Digitally Born

Posted on February 19, 2013 by | Comments Off on Digitally Born

Shy Boy

Not only is it literature but it is also digital art because of the way it is presented. You not only read the poem about a Shy Boy and how he see and feels about himself but see a visual representation of the emotional state he is trying to convey. What makes this digitally born is that the authors would not have been able to present it in this particular way without its origins starting in the digital world.

Being a bit of a geek myself I always look at the source code of web sites that interest me so I can see how they did it. One of the first things that I noticed was that the code used was very minimal. I was expecting to see a huge amount but it is ten lines of code. The active part of the poem, a .swf file that is used for vector graphics, is stored on their server and does not activate until a user clicks on the ‘enter’ link.

As stated in Hayles’ Electronic Literature: What is it? In chapter three part of the genetic material to be born digitally is to have code embedded and part of the interpretation process. We read this in paragraph six:

“Unlike a print book, electronic text literally cannot be accessed without running the code. Critics and scholars of digital art and literature should therefore properly consider the source code to be part of the work, a position underscored by authors who embed in the code information or interpretive comments crucial to understanding the work.”

Audra Mann | @WSUVcollegeMom

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Authoring Project 1

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DTC midterm

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Electronic Literature

Posted on February 19, 2013 by | Comments Off on Electronic Literature

@PerrinKyla

The piece of electronic literature that I chose is Shy Boy by Thomas Swiss. This is an example of a “born digital” work because it was created on a computer and it is read on a computer. Similarly the definition of electronic literature is known as a first generation digital object created on a computer, meant to be read on a computer (Hayes). Electronic literature is not something that is just been digitalized like a book that was printed and the put back onto a Kindle for people to purchase and then read on a device. A “born digital” piece of work is something that the user can input things, see things visually and hear things. The story of Shy Boy is provided for the reader after pressing enter on the webpage. It was designed so that each line is separately put onto the screen for the reader to read and take in. In my opinion it seems like the designer Michael Cina and Thomas Swiss worked together to make a design that would cause the reader to feel a sadness for the Shy Boy each time it is read. The grey and black colors provide a sad feeling to the reader. The one thing that bothers me about electronic literature like this one is that with the colors and layout the reader is not really able to form their own emotions about Shy Boy because there is instantly a feeling of sadness because of the colors being so dark.

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Shy Boy, Proud Author

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@cougar_sean

“”Literature” is a complex web of activities that includes much more than conventional images of writing and reading” (Hayles). This progressive idea of the term thus includes electronic literature like “Shy Boy” by Thomas Swiss. “Unlike a print book, electronic text literally cannot be accessed without running the code” (Halyes). In Swiss’ piece there is moving text and fading colors with an underlying musical tone that evokes emotions that wouldn’t otherwise be summoned if the poem had been written on a sheet of paper. Electronic literature is all about breaking the boundaries of traditional forms of communication and adding new levels of immediacy. “Shy Boy” progresses with or without the reader, causing a feeling of excitement as the code runs its course, presenting an emotional story that captures the reader’s attention and demand continuous thought. “Digital born” pieces of literature are defined by their inability to be reproduced in physical form. Electronic literature must be created digitally and must remain digital. Using a technological medium such as the computer screen “urges the user to not only look at the interface, but to actively participate in the communication…” (Looy and Baetens 10). “Shy Boy” does just that. Although it is a very short piece, it captures a universal human experience and incorporates neutral colors, muted music and fading text in order to present an story that could not otherwise be told if this literature was printed into a book or article. Electronic literature is all about experiences what cannot be had in the physical realm.

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Blog Post #6 E-Lit

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@brandonluc01

Katherine Hayle’s article “Electronic Literature: What is it?” she discusses what properties of Electronic Literature make it distinguishable from that of print literature. Hayles makes it very clear that in order for anything to be E-Lit, it has to be “digital born.” She defines digital born as “a first-generation digital object created on a computer and meant to be read on a computer.” The common purpose artists creating digitally born pieces is to utilize the mediums of computers to convey messages to the multiple senses of the viewer. The most common medias used in E-Lit is audio and video. Artists can include videos or audio to accentuate the meaning of their poems and stories. One of the most distinguishing characteristic of E-Lit is how it uses hypertext to eliminate the linear reading style of print literature. Hypertext “offers the reader complete freedom to skip around, go backwards as well as forwards” thus making the reader in control of their reading experience.

The poem “Shy Boy”, by Thom Swiss, is not print because of it’s many characteristics that define it as an electronic literature. The poem contains a music track and an assortment of background noises which give the poem an ominous tone. The poem also includes visual effects such as disappearing text and reappearing shades of grey and black. These effects accentuate the loneliness of the character in the poem. This poem utilizes both visual and sound mediums of the computer to portray messages of the poem. Finally this poem eliminates the linear reading style of print by having the text appear on the screen out of order rather than running from top to bottom. “Shy Boy” is a great example of E-Lit.

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“Shy Boy” elit

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@CailinJohnson

“Just as the twentieth century saw an explosion fo interest in the book as a medium, with an impressive canon of artists’ books and other experimental practices exploring the potential of the book as an artistic and literary venue, so electronic literature has seen a growing body of work that interrogates networked and programmable media as the material basis for artistic innovation and creation.” (Hayles). Electronic literature such as “Shy Boy” by Thom Swiss is not the same as printed literature. True electronic literature cannot be experience the way it is meant to be experienced on print. It uses code, color, animation and movement to created emotion, meaning and feelings out of a piece of work. “Nevertheless electronic text remains distinct from print it literally cannot be accessed until it is performed by properly executed code.” (Hayles). “Shy Boy” creates a very sad emotion with the use of the black, grey and white colors that flash on the screen as blocks. It also creates a feeling of sad emotion by the slow way the text moves across the screen. This type of art cannot be recreated by normal text. You would not get the same emotion from the story because you would not be able to have the movement of the text that creates the emotion to go along with the actual story. A “digital born” text cannot be correctly represented by print. Without the use of electronics you will not get the full work of art because it is created in something that it can only be fully experienced in.

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Philbrook-Project1

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DTC PS

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star warssssss!

Posted on February 12, 2013 by | Comments Off on star warssssss!

@reneejo714

When it comes to copy right laws and the fair usage of other people’s creation, it can be very tricky. Fair use is a touchy subject because the original creator can question the new creator’s point that they’re trying to get across. (Fair use) When it comes to the Star Wars Fans they all really just want something fun to watch, because it is a fan page I’m pretty sure they all know the real creator of it. I personally don’t think that the remix is breaking any rules; they used short clips of the saga to create a slide of pictures that flow with a techno beat to show the intensity in some areas of the saga, there is no words in this clip, simply just beats that show freighting moments, and sad serious moments. I don’t see much of a story line so it’s not like this creator was re-doing the plot of the original.

As a daughter of my father who use to make family day really star wars days, I appreciate the Star wars fan film you tube video. I never really understood the video but being able to watch something with creativity it changed my mind on how using others work but making it your own can really relate to others. When a can of mountain dew came out I laughed and emailed the video to my father. I guess it can be a close call on this video of not being legal, because of the plot, though they used different items, and did tweak the film in their won perspective.

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Fair Use and U.S. Copyright Laws

Posted on February 12, 2013 by | Comments Off on Fair Use and U.S. Copyright Laws

Authoring and giving permissions are the rights of the owner of the copyright to the people who want to reproduce for their purposes. “One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords” (Copyright) and “One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of “fair use.”” (Fair use). The fair use was contained in section 107 through section 118 of U.S copyright law. From section 107, there are many various purposes for reproducing work may be considered fair. Also, there are four main principles to be considered in determining that it violates to the copyright law or not. They are characteristics with purposes, the nature, the quantity with substantiality and the potential value of the reproducing work.

For the “Star War Fan Film”, I think it violated to the U.S copyright law because it used the original video from the movie to make commercial video by modifying in the end.  “The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work” and “The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes “(Fair use).  For the “Star Wars Saga”, in my opinion, it violated to the U.S copyright law as well as the “Star War Fan Film” did. The video maker still used the original video from the movie but this time, the video owner modified the video by combining multiple scenes of “Star Wars”. “The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole” (Fair Use).

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Fair Use & Copyright Laws

Posted on February 12, 2013 by | Comments Off on Fair Use & Copyright Laws

@ObergJustin

Regarding the “Star Wars Fan Film: The Essence of the Force”, I do not think that this is protected and legal under Fair Use. I would call this film a derivative of the original. It includes the original Star Wars name in its title, it features recognizable characters from the franchise, lightsabers and the force. All of these make up and our main parts of the original Star Wars work. The Copyright law defines a “derivative work as “a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a… motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted” (Chap 1). The law also says in section 206 that the owner of the copyright “has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work” (Chap 1).

As for the “Star Wars Sage (The Best Trance Remix Montage” I also do not think it is protected by Fair Use. The video clearly uses clips and music from the original work. It also does not portray itself as a parody, a criticism or for educational use. In section 106 of the Copyright law it says that “the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to… reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords. I would think this would apply to this video as the clips and music from the original work are being reproduced.  Copyright laws can be very unclear and subjective but I do not think that either of these videos could be considered legal.

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