"journalism, when done right, helps us understand the world" 9
Flash Journalism Intro/Part One
"flash is not simple, but you have mastered complex skills before this" xvii
This quote reminded me of what Dr Jerz said in class today about Blender and Inform. Neither are particularly relevant to the journalism field, but both were complex. So, in a way, I guess I could consider learning these two programs as flash conditioning.
"somehow the combination of photographic moments and on-site audio put me in the middle of the scene of destruction and pulled me close to the stricken people-in a way video on television never had" 3
"the scene in the photo might show something that cannot be adequately described with words" 6
There are some things, such as tragedy, that are sometimes best shown, and not told. The impact of a tragedy cannot affect someone if there is no human face to the story. Do print journalism stories, sans pictures, about accidents and deaths strike the heartstrings, as much as a video does? It's very easy to distance yourself from a story when there's no personal element to it.
When reading about Rwanda, I felt really said for the people who were affected by genocide. But, when I would see pictures (and the subsequent movie), I was affected b genocide. I dare you to watch "Hotel Rwanda" (or for that matter, that animal adoption commercial with "The Arms of the Angels" playing in the background) and not cry.
A photo slideshow can have the same effect. Images stif emotion. Articles can just blend into the background. There's less structure and formality with photos.
"the company does not market the games as journalism, but a company press release said "Kuma/War enables consumers to experience actual missions of real soldiers in the war on terror" 17
There are some subject I think should not be trivialized by games or movies.Does anyone remember when that 9-11 movie came out? Well, if you recall, the reviews were largely negative, because people felt it was too soon. Tragedies must be handeled with the utmost sensitivity. Documentaries are acceptable, I feel, because they show what really happened.
The reason i got upset at the Darfur game today in class was not necessarily about the content of the game, but was about the audience. As soon as I heard MTV, I pictured some idiot sitting at his computer laughing at the game with his moronic friends, purposely trying to get killed. As much as you'd like to deny it, you know someone out there is doing just that. Games are an iffy area of "journalism" that I'd like to stay away from. I don't want to be responsible for creating something that would allow a person to react like that.
"...might typically create graphics in the familiar drawing program, then export SWF files for use in the flash application, where they can be animated quickly" 27
Does that mean that we could design characters and other images in paint/draw and then export them to Flash? I know that would save us a lot of time, especially those of us who don't want to spend hours in the computer lab.
Also, I noticed there is something called Adobe Illustrator on the computer lab PC's. Am I correct in assuming it is a draw/paint program directly connected to Flash?
"a skilled designer can bring short phrases onscreen (in large, legible fonts) timed to coincide with the appearance of a particular image, a very compelling combination that moves the story forward" 33
I immediately thought of the "Christian Children's Fund" commercials where "Jesus Loves the Little Children" is played during a slideshow of starving third-world kids. The two different aspects contrast dramatically.
I'm now going to reference my theater history notes on cycle plays:
"the method is to juxtapose two stories, two plot threads, and two sets of characters so that they reverberate with and thus reinforce one another" (Wilson and Goldfarb, History of the Living Theater Boston:McGraw Hill, 2008. pg 128)
Two different aspects join together to create one powerful image. The contradiction really brings to light the severity of the situation.
"to allow users to print specific text, the Flash author must make some adjustments in the FLA file before exporting the file. If the adjustments are not made, no text from the file can be printed" 36
Can entire web pages be created with Flash? I've tried to print a home page and all that has come out on the printer end is a couple ad images. The rest was missing.
"flash is not simple, but you have mastered complex skills before this" xvii
This quote reminded me of what Dr Jerz said in class today about Blender and Inform. Neither are particularly relevant to the journalism field, but both were complex. So, in a way, I guess I could consider learning these two programs as flash conditioning.
"somehow the combination of photographic moments and on-site audio put me in the middle of the scene of destruction and pulled me close to the stricken people-in a way video on television never had" 3
"the scene in the photo might show something that cannot be adequately described with words" 6
There are some things, such as tragedy, that are sometimes best shown, and not told. The impact of a tragedy cannot affect someone if there is no human face to the story. Do print journalism stories, sans pictures, about accidents and deaths strike the heartstrings, as much as a video does? It's very easy to distance yourself from a story when there's no personal element to it.
When reading about Rwanda, I felt really said for the people who were affected by genocide. But, when I would see pictures (and the subsequent movie), I was affected b genocide. I dare you to watch "Hotel Rwanda" (or for that matter, that animal adoption commercial with "The Arms of the Angels" playing in the background) and not cry.
A photo slideshow can have the same effect. Images stif emotion. Articles can just blend into the background. There's less structure and formality with photos.
"the company does not market the games as journalism, but a company press release said "Kuma/War enables consumers to experience actual missions of real soldiers in the war on terror" 17
There are some subject I think should not be trivialized by games or movies.Does anyone remember when that 9-11 movie came out? Well, if you recall, the reviews were largely negative, because people felt it was too soon. Tragedies must be handeled with the utmost sensitivity. Documentaries are acceptable, I feel, because they show what really happened.
The reason i got upset at the Darfur game today in class was not necessarily about the content of the game, but was about the audience. As soon as I heard MTV, I pictured some idiot sitting at his computer laughing at the game with his moronic friends, purposely trying to get killed. As much as you'd like to deny it, you know someone out there is doing just that. Games are an iffy area of "journalism" that I'd like to stay away from. I don't want to be responsible for creating something that would allow a person to react like that.
"...might typically create graphics in the familiar drawing program, then export SWF files for use in the flash application, where they can be animated quickly" 27
Does that mean that we could design characters and other images in paint/draw and then export them to Flash? I know that would save us a lot of time, especially those of us who don't want to spend hours in the computer lab.
Also, I noticed there is something called Adobe Illustrator on the computer lab PC's. Am I correct in assuming it is a draw/paint program directly connected to Flash?
"a skilled designer can bring short phrases onscreen (in large, legible fonts) timed to coincide with the appearance of a particular image, a very compelling combination that moves the story forward" 33
I immediately thought of the "Christian Children's Fund" commercials where "Jesus Loves the Little Children" is played during a slideshow of starving third-world kids. The two different aspects contrast dramatically.
I'm now going to reference my theater history notes on cycle plays:
"the method is to juxtapose two stories, two plot threads, and two sets of characters so that they reverberate with and thus reinforce one another" (Wilson and Goldfarb, History of the Living Theater Boston:McGraw Hill, 2008. pg 128)
Two different aspects join together to create one powerful image. The contradiction really brings to light the severity of the situation.
"to allow users to print specific text, the Flash author must make some adjustments in the FLA file before exporting the file. If the adjustments are not made, no text from the file can be printed" 36
Can entire web pages be created with Flash? I've tried to print a home page and all that has come out on the printer end is a couple ad images. The rest was missing.
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Jeremy Barrick on "journalism, when done right, helps us understand the world" 9: It does seem like a complicate
Dennis G. Jerz on "journalism, when done right, helps us understand the world" 9: Yes, it is possible to create
Dennis G. Jerz on "journalism, when done right, helps us understand the world" 9: Yes, it is possible to create
Yes, it is possible to create entire web pages with Flash, but in general users find that frustrating because the whole flash file exists at one URL, and there's no easy way to bookmark a specific part of that file.
Adobe Illustrator is another product that lets you create images that you can use in Flash. You saw how I spent about 10 seconds drawing a fish and getting it to move. Tomorrow I could come in with a much better image of a fish (maybe one that I created in Blender3D?) and replace the rough one with that better image, and I wouldn't have to re-program the animation. (Flash wouldn't automatically let me rotate that image in 3D -- I'd only be able to move a static image around, but it would be a better-quality static image.)
You are right that there are some topics that many people feel shouldn't be trivialized by games, or comics, or movies... for a while there, there were Holocaust experts who said that literary works set in the Holocaust did a disservice to the real stories of Holocaust survivors, but in the last 10 or 15 years, there has become a place for "Holocaust responders" who did not themselves live through the events, but who are telling fictional works. The current generation of gamers does not think gaming is trivial, just as theater professionals think Plato is ridiculous for mocking the actor who pretends to be angry, in love, dying, etc., and questions the sanity of audiences whose emotions react as if the person in front of them were not pretending.
Having said all that, I, too would be offended by a form of Pac-Man that replaces the ghosts with Nazi symbols and the PacMan with a Jewish star. But a game that involves exploring someone's attic and finding enough evidence to convict him of being an SS guard who escaped judgement, and trying to convince a Holocaust survivor to testify against him -- that could be very dramatic and very educational, and no more trivial than any made-for-TV movie that fictionalizes any disaster.
I focus on this sort of stuff directly when I teach "EL250: Video Game Culture," so that's why I had so much to say about it (more than will fit within the time we have in EL236). But I don't mean to question your emotional response -- it's important, it's valid, and those of us who see games as ways to make serious comments about the world need to acknowledge the effect that medium has on a wide range of players. So, as always, thanks for being so willing to share your thoughts.
It does seem like a complicated process, but look at what we have studied so far. I think Blender 3-D was intense. Inform 7 was harsh. Now Flash? It is not going to be an easy ride, but I think we will manage just fine. With anything, it just takes a little patience and time. I am really anxious to start Flash.