Digital Acting

Blog Entry #5

Recently, my cousin showed me the official trailer for Assasin's Creed: Brotherhood. At first, I thought, "WOW! They got real actors to do this thing!" I soon found out, that what I thought was a live action scene being played out before me, was in fact, an animation! The figures, from afar, moved with convincing human-like grace. It was only during close-ups that the animated reality became apparent to me.  

We don't have to look very far to see evidence of animated characters starring side-by-side with human counterparts. In Avatar, the use of "performance capture" is one step towards the fusion of animation and real-life actors. Read the following article, entitled <a href="http://www.digitalacting.com/2010/02/26/do-the-avatar-actors-deserve-recognition/">Do the ‘Avatar’ actors deserve recognition?</a> and respond to the following questions:
1. Is this acting or is this animation?
2. Do you think that animated character should be eligible for acting awards?
3. Do you think that human actors will ever become obsolete? Why or why not?

Are you a boy band??

Unit 11 Journal Entry Question for students who missed the trip. Grade 10 Media Arts/Comm Tech

On the trip to Vtape, students saw the video art piece entitled "I am a boy band." This piece was created by Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, who satirizes the different personalities of a prefabricated boy band. Ramsay shows how boy bands are often constructed using male stereotypes (the "sporty guy", "the cute one", "the bad boy"). Musical sensations are rarely discovered in today's market-driven music industry, but are constructed for a very specific audience and purpose.

Think of one example of a prefabricated music group/act and discuss the following:
-their image
-their target market (who is their audience and how do you know)
-their message
-their purpose

Hello Budding Artist and other Creative People,

Art show admission is $3 and EVERYONE must pay - participating art students included

What?! I've got to pay for my own art show?!

you may say. Yes. There are two good reasons: 1. Art students constitute a large part of the school population (about 70%?) If art students don't pay, then it practically becomes a free show and the art department won't be able to break even and will go into debt. 2. If or when you become practicing artists, you will spend much more than $3 for your own work. Sure, public galleries who claim to "support" emerging artists will offer you small grants, even pay for your gas to go to Montreal, but they will never pay for materials, which I can tell you from personal experience, will exponentially exceed $3. Trust me, $3 (6 caf cookies=3 cans of pop =2 Jamaican patties) for your own show is a small price to pay.

During scheduled days, you are expected to continue working on projects for the art show:
Grade 10s: Illustrator Vectorized masterpieces (you can sign-up for heat stamping)
Grade 11s: Suitcase of Souvenirs project: Edit all movie - export and quicktime movie (extension .mov) and drop into desktop folder entitled ASM/TGJ 301. See Josh for help in my absence.
Grade 12s: ISPs, if not already completed. ALL projects need to be completed by April 20th to make it into the show.
Journalism: Work on articles for the next issue of MW Planet. Also sign-up for art show jobs like Planet Cafe and tour guides.

"Art is NOT easy"

Keep it real and keep creating,
Ms. Largo

Web 2.0 is YOU!

Journal Entry Question # 6 for Grade 12 Comm Tech

In mid-April we are going to see a play called "edentity", a stage performance that incorporates new media and web into a live performance. It examines how human interactions and identity are challenged and changed by emerging forms of web communication technology. The following video also explores these themes.



Write about how you think Web 2.0 is challenging us to "rethink ourselves".

Web as Art

image taken from http://www.alzado.net/eintro.html
Journal Entry Question #6 for Grade 11 Media Arts/Comm Tech

The web can be considered the largest art space with the most potential to create new forms of expression. Many new media artists are exploring the possibilities of this new environment to not only share their work, but use elements such as hypertext, time, sound, and interactivity in their art. Review the different Web art projects on the following site. www.ylem.org/artists/ayoungs/links.html#web
Choose one and discuss:
What is this piece about? Please describe it.
Why does the artist use the web?
What are the elements of this work that are unique to web art?
What do you like/dislike about the project?

Reporters in the line of fire

Journal Entry Question #10 for Journalism

In one recent J-Talk, we discussed the Reporters Without Borders 2006 report on Press Freedom. The report reveals the harsh realities that journalists are facing around the world for the sake of bearing witness to the truth. Some pay the ultimate price. This begs the question: Why do journalists struggle so hard, sometimes even risking their own lives, to get the story? We don't need to look very far for recent examples of this. Journalists in our own city are compromising their safety to bring a little justice to citizens' lives. Check out Peter Silverman's (from City TV's Silverman Helps) brush with a crooked business man with a temper:

VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED


Is it worth endangering ones' life to get the scoop?

Are Wii the Children of the Revolution?

Journal Entry question for EVERYONE!

There has been quite a bit of hype surrounding the new Ninetendo Wii gaming system. Some say that the Wii's ability to "democratize" gaming for people of all ages and abilities is revolutionary. Do you think this is a true technological revolution or just hype? Please defend your opinion.

Advisory: This Ain't Disney!

Grade 11 & 12 Media Arts & Comm Tech Journal Entry Question #4

As many of you who watch South Park, Japanese anime, or Family Guy will know, animations are not always for young children. Animations, just like film, come in all genres, including horror! Watch the trailers of "Blood Tea and Red String" or "The Cat with Hands" which are some very technically sophisticated - and creepy - examples of stop-motion animation. Review one trailer and discuss how the creator disrupts your expectations of animation.

Grade 11 & 12 Media Arts & Comm Tech Journal Entry Question #5
Some animation purists say that computer animation, like that of Pixar, is cold and too rendered. Some modern animators believe that hand animation is dead because it is too time-consuming and labour-intensive. Compare and contrast traditional hand animation to computer animation using examples that you are familiar with. What do you prefer and why?

The Taste of Success

Journalism 11/12 Journal Entry Question #8
Time for some creative writing, J-Students! In the style of a cooking recipe, you will concoct a recipe for "Success as a Mary Ward Student." Supporting artwork encouraged. The tastiest recipes will be published in the Mary Ward Planet. Due November 17th.


Journalism 11/12 Journal Entry Question #9
On Nov. 16th , Journalism will be hosting 2 guest speakers from the Globe and Mail. Attend the J-talks and listen to their stories. Using their experiences as examples, think and write about what is needed to "make it big" in journalism professions.

Photocopied Politics

Grade 11/12 Journalism Journal Entry Question #7

"Putting out a zine, any zine, is a political act. Whether it's the high school kid who does a zine about Sloan, or the collective's newsletter advocating environmental awareness, both are reclaiming what was essentially theirs to begin with."
- Hilary Clark

Reflect and Comment.

Reading in Cyberspace ?!?

Grade 10 Journal Entry Question #5

Google Book Search is a tool from Google that searches the full text of books that Google scans and stores in its digital database. The service formerly known as Google Print has caused some contraversy.
View the following video on YouTube(the newest addition to google), read about it and try it out for yourself at http://books.google.com/

View the video: Is Google Book Search "fair use"?
Read about it: http://books.google.com/googleprint/library.html

In your journal answer the following questions:
1. What effect will this library-based digitization have on Google’s relationships with publishers?
2. How have Google’s competitors, such as Yahoo! or Microsoft, respond to this challenge?
3. What impact could this project have on the access to information?
4.Will librarians be threatened by the new development?
5. What do you think?

What Makes YOU special?

The Genographic Project
Grade 10 Journal Entry Question #4

In the space of just a few thousand generations, the linguistic, cultural and genetic diversity of the human race has exploded. Scientists agree that all humans share a common ancestry in Africa. Much less well understood is how the human race migrated out of Africa and became so diverse. To discover more about this ancestral journey, IBM and National Geographic have launched the Genographic Project, a landmark five-year study which will collect a massive sample of human DNA to put together a map of how humans populated the planet.

Explore the Genographic Project Site
Explore the IBM Site

View the videos, listen to the podcasts, read the articles and write an entry considering the following:

• · consider the scientific and technological advancements that make the project possible;
• · consider the impact of our highly mobile, global society on migration;
• · describe the importance of the Genographic Project;
• · project future migration patterns;

Some questions to help you:
What are the scientific and technological advances necessary to accomplish the Genographic Project?
Could researchers have accomplished this project 100 years ago? 50? 25?
Why is the timing of the Genographic Project important?
How important are the indigenious groups to the project?