For the final project, we will shift from the external physical world to the internal virtual world of our desktops. We will build landscapes from the desktop: how we represent our personalized computer space, how we engage with others in the third space (online), our social media interactions, found digital objects, and the kinds of sonic elements that emerge from the everyday narrative of life on the screen.
We will explore the interior world we inhabit in our virtual desktop space, where we construct our digital selves, as separate from but connected to the outer one, a place of control, a place of distribution, our channel, our processing space, production, media consumption and identity.
In this project, we will use OBS, Ableton Live, and a video editor to create the project. OBS is a software program used for audio-video mixing and live capture of the desktop. OBS will be used to grab imagery from the desktop, incorporate online visual materials, and for manipulating and layering those elements to construct an entirely new or perhaps abstract desktop rendering. Ableton LIve will be our audio suite of tools for manipulating our voices, online media, and recorded sounds grabbed in our computer-generated activities (perhaps SIRI!). The video editor (Adobe Premiere, iMovie or Final Cut Pro) will be used for the final assemblage of the work and additional audio-visual effects of the video material.
We will work on Interior Landscape for the remainder of the semester, to be completed for the last day of class, November 14th, when we will have presentation and project critiques. The final work will be a rendered as an audio-visual video piece of approximately 5-10 minutes in length, uploaded to Vimeo, and embedded in an OSS post.
Criteria for the video
- Makes creative use of the software applications.
- Explores conceptual ideas we have discussed concerning the desktop space and the role it plays in our connected lives. This can be very broad and interpretive.
- Demonstrates an understanding of contemporary sound practices and techniques.
- Explores narrative shape and audio-visual elements that are compelling and expressive.
Along with the final video work, write an approximately 300-500 word hyperessay that includes the following:
- Brief description of the origin of the work’s content, conversation, desktop elements, sounds, etc.
- The influence of artists and their works we have studied the semester. Be specific in terms of how their work impacted your thinking and realization of the final project.
- Reference any readings where appropriate that help support your artistic ideas, intent, critical thinking and approach. Use your OSS research critique to access research you have already done that seems relevant. Feel free to repurpose!
- How your piece looks at the world of the desktop, reflecting on the virtual space of the desktop (and mobile devices) as places we increasingly inhabit, and as an environment rich in audio-visual elements.