Sidewinding Down: The Great Gleaming Zeppelin

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Pain filled his heart as he spoke to her, but this was the only way to know, and the last true test, “No. You must go and never return. Good day, Catherine.”

“But…” Catherine stuttered.

“I said ‘good day’!” Sidewinder spoke firmly, that military vigor in his eyes. Catherine began moving across the great lawn, hurt and confused. Suddenly she paused right in her tracks, turned tail and ran quickly back in his direction and deposited a small, withered envelope at his feet. Within it was the blueprint to the magnificent time-traveling zeppelin he had entrusted to her all those years ago.

“Oh, you wonderful creature! So pure in heart and conscience! You won, Catherine! You did it!” he exclaimed, “I knew you would.”

Stratton Brownsmith strolled out of the shade of the barn, looking as alive as ever.

“Stratton! I thought you were dead!” Catherine gasped.

“No, no Catherine. Stratton is immortal. We belong to an elite league of humans entrusted with supernatural powers. Since the decline in health of our dear friend, von Zeppelin, we have needed another companion of noble character to fight evil throughout time. The blueprint was the final test and you passed, never having opened it, you magnificent thing. I entrusted one to five women throughout the countryside and all but you fell victim to Stratton’s seduction and relinquished the blueprint, Mildred being the last,” The Captain explained excitedly.

“But… what have I won?” Catherine spoke, overwhelmed.

“Why, you’ve won it all, my dear! Immortality, my expansive brandy collection, and the zeppelin, by God, the zeppelin!” the Captain exclaimed.

He grabbed her by the hand and lead her inside, Stratton quick at their heels.

“Where are we going?” Catherine asked incredulously.

“Anywhere, everywhere! Back in time, forward in time, diagonally through time!” Inside the aircraft were scores of levers, switches, and knobs. “I’ve tried every one of them. Except this one,” he said, gesturing to a large chrome switch mounted on the rear wall. “Go ahead.”

Catherine moved nervously toward the switch and the three grinned excitedly, simply happy to be in the company of one another, as they sped into the 5th dimension.

The End

Final Project

Viral Marketing: Self-defeating or Well-played?

Artist’s Statement

So, here’s the culmination of my entire semester in Participatory Cultures. If I may be frank, I hate it. At first, I had no idea what I was going to do this project on. After speculating for awhile on what weird corner of internet culture I might enjoy basing my project around, I remembered the “iamamiwhoami” viral marketing campaign I had been following.

I decided to do a video essay on viral marketing campaigns and the collaborative effort of internet users in unveiling their mysteries, mainly following the progression of the iamamwhoami reveals using blogs and youtube as a platform blogs rather than a more traditional media outlet. Though not an emergent culture, the people across the net became sleuths in identify key information as to the identity of the videos’ star and clues and riddles hidden in the campaign. This information worked it up through more notable blogs in an emergent fashion, with no true leader. One of the most notable things I noticed in the community surrounding this campaign was how negative viewers became once the identity of the woman in the videos (Jonna Lee) was revealed. This was similar to how I had felt while watching The Fourth Kind after discovering that none of it was based around true events. This particular eerie and mystery-centered kind of viral marketing seemed to become ineffective once the puzzles were solved.

I really enjoyed writing the script and tried not to make it too dry, but since I was really interested in the subject it became 4.5 pages long. I figured that would mean the video would be about 4.5 minutes long. That was my first mistake. Upon considering what to use for the actual visuals, I figured I would just speak straight into the camera and incorporate a few photos from the internet. I had seen many movie reviews done in that fashion, but was advised against it. I then decided to do a screencast to demonstrate all of the various blogs, social networking sites, and other internet resources I had used in following this story.

In order to do a screencast I had to find some software. I had tested ScreenToaster in the pass during class, but the video was really low quality and had a watermark. I found a program with a 30-day trial called Camtasia and downloaded it. It worked really well and had a built-in video editor that was superior to Windows Movie Maker. I tried at first to simultaneously screencast and record audio, but the multitasking proved nearly impossible for me. In addition, I just figured it would be easier to edit the audio and video separately. I recorded my entire audio track. This had to be done in small bits. I constantly flubbed the words and sounded awful on recording– not to mention the fact that there was an awful ringing noise on the recording. I tried a few methods in the editing software and saw little to no improvement. Lacking the cash for the microphone or any friends owning one, I continued with the audio the way it was.

The audio was over 7 minutes in length– this came as a surprise (that I perhaps should have foreseen.) Adding screencast clips into the editing track soon proved difficult as the timer on the recording device goes hidden during the recording. It made recording the video the proper length to match the audio. After getting about 3min of screencasts from the various websites I used to follow this campaign, I ran out of material. I considered wiping the entire screencast idea and just using still images, but there was not enough material for that either. I eventually decided to just show clips of the viral campaigns as I continued my narrative. It was too late to start all the way over and my product was extraordinarily boring. Screencasts are probably best used for instructional videos. My script, perhaps, would have been put to better use in a podcast for a marketing group or something. Perhaps the most rewarding part of my endeavors with this project was getting to use to cool Camtasia software and learning not to abuse screencasting.

Three Other Pieces

The Machine is Us/ing Us

This video was created by Michael Wesch, an assistant Anthropology professor at KSU. He created the video to show the evolution of communication through the internet and the development of Web 2.0. Upon typing the exact title in quotes into Google search there are over 474,000 hits. It’s on urlesque’s list of the 100 most iconic internet videos and has over 10 million views on Youtube. My piece is similar to this one in that it uses screencasting and contains reflection on the significance of anonymous internet users. Mine is specifically about people using the faculties of the internet to gain information and solve clues, collaboratively. Wesch focuses more on internet users as gatherers and organizers of data. Ours are unlike in that mine uses voiceover rather than text. In addition, mine is a combination of narrative and argument, whereas his more of an artistic argument. My piece is certainly more specific and about a subset of the internet. Though there are several videos on specific viral marketing campaigns and their solutions, I have not seen any others that focus on the way these campaigns are sometimes defeated by the same group they market to.

Viral Marketing – Wooshii – Viral Facts

This video was created by group Wooshii TV which is, according to their Youtube page, a “community of creatives working together to produce viral advertising and marketing.” This particular video by far has the most hits. It was created to show the impact of viral marketing in today’s culture. My piece is similar to this in that it discusses the success of viral marketing. However, mine is based upon specific examples of viral marketing and individual comments and sentiments. Wooshii’s is based on general, mostly numeric, facts. This piece also seems like it might be advertising for the company that produced it. I believe that while Wooshii’s presentation of facts is simple and effective, there is some value in personal narrative and opinions.

The big reveal: iamamiwhoami is Jonna Lee (100% proof)

This video is created by an anonymous internet user to expose Jonna Lee as the face behind the iamamiwhoami campaign. This video was posted on the original ONTD blog post that broke the story of Lee’s involvement. An insane amount of music blogs (including MTV’s) link back to this post. The subject matter is the main similarity between this video and mine. While this video focuses on the various facts that lead to this conclusion (there is a similar reveal video for The Fourth Kind, resembling the techniques used in my video), mine focuses significantly on the aftermath of the reveal. In addition, this video uses static images and text as opposed to the screencast and audio in mine. As I said before, my video offers a more personal account. It also mentions details on the more intentional puzzles located in the videos.

Mash-up Project

Link!

Well, here’s my mash-up project. I am simultaneously proud of what I accomplished and disappointed that it did not quite live up to the expectations I set for myself. For instance, I was really going for a super creepy vibe. I wanted to take a kid’s movie and make it scary. Upon looking through my collection and reminiscing on how Willy Wonka used to actually scare the living s**t out of me (particularly the boat scene, which I emphasized,) I decided it was the perfect choice. I think many of the shots I chose were appropriate, however, something just seemed to be off about the rhythm of the final product. The actions didn’t quite match up with the music I selected.

The music itself proved to be another issue. I wanted to use entirely music from the original film. I did not want to use modern soundtrack music, because I felt their would be an obvious quality difference between the audio and video. Upon listening to the soundtrack originally, I found pieces that seemed adequate. However, after working the selections into video, the final product seemed a little lackluster– not as intense or dramatic as I had hoped. If I were to do this project over, (which, to be honest, I might just do for my own peace of mind) I would probably use music from a 70′s horror film. When I realized my music was less than satisfactory, I began to torrent the Carrie soundtrack, but it took far too long to download.

I was sad to have to shorten the song Wonka sings on the boat, but it would have made up about 2/3 of the length of the total trailer and became a bit monotonous. In fact, it became a lot more difficult to fill that part up with images than I had estimated. For the full effect, the images really needed to happen in rapid sequence– I’m definitely glad I sped the last part up (though Windows Movie Maker only allows 2x speed). It at least provided a little bit of thrill for the video. The last shot was also dissatisfying. Wonka’s scream seemed a little bit off, like it just got left hanging there.

The purpose of my mash-up was really just for entertainment. It’s not really supposed to make the audience “think” about any deeper meaning rather than the fact that you can re-arrange audio & video to bring a completely different effect. It mostly incorporated the elements of “fandom” and satire, which are both particularly prominent in the Youtube age.

I would like to say a special thank you to the maker of Scary Mary, without whom which I would never have this idea, as well as the creators of The Pirate Bay, HandBrake, μTorrent,  and all my anonymous P2P peeps out their who let me leech off of their files in such a collaborative and participatory manner.

Sidewinder

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Sidewinder swiftly but gently escorted Catherine down the magnificent marble stairs into the entry hall of her home. She couldn’t help but notice his hand resting in the small of her back, perhaps a bit lower than it should have been, as the apples of her cheeks turned the softest shade of pink. The Captain had never exactly been one for etiquette or the accepted social standards of the countryside.

As the two reached the bottom of the stairs, a distant shouting began to reach their ears. Upon reaching the grand front windows, Catherine let out a small gasp. The figure of a man was writhing just inside the front gates of her family estate. The Captain rushed outside and quickly recognized the man as Stratton Brownsmith, battered and wild behind the eyes. Something had gone wrong. According to his masterfully-worked plan, Brownsmith should have been miles away at this time, and not quite so bludgeoned. Catherine’s face was welling up with tears of confusion. The time had come for quick thinking.

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Captain Sidewinder continued

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There before him stood that magnificent barn that he and Alasdair Bainbridge had built in the later years of their youth. How proud they had been that only minor assistance from their fathers had been needed. He pulled out that old rusty key, released the lock, and wrenched open the barn’s burly doors. Even more imposing than the barn that contained it, the zeppelin shone brightly in the setting golden sun. Yes, this aircraft could certainly provide an escape of sorts.

Sidewinder quickly ran through his previous experiences with this zeppelin. While exciting, this machine was extremely dangerous. He knew Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin had evil intentions with this invention when he had entrusted it to the Captain all those years ago during the war, but how could he have refused such an intimidating man? Neither the English nor the German government had any inkling that this type of technology even existed.

Deciding against a trip in the zeppelin, at least for today, the Captain quickly spotted another demon he had confined to this old barn a mere two years ago. He made his way swiftly toward the polished cherry cabinet on the rear wall of the structure and removed the nearest bottle he could reach. He filled his old favorite snifter to the brim with brandy and set his mind on forgetting Catherine for the night.

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My Adventures in Digital Storytelling

With no real capacity for fiction writing (or really narrative at all) coming into this project, I had no stellar ideas to begin with. I decided to stick with a story I know pretty well: my autobiography. Riddled with an influenza-induced fever, I began writing a bizarre and exaggerated version of my life. With no clear point to this story/my life, I decided to go ahead and add on a projected fictional ending. I wanted the end result to look as pieced together as possible and to use one shot of my face repeatedly throughout the story. I was prepared for the most lo-fi method of creating the final product– Microsoft Paint. However, I managed to re-acquire Photoshop for a less complex method of creation. Whether the end result was any more clean cut than it would have been in Paint is debatable. Not wanting to draw all of my pictures and finding the Creative Commons photos on Flickr insufficient, I ceded to using Google Image search. Thus, I have a copyright violation-laden video.

While I found the visuals of my digital story to be relatively on target with what I was attempting to do, the audio proved much more difficult. I soon learned it was impossible to narrate in one take. Thus, I had to record small bits of sound, overlap, and line them up. To make matters worse, I was relatively horse while working on this part of the project. And only after I had finished did I notice all of the audible clicking noises from starting and stopping the audio. While I didn’t expect the audio or visual to be particularly aesthetically pleasing, I was at least aiming for a little comedy. I don’t think it really came across in the audio, and I’m disappointed by that.

As far as what parts of networking culture I drew upon, I would have to say the vast visual database of the internet/ the popularity of the Google image search. The story itself didn’t fit into any particular viral genre I’m familiar with. It was really just a digitally-updated autobiography.

Well, here she is: http://vimeo.com/10461896

A Post For My Undying Love of Chatroulette

Here’ an interesting article I came across the other day confirming what we already knew: The Brits are total pervs.

Perhaps The Worst Segment of What Will Be Widely-Considered the Worst Story of All Time

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Mrs. Jones followed Eric into what appeared to be a simple laboratory conjoining the rear of the cabin. It seemed vaguely familiar, as did most of this ridiculous adventure she was experiencing. He flipped a small ecru toggle and she awoke with a jolt in an even more nondescript lab. “Reflect, if you will,” spoke Eric with an air of smug superiority, “on all of the components of the world you just experienced.” It came to her slowly– all of the elements from this sequence were from other media: the velociraptors were straight out of Jurassic Park, she had seen the exact cabin in LOST, the sunglasses and Who music were clearly from CSI: Miami, and the Frankie Says Relax T-Shirt and Ford Fusion were clear product plugs. “You have just tasted Licensing Hell, Mrs. Jones, where those who break copyright laws spend eternity in an endless narrative of borrowed ideas and characters.” She shuddered and questioned, “but why have I been spared and brought here while Brett Boessen is trapped in this woeful J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg-laden eternity?”

Dear God, Brett, please save this story (or put it out of its misery)

Interactive Fiction

First, I played Shade, as we were instructed. I was struck by its simplicity and lack of fantastical beings and enjoyed the fact that some of it was loosely based on the “indie” scene. However, the game soon proved to be confusing. The character was unwilling to do much of what I asked him. After finally finding the plane tickets and vacuuming the floor (which began to turn to sand), I ran out of things to do. It was obvious something weird was going on and there was a sense of overwhelming bleakness. I didn’t like that I couldn’t scroll backwards through the text to see what I had already done. Upon reading the game after I played it, the concept became much more interesting. I wish I could have figured it out for myself, but 45 minutes in I was unsure what to do with the game any longer. My final attempt was the command “kill self,” which was met with a response along the lines of “violence is not the answer.” Had I only known the character was already dying…

I then decided to play Earl Grey from the list of IF games provided. (I originally wanted to play “Broken Legs,” but the script wouldn’t run.) The game did seem to be something about tea, as I had suspected, but it was clearly a fantasy rpg. I spent nearly 25 minutes just repeating the command “talk to Eaves,” and watching a conversation play out. It was extremely boring. At a point, however, I began to get the same response every time and tried to move away from Eaves. He stopped me every time. I examined everything in sight and attempted to kill Eaves. Nothing worked and I quickly gave up on this game. There wasn’t really much I liked about it other than the prospect that I was eventually supposed to start collecting tea from villagers.

Story Collaboration cont.

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But then it hit her like the metal baseball bat she had watched bash in her brother’s face all those years ago as he slowly died. This had been phase one of her mother’s plan. It was twisted and wrong. He had to have been the first one regenerated. This wasn’t David at all. Sure, those were his piercing blue eyes and the torso and arms seemed accurate enough. However, now that she looked closer, his legs were certainly a few inches longer. Then there was the nose issue… and what in her mother’s warped mind had possessed her to install facial hair follicles? Corinne knew that her mother was clearly not only experimenting with traditional zombies, but perhaps the fusing of multiple scavenged body parts to create a gorgeous and pseudo-intelligent race of the undead. Pushing out of her mind the possibility of reunion with her brother, Corrine reached into her back pocket.

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