Video Art Project

Miku Hatsune

Wow. The future.  Falling for Miku Hatsune is not unheard of.  She is a virtual celebrity. A Japanese Icon.  Whether she is in a fully animated music video, or a 3D performance, she is perfect in every way.

This engineered star is not only appealing, but she is dependable.  Some wonder why many would pay to see a cartoon dance on stage to an automated song.  I asked myself the same question before looking into this character.  However, it seems as if the music, other than the lead singer audio, is all played live. The quality of these performances are perfect and seem very fun.  I would most likely purchase a ticket just for the experience.

The interesting thing about Miku Hatsune is that everything about her is fabricated.  Her voice is even software generated.

The entertainment aspect, is what the patrons pay for.  Miku Hatsune has become a celebrity in Japan. Just like a real person. But she is more perfect.

Kraftwerk

Kaftwerk is an interesting electronic music band.  Their sound seems so advanced for when it was released.  The idea that this song came out in the 1960's is bizarre.  Obviously, this band became the foundation for not only songs that were released in the 1980's but also what is still being created today. The sounds made in this song have been converted into easily accessible loops.  However, the creativity of this group is unparalleled in its own way.

Mapping at a Festival in France

Scopitones

The early examples of music videos embodied the true motivation of the music industry.  The sneak peek into a performance made consumers want to own the music displayed in the videos.  This gave listeners something to remember while listening to the record.  This also gave the listener the illusion that they were seeing a live performance.  This money maker enhanced the experience of music for everyone.

Advertising vs Propoganda

   

     We all know what advertising is.  We see television ads, bilboards, and pop-ups daily.
     But how do we define propaganda? What do we think of when we hear that word?  The first thing that pops up in my mind is political campaigning.  The propaganda that we have just been relieved from in this last election has given us all a headache.  The negative and generally incorrect ads displayed about the presidential candidates did not encourage positivity, it encouraged negativity.  Thusfar, advertisements show what is positive about a product, person, or event.  Propaganda, whether negative or positive, pushes an opinion on a community or a group of people.  We were just unfortunate enough to be recently bombarded by their negative side. 

Sex on the Beach - Flash Mob

This is my favorite flash mob because of the scenery.  The crowded beach was not expecting a multitude of dancing spurring from one colorful character.  The first character is another reason why this flash mob is so amazing.  This is the only one that I have seen where one of the dancers is obviously out of place from the beginning of their appearance.  Not to mention the dynamite performance.

Performance Art

My performance art piece captures how I feel technology has influenced me. I had my friend Jacy bind herself with wire in public. The idea was that she knew exactly what she was doing and how the connectivity of technology physically bogs us down. Regardless of what gadget we have, we always need another. Whether we are weighed down by a laptop, cell phones, ipods, or a gps, we always crave for something more. But what happens when we pile on too much? How can we harness technology without tying ourselves up? Even though technology has gotten smaller physically, I feel mentally caught up with some form of technology all the time. Thats why I chose to go to the beach. Despite the idea that many go there to relax, most are still connected to the virtual web somehow. If our mind is tied up, how can we explore whats really in front of us?

Eva and Adele

These artists are incredibly influential to not only the art world, but also the expansion of conciousness in general. Eva, who is biologically male, who legally was able to be married to Adele, made it known that they were to be married as two women together. The idea that these two people are inseperable is not only incredibly romantic, but also a form of art in itself. Their appearance at a gallery is automatically a performance in itself. The research that I have found on this couple brings the reality that love and romance  can be artistic. The unbridled expression is admirable.

Brion Gysin

This is well known for using the "cut up" technique. This was an interesting movement because it questioned and gave words in a paragraph new purpose. While this was coming around, the pop art movement had begun. The hybridization of these two methods take pop art and create meaning with typography.
Gysin is also known for his creation of the dream machine. This device allowed someone to experience art with their eyes closed. His innovative way if thinking is what inspired many contemporary artists today.

Xerox battle

Iconoclasm

While researching this subject, I immediately related iconoclasm with the art created by Orlan. Iconoclasm is  the purposeful destruction and reconstruction of religious icons.  Even though Orlan was not intending to offend any particular religion, her self hybridization portraits emphasize beauty in different cultures.  This would be considered iconoclastic because it makes the viewers wonder and criticize those cultures.

McCarthyism

The crucible, a historic witch hunt brought about by chaos and horrible accusations. The Salem witch trials conducted in America's dark corner of history emphasizes the hysteria that Americans are so susceptible to. McCarthyism is the term which defines the suspicion in the air from the early 1950's. Neighbors turned against each other, isolation of anyone who voiced alternate political opinions. 

We all know that as Americans, we should be able to comfortably voice our beliefs. The insane hysteria displayed at the salem witch trials, and in the era of McCarthyism, is even apparent today. With the evolution of the terror scares in the USA, I have personally seen anyone with muslim heritage not only be shunned by the population, but also discriminated against by the government. It is no coincidence that we generally see a certain type of person searched extra carefully in the TSA line at the airports. I have heard it personally from people that I trusted.  The suspicion exemplified in the McCarthyism era is still happening, we have just shifted our focus to make an entire culture our scapegoat. 

Bauhaus

Bauhaus was an incredible influence on the art world during the first world war.  While he not only nudged art toward the future, he also greatly defined modernist architecture. His efforts resulted in multiple schools for the arts in Germany and an irreversible change to the dynamics of art.  His style embraced modernism and pushed it into something that had been slow moving for a long time.  The way that he constructed buildings was similar to the cubist movement that was happening in traditional art. 

His biggest struggle was with the Nazi rule. However, with their defeat in WWI, censorship was abolished and art could really leap forward.  Bauhaus has influenced architecture everywhere and has made incredible art functional. 

Shy guy. Grid art.

Grid art made from Legos.

Dada manifesto

Dada is a deconstruct from art. It is so unique because it questions the whole idea and theme behind classic art. Anything can be art.

Video games and bullying

Call of duty calls to children. Video games are fun. Anyone who has ever battled the goombas or played Wii tennis has felt the exertion of video game competition. But are these video games becoming too violent? Are American children being brainwashed to believe that shotguns are normal and grenades are cool? Probably a little. 

There is always a crazy person that screws everything up for everyone else. Video games are a media medium. They are rated, controlled, and hopefully supervised by parents. T here is no difference from the horror and gore on the television or  movies and video games.  The respinsibility resides with the parents as to what a child is exposed to. Therefore, if a child is susceptible to being bullied or actually bullying, a good parent is meant to notice and control the atmosphere.

Gameplay is intense. I have personally been put off by foul mouthed players over the internet. However, their pointed remarks of my emminent demise only reminded me that I was playing a game.  Those susceptible to bullying online are probably bullied elsewhere. Exposure to both video games and innapropriate movies can desensitise anyone.  The ability to control exposure is the most important thing.

Adobe in 1985, John Warnock

Adobe's relationship with Apple made the Macintosh computer valuable.  Mac was able to pair with Adobe to create a visual editing and printing process which altered the paths of graphic designers, photographers, video editors, and other media professions for years to come.

With Adobe's editing process and it's ability to print exactly what was on the screen, Apple was finally able to make progress in their fight against Big Blue.

Why is apple called apple and when did Steve Jobs come back to Apple?

Google! Steve's own nemesis gave me a very quick answer to why Apple is called Apple. On Apple's news website, OSXDaily.com, Paul Horowitz explains the name origin.  Steve Jobs was inspired by his experience working in California in apple orchards when he was younger. He described the word as "fun, spirited, and not intimidating."  He also ties the symbol of the Apple with Isaac Newton's discovery of gravity in his first apple logo.

Steve Jobs, after dabbling in Disney and Pixar animation, returned to his rightful position with Apple in  1996. With his promotion, he ousted unnecessary branches and developed what we know today as the most influential computer company of our generation. 

Raymond Kurzweil

The future, as described by this innovative mind, will be a synthesis of human power with technological progress. He believes that technology does not evolve linearly, it evolves exponentially.

His explorations include nanotechnology in medicine, artificial intelligence, and brain scanning technology. For example, he believes that the ideas from the minority report are not too far-fetched.
Hopefully, some of his ideas come true.  He predicts that by 2050, nanobots will greatly extend the human lifespan.

Old time Radio

Terror From Outer Space

Old time radio is an incredible media. The use of imagination while listening is impossible to resist. "Its as if someone is making me think about it." The narration from this broadcast was incredibly graphic.  The idea that this was all done live is incredible. The sci-fi of old time radio is filled with ideas of alien encounters. 

The news of old time radio is also important.  Broadcasts done live sound very similar to the war or the worlds broadcasts.  They have to speak a lot because they are responsible for everything that the listener imagines. 

FlipBook

War Of the worlds. Part 2.

Luckily, I was motivated to listen to war of the worlds on my own.  Its easy to listen while doing something else and adapt to how listeners might have felt. I "tuned in" on a dark, stormy, empty night at my house. The thunder emphasized the horror of the almost real news cast.  The skill and purity of the reader's voice hypnotized and almost frightened me. It is easy to see the techniques used to lure the audience into the story.  As a matter of fact, if the disclaimer wasn't read aloud in the beginning, perhaps more hysteria would have ensued. This seemed like a real news cast to many, and a convincingly frightening one for me.

War of the Worlds

War of the Worlds, when read aloud on the radio by Orson Welles, created mass hysteria for listeners.  Why? The masses knew that stories were read aloud all the time.  They knew that the radio was used for entertainment.

The main reason for the mass hysteria was the skill and the emotion wrought out only by the radio medium in 1938. The talent of Orson Welles depicts, so realistically, how one would actually react to a martian invasion. By listening to the actual broadcast, it's easy to see why people reacted so dramatically when this was the only immediate mass medium available.  The sound effects draw the listener into a new reality.  

When the movie was created and re-created, it was still impossible to instill the same fear that struck broadcast listeners in 1938.

Earthquake

My parents were a little too young to remember Earthquake when it came out in Theatres.  My father knows that he was at one of the showings in 1974 but does not remember being effected much by it.

What my whole family remembers, however, is the ride that was inspired by the movie at Universal Studios in Orlando.  When I first went on that ride, the idea of an unstable earth and cracking cement was terrifying. I was very young though.  Hopefully, this gave me a good idea of how it felt to be at the movie with such innovative audio equipment.  

Images from the brain

In an interesting article from Berkley, scientists have delved into the idea of visual reconstruction from the brain.  Unlike the Minority Report, science suggests that someday images will be pulled and reconstructed from brain pulses.  We have already been able to put images into the mind of a coma patient, but what will we be able to do next?  

Scientist are starting with miming and mimicking brain wave patterns from active brains and re-creating these pulses in test patients.  Eventually, a memory will be just like data.  Downloaded and uploaded for the public to view.

Walter/wendy carlos

Walter/Wendy Carlos knew how to turn heads. The first head turner was "switched on Bach"  the second was the controversial switch of sex and sexuality.  The incredible rendering of Bach on the Moog Synthesizer gave the antiques a new and revered feeling.  Some would argue that the synthesized versions of these compositions smeared the intentions of the original composer.  However, those who know better would explain how this new synthesized world, with utmost respect for Bach, gave a new and even more interesting twist on the old classics. 

Technicolor/ Sound in Film

Technicolor was revolutionary. Color was something that was sought after in film for years. Technicolor was founded by Herbert Kalmus, Daniel Frost Comstock, and W. Burton Wescott. The innovation for this technology involved filming the same scene with one camera and three different rolls of film. Each roll of film was tinted either red, blue, or green. The combination of these strips of film resulted in incredible, vibrant colors. Technicolor was the monopoly of color film from 1922 to 1952. 

Sound was also an important part in film. Now, the challenge was more apparent for actors to be able to actually act. It had become unnecessary to exaggerate acting because sound filled in the gaps. Now film was more realistic than ever. Not only was film accompanied by music, but it also contained sound effects and synced vocals.

Singin in the rain.

A Clockwork Orange was a monumental cult film. The idea of this futuristic anti-culture continuously shocks society.  I remember my first time watching the film was full of dusgust and pity.  The drug-infested, violent, youth ruled society of this movie brings awareness to how youth is viewed today.  One of the most shocking elements of the film was the protaginist, whom one hates at times and pities at others. He is shockingly dominant, violent, and surprisingly sophistocated.  Some say that the smooth talking of the protagonist was only brought on by the "milk." Another qulaity that he has is a fine singing voice.  However, what message is displayed when he bellows "Singing in the rain" during his defining scene when he violently tortures a man and rapes his wife?

The contrast from the joyus music to the horrid crime is obvious. What is surprising is how this song comes back to haunt him. The song, used as a device to scare his victims, is axtually what makes himself his own victim. The unavoidable revenge arrives and the protagonist, after all his struggles, feels no emotiinal change.  This is why the song is played a third time in the ending credits. Because the story goes on... He uses thus song when he feels in control.

Rosebud

Rosebud, without seeing the movie its almost impossible to know the significance of the word. With some investigation and research, I found an interview with Orson Wells online.  He explained that, “Rosebud” is the trade name of a cheap little sled on which Kane was playing on the day he was taken away from his home and his mother."  The word held the ideas and memories of his mother. "In his subconscious it represented the simplicity, the comfort, above all the lack of responsibility in his home, and also it stood for his mother’s love which Kane never lost." 

Overall, the article explains that Wells used "Rosebud" and a representation of the accumulation of a man's life. Kane's overall horde of expensive items ended up meaning less than the little sled made by Rosebud.

Napoleon

The 1927 Movie, "Napoleon" directed by Abel Gance was revolutionary and historic in many ways.  The technique and style not only captured the history of Napoleon Bonaparte, but it also changed the way that motion pictures were viewed and shot forever.  This movie used innovative camera techniques and lighting to entertain, move, and educate the audience. 

This movie is still so in demand that it is actually difficult to find clips online.  I wish it was possible to view the entire movie.  It looks like the copyright holders still wish to profit from it.  However, even in this preview you can see how the closeups, the camera angles, and the lighting creates effective drama.

The Great Train Robbery

The great train robbery is one of the most well known films in history. It is so influential because it was one of the first complete films with a storyline ever made. This new technology was so important because it gave audiencies and the world a major shock.  Thisnshock was the idea of a virtual world with a timeline.  Moving pictures were so new that the aduience thought the train was really coming at them. This kind of entertainment was also brand new.  The idea of a performance being perfectly replicated on a screen made the new medium accessible to the masses.  Before entertainment and shows were just for broadway, now there was a possibility of doing something that could be shown multiple times a day.
This was also important because it set the sandard for the exaggerated acting in silent films.  The acting seems almist silly to us today, but was necissary back then to fully communicate with the audience.

Skeleton dance

In the early days of animation, the skeleton dance animated by Disney set the standard for animation paired with sound. I have personally seen it in a few more current projects.  One example was from last semester's Art 310 class when a student used flash to animate a skeleton to the same music.

Another example is from the little rascals haloween episode.

This song has even been remixed by a current artist at a very popular music fesrival called Moogfest.  The re-creation was performed by a band called Beats Antique. They even have a dancer in a skeleton costume on stage to commemorate the original animation.  

A trip to the moon

A trip to the moon is more relative to society than ever.  The advancement of technology today, just like when this film was made, is so fast that the consumers have a hard time comprehending it.  So much so that technology is almost like magic. This relates to us today because even our most simple laptop is so advanced that an average citizen does not know how it works.

The personification of the moon as a victim in this film is interesting because it seems to predict some kind of human influence on the moon.  Our escapades to this giant space rock proves the predictive element of the movie.  The only concern is that the film seems to display a hurtful or negative effect on the moon itself.

Behind the scenes of Wicked

The behind the scenes look at wicked promotes the technology that was used to create such an interesting show. This technology was so great because it did not overwhelm the show, it only enhanced it.
A few examples of this mastery of technology include: set design, character flight, mechanics, costume design, and even a mechanical dragon. The sight of a giant dragon on a broadway stage is both impressive and bone chilling.  The costume design was flawless and beautiful. These technological tools give Wicked's audience fun, laughter, and even an unexpected look at  characters that they thought were already understood. It was also impressive that all this was packed up into 14 semi trucks and toured around America.

Technology in creative ways

1) In this video Neil Patrick Harris uses technology to display his number at the tony awards "What if life was more like theater."  He interacts with a screen behind him, uses intuitive costumes to do a "7 second" costume change, and waves to a flying Mary Poppins


2) In a second post, Liza Manelli uses simple technology like bells on ankle bracelets to be a part of the orchestra with "Ring them Bells." This shows how simple technology can have a large impact on theater.

3) Peter Pan "I'm Flying."  Suspension cables.

4) Guys and Dolls uses technology to create a beautiful, immersive set design.

5) Tracy Ullman, "Shy." Incredible costume design.

6) Godspell on Broadway, had water, trampolines, and instruments on stage with them.

7) The Adams Family on Broadway. Moving gates and doors in the set.

All that Jazz

Jazz is a unique synchronicity of African American and European styles of music in the beginning of the 20th century. The African influence gave Jazz it's soul.  The tempos, improvisation, and notes transformed music into music that was relatable to the masses of America.

Despite debates about the definition of Jazz, we all know whats going on when we hear Duke Ellington sits down at a piano. Jazz is an adaptable force that can either lull you to sleep or inspire a wild night of dancing.  There are so many types of Jazz because it is more of a musical movement than a genre.  Jazz changed the history of American music in the 1900's and still influences modern music.

Internet freedom

As society battles with it's own consequences, it is obvious how it adapts to economic struggle. We have altered technology to appeal to those who have less.  Access to the internet is essential in order to function in modern society. Luckily, all one has to do is pay $200 for a tablet and mooch off of McDonalds wifi in order to shop, make social connections, read the news, and much more.  The internet embodies freedom. We all know that no matter how much the government tries to regulate the internet, there will always be someone smarter who stands up for internet freedom.  These anonymous heroes keep the masses in mind when they hack, jailbreak, and even illegially copy items that seem unjust.  Sometimes even for fun. The internet provides a haven and meeting place for those with independent thinking.

Since America's most recent depression, entertainment has moved from paying for a night out at the movies, to staying in and watching youtube or hopping on facebok all night.  Is this a healthy habit? Of course not. But it sure is cheaper.

Madama Butterfly

While understanding the story of the opera, it is easy to emotionally relate to the main character. She litterally rips herself apart in grief at the loss of her love, child, and youth. The animation used the opera to tell the story without saying one english word. The symbolism of the butterfly being free continually exposes the irony of her emotional shackles.

The Fifth Element Diva

The diva in the movie, "The Fifth Element" embodies a great example of how opera is used to illustrate stories and emotions. The film is shot so that it seems like she is singing the story as it happens. The expressions of the diva allude to the distress of the situation.
The diva also makes opera relatable as a fine art form.  Even in the future, opera would still be considered a beautiful, revered work of art.  Also, it does not have to be in a recognizable language for it to be meaningful.

New semester,

Art 211 seems like a refreshing view on art.  I am excited to be challenged to be creative with something other than software. I love the idea of creating multimedia art and am looking forward to building my own abilities and perspectives.

My name is Nicole McCabe, I am a senior studying EMAT.  My goal at first was to take up time in college so I can become a photographer.  However, this program has expanded what I thought was possible for my aspirations. So now, I am a little less positive on what my final goal is, but I do know that whatever I choose to do will lead me to success.