Scott Fisher

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Discussion leaders: Bryan Jaycox & Sean Plott
Time: Wednesday, April 1, 6-8pm
Location: USC's Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC),
Room 201 Zemeckis Media Lab (ZML)

Discussion Topic: Tonight's seminar will focus on the topic of "Tinkering" raised in the previous two seminar presentations by John Underkoffler and Peter Brinson. Logs for the backchannel discussion can be reviewed on the respective talk announcements..

Abstract: In the modern age, the rapidly changing knowledgebase of technology is quickly outpacing our human ability to assimilate it. No longer is it possible to simply acquire a skillset and practice it in stagnation. In the rapidly evolving face of technology we must continuously adapt to stay on top of the curve. In this environment of changing technology learning how to learn for oneself and find knowledge becomes a much more valuable skill than simply learning artifacts of knowledge themselves. Tinkering is a way for us to learn how to learn through physically doing and dabbling in everything. It is a means for sparking interest in learning through exploration rather than textbook studies, and an opportunity for us as artists to open up into new expressive forms from biology to philosophy to engineering. This talk will cover tinkering as a new mode for learning and artistic expression in areas ranging from bioart, LED music boxes and circuit bending, to Henry Jenkins and education.

Required Readings/Watchings:
1. " Reflections on Tinkering", blog post by Alex Pang
2. John Seely Brown YouTube video: "Tinkering as a Mode of Knowledge Production"
3. Explore these two Tinkering websites:
- "Reed Ghazala's Art of Circuit Bending".
- "The Biotech Hobbyist"

Optional:
1. "The Social Construction of Knowledge in Digital Media: Three Perspectives"
by Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (on IMD wiki under CTIN 511 class)
2. Henry Jenkins YouTube video on Convergence Culture.

Posted by Scott Fisher at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

And a surprise announcement:

Posted by Scott Fisher at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Speaker: Eric Goldberg, Walt Disney Animation Studio
Time: Wednesday, March 25, 6:30 (sharp!) - 8:30pm
Location: Joint meeting with Digital Arts and Animation Seminar in SCA 108

Long-time Disney animator Eric Goldberg, well known for designing the Genie in Disney's Aladdin, will discuss character design in his presentation "Getting Character Out of Your Characters". He is the author of the recently published book, Crash Course in Animation.

Also featuring Pat Beckman, who is the WDAS Schools and Outreach Manager. Pat will provide students with preparation tips and tools for a career in the animation industry.

Posted by Scott Fisher at 3:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From readwriteweb:.

"Dan Hon is building a radical new future for one of humanity's oldest activities - the telling of stories. The modest young UK CEO's design company Six to Start won Best in Show at this week's SXSW Web Awards. The company's project, called Telling Stories, is a six part experiment with the book publisher Penguin. Hon's vision of the future is sci-fi influenced, cross-platform and web-native. He mocks the "urban games" of online hipsters but believes there will soon be a layer of "Harry Potter ether" that we can dip in and out of while we're walking to work".

Posted by Scott Fisher at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Presenters: 2nd Year MFA students in CTIN 542 and CTIN 548
Time: Wednesday, March 11, 6pm-8pm
Location: USC's Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC),
Room 201 Zemeckis Media Lab (ZML)

Title: " Shake Rattle and Roll - CTIN 542,548 Second Year MFA Combined One-Week Interactive Design Project, Spring 2009"

Instructors/Jurors: Mark Bolas, Perry Hoberman, Steve Anderson.

The Challenge: Keyboards contain the arms, wrists, hands and fingers to slight taps along a tiny plane. Mice confine the entire body to slight motions along a plane – reducing intent to inches. Screens constrain our backs, necks, and heads into Nixon-esque postures – eyes fixed forward, shoulders slumped. It is time to break free from the bondage of our systems and engage our bodies in the interaction. It is time to Shake, Rattle and Roll!

Your assignment is to conceive of, design, and produce an interactive experience in which the body is not a mere spectator, but a central element of the experience. The experience should engage the body and be one or more of the following: surprising, shocking, bewildering, addictive, amazing, exquisite, thoughtful, provocative. Students are to incorporate the box, in some way, to create an interactive experience that transpires in between .002 to 200 seconds. Engagement is a two-way street – we move, speak and sweat while we also hear, see, feel, touch and smell. Think in terms of the whole body, and a full range of sensory possibilities.

Additional Instructions: Your project should fit on a standard ZML desk. Output of all varieties – mechanical, physical, audio, projection, etc. – is encouraged: Engage the User’s Body. You may use one ZML projector. You may incorporate internet connectivity. Other than the need to incorporate the box in some way: the choice of media, materials and subject matter is entirely up to you. The project need not be self-contained within the box. Each student is responsible for his/her own project. You may assist each other and collaborate as you see fit. Outside help is allowed, but all such assistance must be donated.

The projects will be presented at the CTIN511 seminar on Wednesday, March 11th. The projects should be set up on the central or peripheral tables in ZML before the seminar begins. Presentations will begin promptly at 6:15. Once the presentations begin, students should not have to touch or adjust their projects (except in case of emergency). Going through each project in turn, one or more of the jurors will interact and engage with it for as long as they see fit, for up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds. If required, instructions to the jurors should be provided in written form on a slip of paper no larger than 8.5" by 2".

Posted by Scott Fisher at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Speaker: Peter Brinson, Instructor of Cinematic Practice, Interactive Media Division, USC School of Cinematic Arts
Time: Wednesday, March 4, 6-8pm
Location: USC's Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC),
Room 201 Zemeckis Media Lab (ZML)

Title: Matching Meaning and Mechanics

Peter will discuss his upcoming, The Cat and the Coup, an experimental documentary game focusing on an aspect of U.S. warfare that has little presence in game history - the covert military interventions carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency. Broken into historical chapters, the game explores the justifications for U.S. interventions, the actual violent coup d’états, the subsequent effects on the country, and the consequences of "blowback" on U.S. foreign affairs. Currently in production, the first level ("justifications") puts the player in the role of the cat of Mohammed Mossadegh, the democratically elected leader of Iran. On the night of August 19, 1953, the Prime Minister undergoes a CIA sponsored coup d’état. You accompany him through significant events of his life including living under house arrest, being convicted for high treason, undergoing the coup, meeting the President of the United States, and being elected Prime Minister. Future levels will document CIA coups in Chile and Cuba.

Peter Brinson is a game developer, filmmaker, and educator living in Los Angeles. His work explores the narrative possibilities found in animal protagonists, documentary play, and collective ownership. His films and games have exhibited in numerous venues, including the Museum of Modern Art, SIGGRAPH, Ars Electronica, Slamdance, Indiecade, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, The Kitchen, and the Telluride Film Festival. Brinson attended the University of North Carolina and the California Institute of the Arts, and currently teaches in the Interactive Media Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

Posted by Scott Fisher at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)