Arranged Delirium

iMovie continues to improve, which is a considerable relief to me. I use the application extensively when first teaching students about making digital films, so its imperrative that the tool work effectively. Otherwise I have to change software. This happens frequently enough in my classes, and I’ve had to move to FCE in the past to avoid issues that iMovie has created. But since the debacle of ‘08 the software has continued to improve. Now, I am extremely pleased to say that the Timeline is back! Without the timeline, it’s been more difficult to use the software - especially for novice users. Audio editing is also improved and a minimal storyboarding feature is “meh” but I’ll likely incorporate it in class because I still struggle to incorporate effective storyboards into the class projects. There’s also a much touted trailer feature, but I don’t see the value until I can think f an effective way to incorporate it into the class projects.

Overall though - its nice to have a strong update to the software that has been such a valuable tool for teaching neophytes about digital film editing. Here’s a link to the MacWorld review with more details.

My colleague Dr. Pettegrew is blogging again at Corinthian Matters, and I’m linking here to encourage him to keep with it : )

In seriousness though, he’s got a link to an animation of the diolkos across the Isthmus of Greece. I’m not sure about all the details since they conflict with some of what I’ve understood in the past concerning how this portage road was used. But, it’s quite helpful for envisioning the overall use of the road and why it would have provided a considerable shortcut between Italy and the western Mediterranean. I’m embedding it below in its entirety, but you can find links to sections at Corinthian Matters.

You can find more information by following this link to the project page hosted by Vimeo…

Well, against my strict sabbatical policy to only finish tasks, I’m taking on a new project. Specifically, an edited volume on archaeology and new media. Bill is already thinking about this, and now I’m trying to collect my thoughts on it and begin a prospectus. We would value any thoughts and ideas form people, so please don’t hesitate to comment and send up emails. We are just working on this as we can around other items, so this is a 2-3 year process.

I think the format is easy for me to envision: a book that is also electronic and a corresponding web app that allows folks to access annotations, any addendum, and perhaps even formulate a sense of community via discussion boards if anyone wants to talk about it. I’d imagine there could be quite a bit of discussion on some of these topics. So, in looking at Bill’s ideas, I see it as both traditional and dynamic - and I think that’s exactly what our audience requires. I don’t think this approach will be overly problematic - O’Reilly is already releasing electronic review copies of texts I use in my classes with active links to the web. I find these very useful and carry them around on my tablet. What we’re talking about doing here is essentially similar with the addition of some web technologies which are the stuff of my development activities anyway…

But I’m still struggling a bit with the organization of the work. I can see the best practices section being a collection of case studies - that’s our last section. But how do we address the topics of concern here? Bill suggests definitions and sampling strategy, both of which make good sense. I’d probably want to add in components for interpretation and education; although they might just as well fit into a definitions section. But then I get caught up in a circular argument which underscores the conundrum I face when thinking this through: do we organize these discussions around what we are specifically doing with new media and technology, or do we focus on the archaeological research process and how the new media relates to that? I like the idea of organizing around the research process, but so many of the tool we use are becoming pervasive throughout the entire process. And it’s informing the work we do - while we are doing it - as well as the interpretations we make after the fact. So it’s not so easy to break the new media or technology away from any isolated activity since it’s often invading multiple elements of our work…

OK. The new photo galleries are up. You can access them through the link of the left, or through my web site. If you like them, you may want to check them occasionally as I intend to cull the collection and add some new imagery as I work on items this fall. Thus far, the material is almost exclusively the Southwest US - I’ll be adding images form Europe and the Middle East in a few weeks.

I didn’t bother setting up comments, but I’m always interested in people’s thoughts and impressions. So, feel free to comment to this post…

I’ve posted previously about my love for the new content-aware fill and healing brush features in Photoshop CS5. I’ve had some time now to work with them, and I have a bit more knowledge about what works well and what doesn’t. Of course, there are many tutorials online that have great examples; but what if you want to do something a bit more challenging?

I’ve had an image I’ve wanted to improve for years now - since 2004. It’s a photo of Shiprock on the Navajo rez in NW New Mexico. Here it is:

If you look closely, you’ll see the image is marred by a fencepost as well as a series of high-capacity power lines. (I admit, they are harder to see at this smaller resolution - but they are there if you look for them.)

Anyway, I increased the resolution of the image and used the content-aware fill feature to address the power lines. I also did a bit of work on the fencing, but addressed that primarily through cropping and re-compositioning the image. Here’s the end result:

The content-aware fill feature works remarkably well in some environments, but not necessarily with the dramatic gradations of these storm clouds. I was able to make it work though by selecting and filling smaller sections, and then using the healing brush tool to blend the modifications. In the end - and at a screen resolution - I think it works well. And, I think the content-aware feature is still amazing. But it doesn’t magically fix any photo as some Web content would have you believe : )

I’ll add this image to my gallery collection which is now active and accessibly via my web site and this blog.