Slashdot Mirror
Searching for Exceptional Multimedia Productions?
ContinuousPark asks: "My local college has asked me to participate in a 120 hour course on multimedia production. I proposed that one of the modules should be called something like 'Multimedia Appreciation'; I will be teaching this one. During this 10 to 20 hour period, I intend to show students several examples of multimedia productions so they can get an idea of what's possible; what's has been done; and what's original or too common, so they can formulate their own projects, later. So I'm looking for interesting websites that could inspire students, that could help them understand what is a good multimedia production, what kind of effort goes into it, etc. In fact, I'm not just looking for websites, I would also like to include videogames, movies, opera productions, and any other work of art that uses multiple channels to convey a message. What are the most effective multimedia productions you've seen through the years? Examples easily available so that I can show it to them are of course preferable, I'm willing to buy any CD, DVD, book or whatever though. Thanks for the advice."
Lessons taught:
Other games: Deus Ex Machina, Starship Titanic (disclaimer: I worked for the company that made it), Shenmue.
Sites: Metababy, Unweb, Heavy, Placing, DIRK, Requiem For A Dream
VR Experiences: Char Davies's Osmose. Probably the most affecting thing you can don a head-mounted display for. If you ever get the chance to try it...
-- Yoz
Curating a multimedia show is difficult. It tends to "day" rather quickly. Even if the project is burned to a CD which can last for 30 years, the platform it is built on is unlikely to be around in five years. Because of this, all of NYU Interactive Telecommunication Program thesis' are recorded to VHS. Sure, you lose a hell of a lot putting a digital project on video, but its better than losing everything.
A lot of multimedia work falls through the cracks. It disinterests both engineers and traditional artists. It also tends to be installation work. This means that the museum piece is not wrapped up in a form useful in your PC.
As for suggestions...
The Whitney Museum of American Art is featuring a show called BitStreams and Data Dynamics. This is one of the largest showings of multimedia art.
Blue Man Group is probably the only long running theatrical show heavily based around multimedia. Beyond the eye candy, it makes lots of commentary about the art world and the digital world. Oh yeah, they do those Intel commercials as well, but I always figure that they just confuse the average home viewer. : )
Explore NYU'S Interactive Telecommunication Program site. MIT's Media Lab and NYU's ITP are the two top programs in their field. The Media Lab does things because they can. NYU does projects on a much more human level.
Rhizome tends to be a center of net based art.
And there's no way you can pass up the old standard - Understanding Media by Marshall McLuhan. While it was written well before "multimedia" its commentary on more traditional media is easily extrapolated to digital media.
Know what I like about atheists? I've yet to meet one that believes God is on their side.
Laurie Anderson has a multimedia performance called "Songs and Stories from Moby Dick". She uses various hi tech devices, including some powerful DSP hardware/software that allows her to pitchshift her voice in realtime (including 3 part harmonizing with herself). The show also includes miscellaneous visual effects/props. Two high powered projectors "paint" the set through the show.
It's slightly offbeat, but I enjoyed the show.
This is some really impressive flash work...
C-X C-S
- CFX Web
- Scene.org - especially the viewing tips section
- Assembly 2K
Some demos are classic "real-time" calculated, others have to fit within a size limit like 64k, still others are wirtten in Java. A study of the scene as a whole would show you some interesting trends e.g. the move to hardware accelerated effects over the last couple of years.--- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
There is an excellent CD production made at Simon Fraser University in BC, called The Prime Ministers of Canada. The website is a great example of the use of Flash and standard HTML, the CD was produced using Macromedia Director and uses some very innovative and complex Lingo programming (a friend of mine was the chief Lingo programmer on the project which why I know about it). It forms part of the Canadian Encyclopedia World Edition and can be purchased online at Chapters.ca or Indigo.ca
I would suggest you check out the site and decide what you think.
"The first time I got drunk, I got married. The second time I bought a chimpanzee, after that I stayed sober" Arian Seid
"Bad games."
I've forgotten who said that, but s/he pretty much nailed it.
Dahlmann tightly grips the knife, which he may have no idea how to use, and steps out into the plain.
Lionhead has a shockwave/flash/whatever page that is reasonably astounding. I knew you could do all the stuff that they do, but I never considered putting it together like that. The scrolling landscape is particularly neat.
The link:
www.lionhead.com
Go to the shocked version, of course.
Maybe the state's highest function is to grind out insoluble problems. (Zelazny, Hall of Mirrors)
...the dungeon keeper series shows a colorful mix of 3rd person god-view, with 1st person action-view (with the 'posses spell'). :-)
As far as sound being important in a game, try System Shock 2. The sound in that game still scares the ba-jesus outta me. Especially the maiden mothers....
Along with use of cameras in video games, you may add the resident evil series. People would get frustrated about how the views are static, but the designer purposely did this for effect. And how homeworld has a complex 3-D dynamic camera, but it is simple to use and understand and makes the game more interesting (try viewing a battle from multiple angles... very cool).
Hope this helps for the video game section
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
http://www.heavy.com/ . Which turns out is also pretty damned funny. Especially the Contagious movies.
But the Blue Man Group's shows are some of the best use of multiple media I've seen. They use video, scrolling LED message boards, video tape, backlighting, electronic music, public address systems, water baloons.. It's quite the experience.
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.