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In regards to the videos that are present on LACMA’s website, I find them all incredibly intriguing. For me personally, I love to know what goes on behind the scenes or why an artist makes what they do. Because I work in film, my favorite part is listening to an interview with a director to learn more about how they were able to accomplish something as spectacular as a motion picture. Because of this, I greatly enjoyed listening to Ed Moses discuss the art that he created.

When it comes to what I expect from a museum digitally – I don’t expect much. The first museums I visited were in Spain for a culture class I took there and I didn’t notice anything at all. (To be fair, I’m sure there were some digital aspects, but without looking I didn’t see any) And now to take this course and to learn all of the developments museums have been making, I have a whole different viewpoint. I guess I would expect them to have some form of social media presence and website. However, from there I am still excited to see anything of interest (like the behind-the-scenes interviews).

If there were an online class that taught real life skills pertaining to a job, I would pay attention to that. For instance, I would benefit from learning how to write a press release. If there were ever some sort of video that could teach me how to do one without having to consult my supervisors, I would take it in a second.

I’m not sure if this will count as digital storytelling, but the first thing I thought of was the Virtual Reality experience for The Walk. This film tells the story of Philippe Petit, the man who walked across a tight rope between the twin towers. This experience gives a little background of the story by playing the trailer and then actually puts you into his shoes to try and complete the walk. I can say from experience that this is so realistic most people can’t even take the first step. I know I couldn’t. I feel like virtual reality will be the next step in digital storytelling.

 

I think digital storytelling is a great asset and way for museums to implement their digital presence. When I see any digital media, I’d personally expect it to be easy to understand, use, and follow. I also expect it to be interesting. I cannot stress enough the issue of the digital divide in society today. It’s important to be able to reach out to all audiences, as this is becoming a type of alternative information. It’s important to be considerate to everyone of all technical skills and experience. With digital storytelling and other digital components, there is also the issue of losing the face to face and live interaction. I think it’s important to add an interactive component or at least make it somewhat engaging to ensure that users get as much as they can out of the digital.

I have personally taken online classes before, but I have never gotten as much out them as I would like to. Especially coming from someone in the social sciences, a lot of the dialogue that comes from in class discussions is where I retain a lot of the material. It helps expand ideas through critical thinking and sharing thoughts. When online, this interaction is missed. A class I’d possibly take online and get a lot out of is a computer class. Personally, I am a fast learner in the technical aspect. With numerous tutorial videos we have used in DH classes and the many application tutorials I have watched online for work, I have learned as much as I can in a short amount of time, probably of equal quality as if someone were to sit down next to me and teach me. With technology, a lot of the questions I have can be answered through trial and error, whereas a academic subject question cannot be solved this way.

 

A lot of digital storytelling pieces are of personal stories, and I explored a few on a website called Story Center. One I found interesting is here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AaJDKkM8zs&feature=youtu.be

This particular storytelling video is a very personal one, and talks about her personal experience. In a digital humanities class, we collect stories and both qualitative and quantitative data. This site is a collection of stories and does just that.

The range of videos available on the site exemplify the different goals of musuem digital story telling projects and the broadening definition of musuem public engagement. LACMAs videos aim to provide viewers access to artists through interviews, behind the scenes looks at conservation, information about the architecture of the museum, curator led of exhibitions and conversations with the Director of LACMA. As we discussed in class, the central goals of digital story telling projects seem to be to provide the audience with a “behind the scenes,” more personal, and in-depth understanding of or access to museum content, collections and artists that is not possible in a traditional museum setting. The desire to make all this content available to the public reflects the on-going trend occurring in institutions to be more transparent with the public and increase public access to the curatorial process and musuem collections.

I personally like digital content that features interviews with artists, art historians, and curators. I feel these types of digital content can increase the resonance of art objects and exhibitions. The PBS series art21 is one of my favorite examples of how digital media has been used to document and explore the work of contemporary artists. art21 gives the viewer a personal look into the work of a diverse range of contemporary artists through the lens of the artist themselves discussing works, exhibitions, and process.  In terms of a museum’s digital presence, I really like the digital content the Whitney Museum of American Art produces in relation to exhibitions and the online interface they create for current and past exhibitions.  The Whitney’s online content and the interface are extremely helpful for research.

I think I would like to take Big Data Course on coursera because it is a really big topic right now that I would like to learn more about.

 

In terms of digital presence, I am all for the modernization of museums. I feel that in order for museums to stay relevant and up to date with the times, going the technological route is the way to go.

Of course, the first step would be a website. It would be a great service to the museum and to those interested in it if the museum were to have a website that would provide all the information they need – address, special exhibits, “know before you go” tips. A website would probably be one of the first things potential museum guests would look at before deciding to make the trip there, so this would definitely be something that is well crafted and enticing.

Secondly, social media is now the norm with many teenagers and young adults. This demographic is definitely the type to benefit from the information a museum can provide, so I would definitely expect for a museum to be on social media. This younger crowd definitely is the type to follow trends and visit cool locations, so in creating social media, museums could find that it is an inexpensive form of advertising for itself.

A class that would be extremely interesting to see would be how to do the basics of design. At this time and age, designing (or even just using basic photoshop) is the norm for most people looking for an entry-level position. It would definitely be helpful to learn design basics, typography and possibly photo editing. Although I’m sure there are some videos like this already available, to have all the basics conveniently available would be extremely beneficial.

Lastly, this is the digital story telling piece I would like to share.

It strikes a chord with me because this is a Content Creator that I’ve been following on Youtube and other forms of social media for a long time, primarily for beauty and lifestyle. While naturally, she would drop tidbits about her personal life from time to time, this video was beautiful to see. It was a wonderful and emotionally poignant piece of digital storytelling that makes me empathize with her, as well as educates me.

I expect for museums to use digital tools to create narrative that gives unique perspective and context that cannot be accomplished from just being in the presence of the physical object. Museum digital tools should be exciting and fun but also functional and assist with research and creating a lasting sense of resonance with the collection.

I really dislike online classes. I always find myself trying to treat them like a game that I want to win instead of engaging with the material. I think the only class online that would be effective would be a creative corse,like design and media arts such as 3D modeling. It would be cool to create online an engage in a dialogue cross culturally with other students. Maybe a language component could be involved.

I really like art 21 but I feel like sometimes they focus to much on process. I like the personal aspects of this piece.I find it funny and endearing and it makes me feel more connected to his work and him as an artist.

I was not aware that LACMA was working on web-based videos as a way of communicating stories about their artwork, exhibitions and directors. It was interesting to see that this medium is being used not just for documentary style videos, but to conduct interviews and offer a close-up look of some of the museum’s new initiatives.

When thinking about a museum’s digital presence, I first expect it to have a comprehensive and well-designed website. Apart from museums, I judge organizations, schools and other institutions based off their webpage. A poorly designed website or one that is not user friendly is almost as bad as turning in a bad resume- first impressions are so important and I am not likely to put in more effort to find information if the simplest things e.g. contact information, opening hours are difficult to locate.

It would also be great for museums to have a social media presence that seeks to engage us with in-the-moment news. Apart from just promoting their events and exhibitions, museums as an educational institution have the authority and power to be responsive to current events. For instance, several artists have produced works referencing the Black Lives Matter movement, and a museum could tweet or make a post about a previous or upcoming artist who would be featured as part of that movement. This ensures the institution itself is not viewed as being politicized, while still promoting the works of artists.

It would also be helpful if museums were somehow able to track the visitors at respective exhibits, and notify past visitors of similar/ related exhibitions that might pique their interest. This will encourage return visits and sustain audience engagement, rather than have visitors seek out exhibitions and events solely through their own research.

I did not have access to any classes on Coursera, but I found a TedX video titled “The Problem with Modern Art” by Tomas Gonzalez Cueto. He is not the most engaging speaker, but the subject matter is unique (something I would watch from start to finish) in that it was critical of museums and the construct of modern art. Members of the general public already have a perception of modern art as being disconnected from reality, abstract and difficult to comprehend, and museums do little to address this lack of understanding for the art. Perhaps addressing this elephant in the room by creating videos that directly acknowledge some of the misconceptions and pressing questions the public has about art (rather than just assuming everyone who watches the video should be an art enthusiast) will help people relate to it better. The institution itself is seen as uptight and some level of self-deprecating humor might be well-received by museum goers, and make the content produced by museums seem less dry and intimidating.

Finally, I looked up the trailer for the ballet documentary “First Position” since I have heard a lot about it but not actually watched it. The trailer does a good job of incorporating personal stories into a greater narrative, and provides insight on the less well-known and hardly publicized lives of professional ballet dancers. I would encourage this digital storytelling approach as it gives viewers the perception that they are being let on a “sneak peek” or exclusive “behind the scenes” video of what museums do. When people can relate to and have a better understanding of the institutions that are creating content, I think it naturally makes them more curious of the museum’s exhibitions.

I watched most of the videos on lacma.org/video but the one that I found to be really entertaining and overall enjoyable was The Megalith Arrives at LACMA: The Making of Levitated Mass. LACMA’s video production, I have to say, is incredible! I think with the variety that the museum provides in its video content is what makes users engaged with not only what the video is about, but also the museum sphere and experience as a whole. Along that line, the video about the Megalith was one that had an interesting composition that was so simple, yet really impactful. I loved how the video was quite literally about how LACMA moved the Monolith into the vicinity of the museum building with thousands of onlookers cheering and documenting it. The shots of the crowds of people and the huge mass gave me a look at just how important the museum community is and how experiences like this make museums so wondrous and overall lasting.

Speaking of “lasting,” this is where digital presence comes into play. Yes, the fact that LACMA has a video section on their website- now common among most museums- is already evidence of a good and evolving progression into the digital world. When we’re talking about online classes, I also think positively on this method of delivering content from institutions like that of a museum. Essentially growing up on Khan Academy and other online resources during my high school years, I think online classes are extremely helpful in terms of allowing students to interact with content on their own terms, time, and interest, as well as have more subjectivity and material to discuss and present with professors, other students, and the like. I think that more art-centered classes would be interesting; that is, classes like understanding composition of paintings, color theory, visual literature, and so on. I think Khan Academy has a few videos on art history and the humanities in general, but they’re usually very general and sometimes gloss over the finer information that one would receive in a classroom setting. With these video ideas, which can involve having allotted time and instructions for activities to do while watching, I think positive engagement and interest would follow.

One digital storytelling piece that I recently saw other than the Monolith one earlier is by Variety Magazine called SAG Winners Recall Their First Acting Job. The video is quite short- only 3:39 minutes- but the significance of the subject stands in how the individuals talk about their experiences, all culminating into how their success with winning a SAG award singlehandedly changed their lives. Funny, uplifting, and warmhearted, the stories of the SAG winners remind us how dreams can be achieved against all odds. In the end, all individuals joke and reminisce about both the hard and good times of their journey to success. I personally love digital storytelling projects like this, which involve multiple perspectives that overarch into a single or common theme. I also am intrigued with videos that cover events rather than physical objects, as the personal connection we have as human beings are often associated with the memorable times in our lives.

All in all, with this post comes the reminder that the class will be visiting LACMA this Friday, and I can’t wait to wander through one of my favorite museums again and see what’s new, digitally and on exhibition!

The Internet, technology, and other digital applications play an integral role in almost everyone’s lives. These new forms of communication facilitate new interactions, experiences, and expectations and have in turn reshaped the museum-going experience as a whole. As a generation that exists online, content is key, and it is abundant. The online community is obsessed with content, but they want more than just access to it, they want to be a part of the conversation. They want to be “producers” of content, not just “downloaders.” There is a new widespread desire to be “uploaders,” to be creators and contributors of the content itself. I think this new mentality should be reflected in a museums digital and online presence. Museums are already reshaping their intentions towards having more of a public service and engagement outlook. The public has more of a say than ever in what objects are deemed valuable and what is exhibited. As a result, objects and our interactions with them are more interactive than ever before. For these reasons, I think that museums that have an interactive, novel, and engaging online presence are the most successful.

After having explored Coursera, I think classes like “Big Data” or “Data Mining,” those that explore data visualization, are classes that I would be the most interested in and would watch from start to finish. I think it would also be great if those courses explored data visualization art, where the students get to create and design new interpretations for big data.

I think the MoMA has beautiful and well-produced digital storytelling pieces about the objects, artists, and artworks that are exhibited at the museum. The video, “Maria Hassabi | Plastic,” is haunting and mesmerizing. I think what makes their digital story telling successful is that each video is filled with such emotion and candor. They reveal the “human touch” that is hidden behind each piece that they explore, and as a viewer I feel I am uncovering it with them.

 

I don’t think I have any major expectations in terms of a museum’s digital presence except a clean functioning website that offers an explanation or information on the exhibits and events taking place at that particular musuem. Any museum site should be user friendly so as to draw in potential patrons, an expectation that I would think to be intuitively considered in the web design process. Othewise I think digital aspects shouldn’t necessarily stand in for the physical experience, but instead enhance it as with the arrival of the megalith in the Levitated Mass video on the LACMA site.

I’m actually taking an online class right now through UCLA for my last science GE. Though its pretty convenient, I wouldn’t say I’m getting much out of the experience since it is so easy to complete the adjoined activities without really understanding the content. However I think this has less to do with the online aspect and probably more to do with my lack of interest in the subject matter. If I had to chose or create an online class I think I would be interested in something more of a practical application like something to do wth coding that way I’d be more interested in actually understanding the content.

I didn’t have any immediate thoughts when it came to good digital storytelling projects I’d seen so I googled. A project that came up numerous times was Bear 71 which was an interactive storytelling project about a female bear living in Banff National Park in Canada. The story took around 20 minutes and varied between controlled visuals which would play at specific points in the narration in conjunction with an interactive range which would appear in between allowing you to travel over the park tracking not only Bear 71 but other animals and humans. All the while there was narration that was meant to be coming from the main subject Bear 71 explaining essentially the negative effects of the human expansion and presence in the once truly wild habitat of these animals. By relating these issues in the format of a story, I think it was more emotionally resonant and the message thus had more impact.