Please send all inquiries to jobs@tracermedia.com
PHP Developer
tracermedia is currently seeking a resource with PHP and MySQL experience to assist us on a variety of current projects. Candidates must have experience with the following areas/programs:
- PHP
- MySQL
Ideal candidates have experience developing in these programs as well:
- Front-end development
- JavaScript
- jQuery
- HTML
- CSS
Feel free to send any questions along with your resume or links to your work and portfolios.
]]>Please send all inquiries to jobs@tracermedia.com
Network Support Engineer
Reports to: Director of Engineering
Years of Experience: 1 - 2 years
tracermedia is seeking a motivated individual to provide network and hardware support. Candidate should be familiar with mac hardware, and feel comfortable managing the company’s network infrastructure. Candidate is someone who thinks creatively, works efficiently, and enjoys working in a fast-paced, creative environment. Excellent benefits package including competitive salary, corporate matching toward your retirement account, and profit sharing.
Skills
- Excellent project team communication skills
- Great troubleshooter and problem solver
- Self-motivated
- Experience with Subversion and version control software
- Ldap and user account management
- Email and web server account management and setup
Responsibilities
- Manage hardware and networks at two office locations
- Work closely with project managers, designers, developers and production staff
- Provide IT support to team members
- Assess upcoming IT and hardware needs, plan for technology upgrades
- Procure, install and configure network hardware and peripherals
- Perform routine maintenance
Requirements
- Applicable educational background with experience working in networks
- Solid understanding of network protocols
- Ideal candidate will have detailed knowledge of Apple, Linux and Windows environments
Wishlist
- Candidate has experience with Amazon’s web services (EC2, S3 and Cloud Services)
- Candidate has experience administrating Mac OS 10 Server
Feel free to send any questions along with your resume or links to your work and portfolios.
]]>Here are the current job descriptions. Please send all inquiries to Daren Tucker, dtucker@tracermedia.com
Designer
tracermedia is looking for a Designer or Sr. Designer, who will be responsible for concept development, visual exploration and final execution of design directions. The candidate must be able to work successfully within a team setting that includes collaboration with other members of the team, to provide technically sound visual design solutions.
Essential Job Functions
- Concept development as directed by the Art Director
- Execution of production design
- Layout refinement and modification based on critical feedback
- Responsible for adhering to agreed upon asset delivery schedule
- Strong understanding of the limits and constraints of Flash and HTML
- Solid understanding of IA, usability and overall user interface issues.
- Collaborate with the team to create optimal user experiences
- Responsible for keeping current with the latest design trends and tools
Business Acumen
- Adept at working in a fast-paced environment
- Manage project tasks within time, budget and scope
- Assist with scoping work according to standards and client needs.
- Develop best practice documentation
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design or related field
- Formal training in graphic design, typography, interaction design and/or visual communications
- 3 to 5 years experience in Interactive Design and Production
- Highly conceptual and proven ability to interpret and adapt existing brands to the interactive space
- Extensive working knowledge of the latest versions of Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.
- Strong knowledge of Flash. After Effects a plus
- Strong knowledge of web production and visual asset creation
- Understanding of xHTML, CSS and browser capabilities across multiple platforms
- Strong communication and listening skills and the ability to translate feedback visually
- Demonstration of successful experience working in a team-based setting and ability to persuasively present creative concepts
- Detail oriented, highly organized and a keen eye for consistency
- Strong time management skills and accountable for meeting deadlines
- Must be team-oriented, dedicated, inquisitive, and collaborative
- Ability to work independently
Information Architect
tracermedia is looking for an Information Architect who will work closely with our designers, and developers.You must be skilled at the tools of the trade; able to multi-task and work with a wide variety of colleagues and clients; and quick to translate strategic business requirements and UX best practices into frameworks that are intuitive, efficient and engaging.
Responsibilities include the definition of the overall site structure, task flows and page-level content priorities. The candidate must possess an adequate level of business acumen and be conversant in brand communication, visual design concepts and interactive technologies.
Essential Job Functions
- Champion the User Experience within the development process
- Collaborate with the team to create optimal user experiences
- Define and articulate the hierarchy of information on sites, pages and zones
- Specify the task-flows of applications and functional online experiences
- Gather and document site and page requirements
- Analyze client business objectives and user needs
- Create detailed, annotated wireframes and site maps
- Document user interface rules, defaults and conventions
- Facilitate collaborative meetings and deliverable reviews
- Present deliverables to the client
Business Acumen
- Adept at working in a fast-paced environment
- Manage project tasks within time, budget and scope
- Assist with scoping work according to standards and client needs.
- Develop best practice documentation
Required Qualifications
- A Bachelor’s Degree in HCI, IA, Technical Writing, Business, or other related field
- 1-3 years of information architecture, HCI, or UI Design
- Proficient use of Visio and MS Office
- Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills
- Strong written, interpersonal and business communication skills
- Demonstrated ability to facilitate cross-discipline work sessions
Content Editor / Writer
The candidate will be responsible for working closely with our design team to collaborate on interpreting and delivering the client needs. This candidate will work with the team to concept, write and executes on the design. The candidate must be creative with excellent writing skills.
Essential Job Functions
- Planning, collecting, organizing and tracking all content throughout entire project, including inception, creation, editing, proofing and launch
- A responsible member of the creative team
- Responsible for writing, proofreading and editing all content in a fresh and modern way for the project
- Gathering documentation, sharing best practices—internally and with clients
Business Acumen
- Adept at working in a fast-paced environment
- Manage project tasks within time, budget and scope
- Assist with scoping work according to standards and client needs.
- Develop best practice documentation
Required Qualifications
- This position requires a bachelor’s degree in English, Communications, Journalism or Public Relations or equivalent experience
- A minimum of four years experience in a web development environment (intranet and internet preferred) and/or publishing industry environment, agency preferred
- Excellent organizational and communication skills
- Self-motivated individual with demonstrated leadership skills
- Exceptional technical writing, proofing and editing skills
- Strong research and communications (written and verbal) skills, along with strong analytical skills in order to identify problems and needs and then define them for strategic and creative development
- Strong attention to detail
- Ability to work closely with the team translate strategic insights into actionable content plans
- Knowledge of best practices on the internet, especially as they relate to content issues
- Experience researching and reporting on content-related issues to stimulate learning and discussion within the organization
- Advanced understanding of appropriate software, including Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and Project) and text-based HTML editors, and an understanding of HTML and other web proofing and editing languages, tools and utilities
Feel free to send any questions along with your resume or links to your work and portfolios.
]]>tracermedia brought home an Award of Excellence in the interactive category for Cornhole All-Stars, an iPhone game built for the local game company Jufti in addition to notable mention for Synchronous Objects in collaboration with OSU’s ACCAD program which won Best of Category and Judges Choice.
Also one of our very own, Chris Martin, current contractor at tracermedia and recent graduate from the School of Advertising Art, won an Award of Merit for his self promotion/identity set.
We were proud to have been a part of this years presentation and look forward to more creative work in 2010.
2009 CSCA Creative Best Awards:
Award of Excellence: Cornhole All-Stars?
Best of Category: Synchronous Objects
?Judges Choice: Synchronous Objects
The annual Adobe MAX Awards is a global awards program that recognizes the best uses of Adobe software for creating engaging experiences.
The top three finalists in each of eight categories will be invited to showcase their work at MAX 2009. Winners will be selected via online voting from September 28, 2009 to October 6, 2009. Winners will be announced live at the MAX event. Entrants are also eligible for Honorable Mention recognition that will be announced prior to the event.
Benefits
The MAX Awards program provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable exposure for innovative projects that brought success to you or your clients’ organizations. Receiving a MAX Award is a prestigious honor recognized throughout the industry.
]]>Cornhole is a game most likely to be played on a front lawn. Or in a park. Somewhere with grass, at least, a couple of friends and maybe a beer or two. But what about in an old Western town? Perhaps a graveyard? Or, if you're feeling adventurous, a pirate ship? While these seem like unlikely places to gather to toss some beanbags, two local developers made it possible -- on your iPhone. Jon Myers and Chuck Hootman, both Columbus-based Ohio State University graduates, created the iPhone app Cornhole All-Stars. It allows users to play the Ohio-rooted game in four locations with characters who match their territory.
“Its appeal is that it’s a social game,” Hootman said. “And with the game, it can be something you do to pass time or it can be a competitive thing with friends.”
Cornhole All-Stars is the first product out of JUFTi Games, Myers and Hootman’s new iPhone application-development firm. Both still have “day jobs”: Hootman is co-owner of Tip Top Kitchen and Cocktails and a bike messenger, and Myers is a founder of DOmedia, a database of alternative media opportunities.
They have the same goal for the games they create: that they are casual and can have multiple players.
The game of cornhole fits both of those to a tee.
The first documented games were in Cincinnati, according to the American Cornhole Association. It has since taken on a variety of names: beanbag toss, bags, tailgate toss and more. But whatever it’s called, the objective remains the same: Toss a beanbag into a hole on a slanted platform.
Mike Whitton, president of the association based in California, said he thinks the app will generate interest in the lawn game.
“I have no doubt that the iPhone game will appeal to both current players and people that have never played,” Whitton said. “And that will lead to new enthusiasts.”
Cornhole All-Stars isn’t the only app of its kind. There are at least three other cornhole games in the Apple store.
Although the iPhone game lacks actual bags of corn, its creators and developers took care to make the game as realistic as possible.
“We really studied the physics of the game,” Myers said.
Even the toss can feel like you have a bag in hand. Myers and Hootman took a page out of Nintendo Wii-like technology, where you hold onto the phone and simulate a toss. (Just don’t let go of your iPhone.) For the more discreet, you can also toss with a flick of your finger on the screen.
This proved to be a challenge for the developers at Tracer Media, a local design and animation firm. Developer Brian Dittmer created a test application to record the data received by the iPhone when it was miming a throw. It worked well—except for one thing.
“When we tested it out, everyone was right-handed,” Dittmer said. “So when a left-handed person finally tried it, it didn’t work.”
Myers and Hootman also played the lawn version of the game to find out where the bags landed when you missed or what it looked like if one bag hit another. John Geiger, CEO of Tracer Media, Dittmer and other developers translated these onto the iPhone screen using complex animation and design programs.
“The bags looked like flying pillows at first,” Geiger said. “But then you gradually add layers and 3-D technology to make it as realistic as possible.”
Whether you’re faux-throwing or flicking your finger, it’s the outlandish characters that make Cornhole All-Stars stand out.
There’s Sam Spittoon, an outlaw with a Yosemite Sam moustache; Bucketfoot Bill, a pirate in need of dental work; Ms. Peculiar, whose green radioactive glow makes her blend right into the graveyard; and Amazing Carl, the Everyman who looks like he never left college.
Bill Schwappacher, owner of Holi Moli Media in Rochester, N.Y., did the majority of the illustrations for the game. He said about 10 other environments and characters didn’t make the game, including a moonscape.
Hootman said the characters were developed after many “caffeine-induced brainstorm sessions.” Each character lives in a matching environment, and users can pick where and with whom they want to play.
Creating these characters was a tedious process. They went from thoughts to sketches on a storyboard to wire-frame digital outlines. Geiger said one of the more difficult parts of the process wasn’t the designing but weeding through all the ideas and making creative decisions.
“It was hard because at some you just have to shut off the tap and finish the game,” Geiger said.
All in all, the process took about five months. Once they submitted the game to Apple, it took about two weeks for approval. Developers have to pay a $100 fee to be able to submit to the Apple app store, and once their game is in the store, Apple takes 30 percent of the profit. The Cornhole All-Star game costs 99 cents.
The release of the game was celebrated with an Aug. 6 launch party, appropriately at the Santa Maria Downtown.
Myers and Hootman are close to releasing their next game, though they’re tight-lipped on what it is.
]]>Please give us a call or send us an email if you’re interested.
Contact: John Geiger
Email: john@tracermedia.com
Phone: 614-298-0774
In January of each year, the Horizon Interactive Awards receives hundreds of entries from all over the world. A panel of industry professionals, from diverse multi-media, graphic design and marketing backgrounds, review the entries to determine the work that is to be recognized. Entries are given either a Gold, Silver, Bronze, and in some cases honorable mention award distinctions. All Gold winners are eligible for the Best of Category and Best of Show award (the Horizon Interactive Awards highest honor).
You’ve heard the expression, “giving credit where credit is due,” well that’s our reason for being. Horizon honors the most talented developers of interactive media. The competition provides a level playing field to all participants regardless of company size. Often, smaller firms and individual developers produce outstanding work that never receives the recognition it deserves. Our mission is to shed the spotlight on that work and the people who made it happen.
Our Business Philosophy: Quite simply, we’re working for you. Through a very customer focused approach, we’ll do whatever it takes to help show the world how great your work is!
]]>Twig is designed for blogs an other sites with comments and other elements that create long pages and cause readers to scroll down past the regular ad units normally on the side. The ads that appear after you click can be any of a variety of video or other interactive ads that VideoEgg specializes in. The Twig ad bar itself is similar to an increasingly common ad unit in videos: an overlay bar along the bottom that you click on to see the full ad.
I like the fact that VideoEgg is taking something that seems to be working in video ads and bringing it over to regular Websites. And the Twig ad bar is certainly preferable to those annoying ad units you see on some major news sites that pop up in the middle of the page and move down as you scroll, blocking what you are trying to read. (Note to advertisers: those floating ads do nothing but make me associate my feelings of anger with your brand). The thin bar at the top or bottom is unobtrusive enough and opt-in. And since it will be the sites themselves rather than a third party app imposing the frame, it probably won’t raise as many objections as something like the Diggbar. After all, as a pervasive ad unit it is not so bad.
The issue is not so much Twig on its own, it is the recent proliferation of frames across the Web. What happens when two or more frames collide? You get a bunch of toolbars stacked on top of one another, diminishing the available real estate on any given page. What starts out as a clean, unobtrusive toolbar can quickly become clutter. For instance, if you use the Diggbar on that Twig preview page, it looks like this:
]]>Ad Management
VideoEgg’s AdFrames platform
Judge’s comment:
“They are focused on solving the universal problem of maximizing the value of media exposures in a cluttered ad world. I like the flexibility of the product and its ability to reach across digital platforms. They have a clear and non-technical benefits message that should resonate with anyone charged with maximizing the value of placed media.” —Robin Neifield
Finalists:
Dapper’s Dynamic Ads
Eyeblaster’s Ad Campaign Manager
By ROSLYN SULCAS
Published: March 24, 2009
WILLIAM FORSYTHE is better known for having enlarged the physical and theatrical possibilities of ballet than for his cooking. But on a recent evening he was debating the merits of adding red wine to a berry compote as he spoke by phone from his apartment in Frankfurt, the city that has been his home for 25 years.
He was also, between occasional compote digressions (the wine was a good idea), enthusiastically outlining the complex ideas that inform his newest project. It’s not a new dance work for his troupe, the Forsythe Company, or one of the installation pieces that he has increasingly turned his attention to over the last few years. It’s another natural environment for Mr. Forsythe’s highly visual, multidimensional imagination — an interactive Web site called “Synchronous Objects for One Flat Thing, reproduced,” created with Ohio State University’s Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design.
The site (synchronousobjects.osu.edu) is both a research tool for exploring the structures of a dance and a wildly creative extrapolation of the way that those structures can be pictorially expressed. It will become available online Wednesday and is also part of “William Forsythe: Transfigurations,” an exhibition of his video and installation work that opens the same day at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio.
The project is the first step toward a larger venture, Motion Bank, that Mr. Forsythe envisions as a digital library containing dance scores from many different choreographers. It’s an idea that he began to think about in the late 1990s while creating “Improvisation Technologies,” a CD-ROM detailing his strategies for generating movement, which has become a widely used teaching and choreographic tool.
It was around this time that he was moving away from making ostensibly balletic pieces toward an original physical language that spun, fragmented and exploded movement in space in unfathomable ways. Nonetheless, he said, he was working with the same organizing principles he has always used in his choreography, notably counterpoint, alignment and épaulement (the detailed relationships between head, shoulder and hip that are fundamental to ballet technique).
Mr. Forsythe, 59, said he predicated the Web site on “One Flat Thing, reproduced,” a piece he created in 2000 after reading Francis Spufford’s book about polar expeditions, “I May Be Some Time.”
He said: “I came across the phrase ‘a Baroque machinery,’ and it was a kind of epiphany for me. I thought, ‘What would epitomize the Baroque?’ For me it’s the technique of musical counterpoint. And what would constitute organizational counterpoint that did not depend on music? That struck me as a viable point of departure.”
“One Flat Thing,” for 14 dancers and 20 tables, is indeed a kind of machine, a stupendously intricate, high-wire act of interlocking systems of reactive movement under, over and between the tightly packed tables, set to Thom Willems’s growling, rumbling score.
“The dance is not balletic, but it is classical,” Mr. Forsythe said. “But in dance we have few ways to examine these ideas.”
Toward the end of 2005 Mr. Forsythe was introduced to Norah Zuniga Shaw, the director of Ohio State’s Dance and Technology program, and Maria Palazzi, the director of the Advanced Computing Center. They talked about potential areas of research, and Ms. Shaw and Ms. Palazzi formed a seminar group of graduate students from dance, geography, design, computer science and engineering.
“I think the nondance people started out by saying, ‘I don’t know much about dance,’ ” Ms. Shaw said in a telephone interview. “But we all learned to look at choreographic structure in terms of Bill’s ideas about counterpoint. It’s really about enriching cross-disciplinary conversation.”
Early on, video footage of “One Flat Thing” helped the group become familiar with Mr. Forsythe’s work. Later a film of the piece made for French television in 2006 provided more specific angles and shots that helped the 13 graduate students and faculty members of the project team track the dancers.
Their analysis eventually focused on three systems for identifying counterpoint: movement motifs, cues and alignments, or moments of synchronization, within the choreography. Decoding these systems and constructing them as visual data took three years, Ms. Palazzi said, and a great deal of work with Mr. Forsythe and three of his dancers, Jill Johnson, Christopher Roman and Elizabeth Waterhouse.
The eventual outcome was 20 “objects,” or forms of visualization of the dance’s structures, that create different, yet synchronous, ways of experiencing the work. Anyone simply interested in understanding the way Mr. Forsythe constructs complexity in the piece can follow the Cue Visualizer, which throws expressive animated lines between the dancers as they react in real time to cues from one another.
The Data Fan, on the other hand, is an abstract three-dimensional animation created from the same dance material, transformed first into numerical data, and then into an art object of a kind.
For Mr. Forsythe and the Web site team this idea — the flow from dance to data to objects; the shift from a direct reading of the dance’s structures to a more conceptual account, often seen through the prism of another discipline — is the site’s most important characteristic.
“The fact that the Web site will be used as the primary resource for an undergraduate core course in architecture at Ohio State, or that it has relevance for computer scientists who are interested in generative systems and codifying group dynamics, are just two examples of the way the project makes choreographic ideas accessible in other domains,” Ms. Shaw said.
Matthew Lewis, a graphics research specialist at the center, said: “At the beginning it was all a bit ‘What is this about?’ But early on Bill asked us a question that became central to the project and made it clear to me: What else does this look like?”
It’s a question that is typical of Mr. Forsythe, who has always connected dance to the wider world.
And Mr. Lewis has an answer, drawn from his interest in affective computing, a new field in which the computer pays attention to what the user is doing: “It’s a dance of attention.”
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