Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department of Media Arts and Production

50158 NETCULTURES AND PRACTICES

Subject Outline

Thursday 6pm-9pm

Room 327, 336

Autumn Semester, 2000

Prerequisites: For undergraduates only; MAP 1 and MAP 2

Lecturer: Justine Cooper
Room: tba
E-mail: [email protected]

Production Co-ordinator: Sharon Etter
Room: 3. 438 Bon Marche Building
Phone: 9514 1942
E-mail: [email protected]

Most enquiries should be addressed to your lecturer, either in, before or immediately following class. However circumstances might arise where it is appropriate to contact the subject co-ordinator (Megan Heyward).

WHEN PURCHASING READINGS FROM THE CO-OP BOOKSHOP, IT IS A REQUIREMENT OF THE COPYRIGHT AGENCY THAT STUDENTS PRODUCE THEIR STUDENT ID CARD.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

In this unit, students engage with the concepts and techniques involved in the development of Internet web sites. Issues of audience, design, the production process and technical considerations will be explored through production exercises and a web site project. Case studies of various sectors using the Internet, including commercial sites, art sites and special interest group sites will be undertaken. Techniques for incorporating animated and interactive material into web sites will be covered, and issues surrounding the delivery of video on the web will be discussed. Workshops and tutorials will cover the technical challenges of internet delivery, and production techniques in Dreamweaver and Flash, allowing students to produce a small web site project through the course of the unit.

ASSESSMENT

All students must satisfactorily complete all of the following:-

1. Synopsis: Due Week 5 comprising

A 250 word synopsis of the project, which includes a clear description of the underlying motivation of the piece and a description of the intended user experience. Also describe the intended audience, eg age group, national or international market.
A navigational diagram, flowchart, or storyboard which clearly demonstrates the interactive pathway of the project.

2. Web Project Due Week 11 The production of a small website

Students may choose to work solo or in groups of two to produce a small website.

Project Guidelines:

Projects must be compact, creative, original and interactive, rather than linear.
Completed projects must attempt to fit on a 1.4Mb floppy disc.
Students should aim for the projects to be as bug-free as possible within the confines of the unit. This does not mean placing pressure on production support staff- you should be responsible for testing and revising your work on an ongoing basis.
The project should be tested across both major browsers. (Internet Explorer and Netscape 4.0 and higher) – in an ideal world it will be compatible with both.
Projects may only use Shockwave, Flash and Quicktime plugins, however you are not required to include video or animation.
Projects must attempt to use material that is copyright free or cleared and is not defamatory.

The guidelines above are an adaptation of the conditions for entering the <stuff-art> competition run jointly by ABC-online, Triple J and the AFC. To view projects which have been accepted in previous years go to http://stuff-art.abc.net.au/

GRADUATE STUDENTS : Additional Assessment

Graduate students are required to complete an additional piece of work.

3. Critique Due Week 12 Write a 1,500 word critique of a new media product- a CD-ROM or website, You should consider issues of usability, navigation, inventiveness, theoretical or technical complexity, etc.

FEEDBACK ON ASSESSMENT PROJECTS

Project Synopsis: Students will receive verbal feedback on their project synopsis asap after submission

Web project: Students will receive verbal feedback both from staff as well as from their peers- other students in the class. Initial feedback will occur in week 11. Week 12 is to be used to revise and tweak projects accordingly. Finally, in week 13, user testing and further feedback will occur as students and staff use the projects in the lab.

1,500 word critique: ( Graduate students only) Written feedback within 2 weeks of submission.

Assessment is based on the successful completion of the project, as well as attendance and involvement in lectures and tutorials and completion of class exercises. Students who miss more than two classes may fail. Medical certificates should be produced to explain absences. Any student who does not make an equal contribution to a group project may also fail. Should any student feel that they will be unable to complete any part of the assessment, it is their responsibility to contact the lecturer.

Graduate Diploma students will be expected to produce work which reflects the level of maturity and experience with which they enter the program.

PROPOSED PROGRAM / AUTUMN 2000

Week 1: Introduction to course – objectives, week by week outline, technical support.

Critical Surfing 1- class to use and review a number of websites across a range of objectives and audiences.

Why the Web?
Discussion of effectiveness, both conceptually and technically, and appropriateness of the Net as a communication tool. Students to begin thinking about their own projects.

Week 2: Critical Surfing 2 : Students will examine websites developed for specific audiences and objectives, focussing on commercial sites, art sites and special interest groups.

Briefly discuss issues of hierarchy, layout, screen real estate, and navigation in relation to their content.

Guidelines for student project.

Producing basic images for the web in Photoshop.
Understanding how HTML works.

Basic Dreamweaver exercise – defining a site, file structure, controlling type and images, linking pages, and previewing in a browser.

Week 3: Overview of the Web development process, covering

Information Design/Content development

Interaction Design/Navigation

Presentation Design/Layout

Demonstrate kinds of media which can be embedded in a site – animation, video, sound. Discuss what can go wrong.
Technical Considerations for Web delivery – browser and platform issues, bandwidth, screen resolution and colour depth.
Continue Basic Dreamweaver exercise – tables and frames.

Week 4: Web Production Case Studies- Andrew Francois, designer from the Institute of Interactive Multimedia will take students through case studies and examples, site evaluation, real world problem solving, and the team production process.

Week 5: Designing for the Web- Andrew Francois to discuss design approaches, technical issues in detail. Colour and type on the web, how to get your layout working.

Week 6: Presentation & submission of synopsis for site to be produced in the subject.

Animation for the Web – gif animation and Flash animation.
Survey of animation content on various sites.

When to use animation and how to create it – Introduction to GifBuilder and Flash.
Basic Animation exercises.

Week 7: Adding Functionality to a site.
Intermediate Dreamweaver – anchors, image maps, rollovers, lists, forms, email.

Uploading files to a remote or host server.
In-class Production.

TUTORIAL BREAK –– 2 WEEKS/ NO CLASSES

Week 8: Overview of compression for Video and Sound, streaming media.
In-class Production.

Week 9: Advanced production for the Web – using templates and styles.
In-class Production.

Week 10: In-class Production.

Week 11: Web projects to be presented to class. Students demonstrate, discuss and critique projects.

Week 12: Revisions and debugging in class.

Week 13: Final submission and individual critique with Justine.

REFERENCES:

There will be a host of online references for the class

Additional hard copy references include

M. Golding & D. White, Web Designer Guide to Colour, Hayden, 1997

D. Dinucci, M. Giudice & L. Stiles, Elements of Web Design, Peachpit, 1997

S. Gassaway, G.Davis, C. Gregory. Designing Multimedia Websites, Hayden, 1996

N. Brown et al, Designing Web Animation, New Riders, 1996

L. Weinman, Deconstructing Web Graphics, New Riders, 1996

L. Weinman, Designing Web Graphics, New Riders, 1996

L. Weinman, Coloring Web Graphics, New Riders,

D. Siegel, Creating Killer Web Sites, Hayden, 1996

I'll be using this address throughout the class to put up class materials and interesting links for the students to follow. Tba

Further New Media/ Multimedia Resources

1. In library- Multimedia texts / instructional / how to develop mm

Azarmsa, R. (1996) Multimedia: interactive video production, Belmont: Integrated Media Group.

Blattner, M. ed (1992) Multimedia Interface Design, Reading: Addison-Wesley.

Boyle, T (1997) Design for Multimedia Learning, New York: Prentice Hall.

Brennan, G. (1995) Screen Culture in the Digital Age: multimedia filmmakers, artists and the community, Melbourne: Open Channel.

Cotton, B. (1993) Understanding Hypermedia: from multimedia to virtual reality Interface Design, London: Phaidon.

England, E. (1996) Managing Multimedia, Harlow: Addison-Wesley.

(1996) Ex Machina: Japanese and British Digital Interactive Art, Newcastle Upon Tyne: Zone Gallery

Feldman, T. (1997) An Introduction to Digital Media, London, NY: Routledge.

Gardner, P. (1996) Multimedia: a user’s guide to legal issues, NP: Blueprint.

Garrand, T (1997) Writing for Multimedia, Boston: Focal Press.

Goldberg, R. (1996) Multimedia Producer’s Bible, Foster City: IDG Books.

Josephson, H (1997) Careers in Multimedia: roles and resources, Belmont: Integrated Media Group.

Korolenko, M (1997) Writing for Multimedia: a guide and sourcebook for the digital writer, Belmont: Integrated Media Group.

Kristof, R. (1995) Interactivity by Design: creating and communicating with new media, Mountain View: Adobe.

Laurel, B. (1990) The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design, Menlo Park: Addison-Wesley.

Laurel, B. (1993) Computers As Theatre, Menlo Park: Addison-Wesley.

Lopuck, L. (1996) Designing Multimedia: a visual guide to multimedia and online graphic design, Berkeley: Peachpit Press.

Mok, c. ed (1996) Graphis New Media: a compilation of new media New York : Graphis US.

(1998) Multi-media: the complete guide, London: Dorling Kindersley.

(1995) The Multimedia Text , London: Academy Editions.

Murray, J. (1998) Hamlet on the Holodeck: the future of narrative in cyberspace Cambridge: MIT Press.

Penny, S. ed. (1995) Critical Issues in Electronic Media Albany: State University of New York Press.

Phillips, R (1997) The Developers Handbook to Interactive Multimedia: a practical guide for educational applications, London: Kogan Page.

Rosenzweig, G. (1997) The Director 6 book: the ultimate handbook for multimedia professionals:, Ventana.

Stansberry, D. (1998) Labyrinths: the art of interactive writing and design, Belmont: Wadsworth.

Swearingen, L. (1994) Macromedia Director Design Guide, Indianapolis: Hayden Books.

2. In library- New Media theory/ cyberculture etc

Benedikt, M. (1993a) ed., Cyberspace: First Steps, Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press

Bukatman, S. (1994) Terminal Identity: The Virtual Subject in Postmodern Science Fiction,, Durham: Duke University Press.

Bolter, J. (1991) Writing Space: The Computer, Hypertext and the History of Writing, Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Dery, M. (1994) ed., Flame Wars: The Discourse of Cyberculture, Durham: Duke University Press.

Dery, M. (1996) Escape Velocity: Cyberculture at the End of the Century, New York: Grove Press.

Holtzman, S. (1994) Digital Mantras: The Languages of Abstract and Virtual Worlds, Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.

Holtzman, S. (1997) Digital Mosaics: The Aesthetics of Cyberspace, New York: Simon & Schuster.

Joyce, M. (1995) Of Two Minds: hypertext pedagogy and poetics, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Kroker, A. & M. Weinstein (1994) Data Trash: The Theory of the Virtual Class, New York: St Martin’s Press.

Kroker, A. (1993) Spasm: Virtual Reality, Android Music and Electric Flesh, New York: St Martin’s Press.

Landow, G. ed (1994) Hypermedia and literary studies, Cambridge: MIT Press.

Landow, G. (1993) Hypertext: The Convergence of Contemporary Critical Theory and Technology, Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

Landow, G. (1994) Hyper/text/theory: The Convergence of Contemporary Critical Theory and Technology, Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press.

Marcus, G. (1990) Lipstick Traces: A Secret History of the Twentieth Century, London: Secker & Warburg.

Mitchell, W. (1995) City of Bits: Space, Place and the Infobahn, Cambridge Mass,: MIT Press.

Morse, M. (1998) Virtualities: television, media art and cyberculture, Bloomington, Indiana University Press.

Negroponte, N. (1995) Being Digital, Rydalmere: Hodder & Stoughton.

Nelson, T. (1993) Literary Machines, Sausalito: Mindful Press.

Nelson, T. (1987) Computer Lib/Dream Machines, Washington: Microsoft Press.

Rheingold, H. (1991) Virtual Reality, London: Secker & Warburg.

Rushkoff, D. (1994) Cyberia: Life in the Trenches of Hyperspace, London: Harper Collins.

Sinclair, C. (1996) Netckick: A Smart Girl Guide to the Wired World, London: Allen & Unwin.

Stone, A. R. (1995) The War of Desire and Technology at the Close of the Mechanical Age, Cambridge, Mass,: MIT Press.

Tofts, D. and McKeitch, M. (1998) Memory Trade: A Prehistory of Cyberspace, Sydney: Interface

Wark, M. (1994) Virtual Geography: Living With Global Media Events, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Yates, F. (1996) The Art of Memory, London: Pimlico