Interactive Media vs. The World
We received another vague look into the world beyond IMM today. Simon Conlin, co-founder of Flash in the Can, came to talk to us about Interactive Multimedia and the world outside our cold concrete walls. Seems there are practical applications for the things we are doing, just few and far between. But apparently, were on the bleeding edge of a new artistic period, so keep an eye out for that.
During Simon’s hour long presentation, we saw some interesting items. One of the most interesting, to me at least, was the use of animations to sound. The most prominent being the use of massive visualization displays at concerts, instead of the usual directed light shows. It reminds me of the project I’m working on in flash right now, except on a much grander scale.
Much like Simon discussed, our world is slowly accepting interactive multimedia as a practical art form. This interactive cocktail bar…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTwcageiJnM
and this Adobe wall application…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZpTGMvDRag
are just some of the examples of how even grandiose interactive media has its practical applications.
We also viewed some interactive applications from Zachary Booth Simpson. Although they seemed very similar to the ones viewed at GestureTek, some had a certain flair to them that make them quite compelling. You can check out some examples of his Interactive Art at his website or even on location. One of his projects, www.pixelgallery.org is based right here in Toronto.
I can see many practical applications for flash work on the computer screen but these are some of the first I’ve seen in a real world example. It is definitely intriguing to see this content, which is quite similar to the content we are currently producing, used in such a way. It almost gives me a warm feeling towards my future with regards to our time spent in IMM. I know the computer screen will always be a part of my future career, but I have been given hope that I can be part of something more.
Simon’s presentation taught me a few things about my education here in IMM and beyond, I need to maintain my presence on the edge of this new media wave, but most of all… think “bigger”.
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