Author Archives: Mustafa’s Thoughts

Aggressive Technology Propaganda

Color and design were very important when creating this poster. The blue color represents technology and Aggressive Technologies’ goals, so I highlighted the word “Liberator” to give a sense of AT’s passion for creating a new reality that they see as an ideal one. The simple colors show the focus and lack of care for the costs of getting what they want. This propaganda poster wants more people to sign up and become an employee of AT, which shows that speed is a high priority. Rikaro, my character, will come across this poster when Aggressive Technologies is still growing and needs more help in their weapon development. Rikaro believes in the propaganda and wants to “free” people from the limitations of the world too. But after going against AT, I imagine him looking at this poster he kept with him in disgust. When he attacks one of AT’s buildings for the first time, he’ll throw this poster in the fire, which starts his fight against them.

Rikaro and Aggressive Technologies

Implementing my course character, Rikaro, into the world with Aggressive Technologies isn’t too difficult, since Rikaro’s backstory kickstarts due to the actions of an organization he works for. I feel that Rikaro would work best in the initial rise of Aggressive Technologies. He could be a member that helped jumpstart the influence of AT, but this fact could be kept hidden from the public, due to Rikaro’s current reputation of being a wanted man. Since AT is highly focused on AI and spreading its influence, I feel that Rikaro’s breaking point could be caused by AT’s tests that use AI in war technology and how it lacks the humanity, which causes some immoral actions to take place. I am still thinking up what this would be in detail, but I think I am close.

Week 5 Reflection

This week was hectic, due to all the school work in my other classes, so the tasks for this class was a nice change of pace. When looking through my goals in Week 1, I was happy to see that I was on the right track. Using all these different tools that I had never used before is very helpful when trying to improve creativity. Having an idea and trying to fuse it with the functions of each software is a challenge, but a rewarding one. Seeing everything I created motivated me to improve my skills and try to create something great in the future.

DS106 Goals

My Week 1 Goals

Revisiting Old Goals

Checking on those goals

A major thing I completed is my video essay on a scene in Ghost in the Shell. It isn’t perfect and has some audio and pacing issues, but it came out better than I expected. I realized that I am better when writing a script, since my brain is thinking of too many things at once when I try to speak with minimal notes. This video was done without a script and I felt like it could be better if I took detailed notes of every point I wanted to make.

Ghost in the Shell Video Essay

Ghost in the Shell Video Essay on Editing

Ghost in the Shell Video Essay

Beginning Audio is a little loud but it gets fixed in a second

This was a fun experience for two major reasons. First, I got to see Ghost in a Shell with a new lens that made me appreciate the movie even more. The cuts were integral to the story, as it was a living element itself. Since it was an animated movie, the editing was much more involved than live action movies, in a sense. The level of detail behind the scenes to subconsciously give us context and emotion is impressive. Second, I got to edit a video for the first time. It was a simple one with a video and audio attached, but I experimented with the tools, which excite me. Next week, I will use this tool for the video assignments to improve my speed and skill. I have a general understanding of how the software works so I can’t wait.

Revisiting Old Goals

After looking through my old goals, I found that I am on track to complete it. I wanted to do creative things in different mediums and this is currently happening. I had never used audio software or video software this extensively. Creating an audio story took a bit of practice, but the payoff was worth it. I am currently using OBS to make my video and have actually been having a great time planning and making my video. I would never imagine myself enjoying using these tools, but I have been experimenting on my own time. The creative freedom is fantastic and it has been a great exercise so far.

Week 4 Reflection

This week was very fun. I had no idea that using audio software would be very intriguing. I had seen my friend using it, but it looked intimidating to start. I made a lot of audio files to test out what I could create.

Audio Reflection

My first time reflecting on audio made me appreciate how important it was to anything. Today, I watched a show on Netflix and realized how many sound effects there were that were essential. If they had not been there, the show would have felt cheap.

Radio Bumper

I made a radio bumper with the help of Dr. Oblivion. It was my first audio assignment and it took a little bit of time to get used to Audacity, but I finally got a grasp of how to use it. I added a rollercoaster sound to say how this radio is gonna be a ride to listen to.

I am very proud of this one. It took me a bit of time to make. It is an audio story of a swordsman who is riding in a forest. His horse gets hit with an arrow, causing him to fall to the ground. He gets up and waits for more arrows. When they are shot, he deflects every one with his sword until he reaches the archer and kills him.

https://musiclab.chromeexperiments.com/Song-Maker/song/5446674387435520

I also wanted to share this beat I made in the Chrome Music Lab that I really enjoyed making. It’s a chill beat that could be in a 2D RPG. It could take place in a city by the beach. A random thought.

Radio Show Ideas

I jot down some ideas for the radio show project in the near future. I hope it’s correct.

Radio Show Ideas

When taking my character, Rikaro, into consideration, I think a discussion of AI would intrigue him as he would wonder how to take advantage of its dangerous potential. But that would be a thought in the back of his conscious. He would be more vocal about its benefit to those in need but mention how it can damage those in higher positions. The other hosts could be unaware of who he is, since he is a wanted person, but his occasional comments could cause them discomfort. Rikaro would be unaware of this, so it could be a comedic thing. I wonder if it would make more sense if he was speaking himself on the radio or if it is a text-to-speech, since he is in hiding. I’ll put more thought into Rikaro’s situation with the government.

If he is teamed up with a mad genius, they could get passionate about the potential of AI or the other mad genius could try to one-up Rikaro. Since Rikaro is a nervous and timid person, he would allow the other person to take over the show. The others could slowly realize who Rikaro is by the end of the radio show.

I don’t know if my ideas are correct or is what was asked of me. These are just some thoughts I had for the radio show.