#tarmelop

Table reads have been very useful. I enjoyed listening to the huge variety of topics that people are tackling, they are all very engaging! Also, it’s interesting to listen to other people’s scripts and feedback.

I noticed that one common issue is the structure of the script, avoiding to jump from an idea to another. It’s very hard to understand what you can take for granted and what is not, when you talk about a topic in your field.

I got very useful advice for my script, I have room for adding new concepts and add a few more example that would make it more engaging and understandable. I still need to figure out the visuals but I’m pretty happy about the structure overall.

Almost a full day spent with 6th graders, pretty demanding but sooo much fun!

I had the opportunity to make a demo of Scratch here at the Media Lab and it was very interesting to see how hard was for them to figure out what to shoot, what to say and how to host. I saw myself on day5! :) They seemed pretty excited about Scratch and I’m very happy because I think they had a great time.

They also helped me with my script, above all they helped my self-confidence. They seemed genuinely interested and have been super-supportive. A common feedback was that the topic is interesting and the language very easy to understand. They gave me some ideas about how to improve the script, what to show in the video and also corrected some typos. Also, they liked the examples and they suggested me to make more of them. They all showed interest in learning more about both text-based and block-based languages, so I guess I will keep the video balanced and not too Scratch-centric.

Anyway, the most interesting interaction has been with the last group. I just asked them how do they think that videogames are made, and I got very interesting insights that I could use in the video, for example addressing the common misconceptions about programming.

Today we started shooting! I think it was extremely useful and fun because after getting a lot of information we finally got our hands dirty and experienced all the problems that can occur while you are hosting and shooting.

In the fist moment I was quite confused, we had too much freedom and I didn’t know what to do, how to do it and with whom.. but we gradually figured out everything and I had a great time with Valentina making experiments and putting theory into practice.

It was very interesting to see other people’s videos as well, it was both inspiring and formative. It’s incredible how every little detail counts and how much time you can spend to make a 10 seconds video. Being in front of a camera with someone else is definitely more fun and more natural than being alone, it was really fun.

It’s amazing to realize in how many different ways you can watch a video, focusing the attention on scripting, hosting, and visuals. I was impressed by how many (small?) things that we usually don’t notice are intentionally and carefully designed.

Unfortunately I needed to leave the class early, but I look forward to see the storyboard that my classmates have been developing and the material they have shot.

Well.. day 3 was pretty intense! :)

I really enjoyed the script review. It was very interesting to notice how different is spoken language from written language, and how important is to read out loud to understand what works and what doesn’t. I also liked reviewing as a collaborative process, George was great in leading the discussion and letting us guess and give suggestions. Other interesting (life) advices: “divorce” from your script, so you can accept critiques more easily and improve it, and iterate!

The part about hosting was even more interesting, although a bit stressful! :) I generally have no problem with public speaking but doing it in English, after a lot of amazing “performances”, with everyone looking at form is much more challenging for me. My first attempt was quite terrible, I was so nervous that I couldn’t even read! I also made it in Italian and, even though it was hard to translate and speak at the same time, I managed to be more natural. Anyway I’m happy I tried, I think I’ve set a bottom line and break the ice with my fellow classmates.. I feel can only improve!

I like how class is organized, watching videos and making reflections allows me to have concrete examples and objects-to-think-with. Today I liked to see how annotations can be used to make the video experience more interactive (choose your own adventure style) and I also reflected more on how visuals help me to be more focused and enjoy the video more, for example watching today’s version of “the most asounding fact”.

I’m also thinking a lot about the process. Having no experience, I need to understand how the production process, that seems to be very linear and rigid to me, can be made more iterative and flexible. I’m sure that I will find it out in the next days. The idea generation phase is not easy at all, but I’m used to be very “unstable” in the first phase of a project.

Videogames are really fun, but have you ever wondered how are they made?

Like websites and mobile apps, videogames are computer programs. They consist in a list of instructions that humans give to a computer, for example: show a character in the middle of the screen, or: when the player hits this button, change the position of that object in the game.

To give instructions, well.. to ask a favor to another person, we use a human language, like english, or italian. Unfortunately, we can’t talk to a computer in the same way, because computers are pretty inflexible. They can only understand simple instructions and they are quite fussy about the grammar. If we want to talk to a computer, we need a programming language.. and a fair amount of patience.

As with human languages, programming languages can be very different from each other. Most of them are text-based, so the programmers need to write the words corresponding to the instructions. Others, like Scratch, are visual programming languages, where instructions are represented by blocks that can be dragged, dropped and snapped together to create complex programs.

Suppose you want to create a simple videogame, where the user controls the movement of a cat on the screen using the keyboard. You need to tell the computer how the cat should move every time the user presses each of the arrow keys. For example, changing its vertical position by 10 pixels every time the users presses the up key.

Now, can you imagine what it takes to create something like Minecraft or Angry Birds?

A professional videogame can consist of millions of instructions and can require the work hundreds of people. However, you don’t need a lot of instruction to have a lot of fun.

I like how class is organized, watching videos and making reflections allows me to have concrete examples and objects-to-think-with. Today I liked to see how annotations can be used to make the video experience more interactive (choose your own adventure style) and I also reflected more on how visuals help me to be more focused and enjoy the video more, for example watching today’s version of “the most asounding fact”.

I’m also thinking a lot about the process. Having no experience, I need to understand how the production process, that seems to be very linear and rigid to me, can be made more iterative and flexible. I’m sure that I will find it out in the next days. The idea generation phase is not easy at all, but I’m used to be very “unstable” in the first phase of a project.