Jill Silva's RSS Feed

Back from Banff!

Jill Silva — Tue, 28 Feb 2022 21:21:11 +0000

After taking a brief hiatus from blogging and filming for SIMCentre (I still tweeted!), I returned from an amazing first time experience at a workshop in Banff, Alberta at the gloriously equipped Banff Centre. It was a two-week excursion to the brisk rockies (-31' C the first night), part of the FVIM 300 internship course.

Apart from exploring the winter-activity stocked town of Banff, I also learned things. The workshop is called Women in the Director's Chair was apart of Creative Women Workshops. It was a two-week intense production, involving 8 first-time women directors (Marie Burke, Lori Lozinksi, Celia McBride, Sarah McIntyre, Arlene Rimer, Karen Shopsowitz, Anna Sikorski, and Ana Valine). As a workstudy, I was placed in the grip/electrics department and had four mentors who gave me mini-workshops on equipment, on-set procedure and role dynamics of a medium-sized production.

Even though I was in the grip/electrics department (I can sand-bag the hell out of a c-stand and tie several types of knots now), I was still able to chat with and not-so-discreetly watch every other department interact, build and aid each project. I had friends and made friends in sound, camera, art, and assistant directing.

The mentality of the WIDC 2012 program was very open source and anti-hierarchy, which, according to my mentors, is the style of most large film productions. Instead of only getting bits of information for a small specialized task, with a chain-of-command to report problems to, I felt comfortable and was encouraged to ask as many questions, go to as many mini workshops and take as many notes and photos as possible (during the appropriate moments of course!).

And much to my almost-graduated ambition's delight, the Banff Centre offers plenty of media production work-study positions throughout the year(in other departments too, it's a well-stocked arts centre). I highly recommend perusing the pages.

An Evening of Ebooks

Jill Silva — Tue, 07 Feb 2022 02:03:50 +0000

Last fall, Emily Carr's Jonathan Aiken taught a design course on ebooks. The class then had a round-table discussion about their group projects with design faculty members Celeste Martin and Haig Armen, plus experts from the local design, tech and media community, including:

Gillian Shaw from the Vancouver Sun
David Ascher from Mozilla
Joni Rustulka from PhoneGap
Sung Hong from LoudCrow Interactive

For a glimpse at the evening's highlights take a look at the video below.

Maraya | Reflection

Jill Silva — Wed, 16 Nov 2021 16:40:17 +0000

It has been a few weeks since the launch of the highly anticipated Maraya, conceptualized by Emily Carr's own Henry Tsang, Simon Levin and Glen Lowry. The internationally collaborative interactive work is combines user-generated content(via Flikr or Facebook) with the idea of a remixing an already mapped area(Vancouver and Dubai) for a subjective experience.

Glen Lowry, one of the three creators, comments on the initial ideas behind Maraya:

Understanding that these two cities are linked and that they are part of a global flow of ideas(good and bad) and capital, we felt that we needed to take a different approach. Thinking about how cities are now built by flows of digital information(email jpgs, quicktime movies, CAD drawings), and the fact that Vancouver's Concord Pacific Place was touted as one of the first fiber optic neighborhoods in North America we decided to look down, and sought to glimpse the metaphorical flow of urban information beneath our feet.

For the full blog post on Maraya | Reflection, visit Glen's blog/

Ebook Design Possibilities: Interactivity, Location and Game Mechanics

Jill Silva — Mon, 14 Nov 2021 19:29:47 +0000

In ECUAD's current Ebook class(DESN 214), taught by Jonathan Aitken, the students were recently broken up into groups and asked to analyze the realm of ebooks under very specific scopes. One group explored the following thems

Non-linear reading: Non-linear reading experiences in which the user determines the sequence and pace at which content is viewed.

Alternative narrative structure: Gaming, video, oral storytelling, digital art, performance art: all of these provide new approaches to narrative structure that can inspire ebooks that feel less like books and more like performances or games.

Location awareness:Tablets are typically able to use GPS or pseudo-GPS to indentify where they are location. Content updates and social interaction can be triggered by a user's present location.

Game mechanics: Web applications increasingly incorporate game mechanics into non-game webstites; several of our titles will do the same. Game-like features could include competition among users(e.eg. for correctly completing in-book quizzes), "prizes" like unlocking additional content, or playful elements such as maze-like navigation.

The group first looked at the mechanics of existing video games and explored the possibilities of expansion based on the features of the iPad. These enhancements considered the following iPad features: gyroscope, accelerometer, microphone, camera and GPS. Based on these features, the team saw infinite possibilties in reward systems, community building, secret sections unlocked via time triggers or motion triggers, and increased personalized experience(i.e. text styles, backgrounds, music)

Another interactive aspect the team took into consideration was the book translated to ebook. They looked at alternative narrative structure and how to implement the iPad's touch and video components into the narratives. Some sketched mock-ups included having illustrated characters in the story move and grow when touched and expanded. Another portion was hiding the text of a poem within a graphic and having the user find the text via touch-based interactivity.

For more information on the group's findings, check out their blog at http://ebookinteractivity.wordpress.com/category/alternative-narrative-structure

Ebook Design Possibilities: User Generated Content and Annotation

Jill Silva — Mon, 07 Nov 2021 04:16:52 +0000

User-generated content: Readers can contribute text, images, or video to selected titles and see it embedded in the ebooks.

Collaborative annotation: All readers of a book can highlight and comment on the text, and optionally share them with other readers.

Social network annotation: Users can share and view annotations among specific set of friends or colleagues, so for example, a group of students can share annotations on a class.

Input mechanisms: What are the different ways people can add content or interact with the ebook? Typing, touching, drawing, pinching, speaking, photographing...and more? What are the most creative and intriguing approaches?

The group comprised of ECUAD students Jenn, Sarah and Andrew. The group dove into the topic and explored several existing application that fell into the realm of the above themes, noting both the positive and negative aspects. Some of the inspirational apps included: Sprout, Zite, The Elements, and Kinetic.

Encouraged to show progress, the students uploaded the steps of their design process. The sketch above shows the brainstorming around improving the personalized online magazine, Zite, by implementing social media aspects. The new Zite-esque site would arrange chosen articles into a grid and allow a touch drag-and-drop interface allowing articles to be shared instantly.

For more information on the group ideas, visit their blog at http://ecuebookgroup3.wordpress.com/

Out of Print: The Next Generation of Books

Jill Silva — Thu, 27 Oct 2021 22:23:30 +0000

Scanning through the windows of the IDS gallery, one might have seen the glow of several iPads and HD TVs light a unique exhibit. The show, coinciding with the Vancouver International Writers Festival, consisted of several design students' work in the ebook medium. As the monicker indicates, these electronic books tackled the idea of linear text-based narratives in analogue books by expanding it into an interactive digital narrative in constant flux, all based on user-generated content.

Getting geographically specific, one of the student's projects was based on user-generated content located in Vancouver, BC. Not only are the users were allowed build their own narrative by navigating the map of Vancouver and clicking on different stories, but they are also encouraged to upload their own experiences and narratives based on specific YVR locations. The application also utilizes the iPad's accelerometer by playing with text being revealed when tiled or shifted.

Photo: Left to right, Alley Kurgen, curator, explaining her project to Alexandra Samuel

Another app, similar to the one above in that it creates a narrative based on physical locations, builds a story with global interaction. It pulls submitted content from social media as well as the app itself. The browsing wouldn't be directed by a linear layout but rather a web-like structure built for subjective interaction.

Photo:Karston Smith showing his interactive eBook

Basing content on widely disseminated items, this ebook collects data on money. People would be able to track specific coins and bills and well as input their current location. Not only would the entire history be available, but the users would also be able to add their own anecdotes associated with the moneys.

Another great foray into the medium was a student collaboration with Mozilla. It denoted the importance of user-generated content. In addition to encouraging internet participation, the thesis also has an open source attitude towards learning the skills necessary to be an active presence in the content-making side of the internet. The app even included a tab for the the user to see the code the app was built on.

More than just electronic books, these student works were a well-crafted look into the multi-media possibilities of the ebook. Although the show has already left the IDS gallery, be sure to check SIMCentre's event page for future happenings!

Top Tweets During #SMW at #mappecu

Jill Silva — Wed, 12 Oct 2021 01:00:20 +0000

Did you miss out on all the tweets, posts and panels of Social Media Week Vancouver? Here are the Top tweets from the Mobile + App Summit event at Emily Carr University. Speakers from the event included David Gratton from Work at Play, Amielle Lake from Tagga, James Chutter from StoryPanda, and Joni Rustulka from Nitobi.

Context of use is influenced by a person's access to data. iPad data cheaper in uk so more ppl use it than ppl here #MAppECU

--Shehani Kay

@interactivereid believe that smart phones are used for utility and tablets are used for entertainment #mappecu #smwvan

-- Christine Tarves

Do one thing and do it really well - success in mobile app development... #ux #mappecu #smwvan;

-- Diliara Nasivora

On responsive design: what functionality does a user need? Know the content then design. Think mobile 1st & re-design. #smwvan #mappecu

--Felicia Lam

Social design another buzz word ie. Facebook photo tagging making it easy to share and connect the persons the focus #mappecu #smwvan

--Meena Sandhu

When designing for mobile think of your main goal in 1 sentence that doesn't include the word "and" from @jahoni at #mappecu

--Alexandra Samuel

How do you use your mobile devices? Social interactions are changing - info context is different but the user's goals are the same. #mappecu

--Amanda Munro

@tarves33 handles of panelists @jameschutter, @ddonat, @amielllel, @jahoni @EmilyCarrU, #mappecu

--Sean Arden

Digital Media and Learning 2012 - Call for Submissions

Jill Silva — Wed, 21 Sep 2021 18:19:57 +0000

Taking place in San Francisco, California from March 1st to the 3rd of next year, the Digital Media and Learning Conference is a gathering of minds to explore the history and possiblity of emerging technologies, specifically in education practices. It is " an inclusive, international and annual gathering of scholars and practitioners in the field, focused on fostering interdisciplinary and participatory dialog and linking theory, empirical study, policy, and practice." Hosted by the MacArthur Foundation as well as the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub located at the UC Humanities Research Institute, University of California, Irvine, the conference is "inspired by Silicon Valley's culture of technology-led innovation... it will explore ongoing questions and debates around the role of technology and the future of education and learning." Executive Director Mark Surman of the Mozilla Foundation, a SIM Centre industry partner, is one of the conference chairs for DML 2012.

The team is looking for submissions, due October 19th, covering the following topics:

Making, Tinkering and Remixing. To become full and active participants in 21st century society, young people must learn to design, create, and invent with new technologies, not simply interact with them. What are the pathways for becoming a maker and not just a user in a world of Connected Learning? What social and technical infrastructures provide the best support for young people as they learn to tinker with materials, remix one another?s work, and iteratively refine their creations?

Re-imagining Media for Learning. What does it mean to think of media and games in the service of diverse educational goals and within a broad ecology of learning? In particular, how can we balance the needs of multi-stakeholder alliances against the challenges of designing engaging, playful and truly innovative media experiences? Especially those that go beyond implementations of technologies and platforms to create real communities of playful learning and rich opportunities for individual discovery and growth.

Democratizing Learning Innovation. Looking to the groundswell for massively collaborative innovation and change, what does it take to pull from a participatory and networked ecology to push innovation from the bottom up and from the outside in versus top down and inside out?

Innovations for Public Education. Too often cutting edge technology innovations serve the interests of the already privileged ?creative class.? What can we do to ensure that the most innovative forms of learning are accessible to all educators and young people relying on public education infrastructures? How can digital innovation directly impact disparities in achievement of students based on race and class?

Digital Media and Learning. We also welcome submissions that address innovative research and practice in the field of digital media and learning.

Sound like something up your digital alley? Be sure to visit their site ~ http://bit.ly/8ZLb16 ~ for more submission and attendance info.

Think I Can Sync Up My Death with Google Calendar?

Jill Silva — Thu, 08 Sep 2021 05:08:31 +0000

What is Elysium? Simply put, it is "The next generation of social media subdermal implant". This next generational idea was planted, molded and digitized by the Vancouver-based conceptual designer Desmond Wong.

Desmond Wong is a recent Emily Carr graduate from the Industrial Design program. Like all fourth-year students before and beside him, Wong was required to create a thesis project that explored a concept through his chosen program. Via design and integrated media, Wong has spun a satirical tone into his social media-based thesis project, Elysium.

The Elysium Implant is a fictional device injected into the technologically-minded user's body, accessing and storing everything from hormone levels to bank account information. Although it is technically fictional, the implant is not without a realistic base in modern mechanics. Wong states that the device was "inspired by emerging techonologies such as the implantable yeast fuel cell developed by UBC and the implantable RFID chip."

Although Wong approached his project with "playful exploration", the serious undercurrent of his Orwellian device cannot be ignored. Through a series of YouTube specific ads, Wong has a created a wonderfully convincing world of youthful hybrid-humans who willingly and energetically integrate this device into their lives.

There are four components to the Elysium enterprise, each referencing its own facet of 1984-inspired themes :

1. Fertility Monitor

This sect monitors a partner's hormone levels and sends cellular telephone update to their mate, in hopes of conceiving in a timely manner.

2. Blood Alcohol Monitor

Don't trust your own judgement after a raucous night on the town? This portion of Elysium also works with mobile devices to detect when a user's BAL is above the driving limit. It then suggests alternative means to get home.

3. Bio Digital Wallet

This not only works as an Identification of device, but also checks and balances with the user's biodata to confirm ID and access personal financial data. With this, the user can purchase goods and while automatically updating their bank account numbers. A trip to No Frills will never be the same.

4. Death Watch

My personal favorite component of the Elysium Implant, this monitors the user's heart rate. If it detects that the heart has stopped for more than five minutes, it automatically takes care of the deceased's accounts and send out their pre-written digital eulogy.

A humorous commentary on the fusion of tech and bio, Elysium sharply critiques the non-chalant attitude of the plugged-in.

Be sure to check out more of Wong's design work, especially if you are within a Vancouver postal code.

SIGGRAPH Exhibition: I have more pairs of 3-D glasses than I can handle

Jill Silva — Wed, 10 Aug 2021 19:38:56 +0000

After wandering around the labyrinthian exhibition hall of SIGGRPAH 2011, I chose one of the several couched areas to plunk down and take stock of my weighted swag bag (courtesy of SCAD.) Inside were several pairs of 3-D glasses, a few cases of free-trial 3-D animation software, a notebook, a porcelain Gilgamesh, a poster, a pin, a pencil, toy blocks, and a couple of brightly wrapped hard candies. A pretty good collection of loot. Other than the free papers and bits handed to me over the course of my meandering, seeing the spectacle of emerging technologies and animation companies was enough to make me very excited for animations and 3-D technologies to come.

Specifically the Autodesk exhibition, whose couches were always filled with eager sitters during their presentations. The presenter not only seemed well-versed in the program, but was also had an unwavering calm voice when describing the different elements of the interface, a nice contrast to more salesman-ish exhibits in the hall.

Another well set-up and constantly crowded section was NVIDIA. They ran with the assumption that most of the SIGGRAPH crowd would be practicing animators and/or drawers (a correct assumption) and set up an all-day competition for some pretty great prizes. They had both digital and analog mediums (i.e. tablets vs. pen and paper) and the prizes included the Adobe Suite and Autodesk software. Needless to say, the line-up was pretty long and the competition pretty fierce.

The only exhibit I wish I had gotten to see was that of the infamously playful Pixar. Of course theirs was hidden from view inside a giant cylindrical montage of all their previous films, with a line-up spanning four other exhibits. I didn't have the time to go in myself, but I did see the faces of those who exited the exhibit, and their eyes were lit with the glint of knowing secret motion graphic knowledge. Maybe next year.

All in total, it was amazing to see what the motion graphics organizations have been toiling away on, and I am pretty stoked to not only get my hands on the emerging technologies but also see them filter into the cinemas for my viewing pleasure.

SIM goes to SIGGRAPH

Jill Silva — Sun, 24 Jul 2021 17:16:40 +0000

Feeling like August is gonna be bleak and devoid of hot-button animations and emerging technologies? Think again! SIGGRAPH Vancouer 2011 is gearing up and getting ready to make yet another impressive and indelible industry memory.

As the partially sunny July comes to an end, Vancouver gears up for a tech-packed month in August. Specifically on the brain is the highly anticipated computer graphics and interactive media spectacular, SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics). SIGGRAPH is a major tradeshow that draws film and tech professionals from all over the world. The SIM Centre will be at SIGGRAPH as part of Emily Carr's Applied Research booth.

The festival is scheduled to take off and power through August 7th to the 11th on the waterfront at the Vancouver Convention Center, and is bound to be an energetic spectacle of animation techniques, interactive installations and a frenzy of networking. With everything from film screenings to videos games to inside business tips to interactive installations, there's bound to be something for everyone. From hot-button bigwigs like Pixar, Dreamworks, EA Games Canada and Sony Picture Image Works to small but undeniably talented solo artists, SIGGRAPH 2011 is a YVR event not to be missed.

Personally, after a YouTube binge on previous SIGGRAPH videos I'm most stoked and earnest to view this year's Art Gallery. Coming at it from a student's point of view, I know several of my recently-graduated animation friends have hopped on the volunteering lists in hopes of seeing/meeting/learning all that SIGGRAPH has to offer. They see it as a chance to not only get the insider's scoop on up and coming animation programs, but also to have fun being submerged in animation and animation-related activities for five days.

All in all, a bang-on way transition from the slow and steady summer and into another year at school. And if you're at SIGGRAPH, we hope you'll visit SIM at Booth 947.