Reflecting on my progress with help from Jennifer Moon

This blog entry is a snap-shot from the term end report I have prepared for submission and includes some of the reading on the work of Jennifer Moon, the high priestess of REFLECTION. 

REFLECTIVE PRACTICE:

There are chapters that relate directly to the learning we are all embarked upon during this Foundation Degree. The chapters worthy of further reading have been..

Chapter 7 – The role of reflection in counseling, therapy and personal development.

“The different uses of the term ‘reflection’ overlap and separating them in a meaningful manner inevitably is a matter of making the best sense, rather than the perfect sense, of the situation.”

In each of the subject areas we have studied up to know have caused me to reflect and draw some conclusion and apply a meaning to new skills we have developed and, while each subject may not appear relevant to my future plans it has forced me to take positive thoughts whether the feedback was a lecturer or my peers who have offered critique.

Jenny goes on to say “Personal development encompasses any activity that might contribute towards growth or development of the person. This will not all be down to reflection. However, for example, growth may occur when a person puts themselves in a challenging position and faces up to difficulties, but the decision to put themselves into that position may have been determined by a reflective process, a coming to understand what is needed”.

This quote can be applied to the two examples within my report, firstly as all the tasks are new skills then each I would say contribute to my development & facing up to a texturing task after an accepted failure in modeling supports this view.

Clearly by leaving my first year submissions until the last few days I have put myself in a 'challenging' position and although I probably 'reflected' from term 1 that not preparing my final submissions well before deadline I clearly need to learn to prioritise time better and not accept this mistake as an 'experience' to be repeated.  

Other noteworthy reading from J.Moon

Chapter 15 – Learning through Reflection – the use of learning journals

The Key text from our recommended reading list has been …

Reflection in Learning & Professional Development

Jennifer A Moon

RoutledgeFalmer (2004)

ISBN: 07494 2864 3

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION, Show me the Money - What links Lucas Arts & Pixar to The Medici

Linking in Social & Contextual with my studies to date...

Back in earlier blog I have reflected on some of the biggest companies and the success they have found during the last few decades (70's & 80's), but what struck me is the fact that some common social & economic factors are linking these companies to the success found by families, like the Medici back down the historical time-line.  Back on March 9th I wrote heavily on my findings on the Medici of the Renaissance who were based in Florence. Florence at this time was full of wealth and extremely prosperous. Not to mention the Medici came to be very wealthy and it was this wealth that allowed them to make their name in history by investing and commissioning some of the finest artists of the time.

So part of the key to their success was to be based in the wealth of Florence.
Pixar, were based... Oh yes in California, which is known for silicon valley, a known hot-spot for funding new enterprises.
So at the times these companies were developing themselves they were being backed by prosperous economies, and operating in an environment where investment was rife and backers (like Steve Jobs) with millions of dollars to plough into the technology to propel these companies forward.

POWER, MONEY & AMBITION
Florence & California had the wealth to support the ambition of the likes of Pixar and Apple and now these companies are iconic in their day.
How many more examples are there like this that relate to New Media and Social Context I wonder? ?

CGI Movie Milestones - From TRON to TRON in under 2 hours

We have suddenly gone mad over 'new media'. Well at least in terms of looking at some of the Films that have been viewed by some as 'KEY' milestones. The slides began with Tron & ended with Tron Legacy so here is a good place to chart the progress ...


1982-TRON: (Disney) 
Why: 15mins of CGI
Where the main character was transported into a computer program, but the special effects at the time were the first of their kind. Full of computer references. The effects of the day were amazing but compared to today's animation and CGI effects they were basic at best.

1985-Young Sherlock Holmes (ILM) 

Why: First Completely Computer Generated Character

ILM made further breakthroughs in computer graphics with the creation of the first completely computer-generated character in a feature film, the "stained glass man"

1989-The Abyss: (ILM) 

Why: First Soft-surface CG Character
Industrial Light & Magic created the first computer generated three-dimensional fluid-based character with the "pseudopod"

The significant piece in this was the fluid movement of the alien. It had the effect of making an entity look fluid inside a fluid (the sea). It was particularly special as the alien mimicked a human face by manipulating the water. This was the first time a full fluid digitalised face was seen on the big screen. 

1985-Terminator II: (ILM) 

Why: First computer Graphics Main Character

This film was spectacular success for a number of reasons, mainly because of the fluid chrome / mercury main character. The terminator was human looking but made of this futuristic material that could be manipulated. The movement of the terminator was not always brilliantly smooth but back then it looks realistic enough. The fluid / solid mercury / chrome material was what really stood out more so than the fact that it was a completely digital human form.

1991-Beauty & The Beast (Walt Disney) 

Why: The first union of 2D & 3D used in a film. Best highlighted in the Ballroom scene. 

1992-Alien 3: (Boss Film) 

Why: Integrated CGI shadows

CGI was still in its infancy then the close up shots of the aliens were actual models. This film had a blend of real models, and CGI created models. Used together you had the detail up close, with the fully CGI images at further distances not being so detailed. This film also  into the models which helped when blending in with the studio illuminated models.

1193-Jurassic Park: (ILM) 

Why: number of dinosaurs on screen at once

Who doesn't remember this film, wow, dinosaurs and real looking ones as well. The dinosaurs throughout this film are numerous in number and variety and didn't look robotic in movement at all. The realism of the animals and their detail are what made this film as well as the number of dinosaurs on screen at once. Groups of dinosaurs stampeding and charging amongst the actors was fabulous.

1995-Toy Story:(Pixar) 

Why: The first fully animated 3D CGI feature. 

This is where animation as we know it today started. This film had great characters, a great story, and even to this day looks great in HD. The people in the film looked animated and not quite real but this could be forgiven when the other characters (toys) had such great personality. 

1999-The Iron Giant (Warner Bros) 

Why: Cel Shading & Brad Bird who went on to work at Pixar 

1999-Star Wars (ILM)- The Phantom Menace:
Why: the greatest number of CGI scenes than any previous film
Although not the greatest of films this did at the time have the greatest number of CGI scenes than any previous film. In 1999 we had an underwater city, fully CGI alien characters, and the unforgettable 'Pod' racing scene with a young Anakin Skywalker. It was fast and made the audience almost feel as though they were in the pod itself.

1999-The Matrix (Manex) 
Why: Bullet time/ Green Screen & a Legacy Made

2000-Gladiator:(Mill Farm) 

Why: The crowd composite from a British Company

This was a British film when Britain still had a CGI industry.

The crowd scene around the arena filled with masses of people looked so real it was difficult to differentiate it from a real crowd.

2001-Monsters Inc:(Pixar) 

Why: A milestone from Pixar, the fur and skin of the monsters. 

This was the first time that fur on a character had been used and it was especially effective on the main character Sully. Again, a great story with great characters, but especially for their look and textures.

2001-Lord of the Rings :Two Towers: (Weta Digital)
Why: Gollum skin texturing (subsurface scattering)
Although Gollum had been seen in the previous film, it wasn't until this one where Gollum could be really appreciated as a CGI marvel. It moved almost naturally, and had skin and textures not previously seen. It had almost a wet layer overlayed over its original skin layer. This with brilliant lighting emphasised the water on the skin making it look almost real.

2005: The Lion, Witch, and the wardrobe: (Rhythm&Hues) 
Why: This film had in excess of 20,000 characters in some of the main fight scenes. 
Numerous characters had already been done in Gladiator but this had both human and animal characters, and even part human / animal characters in the scenes. Amongst this there was also Aslan's fur and the fur and skins of other animals.

2005: Sin City: (CafeFX) 
Why: Stylised 3D Backdrops

2006: Pirates of the Caribbean: (ILM) 
Why: Pioneering use of motion capture. 
It was used throughout the film, and continued on through the rest of the series.


2011: Avatar (ILM) 
Why: 3D Steroscope


2011: Tron Legacy (Disney) 
In order to retro-age Jeff Bridges to a 35-year-old, the actor had to wear a special helmet fitted with 4 strategically placed cameras enabling every textural nuance of his facial expressions to be recorded for precision synthesis during digital processing


A really thorough round up of movie milestones with CGI, technology & 3D at the forefront of 'new media' film making techniques. 

Is Darth Vader in a New Media & Social Context Again?

As part of class research we have fast fwd to the last 30 or so years and began to consider the impact & legacy today of some of the movies and video games from earlier generations. At 37 I can consider this genre a big part of my social history, more so than some of the earlier works studied.
One example in particular has cropped up on more than one occassion in my learning and reading on this degree, STAR WARS.
From my ILM research for the presentation on a succcss story, George Lucas & Star Wars has been prominent. Now it's back again with the Focus on 3D Gaming. Jed Margolin was the main programmer  behind the 1st 3D first person game  using 3D perspective graphics. "It was why he went to work at Atari"

Warp speed officially turned into Star Wars project in January 1982, an 18 month schedule then to turn it into an arcade game, but with the backing of the newly formed Lucas Games they got underway.

Star Wars was was easily one of the most famous film franchise of all time and now & again it's influence appears to a modern day audience to help sell, with the help of new media technology, products to my generation of consumers.

The latest incarnation appears courtecy of this tv advert...

 Originally the 3D math allowed any object  and the observer to be in any orientation but they ended up going with vector graphics.  Vector graphics is a term I came across when background reading for Understanding the Media and the programme Illustrator so more and more connections are being made in my understanding of the origins of some of these terms and where they have led us to with currant new media software. What the 3D element allowed was for someone to become Luke Skywalker and play a more 'interactive' role. It's a true timeless piece of history and art.

The Matrix, West Influencing the East or vice versa?

During our lecture (seperate blog) we have zooomed into the last 150 years of Art history into a 'digital age' and the big 'key' milestone 3D Film & CGI the use of graphics in movies. 
This ties in with the research I did for the ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) talk hence alot of the films within this set of slides included some of the same 'key' technological developements invented by or developed by ILM. 
 I'm sidetracking as the one film that I noticed falling across our core subjects was 
The Matrix. 
Why? Because it included aspects I wrote about in Creativity & Social Context, namely the way the story and script includes both eastern & western philosophy. 
This subject is heavily written about on-line and I have taken a few extracts below that seem to ring true when looking at the Film past the action scenes. 


"The content of the film includes scenes that are clearly influenced by by Zen Buddhism or eastern mysticism. Many of the lines, and certainly the martial arts sequences, are certainly all aspects of an eastern influence. The fact that many people watching The Matrix are seeing only the "content" of the kung-fu scenes and the electronica soundtrack while missing the serious sermon going on all around them".
 But people often make the mistake of assuming that Judaism and Christianity are somehow exclusively "western" religions. Both are situated geographically and historically in Israel, which is on the Asian continent. The holy city of these two religions is Jerusalem, which sits in the navel of the world, as the meeting point of east and west. In other words, Judaism and Christianity are religions that share and have been influenced by both east and west, and have influenced both eastern and western philosophies since time immemorial.


http://www.metaphilm.com/philms/matrix1.html


Further more the basis of the film is set in a modern enviroment where software and 3D is prevelant and features heavily the use of these mediums in it's production and it's content. 


On Reflection  from our earlier studies where the work of artists like Kitagawa Utamaro(喜多川歌麿, 1753 - September 20, 1806)  a Japanese printmaker and painter, and is considered one of the greatest artists of woodblock prints (ukiyo-e). came to influence arts movements, (Impressionism), artists, and cultures.  
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Kitagawa_Utamaro


This cross over and influence now seems to be as influential now as back in the 1700's

Show Legislation that matters - RE: Broadeye Creatives

INDUSTRY GUIDELINES & LEGISLATION: AN OVERVIEW

Below are extracts that I have encorporated into my final report on the Broadeye show and worthy of an entry here. 

Copyright and Design Act 1998 (and Intellectual Property) http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/contents

As some graphics students were exhibiting work that used existing company branding, they needed to be aware of the acts that govern the use of original material. Trademarks of these companies were also present on some of the work displayed so some sought permission from those individuals who were responsible for the original work.  

This would have fallen under Art Licensing.

As the protection of intellectual property is critical to the work produced by New Media & Graphic students this becomes a relevant issue with displays in a public arena. 

http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/other/0118404830/0118404830.asp

This will apply to the posters and/or flyers used and to the work exhibited.

Also relevant would be SCHEDULE 2 Playing or showing sound recording, film, or broadcast at educational establishment as the original intention was to play a film that showed content of the 3D work we had created. This legislation is to be found here:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/48/schedule/2/crossheading/playing-or-showing-sound-recording-film-or-broadcastat-educational-establishment

Equality and Diversity Act 2010

http://www.equalities.gov.uk/equality_act_2010.aspx
This applies to both the content and location of the exhibition. 

It may also raise questions of accessibility.

Data Protection Act 1998

As we as a group were distributing data that was personal to the members within our class we needed to be aware of the appropriate law on data protection. This applied to the recording of the minutes for meetings held and contact information for the likes of the venue and other contacts and suppliers utilised for the purpose of organising the event. http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_organisations/data_protection.aspx

Data sharing code of practice

The data sharing code of practice is a statutory code that has been issued after being approved by the Secretary of State and laid before Parliament. The code explains how the Data Protection Act applies to the sharing of personal data and good practice would need to be applied.

Managing the welfare of People

As this was a public display we needed to be aware of the welfare of the visitors to the show and that access for disabled people should also be considered.

HEALTH & SAFETY:

Health and Safety is an area of exhibitions, conferences and events that has become more important and in some cases more confusing!

One problem is that local authorities frequently dictate the Health & Safety policies of many UK venues. This is in addition to the statutory regulations set out by the Health & Safety Executive.

We were required to assess the risks, complete the H & S statements and formulate a Health & Safety policy.

This is an area of exhibitions/conferences/events that should not be ignored hence we needed to ensure that all forms were completed and submitted to the relevant people. Should there be a problem at an event any investigation starts with the forms supplied by the exhibitor so we had to be aware.

Tied in closely with the risk assessment was the aspect of Fire Safety.

FIRE SAFETY:

The Pie & Ale House as owners/occupiers of the premises, to which the public have access. Therefore they would know to comply with the provisions of the Fire Safety Order.

The Fire Safety Order providing fire safety risk assessment guidance to those who are seeking. More information & further reading available online:

http://www.communities.gov.uk/fire/firesafety/

Broadeye Show - POST SHOW REFLECTION - RE: Maylor, h

HOW TRUE! 

Chapter 7 - Rethinking time planning: the critical chain approach

p.157 introduces you to a term called 'student syndrome' This is identified as where, despite people being given extra time (slack) for an activity, the extra time is wasted at the front end, and they often won't start the activity until the latest possiible time. 

If we are to look at the 1st year conclusion to a foundation degree or a project such as the Broadeye show further reading on this subject would be as well before embarking on a second year! 

Project Management 4th Edition

Harvey Maylor

Apr 2010, Paperback, 440 pages

ISBN13: 9780273704324

ISBN10: 027370432X

http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/detail.