TED Videos

The first video I watched was "Keith Barry does brain magic" which is  in essence an illusion show where Keith Barry does some tricks which he says can be done psychological and mind reading effects. Although the tricks were intriguing I focused on the presentation side of the performance comparing it to what we've learned so far in class. In his performance, he makes use of a video (Presentation Aid) which shows him driving a car blindfolded with a frightened passenger he claims to have been using to see the road through her eyes. The spectacle was rather nice with her squeals as he swirved along the counry road. I also took note of the improvisation being done when dealing with people he asked to come to stage to help with tricks. The ease at which he adapted was rather impressive, though there was a few falters. Although there was quite a bit of improvisation, there were quite a few 'scripted' lines or points he wanted to mention and the way he spoke on these points seemed natural and didn't mess with the flow of the speech. I personally enjoyed the video, but I dont think it is the best TED has to offer when looking for proficient speakers.

The second video I watched was "Johnny Lee demos Wii Remote hacks" which features different adaptations of the Nintendo Wii's Controller. Like the first video there were visual aids, but it went beyond simply showing a video, but rather demonstrating the adaptations themselves. He does a good job expressing the usefulness of what he has done and states how this can be used in a beneficial way which helps to make the audience agree with his work. The first scenario he showed was using the wiimote to act as a touch screen whiteboard, the type you might see at a school, for a far cheaper price. Although it doesn't perform all the same funtionalities with further development it very well could. He also showed how using it for motion-tracking you can recreate a 3D illusion on a screen. You could tell he was adamant about his work and the excitement of how it is already being adopted in schools and other areas was visible.