Tag: Audio

Soundscapes

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Two dancers stand on a window ledge, lit dramatically from the back

Audience sits on rugs in the center of dance studio, facing a performer holding a wooden staff

Description & Process

The Dance and Movement Studies course Sound, Performance, and Creativity deconstructs various elements of performance and sound by creatively exploring and making. The students’ final group performances combined these elements in according to each groups’ vision, to create innovative embodied performances with an emphasis on sound, but also utilizing movement and a choice of tools including light, costuming, and set.

One such tool is digital sound recording and editing. To this end, students worked with Kyle Burnham and A/V specialist Graham Espe. In February, students in groups of three or four created sound pieces, using the same base text, which were digitally recorded by Espe. Lloyd and Burnham collaborated on a workshop to teach the four main tools for editing with GarageBand and assigned a small individual task to use those tools to create a new sound piece out of the recorded sound, using segments from each groups’ audio. Burnham also worked to Lloyd to create a sound visualization video for the course, visualizing the sounds from David Bowie’s “Angels Have Gone.”

This assignment familiarized the students with the technology required to edit sound digitally. Lloyd assigned student groups of three of four a text from which to draw inspiration for their final performance. Students again met with Espe for recording their sounds, both vocal and made from a variety of objects. Because of the scaffolded nature of the project, they were familiar enough with digital audio editing that they could focus on the effect of their final performance rather than how to edit their sound. Each student group had a session to run their movement and digital sound piece with Lloyd and Burnham for individualized support and teachable moments.

Groups presented their final performances to a small audience, successfully incorporating digital and live sound with movements and messages.

Learning Goals & Objectives

This course was designed to introduce students to creative uses of sound in performance. Student will:

  • Put on a creative performance piece
  • Utilize digital audio editing tools
  • Analyze the effects of their performance upon their audience
  • Choose elements of performance to aid their message

Students were successfully able to design and put on innovative performances.

Additional Information

Dance 130: Sound, Performance, Creativity

To complete this project, there were:

  • GarageBand Intro
    • 1 recording session – 1.5 hours
    • 1 workshop – 1.5 hours
    • 1 working session – 1.5 hours
  • Final Performance
    • 3 recording sessions (one for each group) – 1.5 hours each
    • 3 working sessions (one for each group) – 1.5 hours each

Total time per student: ~20-25 hours

Simulated Election

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Simulated Election, GOVT112

Description & Process

As an experiential learning project in Comparative Politics, students work cooperatively to organize political parties, for which they draft platforms, design logos, produce campaign ads, and prepare for a public debate. This project has long been a successful part of Associate Professor of Government Sharon Rivera’s, but 2016 introduced a new element — interactive collaboration with Russian students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). The Russian students served as the press corps for the simulation, providing written and verbal feedback to the Hamilton students using the video platform Panopto.

Educational technologist Ben Salzman brainstormed with Professor Rivera to find the best solution for this international collaboration. The time difference between the two schools made a live collaboration difficult; responses would need to be recorded. Inspired by video blogs (vlogs), they settled on Panopto as a way to easily record videos to share privately.

Student groups chose fictional parties to represent in the simulation, with members of each group in different roles. Lynn Mayo worked with the groups’ policy team to research and draft party platforms. These platforms were used to inspire logos, in consultation with Digital Media Tutors skilled in the vector art program Adobe Illustrator. The groups recorded a press release on their policies and logos, which the MIGMO press corps critiqued, sending back videos with questions for the party leaders and recommendations on policy and feedback on the logos. Finally, the Hamilton students created campaign videos, which the MIGMO students reviewed, roleplaying characters like political analysts and Wall Street executives reacting to the ads.

The culminating debate between the party leaders was filmed and broadcast to MIGMO. The MIGMO students voted on a winner using an online Qualtrics survey, announcing the winner in a mock talk show. Finally, Hamilton students sent a thank you video to MIGMO.

Learning Goals & Objectives

This course is designed to introduce students to the basic theories and concepts used in the study of comparative politics, giving students tools to discuss how various types of political systems operate and compare and contrast the way politics work in democracies and authoritarian systems. As part of accomplishing this, students completing this experiential project will:

  • Replicate political campaign processes, based on a fictional political system
  • Creat a campaigning party, in small groups of students
    • Research and write policy platforms
    • Design logos based on party message
    • Produce campaign ads
    • Defend policies in a public debate
  • Collaborate virtually with students from Moscow State Institute of International Relations

Details

GOVT 112, Spring 2016

To complete this collaborative website project, there was:

  • 1 Workshop
  • 1 Working Session