Project Spotlight- Spring 2012

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The Project Spotlight illuminates Emergent Media Center projects and the students who work on them, a tribute to the talented individuals employed here. This semester we have spoken to various employees about their assignments and what they love most about the EMC. 

Murray, a freshman Professional Writing major, loves the flexibility here at the EMC. "I work when I can, which allows plenty of time for school and personal things." He is part of a team brainstorming ideas for an app for Money Magazine, a CBS periodical about finances with primarily an adult audience. The app will target younger generations so they will be more knowledgeable about money.

Brenna, a Game Art and Animation major, is working on a prototype for Money Mag. The app will offer tips and general goals to help consumers use their money wisely. "At the EMC, each person brings what they are really good at to a project, and those various strengths add a creative flexibility to the team." 

Alex, a Computer Science and Innovation major, is currently working on the ViewBoost application, developing information tables to hold all of the tourism data. "It's my first time leading a group of programmers. I'm learning a lot about the management aspect." Check out this link for more information on the ViewBoost project: http://bit.ly/HhGIfb

Victoria, a sophomore Event Management major, is a member of the Public Relations/Marketing Team here at the EMC. Currently she is involved in coordination of the MFA Thesis Show, and she organized a Murder Mystery Event for EMC employees and an alternate reality game for Champlain College's Spring Meltdown. 

Danielle, a senior Business major, is the assistant manager of the Brainstorming team. The flexible and inviting environment at the EMC makes it easy for Danielle to prepare a presentation for Money Mag, a CBS periodical. She will be pitching t0 them next week the information her team has compiled. 

Interested in more information concerning projects and other events at the EMC? Be sure to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter: @EMCchamp.

Champlain Students Create an App for Vermont Tourism

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Last week, Champlain students and the EMC were featured in a WCAX news story about the ViewBoost project. Check out the full video and the article by clicking on the link below!

http://www.wcax.com/story/17337121/champlain-college-students-create-app-for-vt-tourism

Emergent Media Center Partners with ViewBoost

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Students at the Emergent Media Center, in a partnership with ViewBoost, are helping former Vermont Secretary of Agriculture to create a rural tourism app for the iPad.

"The app is a real-time, geo-specific digital concierge system to enhance the rural travel experience for tourists in Vermont and beyond. The ViewBoost app for mobile devices will connect people, places, events, and businesses, enabling travelers to see their route, destination, and recommended points of interest along the way, all of which can be filtered depending on personal interests." 

To read the full press release, check out the following link: http://readme.readmedia.com/Champlain-College-EMC-Partners-with-ViewBoost-to-Develop-Rural-Tourism-App/3762732 

My View: A Game-Changing Major

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Ann DeMarle, director here at the Emergent Media Center and associate professor of Communications and Creative Media at Champlain College, authored a blog post for CNN's Schools of Thought blog. 

"In strong degree programs, students learn much more than simply how to create games. They become modern-day storytellers, reflectively applying game design skills to a host of challenges facing our world. Technology, arts, interactivity, and social understanding are in their toolboxes. Immersed in 21st-century problems, they develop critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills. Working in teams, they come to understand how disciplines can work together to produce innovation and value."

Click here to read the full blog post: http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/22/my-view-a-game-changing-major/

Emergent Landscape Speaker Series- Chris Thompson

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“Be ready to fail. Make sure you go far enough out of your comfort zone that you are destined to fail.”

Chris Thompson, curator of the Burlington City Arts Gallery, spoke with an assurance attainable only by personal experience as he educated the current MFA students about the potential in the degree they are working toward. After twenty years of employment in the business world as a technology manager, Chris Thompson quit his job and, with the encouragement of his family, became a full-time artist.

“I had no idea what being an artist was,” he admitted. That is where he insisted that the students had a serious advantage. “An MFA teaches how to interact in the art world,” he said, and understanding the capability of such knowledge was an extraordinary thing.

A fantastic and captivating speaker, Chris Thompson detailed his interest in combining technology with art to create unique pieces of work. He is fascinated with patterns and how cultural mediums have underlying rules that are more structured than they seem.  As curator at the Burlington City Arts Gallery, Chris has managed showcases featuring Combat Paper (2009) and the JDK Kite Project (2011).

Speaking as part of the Emergent Landscape Speaker Series for the Champlain College MFAs in Emergent Media, Chris Thompson expressed the different things he had learned since becoming an active part of the art world.

“Natural talent will give you a head-start but it won’t win the race.”

 “Know the unspoken rules.”

“Cultivate your idiosyncrasies and play to your strengths.”

“Risk-taking and failure are essential.”

He offered excellent advice to those pursuing a future in art: talent is appreciated, but hard work has to be a large part of the equation. It is crucial to be aware of all personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and obstacles in order to accomplish all goals.

Perhaps most obscure to everyone is the idea of failure, especially the notion that one should embrace it in order to succeed. But the MFA candidates present would do well to stand strong in the face of disappointment, because, as Chris Thompson insisted: “Long hours of work mean that eventually you are probably going to make a really interesting mistake. Experience the resistance of the medium, [because] bugs are often some of the most interesting things I do.”

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the very last person we heard from was Chris Thompson,” said MFA student Andrea Olson, “who has led a life, not the usual kind. He definitely did not go from A to B like most people, which I think kind of represents what an Emergent Media student is.”

For more information about the MFA in Emergent Media, go to http://mfa.champlain.edu/

Project Spotlight- Fall 2011

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The Project Spotlight illuminates Emergent Media Center projects and the students who work on them, a tribute to the talented individuals employed here. This semester we have spoken to graphic designers, game artists, and programmers about their assignments and what they love most about the EMC.

Allyson, a senior Graphic Designer, is working on Breakaway's Facilitator's Guide. "I work on the graphics and send it in for feedback. I love getting feedback, and the EMC is great for that."

Dayna, a junior Graphic Designer, is working on the Champlain College Compass Project. Her focus is on accessibility for the mobile application. Every day she walks by the screens around Champlain's campus and thinks to herself, "I helped make that."

Ian, a sophomore Electronic Game Programmer, is working on an EMC project called the Citizen Stage for the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. When completed, the Citizen Stage will be the social media aggregator deepening the engagement and participation of its patrons. "Shaina, our MFA project manager, has been talking with the Flynn Center about improving their social media and this is the brainchild of that talk." http://www.flynncenter.org/

Ian, a junior Game Programmer, is working on an EMC project called Room to Explore, an interactive experience for high school kids as they begin their college search. Ian is preparing the game for testing and removing technical bugs. "The EMC is giving students the most hands-on experience of working with clients and teams. I'm learning a lot along the way."

Desiree, a sophomore Game Art and Animation major, is a member of the Brainstorming team and an artist on the Room to Explore project here at the EMC. "I like the fact that we're working on things that are relevant and important. They're meaningful and they have an impact." Next semester Desiree is looking forward to working with a team on the newest Microsoft Kinect Gadget.

Interested in more information concerning projects and other events at the EMC?  Be sure to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter: @EMCchamp.