As I was working on my mapping project I realized it had a lot of potential if I had more time and better resources.  The roadtrip was arduous enough as it was, and having a project to do along the way was bittersweet.  My partner was happy to be helping me out since she was stuck in the passenger seat for 35 hours, but it was often difficult to get the right shot.  There were also times when we weren’t speaking to each other for whatever reason and during those long stretches of time no photograph was taken.  Of course, the map could be filled further if I had an extra day or two to spend taking pictures, but my brief timeline left no room for it.  I uploaded all of the pictures I had on my camera that were descent.  Many were of nothing at all and I believe those were missed attractions or signs because I remember that happening a lot.  

One problem that I didn’t anticipate was getting images at night while we were in motion.  My little point-and-shoot just wouldn’t cooperate…either that or my shaky hands were the problem.  To fix this problem I used the video option on the camera which worked quite well.  It wasn’t until I started uploading the images that I realized Platial does not support video or audio files.  So there are some blank spots for that reason as well.  Text was difficult to incorporate because the images I manipulated were “drive-by” shots that were really meant to be silly.  I added what I could, particularly when there were no images.  As long as the trip was, not much worth mentioning happened…not that I want to share with anyone anyways.  

The Platial interface was descent to work with.  A few glitches in the server were making it difficult to upload the images at a reasonable speed.  At a few points I was able to manipulate five images while uploading one to Platial.  Other than that, the program works pretty well.  I uploaded them directly from my computer instead of creating another step and putting them on Flickr first.  Had I wanted to use found images to fill in the gaps, Flickr would have been useful.  As much as I liked Platial, I think if I did a similar project I would use another mapping tool such as Flicker, or create my own interface so that I could incorporate video and audio files as well.

The process was a way of preparing for part of my thesis project so it was useful to view different narrative structures available in a tool such as Platial.  The obvious linearity of a roadtrip is what I was hoping for, but in the program you are also able to choose by icon, place, or title which images to view.  The project has assisted me in narrowing my focus for my web project and provided some possible interfaces to use, even just as examples from which I may create my own map.  New media has only become relevant to my artistic practices in the last year, but will certainly affect media choices I make in the future.

I now know a completely different form of phone tag though.  I never thought it could get worse than playing phone tag on readily available cell phones (it drives me crazy because pretty much everyone has them and it still happens a lot…which is why I prefer texting) until trying to use Skype as a phone line.  I don’t have a problem with Skype, but I’m going to admit that maybe I’m doing it wrong.  Because it is not working for me I begin to second-guess myself about every little thing.  Did I add the right person to my contact list?  What if I added some stranger? Did I set it up properly?  I’m crossing my fingers and hoping it will come through for me.  As handy as Skype appears to be, I haven’t been able to use it yet.  I think in the future I’ll stick with my cell phone.  It only lets me down once in a while.  

Check it out here if the widget is not visible

The project will consist mainly of photographs taken on my road trip.  They will be consistent in certain aspects of their content.  I will either place myself in the photos in the same pose throughout, or place an object of significance in each snapshot to connect them.  To reveal the final product I will map them on the Platial Mapkit widget within WordPress.  

This week we went for a bit of a tour of Second Life.  In theory, the program is useful for the study of sociology, particularly in how people act in virtual environments.  If what you are studying is the menacing, fetish-obsessed alter egos of gamers in the virtual worlds, this is the place to explore.  Although we were convinced that Second Life is a new platform for artists to display their work, those spaces were difficult to find.  Apparently, the places on the map that have stacks of members are not the creative educational spaces I was looking for, but the complete opposite.  I call these the pornographic sites, although there are many variations of pornography and fetish-gratification contained within these specific areas.  

I realize that I am able to avoid porn sites as I encounter them, but the problem I have is when the porn-peddlers enter other areas and disrupt my experience in the program.  Nothing has really happened to my avatar, but in previous virtual reality games I’ve played, the norm is that it is easy to be victimized.  

Julian Dibbell’s “A Rape in Cyberspace“  explains the experience of an early form of virtual reality, the text-based MUD, LambdaMOO.  A virtual rape occurred by a character named Mr. Bungle on some female characters in which the perpetrator was able to write script that allowed him to control their movements and statements.  The incidents were reported, but nothing much could be done.  The author attended meetings that were set up to decide what to do with the rapist within a small group of the community.  Many lost interest in the issue, but those that were victimized in this virtual world also felt victimized in their physical lives.  

A game such as Second Life has made it possible to create an avatar, an extension of one’s self, and a landscape that makes simulation much more real.  The discussion around whether or not virtual rape is actually harmful can only be explained by those that it has happened to, but in such a realistic environment where sex and fetish are high on the list of players’ priorities it is getting easier to find the victims.  In our class alone, Elaine described her first experience in Second Life where her avatar was raped.  As humorous as it was to hear, the reality for me is that a simulation environment such as Second Life has little to offer at the moment.  As innovative and interesting as the works we toured in class are, I wouldn’t have found those spaces on my own and have little desire to try.  The ratio of porn sites to educational spaces is quite different, and for my own practices, I’m not interested in wasting real time in virtual porn sites to find the art in Second Life.  Saying that, I believe the game will only grow in content and innovation, and perhaps be the great platform for artists in the next ten years.  At the present it’s just not quite there yet. 

In particular, Estelle’s card clips provided me with presented information that I could read as I wanted.  For example, as she is building the tower of cards, the next clip might have been her dropping the cards one by one.  I could interpret that as a falling tower or frustration over a previous attempt at building one that failed.  Although these four small clips do not allow for endless narratives, the connections between each clip allow for small variances in individual stories.

Although we realize that random playback is not the ideal for new media artists, the exercise of shooting sequences that could be played in any order was useful to my own practice.  One of my thesis components is a web-based project with short videos of stories across Canada.  The idea is to create a map as an interface that allows viewers to watch the short clips either in a pre-determined order (based on social or geographical linking) or as individual, user-chosen pieces.  Through the exercise this past week, it has become more clear as to how I must film each subject in order to allow a cohesive set of stories even in user-chosen narratives.

I’ve included the clips I chose as a sequence that could be played in any order, although the format of a blog only allows for a linear viewing, as the blog itself is intended to be linear (we scroll one way or another). 

Obviously, as media-makers, we choose the latter to be our ideal audience:  one that involves themselves in the process of the project, or, better yet, craves interaction with the subject matter.  By splitting sequences of video into parts, the media-maker allows a viewer to interact as well as pause for thought before continuing to the next part.  The split clips denies the audience of fully passive viewing, while allowing them a pre-determined narrative.