Electronics Assignment 10/18

Kevin Wagenheim

Dr. Roundtree

Art211

October 18, 2017

Skype

Skype is an instant messaging application that can be downloaded to many different devices. The app is mainly used for instant video sharing or video chatting. Since the software is available for many devices, people can talk to each other no matter what the device. Skype was initially released in 2003, and bought by Microsoft in 2011. In the current version, one can actually make phone calls and send text messages on devices that isn't a smartphone, like a desktop computer. 

The idea of video chatting could very easily be influenced by two inventions - the telephone and the camera. Phones can send one’s voice to another phone instantly through the phone lines we see on the street. The authors of Skype took the idea of the telephone one step further and made it possible to send our live images to another device. However, Skype works through the internet which is a little different than the phones. Skype can reach someone around the globe without having to pay long distance. Now, instead of just being able to share voices with one another, we can now communicate face to face. Skype can also function as a telephone to make voice calls using phone lines; so Skype is basically an upgraded telephone that is comparable with many devices, and can reach around the globe using the internet. Video chatting could also be connected to the camera. As devices became more and more equipped with cameras, and the front camera became a normal thing, it was only a matter of time that people were going to want to share live images. Instead of just taking a photo, we can call someone on Skype and instantly share our own image while seeing the other person’s. 

In the future, the idea of Skype and video chatting may also develop into a different invention. As cameras are developed stronger, and devices gain the ability to project images, maybe a virtual hologram chat could be made. Since there are devices that are projecting keyboards, I could see these projectors developing to be able to show a detailed portrait of someone live. Hologram chatting would be pretty realistic in my opinion. Another invention that could also come up is with the Virtual Reality (VR) headset game consoles. When these devices develop, maybe there will be a way we can use these VR goggles to enter a virtual room with someone, and have our own images projected into the room. Lots of amazing technologies could easily branch off of the original telephone, and inventions after it such as Skype. 

ASCII Art Assignment 10/18

Kevin Wagenheim

10/18

ASCII Art Assignment

When browsing through Chris' collection, I had to go right to the cartoon section. I found all the illustrations to be pretty funny and interesting. These images seem so simple to make, yet I know for a fact I could not sit there and carefully place characters like that. It would drive me up the wall! I have never looked through a collection like this one, but I remember making very small ones when I was into Instant Messaging software in grade school. These images are fun, and easy to share with friends.

When looking more into the collection, I noticed that some of the images were fully filled in with symbols, and some of them were just outlined using the symbols /,|, \, and (). I even found a few that were outlined, and then the next image was the same but filled in using a symbol. Some of the symbols were meaningful to the image as well. For example, there was a Micky Mouse image made of the letter M. I also ran into a calligram of a poem shaped into a dolphin, which I thought was pretty clever. 

In my Art 210 course, my instuctor shared a link with us that lead to a website of an ASCII art piece. Someone has an ongoing project to make a stop-motion ASCII art animation of the whole entire first Star Wars film. Every detail, including the setting and dialog is shown. It was pretty amazing to see that people are really into this art form I couldn't imagine the patience it must take to create a project so long and detailed. Then again, when its just made of text, copy and paste is a good tool to have. 

Animation Assignment 10/10

Kevin Wagenheim

Animation Assignment

10/10

For my flipbook assignment, I decided to use shapes and colors since my drawing skills are not the best. I attempted to make the beginning a shrinking rainbow circle. The circle then forms into a square that gets larger. It is then cut up into little squares. These squares then come back together to form another circle. Then, I had a wave like effect grow across the page, move then shrink back to a circle. I wish I had the time and skills to put a sped up slideshow, but my video of my animation being flipped through is the best I could currently do.  

Broadway Assignment 10/3

Kevin Wagenheim

Broadway Assignment

10/3


The first clip I found myself watching was the Fidler on the Roof's "To Life" (2016). I decided to watch this clip because I remember seeing this play preformed at one of my childhood schools. Within the first few seconds I realized they were not preforming on a stage. They were preforming at a parade on Thanksgiving. I thought this was really unique because they have people watching them from two sides instead of just one. So, the scene had to be manipulated a little bit to make sure both sides got a nice view. I also thought it was cool how the scene did not have many stage props and was on a green floor; however, the costumes and acting made the scene come to life.

The next show I found was City of Angels (2015). This one had a few more clips to watch so I was able to see a few different scenes as well as older and newer versions. What really surprised me about this show was how the story was actually two different stories in one - the stage was split. The story was about an author who was writing a novel indirectly about himself and his wife. So, the stage was split, one side for the author and his wife, the other side for his two story characters. They would basically be living the same lives, so they would incorporate songs together and I thought it was really clever. One of the clips I watched, the wives on both sides sung a song together, without even being in the same story. I just thought the idea was brilliant and it actually really worked out.

The last show I wanted to comment on was The Color Purple (2016). I thought these clips were really interesting because the story was actually a movie before the broadway show came out.  I watched the first clip and began thinking that it was like a broadway-movie mix. However, after reading the blog and looking at the remaining clips, I learned that it was a film turned into a broadway musical. I thought the costumes and settings were actually pretty close to the film. There were also pretty cool projections on the stage, and good dancing that the movie may not have shown. In my opinion, I probably would have liked the film a little more, but for people that are into broadway, this could be a good show to catch if you have seen The Color Purple.

Opera Assignment 9/26

Kevin Wagenheim

Dr. Roundtree

Art 211

September 25, 2017

Opera Assignment (The Demon by Anton Rubinstein)

Anton Rubinstein’s opera The Demon is about a demon spirit that hates god and everything that he has created. The opening scene is the demon arguing with an angel about hate and god. Next, the demon sees Tamara, who is to soon be married, and falls in love with her. After finding out that Tamara’s husband is on the way, the demon causes him to stop his journey, get attacked by an enemy, and die in battle. Tamara finds out about this and goes crazy. She then goes to a church hiding cell to be alone and calm down. The demon then reveals himself to her, and confesses his love. After arguing she gives in, shares a kiss with him, and dies immediately after. The opera ends with Tamara’s soul going to heaven.

In my opinion, I thought the opera was not too bad to watch. Some parts were kind of long and stretched out, but I guess that is to be expected. Although this was my first real opera I have fully watched, I am pretty surprised I was able to follow along and understand it. As for the “mise en scene”, the opera, even in 2003, didn't really have a background setting. There were no rocks by the river in the second scene, or anything other than cloth to decorate the stage. The setting was given to the audience in a synopsis of the story before each act. Since there was no background setting, the opera was heavy on costumes and lighting. When Tamara was first introduced in her group of friends, it was clear who she was. The demon looked inhuman from make up, and his clothes shiny and weird looking. The lighting also shaped the mood. For example, when the prince was hurt in the attack, the lights all turned red, and everyone knew something fatal happened. The stage had two balcony “layers” stacked above the stage. This was kind of used for an effect to separate the demon from the characters  that weren't supposed to be hearing him sing. So, when he was singing and trying to tempt Tamara from within, the audience can see the demon singing on the top layer, and see Tamara and her listening reactions on the bottom layer.

I was actually very surprised that I was able to watch a whole opera and understand the whole entire story, who and what the characters are saying, and their actions with just lyrics, costumes and lighting. I feel that since I am so used to not watching live shows it would be tough to follow, but it was actually really easy. Before each act, we were given a synopsis of what we were about to watch. This made it a lot easier because I knew what to look for when it was preformed. The beginning scene started with a storm and good and bad spirits singing in the winds. They had a whole chorus on stage for this and half were singing one thing and the other group another set of lyrics. This scared me in the beginning because it was so hard to follow so many voices, and the subtitles were obviously going crazy and not helping. However, if it were not for the synopsis in the beginning, I would have no clue what was going on. After the opera started it was nice to know things slowed down and were a bit easier to follow.

The Demon was first shown in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1871. It was based on a poem that was originally banned, then unbanned in the 1860s (Warrack). So, I think there would have been a good amount of people in the audience that disliked the opera, and may even have walked out. However, I believe that since people kept preforming the play, some people had to have enjoyed it. I haven't seen many operas, but it seems like it could have a similar plot to other stories preformed. In my opinion, I thought it was weird that the prince was killed off halfway through, but, it could also be a usual thing in operas. Since there was no background or anything, the 2003 performance I watched seems to have about the right amount technology that would've been used back then (minus the lighting maybe). I would consider this opera important since it seemed to give a visual to a poem that was just unbanned recently before it was written and composed. I am sure it may of caused some type of uproar. I believe if people today are still preforming, it must have meant something special to Russian society.

As for the technology within the opera, everything was in the lighting. During the pre-wedding celebration, the lighting had a nice calming mood. During rough times, the lighting was sharp and dark. However, there were no projections or anything like that. There was also no setting in the background that changes. The stage only consisted of the two balconies above the stage for the “layer” effect, and a background wall that came up and down. The balconies were very effective since they kind of split dimensions. You can see the demon taunting Tamara, while seeing her reaction. They also moved a little bit. During the scene when Tamara’s soul is going to heaven, and the demon and angel watch, the balconies move around for a floating effect. The background wall also was attached to strings and can be pulled up and down. It was a nice effect when the prince was stabbed and he was laying on the slanted wall, you can see his whole body laying down as opposed to just his feet. There was also a scene where the angel shut the demon out of her church, and the wall came up in front of him to close him out. However, other than the two things on the stage and the lighting, there wasn't really any crazy technology within the opera. I think it could have been trying to stay close to the original performance.

If I were a director for a video game, it would definitely be tough to create this into a video game. The plot is mostly drama filled, and there is only one scene with a battle, so an attack-heavy video game is definitely not an option. There is also no protagonist that one could consistently play as for the whole game. For example, if we had players play as Tamara, they would not be doing much other than being in sorrow and talking with the demon. So, my idea would be to have a third person adventure-style game with a full map to create the setting. One would have tasks to complete in order to move along in the story. Also, the player would change from character to character depending on the scene. Since there is a lot of drama that needs to be scene, when tasks are completed and checkpoints are reached, video clips of the opera can be shown to really give the experience of the story.

To begin the game, a clip of the demon and angel arguing could introduce the story and game. Then, the player could learn the controls during the next scene and complete and easy task of getting water at the river. When reached, video clips of the demon tempting her are shown. Next, the player can be the prince. Here, they would deal with the mudslide and other things in the forest on their journey. After a short video clip of him talking about Tamara, the player would then get to fight against the enemy that attacked his group. Next, a video clip of Tamara finding out about the prince’s death can be shown. Players can then play as Tamara as she head out to the hiding cell to be alone. There could be obstacles and temptations on the way that could be exaggerated for the player’s experience. After this is the part of the story when the demon tries to go to the holding cell and the angel tries to stop him. Here, we could have players choose whether they want to play as the angel or demon, and have them fight in an epic final-boss-level type fight (since they are spirits and are allowed to be magical). Lastly, we watch the end of the opera when Tamara is kissed, her death, and she goes to heaven.

To be honest, I did not mind watching the show. Since it was taped in a theater, and the camera guy was clearly unprofessional, it was a little tough to follow, but I managed to get through it. I was really intimidated after the first scene with the singing winds. It seemed like I was going to have a very hard time with the Russian dialog and following along with the story. However, thanks to the synopsis’ and lighting, I was able to know who was who and what was going on. It really is amazing how technology helps one understand the story even if it is in a different language and sung. If I read the synopsis’ before each act like it was given, even without subtitles, I still would have known what was going on enough to follow the story. Knowing the words just helped getting more into the story. Although my video game may not be attractive to first-person shooter gamers, maybe an opera loving gamer would take interest in playing the story preformed in Rubinstein’s The Demon.

Works Cited

Warrack, John. “Rubinstein, The Demon.” Gramophone, Mark Allen Group, 9 Jan. 2013, www.gramophone.co.uk/review/rubinstein-the-demon-0.

Madame Butterfly Animation Comments

Kevin Wagenheim

Madame Butterfly Comments

9/19

When viewing the video for the first time in class, I will admit it was a little uncomfortable. My first impression was not a bad one, I was just a little thrown off by a sex scene with two toys. However, on the second time viewing the video, I was able to look passed it and actually listen to the music and understand how it ties into the story. The music and how loud it gets is what makes it seem passionate. You can almost tell exactly what the two of them are feeling, even though they are just dolls.

After that scene, when viewing the first time I felt that the story was a little hard to follow. To be honest, I didn't really notice she was even pregnant until the baby popped out. I was trying to understand what was being sung, but it was too difficult. I was hoping that the music can tell the story a little bit, but I assume it is in a different language (could be wrong). I felt that the music just added feeling to the video instead of telling the story. Maybe when we watch the Opera we chose for our paper, the subtitles will help tell the story a little bit better.

Lastly, I want to make some comments about the animation. I really was impressed with how well I could understand the story without dialog or hearing the words of the music. I believe an animation that could  tell a story without dialog is a pretty difficult thing to do. It was also cool to see a stop motion animation done with dolls instead of clay. The scene where she rips herself apart was also very clever. Obviously a real person couldn't do that, but, one can definitely feel like ripping up themselves. I thought it was a really good way to show that feeling.

Flower Tree

"Flower Tree"
9/12

A flower tree gives out oxygen, and smells like a meadow.