Today was the last class for the Adv Dip IM class, I was surprised how prepared everyone was, a few are doing some finishing touches(due date next Wednesday 12th) however most of the class have finished.
If anybody is having hassles please drop me an email.
The Cert IV/New Media class is progressing well, we have one more week which gives everyone a reasonable amount of time to get things done.
PLEASE NOTE - You must upload your video to youtube, and embed this on your blog. If the video is not on YOUR blog, then it doesn't exist. If you did the video as a group, you must still post it on each of your individual blogs....
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Videotrace
Worth a look, tracing 3d models from video footage.
http://smart-machines.blogspot.com/2008/01/videotrace-creating-realistic-3d-models.html
http://smart-machines.blogspot.com/2008/01/videotrace-creating-realistic-3d-models.html
Final week for IM Flinders Class
Welcome to the final week, and well done for making it this far.
By now your assignments should be very near completion.
All of your machinima pieces should be exported as .mov or .avi files, then uploaded to youtube and embedded/posted on your blog. I suggest you limit your filesize to under 100 meg, taking into careful account the quality of both the video and the audio.
If you have any problems at all completing the task, please email me at dale (at) oztron.com, I still have several other classes to complete and will be around the university over the coming couple of weeks.
By now your assignments should be very near completion.
All of your machinima pieces should be exported as .mov or .avi files, then uploaded to youtube and embedded/posted on your blog. I suggest you limit your filesize to under 100 meg, taking into careful account the quality of both the video and the audio.
If you have any problems at all completing the task, please email me at dale (at) oztron.com, I still have several other classes to complete and will be around the university over the coming couple of weeks.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Voice chat demo
For todays class each person was required to make a short clip at least, showing they have voicechat working and understand a lot of the machinima settings.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Second week back - learning how to film in Second Life
This week we will go through the following settings which will help us film our machinima in Second Life. You should spend a little time exploring these techniques to see which will best suit your film, and then it's finally time to start capturing!
CAMERA CONTROLS, PANNING
alt + left click to focus (+ cmd for mac)
ctrl-alt + left arrow to orbit (+ cmd for mac)
alt + down arrow to zoom out (+ cmd for mac)
ctrl-alt-shift+arrow keys to zoom (+ cmd for mac)
EDITING YOUR GRAPHICS SETTINGS
To see your FPS/performance
View>Statistics
To change settings
Edit>Preferences>Graphics
For example - if you are doing close up shots, limit your view distance to increase performance.
SPECIAL SETTINGS FOR MACHINIMA
Edit>Preferences>Input and Camera
DEBUG MENU - ctrl-alt-d (+ cmd for mac)
INTERFACE ON/OFF - ctrl-alt-f1 (+ cmd + function for mac)
Client > Character > Slow Motion Animations
Disable Camera Constraints
Debug Settings>zoomtime
Advanced>Character>Enable Lipsynch
World>Environment Settings>Environment Editor
SOFTWARE
Crazytalk
Fraps
Captureme
Check the links below for a lot more information about all of this, including video tutorials.
CAMERA CONTROLS, PANNING
alt + left click to focus (+ cmd for mac)
ctrl-alt + left arrow to orbit (+ cmd for mac)
alt + down arrow to zoom out (+ cmd for mac)
ctrl-alt-shift+arrow keys to zoom (+ cmd for mac)
EDITING YOUR GRAPHICS SETTINGS
To see your FPS/performance
View>Statistics
To change settings
Edit>Preferences>Graphics
For example - if you are doing close up shots, limit your view distance to increase performance.
SPECIAL SETTINGS FOR MACHINIMA
Edit>Preferences>Input and Camera
DEBUG MENU - ctrl-alt-d (+ cmd for mac)
INTERFACE ON/OFF - ctrl-alt-f1 (+ cmd + function for mac)
Client > Character > Slow Motion Animations
Disable Camera Constraints
Debug Settings>zoomtime
Advanced>Character>Enable Lipsynch
World>Environment Settings>Environment Editor
SOFTWARE
Crazytalk
Fraps
Captureme
Check the links below for a lot more information about all of this, including video tutorials.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Finishing our sets, first week back from holidays
First week back, and into the final stretch.
This week we are finishing up our sets, getting them ready to film in.
We will be using Fraps to capture the video.
A couple of important SL shortcuts are;
DEBUG MENU - crtl-alt-d
INTERFACE ON/OFF - ctrl-alt-f1
Please note you need to have your debug menu on to control the interface.
Links that will help you;
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Machinima
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Movie_help
There are plenty of ways to skin a cat - consider your story carefully and plan your set and film accordingly, and ask for help if you need it.
This week we are finishing up our sets, getting them ready to film in.
We will be using Fraps to capture the video.
A couple of important SL shortcuts are;
DEBUG MENU - crtl-alt-d
INTERFACE ON/OFF - ctrl-alt-f1
Please note you need to have your debug menu on to control the interface.
Links that will help you;
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Machinima
http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Movie_help
There are plenty of ways to skin a cat - consider your story carefully and plan your set and film accordingly, and ask for help if you need it.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Last week before holidays - units under construction
It's the final week of term and everybody should have their stories and/or scripts posted on their blogs.We have started to deck out our apartments, above is a picture of work in progress.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Tuesday at Flinders - WM
Another Tuesday class at Flinders after missing last week because of the special new media workshops.
Today the aim was to get the scripts and hopefully comics completed. Several people are going well on the scripts, several aren't.
By next week, which is our last week before holidays, everyone will need to have their scripts and comic/storyboards 100% complete so that next term we can get stuck into the machinima making immediately.
Anyone who hasn't got the script and storyboards complete by next week will have to meet with me and discuss why it is worth them continuing, as they will be too far behind to catch up and pass.
Today the aim was to get the scripts and hopefully comics completed. Several people are going well on the scripts, several aren't.
By next week, which is our last week before holidays, everyone will need to have their scripts and comic/storyboards 100% complete so that next term we can get stuck into the machinima making immediately.
Anyone who hasn't got the script and storyboards complete by next week will have to meet with me and discuss why it is worth them continuing, as they will be too far behind to catch up and pass.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Wed afternoon at St Albans - working on our stories
Today we started working on our stories for the final machinima piece.
Some students are working alone, some are working in groups (there are a couple of trios).
Any student not here this week will NOT be able to join any of the existing groups.
Stories should be created initially in wordpad/notepad.
Next week they will then be transferred to Comic Life as a storyboard, helping us to examine the kinds of scenery and shots we will require for the final machinima piece.
The final step shall be creating the machinima, which we will start in two weeks.
Several students in this class are falling behind, and will need to update their blogs to remain in the class. Please feel free to email me with any concerns.
Some students are working alone, some are working in groups (there are a couple of trios).
Any student not here this week will NOT be able to join any of the existing groups.
Stories should be created initially in wordpad/notepad.
Next week they will then be transferred to Comic Life as a storyboard, helping us to examine the kinds of scenery and shots we will require for the final machinima piece.
The final step shall be creating the machinima, which we will start in two weeks.
Several students in this class are falling behind, and will need to update their blogs to remain in the class. Please feel free to email me with any concerns.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Thursday at Flinders - Interactive Storytelling
Today we started off by building a spinning globe, learning how to drop scripts in and how to build symmetrically.
We then made some guns, firstly replacing the bullets, then making original guns, and bullets. Some people made hoverboards etc.
We then had a quick look at Comic life, from here on we will be concentrating on machinima.
We then made some guns, firstly replacing the bullets, then making original guns, and bullets. Some people made hoverboards etc.We then had a quick look at Comic life, from here on we will be concentrating on machinima.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Wednesday afternoon - New Media
Today we had our third and final Second Life class, we just did a quick little project building a tv and entertainment unit each for the apartments.
We then moved onto Comic Life, with each student creating one comic each.
HOMEWORK for next week is to come up with a beginning, middle and end for the Melbourne Story. Over the coming couple of weeks we will be workshopping our story ideas using Comic Life, then after the break we will be in full machinima production mode.
We then moved onto Comic Life, with each student creating one comic each.
HOMEWORK for next week is to come up with a beginning, middle and end for the Melbourne Story. Over the coming couple of weeks we will be workshopping our story ideas using Comic Life, then after the break we will be in full machinima production mode.
Wednesday morning - first class with St Albans IM class
We did the introduction to Second Life as listed several times below.
Welcome to Interactive Storytelling.
Introduction to Interactive Storytelling, explanation of course outline and assessment
Second Life and other Virtual Words
Introduction to Second Life
Welcome to Interactive Storytelling.
Introduction to Interactive Storytelling, explanation of course outline and assessment
- Linear versus interactive multimedia/storytelling
- History of Multimedia - Speech>Text>Print>Radio>Television>Interactive Multimedia
- Discussion of future technologies and their impact on society in general (Disabled, Digital Divide, Intelligence/Individual Divide, What will become of our current reality?)
Second Life and other Virtual Words
- There
- Openlife
- Activeworlds
- Entropia
- Playstation Home
- The Sims
- Google Earth
- Lively
- Photosynth
Introduction to Second Life
- Registering
- Modifying avatars/characters in Second Life
- Applying textures
- Using the Appearance Tool
- Searching
- Teleporting
- Object, Library and Inventory Use
Monday, August 25, 2008
Tuesday at Flinders - IM
Today we had another quick look at building, (a coffee table) before getting stuck into Comic Life.
http://www.plasq.com
We used Comic Life to create small one-two page stories, which will be ideal for storyboarding our machinima ideas over the coming weeks.
Next week this class has a Milan workshop so the task to be completed over the coming fortnight is to create a blank storyboard(just text bubbles, not pictures) of your apartment story ideas(using comic life). These should be at least a few pages long.
http://www.plasq.com
We used Comic Life to create small one-two page stories, which will be ideal for storyboarding our machinima ideas over the coming weeks.
Next week this class has a Milan workshop so the task to be completed over the coming fortnight is to create a blank storyboard(just text bubbles, not pictures) of your apartment story ideas(using comic life). These should be at least a few pages long.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Interactive Storytelling - Intro to Second Life
Welcome to Interactive Storytelling.
Introduction to Interactive Storytelling, explanation of course outline and assessment
Second Life and other Virtual Words
Introduction to Second Life
How can VR be used to tell a story?
You must visit three places in Second Life, take a snapshot, and complete a short review on each place.
Eg;
The first location I visited was Ocean Sunrise.
I liked the trees(nice palms), they used some nice saturated rich colors, and nice waves.
I didn't like the land style, and the sand was a little boring, it needed more shapes or perhaps some grass. There didn't seem like there was too much to do, and there wasn't many original creations to examine.
I would come back if I needed a new style of palm tree.
Introduction to Interactive Storytelling, explanation of course outline and assessment
- Linear versus interactive multimedia/storytelling
- History of Multimedia - Speech>Text>Print>Radio>Television>Interactive Multimedia
- Discussion of future technologies and their impact on society in general (Disabled, Digital Divide, Intelligence/Individual Divide, What will become of our current reality?)
Second Life and other Virtual Words
- There
- Openlife
- Activeworlds
- Entropia
- Playstation Home
- The Sims
- Google Earth
- Lively
- Photosynth
Introduction to Second Life
- Registering
- Modifying avatars/characters in Second Life
- Applying textures
- Using the Appearance Tool
- Searching
- Teleporting
- Object, Library and Inventory Use
How can VR be used to tell a story?
You must visit three places in Second Life, take a snapshot, and complete a short review on each place.
- Location Name?
- Region?
- People Online?
- What is done there?
- What is your opinion of it, and why?
- Would you visit again?
Eg;
The first location I visited was Ocean Sunrise.
I liked the trees(nice palms), they used some nice saturated rich colors, and nice waves.
I didn't like the land style, and the sand was a little boring, it needed more shapes or perhaps some grass. There didn't seem like there was too much to do, and there wasn't many original creations to examine.
I would come back if I needed a new style of palm tree.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Week 2 at St Albans, New Media
Today we did spinning globes with clouds, using rotation scripts and earth and cloud textures, followed by some t-shirts using fireworks templates.
We then had some free building time, where each student had to build an object for their apartment. Many built fridges, there was a tv, couch, and a few other things.
After that we finished by having a look at Comic Life.
NO CLASS NEXT WEEK - STRIKE.
We will make up for this by extending the classes during the last 5 weeks by 30 mins.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
First New Media Class out at St Albans
Today was our first day of New Media out at St Albans.
Introduction to Interactive Storytelling, explanation of course outline and assessment
Second Life and other Virtual Words
Introduction to Second Life
How can VR be used to tell a story?
You must visit three places in Second Life, take a snapshot, and complete a short review on each place.
Eg;
The first location I visited was Ocean Sunrise.
I liked the trees(nice palms), they used some nice saturated rich colors, and nice waves.
I didn't like the land style, and the sand was a little boring, it needed more shapes or perhaps some grass. There didn't seem like there was too much to do, and there wasn't many original creations to examine.
I would come back if I needed a new style of palm tree.
We finished by posting all this on our blogs.
Student addresses should be posted as replies to this blog.
Introduction to Interactive Storytelling, explanation of course outline and assessment
- Linear versus interactive multimedia/storytelling
- History of Multimedia - Speech>Text>Print>Radio>Television>Interactive Multimedia
- Discussion of future technologies and their impact on society in general (Disabled, Digital Divide, Intelligence/Individual Divide, What will become of our current reality?)
Second Life and other Virtual Words
- There
- Openlife
- Activeworlds
- Entropia
- Playstation Home
- The Sims
- Google Earth
- Lively
- Photosynth
Introduction to Second Life
- Registering
- Modifying avatars/characters in Second Life
- Applying textures
- Using the Appearance Tool
- Searching
- Teleporting
- Object, Library and Inventory Use
How can VR be used to tell a story?
You must visit three places in Second Life, take a snapshot, and complete a short review on each place.
- Location Name?
- Region?
- People Online?
- What is done there?
- What is your opinion of it, and why?
- Would you visit again?
Eg;
The first location I visited was Ocean Sunrise.
I liked the trees(nice palms), they used some nice saturated rich colors, and nice waves.
I didn't like the land style, and the sand was a little boring, it needed more shapes or perhaps some grass. There didn't seem like there was too much to do, and there wasn't many original creations to examine.
I would come back if I needed a new style of palm tree.
We finished by posting all this on our blogs.
Student addresses should be posted as replies to this blog.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Story basics - a reminder for all classes
Hi all.
When developing your story, remember the story shape we discussed during class. This story shape can help you create a story that gets people interested in it. You can use this structure as a kind of scaffolding to hang your story off. The elements of the story shape are as follows:
- setup (introduction to characters, scene, future conflicts)
- turning point (a 'point of no return' that leads to stuff happening in the story)
- crisis points (where the drama/conflict increases)
- a climax (The height of the drama, out of which comes the ultimate end to the story)
- a denouement (a winding down of the story, where things are wrapped up)
Remember too that the story idea for your Second Life project requires at least two characters: your own Second Life character/Avatar and a visitor. You cna have as many other characters as you like - but remember, you have to film them in your Second life apartment so make sure your story is realistic and achievable.
When developing your story, remember the story shape we discussed during class. This story shape can help you create a story that gets people interested in it. You can use this structure as a kind of scaffolding to hang your story off. The elements of the story shape are as follows:
- setup (introduction to characters, scene, future conflicts)
- turning point (a 'point of no return' that leads to stuff happening in the story)
- crisis points (where the drama/conflict increases)
- a climax (The height of the drama, out of which comes the ultimate end to the story)
- a denouement (a winding down of the story, where things are wrapped up)
Remember too that the story idea for your Second Life project requires at least two characters: your own Second Life character/Avatar and a visitor. You cna have as many other characters as you like - but remember, you have to film them in your Second life apartment so make sure your story is realistic and achievable.
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