Fear Project Experience and Presentation

Today I presented my experiment for the Fear Project and I got the reaction I though I would have from the class.  For my project I gave everyone a single piece of blank white paper and told them they had 3 minutes. That was all I told them, that they had 3 minutes.  The purpose of this experiment was to conquer a fear of my own and help the class face a fear of their own or maybe tell me about it.  The reason i chose to do my experiment this way is because I am personally very fearful of having attention on me, so standing up in front of the class was not something I really wanted to do.  I am also fearful of looking like a colossal ass-bag in front of people (which is what i felt when I just gave you guys the paper without instructions).  After I did the experiment, I realized that none of you probably thought I looked like an idiot standing up there giving you no instructions, but instead you were more concerned with what you need or wanted to do with the paper.  I purposely did not give the class any writing utensils because I didn't necessarily want you to just write something down, I wanted you to face your Fear of the Unknown (like many students do).  I wanted you to do something creative with the paper or maybe even write down something personal or a fear you might have.  After looking through the papers I got back from the class, I found that 3 people decided to make paper airplanes (which i expected), 1 made a paper fold game, 2 folded the paper and I'm not sure what they are suppose to be, 2 didn't even do anything with the paper, most of you either drew and picture or wrote something on the paper or both.  I was surprised to find one crumpled up piece of paper with a list of fears or secrets on it.

After thinking about the experiment I only got a little bit out of a few people of what I really wanted, but I got what I thought would happen from most of you.  In conclusion, my fear of have the spotlight on me is really uncalled for because most people aren't paying attention anyways and even those that are, they're probably thinking about something else.  Most people are predictable when you give them something to do for 3 minutes with instructions.

Fear Part 1 Recap

I was not in class for the first part of the fear presentations, so I do not have a favorite part.

Tears For Fears

To me a fear is something that everyone must have to really feel alive.  Without fear we would live without emotion and drive.  Everyone has some sort of fear in them whether the realize it or not.  Some fears are more obvious than others, but they all elicit the same pulses in the body.

I expect the class to not understand my experiment right away, but hopefully it will be something they will think about for the weeks after and realize what I was trying to accomplish regarding fears.

My Bliss

For my 3 hours of "Me Time" I wanted to go to IMS and watch the Indycars and just be at the track because that is my favorite thing to do.  However, since it's only March, I had to settle for lounging on the couch and watching the 1992 Indy 500, which was still very relaxing and enjoyable.

I was not in class for the day the stuffed animals were handed out.  After reading the assignment details I realized that I did have one "stuffed animal" at one.  I searched through boxes I had in a closet and pulled out a Homer Simpson stuffed doll, I guess you could call it that.  Homer is about 16 inches tall, so I decided I would buckle him in to the passengers seat of my car and drive him around with me for a week so that he could get out of the cramped box he was in and experience the world through the passengers seat in my car.

Tripping in Fields

Last Monday our class took a "field trip" to the.....I'm not really sure what they call it.  I think it might be the UITS or UTIS part of the Informatics building and got a tour and demos of the VR room and room with a big ass TV.  I had last been on this tour about 2 years ago with another class, so it wasn't anything new to me.  However, during this tour I was given more detailed information about each of the rooms, the equipment and the technical aspects the how and what the stuff did which I found interesting.  I felt the field trip was good for the class because some of them may have never seen that side of the building or what was over there.  It also allowed the class to think about other technology and media available that what most of us have been taught or thought about doing for projects.

Does It Add Up???

In class last Monday, we discussed how we as people and specifically New Media and Arts students go through the motions of creating something.  The equation we identify mostly is the Inspiration>Idea>Concept>Trial>Refine>Product formula, however each person has there own way of thinking and creating, so this formula can be interpreted in many ways based on how an individual thinks and does things.  As for New Media students we must think about the final product with our client and target audience in mind first and foremost, while Art students will think of themselves for the final product.

As a New Media student I think it is important to think about the clients needs and target audience first, especially when we have yet to make a name for ourselves and creative style to identify ourselves.  When I think about the formula mentioned above, I find it hard to identify what the "Product" is because there is so much to New Media.  The product could be a design, website, video, sound, program, film, game, app, or a brand new invention involving the use of multimedia.  Depending on what your goal is, there are many steps and variations that one must go through to reach that goal.  If I where to start out with a blank canvas to create something, anything, I would first look at the Need/Want and then figure out an Idea.  From that Idea I would need to draw Inspiration, or maybe I would get Inspiration first and then figure out an Idea.  From there I would probably go through the Inspiration/Idea, Idea/Inspiration process a few times before I was set to move forward.  That could be considered Refining, and from there, my personal equation starts to build up.  I feel like the whole formula is basically an algorithm, where there are many steps to go through, but until one works we keep going backwards and repeating steps.

After thinking about how I go through my own workflow, I have discovered that my equation would look something like this:

Need/Want>Idea><Inspiration>Refine>Concept>Refine>Trial>Refine><Repeat Process To Perfection><Product

After doing a couple of video projects sticking to this workflow, I've come to realize that I need a better workflow that will allow me to bring the best of my work out without over thinking the whole process that I thought I once followed.  I final outcome of these products, I don't feel where any different from the ones before, but I believe I can and will find a good flow to work with the get the best out of me.  I'm not sure if this process was meaningful to me.  I did allow me to think as to how I work on different projects and analyze what I should be doing better, so I guess it was more helpful than meaningful.

1/31/11 Class Discussion & More

     Concept vs. Final Product in Projects - The initial concept of anything with go through many changes from ideas that first pop into your head until you get the concept just right for what you want to do.  If you really think about an idea, your concepts will change and go through many phases to extract the bad and perfect the good.  Once concept is completed to the point where you are ready to begin production of a project, your concept will obviously continue to change.  There are many pieces that go into any project and each piece must fit just right (in your own mind and creative thought) to complete the project.  I notice that when I begin to a project with the intent to stay close to my original concept, by the time I have completed the project nothing is the same or as I originally had planned.

     During our class meeting last Monday, January 31st we discussed our "What We See Projects" and I found most of the ones we discussed as well as the ones I view through our blogs were quite boring, including my own.  I know a blog is primarily meant to be read with only visuals to enhance the reading, but we are mostly New Media students.  In my mind I wish I had done something different fro my project, I was originally going to do some sort of video, but the lack of time I have to do things let me to do what most students did and write something and show a visual.  The felt the class discussion on Monday was boring, in that I was literally trying to keep up with the conversation but it was too dull that I found myself peaking out the window and daydreaming about other things.  This usually doesn't happen to me and I can concentrate on what is going on around me most of the time, but this discussion didn't seem to have a whole lot of solid substance.  That's just my opinion, or maybe I was just having a bad day, who knows.