Nic Owen | MM History & Context Blog

the innocent gun

2006-10-26T21:18:00.000+08:00

In this reading – I would have to agree with Robins and Webster. Usually, technologies aren’t neutral in design; a gun, whether it kills a rabbit or a human being is designed for one thing; killing people. Many people argue that technology is neutral and that the human gives it purpose. However a car wasn’t made as an ornament; unless it’s a fancy Enzo Ferrari or Ford GT ;) The point is, designers have particular intentions behind their inventions (sometimes used in different contexts) yet nevertheless are therefore never innocent. A phone is for communication, a gun is designed for killing; each has their meanings the creator has made.

interactive narratives

2006-10-25T22:12:00.000+08:00

As there is a word limit to our blog entries I will discuss what got me into reading in early primary school. The Choose Your Own Adventure Goosebumps books by R.L Stine were enticing for children to get reading because the interaction was an exciting formula to make reading an appealing thing. This is why there are huge demand and popularity for computer games – very successful ones have great narratives which offer different pathways for the player to take. A very memorable and enjoyable game I played was Broken Sword which had a point and click system, full of challenging puzzles and a Da Vinci Code like narrative which was really exciting and enchanting. Multimedia design has been the result of many computer games which thrive on brilliant interactive narratives, DVD special features which allow the home viewer to (in special cases) create a variety of alternate endings, and exciting exhibitions. The best way to explain the joys of interactive narrative is to look at many films, television shows and their additional fan base work. People like to become involved in the artists design and in many cases create their own prequels, sequels and extended stories of Lord of the Rings, The Matrix and Star Wars (to name a few). People like to be involved because then the art of story telling becomes a shared thing. The reader / viewer are part of the discourse and make various things happen. Multimedia is a channel of interactivity and will continue to shape interactive narrative due to its appealing nature.

News 24/7

2006-09-28T22:31:00.000+08:00

Gone are the days of tuning in to listen to the wireless or (later down the track) television at a particular time to get the latest bulletins. Gone are the days where people always buy a daily paper. Why? The many alternatives! Don't get me wrong - public transport in the mornings is a window of large white broadsheets and flicking of pages - this is all of course well established mainstream media. Of course there are more independent news sources which I feel have some benefits. Firstly the problems with the mainstream media - i.e. papers and news are the sources these media rooms use. Many contain subtle biases towards political wings and have corporate backing which influences to an extent publication and angle of publication. Independent news sources don't rely on CNN, or BBC, or SBS which (I'm not saying are bad) but are just one view point. Independent news obtain their own material and can produce a different angle to other mainstream entities that share sources. The computer is the greatest new source for up to the second news reports. For example Steve Irwin’s death of recent times, was something I found out during class at uni because someone had checked on an Internet news site, before I would even find out - when I go home and watch ABC news. Independent news groups can have success if they achieve a following - I guess the masses watch commercial news which I feel is extremely superficial and sensationalised. However that is a mark of our sad times.

it's not noise - it's music

2006-09-21T13:39:00.000+08:00

Creation and originality does not come from following conventions and trends in creation of music and all areas of art and design. Originality comes from experimentation on vast levels. The deliberate misuse of technologies can spark a whole spectrum of unheard sounds (in music production) and graphics in design. In a digital music magazine I occasionally buy, there was an article on using a sound program to import files which aren’t audio but possibly documents, executable files, anything that doesn’t have an associated sound attached to it. When the sounds are played back through the program all you can here is quite piercing and off putting noise, however slowed down and spliced, there is chance of interesting rhythmic patterns being created. In application to our own design, experimentation is imperative to some kind of success. Design companies do not want to hire someone who can produce works that can be done by many other people; they want innovation and originality. Sometimes the answers to these come around by thinking outside of the square and applying practices to your work you would never normally consider.

the image above is the music logo of experimental electronic artist Aphex Twin - who performs unorthodox beats and sounds signed to a record label (Warp Records) which produces many artists of this nature.

at our fingertips

2006-09-13T00:41:00.000+08:00

Once upon a time, a camera was a sacred thing and families would go to a photographer to get their family photo taken. Sure, this still happens, but to a smaller extent. We now have timer features on 5.0 Megapixle Digital Cameras that allow all this to be done, literally at our fingertips. The implementation of PDAs and new computer technologies is changing the way we experience the visual world because of numerous reasons. Firstly, now this visual world is a smorgasbord full of mediums, from film, radio and television, to mobile phone internet, GPS systems and more. The varieties of visual communication is immensely broad and creating a whole new spectrum of visual experiences. Secondly, going back to my initial anecdote, a lot of these technologies are at our fingertips enabling much greater interaction between developer and consumer. With software and technologies, film making, audio and photo editing are all home office achievable and relationships between amateur and professional works can sometimes formulate. An example off the top of my head, which doesn’t relate to the visual world but an equally important partnered world; audio, would be a number of band websites that launch remixing competitions. Two of these I have taken notice of, in the past couple of years; have been a Beastie Boys and Nine Inch Nails competition offering acclaim and cash prizes to the best ‘remixer’ of their work, allowing the amateur audio buffs to get their hands on a lot of a Capella and instrumental samples which have been broken down from the band’s song.

[The photo, believe it or not, is me pumping away tunes in my own home grown recording studio - an example of how new technologies are at my fingertips - also being a keen film maker I have a computer set up to accommodate editing of MiniDV rushes. Tell someone this 50 years ago and they wouldn't believe you!]

www.myspace.com/nicowenmusic

2006-09-06T10:48:00.000+08:00

The dystopian future seems a popular counter-thematic to the pristine, white, clean and wonderful utopia other science fiction works have presented. Fittingly some of my favourite movies depict the world at its downfall; including the pioneering Blade Runner and adopting first Matrix which all run along the elements of machine becoming the better of man. As discussed in the lecture, our human nature anguishes over the Frankenstein scenario, where our creations become the better of us and it is fair to say we fear these scenarios because to a small extend, they are already becoming the better of us. We are reliant on technologies and computers which, in some cases, have a control over our lives and safety and knowing technology is improving at an almost exponential level is the reasoning behind the fear portrayed in these science fiction texts.

image: "scene from bladerunner directed by ridley scott"

Constraints

2006-09-06T10:39:00.000+08:00

Just a quick note about all these posts:

I feel I am being quite superficial and brief in what I write - however I am trying to stick to the constraints of the 100 - 150 words we have been reqested to write. I have looked at some of the other student's blogs where each entry is a page, which obviously is way over the required limit. I know I can easilly do this and in some cases want to - but I'ld rather play it safe and follow instructions. :P

The Butterfly Effect

2006-09-06T09:46:00.000+08:00

The world is a butterfly effect to all our adoptions of technology. How? We adopt the motor car and the counter reaction is oil – which after a period of time has become the motive behind wars, and land ownership. At the same time, the automobile has produced essential for many different reasons. These are the pros and cons of adopting new technologies. As time progresses – we will always face subsequent results to changes. For example the announced future of newspapers is flexi electronic paper which will be able to update the newspaper each day under a subscription – this will naturally be the product of some other changes in our lifestyle.

image: http://www.fujitsu.com/img/PR/2005/20050713-01.jpg

Fitter, Happier, More Productive

2006-08-16T10:16:00.000+08:00

http://www.mackaycartoons.net/bug.jpg

“Fitter, happier, more productive”… “a pig in a cage on antibiotics”

These are the opening and closing words to a spoken track on what has become regarded as the most pioneering and best rock album of all time. OK Computer is Radiohead’s third album released in 1997 and a political statement to the changing world as the new millennium was upon us. The whole hype of the Millennium bug was predominant at this time and the pace of society was truly being lead by computers. This track, I have partially quoted, is a spoken word track (done with a Stephen Hawkins type computer voice) which articulates a desired life style to lead; however ironically concludes proclaiming “a pig in a cage on antibiotics” which expresses our entrapment to societies rolling ball. Like the readings this album really captures how technology becomes the forefront of our lives – as was all the panic with the Millennium bug.