Collage: Ballparks
Go To: ballparks.dantonios.net
For my entire life, I have always been a baseball fan, yet what I have always enjoyed more than the game itself or the players on the field has been where the game is played: different ballparks. Naturally then, a collage project that could convey my liking for the stadiums would be in order.
The first decision that I made was that I wanted my project to be entirely digital; doing so I felt would be a significant aid in several respects the first of which being that it allowed for a multiplicity of design elements (sound, video, still photos, etc.). Yet for me, the ballparks themselves could not afford a simple passing glance as a mere frame in a movie, but rather they deserved something that could allow for a better appreciation of them by the viewer. And so, at that point I decided to break up my project into two parts, the latter of which would allow for a closer examination of the different playing fields throughout major league history. While it may sound at a first a bit disjointed, doing it in two parts allowed me to offer the viewer different perspectives on the same overall product, which ultimately (at least in my mind) bettered my final creation.
The next step was accomplishing said objective, and I believe that I was able to do so only with my choice of interactivity in the second part. As you will notice, the first part serves as a mere introduction and overview of what is to come; I accomplished this through the use of video, which hopefully enhances one’s enjoyment of the collage. (For those that might have missed it, the opening scenes of Ruth (3), Jeter (2), and Smith (1) are intended as a countdown, Ozzie Smith’s flip is too cool to leave out a baseball montage.) The second part, which opens only after seeing part one, is arguably the ‘true collage’ part. Scattered photos of all sizes, this part allows the user to click on any particular baseball team and be zoomed in on their current stadium (from multiple perspectives) as well as stadiums of their recent/not-so recent history. Unfortunately, the one thing that I seemingly forgot was to label the stadiums and so if time allows, I will try to produce a little guide to the collage in the coming days.
Making the collage itself was not all that difficult, in fact it was almost as simple as it can get. It came down to the programs that I decided to use and Microsoft’s ‘Deep Zoom Composer’ and their ‘Expression’ series were able to accomplish what I wanted to get done. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely helped that I had preexisting knowledge of the software but what I did anyone could easily do in the future. In the end, the multiple elements I believe were a good support for the collage, and because it was done digitally I believe I was able to offer something different than what one might ordinarily expect from a collage. Enjoy.
Forewarnings: There is some audio in part 1, and it may take some time to load and Pop-Up may be blocked; sorry!
Photos Thanks to PC-Ballparks, Video Property of MLB.
