Jos’s Spatial Audio continued on it’s path of getting to grips with how Humans perceive sound within a 360 degree environment with the usual dusting of slides, handouts and movies. I feel I am really starting to get to grips with this concept now and my initial panic seems to be subsiding making way for my usual resolve and gusto regarding life, the world, assignments and how to eat spaghetti Bolognese without letting your clothes have a taste. But with all things that are good there always has to be a negative to balance out the equation regarding my ignorance towards a little soreness in my throat…….. Watch this space for further details.

Moving into Dawn’s Animation class I am greeted with a bubbly atmosphere which engages my curiosity, after the usual pleasantries we immediately move into designing a 3D cube which incorporates another set of features which we will need for our impending assignments, instead of teaching “en-masse” for the full duration of the lecture after the initial concept is discussed Dawn moves around each student to pass comment on their efforts which to many is very reassuring. I will procrastinate (to coin a phrase) for a moment to pass comment on noticing our class is a little light this week (no moaning students) so thats a major relief !. Anyway, back to the lecture….. Dawn continues through, I must say, a very enjoyable and informative discussion mixed with side comments about animating objects with music and to be honest how easy it would be to create a simple yet effective short animation.

The journey home that day was full of interesting idea’s regarding my teams animations and how we would do them (result!). Tuesday brings more good news regarding my FYP, I have now moved from the “Comparative synthesis” project to a more manageable “creating a media related program to explain a complex scientific principle” (Ker-ching) which is run by two of my most favourite lecturers (Wilfred and Helen). With that I made an appointment to have a chat with said Mr Darlington and carried on with my assignments (still ignoring the soreness in my throat). Wednesday was like any other except my daughter returns from Uni early (this to some may seem normal, but my daughter is a true nerd and always stays late), I take one look at her and realise she is full of a cold. Coughing an spluttering everywhere whilst telling me she’s been fighting this since xmas (now the moment of clarity kicks in….. sore throat… feeling a little run down…. SHIT !) all I am going to say is this…. never have kids as they will give you all their bloody germs and then expect you to look after them !!

With that, I make a hasty trek down to the pharmacy to stock up on the various placebo medication to get us through the next few days. Thursday comes in a shower of snot and phlegm, I dose myself up and make my way into uni to have my meeting with Wilfred, luckily his normal laid back approach is welcomed and the task in hand is dealt with post haste allowing me to return home to more snot and coughing (mixed with the excellent overtones of menthol vapour rub). Friday never happened, I decided at the last moment to stay at home and deal with this filthy bug on my home turf so Spatial Audio never happened.

As I write this I am planning on returning tomorrow and resume learning if the drugs work enough for me to sit in a class without wanting to beat people to death with a blunt calculator. so with that in mind I bid you all a fond farewell.

Stay Safe all. Love

Paul

To be honest the last comment conjures images of a roman emperor sat on high while down below the unfortunate await their fate, this concept hits home as I start to come to terms with the almost guaranteed prospect of long term unemployment or tedious dead end jobs as I feel my employability (given my age) has become a “mute” subject as I observe the almost “cut throat” behaviour of the many people I have met while studying over the last 3 years.

Now I have that off my chest I now move onto the subject of this week lectures. Monday morning starts with a (1 hour long) kind of practical Spatial Audio class, learning to use a calculator to understand audio related mathematics may sound simple but to many (including myself) in the class this quickly becomes a bit of a nightmare. Even though Jos is an excellent lecturer I really would like him to try to understand that some of us have come from a purely musical background and a little more understanding when it comes to learning curves in respect of topics that some have not done would be greatly appreciated.

After overcoming that stumbling block and rewiring my brain to accommodate I move onto Dawns Animation class which seems from the outset to be bursting at the seams with new students who have moved from the later (3-5) session. the room is filled with one student continually moaning about his failure to log onto a computer and to be honest his inability to understand any form of tuition, from my point of view his ability to get under my skin leaves me a little drained and slightly annoyed. Hopefully next week will be better.

The rest of the week seems to be dominated with my thoughts regarding the impending FYP choices and it’s respective supervisor meeting which to be honest has been giving me a few sleepless nights as I mull over the subject of ” have i made the right” decision. Animation comes in second creating more sleeplessness which is starting to eat away at my normally “controlled” resolve when it comes to assignments, I have no doubt that this will subside and whatever work I create for Dawns module will be to the best of my abilities and hopefully my mark will reflect that.

Friday comes and the feeling of “no sleep” has now got a firm grip of me so I try to not communicate with my fellow students in fear of coming across as “blunt” or “short tempered”. Jos introduces us to the weekly “fun” test of work we have already studied which I must admit is a great way of getting people to get into a pro active study mode. 6/10 in my opinion a great opening mark considering I didn’t do any reading as my thoughts were elsewhere (see previous paragraph) and we move onto the very basic concepts of sound within a 3D space. Again his lectures are a mix of serious and fun which creates a kind of air of “relaxation” to aid in our understanding of this interesting topic.

I am aware that this blog is very self obsessed but as a fellow blogging fanatic once said to me, “be true and don’t edit your opinions or train of thought”

Stay safe all until next week.

Peace, Love and Happiness

Paul

After watching the normal semester timetable amendments unfold via email and all the confusion it seems to bring with students I find myself in the first of two new modules, as a side note in my opinion there is nothing more enjoyable than entering a class with new people and observing the hesitation and confusion that unfolds, so with that out of the way I offer my thoughts on Animated Graphics taught by Dawn Shaw. I have always been interested in animation may it be 2D or 3D, this comes from tinkering with various programs over the years such as 3D Max and Maya. Using these “tools” wasn’t from a need to understand but from curiosity and a fascination to understand how this genre of software works.

After the usual introductions from Dawn we move right into this terms assignment brief which will consist of 6 animations (Idents and Stings) which will be created by using the “industry standard” software package After Effects for the first part and finishing off with a full presentation to the class on how these were achieved. Again, continuing to observe the class and the resulting “sigh” as they are confronted with, to some, an almost impossible task (in their opinion) within the 12 week time period. The rest of the lecture was then filled with going through the assignment by using last years students efforts to drill home what will be expected in respect of our own work.

On a final note, “Team – Get it done” (Paul & Nick, Chris wasn’t available on group creation) has been resurrected for this module given this assignment is based on group collaboration. I feel this is going to be a rewarding module on many levels and I look forward to enjoying each week as it unfolds.

Friday’s and Monday’s are now taken up by Spatial Audio with Jos Hirst which I feel (before I have started) will require the majority of my attention. Even though I understand the concepts behind this vast topic I believe the application of complex calculations that are used within subject require 100% concentration and my usual work plan will need to be amended to accommodate my failing memory retention (Joke!). Being late (45 mins) for the introduction lecture is never a good start, (explanation in the final part of this post) but it became apparent that Jos had spent this time laying out the workflow so catching up wasn’t an issue.

After a (unusual) 10 min break we move onto a brief introduction on the history of Spatial Audio (SA) starting with it’s rudimentary beginnings and moving into present day, even though this was only a “taster” it offered a interesting insight to the creativity and visions of the early pioneers while Jos opened up questions to the class about the various forms of commercial SA. I can see now why we need 2 lectures a week for this subject which has now reactivated my imagination and curiosity and again look forward to each lecture on both these subjects.

As explained before my (never seen) lateness for the SA class was the result of being asked to co-present at the MELSIG event at Salford (Clifford Whitworth Building) with Helen Keegan on the subject of using Digital Media at Salford University. This collaboration was not just a pleasure but an honour as we discussed the various ideas and applications to an audience of academic peers from various universities including our own with one resounding comment that we both agreed on throughout each presentation is quite simple, Salford is clearly at the cutting edge with Helen and Ben Shirley at the helm who continue with passion to push the boundaries of using Digital Media as a learning tool.

Many thanks to all who were involved and to HK for allowing my opinion to be heard (looking forward to the next one).

Peace, Love and Happiness

Paul

a. Taking the shot.

b. Choosing the best for inclusion.

c. Maintaining this discipline for a full year.

Given that I have done nothing but read over the Xmas / New Year I thought I would entertain this notion by embarking on my own pictorial diary. Many thanks James for inspiring me to venture forth on this year long project (maybe we should compare notes and pics?) so with the thanks and credit given the following slideshow will take up residence on this page for all to bookmark and continue checking each new picture as they are added (I know I will be keeping my eye on James’s endeavours ! .

Peace, Love and Happiness. Paul

Just the mention of this word brings forth images of promises that never see the light of day, born from a drunken stupor as the clock strikes 12. For the sake of this post I opted to continue with my new way of thinking and delved into the realm of “personal changes” we should make or at least think about in this so called final year of the Human race. In my eyes my partner (Mary Poppins) is practically perfect, she never loses her temper, is very tolerant and understanding, has patience which goes on for miles (you get the picture) so I offer the notion that she should continue down her “blissful bunny filled world“. I myself have way too many issues with almost everything in life so I feel my choices should be carefully chosen and then discussed if needed at a later date.

Xmas has been a very boring time (Thing 1 has been sharing xmas with her BF and Thing 2 has been lost in the maze of exam revision) as I need constant mental stimulation Waterstones again have been very happy as I trawled through their book store to find a collection of interesting reading material to ease me through this period. After the excellent start to my BSc I cannot wait until the second semester starts so I can immerse myself into the material that awaits (watch this space for the return of my weekly diary).

On a closing note I am going to continue to think we should all just accept who we are and try not to change for the sake of other people or in fact base your decisions on a notion that holds no weight, if they like you they will continue to enjoy your company, if not, they were probably not worth bothering with in the first place.

May I offer my best hopes and wishes to you all for this new year and may it bring you all that you desire.

Peace

Paul

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 1,400 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 23 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

I am going to warn you in advance that this post is based on my personal feelings towards this time of year and how I try to deal with it.

Xmas from my own and my families point of view seems to be a bittersweet activity, being a single parent bringing up 2 daughters without any form of financial or emotional interaction from their mother has made me a very cynical and bitter man towards any form of joy when December comes around again. Don’t get me wrong, in the past I was a content chap without a care in the world, my children were happy and laughter filled our house but I feel that this feeling has faded over the years.

We open present like the rest of you and sit for a modest meal but my thoughts continue to wander into the subject of the people who will not on this so called most “Holy” of days. Every year we are bombarded with imagery of suffering and poverty from around the world to play on our “Heart strings” creating guilt so we dig into our already empty pockets to supply them with much needed support while their own governments continually ignore what is on their own doorstep. I am all for awareness on a global scale but I feel we should be taking care of our own who every year suffer in silence, continuing to reside within the most horrendous conditions while people turn a blind eye and in some respect say it their own “fault”.

Around the world some people see xmas as an excuse to exploit this time for their own gain, if I look at my own childhood we had to be happy with what we were given but every year I see the same pattern, children demanding things they don’t need putting pressure onto their parents to go further into debt so they (A) can brag about to their friends about what they have (creating a fake social status), (B) brow beat parents into submission making them feel they are “Bad” and “Mistreat” them (until they get what they want, just think of Verruca Salt from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory).

The point I think I am trying to make here is simple, baubles and trinkets do not make a better person or give social status but is it really a crime to help the ones less fortunate who peer through the glass longing, just for once, to enjoy what we take for granted.

Have a Merry Xmas and look forward to a better (more tolerant) New Year.

Signing off.

Paul

After starting the Video Production module it became clear that my dream of creating a short film would become a reality given that our group project would be based on filming a quality segment. Once again our group team consisted of myself, Chris Hewitt and Nick Clegg so dedication and focus would not be a issue considering that I had no camera experience at all and my other two team members had a small yet useful exposure this effort would be nothing short of interesting to say the least !.

Over a three week period of filming at Jon’s own farmhouse mixing interview with live music work we feel the following short film is of a quality that can stand on it’s own as a testament to the teaching skills of Wilfred and Lee.

So, sit back and enjoy “Reel Stories” interview with Jon Cawley.

Signing off

Paul

Our project group (Team get it done) consisting of myself, Nick Clegg and Chris Hewitt has shown a consistent professionalism which to be honest have been a pleasure to work with. Our approach to each task that we have encountered throughout this module is clearly shown in every aspect of the following piece.

With that out of the way, may we present for your enjoyment, “Reel Stories” interview with Jon Cawley.

Signing off

Paul, Nick and Chris

Who is he ?

Given that we are in the dying breaths of our bridging module assignments, my weekly diary (Week 10) would of been very light in content as there really hasn’t been much to write about. So, as to create a more diverse post I move us to the impending chronograph deadline which our mysterious digital friend? Rufi Franzen had sent us all, I see it fitting to merge both posts into one for all to try and understand the idea behind this strange yet annoyingly addictive pastime which has devoured most evenings of my fellow colleagues in the past weeks.

I must admit over the last few weeks I have grown a little tired of this “game” (sorry Huey for the off tweet !) as I felt it was starting to encroach into my Uni coursework which is more important so I took a back seat in the proceedings, but didn’t fully omit myself as the draw of each new puzzle or video continued to feed my curiosity. #91211 and Rufi Franzen has become an all consuming monster within our PSVTAM group, conjuring all manner of images and ideas in an attempt to glean the answer but as with all good whodunit’s, dead ends, red herrings and false information has ruled the day.

To make a very long story short (which I will leave for another post) over the past week our main contributors @Justpressplay_ and @JonnyDuddle have been solving every puzzle and breadcrumb that has been throw at them, displaying a gusto which should be applauded and respected. Their work eventually lead us to a live feed with the man himself last night with @tay_steppah asking “Yes” and “No” questions. From all accounts this was a strange series of events with one message running through, “You need to be in Manchester on the 9-12-11″. At first I was against this as again I felt it was distracting me from my assignments but after having a sleep on it I caught the train into Media City to scope out the plan for this possible “Field Trip”. After attending David’s class and getting a few last minute project pointers Helen arrives to usher the people who would take part into Manchester (Many thanks for the Funds HK as we are broke ass students).

Instead of trying to explain who, what or why I filmed the entire trip which are shown below. So sit back, watch and enter the Madness which is Rufi Franzen.

After watching the story unfold in these clips I can start to appreciate the time, effort and complexity of this kind of social media experiment, Helen and Hugh did an excellent job of fooling everyone including me (I, being the very sceptical and paranoid one) into using digital media in all it’s guises and splendour but I feel we now need to stand back and digest the scale and grandeur of our 12 week adventure. There are many lessons and possible research from an Teacher / Education point of view into how, as students (especially resistant students) can embrace and adapt to new technologies and be taught using a form of subliminal emersion / distraction. These skills in my opinion may become the tools that our teachers will need to use as we become more media centric and connected on a global level, I tip my hat to Helen (Her thoughts are here) and Hugh for showing us the way and may you go from strength to strength with each new intake of budding media guru’s.

Peace, Love and Happiness (Not forgetting…… Happy Xmas Y’all)

Signing off from this semester for the last time.

Paul Delooze