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The Medium Rescues the Message
12/11/2001
The advantages, de Kerckhove says, outweigh the disadvantages. “The course can be given to and from wherever there is a connection,” he notes. “We often get access to world stars for free because it is fun for them, and they do not have to travel to Canada or the U.S. to be heard.”
He adds: “Their contributions can also be—and usually are—archived. We can then use the contents of the archives to create a final compendium with all the best material, a good exercise for would-be filmmakers. This year, we are introducing a new twist, which is to ask students on both sides to manage lighting and sets and sound.”
But he notes that the technology is not perfect: “The disadvantages are that the technology is still a bit shaky, with sudden drops, [it’s] not reliable everywhere, and the image remains sketchy.”
In the Toronto/LAVC class, de Kerckhove became the primary instructor. His students participated in lectures, researched guest speakers before their appearances, and took turns introducing them to their classmates. McLuhan students also collaborated with LAVC students on projects.
Despite the difference in their levels of education and experience, Sacks says, the students worked well together. “It was beneficial to the LAVC students to hear the views of the graduate students,” he notes. “Many of my students are preprofessional and focused on the technology more than the theory. The McLuhan students encouraged them to think about things on a different level, and vice versa.”
In the fall semester of 2001, Sacks and de Kerckhove repeated the course, this time focusing on how audiovisual and networked media represent and influence the way individuals think. Guest lecturers included animators Robin King and Donovan Keith; John Gierland, author of Digital Babylon; and Ted Nelson, who came up with the concept of hypertext.
For more information, contact Lou Albert at albertle@mail.lavc.cc.ca.us.
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