Computers in the arts and entertainment

Historically, the dubious aesthetic qual­ity of computer-generated images and sounds coupled with the high cost of computer graphic tools had been the primary barrier to widespread adoption of computers by artists and designers. The computer was often a high-priced specialized tool on which the artist or designer rented time or shared time among a group of users.

But for many people, art and design are a business, not a hobby. The most widespread and rapid advances in using computers are in art and design made for commercial purposes. Commercial artists and designers quickly realized that computer technology is a powerful tool that can reduce the cost and time involved in producing the medium in which they work. For example, the evolution of printing technology from movable type to computerized typesetting and imaging systems opened up myriad new cost-effective communication pos­sibilities for graphic designers. Artists and designers view the computer as a new medium that inte­grates print, television, music, and other communication media of the past and present.

For example, presentations at meet­ings were once synonymous with slides and transparencies. The computer was simply a tool used to produce slides and transparencies. Today, complex com­puterized presentations that incorpo­rate sound, animation, and colour, along with still images, are an entirely new form ofcommunication made possible by computer technology.

THE VISUAL MEDIA The visual media, such as print, film, television, and photography, demand visual problem-solving skills. The tools to help solve problems visually can be grouped together under the broad term computer graphics.

ART Computer-assisted art takes many forms. It replaces pen and pencil as the drawing tool, mixes colours by manipulat­ing light on a display screen, and creates many possible permutations of basic forms and shapes. In addition to com­puters, some contemporary artists use high-technology tools such as lasers, holograms, photocopiers, and facsimile machines to help convey meaning or to explore themes related to technology.

FILM AND TELEVISION In science-fiction films and television shows, we are often treated to spectacu­lar images of outer space and dramatic shots of distant worlds. Yet there is no navigation of outer space behind these images, let alone a camera to photo­graph them. Today’s graphic software makes imaginary scenes and realistic images indistinguishable from photo­graphs, yet they exist only as information stored in a computer.

SOUND Sound is a communication medium that expresses ideas in ways that cannot be approached by any of the other arts. In entertainment, sound is essential to music and is an important part of television and film. The ability to produce high-quality sound has always existed in musical in­struments, but only since the invention of the synthesizer have computers played a dominant role in the produc­tion of music.

A synthesizer is a device that elec­tronically generates sound instead of picking it up with a microphone.

When coupled with a sequencer— software that can capture, edit, and play back music—complex electronic ar­rangements are made possible through a wide variety of editing options.

A technology called the musical in­strument digital interface (MIDI) connects synthesizers, musical instru­ments, and computers. The information passed between MIDI devices is not sound. Rather, it is a condensed descrip­tion of the composition (e.g., what notes were played, when, and with what nu­ance). On playback, MIDI controls the creation of sound on a synthesizer. A musician can interact with a composi­tion while it is playing to make changes and enhancements.

In live performances, such as rock concerts, live and recorded sound are often indistinguishable, thanks to the use of computerized backing tracks.

VIRTUAL REALITY Three-dimensional colour graphics, ani­mation, simulations, and special effects combined with sound and tactile input and output create the next major devel­opment in human-computer interfaces, virtual environments.

A virtual reality, also called a virtual environment, is an information environ­ment generated by computer technol­ogy that combines visual, auditory, and tactile interaction to create the illusion of realistic objects and sensory experi­ences.

The most advanced virtual-reality re­search can be found in the defense and aerospace industries. At NASA’s Ames Research Center in the Aerospace Human Factors Research Division, sci­entists have created a virtual reality workstation based on a stereo-viewing headset, a microphone, earphones, a head tracking device, andDataGloves — gloves instrumented with fiber-optic cables that convert mechanical motion into digital signals suitable for process­ing. To enter a virtual world the user dons the headset, which contains goggles that display images on small LCDs. The display for each eye is slightly different, creating the illusion of three dimensions. As the user’s head moves, the computer adjusts the view accord­ingly. A user viewing a virtual object would see a different view of the object if, for example, he or she walked around to see the other side. The DataGlovespermit the user to pick up and manipu­late virtual objects.

The most advanced virtual reality is found in entertainment. Large-scale arcade games now utilize headsets to immerse the players in artificial worlds where they virtually become part of the action.

4.4 Find antonyms.

High, primary, hobby, rapid, reduce, forbid, impossible, simple, exclude, low, minor, business, slow, real, difficult, complicate, cheap, a lot of, raise, imaginary, outer, create, open, few, complex, ancient, destroy, realistic, inner, expensive, begin, artificial, simplify, contemporary, end, close, easy, include, possible, permit.

4.5. Find synonyms.

Couple, rapid, powerful, evolution, convert, exact, assist, include, dear, begin, fast, broad, replace, generate, modern, research, change, expensive, development, help, fully, multiple, traditional, combine, transform, incorporate, explore, start, numerous, produce, wide, permutation, completely, conventional, mighty, contemporary, precise, substitute.

4.6 Make up sentences using the following words.

1. ancient, artists, have, images, in, always, cultures, created, even.

2. many, takes, art, forms, computer-assisted.

3. modern, tools, addition, computers, in, to, some, high-technology, use, some, artists.

4. commercial, realize, computer, is, their, technology, in, artists, that, contemporary, work, necessary.

4.7 Put the verb into the correct form.

1. High-technology tools such as lasers, holograms, photocopiers _____ by contemporary artists.(use)

2. Printing technology ______ by computer typesetting. (replace)

3. Imaging scenes and realistic images ______ with help of graphic software. (make)

4. The creation of sound on a synthesizer _______ by MIDI. (control)

5. Synthesizers, musical instruments and computers ____ with help of the technology called MIDI. (connect)

6. Computers ______ a dominant role in the production of music only since the advent of the synthesizer. (play)

4.8 Answer the questions.

1. In what sphere of art are the most widespread and rapid advances in using computers? Why?

2. What high-technology tools, in addition to computers, are used by some contemporary artists?

3. In what way has a computer application influenced the film industry?

4. What changes have taken place in the production of music since the invention of the synthesizer?

5. What do we call a technology connecting synthesizers, musical instruments and computers?

6. In what spheres can virtual reality be applied except the defense and aerospace industries?

5.1 Read and translate the following word-combinations.

Powerful assistants, imaginative approach, information gathering and learning, computer-assisted instruction, language skills, curriculum developer, similar problems, basic skills, drill and practice, individual instruction, interactive education, sequential and linear, create multiple paths, dynamic types of data, multimedia products, learning embedded into games, the entire range of education, skill-training material.

5.2 Learn key words and word combinations.

CAI (computer –assisted instruction) – комп’ютеризоване навчання

computation (n)– обчислення

direct link – прямий зв’язок

embed (v)– вкладати, уставляти

flash card – проекційна картка

hypertext (n)– гіпертекст (унівеpсальний текст)

imaginative approach – творчий підхід

interactive (adj)– інтерактивний, діалоговий

multimedia (n)– комплексне зображення середовища; мультисередовище

nonlinear (adj)– нелінійний

option (n)– варіант; версія; можливість, вибір, режим; пункт меню

sequential (adj)– послідовний

Read and translate the text.

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