Author Archives: The Digital Canvas

Mastering the Art

After reading the articles and watching the videos it’s really astonishing to see the prominence of graphic design and how its trends shape our perceptions of different items and tones. I never really thought about how similar movie posters look based off of what genre they are and conveying the audience each movie is trying to draw in. It was very eye opening to see in the VanityFair video many different posters of similar style movies next to each other in comparison because of how apparent the similarities are. I thought about how difficult it is to otherwise grasp how many factors play into those movie posters because of how far apart each movie is released. A continuous theme I noticed when reading the articles and watching the videos were trends. People often look back to the past in order to gain inspiration for the current design project. This is seen in the Stranger Things Retro Title video using title designs and technology from the 80s to make the well known title logo that is seen in the show. Furthermore, this trend is seen in the article about Chip Kidd and all of the subtopics that go into design such as Symmetry vs. Asymmetry and Simplicity vs. Complexity. Overall, the articles and videos made me reflect on how frequent and influential design is and will continue to be.

Weekly Summary- 1/24

This week was a bit crazy for me. Had a lot going on it was definitely harder to keep up with everything but I know I’ll improve in the coming weeks. I liked the idea of doing the Daily Creates, just a short and fun way to express some creativity and getting to look at other people’s responses was fun as well. I also had fun designing my character, Eric Little, as an innocent victim and even using his last name to represent his knowledge of the dangerous outside world was cool to experiment with. Some issues I had this week was that I really wanted to fix my website URL to change the main page to have a cleaner and more organized subdomain structure. It may seem simple on the surface, but I ended up having to go down an entire rabbit hole into my File Directory to move a bunch of files around once I got the WordPress URL and Site URL changed. This was because after that initial change I wasn’t able to access my website and edit it because of the URL and wp admin shift. Nonetheless, I got it all figured out minus pulling out a few strands of hair stressing about it.

For the Assignment Bank, I chose to do an Audio Assignment, a Video Assignment, and a Visual Assignment, heard from Dr. Oblivion about my Film Review and updated it appropriately, and lastly read the Technopoly reading and consulted Dr. Oblivion about that as well.

Cavi Gone Wild

As an introduction, my dog’s name is Cavi and she is a 6 year old golden doodle with lots of energy. She gets super excited about lots of things, especially going for car rides and seeing new people. I wanted to do this assignment because I wanted to share my dog and I’d actually never made a Tiktok before this assignment. I found a video of my dog and browsed for the perfect sound. I found a sound called the “Jackass theme” which I thought was the best option after hearing it along with the video. Don’t believe me? Look for yourself!

Technopoly

Simply after reading the Introduction Reading Postman in 2020: Towards Technopoly, I could see the many connections that Neil Postman’s ideas and work had to The Terminator, the film I watched last week. Postman initially discusses the dangers of society becoming overly dependent on technology, losing its critical thinking and traditional values in the process. Throughout the reading, the author examines Postman’s critique of technology and its evolving impact on society, particularly in today’s context with a more advanced and developed digital age. The first chapter uses Thamus’ judgment as a metaphor for the modern-day skepticism about new technologies, particularly digital media. This sense of skepticism is especially relevant in the context of social media, smartphones, and other technologies, and is seen in The Terminator with the rise of rogue technology. The 2nd chapter focuses on a state Postman calls technocracy. In a technocracy, experts in technology and data hold significant power, and technology begins to shape the priorities and values of society. In the terminator, the development of technology begins to move from being a neutral tool that humans control to a driving force that fits the noir theme in wanting to gain control over its creators. The first two chapters really drove the other three, reviewing other aspects such as an “improbable world”, but all support a renewed awareness of the ways technology influences every aspect of life. The author also challenges readers to reconsider how they engage with it, aiming for a more balanced and thoughtful approach to its integration into society, furthermore relating to The Terminator resulting in its viewers having increased awareness of its quick development.

My reflections and Dr. Oblivion’s response heard here were positive. I agree even more with the author’s reflection on Postman’s ideas after rewatching The Terminator in the context of analyzing it. It wasn’t super eye opening or unexpected, but it’s a needed reminder or realization in the more digitized age we live in today.

The Innocent Victim

Name: Eric Little
Sex: M
Height: 6’1
Weight: 182lbs
Eye Color: BLU
DOB: 06/23/03

Meet Eric Little, a 22-year-old young man who is considered relatively sheltered with little exposure to the darker side of the world. He was raised in a quiet suburban town, with lots of personal ambition yet molded by opportunity and fairness. He had always been the type to follow the rules, maintain a steady job, and keep to a circle of loyal friends. He carries himself with a quiet confidence that hasn’t yet been challenged by real adversity. On the other hand, the innocence he carries makes him a prime target in a world where trust is a liability.

His personality is intelligent, idealistic, and deeply empathetic at his core. He tends to believe the best in people, even in situations where others might be more cautious. This trait often leaves him vulnerable to manipulation, as he’s quick to trust those around him. His kindness and unwillingness to question the system of right and wrong lead him to be easily swept up in harmful situations.

Eric’s life takes a sharp turn when he becomes inadvertently entangled in a criminal conspiracy. Through no fault of his own, he is framed for a crime he did not commit, a scenario that threatens to undo all of the structure in l=his life he has come to rely on. Whether it’s a false accusation or a trap set by those who see him as an easy pawn, Eric quickly finds himself trapped in a web of lies, corruption, and betrayal. As a victim of circumstance, he’s forced to navigate a world that he doesn’t understand. With each passing moment, Eric loses more of his innocence, learning painful lessons about the nature of trust, betrayal, and justice. His once-clear moral compass becomes clouded as he’s pushed into a corner, uncertain of whom to trust, all while fighting to clear his name.

Dream Homes and Digital Futures

The thought of what house I would buy without any financial restrictions has always been a thought in my mind, especially as I continue to progress into adulthood and have to think about fully living on my own with a job and a stable income. I’ve always dreamed of living in a house on the West Coast in the San Diego area, and immediately went to browse around the area. I’m also not a huge fan of the more boxy shaped modern houses and am more drawn to clean and minimalistic houses with some rustic aspects to tie it together. After a bit of searching, I found this house that looks perfect, listing at 4.5 million with 5 beds and 3 baths, and a setup and all the space one could need.

A connection to our class theme of Tech Noir I thought of was how the market of houses would look under a vastly developed technological society. Smart homes would be commonplace, but could be used to exert control over their inhabitants. There’s also concerns of privacy as technologies that makes a home “smart” could be hijacked by powerful corporations or government entities to monitor and manipulate people. Would every house look the same and be “smart homes” or could there be diversity present and how would that ratio look? How would a boundary between security and privacy look in a market of houses full of surveillance and AI-driven systems? Furthermore, large tech corporations could dominate the housing market, buying up properties to embed technology in them, then price out working-class residents to raise property value and essentially cut off any sense of community. Overall, my vision of the housing market in tech noir is a space governed by technology that shapes the living experience for its residents.

Film Review

I chose to watch The Terminator because it is a Tech noir film that I grew up watching multiple times with my parents. The genre is characterized by its depiction of a dystopian or high-tech world, often exploring themes of artificial intelligence, human-machine relationships, and the consequences of technological advancement. All of which are heavily included in The Terminator and is what drove me to choose this film. The film portrays a future dominated by technology gone wrong, where machines control the fate of humankind. This skepticism has become common in the media and entertainment industries, but also in my other classes. Technophobia has been frequently brought up in my communication classes, as technology as a whole has become so central with how humans communicate with each other and how our society functions. Using this theme will be an interesting and fun test to expand that knowledge back into other classes and my general education as a whole. In terms of the movie, it was amazing as always and has become a staple futuristic dystopian film in many households.

Soundtrack of My Soul

When I was first looking through the assignment bank the Soundtrack assignment caught my eye immediately. I have always been around lots of music, and am a big fan of all types of genres. I thought this assignment would be perfect for me to express different eras that have been impactful to me and led me to who I am now. Music is an amazing way to tell a story about yourself and that’s how I interpreted completing this assignment to be true to me. I chose eras of songs that were released in the 2000s and 2010s to reflect my favorite songs to listen to growing up, embodying my childhood. Then switched to Grateful Dead and Phish because my parents were a heavy influence in getting me into all sorts of music, and they love listening to jam bands, originating with those two. Lastly, I chose vintage songs mostly by Frank Sinatra to represent my grandparents, who loved Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, as they were big role models in my life before they passed away and I love listening to all sorts of Jazz to reminisce on being in their car looking at Christmas lights.

Enjoy viewing a compressed version of the eras and influences of my life!

Weekly Summary- 1/17

The first week of Digital Storytelling was a bit of a review for me. I had taken DGST 101 three semesters ago and hadn’t touched or used WordPress since. Getting back into it took a bit of remembering, however, I had fun being able to create a new site to use and make my first few posts of the semester. The relearning process drove me crazy for a short amount of time before I figured things out, but getting used to Squarespace and having made a website there then coming back proved to pose a bit of difficulty. Other than that, the first week went well and wasn’t too hard and I’m excited to keep learning and expanding my knowledge of digital media creation.

Film Review

What I’d like to get out of this class

The main thing I’m really looking forward to in this class is expanding on my knowledge of digital media and my skillset in creating different types. I’ve become increasingly interested in using digital media and producing different works, mainly towards my overarching goal of using it to improve the business I own and work towards scaling. My goals are to use the creative freedom in the class to focus on certain skillsets or forms of media that can contribute to my goals outside of the classroom!