Audio Walk Assignment

For our Audio Walk we decided to tackle technology, the pros and negatives of it – all in one walk!

In our Audio Walk, made in Audacity, the tutorial students of our lab on Monday will be greeted and instructed by York University’s special security system, OSGOODE9000.

This super computer security system will lead our unsuspecting and trusting student group through the Fine Arts building at York, all the way to the TEL Building, all for the search of the missing student Pritha. What better way to find someone missing than relying on a strange security system resembling HAL from 2001: A Space Oddessy. All that can be said is that the students following our artificial intelligence unit will be in for quite a surprise once they meet their destination mark!

We tried to engage the environment as much as we could, through both physical correlations between site and audio. Our choices of locations reflect the technology in place at York, with the TEL Building being the most state of the art and building with the highest composed number of computer and server units. It is at these servers that our A.I. lives, and it is at this same building that Pritha disappears mysteriously in… could this possibly mean something? Our listeners on Monday will have to find out and unravel this mystery once and for all!

MP3 link - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G76KCC0X

Script: Heres the script:theres been some minor changes taht were never recorded but barely noticable unless ur one of our group members

Robot: Proceed Through the portal in front of you
[Go through doors]
Robot: Hello students, I am OSGOODE9000.
I am the technological authority of this campus
I will be your A.I. guide. Proceed to the TEL building
24 Seconds – Horse sound
Robot: You have been selected to find a missing individual within this academic institution. The target’s ID is 2 4 5 8 3 9 8. She is one of your classmates.
I will give you more information about her in the future. The information that I will give you is reliable.
As the primary administrator of the York University security system, I will guide you along the way while on your mission. In addition, I will give you directions leading to the missing person.
Proceed through the doors outside to reach the TEL building.
51 seconds – Door sound
Pritha: HELP ME!
Robot: You have been selected for this mission and there is no turning back.
1 minute 10 seconds – Bird and Car sounds
Robot: While on your mission, you will encounter distractions along the way, but you must ignore them. Remember, you cannot see me, but I will be watching your every move.
Listen to my voice. I will guide you. The information that I give you is reliable.
Good luck student group 5 0 9.
Pritha: I wonder where I am, I’m trapped within this infinite loop of networks.
1 minute 32 seconds – cars
Group 5 0 9. Your thoughts are networked to my system. Don’t deviate from the mission. The information that I give you is reliable.
Pritha: I hope someone rescues me.
You are now entering the TEL network, this is the site of the location where the target was last seen by the security system.
2 minute 20 seconds – phone rings
Please keep walking for approximately five seconds, and then you will find a mobile computer. Approach it and you might find information that may prove useful for your mission.
2 minute 45 seconds – (Arrive at computer with bio)
music: eerie, suspenseful.
3 minute 30 seconds – (Leave computer)
(in the bio it says Pritha was taking staircase 4 to class)
Robot: Now that we know the target Pritha was near the staircases in the basement we will proceed there. I have a feeling you will find her there. The information that I give you is reliable.
Go down the hall behind you to your left.
4 minute 10 seconds – computer sounds
4 minutes 18 seconds –
Robot: Walk down stairs on your left. Walk all the way down to the lowest level and proceed into the hallway. The information that I give you is reliable.
Pritha: It is silent here. The kind of silence you can’t describe. Too silent perhaps.
4 minute 40 seconds –
Robot: Proceed left down the hallway.
5 minute 4 seconds – Static losing signal sound

5 minute 15 seconds – find computer
(Pritha is trapped on the screen)

(Turn on webcam)
PRITHA IS TRAPPED IN THE SYSTEM AND YOU ARE PART OF THE SYSTEM NOW. WELCOME.

What you listen to, read, watch or follow on the internet can be unreliable. Before you believe what you are told by online sources, decide if the information is reliable.
(Computer screen turns the colored bars with the high-pitched sound)

Other Materials used:

Map: http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196006_10150176898361885_544266884_8869007_6282352_n.jpg

Bio Picture: http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/5461/bio1l.png

Our team:

Patrick Nowak
Tom Bassakyros
Pritha Guha Majumdar
Susan Andoseh

Soundwalk Recording

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=G76KCC0X

Map for Soundwalk

In Class Assignment

Our group was playing around with audacity, and we changed the pitch. Susan recorded her voice. She was reading the introductory paragraph of the script. Here is a link to our results:
http://www.mediafire.com/?46c897hg0pmclbu

Psychedelic Inspirations

Inspiration

TEL

'Techno-mask'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgUexbhY_vU


Technology:
The camera uses facial/voice recognition to transmit information about who the person wearing a mask is talking to, which feeds the screen with updates about the person, sort of like a 'prompter.' The recorder records the conversations and saves them to the screen also.

Some questions I asked myself after the project was done:
Are we technologically dependent? Are our identities 'masked' by technology?


To answer this question I will refer back to the analogy of the blind man. The stick enables him to walk, it is an extension to his bodily functions as mentioned previously. However the stick doesn't 'do that walking.' The blind man chooses if he wants to use his stick for support. Similarly we determine the technology we want to carry, use or wear. We choose our dependence upon technology. Our idenity depends on the technological preferences/choices we make to suit our comforts or demands.

Kerkythea Tryouts:

I am not sure if I like the outcome of Kerkythea, I feel a bit handicapped with the software. I guess I prefer the 'cardboard/paper texture' in google sketch up over a bronze/silver one. Also considering at the cost of the making of the mask it would be cheaper to create a mask that is made out of thick cardboard/paper, than a heavy silver/steel or bronze mask.

I designed the right hand side of the mask by mimicking the left hand side which I created previously. The 'origami/geometric patterns are still present. I was looking for some ideas about the screen, and what to do with that, and the 'sixth sense TED' video inspired me.

I was inspired by the technology shown in the second video at 6:48-7:04 where things about the student is displayed on his shirt. In my mask I want to create a screen that would remind me who I was talking to at a networking event. I believe that the product I am making will be useful at networking parties/events for models, film makers and photographers. It could also be a a good conversation starter, if its flaunted, ( just a thought:)

(I borrowed the texture of the screen from 3D Warehouse and I downloaded a 3D model of wireless USB from 3D Warehouse as well)

This dress was fashioned by Thierry Mugler. He was inspired by geometric forms and origami when he designed this dress. I find this piece aesthetically pleasing, especially the design of the dress which is quite avant-garde and 'in' right now. Pop stars like Lady Gaga have been inspired by this dress. I am attracted to the aesthetics of this particular style.

I decided to create a

fashionable mask inspired by geometric shapes. I am still deciding what the mask 'symbolizes.' Masks are used as disguise and entertainment purposes. I don't think that a technological mask is

needed to disguise someone's identity. I suppose it adds or extends someone's 'perspective.' It definitely serves the purpose of entertainment, innovation and style.

I read an intriguing article at CNN. The article started by "Some students joke that their teachers have eyes in the backs of their heads." In New York a professor implemented a camera at the back of his head which would take a photograph every minute of his daily activities. I find that he is 'extending' his physical capabilities by adding a 'third eye' to the back of his head. The article also mentions "We place a high value on his right to free expression in his creative work as an artist," said university spokesman John Beckman. "But as a school of the arts, we also take seriously the privacy issues his project raises." The camera is implemented on the 'techno-mask I have built is quite blatant, and the person who is talking to should be aware that he/she is being recorded so that the issue of privacy is avoided.

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-12-02/us/new.york.camera.head_1_wafaa-bilal-domestic-tension-art-project?_s=PM:US

What is your relationship to your body? And what is your body's relationship to technology? Use Hansen to support your argument, or critique his argument.

In order to answer the question 'What is your relationship to your body?' one needs to ponder upon their 'body image' and 'body schema' in a dynamic context. One's body image refers to their perception of their physical or bodily appearance when he/she moves. Body Schema on the other hand is associated with one's mental model of their motor sensations and tactile perceptions. One's relationship to his or her body is the culmination of 'body schema' and 'body image.' In a sense body movements are a translation of cognitive 'instructions' which are instantaneously processed and carried out. Our reception and interpretation of those 'instructions' allow us to understand out body image pertinent to movement. In the chapter 'Techniques And The Dissolution Of The Body Image' the author uses an analogy to explain

human interactions with technology. He writes, "The stick is no longer an object perceived by the blind man, but an instrument through which he perceives. It is a bodily auxiliary, an extension of the bodily synthesis." This statement clearly depicts that the author is referring to 'the stick' as a substitute that is 'added on' to the blind man's body which supports his bodily movements instead of controlling them. The words 'auxiliary' and 'extension' precisely evince that the stick is merely an object that is not a part of the man's body. Moreover the author writes that the stick is a medium through which the blind man 'perceives'. Technology is a medium through which a bodily extension is made possible. Even though my ideas are tentative at this point I want to explore the idea of technology as an ornament, an attachment and an accessory.