ellals

My name is Ella Schneiberg. I am a senior Women's Studies major with a double minor in Anthropology and International Affairs.
 * About Me:**

I don't have much experience in digital media outside of one elementary documentary class in which I learned the basics of Final Cut Pro. However, I am eager and interested to learn! In the future, I would like to work in non-profit communications so I think any Photoshop skills might be helpful.

The study of public domain, especially from the perspective of art creators, is truly something I’ve never thought about in depth before. I’ve always been interested in documentary film making and even made a few short videos but never quite looked into how the law is interwoven into the making of nonfiction films. I have thought about a few particulars (i.e. How does one legally acquire and use background music? How would one go about distributing their film under the protection of the law?); however, I’ve never go so far as to get answers to these questions. I did not realize how confusing the copyright and trademark rights could be and to what extent they could disrupt an artist’s work. The initial pages depicting the documentarian’s continual run-ins with copyright and trademark issues were so jarring to me, as someone who just never realized how big of an issue this really was for artists. A couple of the documentaries mentioned in the comic really made an impression on me when I watched them and I can’t help but wonder what those movies are missing because of these disruptive laws. I remember watching //Mad Hot Ballroom// in theaters and, at the time, had no knowledge that they were forced to cut out a scene because of an accidental copyrighted song. Of course one cannot forget that these laws are also in place to protect the artists and encourage enduring artistic innovation. However, I believe the main point of this comic was to say that when small, young, or less well-recognized artists are continually put down by these laws instead of being protected, there is a problem with the system at hand. In particular, I am concerned about the ways in which stories are being served. Stories that are not as popular but are important for our collective history, like stories about civil rights icons, are not being as expansively made or distributed because of the restrictions due to laws of the public domain. Obviously, there are both positive and negative ways artists use appropriation, stealing, and fair use in popular culture and documentaries in particular. When artists use works to critic, this often adds to our cultural and educational landscape. For example, most of Michael Moore’s documentary’s use video clips from news sources and public figures without their consent – however, the comic makes the point to say that this documentarian in particular makes a powerful utilization of fair use and often does not need consent because he makes such stark political critiques in his films. His films shines limelight and an opposing narrative on many American political issues and I would argue he is a great example of a positive way appropriation is used through documentary filmmaking. However, there is a negative side to appropriation. In the documentary //5 Feet From Stardom//, the film discusses the lives of backup signers. In particular, the film talks about the stolen voice of one backup singer who’s work and songs goes un-credited for decades – an example of negatively appropriated art.
 * Homework 1/24:**


 * Exercise 1:**




 * Project 1 Surrealist Composite**







//Turned in 2/21://

//Turned in 2/28:// To respond to the critique and improve upon the picture, I first and foremost played with the dimensions of the dragon through the "transform" function in order to add some perspective to the dragon character. I added a small cabin in the back of the foreground in order to make the size of the dragon clearer to the viewer. I also pronounced the fire by making it bigger and brighter. Additionally, I erased the small tree in the background of the mountain scene that was confusing the dimensions of the piece.

image/ ella schneiberg1.
 * Gif Exercise:**

// "What is special about Augmented Reality compared to other forms of Augmented Space?" // What I found really compelling about Manovich's piece about augmented reality was progression of technologies and how this shapes our understanding of space, specifically in terms of new perceptions of digital art. At first I really struggled to understand both the hard definition of augmented reality and the complex differences between augmented reality and augmented space. Augmented reality is the overlay of digital information over a visual component. It is helpful, when defining augmented reality, to think about the art form against the form of virtual reality; in contrast with virtual reality, augmented reality utilizes true spaces around you. I found it particular interesting that Manovich pinpointed augmented reality and ubiquitous computing as technologies that “originate at the same time” and therefore inform, interact, and are affected by one another. Manovich defines ubiquitous computing as the shift from singular, larger stationary computers to multiple, smaller digital computing technologies (222). This is interesting, I think, because as our technologies become smaller, more accessible, and more movable across and between space, more complex and interesting digital art becomes interwoven into our technological lives. Additionally, it is essential to define Augmented Space as the space that utilized in the overlay process in Augmented Reality. This then plays into the difference between augmented reality and other forms of augmented space. Manovich discusses the experience of watching a movie (225). When we watch a movie in a theater in a dark room, we are fully immersed in that specific digital display and the reality that the creator intended to produce. However, if you watch the movie or whatever art form on your smartphone in a lit room, you continue to consume the realities around you as you watch. The space that you are in and the way you consume the space adds to your experience of consuming digital media. Augmented reality capitalizes this concept and uses our experience with the realities of the spaces around us by warping them or changing them in some way. In a larger sense, it is intriguing that Manovich mentioned that “Augmented Space is also monitored space” (223); so, in that sense, augmented space plays into the surveillance timeline that Manovich lies out for us in which our data has become more public and more accessible to the world around us. There are many forms of augmented reality, from monitoring to ubiquitous computing, that uses the idea of space and specifically this concept of Augmented Space as monitored space.
 * Homework 3/28:**


 * Final Project 5/9:**

For my final project on augmented reality, I wanted to situate the viewer in the context of a dorm room. I'm a soon-to-be graduating senior and for my final self-reflection, I thought it would be fitting to meditate on the past four years of my college experience. Central to my experience at GW has been the places in which I've lived - the dorm room. What makes a dorm room special? It's the first place many college students live outside the comforts of their childhood houses. In order to make a foreign new place seem like home, many of us decorate the walls and fill the room with familiar and fun items. I've collected movie and art posters, old pictures, and books to simulate the feeling of a dorm room. By using movement within each trigger picture, I aim to symbolize the passage of time. Each picture of item points to the next one, like the linear pattern of time.

To complete this project, I've gathered items from my own room. I then made small gifs using frame animation on Photoshop to make each piece come alive and organized them so that each movement connect to the next piece.

__Piece 1:__ I gathered a number of old pictures I had displaced around my room to show a sense of personalization. I feel that polaroids in particular depict a sense of nostalgia and memory.

__Piece 2:__ Americana, a novel by Chimanda Ngozi Adichie, is a staple in many college dorms. She is also the author of "We Should All Be Feminists," her work as been very influential to me in particular as a Women's Studies major.

__Piece 3:__ This item is a card from a friend. The growing flowers I think also illustrate a sense of moving time.

__Piece 4:__ This piece is a childhood picture of my dad and I - a picture I've had on my wall since the day I moved to college.

__Piece 5:__ As a college student, stacks of books are commonplace in our rooms. I chose this book in particular because it was a gift from a friend. For this gif, I cut out the center image of the two illustrated figures instead of augmenting the entire cover.

__Piece 6:__ I'm from Cleveland and have little reminders of my hometown all over my dorm walls. While I'm away at school, my city continues to grow and thrive over time.

__Piece 7:__ This is a small art piece I got a few years ago in a thrift shop here in D.C. Because most college dorm room walls are bare, I've used small art posters to make the room more lively over the years.

__Piece 8:__ This is documentary movie poster; the documentary is about the state of reproductive rights in America. This is not only a movie I enjoy but represents the social consciousness of students.

__Piece 9:__ This is another small piece of art I've used to liven up my room.

__Piece 10:__ I utilize this deck of cards to create a space that looks lived in and experienced while representing the more fun, playful side of college.

Piece 11: For this picture of myself and my roommates, I took an outside image of a bird and incorporated in into the picture in order to give it the sense of being alive.

All of these images are then going to be displayed in such a way that one movement will tell the viewer where to look next. This is intentional in order to make an interactive display while also illustrating the passage of time.