Are Flagan on Fri, 7 Dec 2001 17:02:02 +0100 (CET) |
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[Nettime-bold] Interfaces |
Afterimage seeks 10 contributions for a special issue on the Interface. Common software packages are instrumental in shaping all aspects of the new-media experience: they define data objects, producers and users alike. But the interfaces of software, comprised of menus, windows and palettes; their nomenclature, bringing such theatrical elements as stage, cast and score to multimedia; and underlying actions, that render video and layer digital images, together compose a realm that is heavily programmed. From the iconic to the algorithmic level, regular upgrades also announce a host of new and apparently indispensable features, but the question is if this increased wealth of streamlined appearances and encoded commands gradually serves to impoverish the new-media experience with subtle yet effective biases. This special issue of Afterimage wishes to address the changing face of the culturally determined interface by critically focusing on the design and functions of software applications. Contributions may cover some of the following ground: 1. A brief genealogy of the application in relation to historical techniques and technologies, including a truncated history of its development (a few highlights from the release notes). 2. A critical assessment of the graphical user interface, including its structure and organization, the choice of words in menus and windows and the icons used to render the desktop. 3. A critical treatment of the actions/algorithms performed by the application, including the relations between available commands and the structure of the new-media object and the role of automation in the useršs formulation of this object. The aim is to discuss software in relation to the appearance, production and consumption of new media, a task that will implicitly also involve a reassessment of histories, categories and practices associated with photography, film and video, as well as, to take only one example, the role of the archive in an age devoted to databases. Contributors should ideally have an informed, working knowledge of the software they would like to cover and excellent writing skills. The areas of interest have been divided into 10 categories (one or two applications will be selected from each grouping) and they are forwarded with the disclaimer that numerical representation and transcoding have arguably made them obsolete: 1. Operating systems Mac OS X, Windows XP 2. Photography/Image Photoshop 6.0, Photoshop Elements 3. Film/Video Final Cut Pro 2.0, Adobe Premiere 6.0, Adobe After Effects 5.0, Media 100, Maya 3.5 (for Mac OS X) 4. Network/Internet Internet Explorer 5.0, Netscape Navigator 6.0 5. Archive/Database Filemaker Pro 5.5, may include Server, Developer and Mobile versions of the same 6. Print/Screen publication Quark Xpress 4.1 (pending 5.0), Adobe InDesign 1.5 (pending 2.0), Adobe Acrobat 5.0 7. Multimedia presentations (CD-ROM, Kiosk or Web delivery) Macromedia Director 8.0 or 8.5, Macromedia Flash 5.0 8. Vector-based illustration Adobe Illustrator 10, Macromedia Freehand 10 9. Word processing/Code authoring Microsoft Word 2001 (or Office suite), Microsoft Word v.X (or Office suite), BBEdit 6.5, CodeWarrior 7.0, RealBasic 3.5. WYSIWYG: Dreamweaver 4.0, GoLive 5.0 10. Sound Macromedia SoundEdit 16, or similar (preferably aimed at soundtrack authoring) Note: Many 3D packages fall within the categories outlined above and they may also be considered. Please contact the editor, Are Flagan, areflagan@mac.com, with a choice, a brief bio (attach writing samples) and a short proposal if you would like to contribute. Other less Mac-friendly choices than the selection above will of course be considered. We do not publish articles previously printed or posted elsewhere. The special issue is due for publication in May 2002 and the deadline for contributions is March 1 2002. Further information is available upon request. Thank you. _______________________________________________ Nettime-bold mailing list Nettime-bold@nettime.org http://amsterdam.nettime.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nettime-bold