Category Archives: Tech Noir

Daily Create: February 3, 2025

“The Visual Poetry site allows you to use words to draw pictures. The words become the ink. Yeah. It’s cool and weird. Today, choose a body part (keep it clean, y’all) and use the words of the body part to make an image of the body part. You will have to either screenshot or download your final design. Hint: Mistakes are OK. The site is unforgiving and has no “undo” button. Another hint: remove the initial text before writing your own. You’ll see what we mean when you get there.) PS — we won’t be fact-checking the science of your words … get as close as you can … but feel free to add a little word joke in there, if you want”

I used the word hand to draw a hand. It might be backwards though

The Mind of a CEO

Craft a playlist on any music listening platform with more than 10 songs that represent or have played a significant role within your life.

Link to assignment: https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/soundtrack-to-your-life/

The playlist I created reflects what I think Finn Calloway, my character, would listen to. It was a bit challenging since our music tastes are different, but I focused on songs that match his personality driven, introspective, and a little detached. In the end, I think it turned out well. I used Apple Music to create the playlist by finding each song and adding it to the playlist I created.

Tech Noir Talk

I fed our tech noir cast of characters to the two annoying podcast hosts from Notebook LM so that they could discuss how groups of them might work together.

https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/01615d4d-37f2-4789-9bb1-43374db0b787/audio

They spitball several ideas, none exceptionally creative, but maybe it can be used as a starting point. How do people in the class see their characters interacting? Is there an issue or a scenario around which they can connect?

From Hell

Create YOUR worst sound ever. Take audio clips of every single sound that you hate and put them all together to make The Worst Noise Ever. Link to assignment: https://assignments.ds106.us/assignments/auditory-hell/

I chose this assignment because I enjoy mixing different sounds to create something new. For this project, I had to combine all of my most hated sounds into a single track. Luckily for me, I have plenty to choose from!

I used Soundtrap and SoundCloud for this assignment. Soundtrap made it easy to layer the tracks together, and I ended up using: nails crackling, styrofoam, cardboard box stacking, and metal squeaking. When I combined them, the result was truly a sound from hell. I could only listen to it for about 10 seconds before my ears begged me to stop.

Soundtrap is a beginner-friendly audio editing software that made it easy to arrange and layer the sounds. Once I finished, I uploaded my track to SoundCloud, and I was surprised by how simple the process was. It was actually pretty cool!

Sorry if this hurts your ears!

Audio Reflection

Listening to Moon Graffiti was such an immersive experience. The audio was done so well that I could picture everything happening, almost like I was right there. It wasn’t just about hearing the story, it was about feeling it. The way sound effects and shifts in audio were used made the whole thing come alive.

I’ve always found it interesting how our senses connect to memory. A certain smell or song can instantly take us back to a specific moment in our lives. I think that plays a big role in audio storytelling too. Sound taps into something deeper, linking memory and imagination. In Moon Graffiti, little details like the crackling radio, the odd silence of space, and even the astronauts’ breathing made the story feel real. Those sounds didn’t just tell me what was happening they made me feel the isolation, the tension, and the weight of the moment.

Abumrad talks about how sound isn’t just something we hear, it’s something we experience. He mentions this idea of “co-Authorization,” where the listener actively builds the story in their mind based on sound. Moon Graffiti does exactly that. it lets the sounds guide us, so we create the picture ourselves.

This technique isn’t just in audio storytelling we see it in movies and TV shows. A horror scene wouldn’t be as scary without creaky floors or distant whispers, and a dramatic moment wouldn’t hit as hard without the right music in the background. Sound shapes mood, builds atmosphere, and pulls us in.

The Dreamlike State of Storytelling

The two biggest takeaways I got from Jad Abumrad’s videos were Co-Auhorization and creating a connection to the story. Abumrad says the lack of pictures in forces listeners to use their imagination. By telling a story, he is painting the picture, but by listeners using their imagination, we are holding the brush; this is called co-authorship. He is telling the story and I am illustrating it, and in turn adding a few details in myself. Additionally, in order to create co-authorship, a storyteller needs to be able to create a dream like state to connect the listener to the story. If a story is interesting enough, it will immerse the listener into the story where they can add their own takes. Sound in a story is like seasoning on a dish, too little is bland and the listener becomes bored, but too much is overpowering and overwhelms the listener. In Moon Graffiti, the effect that made their voices sound like they were coming through walkie-talkies helps remind the reader that the story takes place in 1969. The sad, quiet, monotone song that plays while the astronauts are putting down a memorial, knowing that they will have to be memorialized too, and sooner than they thought, adds an eerie depressing tone to the story that makes your heart break for these men. Abumrad said in his video that co-authorization creates empathy, and that definetly rings true in this podcast. Because I am illustrating the story, it makes me feel like I am in there shoes, like I have two hours left to live with little to no hope of surviving. It makes the listener sad, but it also helps put into perspective how amazing and impressive it is that, in real life, they were able to put men on the moon and get them back unharmed. Knowing what could have been the outcome, I am so happy that these astronauts were able to achieve this dangerous feat and still return back to Earth. In summary, I found it very interesting how Jad Abumrad emphasized the role of imagination and creating a connection with the audience, it gave me a lot to think about when it comes to crafting a compelling narrative.

Top of the Tech Noir: week 3

Discoball GIFfrom Discoball GIFs


The good:
The votes are in, and here are the top posts of the past week in ds106:Tech Noir as selected by the class. Beyond the works themselves, what is impressive is the distribution of the votes:

  • 28 posts received votes
  • 2 got three votes
  • 3 got two votes

I will let the posts and voters speak for themselves, except to say that when a photoblitz starts with a disco ball, you know you’ve found a party.

The bad:
8 people shirked their civic responsibility and didn’t vote. Where is the love? That’s no way to be .

The lovely:

A Color Analysis of Tim Burton’s The Corpse Bride

I really enjoyed with post because I enjoy the coupes bride, the way this person describes it in much detail really helps people who have not seen it imagen the scenes in their head

I enjoyed how thorough this person did their analysis. It was very clear to me how much they love the film and how excited they were to analyze it, it made me excited to read their thoughts. I never thought of a film this way nor have I noticed the color shifts in this film. Overall, I think this person did a great job and its inspired me to do more assignments that make me feel excited about the work im doing rather that seeing it as just an assignment to turn in.

Finns Walk Home

I’ve kept up with this blog because its very well done, This was one of my favorite posts because it almost seems professionally done, the way the people with umbrellas are in a line with the comic book esthetic is perfect.

I like that this person made this comic like photo in the perspective of their character. I have not yet thought of making something in the perspective of my character and I think that is a really creative way of incorporating our characters into the assignment bank assignments!

He used a comic affect on a photo of New York and I thought it looked cool

New Game! – Your story as a game!

I think the animation is very cool and I like the contrast between the left and right.

I loved the way they edited there game screen. It looks really unique and I like the story behind it. I can tell they spent a lot of time on it.

Go Bills!

Honestly really liked how cohesive the graphic was and it felt like something the Bills social media team would post as a gameday poster. It also helps that I’m a huge football fan (Go Commanders) and that might have contributed some bias. It’s a great way to tie in digital media to other topics such as sports that aren’t always directly associated to digital media.

Although I am not a Bills fan (go birds) I was hoping the eagles would get to play the Bills in the super bowl and really liked the poster Liv used to show her support for her team. I had also chosen this assignment and liked to see someone else’s perspective of it.

Sound Track to Your Life

I may do this assignment next week! This post was great!! I loved that Sam included songs from different genres and playlists. Overall, a fun post and I think Sams playlist was awesome! Also – Who doesn’t love Fleetwood Mac, classic!

I love making playlists, and I like seeing other people’s music tastes!

Bad Photoshop

I thought it was funny

Bad Photoshop

who doesn’t love emo Mona Lisa

Lenore’s Lyrics

Meet Runa aka The Shadow

I absolutely loved the introduction to this character. After reading Cinder’s description I felt like I knew Runa aka The Shadow. All the way down to the look of the character, the story line, and the characteristics/attitudes/specific likes and dislikes. Overall, this was a great post and so far, this is my favorite Technoir character to meet!

Minecraft: Cherry Blossom Vacation Villa

This post is so creative and you can tell that they put a ton of work into this assignment. I haven’t played Minecraft in a while but I remember how long it took me to make a cute house, so I can’t imagine how long this took!

My Creative Journey: Week 3

I liked how the author was clear and concise with their thoughts on how the week went. It seemed like they had clear goals and were able to accomplish them.

Krissy’s House

I chose this post because me and this person have a very similar idea of where our characters would live, also the way they go in depth in this post really helps you vision their character. Side not I also like how the pink background makes the text and pictures pop.

Love is Embarrassing- Compilation Video

I would like to say that I do appreciate a good edit! I have seen the show “The Good Place”, and I also love Olivia Rodrigo’s music, so this edit was definitely fun and entertaining to watch! It was edited very well!

My Logo

I like that coni is using this opportunity to make something that will live long after this class and something that they can use in professional life after college! I love how well balanced this logo was and i think its a very impressive logo for someone who isn’t well versed in graphic design.

Vibrant Parking Deck

I thought this was a really cool way to edit an original picture and make it unique. I also love the vibrant color choice

GIF

I like the scene Liv chose to use for her GIF. It’s visually interesting and the colors are gorgeous so it’s just fun to look at. Also she said that it was her first time but it looks so good that I would have thought she was a regular gif maker.

Course Character

I thought the photo collage that Rylie did for their course character was so cool! The colors worked so well together and it was a cool way to visualize the character even more!

Me in Collage Form Except I’m not Me

I think the collage was really well made and it helps me visualize their character’s personality.

Daily Create 2

I like Sam’s use of impactful words to create and image that is also impactful to him. He took this assignment and put his own spin on it and it turned out really cool.

Say it Like the Peanut Butter

Neon Nexus Destination Poster

This poster was very detailed and took inspiration from other sources of media and the author made it their own which I really liked. It reminded me a lot of Guardians of the Galaxy which also fits the dystopian theme they were aiming to fit.

Destination poster

He made a cyberpunk themed poster for a city and I loved all the detail he put into it

Photoblitzer!

Loved it, I was a super huge fan of the moon one and the supernatural goat. I thought it was exactly what a photoblitz should look like!

Week 3 Article Reflection

I loved their reflections. They’re much better at reflecting than I am lol. And I LOVED how the photo was next to the text. How did they do that?!

Trading Card

I really thought their trading card was unique and cool. I like that they drew it out I think it added texture and coolness. I also love this persons website!

Contact me – Or don’t I really don’t care

This post was witty and engaging. I instantly wanted to read more after I read the title. Then I got a glimpse of what her character Evelyn is like. If I were to meet Evelyn, I would feel honored if I received one of her business cards!! haha And I would give her the most juiciest gossip ever for her news stories!… well, you see I’m very engaged and interested in Evelyns weekly posts and character. Great work!!

Wanted: have u seen this dog

Rebecca took an assignment that interested her and applied to her and was able to use it for a grade. She mentions in her post that she has many pictures of her dog but this one specifically matched the assignment. I liked what she did with the wanted poster and hoe she customized it

New Tattoo Who Dis

I voted for this post because I love the effects she added to each tattoo drawing! The blurring affect on the sword looks so cool so it was my favorite

poetry

I love poetry

Photoblitz

Even though they stayed in one place while being at work, I really liked the creativity of using what was around them to answer the prompts. It really makes you think outside of the box and use things in a different way than usual, such as the cord they used as a snake to portray a modern jungle.