Based on work by Hannah Perner-Wilson, Andrew Quitmeyer, Rad students, and more!
Show Watched: Black Mirror Season 2 Episode 1 – Be Right Back
One small design decision I noticed in the show was the pregnancy kit that Martha took. It was very interesting as unlike the usual pregnancy kit that shows only lines, it also shows a digital animation of a baby. Also, there were congratulatory sounds coming out of the pregnancy kit when the digital animation appeared.
The movie that I watched was 12 Monkeys by Terry Gilliam. One small design decision that I noticed was the chair that James Cole sat in having the function to move up the wall as the scientists talked to him. It seemed like quite an arbitrary option because whatever that was being done to him on that chair could have been done the same if the chair was not elevated. However, it did make it feel like James Cole was in a giant claw machine and the scientists had control over whatever was going on in it.
Movie title: Freejack (1992)
A small design decision that I noticed in a transitioning scene is that the taxis look different in the future (2009 supposedly in the movie). These taxi-vehicles look like some tuk-tuks (like those in Thailand) where the the vehicle operates with 3 wheels only. Unlike the tuktuk we see on the streets, the driver is exposed to the elements of the weather but the passengers would be safe within a sheltered area. The ‘taxi’ sign still remains on top of the vehicle but nowadays, ride-sharing apps like ‘Uber’ or ‘Grab’ changed the concept of taxi entirely..
Fast forward to 2102, mankind’s obsession with aesthetics was the mood of the century. Everyone sought the latest technologies and gadgets to achieve the ideology of a ‘perfect’ aesthetic.
In order to advance the social ladder or maintain your social status, points were awarded by those around you based on how they perceived your aesthetic. Brands and companies vied with one another to invent the most cutting edge technology for consumers.
With that, make.io invented a cutting edge machine that looks similar to the MRI machines in year 2018.
This machine – Make Bot, can zap away all your imperfections and with their plasma skin rejuvenation technology, you can walk out of the treatment with flawless and poreless skin with no down time needed.
Botox? That’s a thing of the past. With its special
I’ve rewatched Wall-E at least 6 times but I think a (not really that small) design decision that was fascinating about this film was the distinguished shapes between ‘new’ and ‘old’ machines/technology.
WALL-E is a boxy (rusty) old ‘outdated’ with sharp edges, compared to EVE who’s super sleek and chic with curved edges, when all her limbs (and head) are retracted, it creates a seamless silhouette.
This transfers to the other robots in the film as well, such as the rogue robots which all have rounded edges even though they’re not necessarily spherical.
I’m pretty sure the differences between WALL-E and EVE are intentional to help with marketing purposes (easier to distinguish, sells the whole star-crossed lovers ish narrative) but it’s pretty cool that smooth edges are somehow associated with the future.
Wendy & I are in the group called: Developers.
We have changed and improved our Storyworld from Week 8 when we received feedback and suggestions from the class and Prof Andy.
We now present to you our new Storyworld!
(New) Storyworld:
In the distant future 2984, cameras are banned for everyone except the government and the elites. The government has super high security surveillance everywhere, on everything, on everyone.
Art, creativity and freedom of expression is banned and deemed illegal. The government and the elites determine what is art and what can be learnt. They force what they think is art down on the public and persecute all artists. Fine arts are now fined arts.
A black market exists for works of art such as photographs. They are rare illegal goods that can fetch a high price.
Jody secretly loves photography and she makes her own camera and darkroom to take and develop photos. Her camera is made from a beer can and a pencil. Her darkroom is portable. She sells these photos in the black market to earn money for her family. Because photographs are illegal, she tries not to have too many on her in case she gets caught, that’s why she needs to develop them right before she sells them with the portable darkroom. After she has the prints, she would rush to meet her dealer to get the prints off her, exchanging them for money she needs for her family.
Characters:
Jody’s family
Came from a family of artists, painters, photographers, directors. They were all persecuted in the Art Cultural Revolution of 2108. They now work in the art factories of the government, doing menial labour, producing art materials for the elites and their possé.
Mom: Was a post-impressionist painter, now working in a factory producing paintbrushes
Dad: Was a renaissance painter & photographer, now a runner in the admin of art office
Brother: Wanted to be a cinematographer until the Art Revolution of ’64 happened, now working in a factory producing photo paper
Tools & Technology:
Portable Darkroom – disguisable
Developing Kit disguised as a backpack
Photo paper
Film Camera disguised as a beer can
Microstories:
The Story
Jody looks up at the wall along the staircase, staring at empty frames that used to hold photographs of happy memories. A picture of mom and dad at the beach on a sunny day when they were younger, Grandma on her favourite chair in the living room, and Jody grinning with a chocolate layer cake on her 4th birthday. Jody knew which specific frames housed these photographs, but as the years went by, these images were slowly fading from her memory. It had been 15 years ago after all, since the The People banned photography for the masses.
Banning photography was just one part of the Arts Cultural Revolution in 2108. Drawing, painting, sculpting too, to name some from the list. Jody didn’t even know who The People were. She only knew that The People regulated the art all around the city, stamping a black shimmering emblem in the corner of every art piece to show that it was approved to be put up.
Jody’s mom and dad used to be printmakers. But 15 years ago The People in white suits barged into their home, taking away all their craft equipment and prints. The People then fined Jody’s mom and dad for making art. The only way they could pay off the fine was to work in a factory that manufactured photography equipment, something that wasn’t in their field of expertise so that they could not practice their art anymore.
When Jody’s older brother Jared turned 21, he too was sent of to the factory to work. Jody was about to turn 21 in a year, and she wasn’t letting her precious freedom go to waste. She was going to take photographs. A lot of them. And sell them on the black market for extra income for her family. It didn’t help that her mother was getting sick from breathing in toxic fumes at the factory everyday
Earning money wasn’t the only reason why Jody gravitated towards photography. She loved how she could capture beauty in a frame, how a moment in time could be immortalised forever in a photograph. As photography was illegal, there was no way Jody could purchase a proper camera, so she made one by herself. It was fashioned out of a aluminium can covered with black duct tape all over the exterior. A pencil was taped along the length of the can so that it wouldn’t roll about if placed sideways on a flat surface. There was a small hole in the middle, a few centimeters above the pencil which acted as the “lens”, and a slit where photo paper could be inserted into the can. Jared was able to help her smuggle photo paper out of the factory so she could carry on with this project.
This story is set in the future in 2099. Humans have managed to create the highest level of AI, Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). ASI outperforms the human mind by way of superior speed of thought, enhanced memory, untiring performance, and instant upgradability. Somehow, humans have found out a way to programme ASI such that it is extremely intelligent yet does not want to overpower humans and instead wants to help humans.
Thus humans live in a utopia where robots and machines do all the work and humans no longer have to go out and earn money and fuel the economy because all the robots are doing it.
However, it is not really a utopia, not every thing is perfect. This is because since humans don’t actually have to do much work, the obesity rate is increasing in the city. There are still people that are fit because they take care of their health, but the proportion of obese people to healthy people is growing alarmingly.
The main character is a 27 year old man called Bill who lives by himself in a small apartment. ASI was just implemented in the workforce 5 years before, thus he never really had to enter the workforce and earn money to support himself. Bill was never into sports, moreover he had a bad back, as a result he grows very obese.
Even though there are devices that help transport obese people, Bill does not want to draw that kind of attention to himself and feels insecure when travelling out in the city because of his weight. He is also tired of being alone, he wants to lose weight and turn his life around. No machine or robot can loose the weight for him, so he is determined to exercise and get fit.
Technology:
1. Back and leg support to help ease the load when he is exercising
2. Fitness trainer ASI (like a J.A.R.V.I.S that helps you improve your fitness)
3. Exercise clothes — has a special thread that helps monitor heart beat and important information (i.e. like a fit bit but you just wear it as clothes)
– The sports gear works with the ASI to help create the best workout plan for the person wearing it
– The thread also send electric signals to heart and muscles to make it work harder (to loose weight faster) (non-invasive unlike pills, no side effects)
Genre:
Comedy and coming of age story
How the story will be told:
Through prose with illustrations
Antecedent technology:
Machines, robots and AI
Characters:
Xiangyi
Jiang Jun (Older Brother)
Valerie (Mom)
Robert (Dad)
Genre:
Sci-Fi, distant future
Storyworld:
In the distant future, humans are forced to live underground because the environment has been destroyed and too unliveable to live. The Leader of the world decides to reenact the flood like Noah’s Arc to “restart” the world and wash away of the sins of humanity.
The Leader thinks that technology & electricity is the root cause of all these destruction and sins of humanity so He dictates that no electricity and any form of technology will be allowed in the Underground.
Xiangyi who loves photography and art is then on a mission to quickly take photographs of everything, everyone, every sight she loves to store these photographs and keep the memories with her when she need to go to the Underground with the rest of the world.
Tools:
Portable Darkroom – allowing her to develop photos on the go
Developing Tray Kit – strapped on the front of her torso, to develop photos
Photo Paper
Film Camera
GENRE
Dystopian, sci-fi
CHARACTERS
Zachary, Dad, Whales
TECHNOLOGY
Broken hearing aid that allows the character to hear and communicate with whales
PREMISE
Environmental issues and global warming has brought Mother Earth to ruin and not many remain. People are forced to build upwards as everything begins to sink. Many don’t make it. A fisherman and his death son live alone together in the midst of the water and are doing their best to survive. Radiation and other leaks have caused many animals to become extremely dangerous as well, making surviving even tougher. The father also wants his son to hear again and has been trying to put together a hearing aid that will work, but fails time and time again. However, one day his son wakes up realising that he can hear the whales, and what they are trying to tell him is dire.
STORY
Zachary roused awake as a groaning sound swarmed him. “Wait what?” Zachary touched ears. His face was wet, having fallen asleep in tears. The hearing aid vibrated. Another long moan followed. And another one. And another one. A melody. He touched his ear again. He snapped his fingers, and nothing. There was no sound. But the groans? What were they?
He listened intently. For a minute there was nothing but the familiar silence, then came another song. He heard a swish, and it was like the tune of it had changed. He felt… sadness. The tune had now become melancholic.
What was going on?
He took the hearing aid out, and there was silence again…