Arts and Music

Off Book

Cutting edge art and the artists that make it. Off Book highlights the new, the unusual, the beautiful, and the bold across various artistic media and platforms.

Cosplay Changes Lives

5m 30s

With TV shows dedicated to it, and pictures and videos all across the internet, cosplay has now officially entered the public consciousness. All over the world, enthusiastic fans dress up as their favorite characters and show off amazing homemade costumes at conventions and in inspiring photography sessions. But beyond the glamour is a powerful story of personal transformation.

Episodes

  • What's the Deal with Internet Comedy?: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    What's the Deal with Internet Comedy?

    6m 33s

    Comedy is a huge part of entertainment and culture, but for decades there have been very limited opportunities for comedians to reach audiences and succeed. Fortunately, the internet has blown that wide open, providing new venues for the creation of comedy, removing the limitations of the old guard, and opening new doors to laughter.

  • The Art of Creative Coding: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Art of Creative Coding

    5m 42s

    Programming plays a huge role in the world that surrounds us, and though its uses are often purely functional, there is a growing community of artists who use the language of code as their medium. Their work includes everything from computer generated art to elaborate interactive installations, all with the goal of expanding our sense of what is possible with digital tools.

  • Bad Behavior Online: Bullying, Trolling & Free Speech: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Bad Behavior Online: Bullying, Trolling & Free Speech

    6m 58s

    The internet is a powerful tool for communication, but it can sometimes be a double-edged sword. Issues such as bullying online and trolling have garnered a lot of attention recently, prompting questions about who does, and should, regulate the internet, and what free speech means online.

  • The Universal Arts of Graphic Design: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Universal Arts of Graphic Design

    6m 5s

    Though often overlooked, Graphic Design surrounds us: it is the signs we read, the products we buy, and the rooms we inhabit. Graphic designers find beauty within limitations, working towards the ultimate goal of visually communicating a message. Utilizing a language of type and imagery, graphic designers try to make every aspect of our lives defined and beautiful.

  • The Impact of Twitter on Journalism: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Impact of Twitter on Journalism

    5m 5s

    The world of journalism has changed in the internet era. Newsrooms are significantly smaller now than they were 10 years ago, and news is no longer a once-a-day product, but instead a constant flow of information. Thanks to Twitter, journalists are now faced with the challenge of adapting their roles in this digital era, finding new ways to add value to content, and making content relevant.

  • We ? Retro Media: Vinyl, VHS, Tapes & Film: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    We ? Retro Media: Vinyl, VHS, Tapes & Film

    7m 23s

    We live in a digital world that gives us all the media we could possibly dream of at the click of a mouse, yet many people miss the old school physical formats from our past. The challenges these retro formats present to capturing and experiencing media actually enhance our appreciation for the sound or image, making the art we love a bit more intimate, and real.

  • The Effect of Color: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Effect of Color

    6m 58s

    Color is one of the fundamental elements of our existence, and defines our world in such deep ways that its effects are nearly imperceptible. Whether in the micro-sense with the choice of an article of clothing, or the macro-sense where cultures on the whole embrace color trends at the scale of decades, color is a signifier of our motives and deepest feelings.

  • The Creativity of Indie Video Games: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Creativity of Indie Video Games

    7m 3s

    The video game industry is now bigger than Hollywood, with hundreds of millions of dollars spent developing these interactive experiences. But there are also small-scale developers working in the indie game realm, creating unique and experimental video games. Much like indie music or indie film, the indie gaming movement provides a creative outlet for game designers outside of the mainstream.

  • The Art of Web Design: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Art of Web Design

    6m 36s

    The explosion of the internet over the past 20 years has led to the development of one of the newest creative mediums: the website. Web designers have adapted through the technological developments of html, CSS, Flash, and JavaScript, and have mastered the balance between creativity and usability. Now, the rise of mobile computing is further changing our expectations for responsible web design.

  • The Art of Animation and Motion Graphics: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Art of Animation and Motion Graphics

    6m 32s

    Animation has been captivating audiences for more than a hundred years. From classic forms like hand drawn and stop-motion, to cutting-edge techniques like motion graphics and CGI, animation has a long history of creating style and poetry unachievable through live action filmmaking. It is a tool for educating, a place for experimentation and play, and a way of telling personal stories.

  • The Art of Glitch: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Art of Glitch

    6m 2s

    Glitches are the frustrating byproduct of technology gone awry. Many artists and programmers, however, have embraced these crisis moments and discovered beauty in the glitch. By hacking familiar systems, they intentionally cause glitches, and manipulate them to create art. Enjoying the aesthetics of technological mistakes defies the notion that technology and entertainment has to be seamless.

  • The Worlds of Viral Video: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Worlds of Viral Video

    8m 49s

    "Viral Video" is the signature phenomenon of internet media. Something akin to pop songs, these videos with irresistible hooks have saturated video culture online and have now evolved into a multitude of sophisticated forms. Whether rooted in comedy, spectacle, schadenfreude, cuteness, politics, performance, or deep meaning, the idea of viral videos have forever changed media.

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