Monday, 28 January 2008
Mood Board
Ive been thinking about the style of my work, both in the narrative and the illustrative style. The top image is visual style and the bottom is illustrative style.
Theodore Kaczynski
My research over cyber terrorism has lead me to develope one of the characters in my narrative as a kind of cyber terrorist. So i began to look at cyber terrorism and i came across Theodore Kaczynski. The info about him below is from wikipedia:
Dr. Theodore John "Ted" Kaczynski (born May 22, 1942), known as the Unabomber, is an American terrorist who carried out a campaign of bombings and mail bombings that killed 3 and wounded 23. He sent bombs to several universities, airlines, and other targets from the late 1970s through the mid-1990s.[1] Kaczynski sent a letter on April 24, 1995 to The New York Times, promising "to desist from terrorism" if the Times or a similarly respected news journal would publish his manifesto. In his Industrial Society and Its Future (commonly called the "Unabomber Manifesto," described below) he argued that his actions were a necessary (although extreme) tactic by which to attract attention to the erosion of human freedom necessitated by modern technology and large-scale organization.[2]
The Unabomber was the target of one of the most expensive investigations in the FBI's history.[3] Kaczynski's moniker as the Unabomber was derived from his FBI codename. Before his real identity was known, the FBI used the handle "UNABOM" ("UNiversity and Airline BOMber") to refer to his case, which resulted in variants such as Unabomer, Unibomber, and Unabomber when the media started using the name. He was not caught as a result of this investigation, however. His brother recognized the manifesto and turned him in. To avoid the death penalty, Kaczynski entered into a plea agreement, under which he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
A Farewell to Arms
I recently came across an internet artical on the wired.com web site entitled A Farewell to Arms, writen by John Carlin.
The document looks at the potential damage cyber terrorism could cause. It has been quite an inspirational and interesting read in terms of narrative development and story ideas. Ive picked out some of the interesting qoutes and parts of the documents.
Url: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.05/netizen.html
information technology is undermining most of the world's accumulated knowledge about armed conflict - since Sun Tzu, anyway.
The object is to vanquish, conquer, destroy - as deviously and pervasively as possible.
That's one of the factors that makes I-war discussions so fraught: Like the technology that makes it possible, the landscape is vast, hard to visualize, and infinitely flexible. I-war can be the kind of neat, conceptually contained electronic Pearl Harbor scenario that Washington strategists like - collapsing power grids, a stock market software bomb (Tom Clancy's been there already), an electromagnetic pulse that takes the phone system out. Or it could be something completely different: An unreachable, maybe even unknown, foe. Grinding you down. Messing with your collective mind. Driving you slowly, gently nuts. Turning around your high-powered, fully wired expeditionary force in Somalia with a single, 30-second videoclip of one of your boys being dragged behind a jeep. Weaponry by CNN.
Nobody wants to get near it, because it's being presented in such humongous terms." And because jumping in requires wrestling with some of the most contentious issues around, from civil liberties and cryptography to the size of the Pentagon budget - not to mention heavy doses of what still remains, for most of area code 202, mind-bendingly impenetrable technology.
Looking at I-war through the conventional military prism is scarcely more inspiring. No weapons to stockpile. No US$50 billion panacea programs. No Ho Chi Minh Trails to bomb. No missiles to monitor. No rear bases - possibly no immediately definable enemy at all. The I-war threat is, by definition, so overwhelmingly unstructured that any attempt at a top heavy response could actually be worse than doing nothing. Nor will expensive new toys help: as the NSA's and the FBI's crypto warriors are already finding out, most of the technology involved is simply software - easy to duplicate, hard to restrict, and often frustratingly dual-use, civilian or military. It doesn't take a nice, fat sitting duck of a factory to manufacture software bombs; any PC anywhere will do.
...this is cutting-edge stuff, grounded in the latest theories of ecological computing - digital versions of genetic variation and immune response. "There are naturally occurring models of survivable systems provided by biological organisms, populations, and societies," declares Darpa's request for proposals. "This research program uses these examples for metaphors and guidance about how to design survivable information systems.
Steele argues for what he calls "SmartNation," a sort of electronic Neighborhood Watch in which "each individual node - each individual citizen - is educated, responsible, alert, and able to join in a networked security chain."
Pentagon adviser John Arquilla has a name for low tech responses to high tech warfare: netwar. And he believes that future conflicts will be dominated not by superpowers and nation-states but by small, distributed groups - ranging from criminal gangs to rebels like those in Chechnya and Chiapas - who can exploit information technology.
What's so new about that?
It's all-channel interconnectivity that distinguishes the true modern network - each node can connect quite directly with any other. What's fascinating is that smugglers, pirates, other forms of criminals, revolutionaries, and terrorists have always organized along networked lines. Now they are marrying up with the information revolution, and it's giving them vast new capabilities.
We're also going to see more netwar because one can wage this kind of conflict without large field armies - and indeed without sophisticated technologies. In the wake of the Gulf War, it doesn't make a great deal of sense to challenge the United States directly or conventionally. Only a few armies - quite advanced ones - will engage in the high tech wars of the future. Instead, there will be a profusion of challenges to American interests. And it's this kind of conflict for which we are not prepared.
What stands in the way of serious change?
Militaries that change are usually militaries that have been defeated. And so this is a very difficult time for the United States. We have a formula that has worked. We won the Cold War. We won the Gulf War. Doing things this way is costly - a quarter of a trillion dollars spent on defense each year. Do we want to take a chance on a new way of fighting solely because it may mean we'll be able to do it less expensively? I would say that we must, because we have economic constraints to which we must respond. But we also have to decentralize our military for the same reasons that businesses are decentralizing.
How will this affect the global power structure?
There's been a long debate about whether information technologies tend toward good or evil. My greatest fear is the rising capabilities of states and nonstate actors who would use information technology to spread traditional forms of influence and power. A kind of information-supported imperialism may emerge. And a form of criminal mercantilism may be enabled, practiced by various pirate organizations around the world.
That doesn't sound particularly cheerful.
The darkest possibility is that states, realizing the power of networks, will align themselves with transnational criminal organizations, which will serve as their proxies as they wage an unending low-intensity netwar.
But there's another hypothesis: Because free flows of information vastly increase the costs of repression, authoritarian and totalitarian states will find themselves having greater and greater difficulty maintaining control. My greatest hope is that the information revolution raises the possibility of globally disseminating a set of common values and agreements about the nature of human rights. Interconnectivity - and the social, political, and sometimes military capabilities that come with this interconnectedness - can help to break the chains of those around the world who remain under authoritarian control. It is possible that new information technologies portend the rise of a global civil society that will be self-governing and more peaceful.
The document looks at the potential damage cyber terrorism could cause. It has been quite an inspirational and interesting read in terms of narrative development and story ideas. Ive picked out some of the interesting qoutes and parts of the documents.
Url: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.05/netizen.html
information technology is undermining most of the world's accumulated knowledge about armed conflict - since Sun Tzu, anyway.
"After the Gulf War, when everyone was looking forward to eternal peace, a new military revolution emerged. This revolution is essentially a transformation from the mechanized warfare of the industrial age to the information warfare of the information age. Information warfare is a war of decisions and control, a war of knowledge, and a war of intellect. The aim of information warfare will be gradually changed from 'preserving oneself and wiping out the enemy' to 'preserving oneself and controlling the opponent.' Information warfare includes electronic warfare, tactical deception, strategic deterrence, propaganda warfare, psychological warfare, network warfare, and structural sabotage.- From Chinese army newspaper, Jiefangjun Bao
Under today's technological conditions," the summary continues, "the 'all conquering stratagems' of Sun Tzu more than two millennia ago - 'vanquishing the enemy without fighting' and subduing the enemy by 'soft strike' or 'soft destruction' - could finally be truly realized."
The object is to vanquish, conquer, destroy - as deviously and pervasively as possible.
That's one of the factors that makes I-war discussions so fraught: Like the technology that makes it possible, the landscape is vast, hard to visualize, and infinitely flexible. I-war can be the kind of neat, conceptually contained electronic Pearl Harbor scenario that Washington strategists like - collapsing power grids, a stock market software bomb (Tom Clancy's been there already), an electromagnetic pulse that takes the phone system out. Or it could be something completely different: An unreachable, maybe even unknown, foe. Grinding you down. Messing with your collective mind. Driving you slowly, gently nuts. Turning around your high-powered, fully wired expeditionary force in Somalia with a single, 30-second videoclip of one of your boys being dragged behind a jeep. Weaponry by CNN.
Nobody wants to get near it, because it's being presented in such humongous terms." And because jumping in requires wrestling with some of the most contentious issues around, from civil liberties and cryptography to the size of the Pentagon budget - not to mention heavy doses of what still remains, for most of area code 202, mind-bendingly impenetrable technology.
Looking at I-war through the conventional military prism is scarcely more inspiring. No weapons to stockpile. No US$50 billion panacea programs. No Ho Chi Minh Trails to bomb. No missiles to monitor. No rear bases - possibly no immediately definable enemy at all. The I-war threat is, by definition, so overwhelmingly unstructured that any attempt at a top heavy response could actually be worse than doing nothing. Nor will expensive new toys help: as the NSA's and the FBI's crypto warriors are already finding out, most of the technology involved is simply software - easy to duplicate, hard to restrict, and often frustratingly dual-use, civilian or military. It doesn't take a nice, fat sitting duck of a factory to manufacture software bombs; any PC anywhere will do.
"We've created a technology over a period of 20 or 30 years. It's going to take 10, 20 years to create an alternative technology that allows us a more sophisticated set of defenses."
...this is cutting-edge stuff, grounded in the latest theories of ecological computing - digital versions of genetic variation and immune response. "There are naturally occurring models of survivable systems provided by biological organisms, populations, and societies," declares Darpa's request for proposals. "This research program uses these examples for metaphors and guidance about how to design survivable information systems.
Steele argues for what he calls "SmartNation," a sort of electronic Neighborhood Watch in which "each individual node - each individual citizen - is educated, responsible, alert, and able to join in a networked security chain."
Pentagon adviser John Arquilla has a name for low tech responses to high tech warfare: netwar. And he believes that future conflicts will be dominated not by superpowers and nation-states but by small, distributed groups - ranging from criminal gangs to rebels like those in Chechnya and Chiapas - who can exploit information technology.
What's so new about that?
It's all-channel interconnectivity that distinguishes the true modern network - each node can connect quite directly with any other. What's fascinating is that smugglers, pirates, other forms of criminals, revolutionaries, and terrorists have always organized along networked lines. Now they are marrying up with the information revolution, and it's giving them vast new capabilities.
We're also going to see more netwar because one can wage this kind of conflict without large field armies - and indeed without sophisticated technologies. In the wake of the Gulf War, it doesn't make a great deal of sense to challenge the United States directly or conventionally. Only a few armies - quite advanced ones - will engage in the high tech wars of the future. Instead, there will be a profusion of challenges to American interests. And it's this kind of conflict for which we are not prepared.
What stands in the way of serious change?
Militaries that change are usually militaries that have been defeated. And so this is a very difficult time for the United States. We have a formula that has worked. We won the Cold War. We won the Gulf War. Doing things this way is costly - a quarter of a trillion dollars spent on defense each year. Do we want to take a chance on a new way of fighting solely because it may mean we'll be able to do it less expensively? I would say that we must, because we have economic constraints to which we must respond. But we also have to decentralize our military for the same reasons that businesses are decentralizing.
How will this affect the global power structure?
There's been a long debate about whether information technologies tend toward good or evil. My greatest fear is the rising capabilities of states and nonstate actors who would use information technology to spread traditional forms of influence and power. A kind of information-supported imperialism may emerge. And a form of criminal mercantilism may be enabled, practiced by various pirate organizations around the world.
That doesn't sound particularly cheerful.
The darkest possibility is that states, realizing the power of networks, will align themselves with transnational criminal organizations, which will serve as their proxies as they wage an unending low-intensity netwar.
But there's another hypothesis: Because free flows of information vastly increase the costs of repression, authoritarian and totalitarian states will find themselves having greater and greater difficulty maintaining control. My greatest hope is that the information revolution raises the possibility of globally disseminating a set of common values and agreements about the nature of human rights. Interconnectivity - and the social, political, and sometimes military capabilities that come with this interconnectedness - can help to break the chains of those around the world who remain under authoritarian control. It is possible that new information technologies portend the rise of a global civil society that will be self-governing and more peaceful.
Friday, 25 January 2008
Blog of note - http://laurenhyndman.blog.co.uk/
I thought I would mention an interesting blog to look at. Lauren is a friend of mine doing a the final year of her degree in Design at Leeds Met.
http://laurenhyndman.blog.co.uk/
http://laurenhyndman.blog.co.uk/
Wednesday, 23 January 2008
Sunday, 20 January 2008
Illustration development in Cinema 4D
My previous virtual models where build and rendered in FORM.Z. However it was suggested to me that i could get better quality and more options for rendering using Cinema 4D. To this end, i have been experimenting with that to date.
Narrative development
During my Wednesday tutorial on the 9th of January, I got the idea of rather than one big story, i perhaps explore looking at maybe a series of short story’s, told from the point of view of everyday residents of a city set in the near future. To this end i have been looking at developing the following:
A series of short stories written from different perspectives and in different styles, portraying the day to day lives, issues and problems surrounding the world of tomorrow. All the characters are linked in some way and are referenced in the other characters stories. At present i think im going to have all the storys based in the city of London around the year 2034 / 2040
• A diary / journal style entry made by a homeless person living on the streets of London.
The diary entry will talk about the main characters contempt at society and general dislike of technology. The he has chosen to live his life “below the radar”. As a result he has had to abandon almost all his materials positions and technology. The narrative comments on the different social quirks and situations he observes while on the street and also explores the different parts of the city, from the clean and technology filled rich areas to the underdeveloped poorer areas and the social classes that occupy them.
• A conversation between a psychotherapist and her patient as they explore the patient’s medical condition of “digital / virtual Schizophrenia.”
The main characters form of schizophrenia has been brought about by an unhealthy obsession with his virtual life. Choosing to spend more time in the virtual world rather than the real one. Even choosing to have virtual job rather than a physical one. The convocation tells us how the problem has become a common one and explores the lengths that some people go to not only to stay online, and how they even favour their virtual personas over their physical ones.
• A short story told from the point of view of security analyst who has to track a terrorist through the city and update authorities of his movements as they move in to catch him.
A normal day at work is thrown into chaos for the main character when some government agents come into the building and ask him to track a suspected terrorist. The narrative explores how technology could be used to track someone and how even with the latest technology, it can still prove difficult and a challenge.
• Another short story, this time told from the point of a view of the said terrorist and how he tries to avoid capture.
This narrative explores the opposite from the previous; looking at the problems and difficulties someone would encounter if they were on the run and didn’t want to be caught.
• A report from a fictional journalist reports upon the previous day’s terrorist threat and the damage caused.
This journalistic approach talks about who the terrorist was, and his actions. Moreover, it will also fill in the gaps, showing how all the characters in the other short stories are linked.
A series of short stories written from different perspectives and in different styles, portraying the day to day lives, issues and problems surrounding the world of tomorrow. All the characters are linked in some way and are referenced in the other characters stories. At present i think im going to have all the storys based in the city of London around the year 2034 / 2040
• A diary / journal style entry made by a homeless person living on the streets of London.
The diary entry will talk about the main characters contempt at society and general dislike of technology. The he has chosen to live his life “below the radar”. As a result he has had to abandon almost all his materials positions and technology. The narrative comments on the different social quirks and situations he observes while on the street and also explores the different parts of the city, from the clean and technology filled rich areas to the underdeveloped poorer areas and the social classes that occupy them.
• A conversation between a psychotherapist and her patient as they explore the patient’s medical condition of “digital / virtual Schizophrenia.”
The main characters form of schizophrenia has been brought about by an unhealthy obsession with his virtual life. Choosing to spend more time in the virtual world rather than the real one. Even choosing to have virtual job rather than a physical one. The convocation tells us how the problem has become a common one and explores the lengths that some people go to not only to stay online, and how they even favour their virtual personas over their physical ones.
• A short story told from the point of view of security analyst who has to track a terrorist through the city and update authorities of his movements as they move in to catch him.
A normal day at work is thrown into chaos for the main character when some government agents come into the building and ask him to track a suspected terrorist. The narrative explores how technology could be used to track someone and how even with the latest technology, it can still prove difficult and a challenge.
• Another short story, this time told from the point of a view of the said terrorist and how he tries to avoid capture.
This narrative explores the opposite from the previous; looking at the problems and difficulties someone would encounter if they were on the run and didn’t want to be caught.
• A report from a fictional journalist reports upon the previous day’s terrorist threat and the damage caused.
This journalistic approach talks about who the terrorist was, and his actions. Moreover, it will also fill in the gaps, showing how all the characters in the other short stories are linked.
Term 2 – Brief
This is a rough copy of my intended brief for term 2. I have broken it down into 4 simple questions; What, why, who and when.
What – to experiment with and develop a unique illustrative style to accompany the simultaneous development of a narrative that will reflect research and conclusions established in stage one. The final outcome of both these tasks will be to consolidate both illustration and narrative together, taking the form of a graphic novel.
Why - I want to portray a realistic and accurate vision of the future that has been informed by extensive research and contextualisation rather than a less informed “space opera” that often employ the use of over the top characterisation and often use exotic futuristic settings that are filled with only remotely plausible technologies.
Who – Images and stories about the future have always been a topic of interest for the modern western world. They can provide a healthy criticism of a society and its technologies but also provide a base for innovation and development of new technologies and social trends. Many of today’s new and developing technologies are still young in terms of developing their own conventions within a culture and society. My aim is to show both the public and technology developers how some of the new and virgin technologies today will work and fit into our lives in the near future.
When – I intend to use term 2 primarily as an explorative term. It will be split between narrative development and writing firstly. At the same time I’ll be exploring and experimenting with different illustrative techniques. By the end of the term I plan to have a first draft of the narrative complete and grammatically checked. I also intend to have an illustrative style outlined that I am most comfortable with and think will be the most appropriate to the narrative. With these things done it will leave me free to combine both illustration and narrative together and experiment with different ways of doing this.
What – to experiment with and develop a unique illustrative style to accompany the simultaneous development of a narrative that will reflect research and conclusions established in stage one. The final outcome of both these tasks will be to consolidate both illustration and narrative together, taking the form of a graphic novel.
Why - I want to portray a realistic and accurate vision of the future that has been informed by extensive research and contextualisation rather than a less informed “space opera” that often employ the use of over the top characterisation and often use exotic futuristic settings that are filled with only remotely plausible technologies.
Who – Images and stories about the future have always been a topic of interest for the modern western world. They can provide a healthy criticism of a society and its technologies but also provide a base for innovation and development of new technologies and social trends. Many of today’s new and developing technologies are still young in terms of developing their own conventions within a culture and society. My aim is to show both the public and technology developers how some of the new and virgin technologies today will work and fit into our lives in the near future.
When – I intend to use term 2 primarily as an explorative term. It will be split between narrative development and writing firstly. At the same time I’ll be exploring and experimenting with different illustrative techniques. By the end of the term I plan to have a first draft of the narrative complete and grammatically checked. I also intend to have an illustrative style outlined that I am most comfortable with and think will be the most appropriate to the narrative. With these things done it will leave me free to combine both illustration and narrative together and experiment with different ways of doing this.
Tuesday, 15 January 2008
Illustrative concepts
I’ve started to experiment with visualising scenes for my nave decided to start with visualising a city. The examples below are just some basic experimental visualisations. I decided to start with visualising a totally virtual 3D city scene. So far I believe i can visualise the basic architecture with little difficulties. I’ve also conducted some experimentation to see how i could visualise a scene in 3D but using post process techniques give the scenes a hand drawn look.
I’ve also thought that i could build the scenes in the computer, but then print them out and use them as a reference to hand draw a scene.
What i now want to do now is to bulk out the scenes a bit more, adding things like different materials for buildings, wear and tear, cars, people, etc, thus giving the scenes a more realistic look.
I’ve also thought that i could build the scenes in the computer, but then print them out and use them as a reference to hand draw a scene.
What i now want to do now is to bulk out the scenes a bit more, adding things like different materials for buildings, wear and tear, cars, people, etc, thus giving the scenes a more realistic look.
illustration inspiration
Along with my narrative, ive started to think alot about my illustration style. Ive recently beeb inspired by the animatrix, a collection of nine animated short films released in 2003 and set in the fictional universe of the Matrix series. Each short film has its own unique style. Some examples of the diffrent styles are below:
Friday, 11 January 2008
Narrative idea 2
Prologue
I drew inspiration for this narrative from Walter Mitty, a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World— and Welcome to It in 1942.
From Wiki:
Few lives where as boring or as monotonous as Morgan Underwood’s. He would get up every day at 7am without fail, he would go the toilet, shower, dry, shave and brush his teeth in the exact same order every day. He had the same two slices of toast for breakfast every day. Make the same 15 minute tube journey into the city every day.
He would then walk the 10 minutes from the tube station to his work every day, not once indulging in any kind of variation to his route. At work he was known to be consistent, quiet and hard working. Never doing too much nor too little work. While his job was monotonously boring, it did privy him to certain information that would be deemed harmful to the government if it were to ever be made public.
Morgan worked for a special surveillance branch of the government. His job was simple, to observe a designated individual over a period of a day week, month, sometimes even a year. Over that time, he would build up an extensive surveillance file about that person. Mapping their entire lives. Routes they took to work, what they ate, who they talked to and socialised with, relationships (both platonic and sexual), what type of people they where attracted to, annoying habits, everything. He would build up a profile so comprehensive, that he often would come to know a person better than they knew them self’s. Then, with no explanation given, he would be reassigned to another person, and his comprehensive profile would be passed on to the higher level of authority that requested it.
His social life consisted of half a pint and half a pint only down the local pub on the occasional staff birthday and Christmas party. His love life was none existent. His impact on other people was none existent. And after 15 years of the same routine all that would be noticeable would be an empty seat on the tube and an empty work station in the office.
However for a seemingly insignificant existents, Morgan Underwood was surprisingly influential to a society that could be forgiven for not knowing he existed. Because when most people like Morgan Underwood, who lived a dreary and depressing existence went to sleep and dreamt of a better and more fulfilling life, Morgan Underwood did exactly the opposite. He did not dream of a better and more fulfilling life, he lived it. At night this seemingly empty shell of a man took on an entirely different persona.
He became the very man he wanted to be. A vigilantly figure. A man that was a firm believer in the truth and justice. A man who harbours utter contempt toward the government and negligent authority figures and is bitter toward the uninvolved public who give the authority its power. A man who believes that the key to preventing global government surveillance from turning into global suppression is to always insist on basic liberties and to keep government and law-enforcement agencies under constant scrutiny. For years, this second persona had only ever existed virtually. Using the information he acquired at work, as well as making a few key contacts willing to spool out snippets of information from time to time his second persona had built up quite a cult status as a free lance journalist.
How people consumed the news had changed dramatically since the turn of the century. Many news papers and magazines now printed pages from digital magazines and more predominantly blogs. And since the introduction of digital paper around 2012, anyone could read anything on plastic paper. People no longer where told what they should read, they choose what to read. Individuals now became their own news editors, subscribing to news and blogs relevant to them. However you could often guarantee one blog that everyone subscribed to was Morgan’s. Of course, he didn’t use his real name, that would defy the point. Instead he gave his persona an entirely different identity, something perfectly common in his day in age. Many people had at least 2 identities, their physical one, and their virtual one. So Morgan called himself Hermes after the Greek God. Hermes was the son of Zeus. He was a messenger for Zeus and he was the fastest of all the gods.
However, the past year had seen the persona of Hermes become more than a virtual one. Recent years had seen the emergence of many underground medical practitioners, offering services to the poorer members of the populations. While it had begun with the best of intentions, it had also become home to some more experimental and often dangerous procedures. And it had been one of these procedures that had allowed Morgan to take on his second identity not just in a virtual sense, but in a physical one. Using a proverbial cocktail of mental conditioning, advanced hypnosis and a series of neural suppressing drugs, a second personality could be constructed. In a world where it had long since become common to have multiple identities, the procedure, known as Personality Augmentation, or P.A. for short had become a popular underground procedure.
And so, one weekend per month, Morgan would go to sleep early on a Friday night after taking an injection, and, after it knocked him out for 2 hours, he would wake up as his alter ego for 72 hours. For Morgan, the events of the next 72 hours would become nothing more than a dream. And this is where our story begins, early on a Monday morning, after one of these weekends.
I drew inspiration for this narrative from Walter Mitty, a fictional character in James Thurber's short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", first published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, and in book form in My World— and Welcome to It in 1942.
From Wiki:
Mitty is a meek, mild man with a very vivid fantasy life. Although the story has humorous elements, some critics see a darker and more significant message underlying the text, leading to a more tragic interpretation of the Mitty character. Even in his heroic daydreams, Mitty does not triumph, several fantasies being interrupted before the final one sees Mitty dying bravely in front of a firing squad. In addition, it is possible to read the events in the story as the responses to the stress of reality by an aging man who is sliding into senescence. In the brief snatches of reality that punctuate Mitty's fantasies we meet well-meaning but insensitive strangers who inadvertently rob Mitty of some of his remaining dignity.
His wife is the only inhabitant of reality that we meet more than once. Thurber cleverly leads us into accepting her as a nag by giving Mitty's fantasies a charming lightness and comic-book simplicity that disarms deeper scrutiny. On the other hand, her final appearance suggests that she is a woman struggling to cope as her role shifts from loving life-partner to care-giver as Mitty slowly slides into his second childhood.
Narrative idea 1
Over Christmas i started to think about my narrative. I read a few chapters of verious short storys but i decided to dive in and start writing a few chapters:
Chapter one: Fear of the uknown
Gray held in the smoke from his last cigarette for a moment, savouring its rich flavour and subtle textures in his mouth before finally releasing it slowly through his nose. He stood for a moment, pondering how such a small and simple object could provide so much sickly pleasure before turning his gaze skyward. He was stood in a small clearing in some woodland in the Lake District, it was a warm summer evening, and the moisture from the early summer shower still hung in the crisp evening air.
Gray always found the lakes a novelty; it was one of the few places left where you could actually star gaze. The night sky had long since become drowned in a proverbial sea of light pollution.
Almost nostalgically, he drew a last drag on his cigarette and prepared to put it out. It was then he noticed a figure out the corner of his eye slowly and cautiously approaching him from behind. A small smile ran across Grays face as he threw the cigarette off into the dark with one hand and slowly drew his small taser gun from his long leather jacket with the other.
“You know, I’m not an expert, but I’m sure one of the first rules in sneaking up on someone would have to be NOT to be seen. But hey, that’s just me.” joked Gray, turning his head to meet his guns target.
The stunned figure stopped and slowly raised his hands. “Don’t you know smoking is illegal in this country?.” He said with a stern voice in an attempt to be equally as cocky.
Of course, Gray knew full well it was illegal to smoke. It had been over 12 years since the government had finally outlawed the activity long known for its ill health effects. Though like many illegal activities, people still did them. Though now you where hard pressed to find somewhere that wasn’t lased with some kind of sensing device that could detect a smoker a mile away. And if they didn’t get you, any remains of a cigarette were more or less instantaneously DNA scanned and cross referenced on the DNA database. So you could light up on the morning and be eating a nutritious, but flavourless prison meal by the evening. However despite this, Gray always managed to enjoy at least one every so often. And to him each one tasted like it was rolled by god and handed down by jesus.
“Felix, what part of ‘don’t be late’ do you not understand?” Gray responded, keeping his taser gun trained on the person claiming to be Felix, an informant he had been exchanging information packages with for a number of months.
“Couldn’t be helped Gray, needed to make sure I wasn’t followed. And before you ask, no I wasn’t.” Felix said taking a cautious step forward.
Gray was quick to gesture with the gun so he would move no closer. In his line of work, gray knew that it was better to be overly cautious than trusting.
“I went into the woods and got it. I sat down to seek it. I brought it home with me because I couldn't find it.” Gray said slowly so to not make any mistakes. Before they met, they both decided upon a pre determined riddle to confirm to both of them they both were who they said they were.
Felix paused for a moment before answering; making sure the riddle had been recited precisely. “A splinter” He said finally.
“Right then! Now all that’s cleared up, shall we get on with the show?” Gray Said holstering his weapon and walking up to Felix to shake his hand. After some momentary pleasantries it was down to business. From inside his jacket pocket Felix revealed a small rectangular transparent object, similar in size and shape to a piece of gum. Hesitating at first Felix handed it over, his eyes fixed on Grays all the while.
After staring at the object for what seem to Felix to be an eternity, Gray final placed it a small plastic case and placed it back into his inside jacket pocket. It was then that he noticed Felix’s stern gaze still fixed upon his own.
“Relax my friend, as we have discussed, you don’t exist.” He whispered.
“With all due respect, do you have any idea the potential of that information that’s on there? If anyone knew...”
“If anyone knew...” Gray quickly replied. “If anyone knew, we would not be having this convocation, nor would we be breathing.”
“That’s my point, we would both be dead, and its fucking lucky we have got this far!” Felix bluntly replied.
“Now now, Mr Felix, language... there is no need to become hysterical. You’re forgetting that unlike yourself, or indeed most people on this planet, I don’t fear death.” Gray calmly replied, slowly turning and walking away.
“Well you’re a braver man than me Gray.” Felix replied leaning against a tree to take the weight of his tired feet.
“Bravery?” Said Gray, stopping for a moment. “Bravery has got nothing to do with it.” He began slowly and almost in a whisper. “Why do people fear death? They fear it because it is the one thing they can’t control and it is the one thing that is certain in this life. What scares people is the unknown. They don’t know, how, why, or when death will come for them. Are people brave to face death? Yes. But I’m not like most people.”
“Oh yeah...?” responded Felix in a sarcastic tone. “So come on then, what make you so different?”
Gray paused for a moment, buttoned up the last few buttons of his jacket, placed his hands in his pockets and as he started to walk away once more he replied; “Because unlike most people Mr Felix, I know EXACTLY how and when I’m going to die.”
Chapter 2: Ticking clock
The monotonous hum of the scanner slowly circling his head had almost become hypnotic, even relaxing. But the sterile smell of the air was a sobering reminder to Gray of why he was lying on this hospital bed as a large 3D brain scanner did one more orbit of his cranium. Gray had long since become familiar with every nuance of the machines 5 minute scan cycle.
The machine completed its cycle and retracted back towards the wall. “All done.” Announced the doctor over the speaker. “You can put your clothes back on and come on through while the computer compiles the image.”
Gray went behind the privacy screen and retrieved his clothes and belongings from the draw in the wall. He walked out the scanning room and into the opposite control room. The control rooms lights where dimmed, and was instead bathed in the soft glow of computer screens. The young attractive doctor sat in front of one small screen that was slowly compiling a 3D image of Grays Head.
“Well doc, what’s the prognosis?” Gray said in a sarcastic tone. “Any chance that miracle you said I needed has popped up?”
“Well...what can I tell you that you don’t already know Lucien?” Said the doctor as she pushed herself away from the desk and slowly spun around on the chair. She motioned to the large wall and the back of the room which housed a large display screen. Pressing a button a small control pad next to her brought up the finished scan of Grays face.
“Fetching chap.” Remarket Gray
Playing with some settings the Doctor began peeling back the layers of the image one at a time. First the skin, then the muscle tissue to reveal the skull. The skull then faded away to reveal the brain. Which the computer then highlighted in various colours to highlight the different sections. A portion of the brain then faded away to a 50% translucency to reveal a dark ominous shape buried within the brain tissue.
“Its mass has increased 5% since the last scan.” She said as the image began to slowly rotate.
“Yeah...it has an annoying habit of doing that.” Replied Gray slowing walking up to the screen for a closer look.
“It’s only going to be a few days now Gray...” She said softly.
“Sunday I figure...” he chuckled. “The day of rest...ironic huh. Hey, is there any chance they could grow me a new brain? If they can do ears, skin and hearts you think they could rustle me one up? I mean everyone always said i was never a full shilling so it won’t take that long to do!”
The Doctor shrugged off Grays attempt of a joke but did have a momentary ponder if they could grow a full brain. After all, “Off the shelf” Organs had been available for the past 9 years or so, fuelled by phenomenal lines of people desperately needed organ transplants. The size of the lines had been growing exponentially since the turn of the 21st century, mainly due to tens of millions of ageing baby boomers hitting 60 and hospitals having to deal with vast numbers of diabetes, heart disease, and a host of illnesses related to ageing. It became far more practical to simply grow a replacement part than wait for one. But the doctor only let her mind drift for an instant before she responded to Gray, choosing to ignore his joke and attempt to have an serious convocation with him.
“Did you think much about what we talked about last week?” She said after a short pause.
“What? About preparing? Yeah...I did mean to go visit your physiologist friend...but...”
“But?” She quickly replied.
After a short pause Gray smiled, turned to her and said; “...yeah, the strip club proved the more temping mistress.”
“Gray, this thing is growing by the minute, you could set your watch to it. It’s like clockwork. And you’re not the least bit concerned?” She said in a stern voice.
“I find it strangely comforting doc, it’s like a nice warm blanket.” He replied smirking to himself. “And I’ve been keeping busy, doing things I’ve wanted to do, like yesterday; I went up the lakes for the afternoon to do a bit of soul searching on my own.”
“And did you find anything?” replied a quite surprised doctor.
Gray smirked. “Yeah...i found something alright.” He said, discretely tapping the small plastic case that was still snugly nestled in his jacket pocket
“But forgive me doc, your right, I should prepare myself, get my house in order as they say. So, that’s why I must part your fair company as its going to be a big day!” He said motioning towards the door.
Before she could answer, Gray already answer the question that was on her face.
“Trust me doc, your best off not knowing, but ermm...keep your eyes on the news this evening.” He said, whispering the last part before opening the door. He gave the doctor a quick wink and he was gone.
Chapter one: Fear of the uknown
Gray held in the smoke from his last cigarette for a moment, savouring its rich flavour and subtle textures in his mouth before finally releasing it slowly through his nose. He stood for a moment, pondering how such a small and simple object could provide so much sickly pleasure before turning his gaze skyward. He was stood in a small clearing in some woodland in the Lake District, it was a warm summer evening, and the moisture from the early summer shower still hung in the crisp evening air.
Gray always found the lakes a novelty; it was one of the few places left where you could actually star gaze. The night sky had long since become drowned in a proverbial sea of light pollution.
Almost nostalgically, he drew a last drag on his cigarette and prepared to put it out. It was then he noticed a figure out the corner of his eye slowly and cautiously approaching him from behind. A small smile ran across Grays face as he threw the cigarette off into the dark with one hand and slowly drew his small taser gun from his long leather jacket with the other.
“You know, I’m not an expert, but I’m sure one of the first rules in sneaking up on someone would have to be NOT to be seen. But hey, that’s just me.” joked Gray, turning his head to meet his guns target.
The stunned figure stopped and slowly raised his hands. “Don’t you know smoking is illegal in this country?.” He said with a stern voice in an attempt to be equally as cocky.
Of course, Gray knew full well it was illegal to smoke. It had been over 12 years since the government had finally outlawed the activity long known for its ill health effects. Though like many illegal activities, people still did them. Though now you where hard pressed to find somewhere that wasn’t lased with some kind of sensing device that could detect a smoker a mile away. And if they didn’t get you, any remains of a cigarette were more or less instantaneously DNA scanned and cross referenced on the DNA database. So you could light up on the morning and be eating a nutritious, but flavourless prison meal by the evening. However despite this, Gray always managed to enjoy at least one every so often. And to him each one tasted like it was rolled by god and handed down by jesus.
“Felix, what part of ‘don’t be late’ do you not understand?” Gray responded, keeping his taser gun trained on the person claiming to be Felix, an informant he had been exchanging information packages with for a number of months.
“Couldn’t be helped Gray, needed to make sure I wasn’t followed. And before you ask, no I wasn’t.” Felix said taking a cautious step forward.
Gray was quick to gesture with the gun so he would move no closer. In his line of work, gray knew that it was better to be overly cautious than trusting.
“I went into the woods and got it. I sat down to seek it. I brought it home with me because I couldn't find it.” Gray said slowly so to not make any mistakes. Before they met, they both decided upon a pre determined riddle to confirm to both of them they both were who they said they were.
Felix paused for a moment before answering; making sure the riddle had been recited precisely. “A splinter” He said finally.
“Right then! Now all that’s cleared up, shall we get on with the show?” Gray Said holstering his weapon and walking up to Felix to shake his hand. After some momentary pleasantries it was down to business. From inside his jacket pocket Felix revealed a small rectangular transparent object, similar in size and shape to a piece of gum. Hesitating at first Felix handed it over, his eyes fixed on Grays all the while.
After staring at the object for what seem to Felix to be an eternity, Gray final placed it a small plastic case and placed it back into his inside jacket pocket. It was then that he noticed Felix’s stern gaze still fixed upon his own.
“Relax my friend, as we have discussed, you don’t exist.” He whispered.
“With all due respect, do you have any idea the potential of that information that’s on there? If anyone knew...”
“If anyone knew...” Gray quickly replied. “If anyone knew, we would not be having this convocation, nor would we be breathing.”
“That’s my point, we would both be dead, and its fucking lucky we have got this far!” Felix bluntly replied.
“Now now, Mr Felix, language... there is no need to become hysterical. You’re forgetting that unlike yourself, or indeed most people on this planet, I don’t fear death.” Gray calmly replied, slowly turning and walking away.
“Well you’re a braver man than me Gray.” Felix replied leaning against a tree to take the weight of his tired feet.
“Bravery?” Said Gray, stopping for a moment. “Bravery has got nothing to do with it.” He began slowly and almost in a whisper. “Why do people fear death? They fear it because it is the one thing they can’t control and it is the one thing that is certain in this life. What scares people is the unknown. They don’t know, how, why, or when death will come for them. Are people brave to face death? Yes. But I’m not like most people.”
“Oh yeah...?” responded Felix in a sarcastic tone. “So come on then, what make you so different?”
Gray paused for a moment, buttoned up the last few buttons of his jacket, placed his hands in his pockets and as he started to walk away once more he replied; “Because unlike most people Mr Felix, I know EXACTLY how and when I’m going to die.”
Chapter 2: Ticking clock
The monotonous hum of the scanner slowly circling his head had almost become hypnotic, even relaxing. But the sterile smell of the air was a sobering reminder to Gray of why he was lying on this hospital bed as a large 3D brain scanner did one more orbit of his cranium. Gray had long since become familiar with every nuance of the machines 5 minute scan cycle.
The machine completed its cycle and retracted back towards the wall. “All done.” Announced the doctor over the speaker. “You can put your clothes back on and come on through while the computer compiles the image.”
Gray went behind the privacy screen and retrieved his clothes and belongings from the draw in the wall. He walked out the scanning room and into the opposite control room. The control rooms lights where dimmed, and was instead bathed in the soft glow of computer screens. The young attractive doctor sat in front of one small screen that was slowly compiling a 3D image of Grays Head.
“Well doc, what’s the prognosis?” Gray said in a sarcastic tone. “Any chance that miracle you said I needed has popped up?”
“Well...what can I tell you that you don’t already know Lucien?” Said the doctor as she pushed herself away from the desk and slowly spun around on the chair. She motioned to the large wall and the back of the room which housed a large display screen. Pressing a button a small control pad next to her brought up the finished scan of Grays face.
“Fetching chap.” Remarket Gray
Playing with some settings the Doctor began peeling back the layers of the image one at a time. First the skin, then the muscle tissue to reveal the skull. The skull then faded away to reveal the brain. Which the computer then highlighted in various colours to highlight the different sections. A portion of the brain then faded away to a 50% translucency to reveal a dark ominous shape buried within the brain tissue.
“Its mass has increased 5% since the last scan.” She said as the image began to slowly rotate.
“Yeah...it has an annoying habit of doing that.” Replied Gray slowing walking up to the screen for a closer look.
“It’s only going to be a few days now Gray...” She said softly.
“Sunday I figure...” he chuckled. “The day of rest...ironic huh. Hey, is there any chance they could grow me a new brain? If they can do ears, skin and hearts you think they could rustle me one up? I mean everyone always said i was never a full shilling so it won’t take that long to do!”
The Doctor shrugged off Grays attempt of a joke but did have a momentary ponder if they could grow a full brain. After all, “Off the shelf” Organs had been available for the past 9 years or so, fuelled by phenomenal lines of people desperately needed organ transplants. The size of the lines had been growing exponentially since the turn of the 21st century, mainly due to tens of millions of ageing baby boomers hitting 60 and hospitals having to deal with vast numbers of diabetes, heart disease, and a host of illnesses related to ageing. It became far more practical to simply grow a replacement part than wait for one. But the doctor only let her mind drift for an instant before she responded to Gray, choosing to ignore his joke and attempt to have an serious convocation with him.
“Did you think much about what we talked about last week?” She said after a short pause.
“What? About preparing? Yeah...I did mean to go visit your physiologist friend...but...”
“But?” She quickly replied.
After a short pause Gray smiled, turned to her and said; “...yeah, the strip club proved the more temping mistress.”
“Gray, this thing is growing by the minute, you could set your watch to it. It’s like clockwork. And you’re not the least bit concerned?” She said in a stern voice.
“I find it strangely comforting doc, it’s like a nice warm blanket.” He replied smirking to himself. “And I’ve been keeping busy, doing things I’ve wanted to do, like yesterday; I went up the lakes for the afternoon to do a bit of soul searching on my own.”
“And did you find anything?” replied a quite surprised doctor.
Gray smirked. “Yeah...i found something alright.” He said, discretely tapping the small plastic case that was still snugly nestled in his jacket pocket
“But forgive me doc, your right, I should prepare myself, get my house in order as they say. So, that’s why I must part your fair company as its going to be a big day!” He said motioning towards the door.
Before she could answer, Gray already answer the question that was on her face.
“Trust me doc, your best off not knowing, but ermm...keep your eyes on the news this evening.” He said, whispering the last part before opening the door. He gave the doctor a quick wink and he was gone.
STAGE 2
A new year, a new stage. To start with, here is a copy of my feedback from stage one:
Good in depth analysis of future technology and being able to articulate these findings to your final outcome. Need to identify what you are communicating in stage 2 and to test these results before moving onto the final stage. Need to spend some time developing your visual style for your graphic novel. But also, need to analyse the structure and narrative of your ideas. How would you gauge from the audience how believable your ideas are. Needs to be more critical with your work - analyses. How can one test the future? Test the communication value rather than the technology perhaps? Develop your design questions more. Need to explore your own approach to illustrating your ideas. Find a different question for the future. research more on comic design/illustration, the target audience, the market, etc.
Good in depth analysis of future technology and being able to articulate these findings to your final outcome. Need to identify what you are communicating in stage 2 and to test these results before moving onto the final stage. Need to spend some time developing your visual style for your graphic novel. But also, need to analyse the structure and narrative of your ideas. How would you gauge from the audience how believable your ideas are. Needs to be more critical with your work - analyses. How can one test the future? Test the communication value rather than the technology perhaps? Develop your design questions more. Need to explore your own approach to illustrating your ideas. Find a different question for the future. research more on comic design/illustration, the target audience, the market, etc.
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
MIT - Visualizing Cultures
Ive recently come across this web site which at a glance seems slightly related to my project at the present time:
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Foreign-Languages-and-Literatures/21F-027JVisualizing-CulturesSpring2003/Units/index.htm
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Foreign-Languages-and-Literatures/21F-027JVisualizing-CulturesSpring2003/Units/index.htm
"What is Visualizing Cultures?
Using new technologies, Visualizing Cultures weds images and commentary to illuminate social and cultural history in innovative ways. A narrative "Core Exhibit" not only gives the historical significance of the images, but also addresses issues such as genre and medium. Each unit comes with a comprehensive curriculum and carefully annotated digital archive of images from public and private sources.
The current units address topics relating to modern Japan; future units will deal with other countries and cultures as well.
Visualizing Cultures is published on MIT's OpenCourseWare (OCW), which makes MIT course materials freely and openly available on the web. All materials on OCW have been cleared for copyright, so both the images and narratives may be used in and out of the classroom."
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
Visual Research (a few weeks late)
I few weeks ago i conducted some visual research into how the past saw the future. Ive just remembered i didnt post them on my blog:
an interesting point
I thought this quote makes an interesting point about the future and what direction we might be heading:
In relation to ID cards:
Phill Booth, N02ID
In relation to ID cards:
“a society in which you’re told who you are, how to move, how to work, where you can live, what you can do, is not a society i want to live in. It’s a controlled, controlling nightmare, its not life. I’m not saying that the ID card scheme wil be that straight away. But they’re outing in place something that moves towards then nightmare”
Phill Booth, N02ID
Sunday, 2 December 2007
Program Of Study
My Latest Program of Study
Title:- The conventions of new technologies: An exploration into how new technologies will change the way we live and how the conventions generated by these new technologies will influence not only the technology itself but the culture that created and interacts with it.
Description of Research:- A detailed look into the history of technology and how it can change a society and what kind of changes these can include.
This research will entail looking at the evolution of technology and how this evolution can be effected by society. In addition, looking at societies effects in a wider context including economic, political and globalisation.
Finally, I will then look at some of the new technologies and trends emerging today and use some strategic foresight to track their evolution into the near future, backed up by research into futurology and other mediums of prediction like science fiction for example. And more over, how these mediums present their visions. (e.g. reports, papers, comics, novels, TV & Film etc)
Aims:- Have a better contextual understanding about the role of technology throughout history.
Apply said contextually knowledge to the formation of a realistic vision of the future.
Finally, present my informed vision of the future in an appropriate format.
Methods:- I will write up a series of conclusions and findings which I will continually update and post on my blog which can then be collated into a final report.
From the conclusions drawn from my initial research, I will start to formulate a series of accurate ideas / predictions for the future which again will be posted on my blog. I will then finally use my ideas and predictions to back up the final phase of my project
For the final phase of my project, I will create a narrative which best depicts an accurate vision of the future backed up by my research. I will then design a series of images to accompany the narrative and combine them both into a graphic novel, both printed and digital.
Title:- The conventions of new technologies: An exploration into how new technologies will change the way we live and how the conventions generated by these new technologies will influence not only the technology itself but the culture that created and interacts with it.
Description of Research:- A detailed look into the history of technology and how it can change a society and what kind of changes these can include.
This research will entail looking at the evolution of technology and how this evolution can be effected by society. In addition, looking at societies effects in a wider context including economic, political and globalisation.
Finally, I will then look at some of the new technologies and trends emerging today and use some strategic foresight to track their evolution into the near future, backed up by research into futurology and other mediums of prediction like science fiction for example. And more over, how these mediums present their visions. (e.g. reports, papers, comics, novels, TV & Film etc)
Aims:- Have a better contextual understanding about the role of technology throughout history.
Apply said contextually knowledge to the formation of a realistic vision of the future.
Finally, present my informed vision of the future in an appropriate format.
Methods:- I will write up a series of conclusions and findings which I will continually update and post on my blog which can then be collated into a final report.
From the conclusions drawn from my initial research, I will start to formulate a series of accurate ideas / predictions for the future which again will be posted on my blog. I will then finally use my ideas and predictions to back up the final phase of my project
For the final phase of my project, I will create a narrative which best depicts an accurate vision of the future backed up by my research. I will then design a series of images to accompany the narrative and combine them both into a graphic novel, both printed and digital.
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