Week 8 - Mashup Culture vs. Copyright Law

Posted on August 21st, 2009 by smeeke20.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Hmmmmm….tough topic.  I hadn’t really thought about how many things are snagged out there without permission.  I think its almost impossible to keep up with it all considering how many millions of people are doing this everyday.  Personally, I am very conscious of what images I copy off the Internet, when using them in a research paper.  Of course, I have to give them credit there.  In my personal stuff (other than my website), all gloves are off.

As artists, I think we do worry about someone stealing our ideas because we work so hard to come up with them.  We tend to be very protective but as I’ve talked with many artists, its all mostly in our minds.  I tend to think now that the more your work gets out there with your name, the more it becomes more yours whereas if it could be easier to steal the less known it is.  If people love your work, they won’t want the knockoffs.  It’s not from the original source and therefore diminishes its quality.

Coming from a legal background, I’ve dealt with real life copyright issues.  I have such mixed feelings on the extremes companies and individuals go to protect what they feel is “theirs.”  A name, a title, lyrics, a melody, a quote…its crazy.  I really like the idea of work that is recycled from others.  I think of the artist/professor here at SCAD, Brett Callero.  He incorporates other people’s images into a giant collage, photographs it, digitally prints it, then continues to add finishing touches.  The work is changed enough to make it his own even though other people’s images are in it.  The work is very interesting and it would be a shame if he didn’t have the freedom to do this because of copyright infringements.

As for website copyright, I look at other people’s websites for design ideas all the time.  I wouldn’t copy a website verbatim but just little aspects here and there.  The same for painting when I’m feeling a little dry on ideas.  I dig out my Old Master’s books and start browsing.  It may be a color, expression or paint stroke that will get my fire ignited but it does.

I don’t know…perhaps we are all too worried.  What would the world be like if we didn’t have any copyright protection?  There’s an interesting thought.

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Week 7: Video

Posted on August 21st, 2009 by smeeke20.
Categories: Uncategorized.

I find this an interesting topic.  When I reflect upon how my viewing habits have changed due to technology, I realize, that it has changed a lot.  I guess I’ve always hated being trapped into the high priced cable prices.  I’m always looking for new ways to save money without compromising quality.  With the increased availability of high speed Internet, it has been made possible to gradually do away with Cable television.  I personally love Netflix and have been using them for almost 8 years.  Then, when they upgraded to make movies available through the Internet and my special Roku box, it was fantastic!  I dropped my cable service to Internet only.  At the time the Internet/Cable package was costing $170/month…yikes!!!!  Once I dropped cable, the high speed Internet was $65.  Netflix only costs me $17/month and that includes the unlimited instant movies (very much like Comcast’s On Demand).  That saved me about $90/month!  Huge!  Then when CLEAR came to my area, I checked them out and made the switch.  Another savings.  Now I’ve totally dropped Comcast and only pay $55/month.  Now you’re probably thinking…only $10.  Well, with that $55, I also get the mobile USB with clear that plugs in my laptop and works great in Atlanta.  Plus they’re expanding, on the cutting edge with WiMax and growing in leaps and bounds.  It also plays streaming video perfectly.  So with Hulu…it’s really cool.

As for You Tube, I think it’s a great website.  It can be resourceful and fun.  I grew up in the days when MTV played music videos and now I go to You Tube to watch music videos.  It’s so easy, it’s great.

As for the future I imagine cable television as we know it may end.  I just think people won’t want to pay all that money for channels they don’t watch.  So what if I have 300 channels…I only watch 5!  Why pay for the ones I don’t watch.  I think more customization is necessary.  Channels like HBO.  I don’t want to work around their schedule, I want to work around my schedule and my movie choices.  Perhaps paid channels like HBO will become more Internet based.  I don’t know.  It’s tough because all those cable subscribers keep it going and I really like the HBO productions but I don’t like HBO prices.  But if I could pay for shows separately without subscribing to the whole CABLE package, I would consider that.  That is probably the way the future in video/television will be moving.  Subscribing to different channels and shows via the Internet.

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Week 6

Posted on August 3rd, 2009 by smeeke20.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Hmmmm….I went to Jon Jones site and thought he was a bit on the harsh side of judging Flash for websites. I thought it was interesting his dislike for websites requiring plugins, etc. Personally, if I was sharing my portfolio with a possible graphic design, animation, vis effects or any tech related company and they couldn’t run Flash because they lacked the updated plugins…..I think I would rethink my plans on applying there. Sure, there may be some crazy Flash sites out there that aren’t user friendly but there are HTML pages out there that can be just as crazy.

I’ve taken a look at some fellow artist websites that include some flash. Here is what I found:
1. http://www.sterlingedwards.com/ - very simple use of Flash. Nice basic slideshow on the home page. I was trying to focus on fine art painters portfolio websites but most of them were HTML based. I looked at dozens and this was about the extent for them.  So then I had to resort to the old “best flash portfolio website” search.  Sorry!

2. http://okaydave.com/ - Okay….is the loader coooool or what?! Aesthetically the HOME page is busy but it’s working. I love the transitions. The image and video viewer is quite pretty too. There are SO many things to say about this page. Very nice!

3. http://www.creaktif.com/ - This site is equally as cool. The loader is fantastic how it splatters all these colorful squares onto the screen the pan out into focus. Very neat effect. I also liked the interactivity when hovering over the windows on the home page. When opening the “Photos” icon, I really liked how this thin sheet was carefully placed on the screen. What was more interesting was when I clicked on a picture it opened it up to full screen with text that was attached to the mouse giving instructions on how to close the window by clicking the mouse again.

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Week 5

Posted on July 20th, 2009 by smeeke20.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Flash sites. They can be a beautiful thing. For me, I think I prefer a good combination of Flash and HTML. Perhaps some CSS thrown in the bunch too. I think this can be a better advantage than choosing one or the other. Here is a website of a photographer I know that uses this combination: http://www.lianalehman.com/. She has a lot going on in her website but I think she has worked out her very busy place with a combination of the two. I don’t know much yet about using Flash to embed video content but what I’ve seen on You Tube is quite impressive. I think that Flash is going to enhance my website and of course…make life more difficult for awhile until I figure out all that Action Script!  Con about Flash…it takes awhile to load (and I’m impatient) and not everyone may be able to view it because of compatibility issues (or they refuse to update!).

Here is an all Flash website that was a great deal of fun to play with:  http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html

Fun with quirky faces:

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Week 4

Posted on July 20th, 2009 by smeeke20.
Categories: Uncategorized.

I hadn’t really thought about the idea of building web pages with phones in mind but after viewing the 101 Cookbooks page on my Blackberry browser, I’m beginning to think in two directions.  One is to create my own website for a pc/mac and something for phone browser.  When I think of how much I browse on my phone, it seems to make perfect sense to create a simple, easy to navigate website for phones.  This would open up my portfolio to a much larger audience.  I also think that having website compatibility also shows the extra effort, edge and professionalism I want to reflect to potential clients.

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Week 3

Posted on July 15th, 2009 by smeeke20.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Okay, I’ll have to admit that I was really surprised to read that the Web is 90% text. I guess I’ve always been pulled by the graphics, colors & images. But now when reflecting on the thought about text on the Web, I see that yes that there is a whole lot of it out there.

It’s interesting that the font Papyrus keeps getting poked fun at. That it’s used too much, etc. When I first began using Word, that was my favorite font and I loved to create cards and stationary with Papyrus font. I also loved to use it when I taught Art History to children. But now when looking around, I do see it being used more and more…and frankly not always the right time.

As for unique font, whether it be script, scroll, or even Matisse, I think there has to be a time and place for it. I think it may be okay for catchy headings, titles or logos, but that’s about it. As for paragraph reading, I think a more traditional font needs to be used that’s easier on the eyes like Ariel, Times New Roman or Calibri (Word 2007 default…love it!).

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Week Two

Posted on July 1st, 2009 by smeeke20.
Categories: Uncategorized.

Week Two: How Big Do I Make it? Target Audience, Browser(s), and Hardware
Fitting in the browser. I’ve spoken about this first crucial formal consideration. With the discussion in class and the sites we viewed as a starting point, I would like you do some research, look at some sites (ideally in different browsers, on different hardware) and write about your findings. What are the considerations? How are people addressing this now, both aesthetically and technically? This will help you begin to make informed forward-thinking decisions in your own work.

I researched the following websites:

Craigslist.org - Text based format. The page is left aligned and doesn’t adjust well to web browser size changes. It is very straight forward in its content. It serves its purpose even though parts of me wants to see more aesthetic consideration.

Bing.com - New search engine. Design is simple, elegant and contemporary. It adjusts easily to the smaller browser window, keeping the basic search bar and left menu visible while maintaining its beauty. It also offers interactivity within the photograph that’s part of the background design. Very nice.

Splintercell.us.ubi.com - Website for new Splinter Cell Conviction video game. The screen adjusts fine until you use a smaller screen, then the title of the website is lost to the left.  The graphics on this website are quite pretty but it seems to eat up my Internet connection, not wanting me to switch back and forth between my tabs in the same browser. Maybe it’s my computer…I don’t know. Also, I’m not sure if I like the scrolling feature behind the character “Sam.” It looks cool but then the left arrow keeps hiding behind Sam because the browser moves as I move my mouse across the screen. There are also no clear menu options for the video game as an alternative to the scroll bar in the background. It was difficult to find the trailer, which is what I’m most interested in. Pretty graphics+++ Thumbs down for interactivity —

www.nerdrum.com - Website of painter Odd Nerbrum. Love the painter but poor web design. I can find my way around but when I first opened the web page I didn’t see a menu. It wasn’t until I scrolled all the way to the bottom that I found the menu. Then the type was rather crowded making it more difficult to find what I was looking for. I was looking for a link that defined “Paintings” but instead found labels like “Youth” and “Male,” soon discovering that those were actually links for images of those particular paintings. Also when I went to the link “Youth” and there were four images. After clicking through them with the Next link until I was to the end, I wanted to go back to the beginning. The only way to do that was either click the Previous link until I got back or click on the “Youth” link at the bottom again to restart the link to see all four thumbnails. I think having the numbered links for the images or visible thumbnails would have been a good idea in resolving this problem. It would also be nice to have the menu clearly visible upon opening the web page without scrolling.

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Week One

Posted on June 23rd, 2009 by smeeke20.
Categories: Uncategorized.

I think the iGoogle site is fantastic. I like the ease of customization. There’s lots of interesting themes to choose from and gadgets to add to your iGoogle page. Also once I have chose my gadgets, I can easily drag and drop the gadgets on my page to completely customize it to my liking. To get started go to www.google.com/ig.

In contrast, after some research on poorly designed websites, I think the website http://www.fabricland.co.uk/ is really awful. The colors, fonts and animations are very distracting. Overall…it was a big NO!

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