This is where we post our projects, experiences, thoughts, and discoveries. The lab community is a great place to learn about the topics and techniques covered in the Creative Media Lab. Feel free to leave a comment!

I think the first time I ever used media was even before I was born, when my mom did her ultrasound to see if I was a boy or a girl. Media has being around my life for as long as I can remember, and I obviously became part of my life. I could still remember being a little kid living in a small town in Peru, and every time I would come back from school, I would not want to go do homework, instead I would go and watch Rugrats, Rocko’s Modern Life, Hey Arnold!, SpongeBob SquarePants, Dexter’s Laboratory, Bananas in Pajamas, or Doug. I had a good time watching cartoons on media, like TV. I also had a good time playing with my Super Nintendo, I only had a few games, but I felt like the most fortunate kid just playing on it.

As I grew older, I started experiencing different types of media, like the boring news my parents used to watch on the TV, or the boring newspapers my parents used to read. Nowadays, we all use pretty much all of the types of media that is offered to us. The very popular iPod is one of the most used sources of media; almost everyone has one these days from the simple Shuffle to the fancy iTouch. Another source of media that became pretty popular these days are the very well known myspace and facebook, they have both done a very good job in keeping people communicated in a very fashion and modern manner. As for me I use very my iPod and my myspace all the time, but what I use the most is my always-by-my-side phone because from there I can access all types of media, from the latest news to the latest ringtones or myspace friend, all at my fingertips.

Although media has shaped our lives for the good, I believe that media could be used for much better proposes. Like maybe teaching the less fortunate kids how to read and write, I believe that would have a great impact to this society if there were more underprivileged kids that knew how to read and write, that way there will be much less poverty around the world. Overall I believe media has change our lives and the world around us, whether it is that we’re watching the soccer game or we’re instant messaging our families in different countries, media is always there with us, however it would be more useful if it was to help the needed society.

Day to day that passes we are surrounded by media. CNN, i-pods, Disturbia, Myspace all examples of news, music, movies, internet we are exposed to on a daily basis. I know on a about a daily basis music by rappers has an effect on me because I don’t know but I feel like what they sing sometimes relates to what’s going on in my life.

Sometimes what Lil Rob, or Big Moe sing does really relate to a point in my life that im going through.

As I’ve been growing technology has been changing a lot right in front of my eyes. I’ve gone from big boxed TV’s to new flat LCD screens. I went from my Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 to Playstation 1 and later 2.

Now in high school a piece of technology that plays an important role in my life are computers. I use them for homework class work and projects. On the side I also use it for my music and Myspace. I’ve learned how to use programs that help you make movies, others that help you make commercials, or even just presentations.

Either way media and technology are around us all the time and instead of just using this technology I believe we can use it for good and better. I think we can use it for bigger things. Like our teacher, Trevor said,” We wish we couldn’t say that technology is the key to our future,” but I mean really take a look around and find out and get involved by finding out how technology has done for you.

Media et Moi

I recently found an old home video of my family and me visiting Half Moon Bay on Halloween. My favorite part was an approximately 3 minute long segment of 4 year old me unsteadily riding a pony and repeatedly yelling, “Austin!” at my baby brother. I could tell I was having a lot of fun, yet I don’t remember a thing about that trip. Thanks to media, namely our ancient cinder block of a video camera, I can now go back and relive the moment. There is so much more that makes up media than you know, or at least I knew. In a way, technology is what makes the world go ‘round these days, but technology can also have opposite and sometimes detrimental effects as well.

From my computer at home to my always-by-my-side IPod, technology is constantly around me and affecting me. My first experiences with media began during my pre-kindergarten and on years of home videos. Nowadays, it is all about having the latest IPod or the newest LG camera phone. As a child (and even now), I was completely fascinated by all the buttons and toggles and etc., not to mention the gadgets’ shiny colors. It is simple factors like color and style that make the actual contraption so popular. Furthermore, it is the ever-evolving media capabilities that make these machines ever more effective at exposing the public to different types of media.

Music, video and the internet are probably the top three forms of media exposure. Media, in all its forms, has also provided an effective way of communicating all over the world. While telephonically and using email is the most direct way of communication, it is often the indirect forms of communication such as music, television and internet that have a much bigger influence. From musicians, like The Foo FightersKT Tunstall, to videos on NBC concerning the war or Nickelodeon, home of great cartoons, all provide some sort of message to their audience, positive and negative. and

As technology and media changes, the world changes as well. Media can change how people communicate with each other. Through programs like Adobe Photoshop and Windows Movie Maker, communication becomes more focused on what we see with our eyes. Media can make communication more beautiful, more pleasing and more entertaining. These changes are even occurring now. At my high school, Santa Teresa High School, there is a program called the Multimedia Arts Magnet Program. In this environment, we use programs like those said above. I have learned how too communicate my ideas, opinions and likes through art and technology, integrated into one. It is in this class that I have learned to create new memories in an abstract way.

Hi readers,

 

Many of us were exposed and close to media young, just never really thought about how true this was. I know that this is true for me. As a child, like most, I watched Saturday morning cartoons like Pokémon, Batman, and teen Titans, thus was exposed to an entertainment form of media. This kind of media was effective, especially for my young age because as a kid I was not out on my own, like I am not, so I was inside trying to entertain myself, but not do it myself. I turned to the T.V.

 

But now what has a greater affect on me than television and moving images, but still is an entertainment form, is audio such a music. I’m always listening to the radio, to station like LIVE 105, organizing music on itunes for my ipod, or just checking out playlist and new artists on imeem. My preferable music is alternative rock, but I will honestly listen to anything, ranging from techno to hip hop to love songs that that make me smile, and everything in between.

And just like almost everyone, I’ve been introduced to myspace, facebook, and even e-mail but spend more of my time checking e-mails and on facebook. I’m mostly using the internet to talk to friends from school, or those I don’t get to see that often, or get news and info from coaches or teachers. Especially now, I’m more focused on my school,academics and extracurricular activities. I would also use the internet to search for different sites of design, arts, or clothing and shoes. I have so many sites that I’ve bookmarked that I forget which are which. I check notcot.org, and highsnobiety.com for modern arts, and technology or apparel.

In the mornings, I wake to an alarm clock playing my favorite high-energy songs off of an i-Pod playlist I created. After I get dressed, I go into the kitchen and turn on the radio to a Bay Area news station and hear other peoples’ accomplishments and predicaments during the time it takes me to eat my breakfast cereal. Decoding the mysteries and puzzles on the back of a Cap’n Crunch box never takes long, though, because the answers always relate back to the cereal itself, so by 7:15 I’m out the door and on my way to my high school.

When I arrive, a barrage of t-shirt logos and tote bags greets me, most of which proudly display names like Volcom or American Eagle. It can be difficult to navigate the halls with such an obstacle course, so I’ll duck into my first class and open my math textbook to last night’s homework assignment. This just goes to show that by 8:00 A.M. most weekdays, I’ve already sorted through a gauntlet of media, images, and advertisements.

This media is ridiculously effective in getting what its producers want, which is to have teenagers and their parents buy their high-priced clothing and advertise it around their schools. This has been going on since I was in middle school, where the high-profile popular kids would parade around with their Abercrombie & Fitch shopping bags. But school wasn’t the first place I was exposed to advertising; watching The Big Comfy Couch and Barney as a child showed me plenty of advertisements for the latest Tamagotchi pets and Furbys.

I was extremely impressionable back then, so it makes sense that advertisers would want to target small children. But using small children as a target audience is very effective in inducing change. Why else would Smokey Bear commercials be played during Saturday morning cartoons? Young children have not yet established strong opinions about anything but foods they dislike. So, if one wanted to create a radical societal change, repeatedly showing the same idea in any form of media would convince children to start the revolution.

Valerie Onouha

June 24, 2008

Tech 1

Assignment 1

Because technology is now a great demand is our everyday life, media is very difficult for one to miss. They’re are present in the radio, televisions, mp3, iPods, etc. So far media is essential to our everyday life. An example of how media is vital in the food industry can be found in the commercial for the new Five-Dollar foot long at Subways which motivates viewers to spend their money on a sandwich instead of just wasting it. Media at school is used to inform students about upcoming events and information. Even in Tech 1(obviously), the media exists all over.

As I child, I was aware of what technology had to offer. My dad surrounded the house with computers and I would play a variety of computer games on them such as Solitaire and Minesweeper. Since I was – and still am- a fan of television, media has presented itself to me by Arthur, The Lion King, and Aladdin. When I was able to feel comfortable living away from home for a week, I attended ID Tech camp and made a computer game as well as star and edit a video.

I believe that media is so engaging to the human race because it provides new and up-to –date items and information. No one in today’s world wants to be viewed as if they were living in the thirteenth century; people want to keep current in the latest fads. Media, in most cases, is also very entertaining, and with its entertainment viewers are so interested and basically hooked on it.

As related to the Subway, media helps different companies and industries to communicate to its audience through the internet, commercials, and movies. People in our society also use media through blogs and E-mails to communicate other.

With my experience with media, I would use the media to send a positive message. With all the calamities and corruptions in the world, I hope that through media human beings would see the great things in life and would begin to increase and spread hope around the globe.

Everyday people are exposed to media, weather it is can watching TV or visiting a college campus. Today media influences the way people think and interact. Personally I have been influenced by two out of the five (Video, Audio, Images, Interactive, and Print) types of media. They were Interactive and Video.

When I was smaller I would always use the computer. I would look up information for school on the internet. This caused me to accidentally run into a website called Youtube.com. Youtube has influenced many people to do dumb things to get noticed. For example, I personally know a few people at my school that have taken videos of fights and posted them on youtube. This has caused them to think that it is okay to have violent things online because it is “cool”. Other things that you could find on Youtube would be music videos and educational videos. Although Youtube should not be used by minors, it is a very useful sight to receive some useful information.

While I was looking on the internet for information, I noticed that there was a lot of advertisements for different products. This year I fell for a certain poetry.com ad. The requirement was to submit a poem and they would publish it in a book. One day I happen to have mentioned this to my friend. She told me that she had done the same thing and that nothing ever happened to her poem. I was very disappointed. After that day I learned my lesson: Don’t trust ads because they could just be ripping you off for your money.

One type of media that has effected everyones lives at one point would have to be music (audio).??Music has effected peoples’ lives because I know for a fact that if some one is sad, nine out of ten times they are most likely to listen to sad songs. If a person is heart broken by they are most likely going to hate listening to a song that once made them smile when they were with their significant other or they will listen to a song about how “love is pain“. If a person is in a cheery mode they will listen to a song that makes them happy, hyper or makes them laugh.

The second piece of media that people use daily would be the internet. Weather they use it to communicate with people through Myspace, hi5, or Facebook or to look up research for school. One day I had to go online and look for information on Vernon Dahmer for a power point presentation for my humanities class. The internet has helped people to find jobs, their life long partner, and even who their ancestors are. Although the internet has its downs, it is still a very useful way to receive information from.

I’ve live in a hyped up media world. Everyday whether it’s class, home, just walking down the street I see media, things such as i-phones, smart boards, T.V., etc. I think the most forms of media I’m exposed to everyday is the T.V. and the computer. I constantly follow sports, whether it’s watching Giants, Warriors, or Sharks games on T.V. With the computer, I’m a big facebook and AIMjunky and I’m always on the computer.

I first came in contact with the T.V. when I was young. I remember it was when I was about the age of two. My mom showed me the wonders of Barny on T.V. and I couldn’t get enough of it. To this day I don’t regret watching that big purple dinosaurs.

I Think T.V. is so effective because everybody watches it. It’s always there, and where ever you go there’s always advertising on . T.V., T.V. is a main communication tool in our society. You can see how T.V. impacts everybody by just looking at what someone wears(mini skirts, muscle T’s ,sagging pants) or the way they act. T.V. is an amazing form of media, but can also be a big downside of media. This is because T.V. Shows people in the way the government looks at our society.

T.V. is a great communication to reach others because many watch it. You can tell people about something you want them to know by just posting a commercial on T.V. Or if you want to rely the message of unity you can create a show and put it on T.V. to rely your message.

Media can be used to induce change by shaping the minds of younger generations and the world. Technology is changing everyday, everyday something new in technology is created. With these technological advancements it usually makes life easier. In a future perspective with media we can find a cure to diseases like AIDS, cancer,etc. We can reduce global warming. We can create a world with no war. These are just a few things media can do. Media is so powerful it makes a big influence on my life as well as many others lives.

      As any other kid in America, I was flooded with Media. Anything from the Saturday morning cartoons to Super Mario 64 on the Nintendo 64. My Television was glued to Cartoon network and Nickelodeon. I was a very active, short attention spanned, and as my mom would put it hard-headed child so media couldn’t keep me in one place for very long. In spite of that, i can clearly remember the first time I played one of the greatest shooters of all time, DOOM II when I was five years old. I never was really able to enjoy the game ever again, always on the edge of my seat checking my back for any kind of red fireball coming my way.

      As i grew, however, media played a bigger part of my life. Around the age of tweleve, music really inroduced itself to me. I started listening to all the the most popular artist like 50 cent, Ludacris, and Nelly. My T.V taste didnt change much. As for videogames, I retired my ‘64 for a Gamecube. The Metroid Prime series was and still is one of my favorite videogame series of all time.

     Fastforwarding to today, media has taken a front row seat in my life, being the roots of everything I do. Music has became an important part to my everyday. My interest in music has tweaked though. I’ve started to take more interest in music that wasnt necessarily popular and played on the radio every half hour, but music that had more of a meaning. Groups called Hieroglyphics, The Roots, and more recently FLOBOTS began taking up more space on my ipod. Videogames also has earned priority in my life, so much that I am even considering a career in that field. From the Gamecube I moved on to the Xbox 360, where the “next generation” of gaming began. Games like Madden ‘08, Gears of War, and Call of Duty 4 kept my interest constant. And somewhere along the way I gained a dislike for anything Playstation.

Erica Wilson

6/24/08

Tech

Assignment #1

Hi, my name is Erica. Daily I am exposed to media through my iPod, or the internet, or even on TV. In some way or another media has always been apart of my life style. When I was about six years old my aunt Dorian Brown had her on local T.V show and was able to perform in front of the camera and even back then I was amazed with the fact that other people would be seeing me without physically being by me. I was also exposed to musical media my grandmother because every day she would play Luther Vandross , or the Temptations. Music has always had a special part in my family because when all the family would be at my house play R.Kelly “step in the name of love” song every one would be up doing the electric slide.

Musical media is very effective to me personally. When I am in a sad mood I might want to listen to a really sad dramatic song such as Mary J. Blige “I’m Going Down”, or if I am in a really happy goofy mood I could listen to OutKast “Hey Ya”. Music can shape a person to who they are or what they will become. If you grow up as a child listening to classical music then you may require a taste for other things that can fit in that category such as fine art.

Another form of media that has a very powerful effect is video. Video can reach people on a different level because you can see first hand rather than writing or just audio. The moment the moving picture was invented in 1867 it changed the way we viewed things. We as the United States were able to view and be aware of things in different countries that we would have not known about otherwise.

Media has come so far in just a few short years. Now you are able to communicate with someone who is all the way in Africa with just a push of the on button on our web cams. A lot of soulful music artist communicate their emotions or feelings about something through their music and it is communicated to all their listeners who then have that same connection with them.

Media has the ability to change any one. One form of media that has changed many people is of course music, it has a important way of fitting in to ones lifestyle a person can relate anything such as emotions, or even what they are learning in school to a song that they have heard even our own Ashley Jones said TLC and Salt n’ Peppa had an effect on her and who she is today. From personally experience musical media has changed who I am over the years because I was exposed to more things as I got older. Now I am more open minded and even more outgoing just because of media and the way all different type of people can relate to one subject.

MEDIA CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

.

Radhika Mitra

Media, media, media! The lifestyle we lead now encompasses vastly around media and there is no doubt it has affected me in various aspects.

As a kid, I was always fascinated by the computer monitor that stood on a table in my parent’s room. When I was four or five years old, I still remember sitting beside my dad, watching him designing and etching his own circuit boards, soldering, his hobby electronic projects and assembling high performance computers for audio video applications. I grew up seeing computer engineering first hand, literary playing with computer medias like discarded track 0 bad floppy disks and scratched CDs.

I remember my self interacting a lot with computer video games. Like most kids, I was a huge fan of Cartoon Network and I still am. As I grew up, I became interested in Photography . That was again greatly influenced by media. Due to the availability of internet and being able to view various artists from all over the world, I was inspired to become a photographer myself. Nevertheless I have been greatly influenced by my father who is an avid nature photographer. Some of his portfolios are displayed in his website.

I play piano too and music is my passion. Since I have started playing piano, I became aware of the various tools used by modern musician. I was amazed by how much computer technology and media contributes to the sound engineering world. It is now possible to use sound samples, various VST instruments and suitable sound editor to mimic sound of any natural instrument. Just connect your Midi Keyboard to a Laptop loaded with right software and voila! You have a 100 year old Steinway under your fingertips. Isn’t that amazing?

Midi has become my primary source of sampling audio files for old & contemporary jazz pieces as well as classical ones. Even writing sheet music has changed into new digital media form. I can now use Sibelius to type my music in Laptop and it stores the sheet music in its digital media form. It can also play back the piece through computer sound card. Also now I can scan a sheet music into a digital image media and then use Photoscore to convert into Sibeluis format.

Ever since Apple launched its iPod , another form of digital media became popular- it is Pod-Casting . This is all about creating a streaming digital audio media and publishing in a website. Young generations are now making full use of this media technology.

Media discussion will not be complete without touching YouTube. It is the most famous and infamous low bandwidth personal video sharing service. You can find most useful information to most useless crud in Youtube. One thing for sure, it has changed the way think or express ourselves by making audio video media so easily sharable and publishable. It is fascinating to see, new digital still and video cameras are advertising “YouTube compatible” as their key selling point.

Contributing back to the society is one of my main goals and in order to do that I am involved with Do Something. Without the source of internet I would have never gotten to know about that. Do Something has become a great part of my life now as I am currently their journalist for interviewing celebrities that are creating change in the society and I am also a selected contributor to their Youth Advisory Council from the nation. Without the help of media I would have never been able to connect myself with such causes and get the inspirations I have today. I am looking forward to strengthening my technical skills so I can inspire others in the future.

For as long as I can remember, I have been interacting with all different types of media. Whether it was television, Super Nintendo, or Nintendo 64, media has always been a part of my life. I always remember watching TV shows such as Hey Arnold!, Gilligan’s Island and Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. Basically, TV and video games were my life after school between kindergarten and 5^th grade. I would play video games and watch TV from the time I got home to the time I went to sleep. I always remember coming home playing Diddy Kong Racing’s adventure mode and trying to beat the all mighty Wizpig in a race. I would play Super Smash Brothers and always choose my favorite character, Ness. By far my favorite game would probably be The Legend of Zelda: Occarina of Time. I would spend hours on end trying to beat the infamous Ganondorf.

I first came into contact with these two forms of media through my parents and my friends. Obviously my parents would watch TV and as I grew up I slowly began to watch more and more of it. Television was my door into the media world. Through television I was able see the commercial for the N64 and begged my parents to buy the system for me. These two forms of media soon became a part of my life. I think that these forms of media are very effective because most people use them. There are many people that play video games. These people can range from young to old and males to females. The television is something that mostly everyone watched. Many people like to watch the latest episodes of Rob and Big or Spongebob. Many also watch television to get their daily news. These forms of media are effective because so many people use them everyday.

As I grew older, I slowly began to learn about new forms of media. The news of the internet soon reached me and I was astonished by what it was. I didn’t understand it at first but I didn’t really need to. All I did was look up game cheats. Now that I am older, I come into contact with more forms of media. I love to listen to music, mainly alternative bands such as Story of the Year and Angels and Airwaves. Youtube has also become a very popular website for people to use. People use Youtube in a variety of ways which range from looking up funny videos to looking up how to tie a tie. Media is a huge influence in many peoples’ lives.

These types of media are readily available for many people to use. For example, many people use youtube to present information about a variety of topics. These can range from the crisis in Darfur to the one in Myanmar. Anybody can access youtube to upload any types of videos. Media can be used to induce change in a variety of ways. If people television and youtube to give out information instead of uploading funny videos, the media can induce change. People respond to things that make sense and are entertaining. Media can be both logical and entertaining. One example of how media has induced change is the crisis in Myanmar. When people heard about the crisis, they willingly donated their time and money to help the unfortunate people. Media can be used by anybody and can be used in a variety of ways such as entertainment and news.

Throughout the course of our exciting and, overall, fulfilling lives, we are exposed to media and its entrancing affects. We tend to follow our day unknowingly being affected by media whether it is applying to Comcast after watching one of those exhilarating Comcast turtle commercials to “do stuff faster” or learning your numbers and letters with Barney the Purple Dinosaur or Blues Clues. Media is a part of our lives and if we learn to recognize it we will be less likely to be affected into clicking on the ads on Myspace or Facebook.

As a young boy growing up in Fort Worth, Texas I enjoyed my fill of media like any other two year old. My ideal day was simply watching my favorite television program, Barney and singing along to “Clean up! Clean up! Every body….!” (I do not remember the exact words) with a bowl of Fruit Loops. With that jolly dinosaur I quickly learned the English language as my first language was Spanish. As I grew up I changed my Media enjoyment to other more “mature” cartoons like Cat-dog, Dexter’s Laboratory and Courage the Cowardly Dog with a more “animated violence” approach to life. Along with visual/audio media I was exposed to a more hands-on or “interactive” media; videogames. I started with the Super Nintendo playing Mario Carts and Super Mario to the Super Nintendo with Super Smash Bros. to the more current PS2 and PSP.

Nowadays I am exposed to even more types of media giving me a plethora of entertainment, news, referenced, advertisement and education. On the weekends, my brothers, friends, and I get together and film short movies that vary from comedy to mystery and even to an attempt at horror (they’re never scary more than funny).

I, like several other teenagers, listen to music (preferably rock) to entertain myself throughout the day. Our genre of music grows every day from The Doors (my favorite band from about 35 years ago) to Bob Marley to Snoop Dog and Eminem. The ideas of how to act and dress change our Music preference or T.V. show changes.

Media is a HUGE part in our daily lives as we are exposed to it continuously and many times without our knowledge. Media exists in television, newspapers, magazines, websites, and billboards. It really is everywhere.

Technology has been a strong influence on my life and to everyone else’s today. From my early days, I remember watching TV shows like Barney, the Simpsons, and Sesame Street. I also remember how video games were something that affected my contact with media. Playing games such as Mario Kart 64, and Super Smash Bros. was something I used to do with my friends during my free time. I believe I first came into contact with these forms of media from my parents and friends. Most of media has influenced me by the people that I know.

Now, the media that influences the most is music. I listen to all kinds of music and I often use iTunes and YouTube to listen to the music I like. The kind of music that I’m starting to listen to a lot is jazz. I listen to that music on my iPod and on radio stations such as KCSM. When it comes to youtubing, I look up musicians like Charlie Parker and John Coltrane.

Media such as music and television are particularly effective because of the fact that everyone listens to music and watches T.V and both of these forms of media are ways to get information or entertainment. Things such as MTV and PBS are forms of media that entertain or inform people about music, news, or other kinds of events.

People nowadays can use media to induce change by setting comments on blogs to express their opinions on a topic. Other ways this can be done is by the news broadcasts putting information on T.V. and their websites to inform people about what’s going on. Sometimes, these news broadcasts can be biased and place information that might be exaggerated; such examples can be FOX News.

I, myself, use media also to communicate to friends and family. I use things like email (sbcglobal) and instant messaging (AIM) to communicate. At school, I have done projects on media such as video presentations. My friends and I used video editing to make a project for our English class. (If I Die in A Combat Zone) Media is a strong, influential way to express one’s opinion and induce change.