Thursday, July 31, 2014

Contents obsolete

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

2014 EDU: RezMela in Kitely: Simulations for disaster response training! Updated with contest results.

RezMela in Kitely: Simulations
for disaster response training!
Updated with contest results.

Scroll down for News and notes (including articles about new TOS)
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How to use Rezmala to set up your own disaster simulation
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Watch on YouTube

Contests closed: Report on contest results

Deadline: Sunday August 31st 2014, 11 pm EDT
Photography Contest: prizes: $50, $30, $20
Machinima Contest: prizes: $250, $110, $40
Details: Photography and Machinima Competition, Summer 2014
Visit either site: RezMela Competition or RezMela Competition2.
Hypergrid address: grid.kitely.com:8002:RezMela Competition
In Kitely. copy the line below into the Firestorm address bar.
hop://osgrid.kitely.com:8002/RezMela Competition/229/127/23
RezMela Website
How to make a video with RezMela
If you have an advanced project, try saving the scenes, and reload later.

2015 IPRIGHTS: HELP: Second Life TOS (probably) relinquishes its claims on your creations. Finally!

Second Life TOS (probably) relinquishes
its claims on your creations. Finally!
updated 1/12/2015Scroll down for News and notes (including articles about new TOS)

Executive summary

The good news: LL modifies its claim to the right to sell your creations.
The mixed news: The new language is unclear.
The bad news: LL is not likely to moderate its claims further.
The troubling news: LL has not had its legal team pay attention to the legal interests of the content creators.

Content creators: LL will probably not sell your products without your permission
If LL can transfer your products to SL2, it will probably share receipts with you.
Writers and video producers: you still may lose exclusive rights to content that passes through SL.
Caution 1: Sale, bankruptcy, or closure of SL could make your products available for sale by a subsequent owner.
Caution 2. LL could change the TOS any time and you would have to agree or no longer have access to your products. The Catch 22 of Linden Lab's new Terms of Service
Caution 3. The language of the new TOS is unclear and can probably be clarified only by legal action.
Caution 4. Only the content of the TOS is legally binding on LL. No other statement has any legal standing with respect to the TOS.

2014 EDU: VIRTUAL: Applied Research in Immersive Environments for Learning (ARiEL SIG): conferences and journals

Applied Research in Immersive Environments
for Learning (ARiEL SIG):

conferences and journals
Scroll down for News and notes (including articles about new TOS)

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ARiEL SIG

Our mission is to, “steward a community of educators, scholars, and practitioners dedicated toward research in and on digitally-enhanced immersive learning environments. Using a variety of research methods, we support a diverse approach to understanding the optimal use of immersive worlds and environments for educational purposes. We’re interested in developing a comprehensive research agenda, intended to encompass the breadth and scope of learning potentialities, affordances, challenges, and shortcomings of immersive (strikethrough “virtual”) learning environments.”

ARiEL Knowledge Base

The ARiEL Knowledge Base is a collaborative scholarship project with the objective of collecting and showcasing the evidence for “what works” in immersive learning; open to official SIG Members and invited scholar affiliates and practitioners, The ARiEL Knowledge Base summarizes seminal and emerging literature in immersive learning.

2014 EDU: TKR: Can You Make Yourself Smarter?

Can You Make Yourself Smarter?
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Award-winning science journalist Dan Hurley investigates the new field of intelligence training, and asks: can we really boost our brain power?
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Watch on YouTube

Use your head! They always tell you that. They never tell you how

2014 VIDEO: Coding for audio and visual files. AMP video notes

Coding for audio and visual files. AMP video notes

When you produce a video, you make lots of video and audio clips In Avatar Media Productions, we are making about three video clips for each line of dialog. Then we have to put them together to make a scene. We needed a coding scheme so that we could easily identify the clips. Here it is and here is how we are using it.

Scene from the set of
flying saucers return
on Kitely

This coding

goes into the screenplay/shot list,
is how to name a file,
goes on the virtual clapboards to mark each clip

Form

XXXXX-Snn-Lnnn-Desc-ShotAbbrev-avi or .wav or .png
Added specification may be included in the shot list
(Production ID)-(SScene number)-(LScript line number)-(subject description)-(Shot abbreviation)-(type of file)

The part in bold is used to name or rename the capture file.
The remainder shows the type of file as instructions for capture.
That part will be added automatically when the file is created.
Note: do not include blanks or special characters in the name of a file.

Examples:

FSR01-S01-L005-Space-EWS.avi - FSR episode 1, scene 1, line 005 Space extra wide
FSR01-S01-L028-Red-CU.avi - FSR episode 1, scene 1, line 028 Red closeup

Shot list + abbreviations:

EWS - Extreme Wide Shot - for establishing
VWS - Very Wide Shot - we can see our subject, barely, places him in the space
LS - Long Shot - subject takes full height or width of frame
MS - Mid Shot - some part of subject (waist up usually) - casual conversation
MCU - Medium Close Up - chest and head
CU - Close Up - head
ECU - Extreme Close Up - part of head, usually eyes or mouth
CA - Cutaway - shot of something other than subject
Cut-In - some other part of subject, like hands
2S - Two-Shot - two subjects
OSS - Over the shoulder - a two shot with one facing away from cam
RS - Reaction Shot.
POV - Point of View Shot - showing a view from the subject's perspective, often with a bit of the subject (hands, part of head) in the shot
RC - Reverse cut. Crossing the Line (Reverse Cut)

Camera movement terms:

Arc
Crab
Dolly
DZ - Dolly Zoom
Follow
Pedestal
Pan
PB - Pullback
Tilt
Tracking
Trucking
Zoom

Camera angles:

Eye-level - most common
High angle - to diminish the subject
Low angle - to make a subject look more powerful
Bird's eye
Slanted or Dutch tilt (as in Citizen Kane, Batman, MTV etc.). Great for animation.

Some 'rules' of framing

Horizon and poles should be at a right angle, unless it's a deliberate tilt shot
Rule of thirds
Head room - show space where subject is looking or moving toward. Too much is amateurish looking, too little is uncomfortable. So if subject is moving or looking toward screen right, position subject at screen left with some place to go.
Make sure unwanted stuff is not at the edges of the shot - distracting

Document repositories

Shared repository for each script: We use Google Drive.
Shared repository for clips (audio, video, stills) We use Google Drive.

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Video-Machinima in virtual worlds

New Media Arts, Inc

SUMMARY: Resources for video production in virtual worlds

Videos from virtual worlds Summary

Hobbies: Doing video/machinima in virtual worlds

Music Videos from virtual worlds Summary

Art videos from the virtual world

Comedy videos from the Virtual World

*

For more on topics like this, circle Selby Evans in Google+

What do we do in Virtual Worlds?

Kitely: low cost virtual worlds.

Opensim, Hypergrid: Summary

Search on page with Google Chrome: Ctrl+f, search bar upper right.

Google search this blog: Search bar, upper left--or:

Put site:virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com at the end of the search terms

What is Second Life?

Annotated screen shots made with Jing

All original content on this blog is Creative Commons License, attribution only.

Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.

This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.

Ads are from Google

-

Drop by my place in Second Life

Location Link. Click to go or drag to the viewer screen:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cookie/136/100/22

Feel free to send me an IM, notecard, or friend request in Second LIfe or Kitely

Thinkerer Melville in Second Life, Selby Evans in Kitely

Google+ page; Virtual World Video

Lauren is funny; Avatar Repertory Theater

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

2014 PEOPLE: BIZ: Why I gave up on virtual world communications and shifted to social media

Why I gave up on virtual world communications
and shifted to social media
Scroll down for News and notes (including articles about new TOS)
-

SL communication deficiencies

IMs capped.
Ran out of groups.
Notecards inconvenient and unreliable.
Notecards have awkward handling of links to websites.
Can't contact friends on Hypergrid.
Have to start viewer to communicate in notecards and chat.
How do I maintain contact if SL closes?
Posts removed from forums with no explanation.

Hypergrid communication deficiencies

Have to handle a second set of contacts
Can't contact friends in SL
Awkward handling of links to websites
Have to start viewer to communicate
Awkward handling of back messages
Hypergrid connections uncertain
How do I maintain contact if my grid closes?

Social media advantages

Available in my browser, smart phone, or tablet
No limits on number of messages or contacts
All contacts on same list
Easy handling of links to web sites
Easy handling of back messages
Easy to pass notes on to other groups,
Google+, at least, accommodates pseudonyms*
Accommodates friends who are not into virtual worlds
Extends community reach beyond virtual worlds,
Several connections. They won't all close

2014 ART: EDU: Fallingwater, gem of American architecture, at Seanchai Library on Kitely Grid

Fallingwater, gem of American architecture,
at Seanchai Library on Kitely Grid
Scroll down for News and notes (including articles about new TOS)

Falling Water was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. In 1991, American Institute of Architects named the house the "best all-time work of American architecture" and in 2007, it was twenty-ninth on the list of America's Favorite Architecture according to the AIA. Here is an approximate model in the virtual world of Kitely, a model you can walk into and explore.

Fallingwater

Go there

If you are in Kitely and running Firestorm paste the line below into the address bar (may work on other viewers).

hop://osgrid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai/366/283/27

Hypergrid address:

Put the line below in the find bar of your world map, click find, click teleport:

grid.kitely.com:8002:Seanchai

2014 PEOPLE: OPENSIM: Tweets stream about OpenSim Conference

Twitter stream about OpenSim Conference
Scroll down for News and notes (including articles about new TOS)
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Below is a Twitter stream directed to @opensimcc . Tweets by @opensimcc

This post is used to create a web poster that displays the current Twitter search for Tweets about Opensim. The web poster will available on Cookie II in Kitely in a day or so after publication.

Here is the entry page to Cookie II: Cookie II on Kitely
Hypergate address: grid.kitely.com:8002:Cookie II
Look near the entry point, coordinates 125x125
Full perm, public domain license-use as you please, no attribution

-
How to:

Twitter stream on your blog or webpage. Make a virtual world poster

2014 EDU: VIDEO: Question & Answer Session on Education in SecondLife, Abbe Altberg, CEO Linden Lab

Question & Answer Session on
Education in SecondLife,
Abbe Altberg, CEO Linden Lab & Peter Gray
-
Abbe Altberg, CEO Linden Lab & Peter Gray, Director of Global Communications at Linden Lab

Watch on YouTube

Education in Virtual Worlds. Summary

2014 STAGE: MANNERS & MATTERS OF THE HEART, FRIDAY, Avatar Repertory Theater! 5 pm SLT 7-18-14

MANNERS & MATTERS OF THE HEART, FRIDAY,
Avatar Repertory Theater! 5 pm SLT 7-18-14
Scroll down for News and notes
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COMING FRIDAY TO Avatar Repertory Theater!
MANNERS & MATTERS OF THE HEART - Scenes from Alfred Sutro and Floyd Dell that explore the odd and touching places we travel when we follow our hearts.
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Friday Night at 5pm Pacific Time at A.R.T.'s Theater on Cookie

Avatar Repertory Theater – Plays Around

Location Link. Click to go or drag to the viewer screen:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cookie/198/205/21

Alfred Sutro OBE (7 August 1863 – 11 September 1933) was an English author, dramatist and translator.

Floyd James Dell (June 28, 1887 – July 23, 1969) was an American newspaper and magazine editor, literary critic, novelist, playwright, and poet. Dell has been called "one of the most flamboyant, versatile and influential American Men of Letters of the first third of the 20th Century."^[1]As editor and critic, Dell's influence is alive in the work of many major American writers from the first half of the 20th century. A lifelong poet, he was also a best-selling author, as well as a playwright whose hit Broadway comedy, Little Accident (1928),^[2] was made into a Hollywood movie.^[3]

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.” ~ Helen Keller

Presented live in Voice, free to all residents. Donations accepted.

For announcements about Avatar Repertory Theater (ART) and ART Plays Around, Join this Google+ Community:

Avatar Repertory Theater

Avatar Repertory Theater is a project of New Media Arts, Inc., a nonprofit organization tax exempt under IRC 501(c)(3). You may be able to take a tax deduction for a donation depending on your circumstances.

Support theater and video in virtual worlds when you shop at Amazon: Avatar Repertory Theater, New Media Arts
-

New Media Arts Inc

***********************************

News and Notes

Events in the virtual worlds

Linden Lab (maybe) relinquishes its claims on your creations, the blog

Linden Lab Terms of Service

Google+ becomes friendly to virtual names and pseudonyms

Events This Week July 14 to July 21

What ever happened to AM Radio?

Kitely Events Calendar

Newcomer Help in Virtual Worlds.

Beginner's building on the Hypergrid. Primland, the building tutorial game

New Citizens Inc

Table of Contents (Virtual Outworlding)

Multilingual help: Welcome ports and Google Translate

Education

How the Second Life basics series can help teachers

SLeducate: Learn and teach in Second Life

******

Video-Machinima in virtual worlds

New Media Arts, Inc

SUMMARY: Resources for video production in virtual worlds

Videos from virtual worlds Summary

Hobbies: Doing video/machinima in virtual worlds

Music Videos from virtual worlds Summary

Art videos from the virtual world

Comedy videos from the Virtual World

*

For more on topics like this, circle Selby Evans in Google+

What do we do in Virtual Worlds?

Kitely: low cost virtual worlds.

Opensim, Hypergrid: Summary

Search on page with Google Chrome: Ctrl+f, search bar upper right.

Google search this blog: Search bar, upper left--or:

Put site:virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com at the end of the search terms

What is Second Life?

Annotated screen shots made with Jing

All original content on this blog is Creative Commons License, attribution only.

Second Life, Linden, SLurl, and SL are trademarks of Linden Research Inc.

This blog is not affiliated with Second Life or anything else.

Ads are from Google

-

Drop by my place in Second Life

Location Link. Click to go or drag to the viewer screen:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cookie/136/100/22

Feel free to send me an IM, notecard, or friend request in Second LIfe or Kitely

Thinkerer Melville in Second Life, Selby Evans in Kitely

Google+ page; Virtual World Video

Lauren is funny; Avatar Repertory Theater

Thursday, July 17, 2014

2014 ART: LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (July 2014): Miso Susanowa's 'State of Mind II'

LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (July 2014):
Miso Susanowa's 'State of Mind II'
Scroll down for News and notes

"Four years ago, in April 2010 "State of Mind" made its first appearance... pre-Chelsea Manning, pre-Thomas Drake, pre-Edward Snowden, pre-Julian Assange... what looked like overblown paranoia and cynicism then has only confirmed our deepest fears about the shadow world and its effect on our lives. This is the struggle of our time; come and experience the installation; read the new material about tools and techniques to take back your internet." -- Miso Susanowa

But I haven't done anything

That is what makes you a suspicious person

Location Link. Click to go or drag to the viewer screen:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/LEA6/66/139/24

2014 OPENSIM: HELP: Why Kitely for blogs and video production? Kitely vs Inworldz vs Second Life

Why Kitely for blogs and video production?
Kitely vs Inworldz vs Second Life
Scroll down for News and notes
-

Some people have asked me why I have moved some of my activities to Kitely rather than to Inworlds. Here is my explanation:

1. I needed to move my video production activities out of Second Life because of the new terms of service there.

If you want to sell exclusive rights to videos done in SL, check the TOS

2. I wanted to expand my activities and blog coverage into the Opensim world because Second Life's:

current TOS,
persistent failure to grow, and
repeated turn-over in upper management

raised my concern about the future of Second Life and suggested that the future of virtual worlds might lie with Opensim. Second Life 2.0 raises further concern, but had not been announced at the time I was considering an alternative.

These considerations led me to a set of selection criteria for a second grid that would suit these objectives. That does not mean that I have stopped using Second Life. Only that I am using Second Life less and have a plan B in case Second Life changes further in directions that do not fit my objectives.

2014 EDU: NEW: UWA offers free online courses to help newcomers start doing things in virtual worlds

UWA offers free online courses
to help newcomers
start doing things in virtual worlds
Scroll down for News and notes
-

Watch on YouTube

Free
No need to create an account. Log in as a guest.
Standardized instruction for bringing students into virtual worlds.
Study and practice.
Study on the web. Practice in Second Life.
Study and practice with friends.
Outcomes stated in terms of what you will be able to do

Inworld activity station
Location Link. Click to go or drag to the viewer screen:
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/University%20of%20WA/100/248/25

2014 PROMO: WRITE: A video proposal for a literary project from a virtual world

A video proposal for a literary project from a virtual world
Scroll down for News and notes
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A video that #seanchailibrary created for their proposal presentation to Seattle's Book-It Repertory Theater today to create an interactive virtual environment in tandem with their fall presentation of Jane Austen's "Pride & Prejudice".
-

Watch on YouTube

Grids mentioned

Kitely
Second Life

2014 VIDEO: HOBBY: SL Aviation Magazine Issue 22, hobbies in virtual worlds

SL Aviation Magazine Issue 22,

hobbies in virtual worlds

Scroll down for News and notes

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Second Life Aviation news presented in TV news magazine format.
-

Watch on YouTube

Hobbies in Virtual Worlds