Media Lab Homework Guidelines for the Second Phase
Guidelines
Welcome to the second phase of the MA application process.
Please get your homework guidelines and interview guidelines below for each programme.
(Also Skype interview information can be found in there, for those who don't live in Finland.)
Good luck
Game Design and Production:
for applicants of spring 2019
Invitation, instructions
Read ALL OF THE TEXT carefully!
You will receive:
- an invitation to the interview, with guidelines
- special instructions for applicants resident outside of Finland
- the entrance examination homework with guidelines
- contact information
In other words, the steps for you are:
- read the text
- do the homework and submit the results to us according to guidelines in the examination paper
- decide what is (are) the work sample(s) you are going to present for the jury. In Games this is also something else than the entrance homework. For Skype interview: send an URL or pdf or some other form of material using the button at the bottom of this page , DL 6.3.2019 at 23 (11pm) Finnish time. Live interview: bring the material with you.
- the interview
Your interview time in the Finnish timezone is mentioned in the email. Please arrive at least 10 minutes earlier. If it is impossible for you to attend the interview at the time allotted for you, we advise you to contact anna.arsniva@aalto.fi as soon as possible. Don鈥檛 call 鈥 write an email. However, you are strongly advised to make arrangements so that you can attend at the time we have scheduled for you. The days are usually fully booked for interviews, it鈥檚 very difficult to find a free slot.
GUIDELINES: During the interview
How to find us
Interviews will take place in V盲re premises, Otaniementie 14, Otaniemi, Espoo, room P310. Metro runs from Helsinki city center 黑料网 university station. Be prepared to pay the regional ticket - Helsinki and Espoo are not on the same traffic zone. In case that the metro fails, use bus number 551.
Your presentation
Come to the 3rd floor lobby/hub and wait there (ask help from the reception). Interviews are approx. 25 minutes in length and during this time you will have about 15 minutes to present a sample of work (or works) to the selection committee. You have to be clear about what is your part in the work(s) you have selected.
Tech for Game applicants
For the interview we will provide a computer connected to a projector or HD television. The computer will have most common browsers and presentation applications installed. You can also bring your own equipment and use that instead via HDMI cable. We also provide adapters from DisplayPort, MiniDisplayPort and VGA/3,5mm to HDMI if needed. If you need any of those or have some questions about the equipment, contact jens.carp@aalto.fi by the 6th of March.
Language
The interview will be in English.
Final selection
The Admissions Office will publish the official results not earlier than 27.3.2019 on Aalto website. Please do not contact the ARTS Admissions Office regarding your application prior to this date. All applicants will receive a letter informing them of their status.
CONTACTS
Secretariat:
anna.arsniva@aalto.fi
Technical support:
jens.carp@aalto.fi
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS for applicants resident outside of Finland
So, you are not living in Finland right now? You are not compelled to attend an interview in Espoo. Your way to contact us is Skype (camera ok, not obligatory).
Skype interview
The date for your Skype interview is mentioned in the email.
(Finnish time; see )
Via Skype, please contact mlabkarpalo. The line will be open during interview days only.
You will contact us, not vice versa.
Before your (approx 25 min) Skype interview
To become successfully accepted you are required to do the same as other applicants.
鈥 Complete the essays/tasks (entrance examination) and deliver them electronically as per the enclosed in the entrance examination guidelines, DL 6.3.2019 at 23 Finnish time (11 pm).
鈥 Send examples of your work or URLs of web based work as per the technical instructions enclosed in the letter (deadline for material 6.3.2019). Use the button at the bottom of
.
Or do you want to take the live interview in ARTS?
If you wish to be interviewed in ARTS this is possible. The time will not be the same as was allotted for the phone/Skype interview. Contact (asap!) anna.arsniva@aalto.fi and the time will be fixed in this conversation.
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION 2019
Game Design and Production
In the second stage of your application you are required to complete two (2) preliminary tasks as homework. The details of these tasks are given here. Please ensure that you complete the tasks in accordance with the instructions and send them to reach the Media Lab by the given deadline.
TASKS
1. Creative exercise: Design a board game that deals with "forgiveness"
Design and document a board game (non-digital) or a card game (non-digital) that deals with the concept of 鈥渇orgiveness鈥, using one or more interpretations of the word. The target audience is adults, and the game should not utilize dice. The game documentation should include the rules of the game, visualizations of the board, pieces, tokens, and cards. You must introduce ALL THE ELEMENTS THAT ARE NEEDED TO PLAY THE GAME. Note also that the theme of forgiveness should be weaved into the rules in a way that 鈥渇orgiveness鈥 is a central part of the rule system of your game, not just a thematic addition.
The game documentation should be returned in PDF format. The PDF can have up to four A4 pages or up to two A3 pages.
The PDF should also include an additional A4 where an interesting gameplay situation is described, showcasing the game dynamics. Be sure to test your game, and be ready to explain what you learned in the interview.
Evaluation criteria:
1. Ability to design a game system
2. Execution of the design
3. Consistency of the design
4. Ability to organize and communicate ideas clearly
2. Analytic Exercise
Write a 1000 words essay reflecting on how you see YOUR OWN WORK in exercise 1 in relation to the issues raised by the material below. What are the mechanics, dynamics, aesthetics, and emotional palette of your game? How do they interact/interrelate? Include a statement explaining how you used the theme 鈥渇orgiveness鈥 in your board game.
Material:
Designing Journey 鈥 a GDC talk by Jenova Chen
MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research 鈥 a research paper by Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, and Robert Zubek
Evaluation criteria:
1. Ability to handle complex issues and conceptual information
2. Ability to organize and communicate ideas
3. Ability to reflect on your own work
4. Ability to analyze, criticize and invent
5. Quality and finish of written communication
WRITING INSTRUCTIONS, FORMAT AND DELIVERY
The tasks should not be longer than stated in the instructions. You can use Finnish, Swedish or English in your tasks.
There is a web form for submitting your tasks
The form is open until 6.3.2019, 23 (11 pm) Finnish time.
This is the last moment to send your homework.
Worldclock
Be smart and don't leave sending the works for the last moment, something might not work. Only if you repeatedly fail to use the form in the URL mentioned above, please mail the material to anna.arsniva@aalto.fi.
Save your tasks into one PDF file. Prepare the document for yourself, and only after that send it using the web form. Name the file with your own name, for instance, ForenameSurname_task1.pdf.
Return all materials in PDF format.
The total size of your file may not exceed 3MB.
Add your full name and contact information (real life address, permanent email address) to ALL files that you send us. This makes sure that your answers will be treated as your answers. Make sure that the email address you state that will be valid for contacting you even a couple of months after the selection process. Please avoid using temporary email addresses, like the email of the school you are leaving.
Remember to submit the form by clicking on the ("Click here to submit...") button after selecting the files to upload to receive a submission ticket ID. This ticket is also your confirmation message: we have received your material.
New Media Design and Production:
for applicants of spring 2019
Invitation, instructions
Read ALL THE TEXT carefully!
You will receive:
- an invitation to the interview, with guidelines
- special instructions for applicants resident outside of Finland
- the entrance examination homework with guidelines
- contact information
In other words, the steps for you are:
- read the text
- do the homework and submit the results to us according to guidelines in the examination section
- decide what is (are) the work sample(s) you are going to present for the jury. Usually this is something else than the entrance homework. For Skype interview: send an URL or pdf or some other form of material using the button at the bottom of this page http://mlab.taik.fi/application/, DL 6.3.2019. Live interview: bring the material with you.
- the interview
Your interview time in Finnish timezone is mentioned in the email. Please arrive at least 10 minutes earlier. If it is impossible for you to attend the interview at the time allotted for you, we advise you to contact anna.arsniva@aalto.fi as soon as possible. Don鈥檛 call 鈥 write an email. However, you are strongly advised to make arrangements so that you can attend at the time we have scheduled for you. The days are usually fully booked for interviews, it鈥檚 not easy to find a free slot.
GUIDELINES: During the interview
How to find us
Interviews will take place in V盲re, room O203, Otaniementie 14, Espoo. Metro runs from Helsinki city center 黑料网 university station. Be prepared to pay the regional ticket - Helsinki and Espoo are not on the same traffic zone. The bus 551 also runs from Helsinki to Otaniemi.
Your presentation
Wait in the lobby/hub area in the second floor (ask help from the reception). Interviews are approx. 15-20 minutes in length and about half of it is available for you to pitch your portfolio, or any other kind of your own work you consider relevant, that represent your skills the best to the selection committee. You have to be clear about what is your part in the work(s) you have selected if you present team projects.
Tech for New Media Design and Production applicants
For the interview we will provide a computer connected to a projector or HD television. The computer will have most common browsers and presentation applications installed. You can also bring your own equipment and use that instead via HDMI cable. We also provide adapters from DisplayPort, MiniDisplayPort and VGA/3,5mm to HDMI if needed. If you need any of those or have some questions about the equipment, contact jens.carp@aalto.fi by the 6th of March.
Language
The interview will be in Finnish/Swedish and/or in English, depending on what the applicants and the interviewers feel comfortable with.
Final selection
The Admissions Office will publish the official results not earlier than 27.3.2019 on Aalto website. Please do not contact the ARTS Admissions Office regarding your application prior to this date. All applicants will receive a letter informing them of their status.
CONTACTS
Secretariat:
anna.arsniva@aalto.fi
Technical support:
jens.carp@aalto.fi
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS for applicants resident outside of Finland
So, you are not living in Finland right now? You are not compelled to attend an interview in Espoo. Your way to contact us is Skype (camera ok, not obligatory). Via Skype, please contact mlabmansikka. The line will be open during Skype interview days only.
You will contact us, not vice versa.
The date for your Skype interview is mentioned in the email.
(Finnish time; see )
Before your (approx 20 min) Skype interview:
To become successfully accepted you are required to do the same as other applicants.
Complete the essays/tasks (entrance examination) and deliver them electronically as per the enclosed in the entrance examination guidelines, DL 6.3.2019 at 23 Finnish time (11pm).
Send examples of your work or URLs of www-based work as per the technical instructions enclosed in the letter (deadline for material 6.3.2019). Use the button at the bottom of
Or do you want to take the live interview in ARTS? If you wish to be interviewed in ARTS this is possible. The time will not be the same as was allotted for the Skype interview. Contact (asap!) anna.arsniva@aalto.fi and the time will be fixed in this conversation.
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION 2019
Degree programme in New Media Design and Production
Department of Media, Media Lab
In the second stage of your application you are required to complete two preliminary tasks as homework. The details of these tasks are given here. Please ensure that you complete the tasks in accordance with the instructions and send them to reach the Media Lab by the given deadline.
Instructions, format and delivery
The tasks should not be longer than stated in the instructions. You can use any of the languages Finnish, Swedish or English in your tasks.
There is a web form for submitting your tasks
The form is open until 6.3.2019, 23 Finnish time (11 pm). This is the last moment to send your homework.
Worldclock
Be smart and don't leave sending the works for the last moment, something might not work. Only if you repeatedly fail to use the form in the URL mentioned above, please mail the material to anna.arsniva@aalto.fi.
Save your tasks as separate files. Prepare the documents for yourself, and only after that send them using the web form. Name each file with your own name and the task number, for instance ForenameSurname_task1_1 and ForenameSurname_task1_2.
Total size of all your answers may not exceed 3 MB.
Add your full name and contact information (real life address, permanent email address) to ALL files that you send us. This makes sure that your answers will be treated as your answers. Make sure that the email address you state will be valid for contacting you even a couple of months after the selection process. Please avoid using temporary email addresses, like the email of the school you are leaving.
Remember to submit the form by clicking on the ("Click here to submit...") button after selecting the files to upload to receive a submission ticket ID. This ticket is also your confirmation message: we have received your material.
TASKS
Task 1. Essay
Read UNESCO's Charter on the Preservation of Digital Heritage:
Based on the text and possible other sources write a reflective essay on how and why digital artifacts should be preserved for future generations. Provide one case example where digital heritage was relevant for your own work. Submit the essay as a PDF file, 1000 words maximum (list of references excluded). The essay will be evaluated based on the clarity of writing, critical reflection and the use of source material.
Task 2. Creative Task
In this task, pick one hand or body gesture that you use in your everyday life. Create a concept for an interactive experience 鈥 it could be an art installation, experimental interface, service, game or something else 鈥 where the interaction is based on this one gesture. You do not have to limit your idea to what is possible with current technology, you can assume that there is some way for a computer to detect your gesture.
Write a synopsis (500鈥600 words) of your concept and, using sketches, mockups, interactive prototypes or animation, illustrate how it would work. Again, make it a PDF. If you wish to use video or interactive content, provide a link that can be accessed using a common Web browser (YouTube, Vimeo or similar for videos). The assignment will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Novelty of the idea
- Audiovisual quality of the presentation
- Clarity of communication
- Critical reflection on your own design
Novelty of the idea
Audiovisual quality of the presentation
Clarity of communication
Critical reflection on your own design
Sound in New Media:
for applicants of spring 2019
Invitation, instructions
Read ALL OF THE TEXT carefully!
You will receive:
- an invitation to the interview, with guidelines
- special instructions for applicants resident outside of Finland
- the entrance examination homework with guidelines
- contact information
In other words, the steps for you are:
- read the text
- do the homework and submit the results to us, DL 6.3.2019 not later than at 23 Finnish time (11pm), address
- decide what is (are) the work sample(s) you are going to present for the jury during the interview. Usually this is something else than the entrance homework.
(For Skype/phone interview: send an URL or pdf or some other form of material using the button at the bottom of , DL 6.3.2019; Live interview: bring the material with you)
- the interview
Your interview time is mentioned in the email. Please arrive at least 10 minutes earlier. If it is impossible for you to attend the interview at the time allotted for you, we advise you to contact anna.arsniva@aalto.fi as soon as possible. Don鈥檛 call 鈥 write an email. However, you are strongly advised to make arrangements so that you can attend at the time we have scheduled for you. The days are usually fully booked for interviews, it鈥檚 not very easy to find a free slot.
GUIDELINES: During the interview
How to find us
Interviews will take place in V盲re, room P104. Otaniementie 14, Espoo. Metro runs from Helsinki city center 黑料网 university station. Also bus nr 551 runs from Helsinki to Otaniemi. Be prepared to pay the regional ticket - Helsinki and Espoo are not on the same traffic zone.
Your presentation
Wait in the lobby/hub in the first floor (ask from the reception). Interviews are approx. 30 minutes in length and during this time you will have approx. 10 minutes to present a sample of work (or works), to the selection committee. You have to be clear about what is your part in the work(s) you have selected. In the end of the interview you may demonstrate your musicality with a 5 min special presentation, which can be singing, playing an instrument etc. However, this is not mandatory. There will be 3,5 mm stereo plug cable and 2 x 6,3 mm mono plug cables connected to the speakers through a small audio mixer.
Tech for Sound in New Media applicants:
For the interview, we provide a computer connected to a data projector or HD television. The computer will have most common browsers and presentation applications installed. You can also bring your own equipment and use that instead via HDMI cable. We also provide adapters from DisplayPort, MiniDisplayPort and VGA/3,5mm to HDMI if needed. If you need any of those or have some questions about the equipment, contact jens.carp@aalto.fi by the 6th of March.
Language
The interview will be in Finnish/Swedish and/or in English, depending on what the applicants and the interviewers feel comfortable with.
Final selection
The Admissions Office will publish the official results not earlier than 27.3.2019 on Aalto website. Please do not contact the ARTS Admissions Office regarding your application prior to this date. All applicants will receive a letter informing them of their status.
CONTACTS
Secretariat:
anna.arsniva@aalto.fi
Technical support:
jens.carp@aalto.fi
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS for applicants resident outside of Finland
So, you are not living in Finland right now? You are not compelled to attend an interview in Helsinki. Your way to contact us is Skype. Please contact sound application. The line will be open during Skype interview days only.
You will contact us, not vice versa.
Skype interview
The date for your Skype interview is mentioned in the email.
(Finnish time; see)
Before your (approx 25-30 min) Skype interview
To become successfully accepted you are required to do the same as other applicants:
鈥 Complete the essays/tasks (entrance examination) and deliver them electronically as per the enclosed in the entrance examination guidelines, DL 6.3.2019 at 23 Finnish time (11 pm).
鈥 Send examples of your work or URLs of www-based work as per the technical instructions enclosed in the letter (deadline for material 6.3.2019). Use the button at the bottom of .
Or do you want to take the live interview in ARTS?
If you wish to be interviewed in ARTS this is possible. The time will not be the same as was allotted for the Skype interview. Contact (asap!) anna.arsniva@aalto.fi and the time will be fixed in this conversation.
Entrance examination for major in Sound in New Media 2019
In the second stage of your application you are required to complete three preliminary tasks as homework. The details of these tasks are given here. Please ensure that you complete the tasks in accordance with the instructions and send them to reach the Media Lab by the given deadline.
Instructions, format and delivery
The tasks should not be longer than stated in the instructions. You may write your tasks in Finnish, Swedish or in English.
There is a web form for submitting your tasks:
The form is open until 6.3.2019, 23 (11pm) Finnish time. This is the last moment to send your homework. Worldclock Be smart and don't leave sending the works for the last moment, something might not work. Only if you repeatedly fail to use the form in the URL mentioned above, please mail the material to anna.arsniva@aalto.fi.
Save your tasks as separate files. Prepare the documents for yourself, and only after that send them using the web form. Name each file with your own name and the task and file number, for instance ForenameSurname_task1_1 and ForenameSurname_task1_2.
When sending text, please send using plain (.txt), rich text (.rtf) or a portable document format (.pdf). When sending text plus images, diagrams etc., please use pdf or shockwave flash (.swf), or send separate images as jpeg (.jpg) or portable network graphics (.png) files. In Sound the audio file should be delivered in mp3 or .ogg format.
The total size of all your files may not exceed 3MB.
Add your full name and contact information (street address, permanent email address) to ALL files that you send us. This makes sure that your files will be treated as your files. Make sure that the email address you state will be valid for contacting you even a couple of months after the selection process. Please avoid using temporary email addresses, like the email of the school you are leaving.
Remember to submit the form by clicking on the ("Click here to submit...") button after selecting the files to upload to receive a submission ticket ID. This ticket is also your confirmation message: we have received your material.
ENTRANCE EXAMINATION TASKS 2019
TASK 1: 鈥淚 will never forget that sound鈥
Describe a situation, an event, a moment in your life etc. when you have encountered something audible that really surprised you or touched your emotions, either positively or negatively. Try to communicate your experience to the reader, including the context where the sound/s was/were heard. Writing instructions: you can write in academic, journalistic or prose style, approximately one European A4 page, max length ca 400 words.
Evaluation criteria: ability to describe and review sonic experience, description of a situation, selection of point of view.
TASK 2: 鈥淪ound as medium for interaction鈥
Write about a product, an object, a service, an open-air or interior space where sound and/ or the soundscape has been designed to facilitate interaction. You may also write about a negative example if you are able to suggest something better instead of the existing sound(s). Don鈥檛 write about music as such or film soundtracks. In addition to your personal point of view, try to find research-based references to support your arguments.
Writing instructions: the writing style should be academic, targeted to readers who are already knowledgeable about the topic. Write approximately 2 European A4 pages (excluding possible graphs etc), max length ca 800 words.
Evaluation criteria: ability to describe and analyse sounds in professional manner, ability to evaluate the functionality of sound(s), ability to use references.
TASK 3: 鈥淭ransformation鈥
Compose a one minute long sound piece on the basis of your personal interpretation of the given title (鈥淭ransformation鈥). Include a written explanation of what was made and how, and also explain your creative process regarding the aesthetics and design of the composition.
Instructions: the method of making the sound piece is free, but the result shouldn鈥檛 be longer than 60 seconds. The piece should be delivered in mp3 or .ogg format. The written part should not be longer than 400 words (excluding possible graphs etc).
Evaluation criteria: ability to reflect and explain one鈥檚 own artistic and/ or design work, creative use of technology.