Flash Assignment
Well.. since I'm generally a "n00b" at putting up flash documents in a website, here's where my flash project is hosted: http://hybrid.concordia.ca/~lizlee/a1/assignment1.html
I'll try to figure out how to post it here for future reference.
Anyway, this project was very difficult for me, since I have basically NO flash skills whatsoever, despite having a general knowledge of its capacities and possibilities. So what I did was basically an outline of the project, including all its components (what I wanted to move, what buttons did what, etc..) and asked a saavy friend for some help. (Thanks Victor!) He explained to me how to construct what it is I wanted, and laid the groundwork for me to get my paws wet, all on my own.
This project has consequently taught me a lot, so it was really rewarding to see the thing work, especially since particular attention had been paid to the conceptual aspects. I'll be picking up a copy of Flash for Dummies soonish, and start learning about this cool program.. there are endless possibilities, apparently!
Anyway, on to the more conceptual bit...
My thinking behind this was sort of a critique of media, since we seem to be touching on these issues a lot in class. (Well not necessarily critiquing all the time, but definately questionning the validity of mass media, and how to use art to see past its brainwashing effects, and keep our objectivity, basically.) Contrarily to what it might look like, a lot of thougt was put into pretty much every aspect of this TV...
Firstly, I chose the oldest looking television possible, to make it look sort of iconic, in an empty white background. I wanted it laid out like that to illustrate the isolationist nature of watching television... when you watch it, there's nothing out, and you gobble up the images... in essence, your mind becomes as blank as the background.
The videos: They are all videos I shot myself, mostly on my recent trip to Japan. The reasoning behind this is just basically to add a personal touch, but also because what I did shoot was sort of symbolic of mediatic culture: The busiest intersection in the world (Shibuya section, Tokyo, alight with adds, neons and hyper stimulation on all sensual levels...), A bullet train, a crowning acheivement of technological development, automatic, revolving sushi.. so that you don't even need to interact with a person to get your food. Japan is really the prime example of a media-drowned culture. The footage of a man talking I found relevant just because you can't hear what he's saying... I think that says a lot about communication these days, on a person-to-person basis. It's all pretty symbolic I guess.
As far as the music: I chose the Benny Hill and Twilight Zone themes, not only because they relate to the age of the old-looking television I chose, as far as the era they're from, but also because they're instantly-recognizable television classics. Icons of media, if you will. Benny Hill because it's so ridiculous, and the Twilight Zone because it's so creepy... both atmospheres that relate well to television in general, if left to its own devices, hehe.
The controls: I decided not to give the viewer control of the channels themselves, because I think that's exactly how it is, in reality... Most of the time, you have no control over what images you're innondated with... all you can control really, is your perception of said images. If you're lucky, you're conscious of their effects, and can hence chose your opinion, illustrated by the music. Either it's Twilight-Zone creepy to you, how TV mass-hypnotizes millions, or you find televised media just plain ridiculous, like the parodying melody of Benny Hill. (I mean, "Who wants to marry a millionaire"... need I say more?) Or you can just tune out entirely, and watch the images blankly, like many do.
The second knob: Quite simply, when you try to turn it off... it turns you off.
Anyway, I realize this is pretty-much hand-feeding the meaning out to whoever sees this, but still, I just wanted to show what my thought-process was behind all this, despite it being a relatively simplistic project. I think you can still extract more messages behind the messages, and really, make it what you want it to be. As long as the person is thinking about the gratuitous nature of the televised image... then that's fine with me.
I'll try to figure out how to post it here for future reference.
Anyway, this project was very difficult for me, since I have basically NO flash skills whatsoever, despite having a general knowledge of its capacities and possibilities. So what I did was basically an outline of the project, including all its components (what I wanted to move, what buttons did what, etc..) and asked a saavy friend for some help. (Thanks Victor!) He explained to me how to construct what it is I wanted, and laid the groundwork for me to get my paws wet, all on my own.
This project has consequently taught me a lot, so it was really rewarding to see the thing work, especially since particular attention had been paid to the conceptual aspects. I'll be picking up a copy of Flash for Dummies soonish, and start learning about this cool program.. there are endless possibilities, apparently!
Anyway, on to the more conceptual bit...
My thinking behind this was sort of a critique of media, since we seem to be touching on these issues a lot in class. (Well not necessarily critiquing all the time, but definately questionning the validity of mass media, and how to use art to see past its brainwashing effects, and keep our objectivity, basically.) Contrarily to what it might look like, a lot of thougt was put into pretty much every aspect of this TV...
Firstly, I chose the oldest looking television possible, to make it look sort of iconic, in an empty white background. I wanted it laid out like that to illustrate the isolationist nature of watching television... when you watch it, there's nothing out, and you gobble up the images... in essence, your mind becomes as blank as the background.
The videos: They are all videos I shot myself, mostly on my recent trip to Japan. The reasoning behind this is just basically to add a personal touch, but also because what I did shoot was sort of symbolic of mediatic culture: The busiest intersection in the world (Shibuya section, Tokyo, alight with adds, neons and hyper stimulation on all sensual levels...), A bullet train, a crowning acheivement of technological development, automatic, revolving sushi.. so that you don't even need to interact with a person to get your food. Japan is really the prime example of a media-drowned culture. The footage of a man talking I found relevant just because you can't hear what he's saying... I think that says a lot about communication these days, on a person-to-person basis. It's all pretty symbolic I guess.
As far as the music: I chose the Benny Hill and Twilight Zone themes, not only because they relate to the age of the old-looking television I chose, as far as the era they're from, but also because they're instantly-recognizable television classics. Icons of media, if you will. Benny Hill because it's so ridiculous, and the Twilight Zone because it's so creepy... both atmospheres that relate well to television in general, if left to its own devices, hehe.
The controls: I decided not to give the viewer control of the channels themselves, because I think that's exactly how it is, in reality... Most of the time, you have no control over what images you're innondated with... all you can control really, is your perception of said images. If you're lucky, you're conscious of their effects, and can hence chose your opinion, illustrated by the music. Either it's Twilight-Zone creepy to you, how TV mass-hypnotizes millions, or you find televised media just plain ridiculous, like the parodying melody of Benny Hill. (I mean, "Who wants to marry a millionaire"... need I say more?) Or you can just tune out entirely, and watch the images blankly, like many do.
The second knob: Quite simply, when you try to turn it off... it turns you off.
Anyway, I realize this is pretty-much hand-feeding the meaning out to whoever sees this, but still, I just wanted to show what my thought-process was behind all this, despite it being a relatively simplistic project. I think you can still extract more messages behind the messages, and really, make it what you want it to be. As long as the person is thinking about the gratuitous nature of the televised image... then that's fine with me.
posted by LizLee-CART254 at 1:25 PM
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