Questions? What Questions?

So after this week's lecture, which was regarding media, new media and social media, we were left with some questions:

Who owns the content put up on the internet at various sites?

Pictures, video's, text, etc?

Do you own it?

For social networkings sites such as facebook, myspace, twitter etc. the person who, takes, films or writes it should be the rightful owner of the content. But some sites say that they own the content on what gets put up. Also some people can complain to the site about certain pictures or films that have been put up about them and the owners can remove such things. So in response to the questions, who has the rightful ownership of what is put up? is unanswerable.

Who has the right to use your creations?

No one. But again. Some sites thing they own it or because they are displayed on the internet some sites think they can use it. For example, I had a bebo account, and my pictures were on google, although my account was on private. I had to close down my account in order to get them off.

What would you do if tomorrow that website with your content was gone?

I wouldn't be too fussed. I only have social network sites to keep in contact with friends not to put up my "artistic work" or whatever.

What would you do if you found out that a glossy magazine published your photos without asking you?

I'd be annoyed. Although sites are blurred regarding ownership, personally I don't think that magazines should use your pictures or write an article about it without your permission.

How would you feel if a newspaper article contained your writing that came from your blog and you got no credit for it?

I wouldn't be too happy. It's a form of plagiarism is it not?

If there's Social Media...how about Anti-Social media?

Anything social can be turned into something anti-social. Take Facebook. It's a social networking site, yet groups are being made where people bitch about one another, or people can write pretty nasty things about you on the website.

Why are connections and links all about being "friends"? Can't you have negative links?

Who would want negative links? I think it would make online bullying worse by giveing people permission to abuse on another.

Or is linking someone you hate against the community-oriented nature of "web 2.0"?

I think it is.

On The Road To Hades

Week 2 of culture jamming.

Jess and I are searching for news articles on the Gold Coast Hospital. We got pictures of the construction site of the new hospital.

http://www.uni-span.com.au/projects.php

Poor Ms Bligh. We found a great article which shows a happy Ms Bligh talking about the advantages of the new hospital. And she would be a great scapegoat to have in our little article. So many f*** ups what's one more?

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2008/08/22/15395_gold-coast-news.html

The angle we are taking on the article: We were two journalist students who, for a news & politics assignment, decided to do a story on the new Gold Coast Hospital and the effect it was having on students and staff members. However, when researching we found gold. It wasn't really a public hospital it was a private.

The way we are going to get it out there: Through a blog we created specifically regarding this issue.

After discussing this further, Jess and I came across some issues. Since we have both studied subjects in journalism we thought it was unethical to create a story which had no real truth to it. How can we do such a task if we are required to make up an entire different story that could potentially ruin our future careers and other people's jobs? We voiced our concerns to our tutor and were satisfied with the what she told us.

So Hades, here we come

Culture Jamming

Culture jamming is defined as: any of various methods of modifying mass media (especially advertisements) to convey a different "message". (Good old Dictionary)

The Influential Example

Coca Cola is considered one of the most popular drinks in the world. So how often do you think about what goes into it?

The Damaging Example

Absolute Vodka. A popular socialising drink that has no effect except for the dreaded hangover? Wrong. This example would convince any man to give up the drink.

The First Example

I would consider this to be one of the first examples of culture jamming. Ron English is an American contemporary artist who targeted many companies, including McDonalds, Micky Mouse and Camel.

Our Culture Jam

This weeks task was to create our own culture jam. In groups or partners we were to devise a plan that would get us noticed by 'normal' media. In other-words, lie, lie through our teeth about a current story or just make one up.

Because of all the road works and the locations of the new hospital, Jess and I decided to make a story up about the new Gold Coast Hospital. We first thought of making out that a hospital wasn't being built and in fact it would be a giant brothel. But no one would believe that, so talking it over we decided to make a news article about how a public hospital isn't being built but it will indeed be a private one.

Here's a pretty good website which got us started on the road to hell.

http://www.southportchamberofcommerce.org.au/gold-coast-university-hospital.html

Argh! More questions!

1. Where and when did usable online video start? (Provide some ref. and examples if you possible)

2. In the lecture we heard about technological innovations that were used by the studios to lure audiences. (mostly to combat the popularity of TV)

What recent innovations are being used to lure us in the movies?

3D

What are they luring us from?

I think that they are luring us away from downloading films and trying to put money back into the film industry, this is why there is a big boo in 3D films.

3. Are short films being made? Why? Who pays for them to be made?

i) Short films are still being made.

ii) Aspiring film makers can't go straight into feature films, therefore short films are their main way of being seen, (normally through entering into festivals).

iii) There are various ways they can get funded. They can be funded by the individual who makes the film, through fundraisers, (for example, a friend's brother held a quiz night the other week to raise money for his film) companies can fund it if the maker uses product placement within the film. Here is and example of one.

CHE skin care

And in rare occasions, if an idea is pitched to eg. Screen Australia and if they like the idea then they may fund some of it. However, they don't normally support an abstract idea, they prefer suburban dramas etc.

4. The term viral is thrown about ad hoc, but what does it mean in film/movie arena? Give some examples.

I think the term 'viral', (with regards to film/movie arena) means when a movie/film, which has a virtually unknown director and a cast that does not have any/many big names in it, becomes an unexpected hit through internet sharing such as websites, emails. Examples of these would be The Hangover, Superbad and Juno.

5. Online video distribution isn't limited to the short film format. We are now starting to see television styled shows made solely for internet release (webisodes). Find an example of this style of content and discuss how viewing television content in this way can positively and negatively affect the viewer's experience.

So this is an example of a webisode. (To be honest not quite sure it is, but I am pretty sure it was made just for the internet.)

Here is the link to the official website:

http://www.burntfaceman.com/episodes.htm

Positive: It is portable. Due to them being streamed on the internet and the fact we now have internet on our phones, it is easy to take around and watch while on the bus or train etc.

Negative: Depending on speed of your internet, it may take ages to load or keep stopping through the episode. The quality may not be as good.

Computer Frustrations

This is an example of what I am like when I have to do something other then typing, or searching the web on the computer.

A Lil Doozie Just For You

While searching for short movies, I cam across this little doozie. It's pretty good and rather fascinating. Enjoy.

For Shits and Giggles

This is a little short movie that my friend made a few years back. An example of some lame arse attempt. It is about bins that are killing people, hence the name: Attack of the Bins (very original boys). The quality of the film isn't very good, but I found it rather funny that they decided to make fools of themselves on youtube. Good work lads.

Three Short Films

This first short film is titled 'Strangers'. It is about two dudes on a train who kinda get trapped by a gang of men. Not a massive fan of silent movies, but I liked it. It's probably the first silent movie that has kept me engage and that for me is a quality in itself.

The second movie is called 'My Name Is Lisa'. It is a touching story of a child who's mother has Alzheimer's disease. I can see why it won an award. It really shows the emotion of what the child goes through everyday.

The final short film is titles 'Still Life'. I would say it is quite a weird film, but again I liked it. It's about a man who drives through this town and gets distracted and runs over a man. He then realises the towns people are mannequins. The man goes a little crazy (I would too if I was seeing mannequins) and starts beating them with a baseball bat. The twist ending is pretty shocking. An eery but great film which leaves you with the question...WTF was he on??

Week 4: Big Screen to Small

A Brief History of Cinema

1895: The Birth of Cinema- on December 28th, in Paris, France.

1906: 1st Full Length Feature Film released- 'The Story of the Kelly gang'.

1927: The Birth of the 'Talkies'- Warner Bros released the 'The Jazz singer' the first feature- length movie with dialogue.

1929: First 100% Natural Colour, Talking, Singing, Dancing Picture.

1933: The first Drive-In opened.

1937: Disney releases Snow white- First full length animated feature.

1939: Television- First TV sets for sale to the American Public.

1952: 3D Films- First feature-length 3D sound film released, inspiring a vast amount of quick, cheap, but sometimes successful 3D features.

1955: Movies on TV

1956: AMPEX Corporation develops the first Video recorder at a price of $50,000.

1959: Smell-O-Vision

1963: AMPEX released first consumer version of the video recorder at a price of $30,000 and

Multiplex is born.

1967: Sony releases the PortaPak.

1969: Sony then releases the VCR.

1970: Birth of IMAX.

1972: Birth of Cable TV.

1981: Birth of MTV.

1985: The first blockbuster video store opens.

1986: Pixar's first film released- first fully computer-generated, computer-animated film.

1988: Who Framed Roger Rabbit released- first live-action and animation film.

1995: Toy story released- first totally-digital feature-length animated film.

1997: Dvd's released.

1998: HDTV

1999: Birth of TiVo

2005: Blu-Ray Disc is released to the world and video's are the thing of the past, with the last

major movie, A History of Violence, being released on video cassette.

2006: Ahh You Tube. Where would I be without you?

2007: First Broadband released.

Tutel-Ooo

Here are some questions we had to answer for our Tutespark. We weren't allowed to use Google or Wiki, so I ultimately thought I was screwed. Until I googled search engines.

1. What is the weight of the world's biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?

The bucket wheeler excavator named Bagger 288 (Excavator 288). It is 45,500 tons and cost $100 million.

Source here on 15/08/10

2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Ozzy Osborne?

By bat? No. Not by going on his website that's for damn sure. But, I did find this address to contact him by.

Creative Artists Agency

9830 Wilshire Boulevard

Beverly Hills, California 90212-1825

USA

Source from here on 15/08/10

3. When and what was the first example of global digital communication?

I'm not sure if this is correct, but old Wiki (yes I used wiki) says that one of the oldest examples of a digital signal are smoke signals. The analog "Carrier" (smoke) is modulated with a blanket to generate a digital signal (puffs) that conveys information.

Source from here on 15/08/10

4. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?

Well Jetstar have some pretty sweet deals going on at the moment, and if you go by plane it will cost you $99 (this depends on when you go and what time). However, if you have a bit of time I suggest by bicycle. It's free.

Source from here on 15/08/09

5. Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?

Hatsune Miku is the first instalment in the Vocaloid Character Vocal Series. She was born on the 31st August and is a Virgo. She belongs to the Yamaha Corporation.

Source from here on 15/08/10

6. Find a live webcam in Antarctica. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.

Apparently there are no places to stay at in the Antarctic according to Earth.org. However, another website says that you can take tours of Antarctic so I guess the ships is where you can stay.

Source from here and here and here on 16/08/10

7. What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1980?

Funky Town by Lipps Inc. It stayed on the top for two weeks.

Source from here on 15/8/10

8. How would you define the term 'nano technology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?

Wiki has kindly told me that nano technology is the study of "the controlling of matter on an atomic and molecular scale". It generally deals with structures sized between 1 to 100 nanometer in at least one dimension, and involves developing materials or devices within that size.

In my own words, I have no idea what I've just written and what it means. Go me.

9. What type of camera is used to make ‘Google Street View’?

Source from here on 15/08/10

10. Translate these questions into Klingon.

Well if I was some Start Trek nerd then I may know how to speak this language, but since I'm not I won't be able to translate. I'm a little shocked they have sites dedicated to this language.

Source here on 15/08/10

Inventions

Communication is defined as the imparting and exchanging of information by speaking, writing or some other medium.

Digital is defined as of or using digits.

Analogue is defined as relating to, or being a device in which data are represented by continuously variable, measurable, physical quantities, such as length, width, voltage or pressure.

Electronic is defined as of or worked by streams of electrons flowing through devices, vacuum of gas; of or concerned with electrons or electronics.

All definitions have been sourced from the beloved dictionary.

The Typewriter

The typewriter is a mechanical device that has keys, which when pressed, prints a letter across a piece of paper. In 1866, Christopher Latham Scholes and his partners, Carlos Glidden and Samual Soule, invented the first practical typewriting machine. The typewriter was considered the most significant, everyday business tool, these days it is the computer.

Source from here on 09/08/10

The Clock

The earliest clocks were sundials. These measure the time of day by using the sun. However, they were rather useless during the night which lead to other techniques being used to measure time. Water clocks and astronomical clocks (like the one above) pursued. Now we have such things as the digital clock and the auditory clock, which speaks the time.

Source from here on 09/08/10

The Phonograph

The phonograph was the earliest invention of the radio. It was first invented by Thomas Edison and later improved by Alexander Graham Bell and his cousin Chester Bell, naming it the graphophone. Edison, refusing to collaborate with Bell, again worked on the new phonograph after inventing the light bulb, perfecting it. Eventually the phonograph, over time, has become today's radio.

Source from here on 09/08/10

Look Out Below

This is our little 30 shot task we did in class.

Fat Gay Kid (This is what he is actually called)

Ok so this is a youtube video that a friend kindly showed me the other day. I think it speaks for itself really.

Someone's Take On The End of the World

Shots Into Questions

When watching a film the viewer generally needs to get the answer to 6 simple questions to get the gist of a story. Those being: Who? What? When? Where? Why? & How? Therefore, every shot must serve a purpose.

Here I am going to link up each shot with each question with an example from a movie.

Who?

This is often answered by the Close Up Shot. This is because it shows the character in more detail.

This is Pam, she's not someone you'd want to meet in a dark alley.

What?

The Mid Shot shows the subject performing an action, therefore it answers the 'what' question.

Ahh, a scene from the Hangover. Alan is quite a hoot.

When?

The 'when' question is a lot harder to answer due to the fact that time is hard to capture on screen. Generally the Wide Shot and the Close Up can answer the 'when' question.

Avatar, nuff said.

Where?

The Long Shot answers the 'where' question.

Another scene from True Blood. This is one of Bill Compton & Sookie Stackhouse.

Why?

Again the 'why' question is hard to capture on screen. It is normally shown through the Big Close Up as this reveals more of the character and their actions.

Again, it's Billy.

How?

To answer the 'how' question and to explain an event, a serious of Close Ups or one single Medium Close Up is used.

What a fine looking chap. I'm not sure if this actually explains an event, but I liked the picture. Weirdo I know.

Jackie Q - Ring Round the Rosey Music Video

I'm In Love With Aldous Snow

Week 2: Cine-Speak

Ok so this week's lecture and tute focused on the old camera shots. These being:

• VLS/WS: Very Long Shot/Wide Shot
• LS: Long Shot
• MLS: Medium Long Shot
• MS: Mid Shot
• MCU: Medium Close Up
• CU: Close Up
• BCU: Big Close Up
• ECU: Extreme Close up

For these shots to be shown in more clear way, I will get some examples from the film "Get Him To The Greek". Which I recommend you seeing as it is highly entertaining and Russell Brand is, as my best friend would say, some fine totty.

VLS/WS :

Well first shot and I've already failed. This obviously has nothing to do with Get Him To the Greek, but we can all pretend like it does. A VLS/WS normally has the whole character in a small proportion of the frame. Since this is the case we cannot tell if it is in fact hobbits or an alcoholic/drug addicted, washed up rockstar. We can dream and pretend it's an alcoholic/ drug addicted washed up little hobbit band; where Gandalf is escorting them to Mount Doom, to perform a sell out gig for many an orc. We shall name this picture, "Get Him To Mount Doom"

LS

A long shot has the main character/s in the frame and shows where the action is taking place.

MLS

These are the most common shot, since they have the right balance between the surroundings and character/s . These shots normally frame the figure from the knees up.

MS

This shot frames the character/s from the waist up. Gesture and expression are more visible. Aaron:"Remember that big favour I did for you?" Aldous:"Oh you mean the heroin."

MCU

The Medium Close up frames the body from the chest up.

"I need you to put this into your bottom-hole."

CU

This shows just the head, hands, feet or a small object and normally shows the emotion of the character. Frightful.

BCU

Again, I have ultimately failed at trying to get all shots from one movie. But the next two pictures are from kick-ass movies too. So the Big Close Up shot reveals more of a character, their actions and what they are thinking/feeling. We all know we don't need to see this picture to know that the Joker was one fucked-up fella.

ECU

This shot normally emphasises one feature of the face, normally eyes or lips, or magnifies/isolates an object. "Taters? What's Taters ay?" I think that is the least of Gollum's worries at the moment.