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Commentary

Eric Lam    Hunter College

There were many projects that were very entertaining. My favorites were “The Battle of the Brews,” “CUNY Timeline,” “Transportation Around Macaulay,” “Julliard,” and “Fresh Experience.”

“The Battle of the Brews” did a good job of exploring the connotations associated with coffee in New York City. It made good use of several interviews with people across New York City. The editing was excellent and I learned a couple of new things from the project’s use of iMovie.

The use of Dipity in “CUNY Timeline” was very refreshing. The interface was simple, easy to explore, and entertaining. I was able to get a very good sense of the history of the different colleges associated with CUNY, and I enjoyed looking through all the maps and pictures in this project.

I also enjoyed “Transportation Around Macaulay” because it was extremely relevant to all of our peers. Even as a native New Yorker, I learned some new things about how to get around in Manhattan. The video really captured the essence of what it was like to travel around on the subway in the city.

I have heard about Julliard numerous times, but the video about it really gave me a sense of what it’s all about. The video was well made and it transitioned easily from one section to the next. It was fitting that a video about an excellent music school did a wonderful job in sound editing.

“Fresh Experience” did a wonderful job with editing. The products were presented effectively and in an interesting manner. I especially liked the music that went along with the video.

Commentary

My personal favorite projects were “iPods form generation to generation next”, “Transportation around Macaulay”, “Adventures at Barnes and Noble”, “Fresh Experience”, and “I found God on the corner of 65th and Columbus”. The reason that each one of these appealed to me is because of the big influence that each topic has in many peoples lives. For me, I work at the Apple store on 5th avenue- so it was really interesting to see the new 68th street and how others got influenced by it. On top of that, technology has a huge affect in many of our lives- for instance, the fact that this blog exists and I am using my computer to communicate shows how massive of an impact it has. While they did not film very much in the store (you’re actually not allowed to film in Apple stores =) ), it shows how the tools were used. By either uploading the video to youtube or the blog- tools are being used. I’m not sure if I would have done this particular topic, but I did enjoy it. I also liked Transportation around Macaulay because as a New Yorker, all transportation has a huge affect on us! By capturing how the trains are in NYC, anyone can be able to get an idea of how busy, efficient, and dirty 🙂 they are. I think that the best way to capture how NYC transit is is only through video. After that, I enjoyed adventures at barnes and noble. The filming was a little shaky, but it was cool to see just how big the store is. I get nervous because I am worried that book stores are slowly going out of business, but thankfully barnes and noble is one of the stores that will be around for a while- due to their ever growing book collection, their appeal to everyone (whether it be through caffeine, book readings to children, or simply browsing) will keep them in business for a while. I REALLY liked the fresh experience video. I thought that it was well edited and informative. The group did a good job on showing the products that Fresh had to offer and by the starting music, it gave a feel for the experience that Fresh provides- relaxing, nice, etc. I wouldn’t have thought to have filmed it and edit it like that, but I really liked it. Lastly, I found god on the Corner of 65th and Columbus appealed to me because I would never have thought to film a church. Not religious myself, I am still extremely interested in places of sanctuary. even though the group was not allowed to film past a certain point, they still captures how calm and peaceful the church was. Overall, great job, Macaulay!

Commentary

Andrew Salimian- City College

I like the project, “Indian Burial Grounds Under Lincoln Center?”  Although I was disappointed that they could not find any evidence, I found the topic  very interesting.  Also, since Lincoln Center is so close to the Macaulay building, I found the topic somewhat “close to home.”  What this group did well was post a complete video with a fair deal of editing done.

I also liked the project, “CUNY Timeline,” because it utilized web tools. In this case, the tool that was used was Dipity.  What I found most interesting about Dipity was the different interfaces that can be used to view the events.  I thought the timeline view and the map views were the most important, and I would love to see a timeline with much more data sometime in the future.  What I was mad about was that they listed the creation of City College as 1948, the date of its name change and not the date of its founding.

The post, “The Battle of the Brews” captured what I feel is an cornerstone of New York culture, coffee.  In recent years, the explosion of Starbucks has led to a coffee shop on what seems to be every corner.  If in the movies that take place in New York, there is at least one scene shot of the protagonist in Starbucks or with Starbucks in hand.  The video was uploaded as a QuickTime mp4, which I thought was interesting.  The video also had a expert degree of video editing and the creators interviewed locals, which is important for our final projects.

I liked the project, “The Empire Hotel.”  I felt the group took a very classy approach.  They managed to get inside a large amount of the hotel and provided a large deal of historical and informational research about the hotel.  I noticed that the sound quality is not great on the flip cams, so the group decided to just have captions and display the video set to music.  As an architecture student, I liked the juxtaposition in the hotel of what the group said was a modernistic design motif shared with Lincoln center and what appeared to be the original art deco floors.  The video was also posted with Vimeo, which seems to be a little more user friendly than YouTube.  I will definitely consider using this video format on my website.

The last project that I would like to mention is the project, “A Walk along Broadway.” This project merged videos edited with iMovie that were posted on YouTube with Google Maps.  It was interested to see each video experience in terms of its location.  This just added an extra layer of context.  I wonder if you could merge these videos with a timeline such as the one in “CUNY Timeline.”

Commentary

My five favorite posts were The Indian Burial Grounds Under Lincoln Center, Fresh Experience, Walk Along Broadway, Zara, and Fun at Barnes and Noble.  I enjoyed the one about the Indian burial grounds because it was a satire on movies such as National Treasure, and it was comical. By using the camera to capture interviews, the project was done in the style of a documentary, which made it enjoyable to watch. Similarly, the video on Fresh Experience was documentary like as well. I liked the use of the google map in Walk Along Broadway. This way I could really picture the juxtaposition of places that were visited. If I were to do this project, I would probably use the flip cam to record the adventure so as to give the viewer a visual portrayal of my experience, as well as put in music and affects to make the project more appealing.

Commentary

My favorite posts are Fresh Experience, The Empire Hotel, Tucker Square Market, A Pizza Adventure with Macaulay, and The Younger Elder. Most of these posts used iMovie, and the tools that come along with that program. These posts used a lot of transitions from one part of the movie to the next. They also used a tool that minimized the background noises in the videos and instead inserted music at those specific parts. I can imagine using these tools to probably make similar videos, and one example I can think of is making a commentary video on paintings at a museum like the MoMA. The Younger Elder video mainly comprised of an interview of an “elder” at a Mormon Church, and instead of recording the visual part of the interview, the group used the paintings found at the Church as the background to the interview. Also there are tools that let us place written information on the video at specific times. So even if the movie has to be silent, there is a way to place information without having to say it aloud in the video.

Instructions

Your challenge is to contribute to the 67th Street Project, exploring the area around the Macaulay Center.

Using a wide range of available web apps as well as your MacBooks and FlipVideos, you can create and display a short film, a photo essay, an interactive timeline, an annotated map… and more!

  • Start in the Screening Room on the 2nd Floor.
  • With your group, decide on your topic and approach.
  • ITFs are standing by to help you. You can see them right away for assistance and input, or consult with them as you work on your project.
  • A list of available apps and help is on the back of your Tech Fair handout.

When your group has completed your work, upload it here.

Include:

  • Your names (very important!!)
  • Your campuses

Answer three questions:

  • What did you do?
  • Why did you choose it?
  • What did you learn?

Categorize your post according to the date.

Please tag your post with and information you think is interesting or relevant! Make sure to tag your post with your app(s) and topic(s).

About

This site showcases projects completed for the Spring 2010 MHC Tech Fair.

When your group has completed its project, embed it in a post including your group members’ names and answer these three questions together:

  • What did you do?
  • Why did you choose it?
  • What did you learn?

Apps

Here is a list of technologies and web apps that are on offer at the Tech Fair. Please refer to your handout for specific apps being offered each day, and where to find them.

These categories are somewhat arbitrary. The apps might be applicable across more than one.

iLife Apps that might be helpful

  • iMovie
  • GarageBand
  • iPhoto

Mapping

Data & Tables

  • www.census.gov Census Bureau official website. You can find area profiles, population, housing, and business information there.
  • www.infoshare.org collects Census and American Community Survey data; allows users to: profile an area, compare area across a region, and produce their own tabulations. Data can be saved for use in a variety of popular spreadsheet, presentation, and mapping programs.

Video

  • Download Helper is a Firefox extension that allows easy downloads of YouTube videos
  • Jing (video screen capture) and excellent tool that allows still and video screen captures
  • Keepvid is a website where you can download YouTube videos in mp3 or other compatible format by entering the address of the desired video and simply selecting “save”
  • YouTube has additional functionality that allows for annotation of the video with live links attached
  • Vimeo an alternative to YouTube with a higher resolution and more sophisticated appearance

Audio/Music

  • Audacity is a free multi-track audio editor.  This application runs on your computer (not on the web).
  • Myna is a free multi-track audio editor that runs completely in the browser.  Good for simple projects on the go, but upload restrictions may make this program unsuitable for detailed projects.

Annotation and Social Bookmarking

  • Del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Flickr is a photo storage and sharing web site. All photos can be annotated visually, allowing for an explanation of key elements of a given photo. Downsides: while the photo will embed on other web sites, the annotations are only visible when you look at the photo on Flickr.
    • iMapFlickr is an app that allows you to create custom Google Maps from your geotagged Flickr photos to embed in your website.
  • Slideshare is a slideshow player that supports Word, Powerpoint. PDF and iWork pages files. You can also add an mp3 file to play as a soundtrack to your slideshow, as well as embed a youtube video within your slideshow. The slideshow can be embedded in your website.
  • Voicethread is a web-based service which allows you to upload & arrange images/slides, then add audio commentary and written annotations. You can also draw on the screen to highlight portions of a slide. The final result is easily embeddable. Multiple users can comment on one VoiceThread, allowing for a conversational approach.
  • YouTube has additional functionality that allows for annotation of the video with live links to other Youtube videos attached. Learn more: Youtube Video Annotations.
  • Zotero

Graphics

Project Topics

Your challenge is to develop a short project exploring a topic or place in the Macaulay Center’s locale. Working with your group, decide on a particular focus or thesis for your mini-project, and use at least one web app to showcase your ideas.

Some possible topics are:

  1. ABC: 77 West 66 Street (across 67 Street from Macaulay)
  2. Apple Store: 1981 Broadway at 67 Street
  3. Banana Republic:67th & Broadway
  4. Barnes and Noble: 66th St & Columbus Ave
  5. Cafe des Artistes: 67th St & Broadway
  6. Cafes/public spaces
  7. Central Park, urban planning etc
  8. Entertainment in the area (movie theater, Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School)
  9. Farmer’s Market (Saturday)
  10. Fictional videos or creative endeavors exploring the area
  11. Food and nutrition in the neighborhood
  12. The Juilliard School http://www.juilliard.edu/
  13. Lincoln Center
    • History and Evolution of the Complex
    • West Side Story (which took place where Lincoln Center is now!)
  14. Local Merchants vs. Big Chain Retail
    • Liquor Store: 67 Wine: 179 Columbus Ave
    • Drug Store: Thomas Drugs: 171 Columbus Ave (vs. Duane Reade at 2025 Broadway)
    • The Sensuous Bean: 66 West 70th St http://www.sensousbean.com (vs. Starbucks)
    • Cafe St. Honore: 189 Columbus Avenue (vs. Starbucks)
  15. Magnolia Bakery: Columbus Ave at 69 Street
  16. Makor – history of MHC building
  17. New Avery Fisher Hall
  18. Religious spaces
    • LDS building: 125 Columbus Ave
  19. Street Islands
  20. Streetcarts
  21. Tavern on the Green: 67 St & Central Park West
  22. Transportation – pedestrian flow, subway, buses, bikes
  23. Upper West Side Business Planning