Undaunted by the restrictions caused by the pandemic, UConn’s 2020 MFA exhibition is now online.

Photographer Elizabeth Ellenwood was working at a photo lab in Boston making prints when she decided it was time to further explore her own artistic endeavors.

“I also had an interest in teaching. I wanted to find a place that would give me the opportunity to try out teaching and see if that’s something that I wanted to continue working on,” she says about enrolling in the MFA program in Studio Art three years ago. “While I enjoyed being in the dark room, I was making prints for other people. I just really wanted more time to focus on my own artwork.”

Ellenwood’s exploration of her own photography and art can be seen in the unique 2020 edition of the annual Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition at The William Benton Museum of Art, which is posted on the museum’s website due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The online exhibition in Studio Art is titled “Tideland” and in addition to Ellenwood includes the works of painter and sculptor Olivia Baldwin, multimedia artist Shadia Heenan Nilforoush, and artist and printmaker Chad Uehlein. The Digital Media & Design online exhibit is titled “Square One” and includes the works of Jonathan Ampiaw, Karin Ching, Stefan Lopuszanski, Laurel Pehmoeller, and Jasmine Rajavadee.

“Square One” offers a variety of mediums including narrative film, hybrid digital and physical games, animation, installation, and projection mapping. Each exhibited work acts as a window through which the audience can access new worlds, personal memories, and cultural reflections, connecting visitors to where each artist started.

Ampiaw’s video game explores the themes of personal development and social growth. Lopuszanski’s game blurs the line between the digital and physical realms to create an innovative gameplay experience. Ching examines her journey to a new country, illustrating the cultural differences she has discovered between Taiwan and the United States, centered around food. Pehmoeller’s short film reflects on her own experiences as a young adult trying to find her way in the world. Rajavadee investigates the artist’s Lao-American upbringing with reference to cumulative memories and emotions associated with connecting the personal and the (multi)cultural.

The 2020 Studio Art and Digital Media & Design Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition at The William Benton Museum of Art is now online.

Read the full story on UConn Today.

Faculty in the University of Connecticut’s Digital Media and Design program have come together to collaborate on the Digital Experience (DX) Lab.

The DX Lab is led by Joel Salisbury, director of research and user experience design, Michael Vertefeuille, director of operations and emerging technology and Brian Daley, director of infrastructure and app development.

The lab’s work covers a wide range of projects involving digital experiences and interaction, Vertefeuille explained.

“Quite simply, we love to build really cool stuff. Our projects have run the gamut. We work with electronics, connecting it to interesting digital experiences, large-scale databases that serve the non-profit sector, and sometimes we just build things to see if they’ll work,” Vertefeuille said.

These projects include Wellscan, a website and app made in collaboration with UConn’s Rudd Center on Food Policy and Obesity which helps food banks and food pantries manage their inventory. Additionally, the DX Lab has worked on different interactive museum installations, such as the Tree Sway Monitor featured at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, CT.

Another project to come out of the DX Lab was the Smart Mirror, which is a mirror that doubles as a screen to display things such as time, date, and weather. This mirror was one of the projects built out of the DX Lab’s Special Topics course.

“Sometimes, we run the DX Lab as a Variable Topics/Special Topics course. This is usually where our most “out-there” experimental work seems to occur. In this environment, we pick problems we want to solve or technologies we want to explore and go nuts trying to make something cool,” Salisbury said.

Collaboration with students isn’t just limited to the Lab’s classes, though. The DX Lab has several students run independent projects through the lab. They also employ students in their work.

“Students are the driving force behind all of the work we do. Their creative energy is what makes the DX Lab fun,” Daley said.

The group explained that while the lab officially formed a little over a year ago, the three of them have been working on the same topics since getting to UConn.

“We ‘officially’ formed in December 2018, but the three lead faculty members (Salisbury, Vertefeuille, Daley) have shared research interests since assuming our respective roles,” said the group.

In addition to the work the DX Lab is already doing, they’re quickly expanding.

“As of Spring 2020 the three of us oversee the newly-formed DX Group within UConn’s Center for Open Research Resources and Equipment (COR2E), through which we hope to collaborate with other researches on campus who may be in need of web development, app development, UX design or similar work,” the trio explained.

As for students looking to get involved in digital media and digital experience design, the group encouraged students to lean into the uncertainty of the field.

“Be bold! Embrace the fact that the field moves quickly and allow yourself to get excited about ‘not knowing,’ rather than daunted by ‘not knowing,’” Salisbury said.

Read the full article on The Daily Campus (By Grace McFadden).

In the 2016 elections, a vast majority of traditional polls had predicted Hillary Clinton would be the winner. When Donald Trump won, many in the nation were stunned. While standard polling missed the mark, social media data had accurately predicted Trump’s victory.

A team of UConn faculty and students are using a social media analytics command center to better capture public opinion around the 2020 presidential elections and be a key resource for journalists and the public.

“Our department’s Social Media Analytics Command Center could pave the way for UConn to become a national leader in social media analysis expertise, on par with the reputation other universities have for their traditional polling data,” says Heather Elliott-Famularo, Donna Krenicki Professor and head of the Department of Digital Media and Design.

As social media becomes an increasingly important platform for people to express and inform their political beliefs, monitoring online conversations can provide invaluable insights into public attitudes.

Since its founding in 2018, the command center has tracked issues surrounding the Connecticut gubernatorial election and conducted real-time analyses of the Democratic debates. For the 2020 elections, the group has set up dashboards to monitor activity in swing states and observe conversations about important political topics like hate speech. By monitoring social media activity, the team at UConn will form a detailed picture of popular opinions in the American electorate.

John Murphy, assistant professor-in-residence in the Department of Digital Media and Design, has been developing social listening strategies for businesses for the better part of a decade. Social listening is a growing marketing technique that leverages social media activity to gain insight into customer sentiment. Since coming to UConn in 2017, Murphy has launched social listening initiatives focused on topics as varied as sports, mental health issues, and the casino industry.

Using social media to analyze political sentiment is a logical step, says Murphy.

“When it comes to politics, social media analysis helps capture sentiments in a way that traditional phone polling may not be able to,” says Murphy. “When people are being polled, they may respond differently knowing that their answers are being monitored. Gathering data through social listening eliminates hesitancy to respond honestly from the process.”

Throughout the election cycle, Murphy and several undergraduate students will measure and analyze all publicly available social and digital media including websites, blogs, and news sources using a leading platform for social media analytics. The platform specializes in social listening, and can analyze and generate reports on information in hundreds of languages using almost endless keywords. Access to this robust software allows UConn’s team to import polling data and candidates’ financial information and overlay it with the social media data they collect to get a fuller picture.

They will also create sophisticated data visualizations through graphics and animations using historic and live analytics to convey complex issues quickly and clearly. Political scientists and communications experts from UConn’s faculty ranks add additional context to help interpret the massive amounts of raw data collected.

They hope to show that social media analysis can be even more valuable than traditional polling when it’s combined with the scientific rigor that an academic institution like UConn can provide.

“The first televised presidential debate between Nixon and JFK turned politics upside down. TV has been a major part of the equation ever since. Social media is that new platform that we have to factor into politic analyses and predictions,” says Murphy.

The public is invited to see the Social Media Analytics Command Center in action tomorrow at a Super Tuesday Watch Party from 6 – 11PM in the Merlin D. Bishop Center on the Storrs campus. For more information, visit the Social Media Analytics Command Center website.

 

Read the full article on UConn Today.

DMD student work won CT Art Directors Club awards and the international Telly Awards

STAMFORD, Connecticut, October 22 – The UConn Digital Media & Design Department is proud to announce that several of our students and professors were recognized over the summer for their talent in the creative sphere. The 44th annual Connecticut Art Directors Club Awards took place on June 27th. All three DMD teams that submitted work were honored with awards.

DMD Stamford’s student-led design firm, Beachball, won two awards for their client work in the Student Online Interactive Category. The team’s Fresh Nation New Vendor Campaign, aimed at educating potential new vendors about the services the Fresh Nation client provides, received a Gold Award. This campaign combines messaging and motion design.

The Fresh Nation New Vendor Campaign was created exclusively by DMD students. Daria Yaseva was the lead designer and project manager. Other team members include Kaila Baker, Doreen Maclellan, and Bryan Santiago. These students worked together to build a collection of marketing materials for their client. Fresh Nation uses the animated GIFs created for the campaign on social media and in email marketing messages. These clean, colorful, and fun animations will serve as valuable assets the client can utilize to convey their message.

The Beachball firm was also awarded a Silver Award in the Student Online Interactive Category for Kelp the Planet, an integrated campaign created for the client, Sea Greens Farms. This campaign promotes kelp as a viable food product and positions the plant as a “center-plate” item for restaurants.

The multifaceted team that created the Kelp the Planet campaign includes motion designers, Lucas Lazarre and Kristina Frattaroli, and programmers, Nina Drozdenko and Jasneet Chawla. Drozdenko also worked as a video editor alongside Juwan Dumas. Daniella Mossa and Juliana Velez held additional creative roles. Together, this team created a landing page, recipe videos, social media posts, and an explanatory animation.

UConn Digital Media & Design – Stamford’s Beachball agency was also awarded CADC’s Gold Award in the Public Service Video Category. The team’s Connect to What’s Next animation was created for Digital Media CT by student, Daria Yaseva, and DMD Professor Steve Harper. The two worked as designers and animators on the project, and Harper held the additional role of copywriter.

Connect to What’s Next seeks to raise awareness of the myriad educational and career opportunities relating to digital media in the state of Connecticut. The project paired abstract animations with a concise and engaging message. The project was also honored with two international Telly Awards in May, a Silver Award in the Branded Content Category and a Bronze Award in the Non-Broadcast Category, and two Silver W3 Awards in Non-Profit Video and Video Art Direction.

DMD students racked up several impressive awards over in summer 2019, but that wasn’t the first time. The Stamford Beachball team also won two Telly Awards last year. In 2018, the Telly Awards received over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents. DMD’s #myStamford animation won the Gold Award in the Fully Animated Piece for Social Video Category. Out of all 12,000 entries, only two received Gold Awards. The Beachball agency’s Spirit of the Sound video was awarded a Bronze Award in the Non-Broadcast, one of the largest categories of the Telly’s.

The UConn Digital Media & Design Department is thrilled to be able to share this news about its students’ accomplishments. Each team worked tirelessly to create a product that succeeded in impressing their clients, the Department, and most importantly themselves.

If you would like more information about this topic, please call Stacy Webb at 860-486-6765, or email digitalmedia@uconn.edu.

STORRS, Connecticut, October 13 – UConn Digital Media & Design’s 3D Animation and newly renamed Motion Design & Animation concentrations have always been brimming with talented and passionate student artists, but recently students have been making waves with their work all over the northeast. Several of our talented animators recently had their work juried into competitive festivals. Standing alongside filmmakers from across the globe, Katie Sawosik, Lucas Lazarre, Ali Loftus, Cassidy Keller, and Liam McNeece, proudly showcased their work and are helping to build UConn DMD’s national reputation as a top program to study digital animation.

Katherine Sawosik, a May 2019 BFA in 3D Animation graduate, has had incredible success with her BFA Senior Thesis project, Stand. The film has won two awards so far, “Best of Individual Category” at the MetroCAF 2019 Festival in New York, NY, and 2nd Place at the 8th Annual Trinity Film Festival in Hartford, CT. MetroCAF is the annual NYC Metropolitan Area College Computer Animation Festival organized by the New York City chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH (Association of Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques). Started in 2003, MetroCAF has grown into the most important local festival of its kind. Trinity Film Festival also features short films made by college students from around the world. Stand was the first animated film to win an award in the festival’s history.  Joining Katie at MetroCAF were Ali Loftus with her 3D animation, Butterscotch & Beetle, and Lucas Lazarre with his 2D animation, Mayhem, which also was a finalist in NASA’s ProjectMars International Film and Art Competition.  All three animations screened at the New York Institute of Technology’s Auditorium on Broadway on September 27.

Cassidy Keller and Liam McNeece, juniors in DMD’s Motion Design & Animation concentration, created a short film titled A Life of Dreaming that was featured in Art All Night: the 7th Annual Trenton Film Festival. This festival took place the weekend of June 15, 2019 and featured more than 200 short films from over 40 countries.

###

If you would like more information about this topic, please call Stacy Webb at 860-486-6765, or email digitalmedia@uconn.edu.

Wondering what those ants on Bishop are all about? In DMD, we’ve been busy over the past three years making ant-inspired art! We’re now excited to invite you to the world premiere of the ant-inspired, art-science performance The Colony the weekend of September 6-8 at the Studio Theatre at UConn Storrs. The performance was conceived by DMD Professor Anna Lindemann and includes animations and video developed by DMD students and alums Sarah Shattuck, Allie Marsh, Jasmine Rajavadee, Ryan Glista, and Alex Rouleau.

The Colony is about sisterhood and the evolution of communication in two of the most social creatures on earth: humans and ants. Produced as part of AntU, The Colony ventures into speculative fiction and includes projected animations and imagery alongside live spoken and musical performance, all informed by scientific research on ant colonies.

For more about the performance, visit www.thecolony.show.

Seating is limited and reservations are encouraged.

Watch the  Performance Preview:

2019 marked the inaugural gallery exhibition for the 2019 senior class of Bachelor of Fine Arts Digital Media & Design students! This year we had a cohort of 21 talented students, 17 who have created a diverse body of senior projects – ranging from 2D and 3D animations, live-action films, interactive sites, and physical works. Also featured were our four DMD interns who, in lieu of a senior project, shared their incredible experiences working as professional interns at a variety of corporations.

More on the exhibiting artists here

April 8 to April 29, 2019

Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts
2132 Hillside Road
Storrs, CT  06269

Mon – Fri   10am to 4pm

Prior to performances and during intermissions

Friday, April 12, 5-8pm

Light refreshments provided!

On March 26th, UConn honored its Babbidge and New England Scholars at the annual award ceremony. A Babbidge Scholar must keep a 4.0 GPA for the year, and a New England Scholar must keep a 3.7 GPA. We are incredibly proud that we DMD had 13 of the 15 (87%) School of Fine Arts Babbidge Scholars, and an additional 43 New England Scholars. We are so incredibly proud of our DMD scholars.

Babbidge Scholars: 
Nicholas Bartos, Madison Busick, Nina Drozdenko, Corlis Fraga, Anna Jannott, Ronald Jones, Allison Marsh, Nicole Mason, Devin Quinn, Rebecca Rosen, Sharah Shattuck, Sheryl Wang, and Daria Yeseva

New England Scholars:
Simone Alston, Isaac Bilmes, Sean Bollman, Owen Boyle, James Brockett, Aidan Brueckner, Harrison Burr, Tianxian (Dave) Cai, Abiegael Canova, Thomas Carter, Kailee Collins, Alexander Crosset, Shane Deptula, Mackenzie Fox, Brett Glynn, Jeremy Gonzalez, Alisia Gruendel, Malik Harris, Cassidy Keller, Julian Kinney, Chelsea Kuarasz, Eve Lenson, Allison Loftus, Mia Marasco, Christina McDonnell, Timothy Morris, Victoria Nazworth, Max Nonken, Julia Padget, Gillian Partyka, Lily Pashapour, Cynthia Reinert, Michael Russel, Alvaro Sanz-Perez, Katherine Sawosik, Erik Schweitzer, Courtney (Bean) Senior, Bridget Smith, Shanna Surena-Mattson, Hillary Therriault, Dana Wachsmuth, Rachel Wolther, and Rachel Wright