All posts tagged Chris Eller

The Year of Spinning, Three in a Row, 3D@IU, Brown Bag

Welcome to Annie’s Wool Land

Professor Annie Lang has a special activity in her life… and it has not only taken on a life of it’s own, but an entire room in her home.  While she has been knitting since she was 9 years old, it is only recently that she began spinning her own yarn.  Annie is now not only a dedicated knitter, but a confirmed spinner and fiber maker.

Once she caught the spinning bug, she became interested in not only making yarn but in following the process all the way back to the animal from which the wool comes from.  Her sitting room now holds containers of wool, fiber from animals besides sheep, and fleece in various stages of processing.  Her most recently acquired batch of wool came from a sheep named Scooter, a fleece she got for free. Once the wool is sheared from the sheep, it goes through a washing process (called scouring)

in order to “desheep”, or remove the oils, dirt, and vegetable matter from the fiber.  The oils in the wool serve to waterproof the fabric, so “desheeping” can clean the wool to a wide range of textures.  “The wool sweater that I knitted for my son was intended to be warm and somewhat waterproof, so I didn’t completely ‘desheep’ the fiber.”  After  the wool has dried completely, it can either be dyed or left as is.  Annie has used food coloring or Kool-Aid packets to dye her wool.  After the drying and dying stage, the wool must be carded, or brushed free of knots and debris.  This part of the process can be done with hand paddles or a mechanical carder.  Annie owns one of the simplest types of machine carders, called a hand crank drum carder.  After the wool is carded, the spinning can begin.

Spinning is the process by which single strands of carded fiber are twisted together to a desired thickness.  Annie has experimented with different fibers and weights to produce different textures in the knitted fabric, including beaded yarns that she strings by hand.  She enjoys working with silk fiber because it not only lightens and softens the fabric, but it also drapes much better.  The spinning wheel that Annie uses was a Christmas gift last year, which commenced the Year of Spinning.  “This year is the Year of Spinning.  Next year will be the Year of Weaving.  I’m interested in making woven rather than knitted fabric and in the fact that one can spin the fibers used to make woven fabric.”  She often spins projects while listening to audio books or while watching Green Bay Packers football games.  Yes, the spinning wheel is mobile enough to move in front of her television.

Annie is also becoming more familiar with the textures of a variety of fibers.  Wool, nylons, and plant fibers all offer varying weights and feel.  She also owns a book that details the differences in the weight, length, and feel of the fleece for many sheep breeds.  But, she’s not restricted
herself to sheep alone.  At the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival, she purchased a fleece for $20, wool that came from an alpaca goat named Stormy.  She explains that the investment will be well worth it, as alpaca yarn is often more expensive and much finer and softer than most wool yarns.  Annie continues her search for other interesting wools and fibers.  But what about the original, Scooter the sheep?  “I don’t know where Scooter is.  I know his parents moved to Indianapolis, so he may have followed them there.”

Fletcher Bell’s Three in a Row

PhD student Mark Bell always tells his students to finish things.  Unfortunately, doling out that kind of advice normally requires the one doling it out to actually follow it. As it applies to Mark Bell it also applies to his novelist alter-ego, Fletcher Bell.

Bell graduated college with an English degree and aspirations of becoming a novelist. He wrote a few books, but none really measured up. Motto in mind, he recently revisited some of his old writings. If they were good enough, he decided he would finish them. While most didn’t make the cut, one book stood out – Three in a Row, a detective story.  As Bell read through the pages, he was unable to put it down, even though he knew the ending.  In Bell’s words, “Oh crap, its not bad.” Determined to finish it, Bell had his book professionally edited, a friend of his designed the cover, and he recruited a group of students to put together a trailer to be posted on Youtube. Bell decided to take the self-publishing route largely because he wanted to test its viability and learn a bit more about the community. Much to his surprise, he discovered a huge community of self-published writers who were incredibly supportive and willing to help. In addition to finding a supportive network, he also found a willing audience. Thus far the sales of Three in a Row have largely come from those involved in the self-publishing community.

Three in a Row is a detective story set in a college town in Indiana. Ben Hudson, a campus policeman, discovers the body of a dead girl, naked, with a game of tic-tac-toe carved on her torso. Teaming up with professor Tristan Clarke, the two set out to find the murderer. The mood of the book is dark, incredibly dark. In addition to the story, Three in a Row has a corresponding soundtrack written by Bell exclusively for the book. Written in D minor, “because that is the saddest most depressing key of all time,” the music sets a mood familiar to anyone who has survived a Bloomington winter; cold, wet, and claustrophobic. In the process of writing, Bell would play the soundtrack over and over again for inspiration. As Bell states, “the book is meant to be read with the soundtrack playing.”

So why the pseudonym? The answer is pretty simple. Mark Bell has a publishing track record in both the academy and in the software business (he has sold over 25,000 books). Dropping his first name in favor of his middle name, allows Bell to separate work from play and prevent any confusion on part of his readers. That said, Fletcher Bell is not just a publishing name. With a website, and a twitter page that boasts over 1,000 Fletcher Bell has taken on a life of his own.

You can purchase a kindle copy of Three in a Row from Amazon here. If you feel inclined don’t be shy about leaving a review on Amazon. They are more important for the sale of self-published books than you might think.

An Update on 3D@IU

When not busy with classes, Chris Eller and Sean Connolly are busy turning IU into one of the premiere 3D destinations in the country. 3D@IU, their unofficial title for all the activities going on around campus that relate to the production of 3D, is slowly but steadily growing. In the spring the department once again plans on offering a special section of T452 that focuses exclusively on 3D production and storytelling. So far 28 students have been through the class, and their work has been featured at the IU Cinema, the Hoosier Heartland Film festival, ESPN 3D, and Beijing’s 3d China Experience Center.

Recently, Connolly was invited to serve on a panel at the 4th annual 3D Entertainment Summit with some of the biggest names in 3D including Bill Chapman, director of 3D production at Turner Studios, Buzz Hays, director of Sony’s 3D technology center, and Howard Postley, COO & CTO of 3ality Digital.

On the production end, Eller has installed a 50 megapixel video wall in the advanced visualization lab.

Brown Bag 

This week’s brown bag presentation featured new Telecom faculty member Paul Wright and Professor Bill Yarber from School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation and The Kinsey Institute.  Their presentations focused on male pornography in the United States; what it is, how it is consumed, and what it predicts.  You can listen to the complete audio of the session here.

Paul Wright: “U.S. males and pornography, 1973-2010: Consumption, predictors, correlates.”

Paul Wright joined IU this year as Assistant Professor. Graduate education: California State University, Fullerton; University of  Arizona. Teaching interests include sex in the media, telecommunications processes and effects, media and health, and communication technology theory. Research interests include media effects and health communication, particularly sexual socialization and sexual health. Some representative publications of his work in this field have appeared in The Journal of Sex Research, the American Journal of Media Psychology, the Journal of Family Communication, and Sexuality & Culture.

Bill Yarber: “What is pornography?”

William L. Yarber has authored or co-authored over 130 scientific reports on sexual risk behavior and AIDS/STD prevention in professional journals. He and colleagues from The Kinsey Institute, the University of Kentucky, University of Guelph, and Oxford University are currently focusing on research concerning male condom use errors and problems. At the request of the U.S. federal government, Bill published the country’s first secondary school AIDS prevention curriculum, AIDS: What Young People Should Know (1987). His secondary school curriculum, STD: A Guide for Today’s Young Adults (1985), is considered to have set the standard for a new health behavior approach to school STD prevention education. He is co-author of the textbook: Yarber, W. L., Sayad, B. W., & Strong, B. (2010). Human Sexuality: Diversity in Contemporary America, New York: McGraw-Hill. This text is used in over 250 colleges and university throughout the United States. Bill chaired the National Guidelines Task Force which developed the Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality Education: Kindergarten – 12th Grade, published by the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). Bill is past president of The Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS) and past chair of SIECUS board of directors. His awards include the Professional Standard of Excellence from the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists; the SSSS Award of Distinguished Scientific Achievement; the Research Council Award from the American School Health Association; and the President’s Award for Distinguished Teaching and the Graduate Student Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award at Indiana University.

Random Quote of the Week

“A dirty book is never a dusty one.” – Bill Yarber, at this week’s Brown Bag Presentation

Credits

Nicky Lewis:  Welcome to Annie’s Wool Land, Brown Bag

Mike Lang:  Fletcher Bell’s Three in a Row, An Update on 3D@IU

by nhlewis on 10/24/2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by nhlewis on 10/24/2011

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Rachel Bailey’s Kicks, Bryant Paul: Rock Tumbler, Mike Lang’s Album Release, Chris Eller’s Brown Bag

Rachel Bailey’s Collection

Grad student Rachel Bailey has a small obsession hidden in her closet . . . around 250 pairs of shoes.  How she accumulated this massive collection of footwear is an interesting story.  It began between her freshman and sophomore years at University of Missouri, when she took a job in a child psychologist’s office.  Once Rachel began working in a place where she could wear nice things, her shoe collection began to grow.  Then, she took a position as an assistant to the UM’s Vice Provost of Enrollment Management.  Still, more shoes.  “In high school, I only had an interest in functionality.  I owned maybe one pair of heels.  Then, I started getting fun shoes to wear when I dressed up.” Now, Rachel’s massive collection includes boots, dress shoes, casual shoes, and some workout shoes.  She has one closet devoted solely to her footwear, which includes two shoe racks and several dividers.  She has them organized into sections as well: casual, nice, and really nice.  “I keep the really nice ones in their dusters, bags or boxes.  The boots?  They just kind of go wherever they fit.”

A major adventure for Rachel was moving her shoe collection to Bloomington.  “I moved from Austin, Texas to Missouri and from Missouri to here within a couple of weeks.  I’ll never move so much stuff again.  Well, I say that now . . .”  Rachel has a new appreciation for flats since coming to grad school, since walking around IU’s campus in heels isn’t easy.  She justifies her underlying passion for footwear by explaining that clothing trends wear out faster.  Rachel believes that shoes have a bit more staying power.  In fact, the oldest pair she owns are a pair of Nike flip flops from high school.  More importantly, she doesn’t let her clothes define her footwear choices.  “I just like fabulousness.  If I see a pair of shoes that speaks to me, I will figure out what to wear with it later.”

Bryant Paul’s Rockin’ Hobby

As a bright-eyed 4th grader, Bryant Paul was mesmerized by the polished stones his teacher brought to class, and he begged his mother for a rock tumbler – the machine that spins and churns rough pieces of rock into small polished marvels. He got his wish, started his first batch immediately, and (because he didn’t read the instructions) promptly broke the tumbler within a few days. The dream could have ended there.

A batch of Bryant's freshly tumbled stones

Luckily, when Bryant was going up for tenure here at IU, he was on the lookout for a new hobby when his parents sent him a serendipitous birthday check, and he remembered his short-lived rock tumbler of his childhood. Deciding to take another stab at rock tumbling, Bryant used this money to buy an updated version of his childhood toy. “I needed a hobby, so I got a rock tumbler,” Bryant explains. This time around, he researched the basics of rock tumbling before making his purchase, learning that it’s more complicated than simply throwing a handful of rocks into the machine. “With my first tumbler, I just put a bunch of rocks in it without grit or polish, and that’s why it broke,” he says. Many of the rocks are either really strong or incredibly fragile, and both present a challenge. Some stones, like agates, can take as many as 5 months of tumbling before they are ready for the next level of grit, the abrasive substance added to the tumbler to wear away at the stone.

Bryant’s next step on the pathway to becoming a master lapidary (the official term for a stone artisan) is to learn how to shape

One of Bryant's pieces of polished agate

and polish cabochons, the circular or oval-shaped pieces of stone used for jewelry. “Here’s the thing about cabochons: jewelry makers are always looking for them,” Bryant explains. The cabochon-making process requires different equipment to cut and polish the stone. Byant hasn’t purchased the new equipment yet, but it’s becoming a likely future purchase. “I am a tumbler enthusiast,” he says of the craft. Bryant is part of an online community of rock tumbler hobbyists who sometimes post their work on the website, and when he needs help or has a question about some of his rocks, he goes online or, in some cases, attends rock shows (gatherings where tumblers and jewelers present their wares for sale and viewing).

Bryant purchases most of his stones online from websites dedicated to the art, though he has tumbled a few pieces of local rock. His favorite stone so far is malachite, but he cautions that it’s a potentially

Bryant showcases a piece of agate

dangerous rock. “I killed a tree in my backyard working with malachite,” Bryant warns. “I threw the grit out there and the tree started not looking so good . .  . and then it died.” He also advises against throwing used grit down the sink. “It’s basically like cement, so don’t do it,” he warns.

Dangers of the craft aside, Bryant enjoys rock tumbling because it doesn’t require constant attention and commitment. “It’s a really low maintenance hobby. The tenure process was long, and picking up this hobby was good for making me learn to wait,” he says. Bryant has also shared his hobby with his daughter, bringing rocks to her class and giving pieces of polished agate to the students, hopefully inspiring one of them to someday beg for a rock tumbler.

Mike Lang Releases Album

Mike Lang has more than just a passing interest in metal music.  Along with Professor Mark Deuze and Massakren lead singer Parker Weidner, Mike led one of the most talked about brown bag presentations of last semester. While he takes his scholarly research on extreme metal and scenic capital very seriously, Mike also explores metal in a more applied way . . . by playing it.

Now, Mike and his band, Deschain, are celebrating the release of their own album.  It is available for purchase through MySpace or by contacting Mike directly. Congratulations Mike!

Listen here: Deschain

Brown Bag Presentation

Chris Eller, MS student and Senior Systems Analyst at IU’s Advance Visualization Lab, gave last week’s brown bag presentation.

Developing a 3D Advanced Production Class – What’s it like to Teach on the Bleeding Edge

Abstract:  3D movies have come, once again, into the public eye. Modern 3D technology has overcome many of the shortcomings present in the last Golden Age of Hollywood 3D circa 1955. We are now in a position to develop 3D movies that can stand on the merits of storytelling and cinematic craft without 3D problems hampering the success of the production. The technology of stereoscopic production has come a long way since Sir Charles Wheatstone published his paper concerning stereopsis in 1838.

Now, 173 years later, Hollywood and Indie productions are finding fresh success at the box office while at the same time discovering that precious few people actually know HOW to make a good 3D movie or TV show. T452 was conceived of and designed to address this knowledge gap and equip our students to successfully compete for jobs on 3D productions after graduation.

Follow these links to Chris Eller’s Brown Bag Podcast and the slides from his presentation. You can also check out his website here.

Credits

Nicky Lewis:  Rachel Bailey’s Collection and Mike Lang Releases Album

Katie Birge:  Bryant Paul’s Rockin’ Hobby and Brown Bag Presentation

by nhlewis on 02/28/2011  •  Permalink
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The Musings of David Waterman, the Editors Panel, Holiday Spirit, and 3D

T600 with David Waterman

Over last five years Professor David Waterman has been organizing the department’s T600 seminar series, popularly known as the brown bags. The dedication with which he has been cultivating this important forum for sharing ongoing research, especially works in progress, is an inspiration.  For doctoral students, who have to register for T600 four times and present at least twice, the brown bags provide an opportunity to develop their presentation skills.  The department, as a whole, has opportunities to hear about research by doctoral students and also Telecom faculty and visitors. In these idea bouncing sessions, David’s witty and clever intros have become a feature by themselves.  “Sometimes I put some thought into them and sometimes inspiration comes to me, but I always think of something better after the fact.”  Ultimately, David wants the presenters to feel at ease before they share their research.  “It’s easy to make people feel good when they are accomplished.  I just have to acknowledge their abilities to the audience.”

Here are some highlights of David’s introductions for the brown bags over the semester:

Brown Bag: The Editors Panel

In a panel discussion moderated by Professor Rob Potter, the four journal editors in our department – Erik Bucy, David Waterman, Harmeet Sawhney, and Annie Lang – shared reflections on their editing work and gave advise on what it takes to get published.  They covered extremely wide territory, touching on almost all facets of journal publishing.  Video of the entire discussion will be made available later.  This blog post focuses on only some of the advise they gave to graduate students, mainly on one thread in the conversation.

David Waterman, who just completed a 6-year tenure as the coordinating editor of Information Economics and Policy, advised students to take advantage of the mentoring opportunities, both formal and informal, within the academy.  In his words, “it’s useful to ask your advisors and mentors for help. You learn a lot by going through this process.”  In effect, the nuances of journal publishing can be best learned in the apprentice mode.  The grad students need to engage faculty beyond the classroom setting and seek out such opportunities.

Erik Bucy, currently the editor for Politics and the Life Sciences, advises students not to be hesitant to submit. Politics and the Life Sciences, he said, has published exceptional undergraduate work before, and grad students should not doubt the quality of their own research. “Don’t be afraid of submitting,” Erik said.  “Don’t think you’re out of the game.”  At the same time, he pointed out that there is no point in submitting underdeveloped manuscripts, as that only burns up the research communities resources in terms of reviewers’ time.  The winning combination then is to create good works and then not be afraid of facing reviewers’ scrutiny.

Annie Lang, editor of Media Psychology, suggested that selecting the right journal for your work is crucial to getting published. “Be sure you’re submitting something that’s in the scope of the journal,” she said.  Annie urged the grad students to direct their energies to making their papers substantive, as opposed to perfect.  According to her, pre-occupation with the latter leads to immobility and focus on the former to advancement with the review-revise-review-revise of the peer review process ironing out the imperfections.  She went on to provide advise on how to respond to reviewers’ comments.

Harmeet Sawhney, editor of The Information Society, said it is also important to understand the texture of the journal. The Information Society, which covers a wide range of topics from artificial intelligence to the digital divide, is flexible about methodology but insistent about a significant conceptual contribution.  He says, in a journal like this, conceptually strong articles are essential because “the appeal of the published article needs to go beyond the sub-speciality the researcher is working in to the broader audience.”

Sharing Some Holiday Cheer

Take a look at the Christmas Tree next to the entrance of Graduate Program Administrator Tamera Theodore’s cubicle.  The little gifts under the tree are particularly delightful.  Most of them are pieces knitted by Annie, including the one featured in the close-up shot.

3D Storytelling and IU Cinema

The semester is coming to a close, and with it, the end of IU Telecom’s inaugural 3D storytelling and production class. The course, T452, is wrapping up final projects for a class viewing on Monday.  In the spring semester, the public will have an opportunity to view the class projects, along with additional 3D productions at the soon-to-open IU Cinema.

Grad student Chris Eller, who assists Professor Susan Kelly in the course along with Informatics student Sean Connolly, says the final projects are the culmination of the theory and practical work learned and applied over the course of the semester. “This project will showcase their knowledge,” Chris says. The class of 12 has been working in three teams, each completing 3 projects for the class, with the final one being the biggest.

The public viewing of the final projects will take place on January 30th at 3:00 p.m. at the IU Cinema, closing out the week-long grand opening of the venue, which will seat about 240 people. The showcased 3D productions will include projects from T452 as well as 3D modeling and animation work from students in the IUPUI School of Informatics.

Chris was also interviewed by the Herald Times because of his expertise on 3D production. You can access the Herald Times article here. (Subscription required)

Random Comment of the Week

Ted Castronova:  “The grad blog is freaking cool . . . a moment of joy.”

Random Photo of the Week

Julie Fox: “Check out David’s new wheels!”

Credits

Katie Birge:  Editors Panel and 3D Storytelling and IU Cinema

Nicky Lewis:  Musings of David Waterman and Holiday Spirit

Special Thanks

Julie Fox:  For spotting David’s new wheels

Bryant Paul:  For taking the picture with infectious enthusiasm

Andrew Weaver:  For suggesting possible shots for photographing David’s new wheels

by nhlewis on 12/12/2010  •  Permalink
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A Top Paper, Mark and the Janissary Collective, the Third Dimension, and the Market for Eyeballs

This week’s edition brings an array of happenings from all ends of the department:   conference honors for Travis Ross,  Wednesday meetings of  the Janissary Collective in Mark Deuze’s office,  Chris Eller’s 3D project “An Ancient Pond,” and the brown bag featuring Ted Castronova’s quest for the elusive eyeballs of video game players.

Travis Ross has a Top 5 Paper at Meaningful Play 2010

Doctoral student Travis Ross has received recognition with a Top 5 paper at the upcoming 2010 Meaningful Play conference.

PhD student Travis Ross and co-author Jim Cummings received top paper recognition for the upcoming Meaningful Play 2010 Conference. Photo Credit: Travis Ross

The paper, entitled “Optimizing the Psychological Benefits of Choice: Information Transparency & Heuristic Use in Game Environments,” was co-authored by Travis and IU Telecom grad alum Jim Cummings. Jim, who completed his MA here, is currently pursuing his doctoral studies at Stanford University’s Department of Communication.

Travis and Jim will present the paper at the conference, which will be held October 21-23 at Michigan State University. With regard to the top paper honor, Travis says, “I’m really excited. I knew our paper had some potential, but I thought it would lead to an empirical study, not an award.” The paper, along with the other 4 top papers, will be compiled into a special issue of the International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations on meaningful play.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of writing this paper, according to Travis, is the opportunity to work with Jim, a former classmate. “Although writing the paper was time consuming, I really enjoyed it,” he says. “Jim is a great co-author, and it isn’t everyday that you get to produce academic work with someone you also consider a close friend.”

Mark Deuze and the Janissary Collective

If you happen to walk by Professor Mark Deuze’s office on Wednesdays around lunch time, you might notice a small group of students and faculty inside.  It is a constant flow with people popping in for minutes or hours at a time, crowded on the couch or sitting on the floor.  What they talk about varies from week to week, but it often revolves around works in progress, current research ideas, and life in general.  The meetings often include some variations of caffeine and sweets and the discussions range from popular culture to philosophy.

Mark explains that the group began last year, with just Laura Speers and Peter Blank coming to his office to chat.  Eventually it grew to the size it is today, with a core group of around 10 people, coming from several different departments on campus.  In addition to both graduate and undergraduate students from Telecom, the group includes students from Learning Sciences, Journalism, Informatics, and Communication and Culture. Professors Mary Gray (CMCL) and Hans Ibold (Journalism) also drop by regularly.

Recently, several  students from the Wednesday meetings collaborated to write a chapter for the upcoming Routledge Handbook of Participatory Cultures under the pseudonym The Janissary Collective (evoking the spirit of Ottoman warriors against theories, paradigms, and methods that dampen free thinking). This chapter focuses on developing a definition of participatory culture and situating the individual in it. The group is also collaborating on future writing projects, including an essay on authority and digital media in the British fashion magazine Under The Influence, and a chapter in a forthcoming NYU Press anthology on social media and dissent.

Last week’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including: concepts of online identity, the idea that being delusional can lead to happiness (according to Woody Allen), and notions of what makes a culture unique.  Participants of last week’s meeting included: Siyabonga Africa, Mark Bell, Peter Blank, Watson Brown, Lindsay Ems, Mary Gray, Hans Ibold, Mike Lang, Nicky Lewis, Jenna McWilliams, Nina Metha, Brian Steward, Mary Gray and Daphna Yeshua-Katz.

See a clip of the discussion on the possibility that we all exist in our own Truman Shows and how the concept of delusion may hold an answer:

3D at IU Telecom

“An Ancient Pond,” a stereoscopic 3D short film project by MS student Chris Eller, wrapped up its filming over the weekend. The project’s shooting finished on Sunday with cast and crew recording final scenes in the IU Arboretum and in Telecom’s own Studio 5. “It’s a film about power, assassination, revenge, and innocence,” says Chris, who is filming “An Ancient Pond” as part of his final project, which will eventually include two other shorts in 3D. “This is the first project that Telecom has really been involved in. This has been in pre-production for three months.”

In addition to shooting his own work, Chris is also helping Professor Susan Kelly teach T452: 3D Storytelling. The course,

Chris Eller edits 3D video footage for "An Ancient Pond."

a pioneering one in the country, immerses 12 students in semester-long advanced 3D production work. The students were selected on the basis of an application process, and the high demand led to the addition of another course in the spring.  Chris is hoping to develop a course design for future 3D production classes through a special T540 project this semester.

Chris says that producing 3D film is really interesting because it presents unique challenges. “There’s the added complexity of the 3D camera rig. The two cameras have to work together,” he says. From a production standpoint, Chris says he’s gaining a new awareness for the techniques involved in capturing the magic of 3D. “You have to be much more conscious of how you frame. You have to reconceptualize everything, but then there’s a new sense of realism,” he says.

The finished product of “An Ancient Pond” will be viewed in the soon-to-be completed IU Cinema, which will be 3D-ready when its renovations are finished. Chris is also helping IU Cinema gather 3D content through both grad and undergrad projects. The IU Cinema’s grand opening gala will be in January.

Grad student Chris Eller makes adjustments to the stereoscopic 3D camera.

For the future, Chris has several other 3D projects planned. On the agenda for upcoming months are a thriller/comedy involving zombies and a documentary on the art of bookbinding.

In addition to talking with us this week, Chris was interviewed for a pair of 3D-themed stories in the Indiana Daily Student for the Weekender section. You can view one of the stories through the IDS website here:

http://www.idsnews.com/news/weekend/story.aspx?id=76926

Brown Bag

Professor Ted Castronova was featured in the T600 Brown Bag Presentation this past Friday:

THE MARKET FOR EYEBALLS

Abstract

Much has been written about the Attention Economy, yet there are not many conceptual tools for thinking about it in terms of Communications.  How does a game designer know how many monsters to put into a Facebook game?  Adding monsters costs money, yet more monsters – to a point – are needed to capture the eyeballs she needs to make a profit.  What is this market for eyeballs??  In this talk I start with a model of limited cognitive resources and end with a model of supply and demand for attention.  In other words, I walk the long, arduous, dangerous, difficult road from Annie to David.  I’ll need help on the way, so come with me!

Take a look at some of Ted’s presentation here:

Credits:

Nicky Lewis: Mark and the Janissary Collective and the Market for Eyeballs

Katie Birge: Travis Ross has Top Paper and 3D at IU Telecom

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