Future Machina A4

What I gained from Future Machina this year.

Future Machina has been a great studio for me to be a part of this year. Firstly, my eyes have been opened to the vast capabilities of technology and AI, in our not-so-distant future. Concerning these aspects, I think it has been valuable to hear the ideas my classmates have had in their assignments, as many of them contained technology that helps people in many ways. Beyond my media-making in class, this was a huge gain in terms of the scope of learning this semester. Additionally, my conceptual skills have developed tremendously as each assignment came. Throughout each class, we were consistently discussing our ideas for the assignments and for the content presented. Even though we had physical barriers, I was able to still create media techniques that I had not explored before – animation, green screens, and photoshop to name a few. We had requirements to meet in terms of the technologies we used and portrayed, but we were also able to develop our own interests in the world of AI too. For me, this included AI in the beauty industry, and ethics and sustainability enabled by technology. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to explore these topics within the context of the assignments. Overall, the studio was fun and informative and I am happy to have taken part this semester.

Collaboration in the Studio.

Week one and two were filled with collaborative work. We interviewed each other in week two on what we imagined the workplace of the future to be like, which I found to be a great way to hear what other people were thinking about based off their own experiences. Both Shaun, Lauryn and I all had quite different concepts, based on our current or past workplaces and how that may be done in the future. For example, as a retail worker, I assumed quite a few things could move to an online space and physical interaction is maybe not as important with huge technological advancements. In later classes, we took photos to edit in Luminar 4 – For this I was taking photos with Lauryn, Neve, and Ben.  throughout these smaller in-class activities, I got to know a few people – which proved handy matching names to faces come time to work online. I think as a class we were good at discussing our ideas, both regarding future technologies, and then later assignments. Also when we presented to each other our futurology starter packs, that was a good way to see what people were interested in, and how they came to choose the studio. A lot of Black Mirror viewers, of course. Hearing everyone’s different concepts and ideas was my favourite part of collaborating with my classmates this semester.

My work on this Assignment.

Planning

To plan for this assignment, I knew I wanted to have an angle of sustainability and ethics. Since it is for an ‘alternative future’, I wanted to make something that reflected a direction I actually want to see the world go in. I started my research fairly basically but gained a lot of insight into the direction the various technologies are going in. I also kept seeing the year 2050 as a date for some of these to be realised, so that was what I selected for my piece. I found the Global Goals reading extremely engaging too and that provided a lot of inspiration. I also liked the idea of economic inclusivity and the idea that a ‘smart village’ could be universally found, and would be the same in every country. As seen in the following image, these were the sort of things I was thinking about at the end of April:

 

 

 

Further down the line, I focused my ideas based on my interests. This included sustainable fashion to combat the fast-fashion phenomenon, and lab-grown meats (as I have already explored in my assignment 1). I felt these fit into a smart village day-to-day quite well, and I then introduced the ideas of sustainable energy which goes along with the concept of having a completely ‘zero-waste’ lifestyle. As shown in the second image, I worked more on the structure of the narrative, possibly shaping the story around a family’s everyday life. Eventually I realised this narrative did not quite work with the structure that the piece ended up being – which was more of a 3-part advertising campaign rather than one longer story within the advertisement.

 

The Introduction

Originally I intended on taking all of the footage myself. As the piece was to be a 5-minute production however, given my limitations I decided using stock or archival footage that could juxtapose with my own footage to make the message more impactful. I drew out a rough storyboard of what I wanted this to be, even at this point I thought narration would work, but eventually as seen in the piece, I thought the quotes worked better for an audience, given the narration throughout the rest of the piece.

From there, I found a few good websites for stock footage (especially Pexels.com). I cut together a few versions of what I wanted to achieve. When I first showed the class a draft, this is what I had:  https://youtu.be/mXsPtcLzOQs

I was happy with the rough structure, but wanted to find better stock footage to further my point.  After I constructed the introduction with the basic layout that I wanted, I trialed the footage with this music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZYl4NthsHo

 

I think it worked to create the soundtrack dissonance effect (in fact it reminded me a little of Wall-E in that regard), but I felt it to be a little too jokey, and not serious enough for the subject matter I was trying to tackle. Additionally, it did not suit the tone of the next segment of the piece as well as the Vivaldi composition.

 

The Final Product

Overall I am happy with how the piece turned out! I would not call cinematography my strong suit, but I did get a few nice shots given the camera I was using (Canon 700d) and the limitations of the setting. I have always liked the use of extreme close ups and playing with depth of field, so I was satisfied in my work with these elements in mind. Similar to my last piece, I did have more issues with my sound – I have a tiny rode microphone with a windsock but it still turned out with some unsettling variations through the different recordings. Given our constraints of copyright free materials, I am always satisfied with the range on YouTube Audio Library, and I think the music choices properly conveyed the mood I was aiming for. I think given some of the topics are prevalent in our society today, and very impactful on many groups of people worldwide, it was important to not take a completely satirical or ignorant sort of stance – these technologies are definitely more than just a novelty, even though a smart village concept is fairly fictional. I am proud that I could create a piece of work within studying media that may inspire thought to how technologies can save our planet and help us to live better lives, whether that be smaller steps such as sustainable, optimised fashion materials and ‘fake’ meat, or larger-scale issues such as carbon dioxide recycling.

 

A Week 9 Presentation Reflection.

I have decided to reflect on Julia’s Obie: Virtual Counselling Assistant presentation from Week 9. I found the concept interesting to explore as it was something that tackles an extremely common yet not commonly understood issue of mental health. Obie is definitely one of those things that could well be a part of our near future. The presentation gave an informative insight into the functions of the technology. This includes how it is accessed, and what it provides in terms of counselling services. Additionally, there was mention of the narrative structure which gave me a clear vision of what piece would look like. She also addressed the current issues surrounding mental health, and subsequently why something like Obie is so important. It fits well with what the studio is about, and how we have learned to look at fixing issues in our society with advanced technology. The aesthetic of the powerpoint also provided an image of the aesthetic of the piece, possibly having a chill vibe and a modern perspective.

I think with some storyboard ideas, such as the character’s journey, or how Obie looks and interacts with the character, would have helped to further the visual understanding I got from the piece. That being said, I understand that it is still early days in terms of forming our ideas. Additionally, the time allowance was only three minutes, so given that limitation, we got a great insight into what Obie is and how it could impact our society in the future.

 

 

 

 

Future Machina A4 Credits

The following are the credits from my A4.

 

Oasis Living by Eleanor Holloway s3769461

Special Thanks to Olivia Holloway and Leonie Holloway

The following footage is in the public domain, found at Pond5:

American Protesters Arriving At Railway Station To Attend Civil Rights March by PublicDomain <https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/44600205-american-protesters-arriving-railway-station-attend-civil-ri>

American Protesters Leaving Rally After Civil Rights March by PublicDomain <https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/44606173-american-protesters-leaving-rally-after-civil-rights-march>

American Protesters Relaxing At The Edge Of Reflecting Pool After Rally by Public Domain <https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/44606428-american-protesters-relaxing-edge-reflecting-pool-after-rall>

Children Watching Little Smokey In Cage And William Boyd Putting Off Fire by PublicDomain <https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/44576461-children-watching-little-smokey-cage-and-william-boyd-puttin>

Dead Deer And Burnt Timber Woods In Lincoln National Forest by PublicDomain <https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/44576162-dead-deer-and-burnt-timber-woods-lincoln-national-forest>

Little Smokey In Cage At National Zoo by PublicDomain <https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/44576308-little-smokey-cage-national-zoo>

Two Women Holding Placard After Civil Rights March by PublicDomain <https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/44605856-two-women-holding-placard-after-civil-rights-march>

Veterinary Surgeon Giving Treatment To Little Smokey by PublicDomain <https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/44576203-veterinary-surgeon-giving-treatment-little-smokey>

 

The following is in the public domain, found at Archive.org:

Protecting Poultry Profits by Handy (Jam) Organization, 1952 <https://archive.org/details/0148_Protecting_Poultry_Profits>

The following footage is copyright free, found from Pexels.com:

A Crowd of People on the Busy Market Street by Waqas Ahmad Wicky <https://www.pexels.com/video/a-crowd-of-people-on-the-busy-market-street-4143205/>

A Crowd of People Packing a Busy Street by Enrike Torres <https://www.pexels.com/video/a-crowd-of-people-packing-a-busy-street-4196258/>

A Hill of Waste Materials by Tom Fisk <https://www.pexels.com/video/a-hill-of-waste-materials-3186590/>

A Woman Wearing a Black Blazer Over Her Sleeveless Top by cottonbro <https://www.pexels.com/video/a-woman-wearing-black-blazer-over-her-sleeveless-white-top-3894715/>

Fashion Models Posing for a Video Shoot by cottonbro <https://www.pexels.com/video/fashion-models-posing-for-a-video-shoot-3403226/>

Herd of Cattle Feeing on Hays by Kevin Yau <https://www.pexels.com/video/herd-of-cattle-feeding-on-hays-2865372/>

Herd of Goats Eating by Free Videos <https://www.pexels.com/video/herd-of-goats-eating-854064/>

Marine Life of Fishes and Corals Underwater by Magda Ehlers <https://www.pexels.com/video/marine-life-of-fishes-and-corals-underwater-3765078/>

People Sorting Through a Pile of Plastics by Pressmaster <https://www.pexels.com/video/people-sorting-out-through-a-pile-of-plastics-3192259/>

Person Collecting Trash from a Dump Site by Tom Fisk <https://www.pexels.com/video/person-collecting-trash-from-a-dump-site-3174410/>

Plastic Filled Environment Can Cause Suffocation by cottonbro <https://www.pexels.com/video/plastic-filled-environment-can-cause-suffocation-3754909/>

Timelapse of People Crossing the Street by Free Videos <https://www.pexels.com/video/time-lapse-video-of-people-crossing-the-street-853960/>

Two Women Posing for a Photo Shoot With Props Set Up by cottonbro <https://www.pexels.com/video/two-women-posing-for-a-photo-shoot-with-props-set-up-3402550>

Woman in Red Skirt Making a Pose by Tim Savage <https://www.pexels.com/video/woman-in-red-skirt-making-a-pose-3843675/>

 

Quotes and research was found from:

Boscio, C., 2019. 6 Ways Technology Is Making Fashion Sustainable – Eluxe Magazine. [online] Eluxe Magazine. Available at: <https://eluxemagazine.com/fashion/when-technology-meets-sustainable-fashion/> [Accessed 25 April 2020].

Cherny-Scanlon, X., 2014. Seven Fabrics Inspired By Nature: From The Lotus Leaf To Butterflies And Sharks. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/nature-fabrics-fashion-industry-biomimicry> [Accessed 25 April 2020].

Ellenmacarthurfoundation.org. 2017. A NEW TEXTILES ECONOMY: REDESIGNING FASHION’S FUTURE. [online] Available at: <https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/A-New-Textiles-Economy_Full-Report.pdf> [Accessed 25 April 2020].

Forbes. 2017. We Could Power The Entire World By Harnessing Solar Energy From 1% Of The Sahara. [online] Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2016/09/22/we-could-power-the-entire-world-by-harnessing-solar-energy-from-1-of-the-sahara/#10e64621d440> [Accessed 26 April 2020].

Kerr, E., 2019. The Future Of Solar Is Bright – Science In The News. [online] Science in the News. Available at: <http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2019/future-solar-bright/> [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Lucas, A., 2020. Lab-Grown Meat Start-Up Raises $14 Million To Build Production Plant. [online] CNBC. Available at: <https://www.cnbc.com/2019/10/10/future-meat-technologies-a-lab-grown-meat-start-up-raises-14-million-dollars.html> [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Mitev, N., 2019. How Is Technology Shaping The Future For Sustainable Fashion?. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://medium.com/datadriveninvestor/how-is-technology-shaping-the-future-for-sustainable-fashion-937bab17a124> [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Thornton, A., 2019. This Is How Many Animals We Eat Each Year. [online] World Economic Forum. Available at: <https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/chart-of-the-day-this-is-how-many-animals-we-eat-each-year/> [Accessed 25 April 2020].

Warren, M., 2018. Scientists Say We’Re On The Cusp Of A Carbon Dioxide–Recycling Revolution. [online] Science | AAAS. Available at: <https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/03/scientists-say-we-re-cusp-carbon-dioxide-recycling-revolution> [Accessed 29 April 2020].

Zampa, M., n.d. How Many Animals Are Killed For Food Every Day?. [online] Sentientmedia.org. Available at: <https://sentientmedia.org/how-many-animals-are-killed-for-food-every-day/> [Accessed 25 April 2020].

 

The following music is licenced CC and  was found from YouTube Audio Library  <https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music?nv=1>:

Lulu Is The Cat I Like Best by pATCHES

Spruce Tree by Ashley Shadow

Sunrise Over Big Data Country by Dan Bodan

 

The following music is in the public domain and was found from BaroqueMusic.com: 

Concerto No.4 in f minor, RV 297, Winter, Allegro non molto by Antonio Vivaldi

Future Machina W11

This week I was finalising my ideas for assignment 4. I think, especially after Brian’s feedback, I need to think more about how I am bringing forth the ‘expert’ side of the technologies. I am not sure how I would portray a scientists’ point-of-view, but I am thinking I could do something with blueprints, or at least the effect of one.

In class it was recommended that I look into rotoscoping, which is a technique to make the footage look illustrated. but I did have a go in Photoshop and After Effects, following this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsWQJWLBd78 I assume there are some more simple effects in premiere that would make this easier, if I didn’t need such a precise look. Also, I am not sure yet how the blueprint idea will work, so I am not sure how I am going to use it. So far I really only have ideas to shoot the nature/characters, and not any drawings or plans…

I also was reminded of the fake advertisments in Donnie Darko, (like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_4-R0_Jkn0) which have that satirical tone that my assignment could still turn into – I will have to see what direction it goes in when I sit down to edit everything. Additionally, after watching a lot of ‘futuristic’ movies from the 80’s I like the aesthetic of how the future was represented at that time, whether utopia or dystopia, and wonder if I could create something like that. It just depends on how the story comes together. I also do want to tread lightly around some of the issues too, like the working and living conditions of those working in sweatshops (if I do end up including it), because it is not just an issue easily fixed. Overall I am still figuring out the tone of the advertisements all together, but I think am in the right direction with all of my concepts I want to include.

 

Future Machina W10

I am a little behind on these blogposts – fortunately I go on a tangent often in my notes, so let me delve into the last few weeks.

After reading the Unlocking Technology for the Global Goals reading I was definitely inspired in my choices for the assignment. I recently watched the Hunger Games, so I have drawn some inspiration from their propaganda video in the first movie. (Right here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=tl9aqZk4kFU) It’s not really the tone I like about it but more the very ‘positive’ outlook when the reality is clearly so far from positive. I definitely am inspired by the narration, and the mix  of shots, so I want to try something like this in my own piece. Additionally, the idea of a ‘smart village’, with a uniformed look, and food to match one’s nutritional needs, is something I liked from The Hunger Games books. That being a dystopian story shows these elements in a more negative way, as a means of survival, but I think they could be intertwined in our daily lives for the better.

District 13 Layouts ~ Dining Hall (With images) | Hunger games ...

(Image taken from Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/320811173434078281/)

In terms of the technology for the assignment, I definitely want to look into how it can save us as a population, rather than destroy us. I feel like I have already looked into this in my previous assignments for the studio, and I feel like I have too many ideas on what I could show for this piece to make it negative. As a retail worker myself I see the masses of plastic wasted every day in just one store – I often think about what this is like for just the one shopping center every day, let alone in one city, country, or the whole world all together. This is why I think it is important topic to tackle.

I also want to include a lot of clean-looking nature shots, to symbolise this ‘pure’ and waste-free earth (of the future). I am finding some really good examples of technologies helping us in this direction, such as creating clothing out of plants, and the dye that is used, too. Some of the feedback I have been getting on this idea is to ensure that it is for sure technology based, which I definitely need to keep in mind. That being said, it is maybe hard to consider plant-based technologies as necessarily all to do with technology like an AI is – but I think that’s what makes this a fun challenge. It also does shed light onto these lesser-known advancements in the various industries involved.

 

 

Future Machina W7

Last week I submitted my AI Mirror assignment, which I must say did go a bit pear shaped in terms of my filming. At first, I tried to get together all of the lamps and lighting I could to make a ‘set’ – it was basically impossible however with the amount of shadows. I struggled a lot with

ultra-keying, too – and getting the lighting right. I think the artificial lights were too yellow, because whenever I would put the footage through premiere it would just turn red. I found that filming with the green screen in front of a window provided the best lighting to use the green screen, but unfortunately to achieve this I was left with a fairly risky (in terms of OH&S) set-up. Two packing boxes, 4 shoeboxes, and a wooden mirror display thing (without the mirror of course), taped and pegged together. Yikes!

Overall I think the video went okay, it is just disappointing that it I couldn’t fully realise my vision without a good set-up in a studio. Still, for what it was, it worked. I definitely know now that I need to put more consideration into my green screen work, so at least I have that for next time around.

Future Machina W5

I presented my elevator pitch for the upcoming assignment:

In the beauty industry, certain AI technologies are in development such as virtual mirrors, where a person can ‘try on’ various makeup to see if they would like to buy it.  “In my day in the life as an AI, I work at a department store, where everyday I stare at people’s faces, get to see their confidence as they try a product they like, and how their face transforms with the application of the products in my catalogue. I wish more than anything that could be me, with a pensive eyes, soft skin, a real smile!” The AI mirror develops an understanding of human emotion, fuelling its identity crisis and desire for more in the world. 

The concept of a self-aware AI reminded me a bit of Wall-E, and how he watched human character and grew a desire to experience the same thing. For example, when he wanted to have a hand to hold, because he saw it in the old movies:

What do 'Wall-E' and 'Logan' have in common? - Go Into The Story

(Image from https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/what-do-wall-e-and-logan-have-in-common-92fb0eb70137)

Also, the idea was somewhat inspired by Westworld, and by the fact that some of them did not even know they were human. I wonder if I could explore this in my piece, but I am not sure how I would tackle this just yet.

Future Machina W4

It was a fully online week of learning this week, which I have found to be an okay alternative to face-to-face. Given all of this going on I don’t have much to reflect on this week, but I did get inspired by some of the talk in class about Black Mirror so I did watch a few episodes. Nosedive is one of the most popular, and I can see why! The way technology and an online space can so directly impact an individual’s life is what I explored in my Assignment 1, so it is definitely a prevalent issue. Especially if we think about now so many people working from home, and also people who work in social media, it is a scary prospect that your whole life can rely on it, and disappear in an instant.

Nosedive

(Image taken from http://diggitmagazine.com/book-reviews/nosedive-vicious-take-social-media)

Future Machina W3

This week was all about AI. In a current day sense, what has stood out to me is that voice assistants such as Alexa or Siri are eavesdropping into our lives more than we might think. In the Privacy Attitudes of Smart Speaker Users reading it was shown that half of the study participants did even know that were always being listened to, and all of this information was being stored. I can think back to when these sort of technologies were being introduced, and not buying into it because I was skeptical of this fact. To find out that this is a genuine phenomenon was personally surprising, so no wonder it is not widely known. In the article, Alexa Are You Invading My Privacy? It is stated that the conversations ‘overheard’ by these voice assistants are considered legal evidence and can be used in court cases introduces a whole can of worms that perhaps most people do not want to buy themselves into. I somewhat looked into this in my assignment 1. One of my technologies was  a voice assistant. I explored potential consequences of this in terms of how it might fail and how that can destroy aspects of someone’s job and life were they to be completely dependent on the technology.

Future Machina W2

This week, we were introduced to the world of deep fakes. Prior to this week I had only seen the Jordan Peele/Buzzfeed video – which circulated around Facebook in 2018 when it came out. Additionally, in 2019, I watched one of Shane Dawson’s conspiracy theory videos where he contextualises deep fakes as a way to ‘steal’ the identity of a celebrity and how this is also used in the porn industry, without consent (both the original videos’ creator and the identity of the celebrity).

https://youtu.be/BHLBaOASC74

In the reading, Are Deep Fakes a Shallow Concern? Deep fakes are very much seen as a potential weapon, and a means for deception in the media. I find it interesting that both Reddit and Facebook almost immediately shut down any deep fake content, because it was (and still is) a relatively new idea to the average person.  I would like to think that because of this, we will not being seeing any deception in the media caused by deep fakes, but given the rise of AI technologies and the introduction of synthetic models and actors, there is always going to be that risk of forgery. I  think that in this case it is about finding a balance in the advancements of technology we do see. How can we encourage the development of AI and so quickly condemn the misuse of these technologies? When we used Luminar 4 and Pixaloop in class, that was an interesting exercise in seeing how easily things can be manipulated. By the click of a button, we could replace the sky with no further action required. Now, if we were to go and post these online, and let people believe this was a real photograph, that is not automatically considered foul play. But where is that line, and when will we know we have overstepped it?

Future Machina W1

This week was an introduction to futurology and AI – two subjects that I have a minimal understanding of. Learning that AI really is all around us, and consumes our day-to-day lives is something I had never put a second thought to, and yet it is happening before my eyes. I think one of the most important takeaways of understanding AI’s prominence in society today is that we must embrace it’s growth and not resist. Even just seeing the array of examples where AI has facilitated growth in almost every industry, from medical sciences to food services – confirms to me that it is important to learn.

The interview exercise was an enlightening experience in learning how others could see AI developing our future. One point that was made was that the sky is really the limit in terms of what we can create – if we can imagine it, we can some day achieve it. I am interested in exploring this throughout future classes, and reflecting on where these ideas come from. Is it purely from necessity or do creators set their mind to bringing to life their own imaginations?

Additionally, looking at everyone’s ‘futurology starter packs’ was incredibly interesting as it showed some patterns in the way we all imagine technology to develop, even in our own lifetimes. Notably, the rise of face-ID and tracking, and lab-grown meat and organs. Some of us were influenced by media portrayals of the future too (e.g. Black Mirror). I am interested in exploring this further both in class and when watching films or TV shows that have a distinct portrayal of the future – dystopian or otherwise. The point that a lot of these visions are stemmed from current cultural concerns is important too and I think further exploring how futurology has developed over different periods of time will be fascinating.