Reading Week

Since my last video I have given a great deal of thought to how I will further my approach to various historical events through my depictions with kids toys, and I have come up with a few more plans. I am waiting until class on Tuesday when I present my ideas to get some input from the class on what my audience would prefer, so until then I have held off editing too much to save time and get some other homework done.

I really appreciated the last presentation we had in class, with Professor Daniel Fischlin coming in and discussing his work on the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project. I was genuinely interested in the processes he is going through, as it is basically a magnified version of our big projects, only with a lot more resources and volunteer help. In contrast to his opinion, however, I was highly interested in the business aspect of his work, and the commercialization of his app. In my view if he was making some profit from this work he could be investing it into more work, rather than depending so much on pro bono work. I understand the desire to maintain scholarly credentials, I just see the benefits of incorporating a business side to things as well. Perhaps it’s due to the fact that if I was better at math I would definitely be a Business Major.

In any case, I was highly intrigued by his presentation to us, and would have loved to have some more information on his process of organizing all of the various aspects to the site and app work. I definitely see the history field branching out in the future towards more projects similar to this one, and incorporating a very practical side to a university degree, something that can be used towards more career choices than teaching or research. Designing games and more technological approaches to studying history and the various assertions and writings would be a huge benefit to the scholarly arena, and invite more technically inclined people into the field. History is very much a study associated with writing, books, research and archaeology, and while I would never argue that those aspects of resources are not valuable, I increasingly find myself drawn into the idea of a newer, digital, multimedia approach to various aspects of study. For example, 3D digital and interactive images of archaeological specimens found only in museums would be amazing to access on a public and scholarly site…something to consider for further exploration. I think if we can invest time and money into CGI for movies, why can’t we invest it into education? Tapping into internet fandom would be incredible too, as shows such as Sherlock and Doctor Who (Yes, I watch entirely too much BBC) incorporate historical learning into their shows while leaving their audiences completely obsessed with them. If there were more teams on set to maintain historical accuracy (perhaps another field widening from it’s skeletal form?) there would be more reasons to take history in university, as well as a better education from watching the shows, adding to the wheel that could get spinning if universities incorporated more classes like this one into curriculum.

 

Anyways, more posts on the Big Project later this week! See you all in class on Tuesday (weather permitting!) with my presentation!

 

 

 

 

Progress

I must say, in my first video I have made a lot of progress today. I am still a long ways from a final edit, but here’s what has happened so far.

1) I chose a battle! Finally! I’m starting with the Battle of Hastings in 1066. There are numerous reasons that I decided on this one, but my number one reason was that this one is fairly straight forward, and I figured as it happened in a rather short amount of time (excluding context) it would be easier to portray with my limited skills as of yet.

2)I have my props- you can catch a glimpse with my former post.

3) I did some filming! I took what I thought was a good amount of clips for this upcoming video, and then decided if I was going to do this right I would download the 30 day free trial of Final Cut Pro X to go with my mac. As soon as I started editing I found that I had way too few of clips, and will need to do a substantial amount more filming. I have so much more respect for youtubers right now.

4) (Mentioned above…) I downloaded Final Cut Pro X! So in addition to figuring out my research and battle, I am trying to figure out a fairly high tech program. But it is pretty fun unless I get stuck on minor adjustments.

5) Found out that I need to do voice overs via Garageband- luckily I already have this installed. I could also record it with my camera and put it in as an audio clip, but I think Garageband will work better in this project.

6)More research! In addition to understanding a basic grasp of this battle, I found that I will have to do a lot more research to fully portray this event in the humorous method which I am hoping to attain.

7)…Still need to write a proper script. So far I have been filming what I know can be incorporated, but until I get all of my research done and a script written, not much else can happen.

A few things that had to be addressed as I got these things done or am in the process of doing them:

1) Location. As of now my characters are going in a fairly large lightbox that my dad and I created from a few lamps, plastic tablecloths and a bit of scrap wood. It turned out really well, but I think as I  go along I am going to have to come up with some more original location ideas.

2) Fiddly- my props include little green army men, and to get those guys to stand up straight on various materials is incredibly difficult.

3) Scripting- as mentioned above, I am having a really hard time coming up with how best to describe these battles in relation to my videos- I had thought that I wanted it to be a voice over, but as I was editing I was also thinking of having it text based with sound effects, in addition to some voice overs.

4) History with action figures- I love telling my story with representations of characters with kids toys, but relating back to location, something has to be done about how I portray where things happened…for example the battle of Hastings hinges on the fact that there was a hill involved…creating a dilemma of how best to film this.

5) Fingers- do I show the characters moving with my hands, or painstakingly move them a bit at a time and cut out all hand appearances in post-edits?

I’ll keep you posted! As always, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Something’s Coming…

to a computer near you…

Canadian Shakespeare

After clicking through the link on the HIST 4170 blog, I had no idea what to expect with Canadian relationships to Shakespeare. In fact, I didn’t know we had any before exploring this site. After looking around for a little while and reading some of the various links, I was quite impressed with what has been done. What I was really interested in was the app that was created for a study guide of Romeo and Juliet. I am really hoping that this blossoms into more study guides, as in high school I would have loved something as comprehensive as the screenshots on iTunes make it look. If I was studying Shakespeare, it would be well worth the $5 to have it broken down into the various segments, characters, plot, etc. I am not studying it right now, though, so I did not purchase the app.

 

Instead, I went back to the website with a renewed interest in what they are doing. If they can come up with something that awesome, they probably have an awesome site too, right? In my opinion, the site could be much more interactive. It is VERY text/link based, but they could easily make it much more user friendly and even visually attractive. In fact, I often found myself skimming over text just because it was tiny, which is an easy fix in web design. I realize that it is a scholarly site intended for education purposes, but with students in mind, I think it would go much further if it was more interactive with bigger text and…really just more similar to the app. It could be broken down further than it is, with the side bar leading to an overview of the subject (for example the Online Anthology) rather than the whole thing right there in an overwhelming fashion.

In addition, their multimedia link was severely disappointing. When I saw it I right away clicked on it, kind of expecting cool graphics and video links, but instead was met with tiny font leading the way forth to image galleries that led to a very text based link site. So much could be done to make it more visually pleasing, even to incorporate blog-type photo templates to create some visual interest, and make it easier to find various works or galleries.

However, the subject of the site is really great. It is amazing to have such a compilation of Canadian adaptations of various Shakespeare works ready to go with a click of a mouse. The disclaimer that these works are available for study purposes but not reproduction for actual productions was good, but if they can’t find the copyright holders I doubt someone interested would be able to either, so maybe further effort in that regard would be beneficial for those looking to produce one of the adaptations.

Overall, the content of the site is a wonderful addition to education within the Canadian Shakespeare realm, but I think the web design could use some updating.

For Fun…

Yesterday I was taking a study break on campus and decided to watch an episode of Big Bang Theory. I haven’t really been keeping up with it, but lo and behold the very episode that was available was one on 3D printing.

Enjoy. It’s called “The Cooper/Kripke Inversion”, and is episode 14.

 

More on Battle Bites coming up! Thanks to all who commented, your suggestions were much appreciated.

More Ideas for Big Project

Today was a self appointed snow day, as I commute into school from Mount Forest and so was not able to get in due to extreme winds and squalls. I decided that I should probably get going on my Big Project a bit more today, and come up with a few more details since my last post.

Picking a battle- This proved much more difficult than I first imagined, as I thought I would just pull one out of thin air and begin. Not so. Addressing the question of what I want the audience to take away from these videos, or what I want to teach, I have reached two conclusions that will lead me in drastically different realms, and so I am hoping to leave the decision up to you readers out there.

1. General Summation. In this instance I would be describing the overall happenings of a big event…again, not sure how big. For instance, each war is made up of various different battles that form how the wars turned out. Should I be focusing on the general war, and summarizing it’s outcomes, and then describe each battle in future videos, or do it the other way around? How much background information should be given on the main characters/countries? In this case I would be appealing to students who want an easier understanding than reading wikipedia, with facts stated in a very down-to-earth manner- “So and so beat the crap out of so and so on this date leading to this…”

2. Nit-Picky- This would enhance the detail, and do short summations of one particular character/country and their influence within one of the battles that makes up the war. That way it is only one piece of information to absorb, but together forms a greater understanding of the big event.

3. Best of both worlds…I could have mostly general summations but once a month do a “Character Questionnaire” enhancing details on formerly described battles.

There are pros and cons to all of the choices, and as I want to get started I have to make up my mind. Any suggestions for a first video to help me out?

Thanks!

Big Project- Musings 2

As I have continued plotting my youtube channel I have been putting a lot of thought into the format these historical moments will take within my videos. I watched a few drunk history  videos for inspiration, and figured that would take much more budget than I could afford, not to mention I lack contact with famous actors. In addition, I want to create something fairly unique, so I considered just talking to the camera and describing events with jump cuts in various apparel similar to Danisnotonfire in his channel, among thousands of other vloggers. I am also considering drawing stick figure drawings illustrating the events with voice overs describing them similar to Vihart with her math explanations. All of these ideas are running through my mind with various pros and cons presenting themselves and preventing me actually getting started. Therefore I have decided to make a battle plan of my own to complete in the next week.

1. Pick a historical moment. As my title is still “Battle Bites” for the moment, I think I will start with a major topic of war, also relating to my current online course “War and Society.”

2. Write a script of how best to describe an event in a humorous and commanding way within a very short time.

3. Decide on a method of presentation. Perhaps try all of the methods described above and see which is easiest or most appealing to edit, create and write. It also has to appeal to a certain type of audience, so that will have to be judged through peer support.

4. Post a video.

I do not expect anything from my videos in terms of views, at least not for a long while. From the youtubers I follow, it has taken 2-5 years to gain a decent following. Therefore this is something completely for my own enjoyment as well as for this project in class. I look forward to input from my peers,professor, as well as a possible collaboration with Vanessa.

I will keep you posted with my results!

GIS within History

As I did research for this assignment this past week, I had no idea what I was getting into. I understood the basic idea of mapping demographics for certain aspects of history, but until I started exploring some new sites and surfing around the web that I realized what is all possible with maps and relating them to historical events and following a certain area through time.

In class we were told to start with Josh MacFadyen’s work on air photos and census data, but as I didn’t really know what I was to be looking for, I started by simply typing GIS into Google.  From Wikipedia I learned the basic definition and a broader scope than my own narrow thoughts on the subject.  From here I went on to see what other peers of mine had done in their blogs, and found both Spencer and Anje had finished their assignments and found some great resources incorporating GIS research and application. This also eliminated their findings from the extra source that I could choose, so there would be no doubling up.

After that I started looking for Josh MacFadyen. Google was, again, another useful tool and I was able to find another great summary of GIS within history here, and more information about MacFadyen’s work on the same site here. MacFadyen explains his interest and the importance of aerial photographs of areas (in his example, Prince Edward Island) detailing the relationship between farm and forest throughout the years. I found it also interesting that he mentions aerial photographs all have a distortion, and that it is crucial to “georectify” these details when adding to a GIS project. (MacFadyen, 2012.)

His article on GIS possibilities and benefits also struck a chord with me, as I know interacting with materials is much more conducive to learning than simply listening or reading information. This particularly was engrained in me when I went to England, as suddenly I was standing in historically significant places and could imagine much more clearly what went on in a particular situation than reading about it in a textbook.  Therefore incorporating 3d imaging maps and interactive learning experiences into curriculum makes sense as we are taking part in the digital age that has sprung up around us.

Anne Kelly Knowles was a reaffirmation of what I was starting to realize with MacFadyen. After typing her name into Google a number of video choices came up which pleased me greatly. After watching the one summarizing her research and occupation, I was much more enthusiastic about what mapping could do, especially as it pertained greatly to my Big Project idea. She used GIS tools to learn more about the battle of Gettysburg, something I could potentially incorporate into a “Battle Bite” video were I to continue in that vein. Her work on the holocaust also greatly interested me as I went to a holocaust memorial exhibit within the Imperial War Museum  in England as well. It was there I saw a complete 3D paper model of Auschwitz, and through interactive learning in that experience I was much more deeply aware of what went on.

I had looked up “GIS + battles” on google prior to learning about Anne Kelly Knowles to suit my Big Project idea, and found that the main battles suggested with GIS links were indeed those on the Civil War in the United States. I suppose the publicity involved with Knowles’ research makes them a popular stop, and I did check a few out. One in particular that stuck out to me was the Tennessee Civil War GIS Project.  A highly interactive website involving both maps and links to articles surrounding events, I found this website great to peruse and generally search information. Were I to be doing a video on this event, I would have a multitude of research opportunites at my fingertips through this website. It would be useful to fellow scholars also, as articles in here pertain to very specific events and divisions of military, and so might be easier to sift through instead of hoping the correct keywords find something within a database.

I look forward to our next class, as this subject went from mild interest to intrigue through my research on this assignment. I look forward to hearing Jenny Marvin and how she will enlighten us even more on the subject.

 

 

Big Project Musings

In the class that this blog is describing and exploring, we students are to create some kind of “big project” that utilizes digital tools and relates to our disciplines. During the first class when we were hearing of some ideas that could become our big projects my mind immediately went to forming a Youtube channel. I have wanted to create one for a long while now, but never known what content to make, as I don’t play music and therefore can never be quite as awesome as Lindsey Stirling and Tyler Ward and I don’t have the connections or equipment to do work as incredible as Devin Graham…so I was stumped. 

Along came this class and the opportunity to do anything I want relating to my major in history. Thinking along the lines of this great web series modernizing the classic novel Pride and Prejudice, I want to create some kind of content relating to history, but still fun and requiring very little start up cost or excessive collaboration. My thought was to start creating videos describing various historical events in 30-120 seconds in terms easily understood and (hopefully) humorous. My ambition is that in addition to turning to Wikipedia, students can look up my videos to summarize a historical event accurately and succinctly to hold the interest of viewers for the entire video.

This idea would require a low start up cost, minimal amount of equipment of which I already own (Camera, tripod, lighting, video editing software) and is able to be done individually unless anyone would want in to help with writing, filming or event suggestions. My thoughts for the title of this channel are fluctuating, but a preliminary name is “Battle Bites”…short, simple summaries that are easily understood yet still informative and comedic. Any suggestions?

The Orlando project

I entered into the Orlando project site not knowing entirely what it would be about. After surfing around for a little while I started to comprehend the vastness of what was created, and was increasingly intrigued by the site’s collection. I particularly enjoyed the sidebars along the right hand side of the screen, which had excerpts of various people reviewing the collection, or what has been happening on a day by day basis.

One of the sidebar praises was on the collection of Jane Austen, and as this seemed like a great place to start, I clicked through to the link to see how the database worked. It connected me to the Cambridge collection and I was allowed to see the “main” page summarizing various information of Jane Austen, including key dates associated with her. I could see the top tabs that would lead to further information on her but was asked for my subscription account information and so was not able to go further.

In any case, this would be a valuable addition to research opportunities and I look forward to learning more about it.