What's Your Point?

I think Kristen hit the nail on the head. Convergence is where people, ideas, and innovation have the opportunity to come together and create, discuss, or analyze. We may even experience convergence unknowingly. With thanksgiving being tomorrow, I am anticipating this very phenomenon as my family members are all incredible different in their ways of thinking and living resulting in some meaningful conversation. Of course there's great food also :) Let there never be convergence without great food.

Thanks!
ericka

Personal convergence slapped me conscious about 6 months after I had left undergrad. I was accustomed to living in fractions: PS204, International Relations. PS399. Causes and Preventions of War. Spanish303, Conversation. INTL455, Development Theory. Each of these subjects had been chiseled separately into my mind. Of course, I made connections, but they were academic, I ultimately saw little importance in understanding subjects I was not directly applying towards my life.

It was only after, after I had worked and lived in this elusive real world (for which I am still searching) that I recognized the power of diverse understanding towards in becoming an influencial member of this world.

For me, convergence is exactly what Kristin mentioned: Dreaming becoming realizing. Completing 4 years of college was looking to be an un-reachable task back in 2005. Now finishing my second to last semester of my undergrad with 6 classes and straight A's,it is not only a realization, but an accomplishment in the works. I dont want to self-indulge with this information but simply reflect on how I could turn my far fetched dreams of being a successful student into standing proud at the home stretch. I am applying to Emerson College for their new MFA program and hope to continue on my personal path of convergence.

My life only recently began to converge. For some, life begins to converge right after college. They pick a major, graduate, find a job in a related field, get married and have kids or, perhaps, continue on to pursue a graduate degree. I didn’t do any of those things…right away.

My point of convergence came when I least expected it: after a long leave of absence from college, after I returned to complete my degree, having chosen a major that I wasn’t particularly passionate about. It came about after I found myself “stuck” in a job that I hated.

I was looking for change, open to find that point of convergence where passion mixes with practicality. And I found it. It came by way of a stranger, who offered some advice, who lent me a book, who became a friend …and ultimately started a chain reaction, which changed my life.

Maybe it's time for that grad degree?

In the modern world, our very existence IS convergence and personally, I thrive on it. It's become nearly impossible to live in an isolated society, so our greatest challenge is finding our place in a shrinking world, which can be pretty unsettling at times.

My greatest hope is that we can find a better way to connect with each other. It might sound cheesy, but with so many upsetting headlines and images, it will do us some good to start fresh. Let's make 2009 better for everyone, because whether we like it or not, were in this together.

To be honest I never really put all that much thought into what my "point of convergence" was. I guess looking at the definition I would say that it is the point when two things meet. When the rational becomes the irrational, the thought becomes reality and the dead become alive. It’s when I choose to take an inanimate object and make it animated. It's really whatever I want it to be. I want to make things come alive for future generations so that when they read about something in a book they can then watch about it and see the colors and hear the sounds so it's not just words on a page. My point of convergence is when history comes back to life. When Abraham Lincoln rides into class on a Mastodon followed by Napoleon and his troops. Yea, my point of convergence has no point really...it just keeps going on with no end.

My decision to apply to Emerson's MFA in Media Arts is the direct result of a convergence between my interests in photography and sound. With my discovery of sound design, I have begun exploring a medium which melds visual imagery and sonic narration into one seamless art form; all within the challenging and collaborative context of film.

For the time being, I work for Wired Magazine's gallery in NYC which is a wonderful example of technical, convergence. Please come by to check out pens which translate sloppy handwriting into Arabic and bicycles with 180 m/g miniature motors!

-Katie

For me it is strange to talk about convergence in my life. Winning the opportunity to go on a ISEP exchange to Chapman University seems to converge with my goal to learn film making and applying to film programs in the US. My dream was to be a film director and the real possibilities are over the ocean. Yet all my life is back here in Hungary, most importantly my girlfriend who doesn’t know what do with this situation (me, either). So is my life converging today, at 24, finishing my M.A. in English and Hungarian? No way.

Convergence is a word that gets thrown around. It brings to mind an impressive highway ramp system, weaving cars onto freeways with elegant grace.

Easier said than done, especially in film. I have seen productions both big and small, professional and amateur, excel or implode based on their ability to work as a cohesive team.

For me, Emerson has a chance to provide the ultimate opportunity: it is a place where creative disciplines converge. Students can meet and create groups that work together, and if these partnerships outlast the class, they can become the basis for a lifetime of success.

Returning to grad school is definitely my point of convergence: as Kristen said, where dreams meet reality. As much as I didn't want to take this 5 year hiatus from my schooling, the time has instilled one important lesson about convergence in me: the lesson of REALITY. Regardless of the brilliance of talent, idea, or story; without the reality of funding and resources, this concept can never be translated into a finished product. As artists, we tend to minimize this fact, but knowing how to work in reality to tell your story may be the most essential lesson of all.

-Rachel

After I graduated from university this year, I was encountered with a series of divergence. My close friends went abroad for working or studying, my former employer moved to Thailand, my professor got retired and went back to Europe. Each of their leaving was a sign for me to take a farewell of my past.

Now it is the time to think about my point of convergence. I am seeking for a balance between independence and cooperation, listening and expressing, communicating and understanding. Convergence is communication. Physical distance is no longer the real obstacle. What matters is our attitudes-if we have an open mind to embrace what others are trying to say, no matter how far they are and which method they are using.

There is a Chinese saying,"Divergence ultimately leads to Convergence, and vice vesa." I wish a balance between divergence and convergence will make a better communication in the world.

In terms of what's going on in the media right now, places like YouTube seem to be serving as the convergence point between high technology (easy, streaming video) and popular culture. I mean, Rick Astley "rick-rolled" the Macy's parade. We have access to an incredible piece of technology - the ability to access nearly anything that has ever appeared on video on demand - and how do we use it? We use it to pull ironic little pranks on our buddies. To me, that's the point of convergence between the "high" desire for new ways to acccess information and the "low" desire to waste time in an amusing way. I'm lovin' it.

In my own life, it's probably when I wrote the score for my friend's production of "The Tell-Tale Heart." This meant I could finally use my theatre-brain and my music-brain at the same time, which was a refreshing and interesting challenge.

~Andrew Hicks

I think.. convergence is just like living things. It is a process of entropy decrease.

Convergence, in my life, means the melding of my personal goals and my professional accomplishments. As a senior who is going to receive his undergraduate degree in a matter of months; I have come to a point in my life where I must seriously decide in what direction I wish to take my life. More important than simply setting these goals for myself; I realize that I must take my future into my own hands and see that I am proactive in accomplishing my goals on both a daily and a long term basis. For me, this means insuring that I am working in my professional and academic career, in a way which will allow me to reach the personal goals I have set for myself. Whether that means being proactive in applying to Grad schools, or insuring that my academic projects represent my passion to the fullest; or perhaps something as simple as dedicating more of my free time to activities related to my passion in film, which will benefit me in the long run.

For me, my point of convergence is a clear one, yet something I have not yet reached, and do not necessarily have a clear path towards. My point of convergence will be the point in which my professional and personal goals are not identifiable, but one in the same. The day in which I am doing something that I love as a career, and my career is something that I truly love. That will be my point of convergence, and something I hope I can someday attain. For now, I am on the path towards that goal, but there is no clear direction in which to head. I feel that my personal hunt for convergence is not something that I can emulate from other; there is no map, there is no fork in the rode in which I have clear paths to follow. I see my journey as creating my own path towards my own individual goal; however, this path is not only dangerous, untraveled, unclear, and seemingly never ending, the scariest part is that I am perhaps pursuing a prize or goal which may not only be unattainable, but perhaps is simply nonexistent. For now however, I simply keep pushing forward and taking steps in what I believe to be the correct direction; as long as I can keep the goal ahead of me, in the near attainable future. And hopefully someday my goals, my work, my personal life, and my professional life will converge to give me the life and accomplishments I hope to reach.

-Geoff Filleti

Convergence is all that I am. A wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a colleague. These various roles have formed who I've become. As I prepare for graduate school all of this experience behind me will converge into the future that lays ahead. Things haven't always been easy, single motherhood, lack of money, death and disappointment. On the other side, great joy, children, unconditional love, friends and family. For myself, I felt the awesome power of convergence the day that I opened my mailbox and found the brochure for the new MFA program at Emerson.

-Anne-Marie Gandolfi

For a long time it was difficult for me to figure out exactly what my ultimate goals were because I had and continue to have a large variety of interests. These interests have led my studies to a wide range of disciplines that though I was passionate about, weren't necessarily related- at least outwardly. It wasn't until relatively recently that I realized my interests came together and gel to form a useful body of knowledge amidst the process of creating cinematic work.

And so, in essence, film is my point of convergence. It is the form of expression that enables me to bring together my life's passions in some form or another because it has so many elements and layers that it's impossible not to leave unique fingerprints on the product.

Manipulating these elements and layers to create a different realm of reality requires decisive artistic actions and the understanding of so many aspects of life. These challenges not only utilize everything I've learned but force me to continue to learn; to strive to increase my knowledge of the world and its components so that I can better hold up a mirror to that world- with whatever shade or shape of glass I choose. It takes all that I have and still asks for more- for better. And that is not only a point of convergence but a prompt for the creation of something meaningful which is certainly an ultimate goal.

I stand at a crossroads. Literally a convergence in my life. The two are the Road of What-I-Want and the Road of How-I-Can-Get-There. I've been traveling along the first for years now. I've known my hopes and I've known my dreams. The problem has always been how to get to my hopes and dreams.

Having had an undergraduate degree for several years now, I've dabbled. I'm a dabbler. Never committed to anything the way I committed to academia. Because none of it felt right. Because I always looked to my pursuits as a means to an end. Will this help me achieve my dreams? Is this the sure-fire way to have everything I've always wanted? And it never is. Because that's ridiculous. It's been self-defeating. But I finally think I've hit the Road of How-I-Can-Get-There.

But here's the catch. In order to take advantage of this convergence, this metaphorical fork (or Metaphork™) in the road, I have to leave the Road of What-I-Want and take the new road. I'll be forced to reevaluate my reasons for what I'm doing, and maybe get to the end of that road stronger and more focused. Because that's what a convergence is to me. Nothing more, nothing less, than opportunity.

My ‘point of convergence’ is being both a student and teacher of video production; fulfilling my desire to study the art of filmmaking while passing that knowledge on to others. My current job, coordinating a youth video production program, requires that I exercise all the skills I learned in school and channeling the teaching styles of my own film professors. I’m eager to continue studying film/video production in order to satisfy my passion for creativity and to pass on the same passion for film/video production that my professors instilled in me.

My life is constantly converging through my experiences and challenges. For years, I have worked in the design industry creating work that I love. I have challenged myself to learn new things to become a better designer. I have had my personal share of highs and lows. My life’s path is ever changing and when I find something that I enjoy; I act upon it and embrace it with open arms and excitement. My next adventure is graduate school! The opportunity to study at Emerson would be another point of convergence for me because I can study design and interactivity.

Convergence to me means the poetry of life, the poetry of interests, the poetry of passions. How I come across shared references to books, or artists, or films, or ideas, while I'm reading or listening or experiencing a separate form. Perhaps a film critic references an abstract artist I'm reading about; perhaps while I'm talking to a fellow artist, they mention an obscure book of poetry that I also own; perhaps the art house theater announces a retrospective of Jean Pierre Melville's films shortly after I begin reading Ginette Vincendeau's book on his work..life is full of these little coincidences..or poetic convergences...

I have been working in media for a decade now… It seems hard to believe! I first started when I was in high school through my undergrad and now professionally for several years. I have worked many different jobs from broadcast to post and I still have yet to find “convergence.” I am not sure it exists! It implies working towards a limit…. A perfect euphoria. But that limit is always changing. In the early 80’s everyone was floored by the idea of editing on a computer non-linearly. Then came 3 chip ccd cameras… Then HD… Now we are looking at 4K. The exciting part of working in film/video is that right now it is limitless. As soon as that limit becomes fixed, true convergence will happen.

Convergence means clicking to me. When methods or answers from one part of your life are applied directly to different parts of your life. You click, as a person. Parts of your life are working together successfully, not dragging down any one part, but building upon each other towards a greater you.

I used to have a thick line drawn between my work and non-work lives. The barrior is getting smaller as I'm realizing that there is no line. Certain social activities enhance my work ethic, and the way to deal with a problem properly at a job can be used, well, anywhere.

I suppose, for me, it is the freedom to do what I love. The feeling of never being constricted to a single thought, idea, pattern, or way of life. To cross boundaries among industries and groups alike. In our lives, we strive to find ourselves and what our purpose is. For some, a career in which one can be fulfilled in is a big purpose. The ideals behind convergence in media allows such flexibility and freedom that it makes this s far easier process.

My point of convergence is my relationship with the Universe and our place here on earth. The moment that I step out of my home, my life is converging with other lives. As humans we are all co-existing and merging into the same space. Our creativity, joys, fears, strengths, weaknesses, and knowledge create humanity. So, I would say existence itself is the ultimate meeting space.

As a filmmaker I want my work to serve dual purposes; to entertain and to provide social awareness and encourage positive change.

-Makia Harper

To me, convergence is the delicate balance between two, or more, disparate things. Elegant piano meets wild drams. Limited content in image and infinity of space created by sound come together. Convergence is some kind of unexpected harmony.

Convergence is also an endless story where you can put all kinds of possibles and impossibles in. The result will surprise all of us!One of the most surprising result will be provided when I from China meet Emerson College in USA.

Convergence, to me, is the integration of my own needs and desires, with the pressures of the world around me. The end result being reality. We all have an ideal world in our minds. How hard we push for those goals, to achieve that reality, varies greatly from person to person. How well we can adapt to our own circumstances, and push forward in aspiring to our dreams, creates the world we live in; a direct result of the convergence of all our passions with the passions of all those around us. It is not necessary to assume that all of these "passions" are competing, but rather are coexisting with one another. The convergence, however, is the end result, which in many cases, comes about by way of competition. My own personal convergence is the world I live in, a world which will always fall short of the ideal world I in vision , if I fail to reach for my dreams.

I have mixed feelings about convergence. While it has its benefits and the ability to combine multiple forms of media into one is exciting and offers opportunities for artistic development that had previously been unattainable...I confess that I am a bit of a snob regarding quality of product and process.

I think that in many cases, this emphasis on convergence has been focusing too much on the speed and ease of use. I have a cell phone that I can use to make calls and take pictures, though the pictures I take with my camera are FAR superior to anything I would ever take with my phone. My game console plays dvds, but they skip more often and it will wear out faster than my regular dvd player will. At the same time, today's software allows anyone to make a movie and distribute it for the world to see. That doesn't mean their work is of value to anyone but themselves. Mediocrity is a primary part of THIS 'convergence'.

I think the place where Emerson comes in is extremely important. This is the point where we have a chance to emphasize QUALITY over QUANTITY, so to speak. As as been the case for centuries, an artist needs to first master the basics of a craft before they can move forward and learn new tools and shortcuts. In my opinion, there is no way to truly appreciate the benefits we now have unless we first struggle through creating something without them. If everything is always so easy then there is never any reason to strive for something better!

Anyway, that's my two-cents.

Convergence is people learn something useful from what they disagree.

Point of Convergence is an idea that you chase but will never reach.

It is the pursuit of forging new information (such as culture) with what is already instilled within you. We have a fundamental “being” and what we add or subtract from it is this idea of convergence. We should never cease adapting nor feel like we should because the moment we surrender this belief we surrender our humanity.

To me, convergence is the character of living things.

People exchange information through media,
like neurons communicate through neural network.
People become synergetic through convergence,
like Neurons cooperate and form consciousness.

-liu Sijie

For me it is the satisfaction of certain needs and personalities as best they all fit together. I do not believe anyone feels they can define themselves completely, let alone by one or two paths of the their lives. With only a quick glance, my studies of the spanish language and video art may seem distant and unrelated, especially for a career choice. My point of convergence occurs when I do not sacrifice one of my passions for another, but find a way to mix and create a medium where they coexist; the use of multimedia and art to express hispanic views, emotions, and culture. This may be the center, the point, however I know there will be ideas and pathways branching off in all directions.

Convergence for me is the time in life on which other people’s journeys intersect, remain together and merge to create a new path this time for a bigger picture. Doesn’t matter how many times you’ve been lost, distant, hectic or static, there might come a time when your path and mine could unite and CONVERGE for at least some time. Our targets might or not be the same and we’ll eventually see our journeys distancing once more as nothing is perpetual in this life. The tricky bit is, to make our path together the most stimulant, fulfilling and enjoyable possible.

- Enrique Rizo (100 words exactly, these ones are not counting)

In my opnion,convergence is a place where people communicate with each other.And the place is becoming a fictitious space on line which is popular in our mordern lives.Its development cannot without the help of new media. It brought us convenice and widen our view.
I use internet almost everyday ,finding out that there are numerous convergences like blog,bbs, and many kinds of club.Going to these places is my inerest.Moreover, By reading the diary on my blog,some friends said that they treated me as an ancient man or a fashion girl,so I think this can be another convergence point of mine.

To me, the most important convergence is the one between the classroom and the outside world. As someone who has so far dedicated their life to the study of different media (web, video, print, and more), I have found that it is extremely important to create media responsibly. While I will forever me an advocate of free speech, I feel that every time I sit down to begin a project the first thing I need to do is ask myself "How will this affect the world outside of the classroom?" Will it offend somebody? Will it inspire change? Will it entertain and uplift somebody who needs an escape? Even I am only working on a classroom exercise, I need to wonder if and how my classmates will bring what they've seen to the outside world, even if it's a simple as the mood they're put in by viewing my work.

Most people, adults and children alike, get their information and education from the media. Whether it's the evening news, a sit com, a film, or a website, I think it's extremely important for the creators of these media to be aware of how their work will be received and used after it is set free to the public.

I most frequently hear about convergence in media in the context of the integration between film, radio, print, and the internet. However, the point of convergence I strive for in my documentaries is the moment when my idea or inspiration resonates with someone else. It is the instant when the viewer steps into someone else's shoes, when he puts his beliefs and politics aside and is emotionally moved by a film. In this instant, my ideas and the viewer's intersect. It is in this space, at this point of convergence, where we begin to understand each other.

It is the convergence of narrative and documentary film that first drew me to Emerson. In preparing myself as a filmmaker and teacher, I want the knowledge and skill to tell great stories regardless of whether they arise in the imagination of an author or in the reality of the world around. This past year I had a chance to speak with directors David Gordon Green and Lance Hammer about their creative process and was inspired by the way they employed improvisational acting as well as documentary-style camera work and editing to imbue their fictional stories with a rare honesty and authenticity. I am equally excited and impressed by documentaries like War Dance and The Unforeseen that take visual aesthetics and editorial techniques more common to narrative film and apply them to real world stories.

Matthew Gordon

The word convergence always reminds me of the film Persona by Ingmar Bergman. I think that film sums up convergence perfectly. The film shows us that when two people (or media, in this case) come close enough, they may merge into one entity or switch personas altogether.

I think that's true of many things. I love to see the convergence of written word and film. It thrills me to see paper blend seamlessly into film, and to see the progression of a film as it is made. I guess I would consider myself a dreamer. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a novelist and filmmaker. I would like nothing more than to see my dreams come to reality. My ultimate dream is to see a convergence between my life's work and the world around me. I hope to have a dramatic impact with the work that I make. In fact, I think that the convergence of media and ideas is the best way to go about making such an impact. Personally, I enjoy making horror films, but they're never merely horror films. I enjoy merging horror with some sort of higher art...be it expression of culture, politics, or religion. I hope to show the world that things that one might never expect to converge can be blended together perfectly in unique, new ways. At Emerson, I hope to discover my art more. I hope to discover others' art. And I hope that everything I learn and experience will converge with me in a beneficial way.

When I graduated college, I left with a slew of varied experiences and involvements under my belt. These had enriched my undergrad years, but in some senses seemed to leave me more confused as to my future afterwards. In a culture where we're strongly “encouraged” to pick a career, to find a path, my seemingly limitless interests made finding that one route to a career difficult. What did I want to do with my life? I felt lost and unaccomplished in my inability to decide. The question loomed without a secure answer, and with the fear that if I chose one career that I'd have to lose out on those other interests that had thus far enriched my life. But what I’ve come to see is that this is point of convergence. It is less about what path we are going to choose, and more about allowing ourselves to choose many paths together. Having so many interests no longer exists as a hindrance, but an asset. Life isn't choosing one career as an isolated entity or path, but an interdisciplinary arena that can allow me to combine many passions into my future.