Editing the music…
In preparation for our collaborative video, I’ve spent some time digitally editing our musical selection (Zoe Keating’s Optimist) down to approximately one minute. Listen to the original unedited track here.
ICE Rink @ The Dubai Mall
Is that a huge Samsung screen?!? WOW!
from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/87TpHq
via IFTTT
While surfing Flickr today, I found this photo from searching for “figure skating technology” in the Flickr world map. I wasn’t aware there was an arena in Dubai, and it’s in a mall to boot! Many years ago, I lived for a short period in Singapore and worked as a skating coach at Singapore’s only arena which was also located in a mall. This photo is reminiscent of my time teaching skating in Singapore and makes me think about the culture and community of skating in SG. Although there are a few more competitive skaters now, skating in Singapore (then) was mostly focussed on recreation and leisure…unlike here in Canada where skating is usually portrayed as a competitive sport. In viewing the Dubai Ice Rink website, it seems as if fun is also the focus there with offerings of public sessions, disco sessions, freestyle sessions, Dubai snowfall and family DJ sessions.
Figure Skating Prosthetic
Just Pinned to #mscedc: Aloft | Figure Skating Prosthetic #universaldesign http://ift.tt/2lbl869
Link to article HERE.
Fascinating!
Miller (2011) depicts ‘cyborgs’ as the the “interface between humans and technology” and of how “technological apparatuses have been used to fix and alter the human body.” The images above of prosthetics for figure skating can be described as ‘restorative’ and perhaps ‘enhancing’ (Miller 2011). I was surprised to find these prosthetic legs/boots/blades for figure skating – in all my years of skating, I have never come across anything like this! Although I have not worked with figure skaters who have physical disabilities (like loss of limbs), I have worked with a number of skaters with mental conditions such as autism.
I wonder if having a figure skating limb like this would enhance a person’s skating ability or detract from it? As a coach, I am always telling my students that their skates (boots and blades which are forms of technology) are a part of their body – that they have to feel as if their skates are extensions of their legs and feet. How would this work if they were using these prosthetic skates? More research is needed here!
References
Week 3 Summary
Week 3 Summary: Jan. 30 – Feb. 5
This week was dedicated to the following three things:
- Recording video footage for my visual artefact: I decided to record clips of ‘happenings’ from around my own house – the coffee grinder, piano, laptop computer, chandelier, etc. I wanted to depict everyday things that mix the ‘technology’ with the ‘human’. I posted a rather ‘unedited’ planning document HERE, before taking the footage to begin the long process of creating and editing it on Final Cut Pro into a video for my visual artefact.
- Postings: I engaged in conversations on Twitter commenting on others’ visual artefacts and tweeted my own artefact HERE. I also blogged about figure skating prosthetics and cyborgs HERE, and reflected on transhumanist views in relation to an exciting initiative called ‘New Dimensions of Testimony’ using Bayne (2014) and Miller (2011) HERE. Finally, I posted a picture of Holocaust survivor, Pinchas Gutter HERE, and more on ‘New Dimensions of Testimony’ HERE and HERE.
- Visual Artefact: This week, I posted my visual artefact – a few times from a few different sources – but the final artefact can be found HERE, with comments from my classmates. I was proud of how my artefact turned out; I wanted to portray a feeling of anxiousness and of monotony – like a drone machine trying to struggle through life as a human or machine (or a cyborg, perhaps?). I enjoyed mixing the tech sounds and images with the human (breathing, heartbeat sounds) and think it was an effective way to combine human and tech.
As I usually do, I realise I probably spent entirely too much time creating my visual artefact, but I did find it to be a worthwhile project – a great way to end week 3!