Again, I thought there was supposed to be sound but there was nothing so I was confused at first. Watching the video was an odd experience. I realized after a while that the rectangular shapes moving across the screen in various ways was the “music.” Although there was no real audio, the movement of the shapes mimicked instruments in a symphonic performance. The video was essentially the conductor of an invisible symphony known and “heard” only by each individual listener within their own mind. Visual cues such as size and color guide the mind through the piece. A gradual increase or decrease in the size of a single shape correlates (in my mind, at least) to a gradual increase or decrease in volume—a visual crescendo or decrescendo. More than one rectangle appearing on screen told me to add more instruments. If a rectangle was brought to the front while one in the background faded out but was still visible, I knew to let most of the sounds fade to background noise while one stood more prominently—a solo of sorts. I also interpreted the switch from black background with white rectangles to white background with black rectangles as a key change. The pace was fast and it was difficult for me to keep up, actually. Replaying the piece in my mind, it’s easier to pick apart what it was that I found recognizable about various movements on the screen, but trying to follow along in real time quickly became overwhelming. Even on a third watch through I struggled to follow the video conductor’s directions, but it was overall an interesting experience.
Month: October 2017
LoBueNicole Blog Post #7
1. Create a four-year degree plan. How will this major help you prepare a career in the future? Do you have a back up plan if this major doesn’t work out?
So, currently I’m in my Freshman year at St. Edward’s University with 7% of my degree progress requirements complete and 19% of my degree progress credits complete, according to Degree Works. I plan to major in Interactive Game Studies (IGST) so I can work toward a career in the video game industry. Not just for entertainment purposes, though. I value the potential medical benefits that video games have–for example, acting as a natural pain-killer for burn victims. The games serve as a distraction while the patient’s bandages are changed, thus diverting focus from the painful process being performed. I’m also interested in promoting the social aspects of online gaming. Through multiplayer online games, I’ve formed bonds with people I never would have met otherwise. I want to be able be a part of the creation of such environments.
Honestly, I haven’t thought very much about a back up plan for if this major doesn’t work out. Perhaps I’m putting too much faith in it, but I can’t foresee it not working out. I’m willing to put in the effort to be able to have a job in the future doing something I love while still being able to potentially make an impact on other peoples’ lives for the better.
2. Do you have a minor or have you considered a second major? If so, what is it and why do you think this will be a beneficial choice? If not, identify at least one minor or major degree option that you are interested in. Explain why you chose this option.
I decided to minor in Business Administration. If I’m going into the video game industry, I’d better be prepared for some serious competition. Having a minor in business can help give me an edge in the working world and the knowledge to climb the ranks, so to speak, from newbie to head of some department.
LoBueNicole Blog Post #2
Part 1: Time Tracking
I took my spreadsheet and condensed it into a single pie chart using this website so I could easily see and analyze the proportions of time worked out for the recorded week. I divided my activities into seven categories: healthcare (red–mostly sleep and hygiene), personal activities (blue–grocery shopping and other things off campus), classes (grey green), homework (light green), relaxation (yellow), work-study (purple), and other (white–includes time walking between classes and generally non-designated time). So it went from this:
to this:
I was kind of surprised to find that I spent about the same amount of time relaxing as I did doing homework. Granted, a significant portion of the hours I spent doing homework were on Sunday, so that tells me I should spread out my homework more evenly between Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (and that doing so wouldn’t infringe upon my time for other activities, just reduce Sunday stress). Apart from that, I feel my schedule is pretty well balanced. I know a lot of students–or the majority of my friends, at least–don’t make a point of going to sleep before midnight. I do this, and it’s a factor of my daily routine that can clearly be seen in the pie chart with the healthcare (red) section being the largest by far. I also give myself a lot of time to eat breakfast and dinner. Had I given “eating” its own section, I think that would be evident, too.
Part 2: High School Work
LoBueNicole Blog Post #4
Part 1
Project 1:
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What was the goal of the assignment? Or what was the question posed by this assignment?
The goal of this assignment was to take pictures from the sets we took on South Congress and cut them into strips to distort the image into something new.
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How did you go about reaching this goal or answering this question?
I went about reaching this goal or answering this question by cutting a picture I’d taken of a flower and randomizing the order of the strips. I decided to leave the white border on some of the strips to give the piece a feel of being broken into pixels. It didn’t necessarily work very well but I’m glad I tried it.
Project 2:
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What was the goal of the assignment? Or what was the question posed by this assignment?
This is the most recent (and final) physical collage project. The assignment challenged us to do something different.
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How did you go about reaching this goal or answering this question?
I went about reaching this goal or answering this question by assembling something I hadn’t seen any of the previous collages in my class do, which was have the collage actually lift off the page to mimic a real butterfly. I also hadn’t seen anyone attempt to construct some sort of animal out of shapes cut out from their pictures so I thought it’d also be something interesting and different.
Part 2
Self-Critique:
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What is the strongest aspect of this work?
The uniqueness of it.
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What is the weakest aspect?
The craftsmanship–it could have been done with better paper and cut with more precision. I think this would have been good for like a first draft of the project.
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How can the project be strengthened conceptually?
I think the colors could have been brighter so the images would be more easily visible.
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How can the project be strengthened technically?
Better quality paper and cleaner cuts–a second draft.
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Additional notes.
LoBueNicole Blog Post #6
Skills Inventory
Courses
Rhetoric and Composition II
My greatest strengths in this class include vocabulary and articulation. For greater success in the course, I need to more carefully annotate the articles we are assigned to read.
Diverse Communities Across Space and Place
My greatest strengths in this class include technical writing and previous experience working in Socratic Seminars. For greater success in this course, I need to (again) more carefully annotate the articles we are assigned to read and perhaps do them more ahead of time.
Precalculus
My greatest strengths in this class include algebra and previous knowledge from my high school precalculus course. For greater success in this course, I need to practice more problems without using a calculator.
History of Games
My greatest strengths in this course include game and grammatical knowledge. For greater success in this course, I need to more diligently do the assigned reading and pay special attention to important figures.
visual studies i
My greatest strengths in this course include Adobe Photoshop and an artistic eye. For greater success in this course, I need to take better notes during lectures on how to use the various programs.
1st year visual seminar
My greatest strengths in this course include active listening. For greater success in this course, I need to give myself more reminders to do the weekly assignments on time and to submit the URL when they’re finished.
community & the liberal arts university
My greatest strengths in this course include active listening and writing ability. I’m doing fine in this class.
Computer Skills
My computer skills include Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, basic Python coding, formatting, editing, and typing. I still need to learn a lot for my major.
Research & Writing Skills
My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include my ability to determine the credibility of a source and knowledge of useful/trustworthy databases.
Action Plan
10 Ways to Improve in 1st Year Visual Seminar
- Stay on top of the blog posts
- Do the blog posts
- Submit the blog posts
- Make a to-do list for the course
- Take more cohesive notes during student lectures especially
- Communicate with the teachers
- Don’t sit by friends
- Sit closer to the front
- Ask questions
- Keep and maintain my calendar (will help with everything, not just this class)
LoBueNicole Blog Post #3
Beth Cavener
Upon reading the prompt, I immediately remembered an artist’s work I had seen in the past and been drawn to. I couldn’t remember the artist’s name at first but it didn’t take long to figure out since her animal sculptures are easily distinguishable. Born on November 25, 1972, the 44-year-old full-time professional studio artist is currently living in Montana. On the About tab in Beth Cavener’s digital portfolio, she states that her sculptures “focus on human psychology, stripped of context and rationalization, and articulated through animal and human forms.” Her goal is “to pry at those uncomfortable, awkward edges between animal and human” and I’d say her work does this rather well. Her most recent exhibition, The Other, opened on July 3, 2017 and aimed to “[address] the strained edges of identity as defined by the presence of another.”
One of her works I particularly enjoy is titled “Tangled Up In You.” Designed with and painted by Alessandro Gallo, it “portrays a human-scale hare suspended in midair at eye-level with the viewer, curling in on itself and sinuously intertwined with the twisting body of a 19 food anaconda snake. The sculpture hangs from the coiled tail of the snake wrapped around a rope attached to the ceiling, while the head of the snake twists around and is latched, mouth wide onto the shoulder of the hare…Embedded within the tattoos, the subtle narrative of the two figures unfolded within the context of a wild, wind-tossed storm of stylized clouds and crashing waves…The combination of the undulating form of the snake, accentuated by the animated design of the tattoos, and the inward spiral of the hare poised in midair evoke a powerful flow of tangled emotion and energy.”
