These are the Instructions for the Seventh module of this course:

Complete the reading assigned to this week:

Reading n 1, from the book "Understanding Media", By Marshall McLuhan.

In the reader you will find Text 1.b which contains the chapter of the book called "The Medium is the Message".

You will also find Text 1.c, That contains the famous chapter on "Hot and Cold Media".

This is the last week dedicated to the classic work of McLuhan.
"The Medium is the Message" got to be one of the most catalyzing theories in Western Art in the 80s.
It states the importance of the medium itself in Communication. An importance that almost dilutes the content of what it's being said.

"Hot and Cold Media" is a peculiar way of categorizing media. McLuhan shows a very personal and peculiar way of looking at things, but the consequence of his thesis if true, brings an incredible dimension to his thought.
He states that "contemporary media (TV,cell-phone, internet...) are very Cold media. Those would be Communication systems that characterize themselves by not having to much data-quality, and because of this, requiring much participation, effort and self-projection from the user, what would amazingly produce a higher emotional response.

Download the doc "Notes_on_McLuhan.doc". You will find there some more info on some of his theories.
It might help you decide which one you are going to use for your image/text presentation for the midterm on week 8.

Check out successful student projects.
Check again some student Mid-term presentations. You will find some very successful projects on Hot and Cold Media.

http://soma.sbcc.edu/users/ajarabo/intro_Multimedia/mcluhan_students_midt.html

Watch this classic experimental film.

"La Jettee", by Chris Marker, 1963. English version

The classic short that inspired Terry Gilliam's "12 Monkeys". It was produced in 1963 and it brought to Media the interesting subject (later exploited) of traveling through time.

Besides 12 Monkeys, other movies reinterpreted the generic theme of traveling through time ( Terminator, Back to the Future...).

It was created out of still images, in Black and white. There is only one, very short, piece of live-action.
It is one of the best examples I know of the power of Cold Media in action: the lack of data, in this case, makes us get immerse in the story, leaving practical and technical details to a second level and helping focusing on the emotional aspect of the story. The soundtrack is superb in its power of emotional evocation.

The original version is in French, were the narrator creates an incredible environment for the story. The French version is difficult to find and I understand you guys are used to English...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RvmJan17q8
You will later write about this movie in the discussion.

Make your post in the Forum on Hot and Cold Media.