Tag Archives: technology

student blogs

ELIT Final Project Early Ideas

Some early ideas that have been generating since last class towards the final elit project is possibly creating an interactive poem that uses word scape movements on the screen with animation tools in a Microsoft Word Doc. There seems to be many options to animate text, images, using this platform and turn into a creative way to experience my poetry and also interact with it. I was thinking about creating some letters in Adobe Illustrator using clipping mask technique to add an image inside each letter that is associated with emotions, or events. Not really sure yet. Then export into a Word Doc which you can do as a JPEG or PNG file image or even with Adobe Acrobat using the “Export to Word” command.

I would really like to sharpen my skills again in Adobe After Effects but there may not be enough time to rekindle and do what I have planned creatively to the letters. Mister Horse is a free program extension of Adobe After Effects that gives you options of making text animated in various ways. I would like my poem to be in a way a task for the reader to transcribe the words or letters that show up on thw screen at variables in different colors, sizes, sequences compared to mine that was separated prior at a given point of time. This process can attempt to recognize the order of how we put words together to express a thought, emotion and  our thought process contemplating our structure of putting things together, so they are comprehended by others . Meaning Making of words. There is also an effect called Clipping Mask mentioned earlier that can replace the inner part of a letter character, number with an image. This can be an effective technique also I may want to experiment with to emphasize certain particular words with a feeling.

https://share.google/h0wvKMIJlndCJZO43

I was also thinking about doing cut outs of letters and some images I have or digital artworks to add to the animations in a  Word Doc being untraditional to how this program is usually used to communicate. Though this is too ambitious at this point of the Semester and would require too much time.

student blogs

Blackout Poetry Tool and 200 Castle

This week we covered two pretty cool works of E-lit. To start I want to talk about 200 Castle. This work again goes with the idea of accessibility within the context of E-lit. Augmented Reality works are really cool to experience in person. Much, if not all of their value is based on the interaction between the user and their device’s camera. Since I could only see this work through a video from author Caitlin Fisher, I feel like I am missing the point. It’s the same feeling of hearing a movie that people love to talk about and learning it’s hard to find online. From what I saw through the video, I can say that I am super interested in the work regardless. The work using a real book to flip through is a brilliant way of including a physical aspect into the work. The act of flipping through a book brings another level of immersion rather than scrolling on a webpage for example. The fact that the reader could read it out of order also added a level of control as the reader only interacted with images that they were interested in. The only issue I could consider having with this work is the fact that holding a phone or tablet while trying to see the book could be challenging, though I guess we will never know.

The other work that was covered this week was the Black Out Poetry Tool by Jazer Chand. I have to admit that I initially judged this work too harshly when I first looked at it. I am a poetry hater through and through (honestly, I just do not “get it”). Looking at this, I was kind of put off. The first setting of “Thesis” was pretty straight forward. I took my time to create a work from the first couple lines of Mary Shelley’s masterwork. The “anithesis” setting was off putting in a way. Since I took some time to pick my words, it was kind of a moment of whiplash to see the bot spit out a work almost instantly. It reminded me of my feelings of AI within the realm of writing (that’s a can of worms I do not want to even touch). It was with the “synthesis” setting was great. Working with the bot to create a work was way more enjoyable than I imagined. Rather than spitting out piece, the bot works with the user, vamping off of our selection. I liked how the bot chose words that would naturally fit with the words that the user chose. It creates the illusion of collaboration (only an illusion since the bot is not a real person, just a program). This new back and forth created a pretty interesting experience. Finally, the last setting worth talking about was “symbiosis”. While the user has total control of their word choice, the bot gives a number of suggestions to use. This felt like when word gives grammar suggestions on a paper. It ignores what the writer intends and only spits out what it “thinks” is right. Sometimes I ignored their selections, while other times it chose a word that fit into what wanted to do. This was another interesting option to use. This whole work seemingly looked to explore creatives use of tech. Some people create on their own, some use tech to think for them. But for many of use, tech is used as a tool to help our process. Creators negotiate with this dynamic today now more than ever. Super cool to see it play out through this work.  The visual option was nice if you are into that kind of thing.

student blogs

Blackout Poetry Tool & 200 Castles Reflection

Even though I did not have an iPad device to interact with the PDF Augmented Reality book, I found other ways to engage and experience with Caitlin Fishers augmented reality elit watching some of her videos as she shows the amazing changes and interacts with her own imaginative story out of her mind when the iPad is placed over each image related to 200 Castles content. Being able to decide in the confines of the framing device and image of each action taking place, movement over the images creates a story or release from some of the intense feelings put into each that will only be seen when the iPad is placed over them. Before that they are just images without a voice or story but come alive as we become the creators of their worlds and ours in the story. Interacting is an important factor with this elit work. The images would be stale, stagnant if not for the Augmented reality that comes from the iPad bringing the images to life and not needing any sound or text to create a story. Each reaction from the viewer will have a different affect to them
The theme and significance of each image towards 200 castles and its inhabitants continues as you proceed through the images.  Each has a life, relationship and purpose of their own but also as a whole to the entirety of the work. The audio and actual changes I was not exposed to as much as I would like due to the technological requirements needed.  This remains significant for meaning and interaction through a timeline of images. Some scenic landscape, Architecture and portraits all adding to the aspects that would make up a castle and human inhabitants.

Once again there is the theme of dichotomy that both elit works provided this week having a factor in our digital tech devices having its role only with our mindful interaction of use giving it a purpose while interacting with images bringing them new meaning as we act as human creators.  The contradiction would be using the iPad technology as a prescription lens to look into a past time and creating effects to each image that are recognizable task, trends to our own interaction with capabilities of the collaboration of our technology and digital media. They both though do have a dependency on each other device and flat image to make a new meaning, use and experience together. Then adding our own story to the text as a visual reading not written; to each image of what we depict the image relates to the story  and feelings that went with each.

The concept of a “binary” system of how we as humans interact with computers and technology when reading text was realized after reading the introduction and these terms amongst others of being an active participator related to interacting with the blackout poetry. There was a bond of trust, curiosity and vulnerability to the bot’s choices since it is common as humans we want the last say or sometimes dont like the results of a collaboration that reflects back to you almost like a group project. We go in front of our screens, which already causes these dichotomies of separation, or binary world. Especially when there is a goo reason to interact and have commands of using the interfaces, technologies and traditional ways of understanding our won interactions or when the computer/digital technology makes content or does certain task for us. The human element of thought, actions reflection, response all become in a way predictive of how we are supposed to read text, express and how we interpret these form others works and also share our own. I think the term “dichotomies ” adequately applies to this Elit work and expectations of what its intentions are in our lives. Sometimes the story and its content creation is not forseen or out of our hands.

Frankenstein text was a good choice with all the various words related to one of my favorite movies, and seeing how thought and action of selecting particular words to decipher, decode within the  Poems creation modes infused creating an attempt with my own selections and the bot’s choices to make sensible meaning. I was excited to interact with the text and make my choices down the page. My selections intermeshing with the bots started to make sense for a few lines, then it was just to much to think of how I could make selections that the bot would be able to build upon and make sense based on grammar, structure before knowing that the coding actually was already designed for this. After a few times I just let be and had fun with the interaction of me and the bot. So, I focused on my word selection choices and became curious to the bots afterward. The recurring piano sound did for me become too distracting. It would have  been pleasant to hear a variety of piano tunes playing as the mood changed depending on what words were selected and the type of lines formed. It was interesting to learn how the bot was selecting its poetry lines, based from my selections and the corresponding grammar sequence or  rule related to it in an attempt to form a line of poetry that seemed to make sense of the words selected, possibly wanting to make it so that I didn’t even realize the bot was contributing, interaction blurred between me and the bot with the more times I performed and the modes/ tasks of Thesis, Antithesis, Synthesis, Symbiosis, Visual. These seemed to be in an order where the code would best be suitable and produce the results needed bringing attention to dichotomies of man and machine interactions together and if we can make sense of each other’s choices.

student blogs

Navigating Electronic Lit

Hey Everyone!

So just a few observations on Twelve Blue by Joyce based on the Navigating Electronic Literature article by Pressman:

  1. This piece has hyperlinks which are the mode of navigation. New windows that open up are called “lexias” as per Pressman’s article “Navigating Electronic Literature”
  2. The reader is “writing” the story as they go along.
  3. Is there a correct order to read this text? For example, did the author have a specific narrative order in mind? Is there a wrong way to read a text such as this?
  4. Does the author know all the possible paths that we can take through a carefully calculated behind the scenes method and therefore can control the narrative order in a subtle way? Such as the links we click offer different bits of the story, but we eventually get the same overall picture each time?

Next are my notes I jotted down regarding Twelve Blue as I was reading it:

I wonder if there is a difference in navigating with a mouse like I did or with your finger like you could on mobile? What would the mobile formatting look like compared to on a computer screen? This is one way electronic literature is different from print based materials is that we can use different devices to view them which may impact how we navigate and interact with the work. Think about playing a game on your phone vs playing it on your computer or video game console.

Not an easter egg per se but if you hover over the hyperlinks on the right hand side, the text that has the address of the link has a number at the end. The first link ends with a 2 and all the other links follow in numerical order. So is the “click here to begin” page #1 and all the other pages go in order from top to bottom? The hyper link text is purposely obscured by the writer, but the links reveal hidden info.

Also the 1st hyperlink at the top has an address that ends in “sl1” and once you click it the address of the links on the next page end is “sl…” with some being “sl5” “sl6” and some even being “sl7_4”. This is definitely something as the author used these address to help themselves stay organized and probably didn’t want the reader to see them? Or did them?

I’m gonna navigate the story by trying to go from “click here to begin page” and then follow the link address on the left to go in numerical order. Are the hyperlinks in the text and not on the right side red herrings? Maybe put there to be little sides quests so you don’t analyze the hyperlinks on the left so much?

Nevermind, can’t navigate the way I wanted. When I open up a new window and go to the “Begin” page now I am hovering over the hyperlinks and the address is some variation of “sl_…” like “sl_2” “sl_3” “sl_4” etc. So maybe randomness is at play? Or just the illusion of randomness.

OMG when I started on the begin page “follow me” in the story was hyperlinked. I closed the page and started again and now it’s not hyperlinked. Glitch or intention?

I think this piece might be less about the narrative of the story and more a meta meditation on how the reader navigates the electronic text. I feel like this could be a psychological experiment. And the content of the narrative is bizarre and strange so it seems like there is more than meets the eye here. What if there isn’t even a central narrative and this text is a bunch of stories put together, but because the reader has to navigate with no map, they are reading different parts of different stories?

I feel a certain discomfort reading this and it’s more pronounced knowing that my navigation is what is moving me through the text. I didn’t write the words in the text, but I can choose what happens next even if it is like stumbling blindly in the dark. About 20 mins in and I just want to get to a few pieces that make sense. I am no longer assuming there is a concrete narrative here which allows me to navigate in the style of “enjoy the journey, not the destination.”

I got back to the “Begin” page. I just realized that I began with that page because it told me to. Is this part of how navigation in an electronic text changes the way we engage with a text? I didn’t have to begin with that page just because it said so. Maybe I lost something important by starting with that page. After many clicks, I made it back to that page and I feel a sense of failure like when you are lost and end up back where you started.

If I didn’t start with that page and didn’t know it was the beginning, would I feel that same sense of failure. So in this case, navigation of the text had a direct effect on my sense of self. Very interesting.

There is so much different information regarding characters, actions, and settings that when I click on a hyperlink and it brings me to a picture, I almost feel a sense of relief. I can look at the picture and get a general understanding of what it is so I feel grounded. It’s kinda like stopping at a bench before going on. I click the hyperlinks in order to navigate to safety (the pictures) when I feel overwhelmed.

It seems the pictures can only be in the intext hyperlinks, but not the left hyperlinks. But the intext hyperlinks can also be more text so I never know if I’ll get a picture or not. This causes a sense of apprehension when clicking the intext links and also a sense of relief when I come to a picture.

Since I am the navigator so when I get to a picture it feels like I accomplished something significant. Putting me in the driver seat makes this text less overwhelming. If I wasn’t able to navigate this text on my own, I don’t think it would be fun or interesting to read.

I think in this case, this text could be seen as showing how navigation is a central feature of electronic literature and the act of navigating the text without fully understanding it is okay because each of us had a different experience navigating the text and how and why we navigated the way we did along with how it made us feel which can be an important topic of discussion and dissection that will remind us to always keep the idea of navigation in mind when interacting with electronic texts.