EXERCISE 1: WHICH IS THE NEW MEDIA SOLUTION?

For each of the following capstone ideas, identify which solution embodies the “many-to-many” principle, and explain why in one or more paragraphs. Be prepared to read your answer aloud in the next class.

PROBLEM: A DISAPPEARING LANGUAGE

Ian Larson wanted to help preserve the Passamaquoddy language from extinction.

SOLUTION A

Create a taskforce from a select group of Native American language experts, and ask them to write down a dictionary of words and their definitions. Enter these definitions into a database and build a Web site that allows anyone to search for terms and hear their pronunciation. Hire a high-profile Web designer and marketing firm to ensure that as many people as possible learn about this resource.

SOLUTION B

Distribute laptops with video cameras to schoolkids in the Passamaquoddy community, and ask them to record their grandparents telling stories in Passamaquoddy. Upload these to a Web site along with the grandparents’ definitions of particular words used in the story, and make these words searchable via a tag cloud.

Both of them fit under the many to many principle but we believe that solution B is the solution that fits the principle best.  They both mobilize people and crowdsource the job but we felt that distributing the laptops and gathering the information from their grandparents was a better way for the people to connect with others.  Solution B is more of a “cultural” way of keeping the language around.  Everything in the many to many principle fits under solution B more than it does solution A.

PROBLEM: NEGLECTED RUINS

Evan Habeeb wanted to make people aware of the beauty of abandoned buildings.

SOLUTION A

Assemble a film crew and visit abandoned homes, factories, and other buildings. Bring lights to illuminate these spaces dramatically, and record ambient sounds like dripping water. Edit the footage onto a DVD to create a compelling account that documents these relics for posterity, and distribute copies to historical societies across the state for their collections.

SOLUTION B

Build a Web site that allows adventurers to print stickers they can leave behind in abandoned buildings they explore. Create the stickers so they can be scanned by a mobile phone to reveal a Web site built to feature photographs taken by those explorers.

Solution A would be a more reasonable solution to solving the problem of making people more aware of the beauty of abandoned buildings, however solution B more falls under the many to many principle.  Solution B gets people involved more than solution A does.  It gets people moving and gives them the exploration freedom when exploring these abandoned buildings.  When solution A is just distributing material to people rather than people finding the information themselves.

PROBLEM: MISUNDERSTANDING COMPUTER ANIMATION

Ryan Schaller and Jason Walker wanted to help people understand the many layers required to create a computer-animated film, including wireframe, textures, and light effects. As a case study, they created an animation depicting a cartoon archeologist digging for ancient artifacts.

SOLUTION A

Design and build a touch-screen interface that allows viewers to “rub” away layers of the film with their hands to reveal previous stages of the animation as it plays.

SOLUTION B

Create an iPad application that documents each stage of the animation process, using stills from the archeologist film as illustrations. Explain techniques such as ray tracing, motion capture, and morphing. Include links to companies that create animation software such as Autodesk.

Both of these are not good solutions to the problem.  Neither of them contain enough things from the many to many principle for them to be a good solution.  A better solution would be something more interactive like the user creates a short animated film by capturing real footage and then animating to recreate the footage they have just shot while following a set of directions.

PROBLEM: A BROKEN FOUNTAIN

Danielle Gagner wanted to renovate the waterfall fountain under the skylight in the middle of the University Union, which had fallen into disrepair.

SOLUTION A

Repurpose the existing plumbing to irrigate a garden planted in the former fountain. Research the types of plants that would grow well together at different levels of the fountain, and meet with dining hall staff to find out what herbs or vegetables they might add to salads and other offerings. Then plant these in collaboration with the sustainable agriculture club on campus, and invite students to pick the resulting parsley, strawberries, and other fare from the garden for their lunch.

SOLUTION B

Use Google Image Search to download photographs of natural bodies of water such as streams, rivers, and the ocean. Combine these with nature footage from sources like National Geographic and the Discovery Channel to create a multichannel video installation that projects images of flowing water and rippling waves onto the fountain, which has been covered with theatrical screening. Supplement the moving images with the sound of a babbling brook emanating from surround-sound speakers mounted on the ceiling.

Solution A clearly shows a better resemblance of the many to many principle than solution B.  Solution A has a way for people to interact with the problem and gets them mobile and allows them to contribute in any way they wish.  The concept of solution B is something that doesn’t get people too involved in the problem at hand.  It’s more observation than participation.

VISUAL ART IS TOO STATIC

How can you create a mural that responds to individual viewers?

An idea popped into my head as soon as I read this question.  Say for instance a small town like Orono had this building that people walked by and drove by this building on a daily basis.  An artist could propose an idea to make a mural on the side of this building.  Everyone could contribute to this mural by going out and take a photograph of anything they would like with a certain color pertaining to the image they take.  These colors would be assigned by the artist and the artist would put the images together to make their desired artwork.  This way each person in the community can become involved and eventually become a permanent part of this town.  The mural would obviously be enclosed in a weather protective glass material unless it was held indoors.