I really liked the idea behind your project, and I think it’s a super neat way to tie sports into what we’ve been discussing, since most of our class readings and discussion materials have not been connected to sports. I like how you are considering the impact that modern sports analytics has on fans and what they perceive sports to be, because it’s something that is not often talked about and has become almost an ingrained part of our culture. I don’t think I considered the problem too much before you mentioned it, and your quote that these modern statistics “distills a person’s life down to a number” really stuck with me.
When you explained the technical idea behind your project and how you wanted to have a text file overlayed on top of a video, it reminded me of a video we watched in class, “A Recipe for Disaster” by Carolyn Lazard. I think it could be interesting to think about how her project could be used to help you determine when the text might become obstructive/distracting to the viewer and how much obstruction you want to have at certain parts of the video (to enhance your message).
Overall, I loved your project and presentation and I hope you eventually got your issue fixed!! It is evident you have spent a lot of time playing around with Max and really thinking through your project, and I am excited for the outcome!
(By the way, here’s is a fun article that delves into data on a recent rise in home runs, after the crackdown on performance-enhancing drugs. Not sure if you’ve seen it before, but thought you may be interested: https://flowingdata.com/2017/06/06/baseball-hitting-angles-on-the-rise/)
This project is really creative! I totally agree with you message that many sports fan lose touch with the fact that the people they’re watching are real people with lives, not just the way they perform and how athletically able they are. The relationship between athletes and the organizations they play for and the fans is sometimes very problematic and I’m really happy your project is pointing that out so well!
I agree with your choice to have the user select different videos. I think it’s very intentional and smart to put the choice on the user instead of guising them through the content automatically. I’m wondering how you plan to present the project. Will you have it on your computer screen? I think there might even be a way that you could present it on a tv screen. I feel like that might tie into the theme of your project well since sports are often watched on tv. I think there are many thoughtful ways you could present the project so that the message is even more impactful. The digital elements of the project are great! I’d love to see the physical presentation of it be just as great. Again, I think the project is really creative and well thought out and I think the final product is going to be awesome. Great job!
Just like the comments above, I find the direction where you are heading in your project to be really unique and interesting. Personally I am not much of a sport enthusiast, but I do see that it is a big culture here over in the US. It would be really interesting to see what can come out of it. As you have demonstrated in your presentation, sports are usually either observed from a the third person, as well as through the comments of the person commenting on the game. In some ways, it can be argued that this creates a form of mental shortcut for the audience’s reflection and interpretation of the on-going game. It would be certainly interesting to somehow convey this aspect directly to the audience and through this allow them to question on the validity of these influences. Perhaps it would entice them to have more personal observation devoid of external influences that could come with different intentions (interest related, personal preferences related…etc.)
On the execution of this idea in max, all I can say is it would interesting to see other form of elements aside from the text file that you are going to overlay on top of the game. Perhaps something related to the color, saturation level, opacity…etc. to have more visual impact on the audience. Else, you could perhaps do the same thing regarding the audio part of the project. Maybe whenever in games where sports fan became problematic you could change the audio in incomprehensible noise that are uncomfortable to listen to.
Again, I believe your project is very interesting in your choice to cover sports related issue. I’m sure the relatability is going to be interesting for audiences that are into spots game in general. Good job!
This patch was really intriguing to me as someone who knows very little about baseball. I can somewhat relate to the awkward intensity of fans’ perception and behavior you described through watching the FIFA women’s world cup and Duke basketball games. The broader themes you were analyzing about affiliation to a team and the emotional investment that comes with that, as well as the commodification of players and their performances really piqued my interest and I think it’s a really unique topic for a project. Drawing awareness to the relationship between people who observe sports and people who play them through displaying both the people themselves and the statistics that represent them in the same frame highlights how we can often distill real people into simply what entertainment value they provide.
I think your content would have a stronger relation to your message if you incorporated footage/social media posting/interviews showcasing the “humanness” of the players in a way that fans can often forget. For example, maybe one of the players who manages to hit an amazing home run in one of your clips is overlaid with audio of them expressing concern about mental health/salary/etc. Something to draw sharp contrast to how they manage to perform these amazing feats even despite the extreme expectations placed upon them.
Additionally, I think you could utilize the current displays of player stats usually showcased before a big game to subvert viewers expectations in some way. Could you place something besides numerical data into the different listings to force people into some sort of uncertainty where they aren’t given the resources/success percentage to make quick judgements.
Just some suggestions 🙂 I am curious to see what you decide!
Isabella Wang
Hey Molly!
I really liked the idea behind your project, and I think it’s a super neat way to tie sports into what we’ve been discussing, since most of our class readings and discussion materials have not been connected to sports. I like how you are considering the impact that modern sports analytics has on fans and what they perceive sports to be, because it’s something that is not often talked about and has become almost an ingrained part of our culture. I don’t think I considered the problem too much before you mentioned it, and your quote that these modern statistics “distills a person’s life down to a number” really stuck with me.
When you explained the technical idea behind your project and how you wanted to have a text file overlayed on top of a video, it reminded me of a video we watched in class, “A Recipe for Disaster” by Carolyn Lazard. I think it could be interesting to think about how her project could be used to help you determine when the text might become obstructive/distracting to the viewer and how much obstruction you want to have at certain parts of the video (to enhance your message).
Overall, I loved your project and presentation and I hope you eventually got your issue fixed!! It is evident you have spent a lot of time playing around with Max and really thinking through your project, and I am excited for the outcome!
(By the way, here’s is a fun article that delves into data on a recent rise in home runs, after the crackdown on performance-enhancing drugs. Not sure if you’ve seen it before, but thought you may be interested: https://flowingdata.com/2017/06/06/baseball-hitting-angles-on-the-rise/)
Zoe Superville
This project is really creative! I totally agree with you message that many sports fan lose touch with the fact that the people they’re watching are real people with lives, not just the way they perform and how athletically able they are. The relationship between athletes and the organizations they play for and the fans is sometimes very problematic and I’m really happy your project is pointing that out so well!
I agree with your choice to have the user select different videos. I think it’s very intentional and smart to put the choice on the user instead of guising them through the content automatically. I’m wondering how you plan to present the project. Will you have it on your computer screen? I think there might even be a way that you could present it on a tv screen. I feel like that might tie into the theme of your project well since sports are often watched on tv. I think there are many thoughtful ways you could present the project so that the message is even more impactful. The digital elements of the project are great! I’d love to see the physical presentation of it be just as great. Again, I think the project is really creative and well thought out and I think the final product is going to be awesome. Great job!
Pierre Nanquette
Just like the comments above, I find the direction where you are heading in your project to be really unique and interesting. Personally I am not much of a sport enthusiast, but I do see that it is a big culture here over in the US. It would be really interesting to see what can come out of it. As you have demonstrated in your presentation, sports are usually either observed from a the third person, as well as through the comments of the person commenting on the game. In some ways, it can be argued that this creates a form of mental shortcut for the audience’s reflection and interpretation of the on-going game. It would be certainly interesting to somehow convey this aspect directly to the audience and through this allow them to question on the validity of these influences. Perhaps it would entice them to have more personal observation devoid of external influences that could come with different intentions (interest related, personal preferences related…etc.)
On the execution of this idea in max, all I can say is it would interesting to see other form of elements aside from the text file that you are going to overlay on top of the game. Perhaps something related to the color, saturation level, opacity…etc. to have more visual impact on the audience. Else, you could perhaps do the same thing regarding the audio part of the project. Maybe whenever in games where sports fan became problematic you could change the audio in incomprehensible noise that are uncomfortable to listen to.
Again, I believe your project is very interesting in your choice to cover sports related issue. I’m sure the relatability is going to be interesting for audiences that are into spots game in general. Good job!
Noelle
Molly,
This patch was really intriguing to me as someone who knows very little about baseball. I can somewhat relate to the awkward intensity of fans’ perception and behavior you described through watching the FIFA women’s world cup and Duke basketball games. The broader themes you were analyzing about affiliation to a team and the emotional investment that comes with that, as well as the commodification of players and their performances really piqued my interest and I think it’s a really unique topic for a project. Drawing awareness to the relationship between people who observe sports and people who play them through displaying both the people themselves and the statistics that represent them in the same frame highlights how we can often distill real people into simply what entertainment value they provide.
I think your content would have a stronger relation to your message if you incorporated footage/social media posting/interviews showcasing the “humanness” of the players in a way that fans can often forget. For example, maybe one of the players who manages to hit an amazing home run in one of your clips is overlaid with audio of them expressing concern about mental health/salary/etc. Something to draw sharp contrast to how they manage to perform these amazing feats even despite the extreme expectations placed upon them.
Additionally, I think you could utilize the current displays of player stats usually showcased before a big game to subvert viewers expectations in some way. Could you place something besides numerical data into the different listings to force people into some sort of uncertainty where they aren’t given the resources/success percentage to make quick judgements.
Just some suggestions 🙂 I am curious to see what you decide!