For one of my assignments, I chose to do Consult with your Doctor. I felt that I haven’t been using Dr. Oblivion as much as I could be, especially since all of his answers could be downloaded as audio files. That only makes this one of the best decisions for this week. So, for this assignment I had to have a conversation with Dr. oblivion asking questions and getting answers. I decided to do a job interview for essentially his current position. The results were hilarious as always and I really had a blast doing it. He gets a little wild there for a sec but then he reels it back in for the win. I hope you enjoy my Dr. Oblivion interview.
Just A Normal Sunday Sound Effect Story
I had a lot of fun with the sound effect story. I had some ideas that didn’t work out because I just couldn’t find the right sounds and it would have taken a lot of work to make them myself. Initially I wanted to do a story about taking out my dogs. But then I decided to do the thing I wasn’t supposed to do and make a morning routine, but maybe there is something extra. You will just have to listen to find out. I want to hear your reactions.
What did you feel? I really want to know.
Overall though I had a lot of fun with this. I know I could have added some more layering of sounds and made the transitions less choppy, but I just wanted to make sure I got the story out there to get some feedback.
DS 106 Radio: It’s What You Need
Here is my simple DS106 radio bumper. First time using audacity so I only layered a couple things into it, but I messed with volume and some other settings to see what I could do. Might use a different mic next time because the clarity is meh at best.
I am really enjoying working with audio. I remember the good ole days when garage band first came out and just messing around in it all day. I’ll say that those feelings are coming back. I can’t wait to possibly hear it on the DS106 radio station!
Echo: An Audio Reflection
This post is about the videos we were assigned to watch as well as the moon graffiti story and the ds106 radio broadcast.
After watching the two videos from Jad Abumrad, I have a little bit deeper appreciation for radio/storytelling. The videos talking about how pictureless storytellers are like modern day shaman and they are creating empathy between listeners is an interesting thought. Until you really break down what is happening when a group is listening to a story, you don’t really think about it. You don’t think about anyone else’s experience because you are lost in your own. But really, you are all sort of sharing an imagination, an ethereal plane of thought, perhaps a consciousness, where all the experiences are similar but different based on the personal interpretations. Conceptually this was very interesting to me.
The moon graffiti audio story was compelling. I was hooked from the second I read the premise. I really like how they used a real speech from the national archives to create this story. The ambiance and music created horror like tension combined with intense depression for the fictional fate of our heroes. Th accuracy of their language and actions they may have taken really immersed me in their plight. To think that they were prepared for something like this to happen is eerie. Imagine if it did? When they mention that this mistake makes have killed the space program. Maybe it would have made it move faster. It is interesting to think how history could have changed whit one tweak.
The ds106 group listen event was really cool, especially after watching the Jad Abumrad videos. I was thinking the whole time that we were all experiencing the same thing with slight tweaks based on our experiences and were in this like shared dream state. All of us could be sitting there with our eyes closed imagining the environment in which the story was being held in. The sounds, the music, the dialogue, all telling a story I am familiar with, but it somehow seemed more intimate, even visceral. That Jad Abumrad guy really knows what he is talking about. I hope to sit in on the next part if I get back from my other class on time.
I don’t really have much more to say about these things other than I really enjoyed them and it got me thinking about how to do my assignments this week and how I should try to invoke feelings with my audio design.
3rd Recap, Delicious Design
Week 3 summary:
This week was awesome. Real life threw me some curveballs, so I was a little more detached than usual, but I still really enjoyed what we were doing this week. The main objectives this week were to look at visual story telling through images and design and throw the AI twist in there of how it could affect these areas. We were proposed some interesting questions: Is it a photo if it didn’t use a camera? Can we even trust images now? What does AI mean for design? If an AI uses images that were already created, is it copyright? Very important as we delve deeper into digital AI art.
The first thing we looked at were a few posts about design. A few of them went over the work of Chip Kidd who was a book cover designer. His insight into the creativity required for designing a book cover really blew my mind. All the things he was trying to do with them, I did subconsciously because of his design skills. The main quote I take away from this is “It doesn’t occur to most people that everything is designed — that every building and everything they touch in the world is designed “. This was almost a revelation for me. it got me thinking about how everything is specifically tailored to get a desired reaction through design. There were also a few posts about movie posters and a title sequence. My full thoughts are HERE.
The next item was to do a 20min photo blitz. This was a fun activity because it put pressure on my creativity. What are you going to do when you have to get as many things pumped out as possible in a short amount of time? Will they be garbage? Or will they be better because you had to go off feeling instead of logic? You decide. HERE is my post about it.
Next, we had to do 3 assignments. One was curated and the other two were from the bank. I really enjoyed the AI art tools from the Middlebury College assignment. This was the exercise. The task was to use two tools and generate images using the same prompts and slowly get more elaborate. The results of mine were hilarious. I appreciate that it dove into the question of what this means for artists. I put some thoughts in my post, and I am curious to what you think.
For the other two assignments I chose to do two from the design catalogue. One was called Back to Basics, where I had to design a cottage in an open world videogame. I chose a new one called Palworld where not only can you design a house, but an automated ranch. So, it involves a lot of design planning and coordination and picking the right Pals to help depending on production needs. It’s definitely worth checking out. HERE is my post. The other design challenge was called Contradiction Creation, and its objective was to make a picture that made you feel something, but the words on it contradicted the feeling. These always make me laugh so I did two of them. You can see my post HERE.
I also did 3 daily creates this week. You know what these are so I’m not going to belabor the process. HERE is my post on what I did.
My activity this week was sub-par to say the least. As I am writing this, I have only commented a few times and most of them were on my posts, so I really need to work on visiting the other pages. I will comment on some as the night goes on. I really want to see people’s photoblitz.
So, to conclude this week, I learned a lot about design and the amount of work that goes into making us do and feel things subconsciously. I hope to utilize what I have learned this week in future assignments.
The Blitz!
This week we were tasked with doing the photoblitz assignment. The objective was to take pictures based on the list provided over 20 minutes. We record the start and end time and see what we come up with. I really liked this assignment because it made me think on the fly and find things before the time ran out. I feel like I did really well because I finished my list with time to spare. Here is my start time and my list:
My first photo was of something old or aged today. I took a picture of my Swiss shepherd Claire. She is getting up there in age (9), her nose is going pink when it used to be black, and she is starting to get cataracts and hip issues. Poor girl. Oh, and my mini-Ausie Jenny wanted to join in.
The next one was about showing how ants see the world. Simple, here it is:
Next one was to take a picture without aiming. All I did was walk outside, leave my phone by my side, and hit the button. I got this cool lens flare and a car driving by.
I have 2 for the next one, tell a story in one photo. For the first one, it’s the hole in my wall. When I tried to change the faucet outside, when loosening it I actually twisted the copper pipe and ripped it off. I now need to repair the drywall because the plumbers don’t do that…
For the second one, my son has recently become obsessed with hotels. Last night he decided to write numbers on our doors and assign us room numbers. Still need to clean those…
Next was to take a picture of something at an unusual angle. My daughter caught me taking pictures and wanted me to take a pic of her book case. So, here it is.
Next was to take a picture with vertical lines. This one took me the most time, but I settled on the banister rails.
The last photo was to find my favorite number. That one was easy. I am in the Stafford adult league, and I already chose my number. Here is my pinnie.
Here was my end time.
I didn’t realize I was going this fast until I was done. I guess the anxiety of not finishing the list got the better of me. Anyway, I had a blast doing this and I might use this as an activity with my kids. They wanted me to keep going after I was done so now i know what i will be doing tomorrow.
3 This Week, Sounds Good
So, for the daily creates this week I did 3 of them. I wanted to do more, but when you work full time and have 2 kids and 3 dogs and 1 cat and your dryer breaks, and your laundry room needs painted to match the new appliances… you kind of get busy. So, yeah, I was only able to get 3 done, BUT I had fun doing them. I got to do some coloring, I made a gif of my first job, and I let you into my world a little bit with my intro song.
The first one was to use a digital coloring book to re-color famous artwork. This is the one I chose, and I went with a green theme. I don’t know why, but all this AI and internet talk made want to do something that reminded me of nature. Here is my post below:
The next one I did was a gif of my first job. Not a lot of funny or cool videos of car washes or detailing, so I just quickly put this one together. I’ll admit it wasn’t too exciting and I could have put just a tad more effort in, but yeah, detailing was super fun. I have lots of gross stories and one dangerous one so, just let me know if you want to hear it! See post below.
The last one I did was posting my walkout song. When I saw this, I know a slow smile appeared on my face because I think about this every time, I see a UFC fighter walk out or see the starting lineup for an NBA game. I knew exactly which one I was going to pick. It has been a song I have enjoyed for a long time. It’s got a great intro, dark lyrics, and slamming riffs. See below. Here is the video if you want to watch it yourself.
So yeah, only 3 this week because real life got a few punches in, but overall, I had a good time with it. I keep saying it, and I’ll say it again, these little daily things really keep me motivated in this course. They keep me excited to see what the next thing is, and I know I’ll likely learn something from each one. I have done a few of them with my kids to get them thinking creatively and they are already as excited as I am for the next one.
AI Art is Absolutely Hilarious
Alright, so for the Middlebury art assignment I went with a recognizable person so it would have lots of reference material. I also determined that the person would have to also be someone who has already become sort of a caricature of themselves in pop culture. I chose Richard Nixon. Despise the man, but I feel like his face is quite unique and AI would have some fun with it.
The two sites I used were Craiyon which was suggested by the site, and 123RF which I had found on my own. Both are free, but 123RF limits the amount you can do in a day, and you have to make an account, so the fun is short lived and a bit tedious.
The prompt I started with was Richard Nixon. Below are the two pictures from Craiyon and 123RF respectively.
So, without any prompt other than a name, 123Rf decided to put him in a library with a book with what looks like his own fac on it? That sems Nixony. The Craiyon one went more cartoony so maybe it was pulling from caricatures instead of photos? either way, results are pretty simple.
I moved on to add some extra words. the new prompt is Richard Nixon signing documents. I didn’t want to jump up to crazy yet because I wanted to see if simple additions got wild. Below are the results.
In this iteration, its sems that 123 was able to keep the somewhat photorealistic style and managed to make sure all of his parts were normal. It put him at a desk and actually doing the prompt. Very nice. Now the one from Craiyon is unsettling. They switched it to black and white from cartoon so clearly in the caricatures he has never signed anything, only on TV. But, for the love of God, what is wrong with his hands. The pen has fused with his finger and his other hand is like… a flipper… I guess… I did not think it would get this bad this fast but, that’s what I was secretly hoping for.
For the last prompt we were supposed to add something crazy or in a style etc. I thought location would be more hilarious. Initially I said on a plane or in a pool, but I wanted it to have to think a little bit. I decided the new prompt would be Richard Nixon Signing Documents in a flaming golf cart. The results:
So the image from Craiyon is no longer showing me a recognizable Nixon, just a generic man in a suit inside a burning vehicle. It could barely be recognized as a golf cart so I kind of think this one missed the mark. It also went back to cartoon style for some reason… interesting. But the 123 picture is comedy gold. Why does h now look like Josh Brolin and why is his pen now a gun? Who are the faceless people? AND WHY IS HE STILL AT A DESK?
Reflection questions:
Which image was the worst? – I would have to say the last one from Craiyon because it started losing details and Nixon as not recognizable anymore.
Which one was most impressive? – In the comedy department, probably the last 123 picture. The desk on a cart with a pen gun is pretty amazing. But with prompt accuracy, I would say the second 123 pic because it didn’t really have any strange things about it.
Where do you perceive AI image generation as a threat to artists? – I don’t need to perceive it, it’s already happening. So, I am a huge nerd and play Magic the Gathering. This article came out earlier this year and it is but a small step to these artists losing their jobs. I mean, one of my favorite parts of the cards is admiring the art. Having the artists name on the bottom of the card lets me know that a person with this amazing skill is making the card game I love. I can then look them up and see what else they have done. I could then go buy their merchandise. Their art is their livelihood so i think it should be protected. When AI is used to make art for these cards, it really will take that small appreciation out of the equation. Would it lead me to stop playing, probably not if I’m honest, but it will feel less alive.
Design Assignment 2, Week 3
So first I thought it would be funny for an assignment called Contradiction Creation to make my title a contradiction of what we are supposed to do. Instead of a flashy fun title, I went with a literal boring descriptive one. Funny right… no… ok well here was the second design assignment.
As stated above I chose to do a contradiction creation. These are fun because they always make me chuckle no matter how lame or amazing they turn out. I decided to do 2 just because they aren’t really challenging, and I wanted to see what i could come up with.
First one I decided to do was with a picture of the lovable quokka and add a word that literally nobody would associate with it, VIOLENCE.
An entire internet trend was started because these little guys are considered the happiest animals on earth, and they do not look like they are capable of violence. There are about a dozen or so incidents every year where they are involved in injuring someone but look at that face! I do not believe it!
For my second one I just had the phrase I wanted to use in my head, run fast, eat trash. It is referencing a raccoon and I tried to think of the thing most opposite of our little trash gremlins, so I thought of an elegant dinner. The result:
Again, these are not too difficult, but I had a good time thinking of what to do. If you put things on a spectrum in this way, you can come up with some fun stuff. I enjoyed doing this one and I recommend taking a few minutes to think of some good ones.
Design is Problem Solving
Reflection of the posts.
Kids guide to graphic design – So reading this article and the first quite rings true, “It doesn’t occur to most people that everything is designed — that every building and everything they touch in the world is designed”. Everything in our reality is designed whether it seems like it or not. They may not always be designed well, but someone always has a hand in it. And the author makes a great point that if we do not stop and pay attention to design, we tend to miss things. He describes this as a cultural blind spot, which I tend to agree with. Lots of us do not stop and appreciate the design aspect of things, rather we focus on the function. In the audio excerpt he explains his thoughts that everything we do is designed, and by that he means planned. Everything is made to serve a function and it is planned. Something as simple as laying your clothes out the night before is designing how your morning activities will be changed or improved to optimize your time. Design is problem solving. I really like how design is described as a head trip where other elements have more physical goals. So, with graphic design, we are planning head trips for the viewers. Really inspiring knowing we were assigned some design projects this week.
TED Talk – I really enjoyed the TED talk with Mr. Kidd. He really explained the importance of design and how it can translate to business. The better his designs, the better the book sales. It was enjoyable to see him talk through his process and see some of his work. The other big point was how his design told a story. It gave a preview of what you would find inside the book. Very interesting to see how he would change how the cover worked and it would convey a different message.
Movie Posters – The next piece that was going over colors in movie posters was really cool. It was one of those things like, I felt like there was always a pattern, but I could never put my finger on it. When it came to the yellow and indie movie posters, I was like… what… then he pulled up the sheet with all the movies and I kind of laughed. There was no way they were all yellow, and yep, they were. Going through all the genres and seeing what emotions they were trying to convey though color was really cool, and I hope to use these on some of my projects.
Stranger Things – The last video was about the stranger things intro. For one, great show. Sci-fi horror is my jam and that show added deep synth wave sound… amazing combo. It was interesting to learn where the inspiration came from and how it connected to the intro. I think the intro sequence was actually what go to me to watch the show in the first place. So, good for them getting a fan over that sequence.
So, all in all these articles and videos showed how different elements of design draw in viewers and convey the message they want to convey. Until I watched went over these topics, I never really thought about how such small changes could change the entire feel of something. It really got me thinking about what I can do to make my projects for this class convey my intentions more effectively. The quote rings true, design is problem solving.