MAS.110 | Fall 2008 | Undergraduate

Fundamentals of Computational Media Design

Assignments

Exercises

Exercise 1

Use type/letters to convey some concept or message such that the arrangement of the letterforms visually represents/interprets/reinforces the message.

  • As an example for inspiration, see Chapter 6 in Carter, R., B. Day, and P. Meggs. Typographic Design: Form and Communication. 4th ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN: 9780471783909.

Exercise 2

Play with Python/Pygame on the XO Laptop. Take one of the example programs provided and modify it to be more “interesting.”

  • Pygame examples, by Henry Holtzman (TAR)

Exercise 3

Play with CsoundXO and MusicPainter on the XO Laptop.

CsoundXO package, by Barry Vercoe:

MusicPainter for XO, by Wu-Hsi Li:

Exercise 4

Use any technological method or apparatus to create a visual image in the style of one of the art movements discussed in Britt, David, ed. Modern Art: Impressionism to Post-Modernism. New York, NY: Thames & Hudson, 2008. ISBN: 9780500238417.

Exercise 5

gtk + csound exercise (in-class during Lec #24)

Essays

Essay 1

Write 6-8 double-spaced pages describing a technological artifact with which you have a “relationship” (with or without quotation marks).

Essay 2

Write 6-8 double-spaced pages describing a painting at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in one of the styles discussed in Britt. Look up an image of the painting on the MFA Web site and discuss the difference in its appearance from that of the actual painting. Discuss also the difference in your personal experience of viewing the painting at the MFA with that of looking at a picture on the computer screen.

Essay 3

Write a 6-8 page essay on your experience with Exercise 4: what you were trying to do, and the process by which you did it (and how you discovered/developed the process).

Final Project

Using a technology/medium of your choice, and building on the broad range of readings, experiences, and projects throughout the term, explore in depth the intersection of technology, perception, and human expression. Project proposals will be critiqued/debugged in class discussion, and your final project should take into account the comments of your classmates.

Course Info

Learning Resource Types
Problem Sets
Programming Assignments
Presentation Assignments
Written Assignments