Major Studio 2, Interactivity:

The Long Take

Link: Long take - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. It can be used for dramatic and narrative effect if done properly, and in moving shots is often accomplished through the use of a dolly or Steadicam. Some films, like Rope, Russian Ark, Before Sunset, Elephant, and Irréversible are composed entirely of long takes, while others like Goodfellas, Children of Men, Boogie Nights, Touch of Evil, The Player are well-known for a specific long take or two within otherwise more conventionally edited films.

Link: YouTube - Touch of Evil.

Link: YouTube - AnimaLand.

Link: YouTube - TED : Jeff Han (2006) Ideas Worth Sharing.

User-centered design -via Wikipedia

Link: User-centered design - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In broad terms, user-centered design (UCD) is a design philosophy and a process in which the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of an interface or document are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process. User-centered design can be characterized as a multi-stage problem solving process that not only requires designers to analyze and foresee how users are likely to use an interface, but to test the validity of their assumptions with regards to user behaviour in real world tests with actual users. Such testing is necessary as it is often very difficult for the designers of an interface to understand intuitively what a first-time user of their design experiences, and what each user's learning curve may look like.

The chief difference from other interface design philosophies is that user-centered design tries to optimize the user interface around how people can, want, or need to work, rather than forcing the users to change how they work to accommodate the system or function.

it's far more easier to make something complex than it is to make it simple

simple and elegant designs are not simply made.

Parsons-Made Game-Night

Hi All,
You are invited to play and play-test 3 different gaming systems made completely by your colleagues in the MFA CDT program. This is part of Yury Gitman's Major Studio's Midterm. Students built and integrated their own advanced haptic game controllers with their own screen games. See what happens when CDT'ers turn technology itself into an interface for play. Be among the first to experience these "Parsons-Made" gaming systems.

Space and Time:
Main Lab/Lounge
Thursday 15th, 7-8pm
Intellectual refreshments and cerebral pizza will be served [read as: fill your mind not your belly].

Email [email protected] for more info.

Albert Goes to GDC

Link: Yokozuna.

Toy Tech, Telematics, and More March, thanks Gaelen

Here’s some links to articles on topics related to my Major Studio course that I found interesting,
from the informational:
“Toy companies turn to the web to make toys come alive”
www.theage.com.au/news/technology/toy-companies-turn-to-the-web-to-make-toys-come-alive
(which includes a reference to web-Pups, a toy my niece and nephew love that I mentioned in class)

to the cool factor:
“Lazertag Glove Set”
www.babylaunches.com/toys/lazertag_glove_set.php
(complete with sensors that detect nearby opponents and headsets that vibrate after a hit)

to the cutting edge:
“Carmakers adding high-tech perks”
news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070304/ap_on_hi_te/pimp_my_ride
(claiming young guys are more interested in “pimping their ride” than what’s under the hood - in no small part because the prices have come down)

Thanks! Gaelen @ Parsons.

Parsons - Events, Genevieve Bell

Link: Parsons - Events, Genevieve Bell.

55 W. 13th St. 2nd Fl, Theresa Lang Student and Community Center Tue, Apr 3 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM The Department of Design and Management is pleased to announce the Stephan Weiss Visiting Lectureship on Business Strategy, Negotiation and Innovation. Genevieve Bell, Senior Principal Engineer and Director of User Experience for Intel, manages an inter-disciplinary team of social scientists, designers and human factors engineers. She and her team strive to stay ahead of Intel’s technology roadmap, using insights gained for in-depth ethnographic and design research to help drive innovations in and around Intel platforms, creating technology that responds to human needs, desires and aspirations. Ticket Info: Free and open to the public. RSVP recommended. Open To: All Contact: Irish Malig , 212.229.5391

Jean Baudrillard - Professor of Philosophy of Culture and Media Criticism - Biography

Link: Rhizome.org: Email Lists & Publications.

March 7, 2007 Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) On Tuesday, March 6, French theorist Jean Baudrillard passed away. Trained as a sociologist, Baudrillard put his knack for observing society and its engagement with mass media to work as a philosopher. His writings on television, video, and electronic mediation placed him among the earliest writers to have been called 'media theorists,' and after publishing approximately thirty books and many more essays, he is certainly one of the field's most prolific. Baudrillard pioneered the notion of 'hyperreality,' and his theories on simulation and simulacra are often employed in contemporary analyses of new media art. Baudrillard was also an active photographer whose art career was overshadowed by his academic celebrity, but whose creativity was nevertheless reflected in his writings on the 'ecstacy' and 'seduction' of the media. While his writing on the 'political economy' at play in semiotic exchange leaned slightly toward abstraction, he was steadfastly attentive to the real. He authored outspoken essays on AIDS, the Gulf War, the Rushdie affair, cloning, and other politicized issues. Baudrillard's more recent, albeit controversial writings about the nature of terrorism plumbed at contemporary western morality and boldly scrutinized the fear manufactured and perpetuated within networked society. He died in Paris, at the age of 77. - Marisa Olson Link: Jean Baudrillard - Professor of Philosophy of Culture and Media Criticism - Biography.

A computer becomes cultural product: iPhone - Hello Video

Link: Apple - iPhone - Hello.

YouTube - Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

Link: YouTube - Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us.

The Web is People!: Michael Wesch, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Kansas State University, has assembled a terrific four-and-a-half-minute video called "The Machine is Us/ing Us" that explains what "Web 2.0" means -- not with a cold lecture or a pseudo-powerpoint, but by showing us the new world.

It's hard to describe, really -- there are no voices, just a musical score, and a remarkably clever presentation of words on the screen. If you don't know what people mean by Web 2.0, watch it; if you think that Web 2.0 is just marketing hype, watch it; if you think you know exactly what Web 2.0 is, watch it.

comments reblogged from: http://www.openthefuture.com/