Michael Newman

Michael Newman is a Creative Director, Interactive Developer and obsessive tinkerer. Michael has an eclectic background, with a childhood spent programming computers followed by a BFA from School of Visual arts focused on oil painting. Michael has taught Digital Filmmaking at Pratt Manhattan and currently teaches iPad Design and Development at UCLA Extension. He owns and operates Pomp Productions, a Los Angeles-based interactive development and product design company, with his wife, Katharine, and their dog, Mister Hustler Man.

What Michael will be doing at DIY DAYS

Interactive, Gamification Powered Networking

Michael will discuss the implementation, successes and failures of his Interactive, Gamification Powered Networking experiment and installation, both of which will be available to attendees at the event.

 

DIY DAYS asks

 

What are you currently working on that you’re excited about?

We’ve been working on a good deal of client projects lately – Complex, data-driven pieces that have really ended up being a lot of fun. But, as interesting as those are, I’m most excited about extending things outside of the computer. This summer I built an SMS controlled, fully-automatic Nerf Machine gun mapped to a live audience for real-time gaming. That was a blast, but I’m looking for a new project to top that.

What are some of your favorite sites and / or mobile apps and brief why?

In terms of favorite sites, it’s always changing – Really for me it’s wherever I can find the information I need for whatever I’m working on. O’Reilly Books has a tremendous online book resource: SafariBooksOnline.com. I’ll also admit that I’ve got a TheSuperficial.com habit, but only to keep current on what’s happening in the real world.

What are you currently watching, reading or playing?

I’m currently watching archived horse races online at the Daily Racing Form website, drf.com, and reading past performances from thoroughbred races. I’ve always been fascinated by the vast amounts of data and complexities of horse handicapping. Last season I won a handicapping contest at Santa Anita and placed second in another. This season I’m looking forward to testing a new data modeling and mapping technique – It’s looking heavily at workout times, coupled with positions and times between the 2nd and 4th furlongs, but it’s all very hush-hush, so that’s really all I can say about it…

For More on Michael and his work visit

Site:TedX UCLA