New Media Senior Capstone Projects Off and Running

New Media senior capstone students are developing two-semester capstone projects reflecting and extending a range of skills learned in the academic program. Among the skills and results displayed through the projects include web and mobile application development, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications, interactive educational videos, and 3D design and printing of accessibility devices. While many students are working with outside clients and field-testing new software platforms, others have developed their projects in consultation with and approval by course instructors. In this final course, students typically work as individual developers to illustrate their mastery of a range of skills rather than working on teams as often experienced in previous courses, However, interaction among students for critique, advice and comment is still highly encouraged. The course instructors this semester include Joline Blais and Mike Scott.

Titles and short descriptions of projects selected by this year’s New Media seniors include:

Social Hub for Native American Indie Films / Documentaries
Prototype and proof for a central facility for Native American artists, filmmakers, and creators to submit their own films documentaries, and content to the site, creating a Native-American focused film community; a group that needs more of a voice.

 Bon Appétit Kitchen Assistant
This AR application will allow foodies to link to Bon Appetit’s collection of cooking videos.

Infinity Virtual Reality
Working in Unity, this VR project will prototype experiences in non-euclidean geometry.

Use of Virtual Reality in Active Shooter Training
A VR training simulation for police officers allowing them to experience a variety of conflict scenarios and thereby learn in an environment where failure becomes an opportunity to learn rather than a fatal error.

DisUpgrade
Design, create and 3D print child-friendly accessibility devices to reduce stigma of obsolete “disability tools”.

Meditation and Virtual Reality
Use of 360 panoramic video footage with natural images and sounds to explore and control psychoactive responses by users in order to facilitate stress reduction, improve mental clarity, and promote a sense of wellbeing.

Q’d Up
A music sharing app that uses MusicKit to allow friend groups to create a shared music lists bringing back the original sociality of music listening.

Passamaquoddy Song for Language Immersion
Augmentation of traditional language education with Passamaquoddy music and an online platform to aid new language learners to speak with each other even if they are not near Passamaquoddy communities.

Ani-Mannequin-ation
An interactive, arduino enabled humanoid mannequin that can be used to translate character movement into keyframe animations in Adobe After Effects.

Product Tag
Using Tensorflow, client images and machine learning, Product Tag will allow social media users to click on items in images and be directed to shops where they can purchase the items.

Music Composition with Machine Learning
This project hypothesizes that a system that generates adaptive music for games can be created by utilizing machine learning algorithms resulting in the creation of melodies, counterpoint, harmony, bass, and percussion based on user game activity, complexity, and feedback.

Local Breweries: Making Connections
A web app that will allow users to find local breweries, and local breweries to find potential customers.

Latino Food Club
A recipe sharing web app that connects users to Latino culture through Latino cuisine.

The Role of Social Media on Musician Success
Development of a direct approach for musicians to develop a fanbase through social media capitalizing on the relationship between “follower” and “influencer” to reach potential followers and more effective revenue generation.

Animation Aspiration
An animation inspired by the Gilgamesh epic designed to return mature content to US animation.

Keyframe Pilot
A 2D keyframe and frame-by-frame animation about a thief’s journey to enlightenment.

Exploring Solutions to Limitations of Documentaries through Crowdsourcing
This project intends to explore the implications for how technology and crowdsourcing might overcome financial and other resource limitations to better accomplish the making of documentaries, especially stories that involve many people.

Animated Short
An animation epic based on a small team survival story.

Maccam Music Docutape
An interactive educational documentary about the process of producing music using Ableton Live that features built-in quizzes to help beginning music producers learn the craft. Sample video:  https://youtu.be/UkXSDonfAr0

Study of Technology as a Medium of Art
Exploration of experiential design in installation art to create an interactive mural installation incorporating binaural sound, responsive touch technology, and additional results from experiential design processes

Eyeglass
A VR three-dimensional paint program that will allow users to save 2D versions of their paintings.

New Media Website Redesign
A redesign coordinating WordPress framework with social media and web tools to better serve incoming and current students and alumni, and to establish a job & mentorship network.

Signs of Addiction in Gaming
Create a simulated intense virtual gaming environment, acquire human audience reactions to the environment, and raise awareness of the onset and signs of gaming addiction such as depression, anxiety and isolation.

College Health
A web app featuring health tips for college students with a low time/money budget.