Sarah Rothberg

Hi everyone,

First of all: CONGRATS!, this was an ENORMOUS milestone and I see the work that all of you put into it. I mean it when I say: I am really, really impressed.

These projects are so unique to each of you, and seeing you take risks and wrestle with ideas big and personal, techniques familiar to you and totally new, bringing together your time at IMA with the experiences you came in with … it has been a joy to be a part of.

For your transition into summer semester, please make one short final Spring journal post reflecting on your feedback, and on the points on the final checklist, describing in a sentence or two what you think your summer steps will be. No need to go into great detail – but think on each point and reflect! Your summer instructors are expecting that you’ve done this – and I recommend doing it while it’s all still fresh in your mind (but also understand if you need a little space first 😅)!

For many of you, you’ll keep the foundation of what you’ve made (a technical pipeline, a process, a topic) but might evolve another aspect (the form, the question, some details, the context). For others, it’s more a matter of getting your work to your audience, and iterating. Some may return to research, perhaps into a different area like technique or methodologies. For still others, your focus will be storytelling, documentation, production, or honing in on a very specific element. Don’t be afraid to leave parts behind, or twist in new directions. It’s ultimately for you to decide… and It’s all part of the process!

In the spirit of iteration, I also recommend going back to the “personal rubric” exercise we did in class (or any of the exercises on the slides) – but I think the “MATRIX” from week 2 may be especially helpful for many of you. Given what you have, what might different iterations of this work look like?

…On a personal note, (cue cheesy music) running the class with this new approach was a real experiment – even a risk – and I thank you for trying it with me, and trusting me. I can only hope it was as meaningful for you as it was for me: it reminded me of the value of personal connection, that conversation is the space where ideas are nurtured. Many of the things I’ve learned from you, and from working with you, will impact me / my teaching going forward, and have influenced the way that I think about my role facilitating the ambiguous process of developing new work. It’s been invigorating! (Of course, as always, I’m open to your feedback so I can grow, too, so please let me know if there’s anything you’d suggest changing!).

I truly can’t wait to see where the summer takes you. I’ll be tuning in to your final presentations and rooting you on, that day and beyond!

Last but not least, thanks to wonderful residents Danni, Sarah, Brian, Nun, and Beth, who were also amazing support and thought-partners throughout the semester for me, and I’m sure for you as well! Remember to thank them… and your mentors, too!

Don’t be strangers! 👽🖖

Sarah

PS – here are the videos from the

May 8 evening recording +

May 9 Morning recording

May 9 evening recording

Hi everyone!

Today is day 1 of final Spring presentations, woohoo!!! I’m looking forward to it.

A few notes:

Please arrive on time (7:30), and be mindful of the overall schedule (pasted below). You are welcome to attend all three of the sessions to support each other, and you are required to stay the full three hours of your session, and actively participate by writing feedback on each student’s shared feedback doc. For each student in your group, you are expected to respond to the following:

• Briefly describe the presenter’s thesis/project in your own words:

• Is there one element that most resonates with you, or you find most memorable?

• What might the presenter’s next steps be?

• Any tips on their presentation style?

If you have ANY sense that you may experience issues with your connection, please record and send a video to me as backup.

So excited to hear from you all! Look over the last two announcements for extra finishing touch tips!

Warmly,

Sarah

PS – tonight is the deadline for course evals. Pretty  pretty please… as a favor to me: fill yours out!! Only 11 people have!

https://go.blueja.io/mfe36cazHU-gl6vlA7hLaQ

https://go.blueja.io/ULR8AsdOIkyPsfTrJOLihQ

Hi Class!

Weekly update time… most importantly, during these next few weeks your goal is to advance your project! Keep yourself moving forward – let the making guide you!

April 18 is our last “formal class”

To prepare: Please add ONE full screen image of your work in progress (or an element of your work in progress) to this slide deck: Visual Share Out Deck. We’ll be using this in a very short activity, in which, without preamble, your classmates will respond to what they see. This can be useful for getting first impressions, testing out a style, understanding the legibility of something. Feel free to ask me any questions you have to decide what image – or just go with your gut!

We will also be going over tips for letting the making guide you, storytelling, documentation, and a few other considerations to keep in mind going forward. Come with questions – or let me know anything in advance you want me to cover!

Lastly, we’ll review details for May 2 and May 8/9, as well as what to expect in the summer.

After class April 18:  if you can stay… Jaye has requested your presence for a playtest! We’ll try to wrap early so it’s not too long a zoom.

May 2 

Just so you know in advance, we’ll be doing 1 hour sessions of groups of 4 students at a time so you can practice your final.  Will share the signup sheet in class.

May 8/9 Preview 

The dates/times for final presentations are currently split out as represented in the table at the end of this message. Please review the date/times and let me know ASAP if you see an issue, and know there may still be some slight shuffling around – which we’ll review in class April 18.  You’re expected to stay the full 3 hours to support and give feedback to your peers.

!🤪!

I have added *emoji reactions* to the blog (very important! haha) – if you don’t like these let me know but I thought it could be a fun way to stay casually engaged in each other’s posts. Use them (or not, haha)!

The ITP Show – May 14 + 15 (students near NYC)

Some of you have asked about participating in the ITP Spring show – it’s by no means required, but like the “show-a-thing” show proved for many of you, a deadline and a condensed amount of feedback can be really helpful. I am going to be in touch with Noah from ITP to see what the details are for Low Res participation – in the meantime, can you let me know if you are interested in participating?

Th ITP show is typically for people physically located in NY (ITP has a “you have to stand next to your project throughout the show” policy) – BUT I suppose if you could enlist a local “buddy” to set up and tend to your project, I can advocate for students not in NYC to show work through their buddy.

NYUSH Playtest day (students near Shanghai)

Some of you in Shanghai have wanted to use the facilities there to set up your work. I am working with the local team there to set up a playtest date – can you let me know if you would be interested? I imagine one or two weekend days where you all have use of a classroom to stage your project or prototype, user test, and co-work could be helpful.

A final word of wisdom: take a look at your project with fresh eyes and ask: why you, why here, why now? I find that the more you can locate and emphasize your own voice, interests, talents, expertise, experiences – your unique point of view as a person in this time and “place” – the stronger the project. It’s there in your work – how do you bring it out?

That is all for now!  Please keep up the good work of posting on the journal, checking in with each other, meeting with me and your mentor, and, most importantly….ADVANCING YOUR PROJECT!

🐣

Sarah

DRAFT SCHEDULE:

Hi class!

How was Show-A-Thing?! I hope helpful, insightful, and energizing!

Just a few notes for this week:

• Please post a reflection about Show-A-Thing! It will help you consolidate your ideas (and it will help me know where you’re at as a result!). Specifically think through: did anything change about your project by going through this process?

• If you haven’t already: IMA Low Res Thesis: Final Dates + Check in, by Friday please!

• Keep up the momentum! Our next all-together meeting is April 18. In the meantime, you should be meeting with your peer-group + resident, each other, your mentor.

• I’ve posted a few new appointments for coming weeks on my OH calendar – but remember you can always email me if you want to meet and no listed times work.

Also – this may not be relevant for all of you, but if you find yourself wondering “Is my project IMA enough?” I’ve written something about that in the Project Guidelines – which I’ll also paste below.

Warmly,

Sarah

Is My Project “IMA” Enough?

Some of you might find that you’ve landed on a project that doesn’t really seem to involve much technology at all – and of course the last thing you want to do is “add technology” just for its own sake. That said, this is an “Interactive Media” program, so in order for your thesis to be appropriate for this context and reflect what you’re learning here, you may want to think through what ways you might involve… interactive media! There are more ways to do that than adding a technology for its own sake, so consider contextualizing this as an IMA project through …

• Research / Input (for instance, using a novel method to gather data to inform your work)

• Process (for instance, using a new tool to create, or creating a new tool)

• Interactivity in the project itself (any combo of input, process, and output)

• Topic – is your work informed by, commenting on, or otherwise connected to our contemporary media landscape (does this work address something about emerging technology?)

• Documentation – (can you capture this work in a way that leverages emerging media? for instance 3d scanning…?)

• Distribution (how does the work get out there? for instance, through a novel use of social media?)

And, if all else fails, ask yourself: what gave you the idea to do this work right now? Are you connecting with some approach you learned at IMA? Is it something in response to the present-day state of technology? Lean into those questions, and you may find the answer was there all along – you just needed to emphasize it!

Hi all,

Hope the rest of your week was nice! I’m writing with a few to-dos to look at before this week’s end!

• ASAP, fill out this Survey: IMA Low Res Thesis: Final Dates + Check in. It will help me plan the rest of the semester, including WHEN you should present (May 8 or May 9), and is also a general check-in.

• By Friday: Don’t forget to sign up for the rest of your “Show-A-Thing” spots! Sign-Up Sheet, General info for Show-A-Thing.

• Remember, you can use the presentation template, but do not present every slide – leave most of the time for showing (not telling), testing an idea, and discussion!

I’ve also been getting some questions about final deliverables (now that you have done/posted the production schedule) for Spring/Summer. The easiest way to refresh your memory on the purpose of this class is to take a look at the class syllabus and project guidelines. But if you’re in a hurry and need a shortcut, just remember that your thesis work is made up of four elements:

• Process (which involves research, expression of intentions, project planning, prototyping, testing, iterating, integrating feedback, documenting, and presenting)

• Project (a “making” element, which can be at any scale of your choosing)

• Archiving/Documentation (along the way, and at the end through the archive)

• Public Presentation

At this stage, possibly the most helpful thing you can do is watch the public presentations from past years and (gently) ask yourself: what do I need to do to be able to do a presentation and formalized archive entry, by the end of my time at IMA? There are several examples on the project guidelines page, and there are hundreds of them in the archives, which can be found on our Resources page. Click the “watch” button to see the presentation!

Keep in mind, that is just for looking ahead. Your final Spring presentations are not as formal as the Summer ones, but your main objective for the Spring one will be to give enough information (research, documentation of your project as it is, your imagined next steps, and open questions) that you can get feedback on how best to proceed in the Summer.

Last – in class I encouraged you to meet in thematic groups – if you do this and let me know,  you can count it as one of your six required peer group meetings. I made this wacky spreadsheet of thematic overlaps I see in your work (pasted below) as a starting point – reach out to a group you want to talk to! – or add your name to a topic you feel like you fit in (these were just my best guesses, not scientific – you can even add a category yourself!)

I hope that all makes sense, and I’m here to answer any questions if you have any!

Warmly,

S

Hi all,

Tomorrow we have our third official class, from 7:30pm-10:30pm ET! Hooray! Remember, these are required sessions but if there is some compelling reason you know you can’t be there, please let me know so I can adjust accordingly.

We’re going to do a few different activities together (one you’ll need miro for, the other is a structured conversation, in which you’ll talk about where you’re at and receive advice from other students), and then have some time for sharing/discussing/workshopping your production schedule and your testable prototype (if you don’t know what those are – see the last announcement!).

I’ll also be going over logistics for…

• Mentorship

• Show-A-Thing

• The rest of the semester

  • We will use May 2 as a presentation rehearsal day

  • May 8 or 9 students will be split into groups of 10 for formal presentations for feedback with outside reviewers

With that in mind… do you have a burning question or something specific you’d like to go over in class? Let me know now, so I can make sure to address it if it’s appropriate! Feel free to just respond directly to this email.

See you all tomorrow!
Sarah