This is a very interesting presentation that gives a good overview of the context and history behind the Futurama Exhibit. You painted a picture of the period well, and I like how you go into the ideologies of the society as well as the vehicular developments during the time. I did not realize that technology at this time was viewed as a way to return the the purist ways of the past- which is interesting seeing as how many depictions of the future (like the Futurama Exhibit) would have significant similarities to the technologies we have today.
The overall chronological structure of the presentation is easy to follow, and exploring how the exhibit reflects the future we now know ties it up nicely. It could have been interesting to see other predictions that people had about the future of the highway system, and how these compared to the Futurama Exhibit, as it could have reinforced the societal values of the time that propelled the visions and actual implementation of the highway system. Another note is that the focus of your presentation, the exhibit itself, is such a cool representation that I think your presentation could benefit from harnessing this aspect by showing more visuals of the model itself.
However, these are small critiques in an overall comprehensive and thorough project.
Overall, I felt like this slidecast was very well put together and featured a lot of great information. The audio was perfectly clear, and the speaking pace was very natural and smooth. I enjoyed hearing some of the class material worked into the analysis such as the point about progress before the Enlightenment being viewed as a return to man’s purity and simplicity. Additionally, the wider context regarding the Great Depression and stock market crash made for a well-rounded presentation. The complexity of the Futurama itself was mind-blowing to me and I learned about many events that were new to me. For instance, I was surprised to hear that Cadillac already has a self-driving car that could be bought and used today. The only improvement I would suggest for the slidecast is to alter the animations of the images slightly. While at times I enjoyed the dynamic component they added, sometimes it seemed like waiting to see the image pan out took away from the audio information. That being said, it was still a great presentation!
Brady, fantastic slidecast. I really love the “zoom out” camera effect as it gives perspective and keeps the audience engaged. I also loved the dark screen around 50 seconds in, as you solely listened to what you were saying as the build up and it served as a great segway into the topic you spoke about. The voice you spoke in was clear and concise, job well done. To me, it felt like a real news piece. Something I thought was fascinating was GM’s Futurama design featured at the World’s Fair. The fact a model took 18 minutes to see and filled up enough space to cover over a dozen and a half basketball courts is amazing. I can’t even begin to comprehend the amount of time that took to create. I would like to note that while the zoom out was a fantastic feature, maybe some of the images could be shown in full right away, not leaving the audience to wait until it zooms out. Overall though, excellent work.
The presentation was very well executed. It flowed like a story, with each slide building off of the one before it.
Additionally, you did a great job of providing the audience with an overview of what the period was like. For instance, you pointed out that the automobile was outperformed by horses on muddy roads. It’s a good reminder as to why the likes of GM had to push so hard for a highway system in order to make the car useful.
Regarding areas for improvement, be careful with adding your own opinion to controversial topics unless absolutely necessary. For example, I would have left out the criticism of the name “Autopilot” and the comment that it may have been “rushed to market.”
Below are my image sources as well as a link to Norman Bel Geddes’ 1941 book Magic Motorways.
https://www.toureiffel.paris/en/the-monument/universal-exhibition
http://spaceframed.blogspot.com/2015/02/futurama-1939-new-york-worlds-fair.html
https://www.carstuffshow.com/podcasts/learn-to-drive-ford-model-t-2018.htm
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LH-Map-75.jpg
http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/179374/213630.html?1306599378
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-us-history/period-7/apush-great-depression/a/the-great-depression
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Airliner_Number_4_-_Norman_Bel_Geddes%2C_c.1929-32.jpg
http://artcontrarian.blogspot.com/2013/07/norman-bel-geddes-first-city-of-future.html
http://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/univ_lg_window.aspx?pageTitle=Futurama%20Booklet&imgType=p&numImg=24&imgNum=7&retURL=worlds_fair/wf_tour/zone-6/futurama_booklet/futurama_booklet&retUrlExt=aspx&retName=Futurama%20Booklet&imgName=worlds_fair/wf_tour/zone-6/futurama_booklet/images/large/futurama_booklet-&contributor=Bob%20Catania
http://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/univ_lg_window.aspx?pageTitle=Futurama%20Booklet&imgType=p&numImg=24&imgNum=17&retURL=worlds_fair/wf_tour/zone-6/futurama_booklet/futurama_booklet&retUrlExt=aspx&retName=Futurama%20Booklet&imgName=worlds_fair/wf_tour/zone-6/futurama_booklet/images/large/futurama_booklet-&contributor=Bob%20Catania
https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/deadliest-highways-texas/
https://www.edmunds.com/tesla/model-s/2017/sedan/
https://archive.org/details/magicmotorways00geddrich
This is a very interesting presentation that gives a good overview of the context and history behind the Futurama Exhibit. You painted a picture of the period well, and I like how you go into the ideologies of the society as well as the vehicular developments during the time. I did not realize that technology at this time was viewed as a way to return the the purist ways of the past- which is interesting seeing as how many depictions of the future (like the Futurama Exhibit) would have significant similarities to the technologies we have today.
The overall chronological structure of the presentation is easy to follow, and exploring how the exhibit reflects the future we now know ties it up nicely. It could have been interesting to see other predictions that people had about the future of the highway system, and how these compared to the Futurama Exhibit, as it could have reinforced the societal values of the time that propelled the visions and actual implementation of the highway system. Another note is that the focus of your presentation, the exhibit itself, is such a cool representation that I think your presentation could benefit from harnessing this aspect by showing more visuals of the model itself.
However, these are small critiques in an overall comprehensive and thorough project.
Overall, I felt like this slidecast was very well put together and featured a lot of great information. The audio was perfectly clear, and the speaking pace was very natural and smooth. I enjoyed hearing some of the class material worked into the analysis such as the point about progress before the Enlightenment being viewed as a return to man’s purity and simplicity. Additionally, the wider context regarding the Great Depression and stock market crash made for a well-rounded presentation. The complexity of the Futurama itself was mind-blowing to me and I learned about many events that were new to me. For instance, I was surprised to hear that Cadillac already has a self-driving car that could be bought and used today. The only improvement I would suggest for the slidecast is to alter the animations of the images slightly. While at times I enjoyed the dynamic component they added, sometimes it seemed like waiting to see the image pan out took away from the audio information. That being said, it was still a great presentation!
Brady, fantastic slidecast. I really love the “zoom out” camera effect as it gives perspective and keeps the audience engaged. I also loved the dark screen around 50 seconds in, as you solely listened to what you were saying as the build up and it served as a great segway into the topic you spoke about. The voice you spoke in was clear and concise, job well done. To me, it felt like a real news piece. Something I thought was fascinating was GM’s Futurama design featured at the World’s Fair. The fact a model took 18 minutes to see and filled up enough space to cover over a dozen and a half basketball courts is amazing. I can’t even begin to comprehend the amount of time that took to create. I would like to note that while the zoom out was a fantastic feature, maybe some of the images could be shown in full right away, not leaving the audience to wait until it zooms out. Overall though, excellent work.
The presentation was very well executed. It flowed like a story, with each slide building off of the one before it.
Additionally, you did a great job of providing the audience with an overview of what the period was like. For instance, you pointed out that the automobile was outperformed by horses on muddy roads. It’s a good reminder as to why the likes of GM had to push so hard for a highway system in order to make the car useful.
Regarding areas for improvement, be careful with adding your own opinion to controversial topics unless absolutely necessary. For example, I would have left out the criticism of the name “Autopilot” and the comment that it may have been “rushed to market.”