Mashup Culture

The Sculpture Garden Experience

Kerry — Tue, 08 May 2012 19:46:15 +0000

This was a cool final assignemnt. I used a beautiful mural image from our group in Aviary. I created a sphere shape, added the image and tweaked the color. I also added in a glow. After doing this I added in a rotation script and then it started looking like a beautiful sun so I elevated it. I tried to add in sound but it would not work at all.

I liked playing around with the shapes and got into it after a while. I’ll go in tonight to tweak someone elses- ahve fun with mine,

Kerry

Megha’s Sculpture Garden Experience

Megha Parikh — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:46:49 +0000

Hi All:

I joined Josephine’s training in SL last night. Over the past few months, I’ve tinkered a bit in SL – and have found it overwhelming and frankly a bit weird. I see the value in being able to openly communicate and co-create with others in this environment; but it seems the interface/GUI still has a long way to go before becoming a place where people can truly collaborate and create new ideas/innovations together. Does anyone else agree or is this just me? This could also be because I’m of course new to SL – - Obviously, thousands of others have more experience with it and its possibilities.

Anyhow, after flying around and somehow flying away from the group last night – I was able to create an object [Megha's Obj 3] – putting various textures on it, using an image from Aviary, and waterfall sounds from freesound.org. It also gently rotates – how relaxing!

Per Josephine, this morning I also walked around the sculpture garden and spent time tinkering with others’ sculptures. For most, I did the simple things – changing their orientation, changing their texture colors/images, changing the rotation speed. I took some screen grabs – see them here: http://meghaismedia.tumblr.com/post/22662944668/object-1-changed-the-texture-color-object-2

The Sculpture Garden Experience

Candra H — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:39:44 +0000

Like Rebecca, I lost my sculpture and didn’t know how to get it back! Ha ha! I don’t even know what I clicked on, it just started rolling away. I “stood” there mystified, thinking it would eventually come back, like when you take your dog off of her leash. She roams away for a while but then always comes back to you. My sculpture was doing none of that. After flying around the island for a little while, and not seeing it anywhere, I just decided to create a new one. I think it fell in the ocean. :(

Anyway, I like that I could shape and mold my sphere into something that didn’t resemble a sphere. I was able to make it into a shape that I thought would compliment the photo I chose as my texture. It’s actually one of Cassidy’s creations from Aviary, and it incorporated my photo of an unusually snowy day in the fall of last year and a photo of a boardwalk. I liked the mix of snow and clouds and a boardwalk and sunset all in the same photo. Plus there is this… tall structure in the background of the photo that I wanted to highlight, so I made my sphere very tall so this structure would get it’s full face time. I”m not even sure what it is, but it kind of reminds me of the Eiffel Tower.

I do want to work on my sculpture some more, I was curious about the option to pick a “side”. I”m not sure how that works or what it does, I don’t remember going over that in the sessions we had with Cassidy. Definitely something I would like to play around with more. I was also wondering if there was a way to attach two sculptures together. I remember seeing a sculpture from the previous semester that was swirling around a rod in the ground. Very cool.

I’ll go in again and add sound to another sculpture and please feel free to check mine out and add sound to it. Looking forward to seeing how others “hear” my sculpture.

Edited to Add: I just went in again today (May 8th) to add sound to Kerry’s sun and was unable to get the sound to play on her sculpture. I tried it on mine and had the same problem. I used the same parameters from our training sessions and uploaded it again to SL thinking maybe I did something wrong, but still was unable to add sound.

I did however get a chance to work with my sculpture a bit more and noticed some more bells and whistles I used to alter the shape of my “egg” into something more abstract. I gave it a little transparency also, just to give it a more mysterious vibe.

The sculpture garden looks really good, lots of new objects since I last was there. I think seeing some of the new sculptures is what inspired me to see what more I could do with mine.

My Sculpture Garden Build Experiences…(Thus Far)

Rebecca Agee — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:53:14 +0000

I have had some mixed experiences with Second Life. I continue having issues with mobility in general (walking, running, flying—getting oriented in the right directions, etc.); however, after watching the tutorial videos and attending the ‘classes’ with Cassidy and Josephine, I find myself doing a bit better and rather enjoying myself. Last week I went in on my own for a while and I started just fooling around a bit—trying out different clothing styles and pieces, and using tools that I had not used too much before (I now am in a long white skirt and blue tunic-type blouse—still no hair! I rather like it). I also decided to ‘build’ something (my first)—so after some trial and error (not too much, really) I made what I call an “Asiatic Tee-Pee”—sort of a pyramid/prism structure with an Asian “scene” worn as texture. After that, I played around with different settings and touches, i.e. size, brightness, item ‘type’ (glass, flesh, etc.—I chose glass). Then I decided to make something more appropriate to our final assignment, so I chose a sphere shape for my next build. Then recalling from one of the tutorials (and Josephine) lessons on how to download an image, I went into Aviary and downloaded one of my ‘creations’ from there—an eyeball. Then I uploaded the image to “textures” in SL, and from then placed it on my shape (using a singular ‘face’ choice)—thereby creating a 3-dimensol rolling eye—plenty cool and creepy.
I then chose “flesh” as it’s texture form, and kept trying to make it rotate but was unable to do so—until it was time for the next SL lesson—and Lil Kaz Restless (Cassidy) came along and helped me figure out what was wrong. Lil Kaz sent me both rotation and sound scripts. I got the rotation going fairly quickly, but I could not for the life of me get some sounds that Lil Kaz had sent me placed on my now coolly rotating eyeball.
The main problem seemed to be that I could not get the sound script placed on my object–even Lil Kaz was mystified. Also while trying to ‘touch’ and edit my eyeball so I could place my script—it kept rolling away from me and I actually lost it a few times! Eventually I got it back and then finally, after a bit of trying to figure out what the issue was—we somehow got both script and sound on. Now my rotating 3D eyeball kind of gurgles when you touch it—neat! Oh and it has a name—“Eye See You”…I am planning to re-visit our sculpture garden and see what else I can do…

Reply to Megha

Rebecca Agee — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:13:03 +0000

Hey Megha. Somehow I did manage to get in and onto the class blog; I wish I were familiar with Final Cut Pro–I’m sure it would help with this and future projects. My plan is to buy and learn it over the summer. To answer your question, I’ve never collaborated on a video–but the potential sounds exciting. I do understand your concern, though, about how a clear focus or intended narrative/vision can be attained. Perhaps video collaboration fits best when working with an avant-garde perspective…
I’m looking forward to watching what you’ve put together–
Cheers-
Becki

Mashing Up Video!

Megha Parikh — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:17:41 +0000

Hi Everyone,

I started to play around with the WeVideo tool. I’ve taken several courses in FinalCutPro – so I found the layout and overall usability very similar (thank god!) and enjoyable to use. And another great affordable tool! FinalCutPro/iMovie and the like can be pretty expensive to buy. The idea of collaboration when it comes to video is great! And new as far as I know!

I created a short little (20 sec) compilation of videos – events leading up to my wedding:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FL2B7r56mI&list=UUMNZOJNX-ggsIOO_x95hQxw&index=1&feature=plcp

Was fun to play around with the “ken burns” effects and various other offerings in the program. I did end up paying the $5 fee because I uploaded too much media. (word to the wise!) The “wizard” feature definitely made it easier – but took away the joy of video editing – which is I think actually putting the thing together.

If this tool is truly supposed to be for collaboration – I wonder how it would actually work in practice. Film editing is all about crafting a story coherently – I’m not sure if different people working on the same video would have a grasp of the nuance for what the story should be. Or maybe they would? Has anyone else tried to collaborate on video before? Seems like a great tool for people in different locations to produce high-quality video together.

I will be playing with the tool a bit more; using video from other sources!

Megha

Of Remixes, “Prosumers,” and “The Journey,” etc.

Rebecca Agee — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 18:08:46 +0000

Well, unless I’m mistaken–it seems that our class blog is working–at least thus far; What an interesting week of readings and viewings–and I have a few comments. I would like to thank whomever composed “Remixes and the Rouelles of Media Productions” for, firstly, introducing me to a new (but apt) term: “prosumers”; secondly, the article reminds us all how mankind/womankind has been doing forms of remixing and mash-ups since…well, since we first decided to communicate with each other–and that, in comparison, the notions of copyrights/trademarks, etc. have not been around all that long. Some McLuhanesque ideas fit right into this issue. I believe that McLuhan would suggest that the action of copyright v non-copyright (or creative commons, at any rate) represents and reflects his beliefs of the changes that man/woman kind experienced as a result of western literacy (which began and was enabled with the advent of Guttenberg’s printing press). Prior to that phenomenon and the resulting spread of literacy among the ‘common’ people–the traditions, stories and myths handed down orally or pictorially were, as the article states, certainly never copywritten–and were in fact changed, altered, added to and taken from, in a word–’remixed.’ McLuhan would suggest that the collective, tribal spiritual nature and systems of these (and all) pre and non-literate peoples–peoples who live and trust in a communal organization that celebrates the collective in all of its forms. It is, according to McLuhan, only when man/woman assumed the mantle of literacy–and the ensuing celebration of the western individual did the need to own in a financial/legal sense take form. The assembly-based, profit-seeking system by no accident grew parallel with the desire/need to copyright one’s work of art, invention, etc. Further, according to McLuhan, a change/shift in the western mentality occurred in the late 20th century (about the time computers were coming into their own) and mankind began to reach out and embrace the spirituality and thinking of the East. My opinion is that the onslaught of what we now term ‘remixes’ and/or ‘mashups’–and the backlash against copyright/ownership are a natural reaction to the recent change and (de)volution towards the collective/communal.
Oh and I have to mention “The Journey”–I really enjoyed it, even though for some reason no sound would come through and I watched it in total silence…it was still totally fascinating–kind of like an old, silent avant-garde piece.

Thoughts on Leggett, “Presence”

Rebecca Agee — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:58:07 +0000

The question and evaluation of the notion of â€œpresenceâ€ has a rich history that was well established before the use of Photoshop, Facebook, Skype or any other digital means of generating a â€˜presenceâ€™ of type, and Leggettâ€™s article reaches into the realm of art (mashups, installations, etc.) to reflect the conceptâ€™s multilayered definition. Leggettâ€™s three model/examples reflect the gray area or subtleties of the technologically mediated moment of â€˜presenceâ€™ established between creator/sender and the receiver/perceiver, by perceptions created by the sender with the purposeful intent of generating a specific realityâ€”one that is culturally â€˜knownâ€™ and accepted.
The concept of a non-technologically mediated reality (one that is assumed to be mediated by sender/receiver and â€˜noiseâ€™ only) has different definitions/interpretations, with the most consistent manifestation being that of modern (Western) science, and exemplified in the representation of â€˜classicalâ€™ perspective suggested by Da Vinci.
The link between presence/perception/reality is the tie that binds: oneâ€™s belief regarding â€˜presenceâ€™ is inextricably connected to oneâ€™s cognitive experiences of reality and perception. As McLuhan proposedâ€”a Western perception of reality has as its basis the linear, organized perception of a literate state, while the perception of reality by those of pre- or non-literate, oral societies is based on very different factors (spiritualism, collectivism); therefore, the definition and comprehension of â€˜presenceâ€™ would necessarily reflect these variances.

Of “Copy-and-Persist: The Logic of Mash-Up Culture”

Rebecca Agee — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:46:40 +0000

Just a few thoughts about Shigaâ€™s article: Iâ€™m not too experienced or familiar with mash-ups in what appear to be their original â€˜formâ€™â€”music remixes; however, I do appreciate the fact that the form goes beyond the â€˜slickâ€™ world of clubs, D.Jâ€™s, and all that was happening in the 1990â€™s, and offers its creators/producers an egalitarian, aggression-free arena in which to craft, share and appreciate their work.
Like, Shiga, I was left wondering who determines the â€˜listenabilityâ€™ of particular songs/artistsâ€¦The ability to make such a call seems to be part of the definition of a smash-up artist. As for myself, I might find a song â€˜unlistenableâ€™â€”but I do not have the motivation or instinct to do anything about it other than not listen to it.
I do love the fact that these smashup artists are more or less of the â€˜gorillaâ€™ mode and proud of it; however, as Shiga hints at, through the cyclical nature of appropriation and commodificationâ€”any subculture can become so widespread as to assume a prominent role in popular/dominant culture (think of rock and roll, once regarded as the â€˜devils musicâ€™).
Further, when considering the â€˜audile techniqueâ€™ and the history of music delivery and listening, couldnâ€™t one argue that the natural, logical consequence could be acquiring the ultimate control over the auditory field by storing and remixing?
Lastly, I find what seems to be a rather cavalier attitude toward sound quality among the mash-up artists kind of odd. Would the explanation have to do with the lack of means more than a lack of passion for creative value? Or maybe such concerns smack of the corporate, the professional, the mainstreamâ€¦

Email Notifications of Posts

Andrew — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:47:13 +0000

Hey all – I wanted to share something I setup that’s helped me a little bit with the blog and keeping up. Â Basically, I didn’t see a way to send notifications to me when there was a new post or new comments. Â Luckily, there’s this great webapp called “If This, Then That,” which is a really basic, graphic event trigger. Â If This, Then That, or Ifttt.com is a free service with a bunch of different “triggers” — like a new post on a blog, and then you want to have happen when a new post is published on a blog. Â So for example, what I created was a trigger event that said each a new post was added to the Mashup Blog or a new comment was added, and then it emails it to me. Â So I always know and I can review in my email on my phone or my tablet. Â It also saves me from jumping onto the blog every 20min to see if anyone has posted anything new (not that I do that or anything *cough*)

If you want to try it out, it’s pretty simple. Â If you sign up for If This, Then That, and click on “Create a Task” Â On the left hand side of the screen, then click the giant “THIS.” Â If you scroll down to find the RSS icon, click that and then the “New Feed Item,” then copy and paste this URL for new posts

http://www.networkedcollab.org/mashup/?feed=rss2

Then on the click “That,” and select “Email.” Â On the next screen, you don’t need to change anything in the fields, and you can just hit “Create Action,” then name it/add a description. Â That’s it. Â It’s actually pretty simple. Â If you want the comments to go to your email too (which I suggest). Â Just repeat the steps as above, but this feed instead

http://www.networkedcollab.org/mashup/?feed=comments-rss2

By doing that, you now get all new posts to the blog and all new comments directly in your email which I think is nice. Â There’s a ton of things that you can do, and I definitely encourage you to play around with it. Â I setup a link between my ReaditLater account and Diigo, so that anytime I add something to ReaditLater and mark it as read, it adds it and tags it in Diigo. Â There’s a ton of ways to help automate all the little things you do online. Â It’s pretty cool — if you have any questions feel free to ask me, I’m pretty familiar with it and how it works.

Hope it helps a little bit