Project Hyperessay

By: Randall Packer |

Overview of the Project Hyperessay

The Project Hyperessay is intended to provide a step by step method to help catalyze the process of creating a final project. Using the form of the hyperessay, integrate a textual description with relevant graphics, video, sound, and links drawn from micro-projects, readings, discussion, updates and other research to develop the final project. Gather together media and links to related readings and/or artworks that support your project hyperessay. The project hyperessay will be developed in three sections over the course of the semester. Each section will be created as a unique WordPress post, and revised throughout the semester as your project evolves. The project hyperessay should take full advantage of the multimedia capabilities of WordPress: with embedded images, video, links, sound, etc. Be sure and pay special attention to grammar, layout, and media so that the hyperessay is clear, visually interesting, well-written and conveys the ideas in your project.

The following are the three sections of the project hyperessay, including due dates for each:

NOTE: Use a unique post for each section, applying the category “Project Hyperessay” to each post. Also, remember to always use the featured image.

Project Hyperessay #1: Concept (Due: Thursday, October 22)

Concept: For the first installment of the Project Hyperessay, formulate an initial concept for your final project based on what we have learned and created in class so far this semester. For example we have discussed several topics, issues and artistic approaches related to internet art & culture, including: collective narrative, the third space, private vs public, glitch aesthetics, live streaming, etc. The concept should be concise, engaging, and should clearly describe what the project is about, its artistic objectives, whether or not it has an interactive component, how it might involve the viewer, and how it engages and has been influenced by our discussion of media, the Internet, and net culture. Writeup your concept as an approximately 300-500 word hyperessay with media and hyperlinks that illustrate the idea. Use images from your project updates and other images that relate to your influences and help define the concept of your final project. Reference at least one essay and one artwork we have discussed that supports your idea.

a: HYPERESSAY: Complete your Project Hyperessay post no later than class on Thursday, October 22. (Be sure and use the category: Project Hyperessay)
b: PRESENTATION: For the class presentation on Thursday, October 22 for our first Project Review, create a Powerpoint presentation. Drawing from the Project Hyperessay, distill the media and ideas into a Powerpoint presentation and email to me no later than one hour before class begins next week. Be sure it is under 10 megabytes or it can be sent via NTU email. The presentation will be approximately 10 minutes followed by 10 minutes of discussion. Begin the presentation with the project title, followed by approximately 6-10 slides with texts and/or images. Use images from your Project Hyperessay: your project updates and other images that relate to your influence and help define the concept. Be sure the images are large and clear. The goal of the presentation is to demonstrate how each student has assimilated course concepts and reintroduced them in their own work. I want to reiterate the importance of incorporating concepts and references from artworks and readings we have read throughout the semester. Also, I will be looking for well prepared presentations, in which ideas and concepts are presented clearly in conjunction with the slides.

Technical components of the Powerpoint:

  • Keep text and images large
  • I don’t recommend using multiple images on a page
  • Use only jpeg images from 1000 – 2000 pixels in length
  • Create a 16:9 aspect ratio for your Powerpoint (click on the design menu and then open up “slide size” on the upper right hand size, there you will see the two aspect ratios.
  • Be sure your presentation is under 10 megabytes so you can email it to me
  • Email no later than one hour before class so I can test and load it in Adobe Connect

Project Hyperessay #2 – Technical Realization (Due: Thursday, November 5)

Technical Realization: Provide a technical description with any sketches, drawings, photographs you have done, which help articulate the technical elements of the work, as well as any specific software and/or hardware that is required at this stage of the project. Also include a technical description of how your project will be incorporated into the broadcast based on our discussion during the previous week’s Streaming Workshop.

Some of the questions you might want to answer: Does the work require a physical space or does it take place on location? Does the project run on your computer or mobile device, or will you be producing a video for broadcast? What software and hardware is involved? What kinds of technical processes are using: real-time manipulation, mapping, broadcasting, etc. Is there any interaction with the viewer, if so, explain how this works. By this stage of the process, it is important to have examples of specific work you are creating that demonstrate the techniques you are using and how they are be implemented technologically.

a: HYPERESSAY: Complete your Project Hyperessay post no later than class on Thursday, November 5
b: PRESENTATION: Be prepared  to show an example or sketch of the work-in-progress, whether it be a video, images, sounds, or online test: an element of the work that will give us a clear idea of how the project is taking shape. This is not a formal presentation, but rather sharing specific work you have produced. Each student will present for approximately five minutes  followed by short discussion. We will also test your broadcast to finalize how it will be incorporated into the broadcast.

Project Hyperessay #3 / Project Page – Conclusion (Due: Monday, November 16)

NOTE: For the last installment of the project hyperessay, create a page rather than a post, and place it on the main menu of your Website.

Conclusion: The concluding installment of the Project Hyperessay will give you an opportunity to synthesize the elements of your project. Now that the project is completed, provide a concise overview/description that also serves as your project page. Discuss the evolution of your process and how you arrived at the final work you performed and broadcasted. What ideas and concepts, readings and artworks, discussed in the course were incorporated into the project? What aspects of internet art and culture does the project address? How did live broadcasting impact your work and what have you learned about the live streaming as an artistic form? How does the project bridge your practice with Internet concepts and ideas? What were some of the key ideas that were new to your experience that influenced your project? What issues from the course were examined in your project ? And finally, how did your project evolve as a result of the Web practices you learned using WordPress (OSS) as a medium for critical writing, research and artistic production?

Begin your hyperessay with a concise description of your project, and conclude it with the most important point you learned in the process of making the piece.

I would suggest you review your research critiques, project updates and project hyperessays to extract important points you made during the course that reflect on the final outcome of your final project.

Complete your final Project Hyperessay Conclusion as your “Project Page” for your WordPress site. Give the page the same title as the work itself. You should then have at least two pages on your site: Home and Final Project (hyperessay conclusion).

Due: Monday, November 16th by the end of the day

NOTE: All grading will be finalized on Tuesday the 17th, so late assignments will not be accepted.

General Rubrics

The project hyperessay is a living, changing document, a work-in-progress, throughout the semester. The three sections/posts will be updated as the final project progresses. Ultimately, the project hyperessay will form the basis for the critique of your final project at the end of the semester, when it will be reviewed in full. The project hyperessay is very useful to tracking the artistic process, allowing you to examine the progress of your work, and to ask questions such as: Have you been able to achieve the intent of the work? Have you been able to fully realize the work’s potential? Have you fully challenged and thought through the ideas presented in Internet Art & Culture? Does your project hyperessay show that you have incorporated concepts we have addressed? Is their ample documentation using images, video, graphics, and hyperlinks? Is the writing clear and without typos and spelling mistakes, the images good resolution and quality, the layout carefully done? These are important considerations for a successful hyperessay and final project. The project hyperessay is not intended to be entirely faithful to the original idea of the work, rather, it allows you to track, alter, change, revise, and reconsider your ideas through the course of the semester. Since the document can be updated, you can revise accordingly as you refine your concept, find new technical solutions, or incorporate entirely new influences.

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