10 posts tagged “secondlife”
This work is the first by the collaborative husband and wife team known as Fontana. By reflecting on individual personalities and real world identities, similarities between virtual world persona's are expressed through emotive animations common to the Second Life avatar, yet intriguingly unique. These works begin to examine the emerging language of machinima (machine-made-cinema) and its role in the continuum of traditional cinema language; machinima that documents and expresses the memories and experiences of avatars. Through a large aggregation of images, videos, and installations based on the accumulated inventory of the Fontana avatars, Anthony and Sandra supply the viewer with information that is both identifiable and indifferent; bridging connections with those who understand the virtual world phenomenon and those who have not yet begun to understand its impact on society at large.
Some Flickr pics:
Check out CrazyTalk here. I really like how she used it... talking to the camera. I'd like to see if it can be used in a more subtle way. Most of the time when an avatar is speaking and their lips are not moving, I feel like I cannot suspend disbelief in order to be immersed. It's one of the reasons I think Red vs. Blue was such a flagship for machinima... They are wearing helmets and sound like they are talking through helmets. It gives a sense of realism I can buy into.
On November 9th, we held the BGSU Second Life Virtual Campus Grand Opening. This event took place in real life at the BT Student Union on the BGSU campus with live musical performances by students from the College of Musical Arts and two student DJ's. In Second Life the event was attended by people from all over the world and documented by several of our learning community members. Below are just a few of the snapshots from in-world.
We've also received some great press lately including this article at SLNN.com and this article in the Toledo Blade.
Anthony's snapshots:
Rads snapshopts:
Synthetic worlds – real community, real money
Exodus to the Virtual World: How Online Fun Is Changing Reality will be published shortly by Palgrave Macmillan.
"The membrane is allowing not only economic factors to seep through, but social and cultural ones as well. People all over the world are connecting in new ways through the technology moving from a calculation model to one of communication. Our children will grow up knowing people in Africa, Asia and Europe and see it as the norm. They will lose sight of geographical distance and explore cultures and people my grandfather had no chance of meeting. The new world offers limitless expanses of both digital and analog connection and understanding, and brings the world closer together. New social connections can overcome geography, culture, and sometimes even language. Most companies find a team of 25 unruly on a project, but in WoW guilds take part in raids every night creating a sense of group connection and goal achievement. The identities that form in these communities allow people to explore and play with their own identities. The world might not recognize your leadership skills, but you can learn and mature them in a virtual world and then apply them to the real world. All this can create a close, strong bond of friendship and community."
I think it's about time that the media began to also cite the usefulness of virtual worlds, besides the usual hype and sensationalism (thanks Mark!).
For anyone interested in Second Life Education (SLED) I urge you to join their respective listserve mailing lists. The SLED community has been thriving for several years and can provide a great bit of knowledge. Have a question about Second Life? Search the archives!
SLED listserve: https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/educators
SLED Archives: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=001010425210852223575%3Ajldmgpuier0
SLED Wiki: http://www.simteach.com/wiki/index.php?title=Second_Life_Education_Wiki
Machinima listserve
SL has recently started a listserve for anyone making or interested in machinima.
Machinima listserve: https://lists.secondlife.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/machinima
WindLight “simulates the ways that sunlight is scattered by the atmosphere under different climatic conditions, such as fog or haze”. Long story short: killer skies and kickass environments.
Linden Lab has teamed up with and acquired Windward Mark, who’s responsible for developing this visual excellency. We warmly welcome our new brethren!
WindLight atmospheric rendering comes to Second Life!
I haven't read Watchmen in about 15 years. The last time I ready it I was definitely too young: I didn't get it, I struggled through it, I thought it boring. Picking it back up I realize the patience it does take to read this work. It's much like a 1000 piece puzzle where you have to sort a lot of pieces before you can start putting them together. I also remember thinking how the cold war angle seemed a bit dated. The so-called war on terror makes it every bit as meaningful now.
Akira 2... I have no idea what to expect. I am more fascinated by the classic manga style of Katsuhiro Otomo than the story, I think. A well sized book at 301 pages, seem like it will go quick as the many pages have under 5 word balloons and minimal detail in traditional black, white, and benday dot graytones. I recently was introduced to Manga Studio and I would love to see examples from it compared to Otomo.
The Salmon of Doubt: I picked up Douglas Adam's last book after hearing Intellagirl mention his insights in this book into virtual environments (like Second Life), avatars, and future communication. It will be the last of these three I get too. The rest of my summer reading consists of research papers, SLED emails, and a few longer texts I may not make it through including works by Edward Hall, Yochai Benkler, and Alvin Toffler.
I also saw Spidey 3 on Friday. I paid for my $10 dollar tickets, spent at least that much at the concession stand, laughed at scenes nobody else laughed, and laughed harder when the group of 10 year old boys in front of me told their friend to "stop clapping" when it was over. Even they knew how bad it was. Going to see it made me feel as American as American gets... just like Spidey in front of the American flag.
(As a public service announcement: The above three books cost $0 as I got them from my friendly neighborhood hero, the library. This library provides free books, music, and movies. It is where I will be borrowing future box office hits such as "Pirates 3", "Transformers", and "Harry Potter 8" as I have spent all my movie money for the summer on Spidey 3. Support your library, donate a book, CD, or DVD today!)
My first gallery opening in Second Life was a big success. I met many new people from all over the world and even connected with some friends from another part of the country. Hope everyone had a good time.
I will have another SL event in March as I bring the wall comic "ReCon(Text) #1" into Second Life as an interactive virtual environment installation.
Opening on Friday January 5th, 2007 I will be participating in a group exhibit at a new Art Gallery in Second Life. The A-List Gallery, run by artist and Second Lifer Raz Curtiss, will feature 5 of my digital images from 2005-6. The works focus on juxtaposing cartoon symbolism, sexual fetishims, pop culture, and online gaming in order to question our relationship in flux with the new media landscape (perfect for SL, eh?)
For those already in SL... Here is the SLURL to the gallery.
For anyone interested in exploring the rich and chaotic 3D Virtual World of Second Life, visit www.secondlife.com. While there is a steep learning curve for those who have never maneuvered in a virtual environment before... There is nothing to fear! Many residents ingame will be happy to assist you. Hope to see you there!
This aims to be the first of several art exhibitions I have planned for Second Life. I am also searching for a venue to host the virtual version of the interactive wall comic ReCon(Text) #1, shown recently at the Dorthy Uber Bryan Gallery (click Images tab).
