Kooper Studio for lectures and the Khoo Multimedia Lab for hands-on labs.

To foster experiential learning about media, we will be using a dedicated website for all course work. This is a social network platform that supports blogs, wiki-like pages, bookmarks, threaded discussion, file uploads, status updates ("the wire"), live chat, and streaming videos. You are encouraged, but not required, to use the site to collect and discuss relevant material outside of class (above and beyond the stipulated homework).

TEXTS

You should anticipate substantial assigned reading -- typically four chapters or articles per week, averaging over 100 pages. You are expected to complete the required texts before class, since lectures build on your understanding. The professor will distribute a "virtual reader" containing PDF copies of all readings at the beginning of the semester. You are responsible for bringing printed or electronic copies of the week's materials to class so you can refer to them. If you choose to go digital, you may wish to investigate software that will allow you to highlight, annotate, and organize your PDFs. suggestions

Lab materials and activities are primarily available online, and we will be creating collaborative notes about what we cover and discuss in lab. However, it will be difficult to "make up" this session fully should you have to be absent.

ASSIGNMENTS

You will complete three blog essays, two multimedia group projects, a final paper, and other weekly contributions as detailed below. Handouts with more specific guidelines for the major assignments will be provided. At the beginning of the term, each section will be divided into three groups (X-Y-Z) for staggered due dates and group projects.

X: weeks 2+5+8 / Y: weeks 3+6+9 / Z: weeks 4+7+10

Y: weeks 2+5+8 / Z: weeks 3+6+9 / X: weeks 4+7+10

Z: weeks 2+5+8 / X: weeks 3+6+9 / Y: weeks 4+7+10