Reading Response 3

I chose to respond to "Walking as Do-It-Yourself Urbanism" by Kenny Cuper because after completing the drift walks for my final art project, I found it easier to understand the relationshp between city planners and city users. This article explores that relationship in depth.

Cuper explains a brief description of radicalism in urban environments and then goes on to explain how walking can be a form of transformation for a city. Through walking, a city user can explore more of a city, as well as continue the tension between rest and walk. This tension is a fuel to the walk which can be used as a source for art. The article was accompanied by several still images from a similair art expiriment, and show clearly the type of exploration that can occur when one radically uses their own urban environment.

Until this articel I had not truly understand the purpose of "finding" material to use. Now I understand that in order to break away from the pre-planned path, in order to emerge with a new set of eyes, one must break away from the normal. Being radical was never a bad thing in my opinion anyway. I enjoy the idea of still being capable of exploring something that has already been explored. The urban jungle can be just as dangerous or adventurous as the jungles of South America or Africa during the colonial spread of Europe. (That is just my own thought after reading this.) It is interesting to me how much the world can open up through this walking method.

Video Hardware Response

1. How was your experience with the Olympus digital camera? How did it compare with other still or video cameras you have previously used? Were you able to successfully implement your Image Capturing Strategies using the features of this camera? In an ideal world, how would your still/video camera of choice function?

My experience with this digital camera was very pleasant. I enjoyed using it because it was fairly simple. I could not do much visually at the moment of image capture, and I preferred it that way. I was not tempted to play with an image on site, and allowed myself to have more natural effects. I have not used many other digital equipment, other than a digital camcorder, but for a digital camera with video capabilities this was very nice. In an ideal world, I do not know what I would use since the project called for this camera and I believe it worked out just fine.

2. Discuss your choice of video-editing software and describe your history with this software. If you used this software for the first time, explain why you chose this particular application and how you think it helped you to accomplish your creative goals (or proved detrimental). Will you use this software again for future projects?

I chose to use Quick time Pro, which I had never used before in my life. I found it easy to use but overly simple. Some things I would have liked to do such as titles easier. I chose this program because it was suggested in class and in the end its simplicity allowed me to stay true to the images which I found most appealing. I will definitely use this program again for other small projects because it is not very time consuming.