#5B Soli Project

Two Parts.

1. Soli Project

For Wednesday, October 7th:
Have a working version of your Soli project ready to show to your peers for feedback.

  • Create a blog post entitled nickname-soli-checkin, Categorized 05-SoliCheckin.
  • In this blog post, write a sentence reminding us about the concept of your project. This can be copy-pasted from your previous blog post.
  • In your blog post, record and embed a crappy video of your project in use. This isn’t your final documentation—!; it just needs to be clear enough to show your peers what’s going on. Having this video at hand on Wednesday will be much easier than trying to show or explain your project through Zoom.

For Monday, October 12th: 

You are asked to deliver a video documenting your Soli project. Because interactive media arts are ephemeral, the video is as important as the software. In some respects, your software only ever needs to actually work once — in this documentation video.

Consider: “Science fiction” is a kind of storytelling in which we explore what the world might be like if certain technologies existed, such as replicators, space travel, or time machines. Analogously, “design fiction” is a storytelling approach in which you present or depict a speculative design. As you work to finish and (soon) document your Soli project, consider how your (functioning!) software can serve as a prop in a story about a fictional design.

Some of your videos might need additional narration or explanation. But if you’ve made something simple, you may not. At a bare minimum, your video should present your project clearly and legibly — what it is, what it does, and how it’s operated. Here are some examples:

Now:

  • Complete any adjustments and/or improvements to your interactive Soli project, based on feedback from your peers, etc.
  • Create a blog post, entitled nickname-SoliSandbox and Categorized 05-SoliSandbox.
  • Write a 100-word description of your project in your blog post, including a sentence about what you learned in making it.
  • Embed a screenshot image of your project. This can be from the phone or your laptop.
  • Include links to your project on Glitch.
  • IMPORTANT. Create a brief video documenting your Soli project. This video should be between 10-30 seconds long. You will need to record yourself using your Soli app, while making the recording with a video camera (such as your own personal phone), ideally on a tripod. It may be helpful to intercut screenshot footage from your app with the live video, but it’s not strictly required. If it’s appropriate or necessary, include audio narration and captions. Embed this video in the blog post.
  • In addition to the “official documentation video”, please also make a brief screen-recording of your Soli app. You can capture this screen recording from your laptop or from the phone — up to you. Post this as a GIF (or video fragment) embedded in your blog post.
  • NOTE. We will share your Soli project with the Google ATAP team by completing this form. Please note the following:
    1. For the “Prototype URL” field, put the URL of your blog post.
    2. For the “Prototype Source Code URL”, put the URL of your Glitch project.
    3. For the field “Please provide video from your prototype”, provide the URL of your documentation video (this could be at YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, or on the course website).

 

2. Preparation for Mimi Onuoha Visit

On Monday October 12, New-media artist, designer, and writer, Mimi Onuoha will visit our class at 4pm. Before the beginning of class:

  • Read this essay: Mimi Onuoha at 538.com, When Proof Is Not Enough (2500 words, ~10 minutes’ read)
  • Watch this 38-minute video: Mimi Onuoha at Eyeo 2017, “How We Became Machine Readable“
  • Please come prepared with a question for Mimi. (You’ll pose your question in the Zoom chat and I’ll moderate.) Optionally, you may put your question in a blog post.