Introduction to Finality

with a hat tip to Community

Work to have done: Submit final-for-now website, with source files, and reflection (though I know some people are planning for a Thursday submission, and that’s also okay)

Plan for the Day:

Breathe; reflect. (5-10 min)
Consolidation Unit goals, and what that might look like (10-15 min)
Generative Writing (5-10 min)
Work on a Project Proposal

1. Breathe; reflect. (5-10 min)

Congratulations on reaching the end of the web unit! You’ve (probably) just turned in a reflection on your individual website project; now, take a few minutes to write a broader reflection (as we’ve done before) about the course as a whole.

One goal I have, overall, is to help you feel more empowered to learn new digital skills across contexts, not just for particular applications or tools. One way to think about that is through metaphor (or, more specifically, simile).

What was it like to compose a website? To what other activities might you compare it?
- For example, was it like getting butterflies to fly in formation? (That metaphor is Betsy Sargent's, I can't take credit for it.) Was it like writing on loose paper with a pen that's chained in a dark room? Like singing and humming at the same time?
Let your mind wander for a minute, and see what comes to mind when you start off thinking about the process of working with html, css, etc.
Would you use the same metaphor for the other kinds of digital composing you've used this semester? If not, what other metaphor would you propose?
Within the metaphors you've come up with, what strategies would help you continue improving? What strategies might that suggest in real life, i.e. outside of the metaphor?

Take 3-5 minutes to think in writing. I won’t collect this, but I will suggest that you return to these when writing your end-of-semester reflection, and I will ask for some volunteers to share in a few minutes.

EXT: What personal skillsets do you feel like you now possess, that you might offer to a team of digital media composers?

2. Consolidation Unit Goals (5-10 min)

As I said in the schedule,

In this final unit I’ll ask you to build on what you’ve already made: a revision, an extension, or a combination, of the modes and media you used in earlier units.

The unit goals, then, are:

to integrate and consolidate the skills you’ve practiced across the semester
to assess your own skills as a digital media composer, to find ways you in particular might best contribute to a collaborative digital project (perhaps in the future)

Note that while I'm not requiring you to work in groups, nor am I requiring you to work solo: If you have a team that can collaborate effectively in online formats (via Zoom, Discord, Slack, what-have-you), you're welcome to go for it! Let me know if you're thinking of going this route, so I can give advice re: team roles and workflows for shared repositories.

What might that look like?

On the most straightforward level, this could literally be a revision of one of your existing projects. Were there stretch goals or aspirations that you think you didn’t quite figure out how to achieve? Did you write in a reflection about what you might do with more time? Well, now you have a little more time! We might call this a baseline option, though of course excellent work is still worth rewarding.

Another, more ambitious option would be to make a second project in the vein of one you’ve already done: another sound-editing project, another visual argument, another website. You’ll have less time than you did originally, but you should also be higher on the learning curve. In this same vein, you could try an alternate program for the same genres: e.g. AdobeSuite parallels like Audition (for Audacity) and Photoshop (for GIMP) – or vice versa, if you started with Adobe. See what happens when you dive in again, and reflect on the differences!

A third, also aspirational, option is to build a new project that builds on what you know to make something different: e.g. you could try or next-level tools like Inkscape for vector graphics (the Adobe parallel is Illustrator) or Ableton for music mixing (there’s a free trial); or try for one of the ideas you’d already proposed on the Issue Queue, like a company campaign with logos, websites, and social media, or a podcast with a theme song and a couple of episodes; or – and this is what I was originally going to suggest for anyone not sure what to make or do here, though time is tight this semester – you could make a Twine.

What is Twine?

Twine is 'an open-source tool for telling interactive, nonlinear stories,' to quote their website. Follow link for complete text.

A choose-your-own-adventure story is one way to think about it. But it’s not always adventure, not always a story… and not even always choice.

I’ve recorded a roughly 10-minute screencast intro to Twine and why I think it’s useful now, which you can check out later if you’re intrigued. But in a nutshell, it allows you to apply your knowledge of html and css, and the affordances of sound and/or image, in a shared context that’s also pretty fun. A game, in fact.

Click for examples and resources on Twine.

Here are some examples, grouped more or less in pairs of shorter (odds) and longer (evens). To get a feel for how Twine works, and the range of possibilities, I suggest you **open and play through at least one of each, or through the beginning few scenes, until you get the flavor.** Note that the first four are more or less professional-level, while the last two were made by students at Pitt. 1. [The Tiniest Room](https://erik108.itch.io/the-tiniest-room) - a minimalist escape room 2. [The Griffin and the Minor Canon](https://cmg.itch.io/the-griffin-and-the-minor-canon) - more poetic (it's actually an adaptation of a [short story](https://www.classicshorts.com/stories/griffin.html) from 1885). Hint: if you're stuck, visit the stone ledge a few times. The view isn't always the same. 3. [Queers in Love at the End of the World](https://w.itch.io/end-of-the-world) - what will you do with the short time you have left? 4. [the uncle who works for nintendo](https://ztul.itch.io/the-uncle-who-works-for-nintendo) – a horror game; see trigger warning link on home screen. 5. [Conquering Cathy](http://philome.la/mtyrhetoric/conquering-cathy/play) - "A trial of fortitude & vitality at the University of Pittsburgh" 6. [Remnants](https://philome.la/lissamay/remnants-by-kelly-sung/play/index.html) – Your mother is crying next to your bed. Why can't you touch her hand? If this sounds intriguing, I encourage you to look at the relevant section of our course resources page for links to the Twine and Harlowe wikis (your basic starting point) and some good video tutorials (listed as a "slightly more advanced intro").

Generative writing

Now that you have a sense of what’s possible, in general, it’s time for you to write your way into a sense of what’s drawing you, in particular. (This exercise adapted from Sondra Perl’s Guidelines for Composing)

For an audio version of the text-based writing prompts that follow, async participants can use this media player:

Take a breath. Close your eyes. Put down your pen, or take your hands off your keyboard. Find a way to be present to yourself, wherever you are, and know that whatever you write for next set of questions will not be collected: it’s for you alone.

Start by making a list: What’s on my mind? what have I been meaning to do lately? When you feel yourself answering, begin to write.
Set that list aside – it’ll wait for you until you’ve finished here – and ask yourself again: What skills have I been building in this class? What do I feel I’ve leveled up on, or that I’m on the verge of leveling up on? What am I on the edge of accomplishing? As before, just make a list, like an inventory: don’t delve too much into any one item.
Now ask yourself: Is there anything I’ve been trying to do in this class, but haven’t yet done? Any aspirational goals I meant to achieve, but just ran out of time for? Did any of the ideas above sound both fun and achievable, a way to make these last couple of weeks more celebratory than stressful? Again, take a quick survey; you’ll have time later to expand.
Take one more moment to consider: Is there anything I’m forgetting, that could go on this list? If you came to this exercise with a project already in mind, make sure to add that to your list.

Take a moment now to read back over your lists. Is there something that stands out, that says, me, pick me? Choose one thing to work with, at least for today, and mark it in some way. Then copy it into a clean page.

With that chosen subject, write again:

What terms or images come to mind when you think of this subject? … Think about categories of words: actions vs things. Descriptors (adjectives).
Is there anything you’re forgetting to add to your list? A line from a song? A color?
Who else might be interested in this? Who, that is, could be your audience?

See if you can summon up the whole of this idea, like it’s right here in the room with you. Where does it live? Is it above you? Inside you? In the palm of your hand? Just sit with your idea for a moment, feeling where you connect to it.

And now, plan.

Your writing homework is to post a proposal / plan for your consolidation unit.

Take 10-15 minutes now to get started on that process. To allow for possible group formation, I’d like you to take notes in the shared google doc. We can also entertain some concept pitches out loud, if people have them!

Asynchronous folks, take notes using whatever medium feels appropriate to your project: do you want to sketch a drawing on paper? Record yourself talking, either on a phone or in Audacity? Type it out? Go with what makes sense.

If you can, work your way toward developing a task list for your project:

What are the parts of the project?
What assets will you need to find?
What do you already know how to do, and what will you need to learn?
Would some tasks be easier to outsource or split with a partner, and if so, who might you ask to partner with you?

If you'd like me to set up breakout rooms to talk as a group, let me know! I'm happy to do so.

EXT: If you have time now, you can get started on implementing your plan. We’ll have mostly studio time for the next three classes. (Next Tuesday, if possible, we’ll try to gather some shared baseline criteria toward achieving the unit goals that might work for all the projects. So aim to have started something by then.)

Homework for next time

Preparing for the final portfolio:
- Read Paul Ford’s short “Letter of Recommendation: Bug Fixes” from The New York Times Magazine (June 11, 2019). (Pitt Library link)
- Ford writes, “I read the change logs, and I think: Humans can do things.” Read back through your own change logs, i.e. the commit histories of your projects. Skim through the lesson plans. What things have you done this semester?
- Choose something from the course that you want to remember beyond this semester: a thing you or someone else made, or said, that struck a chord with you.
Preparing one final project or revision:
- Make a new repository^* (GH, Box, or Drive) containing:
  - a brief overview of your project goals
  - a task list for your project
  - proposed roles for your team members, if you have a team of more than one
  - ^* NB: If you’re updating an existing project, I recommend doing this in a new branch of the old repository, instead.
- Post your project proposal, with a link to the repository, on the Issue Queue.
- By the end of next class, you should decide (together, if working on a team) what would constitute a minimum deliverable project, and what series of stretch goals you’ll try for beyond that minimum. When they’re ready, push these updated goals to your repo.
- NB: If you haven’t yet finished your website project, start there. You could even save the Ford reading for the weekend, in that case. The project proposal would be great to have in place by next class, so you can make the most of studio time, but I can be flexible through the end of this week – especially if you’re still waist-deep in the website and need a minute to finish up and get your bearings again.