Below are some items for those creatives who might be interested in telling stories, designing games, crafting audio-based experiences, composing music, developing new worlds using 3D graphics, and more. 


CREATING THE SOUNDS OF LIGHTFALL — from bungie.net; via Mr. Robert Bender

The sounds of any game can make or break the experience for its players. Many of our favorite adventures come roaring back into our minds when we hear a familiar melody, or maybe it’s a special sound effect that reminds us of our time performing a particularly heroic feat… or the time we just caused some havoc with friends. With Lightfall sending Guardians to explore the new destination of Neomuna, there’s an entire universe hidden away within the sounds—both orchestral and diegetic—for Guardians to uncover and immerse themselves in. We recently assembled some of Destiny’s finest sound designers and composers to dive a little bit deeper into the stunning depths of Neomuna’s auditory experience.

Before diving into the interview with our incredible team, we wanted to make sure you have seen the Lightfall music documentary that went out shortly after the expansion’s release. This short video is a great introduction to how our team worked to create the music of Lightfall and is a must-see for audiophiles and Destiny fans alike.

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Game Dev Diaries: The Hidden World of Audio — from lianaruppert.medium.com by Liana Ruppert, via Mr. Robert Bender

Every game has a story to tell, a journey to take players through that — if done well — can inspire wonderful memories that last a lifetime. Unlike other storytelling mediums, the art of video games is an intricate interweaving of experiences, including psychological cues that are designed to entrance players and make them feel like they’re a part of the story. One way this is achieved is through the art of audio. And no, we aren’t just talking about the many incredible soundtracks out there, we’re talking about the oftentimes overlooked universe of audio design.

What does an audio designer do?
“Number one? We don’t work on music. That’s a thing almost everyone thinks every audio designer does,” jokes Nyte when opening up about beginning her quest into the audio world. “That, or for a game like Destiny, people just assume we only work on weapon sounds and nothing else. Which, [Juan] Uribe does, but a lot of us don’t. There is this entire gamut of other sounds that are in-game that people don’t really notice. Some do, and that’s always cool, but audio is about all sounds coming together for a ‘whole’ audio experience.”


Also relevant/see:

The New Stack of Entertainment, Tensions of the AI Age, & Navigating Cambrian Explosions — from implications.com by Scott Belsky
Let’s explore some fun albeit heretical Hollywood possibilities, face key tensions, and talk about how to stay grounded with customer needs.

On the Transformation of Entertainment
What company will be the Pixar of the AI era? What talent agency will be the CAA of the AI era? How fast can the entertainment industry evolve to natively leverage AI, and what parts will be disrupted by the industry’s own ambivalence? Or are all of these questions myopic…and should we anticipate a wave of entirely new categories of entertainment?

We are starting to see material adoption of AI tools across many industries, including media and entertainment. No doubt, these tools will transform the processes behind generating content. But what entirely new genres of content might emerge? The platform shift to AI-based workflows might give rise to entirely new types of companies that transform entertainment as we know it – from actor representation, Hollywood economics, consumption devices and experiences, to the actual mediums of entertainment themselves. Let’s explore just a few of the more edgy implications:

 

How a Hollywood Director Uses AI to Make Movies — from every.to by Dan Shipper
Dave Clarke shows us the future of AI filmmaking

Dave told me that he couldn’t have made Borrowing Time without AI—it’s an expensive project that traditional Hollywood studios would never bankroll. But after Dave’s short went viral, major production houses approached him to make it a full-length movie. I think this is an excellent example of how AI is changing the art of filmmaking, and I came out of this interview convinced that we are on the brink of a new creative age.

We dive deep into the world of AI tools for image and video generation, discussing how aspiring filmmakers can use them to validate their ideas, and potentially even secure funding if they get traction. Dave walks me through how he has integrated AI into his movie-making process, and as we talk, we make a short film featuring Nicolas Cage using a haunted roulette ball to resurrect his dead movie career, live on the show.

 

Adobe Brings Conversational AI to Trillions of PDFs with the New AI Assistant in Reader and Acrobat — from news.adobe.com; via AI Secret

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SAN JOSE, Calif. – [On 2/20/23], Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) introduced AI Assistant in beta, a new generative AI-powered conversational engine in Reader and Acrobat.

Simply open Reader or Acrobat and start working with the new capabilities, including:

  • AI Assistant: AI Assistant recommends questions based on a PDF’s content and answers questions about what’s in the document – all through an intuitive conversational interface.
  • Generative summary: Get a quick understanding of the content inside long documents with short overviews in easy-to-read formats.
  • Intelligent citations: Adobe’s custom attribution engine and proprietary AI generate citations so customers can easily verify the source of AI Assistant’s answers.
  • Easy navigation:
  • Formatted output:
  • Respect for customer data:  
  • Beyond PDF: Customers can use AI Assistant with all kinds of document formats (Word, PowerPoint, meeting transcripts, etc.)

Along these lines, also see:


5 ways Sora AI will change the creator economy and how to take advantage of that — from techthatmatters.beehiiv.com by Harsh Makadia

Essential skills to thrive with Sora AI
The realm of video editing isn’t about cutting and splicing.

A Video Editor should learn a diverse set of skills to earn money, such as:

  • Prompt Writing
  • Software Mastery
  • Problem-solving skills
  • Collaboration and communication skills
  • Creative storytelling and visual aesthetics

Invest in those skills that give you a competitive edge.


The text file that runs the internet — from theverge.com by David Pierce
For decades, robots.txt governed the behavior of web crawlers. But as unscrupulous AI companies seek out more and more data, the basic social contract of the web is falling apart. 


 

15+ YouTube Shorts Ideas For Your Next Video — from buffer.com by Tamilore Oladipo
If you’re looking for inspiration for your next short video, here are 18 YouTube Shorts ideas to help your content stand out and engage viewers in bite-sized bursts.

With more than 50 billion daily views, YouTube Shorts offers a unique opportunity for content creators to reach a wider audience, promote longer videos, and even increase subscribers.

For content creators and small businesses, Shorts can be a game-changer. Whether you’re repurposing old content, sharing clips from live streams, promoting exclusive content, or hopping on the latest trend, Shorts provide a versatile medium to engage viewers and potentially go viral.

From DSC:
Perhaps there are a few ideas in here for your students — as they continue to develop their skills in creating multimedia-based communications and presentations.


Also relevant/see:

11 YouTube Shorts Creators to Inspire Your Next Viral Video — from buffer.com by Kirsti Lang
A curated list of YouTube Shorts creators worth watching — both at the top of their game and on the rise — and how their content helps them stand out.

Short-form video is still thoroughly enjoying its heyday, due in no small part to YouTube Shorts.

The introduction of vertical, short-form videos to YouTube was a bold move for the Google-owned platform, and it’s paying off for both them and creators — 50 billion daily views is really nothing to be sneezed at.

It’s also ushered in a new wave of short-form video stars, many of whom are prioritizing Shorts over the likes of Facebook and Instagram Reels, and TikTok, with subscriber counts quickly dwarfing what it took years to amass on other platforms.


 

Don’t Be Fooled: How You Can Master Media Literacy in the Digital Age — from youtube.com by Professor Sue Ellen Christian

During this special keynote presentation, Western Michigan University (WMU) professor Sue Ellen Christian speaks about the importance of media literacy for all ages and how we can help educate our friends and families about media literacy principles. Hosted by the Grand Rapids Public Library and GRTV, a program of the Grand Rapids Community Media Center. Special thanks to the Grand Rapids Public Library Foundation for their support of this program.

Excerpts:

Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media in a variety of forms. Center for Media Literacy

5 things to do when confronted with concerns about content.


Also relevant/see:

Kalamazoo Valley Museum’s newest exhibit teaches community about media literacy — from mlive.com by Gabi Broekema

 

Letter from the Editor: Experienced teachers are leaving Michigan schools. This is why. — from mlive.com by Matthew Miller

They talked instead about issues like pay, stress and the sense that they no longer had the solid backing of school administrators.

Sue Harper, who retired this summer from Kreeger Elementary in Fowlerville, blamed what she called “bulldozer parents.”

“I have never been one to quit anything, and teaching is my passion, but this is not teaching,” one teacher wrote. “This is hours of endless paperwork, this is social work, this is counseling, this is parenting, this is babysitting, this is coaching, this is everything but teaching.”

Also relevant/see:

Low pay, culture wars, and ‘bulldozer parents.’ Why Michigan’s best teachers are calling it quits. — from mlive.com by Melissa Frick and Matthew Miller

Now a change management coordinator for Fifth Third Bank, she said, “I don’t take the stress from my job home. I don’t feel guilty, like I always could be doing more for someone.”

Thousands of experienced teachers have retired or left the profession in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic first closed schools and shifted classes to Zoom.

Teachers say they’re burnt out, tired of a lack of support and lack of respect, feeling the impact of the increasingly acrimonious politics surrounding public education.

And finally:


Let’s Use ChatGPT to ‘Think Different’ About K-12 Schools — from gettingsmart.com by Kara Stern

So, in addition to asking ChatGPT to think like a school communications professional, a principal, or a teacher, what if we asked ChatGPT to think like the populations we’re serving, as a way of improving the education (or UX) we’re delivering?


Why I Keep Teaching — from edutopia.org by Rachel Jorgensen
A veteran educator explains why, despite the many challenges, she continues to try to change students’ lives, in turn enriching her own.

EVERY TIME I SHOW UP FOR WORK, A STUDENT MIGHT CHANGE MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER

EVERY TIME I SHOW UP FOR WORK, A STUDENT MIGHT CHANGE MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER

MY WORK HAS INVISIBLE RIPPLE EFFECTS


34 Ways to Quiet a Rambunctious Class — from edutopia.org by Daniel Leonard
From “Silent 20” to imaginary marshmallows, these teacher-tested strategies for all grade levels can help you snap an unruly classroom back to attention.


Per EdSurge:

‘THE MOTH’ GOES TO SCHOOL: For more than a decade, the nonprofit behind the popular storytelling podcast The Moth has run workshops in schools to help students share impactful stories from their lives. Now the group started a spin-off podcast, Grown, highlighting those student stories. Here’s what they’re learning, and why they say storytelling needs to be taught in schools.

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Grown, a podcast from The Moth
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Animation Tips for eLearning — from learningguild.com by Bill Brandon

Excerpt:

Why use animation in eLearning? Many people may think of animation in terms of entertainment value alone. Animation is far more valuable for its ability to engage learners, explain or illustrate ideas, and improve recall of complex relationships, such as cause and effect.

Look up these specific animation types for use in your projects:

  1. Whiteboard animation: Not necessary to be able to draw the characters. Multiple brands.
  2. Stop-motion animation
  3. Animation programs for beginners
  4. Free animation software

Also relevant/see:

Be an eLearning Storyteller With Style and Confidence — from learningguild.com by Bill Brandon

Excerpt:

Humans are good storytellers, and humans respond well to stories. We know this from our own experience. Not only that, people remember stories for a long time, far longer than we remember a lot of teaching. Do you recall stories that someone in your family told you? Why don’t we remember lessons from school as long or as vividly? Stories are powerful if we know how to use them. In this article I will introduce you to a way to use stories to achieve outcomes.

Any time you are designing a course, a learning experience, or just pitching an idea to your boss or an L&D stakeholder, it’s a story. Even if it does not seem like one, a successful production—whether it is an animated presentation, a virtual supporting example or other content—is based on some fundamental storytelling tactics. It doesn’t have to begin “Once Upon A Time,” it just needs to be constructed the right way for your purpose – To make it a memory.

 

Recording Arts as Reengagement, Social Justice and Pathway — from gettingsmart.com

Key Points

  • After a successful career as a recording artist, David “TC” Ellis created Studio 4 in St. Paul to spot budding music stars.
  • It became a hangout spot for creative young people, most of whom had “dropped out of school due to boredom and a sense that school wasn’t relevant to their lives and dreams.”
  • Ellis and colleagues then opened the High School for Recording Arts in 1998.

Young people learning how to perform and record music at the High School for Recording Arts

 

Virtual Production Primer — from provideocoalition.com by Damian Allen

Excerpt:

…use this handy guide to educate yourself on the terms and technologies at play in Virtual Production.

An example of ICVFX using Unreal Engine and an LED volume


On somewhat related tangent, also see:


Below is an item regarding the upgrade to Midjourney, which is an example of generative AI that can convert natural language prompts into images.

 

 

Why L&D should be at the forefront of the AI revolution — from managementtoday.co.uk by Bill Borrows
AI means that 50% of all employees will need reskilling or upskilling by 2025, according to the World Economic Forum.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Ernst and Young dug a little deeper. “Today’s disruptive working landscape requires organisations to largely restructure the way they are doing work,” they noted in a bulletin in March this year. “Time now spent on tasks will be equally divided between people and machines. For these reasons, workforce roles will change and so do the skills needed to perform them.”

The World Economic Forum has pointed to this global skills gap and estimates that, while 85 million jobs will be displaced, 50% of all employees will need reskilling and/or upskilling by 2025. This, it almost goes without saying, will require Learning and Development departments to do the heavy-lifting in this initial transformational phase but also in an on-going capacity.

“And that’s the big problem,” says Hardman. “2025 is only two and half years away and the three pillars of L&D – knowledge transference, knowledge reinforcement and knowledge assessment – are crumbling. They have been unchanged for decades and are now, faced by revolutionary change, no longer fit for purpose.”


ChatGPT is the shakeup education needs — from eschoolnews.com by Joshua Sine
As technology evolves, industries must evolve alongside it, and education is no exception–especially when students heavily and regularly rely on edtech

Key points:

  • Education must evolve along with technology–students will expect it
  • Embracing new technologies helps education leverage adaptive technology that engage student interest
  • See related article: AI tools are set to impact tutoring in a big way


Welcome to the new surreal. How AI-generated video is changing film. — from technologyreview.com by Will Douglas Heaven
Exclusive: Watch the world premiere of the AI-generated short film The Frost.

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The Future Of Education – Disruption Caused By AI And ChatGPT: Artificial Intelligence Series 3 Of 5 — from forbes.com by Nicole Serena Silver
Here are some ways AI can be introduced at various age levels


 


From DSC:
I also wanted to highlight the item below, which Barsee also mentioned above, as it will likely hit the world of education and training as well:



Also relevant/see:


 

From NPR:

We closed the fifth annual Student Podcast Challenge — more than 2,900 entries!!!  

So today, I wanted to share something that I’m also personally proud of – an elaborate resources page for student podcasting that our team published earlier this year. My big boss Steve Drummond named it “ Sound Advice: The NPR guide to student podcasting.” And, again, this isn’t just for Student Podcast Challenge participants. We have guides from NPR and more for anyone interested in starting a podcast!

Here’s a sampler of some of my favorite resources:

  • Using sound: Teachers, here’s a lovely video you can play for your class! Or for any visual learners, this is a fun watch! In this video, veteran NPR correspondent Don Gonyea walks you through how to build your own recording studio – a pillow fort! (And yes, this is an actual trick we use at NPR!)
  • Voice coaching: Speaking into a microphone is hard, even for our radio veterans. In this video, NPR voice coach Jessica Hansen and our training team share a few vocal exercises that will help you sound more natural in front of a mic! I personally watched this video before recording my first radio story, so I’d highly recommend it for everyone!
  • Life Kit episode on podcasting: In this episode from NPR’s Life Kit , Lauren Migaki, our very own NPR Ed senior producer, brings us tips from podcast producers across NPR, working on all your favorite shows, including Code Switch, Planet Money and more! It’s an awesome listen for a class or on your own!
 

 

From DSC:
Before we get to Scott Belsky’s article, here’s an interesting/related item from Tobi Lutke:


Our World Shaken, Not Stirred: Synthetic entertainment, hybrid social experiences, syncing ourselves with apps, and more. — from implications.com by Scott Belsky
Things will get weird. And exciting.

Excerpts:

Recent advances in technology will stir shake the pot of culture and our day-to-day experiences. Examples? A new era of synthetic entertainment will emerge, online social dynamics will become “hybrid experiences” where AI personas are equal players, and we will sync ourselves with applications as opposed to using applications.

A new era of synthetic entertainment will emerge as the world’s video archives – as well as actors’ bodies and voices – will be used to train models. Expect sequels made without actor participation, a new era of ai-outfitted creative economy participants, a deluge of imaginative media that would have been cost prohibitive, and copyright wars and legislation.

Unauthorized sequels, spin-offs, some amazing stuff, and a legal dumpster fire: Now lets shift beyond Hollywood to the fast-growing long tail of prosumer-made entertainment. This is where entirely new genres of entertainment will emerge including the unauthorized sequels and spinoffs that I expect we will start seeing.


Also relevant/see:

Digital storytelling with generative AI: notes on the appearance of #AICinema — from bryanalexander.org by Bryan Alexander

Excerpt:

This is how I viewed a fascinating article about the so-called #AICinema movement.  Benj Edwards describes this nascent current and interviews one of its practitioners, Julie Wieland.  It’s a great example of people creating small stories using tech – in this case, generative AI, specifically the image creator Midjourney.

Bryan links to:

Artists astound with AI-generated film stills from a parallel universe — from arstechnica.com by Benj Edwards
A Q&A with “synthographer” Julie Wieland on the #aicinema movement.

An AI-generated image from an #aicinema still series called Vinyl Vengeance by Julie Wieland, created using Midjourney.


From DSC:
How will text-to-video impact the Learning and Development world? Teaching and learning? Those people communicating within communities of practice? Those creating presentations and/or offering webinars?

Hmmm…should be interesting!


 
© 2024 | Daniel Christian