The Unethical Tale of Josh Harris

Josh Harris was a lot of things. He was an inventor, a visionary, a genius and a psycho. Josh Harris was also extremely unethical.  Throughout the documentary watched in class, we learned a lot about the innovations and predictions that Harris made in the media world. It is extraordinary how Harris would be able to predict the future of technology, but his “Quiet City” experiment was the wrong way to go about it.

It is clear that Harris was rarely in a stable state of mind. His social experiment was his ultimate downfall. He collected lonely people and taped their every move, their every waking hour. Now that is a little disturbing, but that is not the worst of Harris’ doing. Where Harris really crosses ethical boundaries is when he puts the population of this underground city through intensive and abusive interrogation. Harris has his interrogators push these people to their absolute breaking point. I for one can only see the interrogation purposes of this experiment to a certain point. Harris crossed the line at how far you will go before you should stop.

Harris broke these people. He took vulnerable people who wanted nothing more than a little attention and made them crave it. They became addicted and then he tossed them out like it was nothing. When the millennium came and it was time for these people to leave, he was right there helping to push them out.  When these people were forced to leave this place, they had been so brainwashed that they did not know what to do with themselves. This horrible place that Harris created broke them. They no longer knew how to live in the real world.

Some may say that this was an ingenious experiment that only a visionary could have put together. I say that this is the work of a sad, sadistic, psychopath. Harris ruined peoples lives and to him it was all just a fun little experiment. Harris couldn’t connect to others so he had them trapped in this city with him and when he had had enough he dropped them like they were not even human beings. Every single one of those people were nothing but a pawn to him. The ethics violations that took place in this “experiment” were a disgusting violation of human rights. So yes, Harris may have been a genius, but he was also a monster.

 

Writing for Mobile Media Platforms

In chapter 14, Friedmann speaks about all of the possibilities that come with new technologies like smartphones.  He states that the amount of viewing on platforms like YouTube have increased significantly, and that this increase in through the use of mobile platforms such as smartphones and tablets. Friedmann even asserts that this mobile viewing will soon become the most popular way to view content. I must say that I completely agree with this statement. As a race, human like convenience. Taking out something like cell phone and tapping an app is a lot faster and easier than taking out a laptop, powering it up, hoping that the wifi wants to cooperate and searching for the video. Friedmann connects this concept of people changing over to mobile platforms and defines it as viewer behavior. Mobile platforms like cell phone are just much more accessible, so I believe that Friedmann  is making a really good point on making this chapter all about mobile media platforms and stating that they will soon takeover.

Another topic that Friedmann talks about in this chapter that I found to be quite interesting is the second screen. Before reading this chapter, when I thought of someone viewing multiple things on one screen, I thought of the suave 007 spy with the latest technology and the coolest gadgets. It was hard for me to understand that this is where we are with technology, this is possible and this is being used. When I read his chapter and really understood what second screen meant, I realized that I did it all the time. Second screen means that someone is simultaneously watching to different screen. An example of this would be what I am doing in this very moment. I am looking at my laptop screen and typing this assignment, but I am also watching The Voice live shows and using the Voice app on my cell phone to vote.  Friedmann discuss how this new way of viewing things, many things at once, causes producer to have to now rethink how they create things and how the distribute content.

If I am being perfectly honest, I usually do not enjoy the readings that are given in this particular textbook, but I found this chapter to be quite interesting. There were certain practices that I exercised that I either did not realize I was doing or that I did not believe was a thing that millions of others were doing. It is so important for mobile platforms to contain all of the content that we use on a daily basis because this is were we are headed. Like Friedmann said, mobile platforms are winning the race again laptops and desktops. soon those too will become obsolete.

 

Reassembling Rubbish

The first impression that was given off by Dr. Lepawsky’s scalar project can be summed up into one word; dull.  I know that this may not be the case after reading the entire project and seeing what it has to offer, but the lack or graphics and media on the very first index page is daunting. Having the very first page of your project made up of text exclusively leads to the impression that Lepawsky means business, and gets right down tot he point. This can also be seen as a design strategy, but personally, as a viewer of this project, the first page is not making me yearn to go to the next one.

Once you take that leap of faith and head to the next page, you are met with a path. After making the choice to start on this path, Lepawsky does not disappoint. On this page you are met with text, a video and image links to other pages. This page is designed to be much more interactive than that of the index page.

If you continue on this path, you find out that Lepawsky is an all or nothing kind of guy. His pages are either loaded with media or they are exclusively text. Conceptually this is not the way that I would have gone with this path.  When you are designing a project, you really want to try and keep it balanced. If you want to include a lot of media throughout the project, you should not try and shove all of it onto one page. You are much better leaving pages uncluttered and spreading all media throughout the project. The trick is that you do not want to leave pages cluttered and you also do not want to leave pages bare. It is evident that Lepawsky had a hard time finding this balance.

What Lepawsky did well throughout his project was that he changed up his design in each path. Whereas the first path went from paragraphs to media to more paragraphs, his second path had more of a split emphasis going on between the text and the media. This may not seem like a big deal but it really brings you back into focus because you are seeing something different. Overall i would say that Lepawsky did a good job in creating his scalar project. Sure their are some design elements that are lacking, but the overall use of media is great and it really makes the experience of the project itself more interactive.

Interactive Storytelling Scalar Review

Mike Shepard’s scalar project titled “Interactive Storytelling- Narrative Techniques and Methods in Video Games” is well on its way to being a truly great work in progress. When visiting this project, the first thing I noticed is that there was no image showing the paths that could be taken. This may not seem like a big deal, but I find this to be a very important visual. Without this, it was harder to see exactly where each path would lead.

The next thing I noticed was Shepard’s use of media. The media that is uses on the sliding side bar is great.  Within this sliding sidebar, Shepard uses both images as well as videos, and everything that is included in the side bar has annotations. This is a great use of media. I also like that Shepard included a wide variety of different video games in his sliding sidebar. Since his project is all about video games, it is good to see that he did not just focus on one, but on many.

An aspect of this project that I personally did not find effective was Shepard’s use of paths within paths. When I click on the menu item “In the Beginning and Throughout” I was met with an option of paths to take. Once I clicked on the first path, it took me to a whole new set of path options. This is something that i personally do not find to be a positive aspect of this project. Once I click to begin a path, as a reader I want to be taken to that first page immediately. Personally I believe that this is a flaw in the overall design of the scalar book.

One aspect of this project that i really liked, that some people may disagree with was the overall layout of the project. Each page that I looked at had the same split screen between text and the sliding sidebar. This may not seem major, but I like when the design of a project is uniform. This makes the entire project seem more connected and well thought out.

Although it has become clear that this project is far from finished seeing as the items on the main menu are not completed, I believe that the bare bones that have been created are a really good start. I still believe that i would rather have more pages in a single path rather than layered paths, the overall design of this scalar book, and Shepard’s wide use of media are leading him in the right direction. This scalar book will be exceptional by the time of its completion.

 

 

Writing and Interactive Design

Chapter eleven of Anthony Friedmann’s “Writing for Visual Media” is all about interactive design.  What interactive design does is make the reader a part of the story. This happens though the use of linear and nonlinear narratives. If linear, the story will continue from beginning to end like any play for example. If nonlinear, like many epic poems for example, there can be a few interrelated narratives. What makes this interactive is that now the reader can chose their experience as linear or nonlinear where in the past they did not really have a choice.

Friedmann also gives the reader an understanding of how they could lay out the options that they themselves could put out with their interactive design. Instead of writing out instructions about all of the different ways that the user can potentially interact with the media, you can create what is called a flowchart. What the flowchart gives you the ability to do is organized the interactive ideas that you want to express. This keeps things organized an easier to understand.  It shows all of the paths that someone can use in an interactive design.

Another tool that Friedmann shares with the reader in this chapter is what is called a storyboard. this tool allows one to lay out a sequence of text and media to help the user to lay out everything that they want to include in their creation. This tool is extremely helpful to those trying to create an animated feature or something scripted.

Friendmann did pretty well with his explanation of things in this chapter. He provided some useful tools that someone could use to help organized themselves. Personally, I thought that his explanation of how and why to use a flowchart were well written.  This is really a great way to show all of the options that one could choose when using a program that has an interactive design. this really helps the user to choose how they would like to experience the program that you have created. This type of organization is extremely important especially since the program does not have to be linear and can therefore become confusing.  The use of a flowchart really clears thing up in a way that written options would not be able to do. Although most of what Friedmann tries to put forth in this chapter are vague at best, like many of his other chapter, he does not do too bad with his explanation of how to use tools such as the flowchart and even the storyboard.

 

Video Texts

In this chapter of “Crafting Digital Writing” by Troy Hicks, the reader learns all about the process of crafting and editing a video text. Hicks starts the reader out by explaining that there are many types of video texts. These texts include videos in the narrative genre, the informational genre and the argumentative genre. Hicks then proceeds to break down what one should look at when editing a digital video, and he happens to do this extremely well.

Hicks first asks the reader to consider narration. When editing a video, one must first consider if the video requires narration, and if deemed so, what point of view that narration should come from. The second element that Hicks asks the reader to consider is panning and zooming.  This may not seem important, but the use of features such as the zoom feature could really help the viewer focus on the element of the video that the creator deems  most important.  The next important element to think about when editing a video text would be repetition. What this means is that one must look at how many times they would like to use a image or video segment to really get his point across. Repetition is generally used to accentuate or stress a certain point and is an extremely useful tool when creating a video text. One must also look at effects such as time-laps, how fast or slow they want things to play out, and film effects; features such as a black and white option or other color effects. Little changes in speed of the video or even the coloring could have a great effect on how that video text is perceived and what the audience takes from the experience. Another element of editing that Hicks writes about is transition between scenes. This is extremely important because if you are creating a video text, you want it flow smoothly, avoiding breaks between scenes. Another great too that Hicks brings up that can help bring personality to a visual text is the use of music and sound effects. The use of certain sounds or even a certain song can really stress the point you are trying to put across through the video itself.  The last element that Hicks brings up is the actual text itself. You cannot have a video text with no text. How you incorporate text into the video is really up to the creator, but there are many options that are available to the editor. Text can be inserted through the use of titles, captions, and though balloons. Text can also be incorporated through images themselves. This leaves the creator of the video with many options to chose from when considering how they want to bring in text.

Hicks does an exceptional job of explaining what someone needs to consider when editing a video text. By breaking down all of the elements of a video, it makes it possible for the reader to make a check list of some sort to help make sure that they have included all of the elements that they deem important to accentuate the point that is being made in the video whether it be a narrative video text or and informational one. That is what is so great about this list of elements that Hicks supplies. Everything listed in this part of the chapter can be applied to every ind of video text that was previously mention in the chapter.  By presenting the list in the way that he did, Hicks makes it possible for the list of important elements to have a universal use in the making of a video text. Everything in this chapter is laid out nicely so that it it clear and understandable.  Hicks is beyond exceptional in his writing performance this time around.

Developing a Creative Concept

Developing a creative concept may seem simple to many, and in reality it can be, as long as the developer follows the proper steps to create this concept. Anthony Friedmann breaks down the seven steps that he states will lead you to a strong creative concept in the second chapter of his book “Writing for Visual Media”.  Friedmann states that the first step to developing a creative concept would be to define the communication problem. What this means is that you must identify a problem in society. That brings in the next step which is targeting your target audience. For example, say you want to create a product to help solve the problem that you identified in the first step, you must decide who will benefit most from that product so that you can sell to them. This group of people is called the target audience. The next step is to define the object.  What this means is that you have to identify a way to solve that problem that you found in step one. This is the step where you would potentially think up the solution to the problem. The fifth step to creating your concept would be to define the content.  What this basically means is that you create this problem solving product.  This is the “content” that will be seen and used in your concept. Step number six is to define the appropriate medium. Now this step is especially useful if you have a more media based product. This is where you decide what form of media to use.  This is also where you determine how to make the product stand out visually using the type of media you have chosen. Finally, the last step to developing a creative concept is to actually create that concept. All previous steps were basically the homework that needed to be done to get you to a strong concept. This is where you think through all of your precious steps and make sure that where you have landed is a strong concept.

In theory, Friedmann makes a lot of since in his thinking on how to develop a creative concept. In practice, his words are not that strong. The real issue here is his writing itself. Friedmann adds a lot of business mumbo jumbo to his writing that makes the steps of developing a creative concept almost impossible to understand. It is once you do further research where you find that what Friendmann is unsuccessfully trying to put across to his readers is true.  It is extremely important to do your “homework” before you commit to a concept in order to really strengthen that concept.  All that legwork that you put in before decide on your creative concept will really save you a headache at the end of the day.  Asking questions like who, what, why and how can really lead you to a great concept and that is what Friedmann was really trying to put across in his writing in chapter two. Although the writing itself may have been extremely confusing the bare bones point of his writing was extremely helpful in developing a creative concept.

Meme Remix

Memes are starting to become a major part of modern culture. The use of memes have expanded from being used to create a good laugh, to advertising for businesses and even making political points. If you look to the left you will find an example of a business meme. Though this meme was not made by Apple, it is taking part of Apple’s advertising slogan “there’s an app for that”, and making a parody of it.  Although this is a parody, this meme still highlights the point that Apple is always trying to make, that point being that there is an app out there that can help you do virtually anything.  If you think back to the idea visual learning, this meme can be perceived in a couple of different ways. First, the viewer can look at this meme and think it is funny how overboard Apple can get with it’s apps. You can also look at this meme and think about how far Apple has come with its technology and has created an app for almost anything.

The best thing about memes is that the possibilities are endless. Once a meme is created, it can be changed and modified. This is what is called  a remix.  Just like a meme can make fun of or add to a companies advertisement, it is also possible to do the same to the meme itself by remixing it.  If you look to the image on the right, you will see another meme much like the one shown above. This meme is not designed exactly as the original is with the black border and the text at the bottom. This new remixed meme has a linear design,  the text reads from left to right and top to bottom. This meme uses impact font, meaning that it uses large bold font to put a catch phrase type text across to the viewer.  Unlike it’s original counterpart, this remixed meme shows the limits of the app world, not its strengths to parody Apple’s advertising campaign.

If you delve further into the world of memes, you will also find memes that have an agenda. Memes are now being used to communicate political opinion. As seen on the left, a popular image is being used to express how protesting on Wall Street may have been counterproductive for protestors. Once again, if we look back to the idea of visual learning, the viewer will perceive this meme as a good laugh. The viewer will see that leaving work to demand more money may not have been the smartest thing to do. This meme uses that logic to get its idea across to many audiences in a way that doesn’t feel like a lecture on politics. This is another example of how a meme can be remixed to show the same point. If you look to the right you will see the remixed meme. This meme uses the same design elements as the original, such as impact font that reads left to right and top to bottom. This meme simply uses different wording to come to the same conclusion about the Occupy Wall Street issue. Memes can be used for so many purposes and we have only seen the beginning of the possibilities. It is entirely possible that this could be the new way for companies and political parties to campaign. That means we will be seeing plenty of remixed memes and an increase in the spread of knowledge.

I Shall Never Speak Doge

Some things simply never change. Once again it’s cats versus dogs in Annalee Newitz article “We who spoke LOLcat now speak doge”.  In this article Newitz provides the reader with an insight on how the meme world took a shift from LOLcat memes to the now popular doge meme.  This article starts by comparing each of these meme. Newitz provides the similarities between each meme such as their origin as simple animal pictures. Newtiz also brings forth the differences between the two, a major difference being the set up or design of each. Both types of memes have their own distinct styles and fonts that put them into separate classes.  One of the major difference between the two types of memes is how they are presented and perceived. Whereas the LOLcat memes use sayings and simple assertions, doge memes use baby talk and staggered, muddled thoughts.  Doge memes are even becoming so popular that these memes are starting to use the same fonts and styles that the LOLcat memes traditionally use.  The article goes on to explain that it is entirely possible that this new doge meme could either explode or fade away in terms of its online presence. In Newitz’s opinion, the doge meme has the potential to to do really well and is the superior meme.

Although Newtiz makes some good points about how successful the doge meme could become, I have to disagree. From a visual learning point of view, doge memes do not communicate well. The scattered thoughts put forth through doge memes do not come across in a clear and coherent manner and I feel as though it takes away from the humor of the meme itself. Doge memes also have too much going on design wise. As Newtiz mentioned, these memes consist of scattered text in the comic sans font as well as multiple colors. This make the already muddled thoughts of the doge meme just as unclear visually as it does conceptually.  These weaknesses make the doge meme a failure in my eyes. I simply cannot see things the same way that Newtiz does.

The LOLcat meme will forever be a favorite of mine. Once again I approach these memes with the idea of visual learning in mind. When a viewer sees a cat meme there are no mysteries. The bold face font on the tops and bottoms of the photo are clear coherent thoughts, though not always grammatically correct. It is just like Newtz states in her article. LOLcat memes are straight forward and usually just contain small, clear assertions. That is what makes this type of meme so successful. As a viewer of these memes I read them to find amusement and the doge memes simply cannot supply the same type of amusement as the LOLcat memes. Although  Newtiz puts forth some good arguments for the doge meme, in my mind there is no competition. LOLcat take this one by a landslide.

Memes

 Dwight Schrute came into existence in 2005, at the start of the hit TV series, “The Office.”  Dwight is what you would call a know it all and has an extreme lack of proper social skills. This makes him extremely quotable as you can see from the meme on the left. Memes with direct Dwight Schrute quotes came into play in 2011.   Memes of Dwight Schrute are also  found under Schrute Facts, which are memes that show all of the facts that Dwight has either refuted, which he usually does, or agreed with.  The first Schrute Facts meme was Dwight refuting lyrics from the popular Beatles song “All You Need Is Love,”  with his own opinion of what is necessary to survive. This particular meme (shown above) was created using an app called Meme Generator. On this app you can find popular pictures to create memes of your own.  Once you select a picture, you can then add whatever text you want. This meme uses image macro with impact font to get the text across to the viewer. This meme was designed in a linear way so that the lead up to the punch line was read at the top of the page, then having the important image below that text, followed by the punch line itself.  For the visual learning aspect of this meme, the image is perceived by the viewer as something that adds to the experience that the show “The Office”.  As fans of the show, these viewers are looking for their favorite quotes to send out and share. When looking at the visual communication aspect of this meme, and many memes like it, it is possible that the creator simply wanted the meme to be perceived as a reminder of some of the best punch lines known to television.  Whoever creates memes such as these is trying to add to the experience of the show itself and provide further entertainment.

No matter how successful Schrute facts may become, the most relevant memes of the moment are called doge memes. These meme began with the adoption of an adorable dog (image shown on the left).  The man who adopted this particular dog took many photos of the animal and uploaded these pictures to the internet. The term doge originated from an animated series on youtube.com with an animated man calling his friend his “doge”.  By melding together the pictures of this adorable dog and the idea of doge as a slang term for dog, a new culture of memes was created.  Doge memes, unlike many memes such as Schrute Facts, use interior monologue and baby talk ad their textual element. These memes are designed so that informal text is scattered throughout the image to convey the dogs thoughts. Doge memes have created a culture that stretches beyond the internet. These memes are used for entertainment purposes and have expanded to advertisement uses for popular businesses such as Hamburger Helper. From a visual learning point of view these memes come across as silly blabber. The use of baby talk takes away from the message that the viewer perceives. From a visual communication point of view, it is possible that the creators of these memes are trying to use the silliness that comes from the baby talk element to appeal to a younger audience and get the attention of a new age group.