This weeks lecture from Adam Muir focused on the relationship between media and technology and its place in society. In this lecture we learnt about new media and the difference between vitual communities and individual identity
Adam explained this to us with two definitions:
Virtual communities: ' people carrying on public discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of personal relationships.' (Howard Rheingold, 1993, The Virtual Community)
Facebook, Twitter and Myspace are all perfect examples of these communities. Just as in a physical community, a virtual community can partake in and spark discussions, share information and conversations that mimic the physical community.
Individual identity: “The Internet has become a significant social laboratory for experimenting with the constructions and reconstructions of self that characterize postmodern life. In its virtual reality, we self-fashion and self-create” (Turkle, 1995, Life on the screen)
And just as these virtual communities can mimic the physical, individuals can build themselves an online identity that mimics the way a person can create their physical identity. In the physical world a person creates identity through their social interactions and presentation: these online communities allow us to do the dame. A virtual identity can easily be deceiving however, it doesn’t take a genius to portray ones self with a different identity, I’m sure you have heard just as many horror stories as I have where scam artists, predators and even debt collectors can trick online communities into believing a ‘made up’ individual identity’
Social Media:
Social media is the dominate form of online communication, In the early days of the internet this meant people from all different demographics were able to communicate, when old communication technologies wouldn’t have been able to link them.
Only yestesterday my Mother happily informed me of all her college buddies who have been finding her on Facebook, and how nice it was to hear from them. Without a facebook page I can safely say my Mum probably wouldn’t have come into contact with any of these people. But in this online community, by listing schools, universities and workplaces as part of your vitual identity, it is easy to link with numerous other individuals we may not have ever had the chance to communicate with.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Week 5 Tutespark
Hi Class,
In line with the lecture content that Josh covered this week, we want you engage with the term "Culture Jamming".
Look it up, see if you can find what is considered to be the first Culture Jam, find the most influential Jam, the most damaging.
These 3 examples should be posted in your blog with an explanation of where and why they were found and used.
You can show what impact they had or are having too.
In line with the lecture content that Josh covered this week, we want you engage with the term "Culture Jamming".
Look it up, see if you can find what is considered to be the first Culture Jam, find the most influential Jam, the most damaging.
These 3 examples should be posted in your blog with an explanation of where and why they were found and used.
You can show what impact they had or are having too.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Week 4 - Tutetask
1.Where and when did usable online video start?
Well, we already leant in our lecture this week about Netflix. An online DVD store and streaming service that arrived on the scene in ’98. But in 1998 the world was not quite up to speed with broadband; we were still on dial-up, where downloading a webpage could mean a week waiting patiently at the screen, only to be disconnected by an incoming phone call.
In 2004 American’s had broadband, and things were getting much faster with “half of American homes reaching better than dial-up transfer rates, along with all the noise created by the blogs and pundits of the internet, an audience was born, capable and accustomed to online payments (i.e. market potential) and finally able to watch video, on demand by the masses.”
http://dembot.com/post/310798115/a-decade-in-history-of-online-video
Thus it can be determined that youtube was the first online, ‘useable’ video. Users could, not only watch, but also upload their own videos.
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?
What are they luring us from?
When I want to watch a movie, I have a few choices. I can go to the cinema and pay up to $20 to watch the latest and greatest on the big screen or I can sit snuggled up in bed and watch that same movie, admittedly in low quality - but completely free from my broadband-enabled laptop. So why on earth would I waste my time in the cinema and how has the cinema tried to keep bringing audiences back?
Advancements in cinema technology is one thing that pulled me away from my warm bed and the illegal video streaming websites (not that I would ever break a law, of course). When Avatar came out in 3D, there was so much hype around the fantastic technology I actually paid to see it! Imagine that.
Just as in 1952 when 3d was first introduced to lure audiences back to the big-screen, we are being lured by bigger and better versions of this. Don’t forget all the hype about ‘gold-class’ and ‘High-def” cinema? VIP membership cards and special premier viewings?
All clever methods the cinemas and studios have employed to keep audiences coming back again and again. By creating a cinema experience you can’t replicate at home studios have been luring us back time and time again.
3.Are short films still being made? Why? Who pays for them to be made?
Short films are made for a number of reasons. The short film
Short films are constantly being made by amateurs and professionals all over the world. I would personally categorise them into 3 main types; professional film makers who have a message to deliver or something to sell, amateurs who don’t really know what they are doing and idiots with a video camera. The last two are usually self funded, but the first, the professionals are where the money is.
Professional short films are showcased at festivals, one of the best exam
4.The term viral is thrown about adhoc but what does it mean in film/movie arena? Give some examples.
Short films with interesting, funny or unusual subject matter, have a tendency to ‘go viral’ on the internet. A viral video will “spread like a virus...you watch it. You like it and you pass it on to a friend or everyone you know. They watch and like it, then forward the link or clip to more people...”. Sometimes these videos are clips from real life, like someone falling off a bike or when Gordan Brown was caught out describing one particular supporter ‘bigoted woman’ when he thought the cameras were off:
Other viral videos are highly rehearsed, well produced and have the intention of reaching viral status. This video for example has almost 35 million views:
Although these videos are highly entertaining, they are often pointless forms of entertainments that take the audience’s attention away from legitimate short films with some level of intelligent though behind them. They may be funny, but they certainly aren’t doing anything great for the film arena
http://humor.about.com/od/video/f/whatviralvideos.htm
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.
Television shows are often available, not just on your TV set, but online as well. Audiences don’t have to worry if they miss their favourite TV show because they can just watch it online later anyway with resources like the BBC iPlayer. But from this, a different kind of show altogether has formed: the Webisode. Now ‘TV-show format’ films are being developed purely for distribution on the internet, giving TV producers and aspiring TV producers a chance to air their show and a platform for audience feedback.
Smosh.com is one, rather hilarious example of a Webisode. Two friends started regularly making TV-quality comic sketches that ended up going viral. The sheer lunacy of their ideas means that this program is not really fit for television audiences, but has millions of hits online. The video below where two boys dressed in boxes sing about transformers that “will punch you in the face!” for example has over half a million views:
On one hand, the webisode is a great platform for shows with unusual subject matter or a avenue for producers to showcase their talents or make money through advertising. On the other hand, we have the same problem as always with these short films, any idiot with a camera and a Youtube account can make their own webisoed – and cyber space is littered with them.
Well, we already leant in our lecture this week about Netflix. An online DVD store and streaming service that arrived on the scene in ’98. But in 1998 the world was not quite up to speed with broadband; we were still on dial-up, where downloading a webpage could mean a week waiting patiently at the screen, only to be disconnected by an incoming phone call.
In 2004 American’s had broadband, and things were getting much faster with “half of American homes reaching better than dial-up transfer rates, along with all the noise created by the blogs and pundits of the internet, an audience was born, capable and accustomed to online payments (i.e. market potential) and finally able to watch video, on demand by the masses.”
http://dembot.com/post/310798115/a-decade-in-history-of-online-video
Thus it can be determined that youtube was the first online, ‘useable’ video. Users could, not only watch, but also upload their own videos.
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?
What are they luring us from?
When I want to watch a movie, I have a few choices. I can go to the cinema and pay up to $20 to watch the latest and greatest on the big screen or I can sit snuggled up in bed and watch that same movie, admittedly in low quality - but completely free from my broadband-enabled laptop. So why on earth would I waste my time in the cinema and how has the cinema tried to keep bringing audiences back?
Advancements in cinema technology is one thing that pulled me away from my warm bed and the illegal video streaming websites (not that I would ever break a law, of course). When Avatar came out in 3D, there was so much hype around the fantastic technology I actually paid to see it! Imagine that.
Just as in 1952 when 3d was first introduced to lure audiences back to the big-screen, we are being lured by bigger and better versions of this. Don’t forget all the hype about ‘gold-class’ and ‘High-def” cinema? VIP membership cards and special premier viewings?
All clever methods the cinemas and studios have employed to keep audiences coming back again and again. By creating a cinema experience you can’t replicate at home studios have been luring us back time and time again.
3.Are short films still being made? Why? Who pays for them to be made?
Short films are made for a number of reasons. The short film
Short films are constantly being made by amateurs and professionals all over the world. I would personally categorise them into 3 main types; professional film makers who have a message to deliver or something to sell, amateurs who don’t really know what they are doing and idiots with a video camera. The last two are usually self funded, but the first, the professionals are where the money is.
Professional short films are showcased at festivals, one of the best exam
4.The term viral is thrown about adhoc but what does it mean in film/movie arena? Give some examples.
Short films with interesting, funny or unusual subject matter, have a tendency to ‘go viral’ on the internet. A viral video will “spread like a virus...you watch it. You like it and you pass it on to a friend or everyone you know. They watch and like it, then forward the link or clip to more people...”. Sometimes these videos are clips from real life, like someone falling off a bike or when Gordan Brown was caught out describing one particular supporter ‘bigoted woman’ when he thought the cameras were off:
Other viral videos are highly rehearsed, well produced and have the intention of reaching viral status. This video for example has almost 35 million views:
Although these videos are highly entertaining, they are often pointless forms of entertainments that take the audience’s attention away from legitimate short films with some level of intelligent though behind them. They may be funny, but they certainly aren’t doing anything great for the film arena
http://humor.about.com/od/video/f/whatviralvideos.htm
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.
Television shows are often available, not just on your TV set, but online as well. Audiences don’t have to worry if they miss their favourite TV show because they can just watch it online later anyway with resources like the BBC iPlayer. But from this, a different kind of show altogether has formed: the Webisode. Now ‘TV-show format’ films are being developed purely for distribution on the internet, giving TV producers and aspiring TV producers a chance to air their show and a platform for audience feedback.
Smosh.com is one, rather hilarious example of a Webisode. Two friends started regularly making TV-quality comic sketches that ended up going viral. The sheer lunacy of their ideas means that this program is not really fit for television audiences, but has millions of hits online. The video below where two boys dressed in boxes sing about transformers that “will punch you in the face!” for example has over half a million views:
On one hand, the webisode is a great platform for shows with unusual subject matter or a avenue for producers to showcase their talents or make money through advertising. On the other hand, we have the same problem as always with these short films, any idiot with a camera and a Youtube account can make their own webisoed – and cyber space is littered with them.
Week 4 Tutespark
Week 4 – Tutespark
Week fours Tutespark was an interesting one, find 3 short films that were made for internet distribution. I found myself constantly getting distracted, trawling through the hundreds of short films all over the internet. As we discussed in the lecture, the internet may not be a good thing at present for commercial feature length films, but it seems to be doing big things in the world of short film.
I spent hours upon hours looking through some of what’s out there for audiences to watch. Some of it fantastic, moving or heart wrenching dramas. I found some of the most confusing art-house productions i’ve ever seen. Some short films that forced me to think or to feel, others made me laugh with joy, or laugh in disgust at the poor acting and cinematography. I decided to post three short films that all do, and mean different things for the viewer and represents different parts of the online, short film genre.
The first one I decided to share was quite simply marvellous. A simple pleasure to view, well produced and executed:
Pretty damn cool huh? In this instance the internet has been used as a platform to showcase someone’s fantastic filmmaking skills and thus improves the art and craft of cinema – The internet is starting to look like a positive tool... for now.
Then I can across another one - Quite different to the last. A French movie with subtitles usually has positive connotations, but this was absolutely awful. It seems a bunch of armatures, who know very little, if anything about cinema woke up one morning and said ‘I know, today I will make a short film’ then threw some special effects in for good measure. I don’t recommend you waste your time actually watching the whole thing. The first 30 seconds is sufficed to let you know that you just wasted 30 seconds of your life.
So we have established there are some great shorts out there, and plenty of crap, irrelevant rubbish. But the most important type of short film, in my opinion, are those which communicate an important message to the viewer. I found plenty out there advocating for homelessness, addiction sufferes, the war-torn and many more. They used various techniques to make the audience sensitive to the issue raised and helped me view many subjects from an angle i may not have considered before today. The one I chose to share i don’t particularly like. It made me feel kind of sick and disturbed, but that’s precisely what made it so effective. It’s called ‘The Black Dogs Progress’ and is described on it’s website as ‘Tragic story of a dog's trail through abusive owners told through a series of cascading flip books’
Interesting isn’t it. The unusual format of this movie as well as the shocking subject matter helps to draw the audience in and keep them watching until the end. It makes me want to run down to RSPCA and adopt every single dog there so that they won’t fall into the hands of an abusive owner. There are stacks of great short films on the web, giving artists with something important to say a platform to speak their piece.
The internet is a massive tool, and in the world of short film, a fantastic one. We have been bombarded with rubbish, like that from our French friends in the second movie, but at the same time we are given masterpieces like the first and last film. And that, i believe, makes all the crap worth it
Week fours Tutespark was an interesting one, find 3 short films that were made for internet distribution. I found myself constantly getting distracted, trawling through the hundreds of short films all over the internet. As we discussed in the lecture, the internet may not be a good thing at present for commercial feature length films, but it seems to be doing big things in the world of short film.
I spent hours upon hours looking through some of what’s out there for audiences to watch. Some of it fantastic, moving or heart wrenching dramas. I found some of the most confusing art-house productions i’ve ever seen. Some short films that forced me to think or to feel, others made me laugh with joy, or laugh in disgust at the poor acting and cinematography. I decided to post three short films that all do, and mean different things for the viewer and represents different parts of the online, short film genre.
The first one I decided to share was quite simply marvellous. A simple pleasure to view, well produced and executed:
Pretty damn cool huh? In this instance the internet has been used as a platform to showcase someone’s fantastic filmmaking skills and thus improves the art and craft of cinema – The internet is starting to look like a positive tool... for now.
Then I can across another one - Quite different to the last. A French movie with subtitles usually has positive connotations, but this was absolutely awful. It seems a bunch of armatures, who know very little, if anything about cinema woke up one morning and said ‘I know, today I will make a short film’ then threw some special effects in for good measure. I don’t recommend you waste your time actually watching the whole thing. The first 30 seconds is sufficed to let you know that you just wasted 30 seconds of your life.
So we have established there are some great shorts out there, and plenty of crap, irrelevant rubbish. But the most important type of short film, in my opinion, are those which communicate an important message to the viewer. I found plenty out there advocating for homelessness, addiction sufferes, the war-torn and many more. They used various techniques to make the audience sensitive to the issue raised and helped me view many subjects from an angle i may not have considered before today. The one I chose to share i don’t particularly like. It made me feel kind of sick and disturbed, but that’s precisely what made it so effective. It’s called ‘The Black Dogs Progress’ and is described on it’s website as ‘Tragic story of a dog's trail through abusive owners told through a series of cascading flip books’
Interesting isn’t it. The unusual format of this movie as well as the shocking subject matter helps to draw the audience in and keep them watching until the end. It makes me want to run down to RSPCA and adopt every single dog there so that they won’t fall into the hands of an abusive owner. There are stacks of great short films on the web, giving artists with something important to say a platform to speak their piece.
The internet is a massive tool, and in the world of short film, a fantastic one. We have been bombarded with rubbish, like that from our French friends in the second movie, but at the same time we are given masterpieces like the first and last film. And that, i believe, makes all the crap worth it
Monday, August 9, 2010
Week 3 Lecture Thoughts
Undeniably, i love my cable-tv, I love You tube and I love the cinema. Now, I was not totally oblivious to the fact that these are all new technologies; both my parents love to remind me how things were different “back in the day...”
However, instead of actually listening to long speeches about drive in theatre and sound-less movies, I usually rolled my eyes.
At the start of week four I was prepared for an hour of complete and utter boredom the second “The history of Film” was mentioned, but it seems I may have been too harsh on my poor Mother and Father - Film and Television actually have a rather interesting history. These two industries have been engaged in a constant battle for market domination since their beginnings, we can thanks this very battle for the many developments in entertainment technologies we take advantage of today.
I could write for ages about the developments in TV vs Cinema, but let me quickly outline the most important points. The most important part is not the detailed history, but rather how this detailed history has shaped the art and craft of film making.
Cinema came first – in 1895. Short films were shown often and were so popular some clever person decide to make a feature length film in 1906. It was humble beginnings and slowly this black and white, soundless cinema plodded along at a rather slow pace for a good 20 years, without TV to compete against.
1929 was the year of the first true-to-life movie. Audiences saw real colour and sound for the first time. In ’33 drive in theatre drove on into the scene, and animated film made an appearance in ’37.
Until now, cinema owned to visual entertainment market. That was until 1939. We welcome in the television.
The film industry, already a lucrative business must have been shaking in their boots. Throughout the 40’s and into the 50’s the two industries battled it out for the market and the money, which lead to a major developing in film – and it’s first major counter-attack to win the market– 3d film.
Now when I say 3D, you may think about the cool effects jumping out at you in Avatar 3D, not quite what they had in 1952 unfortunately. Remember those blue and red glasses? The ones that gave me a killer head ache as a child, and could never sit through the whole movie unless I felt like having a migraine that day? Yes, those ones. They were the cutting edge of technology and helped Cinema bring back the dwindling audience that were now investing in TV.
Then there was a brilliant idea for Television – playing movies on TV. Why go to the cinema when you can watch the same thing from the comfort of your couch? King Kong was the first televised movie in 1956.
A not-so-sucessful attempt by cinema to bring the market back, away from TV, was the feelies and smell-o-vision. It, quite frankly, creped me out to learn about this - I never actually thought these existed, outside of Aldous Huxley cult fiction novel “Brave New World”, and would have been much happier in my ignorance. Thankfully Huxley’s other descriptions of the modern world have not come into reality, so I feel safe, for now, as we moved onto the other developments that have lead to the fantastic improvements in modern society, like sponge-bob square pants on demand.
Come 1963, and VTR (video taper recorders) were now available for consumers to buy -$30, 000 a set? No thank you, that’s more than all my worldly possessions combined – including my car! Fortunately for the less extravagant the multiplex cinema was introduced in the same year. You could probably live in one of those things for the price of one video player attached to your TV set, so it’s not surprising that this was a popular option. But in ’97 TV and Video developed a consumer friendly, black and white, VTR player that didn’t cost the earth (you gotta feel bad for anyone who purchased the previous version). And then the VCR was released in ’69.
The 70’s and 80’s were good decades for video and TV, with the creation of HBO cable tv in ’72 and the introduction on VLD (video laserdisc). Laser disc players were available to the home market in the early 80’s, but were fairly short lived, replaced with DVD format in the late 90’s. HBO continued to grown in profitability and popularity and were marketing major completion for normal TV networks. This is where, one of my personal favourites, MTV, was introduced.
Film & Video arcade games came around in 82 when our good friends at Disney released a feature film with arcade video game to match. Blockbuster video stores opened in 85, the same year film started to be released to VCR video only – skipping the cinema market entirely. This is where all the most awful films, unworthy of cinema were destined. You see it still around today, low budget, poor quality films go straight to blockbuster.
Computer generated animation was a big development in 1988 that brought popularity back to the big screens and paved the way for ‘believable’ special effects. 1991, was most importantly the year of my first birthday, but also notable developments for society was the first ‘true to life’ computer generated character in ‘Terminator 2’.
The first development I actually remember experiencing was the film ‘Toy Story’ in 1995. The first totally computer generated feature length animation and god, was it cool. A good year for cinema it would seem.
And of course I remember the fist DVD’s - at the time (1997) everyone was amazed by this fantastic technology. It did take a while to catch on, but it wasn’t too long, 2003 to be exact, before DVD was king and VHS was obsolete, those brick-like cassettes are a bit of a joke nowadays really. DVD was great for TV and home entertainment; we got cinema quality movies in our own home!
1998 was a big year forDVD video and TV. We saw the beginning of High Definition TV, as well as the first online DVD movie rental service, Video on Demand and online video streaming. Digital projectors were coming into use for cinema without the need for that physical, old school ‘film’.
The Blair Witch project was a big deal for cinema in 1999, another win in the battle against TV. It was low budget and made hundreds of millions of dollars, and the ‘home-video’ filming added to the reality, scaring the shit out of me at the age of 9, I didn’t sleep for weeks.
Personal digital video recorders (PVR or HDR) like Tivo came out in the same year however, with just about evened the score. Now consumers could record the TV, fast forward, pause, VOD etc etc.
In 2002 the consumer could now legally watch movies on demand online thanks to Movie link, but it’s hard to compete against the abundance of free-illegal movies online today. 2004 was the year the first CGI-green screen feature films were shot. Without any physical sets required, real actors could be put against any computer generated background, this advance in technology film makers were given greater freedom in for making believable sets, especially in science fiction.
‘A History of Violence’, 2005, was the last major film to be released on VHS due to the popularity of DVD and the recent introduction of the Blu-ray discs. Now VHS had really seen its last days. Youtube grew in popularity too, 2006 saw 100 million videos viewed every single day - Which only increased when broadband was released in ’07. Today, practically any major movie a consumer wants to watch can be purchased online, but with a plethora of websites prepared to host movies free and illegally it looks as if blockbuster is losing its popularity and many people are choosing to watch it free, without needing to go down to the DVD rental stores.
But what does that mean for the future of film? Consumers have found ways to easily consume the products without paying a cent. The web offers little is any benefits to the film industry. Instead we are being bombarded with crap, low budget movies. Sometimes, amongst the millions of thorns we find a rose – a fantastic online, low budget film that can shot a talented film maker into the public eye. At this stage the internet is a horrid tool, crippling the film industry.
However it only early days for internet film - The next stage? It seems like it will be another win for television. The convergence of internet Film and pay tv seems to be heading towards a home cinema system where we can simply down load (and pay for) our films from your pay-tv systems. This will hopefully make high-quality, movies readily available from your TV. If we have this available in our homes, we will in all likely hood watch these films more often. When TV and cinema converge into one the two markets will hopefully co-exist in harmony.
Phew – a lot of developments for the space of just over 100 years? I hope your still awake after that, and like me, looking forward to the not so distant future for our beautiful flat screen TV’s
However, instead of actually listening to long speeches about drive in theatre and sound-less movies, I usually rolled my eyes.
At the start of week four I was prepared for an hour of complete and utter boredom the second “The history of Film” was mentioned, but it seems I may have been too harsh on my poor Mother and Father - Film and Television actually have a rather interesting history. These two industries have been engaged in a constant battle for market domination since their beginnings, we can thanks this very battle for the many developments in entertainment technologies we take advantage of today.
I could write for ages about the developments in TV vs Cinema, but let me quickly outline the most important points. The most important part is not the detailed history, but rather how this detailed history has shaped the art and craft of film making.
Cinema came first – in 1895. Short films were shown often and were so popular some clever person decide to make a feature length film in 1906. It was humble beginnings and slowly this black and white, soundless cinema plodded along at a rather slow pace for a good 20 years, without TV to compete against.
1929 was the year of the first true-to-life movie. Audiences saw real colour and sound for the first time. In ’33 drive in theatre drove on into the scene, and animated film made an appearance in ’37.
Until now, cinema owned to visual entertainment market. That was until 1939. We welcome in the television.
The film industry, already a lucrative business must have been shaking in their boots. Throughout the 40’s and into the 50’s the two industries battled it out for the market and the money, which lead to a major developing in film – and it’s first major counter-attack to win the market– 3d film.
Now when I say 3D, you may think about the cool effects jumping out at you in Avatar 3D, not quite what they had in 1952 unfortunately. Remember those blue and red glasses? The ones that gave me a killer head ache as a child, and could never sit through the whole movie unless I felt like having a migraine that day? Yes, those ones. They were the cutting edge of technology and helped Cinema bring back the dwindling audience that were now investing in TV.
Then there was a brilliant idea for Television – playing movies on TV. Why go to the cinema when you can watch the same thing from the comfort of your couch? King Kong was the first televised movie in 1956.
A not-so-sucessful attempt by cinema to bring the market back, away from TV, was the feelies and smell-o-vision. It, quite frankly, creped me out to learn about this - I never actually thought these existed, outside of Aldous Huxley cult fiction novel “Brave New World”, and would have been much happier in my ignorance. Thankfully Huxley’s other descriptions of the modern world have not come into reality, so I feel safe, for now, as we moved onto the other developments that have lead to the fantastic improvements in modern society, like sponge-bob square pants on demand.
Come 1963, and VTR (video taper recorders) were now available for consumers to buy -$30, 000 a set? No thank you, that’s more than all my worldly possessions combined – including my car! Fortunately for the less extravagant the multiplex cinema was introduced in the same year. You could probably live in one of those things for the price of one video player attached to your TV set, so it’s not surprising that this was a popular option. But in ’97 TV and Video developed a consumer friendly, black and white, VTR player that didn’t cost the earth (you gotta feel bad for anyone who purchased the previous version). And then the VCR was released in ’69.
The 70’s and 80’s were good decades for video and TV, with the creation of HBO cable tv in ’72 and the introduction on VLD (video laserdisc). Laser disc players were available to the home market in the early 80’s, but were fairly short lived, replaced with DVD format in the late 90’s. HBO continued to grown in profitability and popularity and were marketing major completion for normal TV networks. This is where, one of my personal favourites, MTV, was introduced.
Film & Video arcade games came around in 82 when our good friends at Disney released a feature film with arcade video game to match. Blockbuster video stores opened in 85, the same year film started to be released to VCR video only – skipping the cinema market entirely. This is where all the most awful films, unworthy of cinema were destined. You see it still around today, low budget, poor quality films go straight to blockbuster.
Computer generated animation was a big development in 1988 that brought popularity back to the big screens and paved the way for ‘believable’ special effects. 1991, was most importantly the year of my first birthday, but also notable developments for society was the first ‘true to life’ computer generated character in ‘Terminator 2’.
The first development I actually remember experiencing was the film ‘Toy Story’ in 1995. The first totally computer generated feature length animation and god, was it cool. A good year for cinema it would seem.
And of course I remember the fist DVD’s - at the time (1997) everyone was amazed by this fantastic technology. It did take a while to catch on, but it wasn’t too long, 2003 to be exact, before DVD was king and VHS was obsolete, those brick-like cassettes are a bit of a joke nowadays really. DVD was great for TV and home entertainment; we got cinema quality movies in our own home!
1998 was a big year forDVD video and TV. We saw the beginning of High Definition TV, as well as the first online DVD movie rental service, Video on Demand and online video streaming. Digital projectors were coming into use for cinema without the need for that physical, old school ‘film’.
The Blair Witch project was a big deal for cinema in 1999, another win in the battle against TV. It was low budget and made hundreds of millions of dollars, and the ‘home-video’ filming added to the reality, scaring the shit out of me at the age of 9, I didn’t sleep for weeks.
Personal digital video recorders (PVR or HDR) like Tivo came out in the same year however, with just about evened the score. Now consumers could record the TV, fast forward, pause, VOD etc etc.
In 2002 the consumer could now legally watch movies on demand online thanks to Movie link, but it’s hard to compete against the abundance of free-illegal movies online today. 2004 was the year the first CGI-green screen feature films were shot. Without any physical sets required, real actors could be put against any computer generated background, this advance in technology film makers were given greater freedom in for making believable sets, especially in science fiction.
‘A History of Violence’, 2005, was the last major film to be released on VHS due to the popularity of DVD and the recent introduction of the Blu-ray discs. Now VHS had really seen its last days. Youtube grew in popularity too, 2006 saw 100 million videos viewed every single day - Which only increased when broadband was released in ’07. Today, practically any major movie a consumer wants to watch can be purchased online, but with a plethora of websites prepared to host movies free and illegally it looks as if blockbuster is losing its popularity and many people are choosing to watch it free, without needing to go down to the DVD rental stores.
But what does that mean for the future of film? Consumers have found ways to easily consume the products without paying a cent. The web offers little is any benefits to the film industry. Instead we are being bombarded with crap, low budget movies. Sometimes, amongst the millions of thorns we find a rose – a fantastic online, low budget film that can shot a talented film maker into the public eye. At this stage the internet is a horrid tool, crippling the film industry.
However it only early days for internet film - The next stage? It seems like it will be another win for television. The convergence of internet Film and pay tv seems to be heading towards a home cinema system where we can simply down load (and pay for) our films from your pay-tv systems. This will hopefully make high-quality, movies readily available from your TV. If we have this available in our homes, we will in all likely hood watch these films more often. When TV and cinema converge into one the two markets will hopefully co-exist in harmony.
Phew – a lot of developments for the space of just over 100 years? I hope your still awake after that, and like me, looking forward to the not so distant future for our beautiful flat screen TV’s
Week 3 Tutespark
Communication technology may sound like a modern advancement, right? Contrary to whatever many people believe, communication technologies have been around a very, very long time. Well before electronic communication came around in fact.
You may think something along the lines of Morse code as an early digital technology? Try again.... perhaps a few thousand years before Samuel Morse sent the first famous Morse code telegraph ‘What hath god wrought’ digital communication was everywhere.
Digits were a very early form of digital communication. Civilisation used their digits, (fingers) as a simple technology to communicate numbers and small mathematical problems. Before people developed the word ‘five’ or symbol 5 they would use five fingers to digitally convey the intended message. You would recognise this finger-reckoning arithmetic if you have ever tried to buy yourself lunch in a country with a different national language to that of your own. In Saudi Arabia a sandwich on a menu might cost خمسة دولارات, which quite frankly means nothing to me. But a gesture of 5 fingers would break down the language barrier, and communicate the price of that item to me. No need to go hungry thanks to your own personal digits.
In the same way that fingers were used to communicate a message, the world around was once a common tool. As someone could communicate ‘five’ with their hands, five pebbles, sticks, lines in the sand... any number of objects could digitally convey and intended message.
The Greek and Arabic nations were pioneers in early mathematical communication technologies, and advanced from fingers and objects to the counting boards and The Abacus. Instead of using whatever happened to be at hand to communicate, tools were created for the sole purpose of counting. These tools were especially useful for trading goods between two parties. A buyer and seller could calculate and communicate prices clearly, helping to minimize any confusion, especially when dealing with more complicated sums – The very early origins of a cash register.
And what about the native American Indians? They too made use of digital technology, as well as utilising their own physical digits for simple mathematic communication, they are known for their use of digital smoke signals to communicate a message long distance. Smoke signals were simple messages sent, not in giant words written in the sky as Disney may have you believe, but in a digital code. Messages were secret, there was no one standardized code common to all tribes. Two friendly tribes may have set up a communication system that only the agreed parties would be able to translate. If we want to think of this in modern times, imagine you and your best mate live 5km’s from each other. I’m not at all condoning urban fires here, but you could potentially set up a similar system...
One puff of smoke could mean ‘Come over, bring food’, two puffs could mean ‘Come over, bring beer’ and three puffs ‘SEND HELP MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE!’
Far too much trouble for anyone to bother with today, besides cub scouts and Bear Grylls, but would have been very useful to warn a nearby tribe of a pending invasion much faster than a man on his horse ever could. Who knows, it might be useful next time I lose my mobile phone.
Sticks, Abacus and a roaring fire... and I didn’t even begin to talk about the use of flags, drums, and trumpets... the list goes on. If we look back to Marshall McLuhan definition of technology ‘and extension of ourselves’ we can see these are clearly all communication technology, and technically they are indeed digital. They may not be exactly what I counted as Digital communication technology before today, but I guess it just goes to show exactly how far and fast technology has come.
History of the abacus- http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/abacus/history.html
Maths - http://www.everythingmath.net/mathematics-history.php
Arabic Maths -http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/Arabic_mathematics.html
Smoke signals - http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/native/sign/smoke-signal.htm
Translator - http://translate.google.com.au/translate_t?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&q=five+dollars&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sl=en&tl=ar&sa=X&ei=gElzTKiJBIbQuAOvhJnADg&ved=0CBcQrgYwAA#\
Morse Code - http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventors/ig/Samuel-Morse---Patent/First-Telegraph-Message.htm\
You may think something along the lines of Morse code as an early digital technology? Try again.... perhaps a few thousand years before Samuel Morse sent the first famous Morse code telegraph ‘What hath god wrought’ digital communication was everywhere.
Digits were a very early form of digital communication. Civilisation used their digits, (fingers) as a simple technology to communicate numbers and small mathematical problems. Before people developed the word ‘five’ or symbol 5 they would use five fingers to digitally convey the intended message. You would recognise this finger-reckoning arithmetic if you have ever tried to buy yourself lunch in a country with a different national language to that of your own. In Saudi Arabia a sandwich on a menu might cost خمسة دولارات, which quite frankly means nothing to me. But a gesture of 5 fingers would break down the language barrier, and communicate the price of that item to me. No need to go hungry thanks to your own personal digits.
In the same way that fingers were used to communicate a message, the world around was once a common tool. As someone could communicate ‘five’ with their hands, five pebbles, sticks, lines in the sand... any number of objects could digitally convey and intended message.
The Greek and Arabic nations were pioneers in early mathematical communication technologies, and advanced from fingers and objects to the counting boards and The Abacus. Instead of using whatever happened to be at hand to communicate, tools were created for the sole purpose of counting. These tools were especially useful for trading goods between two parties. A buyer and seller could calculate and communicate prices clearly, helping to minimize any confusion, especially when dealing with more complicated sums – The very early origins of a cash register.
And what about the native American Indians? They too made use of digital technology, as well as utilising their own physical digits for simple mathematic communication, they are known for their use of digital smoke signals to communicate a message long distance. Smoke signals were simple messages sent, not in giant words written in the sky as Disney may have you believe, but in a digital code. Messages were secret, there was no one standardized code common to all tribes. Two friendly tribes may have set up a communication system that only the agreed parties would be able to translate. If we want to think of this in modern times, imagine you and your best mate live 5km’s from each other. I’m not at all condoning urban fires here, but you could potentially set up a similar system...
One puff of smoke could mean ‘Come over, bring food’, two puffs could mean ‘Come over, bring beer’ and three puffs ‘SEND HELP MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE!’
Far too much trouble for anyone to bother with today, besides cub scouts and Bear Grylls, but would have been very useful to warn a nearby tribe of a pending invasion much faster than a man on his horse ever could. Who knows, it might be useful next time I lose my mobile phone.
Sticks, Abacus and a roaring fire... and I didn’t even begin to talk about the use of flags, drums, and trumpets... the list goes on. If we look back to Marshall McLuhan definition of technology ‘and extension of ourselves’ we can see these are clearly all communication technology, and technically they are indeed digital. They may not be exactly what I counted as Digital communication technology before today, but I guess it just goes to show exactly how far and fast technology has come.
History of the abacus- http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/abacus/history.html
Maths - http://www.everythingmath.net/mathematics-history.php
Arabic Maths -http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/HistTopics/Arabic_mathematics.html
Smoke signals - http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/native/sign/smoke-signal.htm
Translator - http://translate.google.com.au/translate_t?oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&q=five+dollars&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sl=en&tl=ar&sa=X&ei=gElzTKiJBIbQuAOvhJnADg&ved=0CBcQrgYwAA#\
Morse Code - http://inventors.about.com/od/mstartinventors/ig/Samuel-Morse---Patent/First-Telegraph-Message.htm\
Week 3 Treasure hunt
Week 3 - Treasure hunt
... and then Tuesday mornings got interesting.
Not quite what I was expecting when I dragged myself out of bed at 7am this morning to my shrill alarm urging me to get up and start the day, but a more than welcome surprise. But of course there is a twist, this isn’t like any treasure hunt I have been in before.
The first thing that comes to my mind with the mention of ‘treasure hunt’ is childhood scavenger hunts for chocolate and sweets. This is education, this is different, plus 8am tutorial is no time for chocolate! No sweets or screaming children, rather than tangible goods hidden behind trees, today I am looking for information: Information kept in the depths internet, a jungle in it’s self.
Usually the internet can be easily navigated by its users. Like an explorer uses his compass and map, in modern times we simply ‘Google’ to find what you need to know in an instant.
Ten questions? ‘Simple’ you say?
Think again. Ten questions. No google, no Wikipedia even! Today I am navigating the internet without my compass... so wish me luck!
1. What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
Quite simply, i can tell you its empty 203 tones when its empty, 592 tons when it’s full and cost a staggering US$3.5 Million.
The Liebherr T 282B is the world’s biggest machine on land - according to Bukisa.com, from the looks of those wheels, I don’t care if it’s top speed is only 65KPH, I wouldn’t want to be standing to close to that thing when it’s moving.
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/40463_worlds-largest-machines-ever-built
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Ozzy Osborne?
Any internet savy individual can easily come into contact with practically any major celebrity through twitter. These days you can contact Linsdsay Lohan, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Ozzy aswell, with the use of your twitter accounts.
While this covers the dictionary definition of ‘getting in contact’ with our dear friend Ozzy Osbourne, in reality this won’t be of much use if you actually require him to solicit a reply Then book him to play your Grandmothers birthday party. Celebrity Facebook and Twitter pages are often used as a publicity tool and are managed or advised by a marketing or Public Relations agent.
Best way to contact Ozzy for ‘business’ purposes is through his management, Sharon Osbourne Management – give them a call on 310-859-7761 (Don’t forget your dialing codes for California and be prepared to pay big bucks if Granny really want’s him for her 90th)
If it’s just some fan mail your wanting to send try a website like www.contactvip.com, but be prepared to pay the US$9.95 a month for unlimited access.
3. When and what was the first example of global digital communication?
“What hath God wrought.” - Samuel Morse only words in the world’s first morse code message... How right bloody right he was. If only he could see the long path digital communications took to reach today where global digital communication means clicking the Skype application on my desktop to see my mother sitting in Malaysia and my best friend in Germany.
The first Global telegraph was a telegraph line from The USA to Europe in
4. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
Offically, the cheapest way to travel from Gold Coast to Melbourne is free. Completely free, providing you’re an infant.
For the rest of us, it’s not so good, but you can still pick up a cheap flight from a variety of comparison websites out there. Unless you want to hitch hike (from personal experience i don’t recommend this), bike ride or walk it, flying is the way to go.
Flight comparison websites like Webjet and Skyscanner take the dirty work out of shopping around.
The average, non-student, adult individual can pick up a flight months in advance for well under $100 AUD. According to Skyscanner.net a 10:15PM flight with Tiger airways on the 28th of November will set you back a mere $46.25 AUD.
5. Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?
For me, this was too easy. Hatsune Miku is of course a vocaloid, but I knew that without needing to search. One of the advantages of having Good friends in Hokkaido, Japan.
Hatsune is a computer program who will, quite simply, sing a composition for you. She was born on the 31st of August.
For a girl born in 2008, i personally think her skirt is far too short – I was still wearing ones-ies and diapers when I was two.
(Source: Eri Swada, Telephone conversation via Skype)
6. Find a live webcam in Antarctica. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.
http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=27 has four live web cameras in Antarctica. If you like what you see
7. What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1980?
"Funkytown" by Lipps Inc.
http://funkytown.com/
8. How would you define the term 'nano technology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?
"Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This covers both current work and concepts that are more advanced."
http://www.crnano.org/whatis.htm
9. What type of camera is used to make ‘Google Street View’?
Google street View uses the Dodeca 2360 by Immersive Media.
www.news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Google/ss/events/tc/012006google
10. Translate these questions into Klingon.
-1 nuq 'oH [the] [weight] vo' [the] [world’s] [biggest] [machine] chay' 'ar ta'ta' 'oH [cost] Daq chen
-2 nuq 'oH [the] [best] [way] [quickest] HochHom [reliable] Daq [contact] [Ozzy] [Osborne]
-3 ghorgh 'ej nuq ghaHta' [the] wa'DIch [example] vo' [global] [digital] [communication]
-4 nuq 'oH [the] [cheapest] [form] vo' [travel] vo' [the] SuD baS [Coast] Daq [Melbourne]
-5 'Iv 'oH [Hatsune] [Miku] nuq [company] ta'taH ghaH [belong] Daq nuq 'oH Daj qoS
-6 tu' [a] yIn [webcam] Daq [Antarctica] tu' [a] Daq Daq [stay] Daq [Antarctica]
-7 nuq bom ghaHta' [top] vo' [the] [Australian] [pop] [charts] vam [week] Daq
-8 chay' [would] SoH [define] [the] [term] ['nano] [technology'] Daq lIj ghaj mu'mey nuq ta'taH 'oH [really] [mean]
-9 nuq [type] vo' [camera] 'oH [used] Daq chenmoH [‘Google] [Street] [View’]
-10 [Translate] Dochvammey [questions] Daq tlhIngan
... and then Tuesday mornings got interesting.
Not quite what I was expecting when I dragged myself out of bed at 7am this morning to my shrill alarm urging me to get up and start the day, but a more than welcome surprise. But of course there is a twist, this isn’t like any treasure hunt I have been in before.
The first thing that comes to my mind with the mention of ‘treasure hunt’ is childhood scavenger hunts for chocolate and sweets. This is education, this is different, plus 8am tutorial is no time for chocolate! No sweets or screaming children, rather than tangible goods hidden behind trees, today I am looking for information: Information kept in the depths internet, a jungle in it’s self.
Usually the internet can be easily navigated by its users. Like an explorer uses his compass and map, in modern times we simply ‘Google’ to find what you need to know in an instant.
Ten questions? ‘Simple’ you say?
Think again. Ten questions. No google, no Wikipedia even! Today I am navigating the internet without my compass... so wish me luck!
1. What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
Quite simply, i can tell you its empty 203 tones when its empty, 592 tons when it’s full and cost a staggering US$3.5 Million.
The Liebherr T 282B is the world’s biggest machine on land - according to Bukisa.com, from the looks of those wheels, I don’t care if it’s top speed is only 65KPH, I wouldn’t want to be standing to close to that thing when it’s moving.
http://www.bukisa.com/articles/40463_worlds-largest-machines-ever-built
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Ozzy Osborne?
Any internet savy individual can easily come into contact with practically any major celebrity through twitter. These days you can contact Linsdsay Lohan, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Ozzy aswell, with the use of your twitter accounts.
While this covers the dictionary definition of ‘getting in contact’ with our dear friend Ozzy Osbourne, in reality this won’t be of much use if you actually require him to solicit a reply Then book him to play your Grandmothers birthday party. Celebrity Facebook and Twitter pages are often used as a publicity tool and are managed or advised by a marketing or Public Relations agent.
Best way to contact Ozzy for ‘business’ purposes is through his management, Sharon Osbourne Management – give them a call on 310-859-7761 (Don’t forget your dialing codes for California and be prepared to pay big bucks if Granny really want’s him for her 90th)
If it’s just some fan mail your wanting to send try a website like www.contactvip.com, but be prepared to pay the US$9.95 a month for unlimited access.
3. When and what was the first example of global digital communication?
“What hath God wrought.” - Samuel Morse only words in the world’s first morse code message... How right bloody right he was. If only he could see the long path digital communications took to reach today where global digital communication means clicking the Skype application on my desktop to see my mother sitting in Malaysia and my best friend in Germany.
The first Global telegraph was a telegraph line from The USA to Europe in
4. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
Offically, the cheapest way to travel from Gold Coast to Melbourne is free. Completely free, providing you’re an infant.
For the rest of us, it’s not so good, but you can still pick up a cheap flight from a variety of comparison websites out there. Unless you want to hitch hike (from personal experience i don’t recommend this), bike ride or walk it, flying is the way to go.
Flight comparison websites like Webjet and Skyscanner take the dirty work out of shopping around.
The average, non-student, adult individual can pick up a flight months in advance for well under $100 AUD. According to Skyscanner.net a 10:15PM flight with Tiger airways on the 28th of November will set you back a mere $46.25 AUD.
5. Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?
For me, this was too easy. Hatsune Miku is of course a vocaloid, but I knew that without needing to search. One of the advantages of having Good friends in Hokkaido, Japan.
Hatsune is a computer program who will, quite simply, sing a composition for you. She was born on the 31st of August.
For a girl born in 2008, i personally think her skirt is far too short – I was still wearing ones-ies and diapers when I was two.
(Source: Eri Swada, Telephone conversation via Skype)
6. Find a live webcam in Antarctica. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.
http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=27 has four live web cameras in Antarctica. If you like what you see
7. What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1980?
"Funkytown" by Lipps Inc.
http://funkytown.com/
8. How would you define the term 'nano technology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?
"Nanotechnology is the engineering of functional systems at the molecular scale. This covers both current work and concepts that are more advanced."
http://www.crnano.org/whatis.htm
9. What type of camera is used to make ‘Google Street View’?
Google street View uses the Dodeca 2360 by Immersive Media.
www.news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Google/ss/events/tc/012006google
10. Translate these questions into Klingon.
-1 nuq 'oH [the] [weight] vo' [the] [world’s] [biggest] [machine] chay' 'ar ta'ta' 'oH [cost] Daq chen
-2 nuq 'oH [the] [best] [way] [quickest] HochHom [reliable] Daq [contact] [Ozzy] [Osborne]
-3 ghorgh 'ej nuq ghaHta' [the] wa'DIch [example] vo' [global] [digital] [communication]
-4 nuq 'oH [the] [cheapest] [form] vo' [travel] vo' [the] SuD baS [Coast] Daq [Melbourne]
-5 'Iv 'oH [Hatsune] [Miku] nuq [company] ta'taH ghaH [belong] Daq nuq 'oH Daj qoS
-6 tu' [a] yIn [webcam] Daq [Antarctica] tu' [a] Daq Daq [stay] Daq [Antarctica]
-7 nuq bom ghaHta' [top] vo' [the] [Australian] [pop] [charts] vam [week] Daq
-8 chay' [would] SoH [define] [the] [term] ['nano] [technology'] Daq lIj ghaj mu'mey nuq ta'taH 'oH [really] [mean]
-9 nuq [type] vo' [camera] 'oH [used] Daq chenmoH [‘Google] [Street] [View’]
-10 [Translate] Dochvammey [questions] Daq tlhIngan
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Week 2 The Language of Cine-Speak
Last week I learnt about the multifarious world of Communication technology – new and old. But one type of communication that did slip my mind in the definitions of new communication technology was film and cinema.
A film speaks to the audience; it can communicate many different messages, beliefs or even values. If I was to look at some examples: The movie ‘Ferris Buller’s Day Off’ could communicate an individual’s love for life and spontaneity, Wall-e could communicate someone else’s disgust for how we treat a fragile planet. Any Paris Hilton movie could express a certain individuals vain aestheticism and the wide array of ‘Adult Film’ can exposes a lot about someone’s more explicit desires: it is obvious that cinema communicates effectively to an audience.
But it is not just verbal communication or acting skills that communicates a message in cinema. There are so many other ways an audience receives and interprets messages in film and this is precisely where cine-speak comes into the picture.
A cinematographer provides the audience with information about the film, they provide this information to let us know exactly ‘Who, how, when, where, why and what’ this film is about. To efficiently communicate this, each shot is placed in a specific sequence and filmed for a specific amount of time as well the use of as shot size, distances and angles and focus.
In cine-speak, a cinematographer may, for example, focus the camera on an individual in a crowd to communicate to the audience ‘This is who this film is about’. Similarly, sweeping shots of a city, country or landmark may be used to communicate ‘where this film is’. The list of techniques goes on and on, to provide a limitless supply of options to assist communication through film,
A good cinematographer knows that a film can be strategically planned, in every aspect, to attempt to maximise the effectiveness of communication and ensure that ‘Every shot drives a narrative forward’.
A film speaks to the audience; it can communicate many different messages, beliefs or even values. If I was to look at some examples: The movie ‘Ferris Buller’s Day Off’ could communicate an individual’s love for life and spontaneity, Wall-e could communicate someone else’s disgust for how we treat a fragile planet. Any Paris Hilton movie could express a certain individuals vain aestheticism and the wide array of ‘Adult Film’ can exposes a lot about someone’s more explicit desires: it is obvious that cinema communicates effectively to an audience.
But it is not just verbal communication or acting skills that communicates a message in cinema. There are so many other ways an audience receives and interprets messages in film and this is precisely where cine-speak comes into the picture.
A cinematographer provides the audience with information about the film, they provide this information to let us know exactly ‘Who, how, when, where, why and what’ this film is about. To efficiently communicate this, each shot is placed in a specific sequence and filmed for a specific amount of time as well the use of as shot size, distances and angles and focus.
In cine-speak, a cinematographer may, for example, focus the camera on an individual in a crowd to communicate to the audience ‘This is who this film is about’. Similarly, sweeping shots of a city, country or landmark may be used to communicate ‘where this film is’. The list of techniques goes on and on, to provide a limitless supply of options to assist communication through film,
A good cinematographer knows that a film can be strategically planned, in every aspect, to attempt to maximise the effectiveness of communication and ensure that ‘Every shot drives a narrative forward’.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Week 2 Lecture Thoughts
The Language of Cine-Speak
Last week I learnt about the multifarious world of Communication technology – new and old. But one type of communication that did slip my mind in the definitions of new communication technology was film and cinema.
A film speaks to the audience; it can communicate many different messages, beliefs or even values. If I was to look at some examples: The movie ‘Ferris Buller’s Day Off’ could communicate an individual’s love for life and spontaneity, Wall-e could communicate someone else’s disgust for how we treat a fragile planet. Any Paris Hilton movie could express a certain individuals vain aestheticism and the wide array of ‘Adult Film’ can exposes a lot about someone’s more explicit desires: it is obvious that cinema communicates effectively to an audience.
But it is not just verbal communication or acting skills that communicates a message in cinema. There are so many other ways an audience receives and interprets messages in film and this is precisely where cine-speak comes into the picture.
A cinematographer provides the audience with information about the film, they provide this information to let us know exactly ‘Who, how, when, where, why and what’ this film is about. To efficiently communicate this, each shot is placed in a specific sequence and filmed for a specific amount of time as well the use of as shot size, distances and angles and focus.
In cine-speak, a cinematographer may, for example, focus the camera on an individual in a crowd to communicate to the audience ‘This is who this film is about’. Similarly, sweeping shots of a city, country or landmark may be used to communicate ‘where this film is’. The list of techniques goes on and on, to provide a limitless supply of options to assist communication through film,
A good cinematographer knows that a film can be strategically planned, in every aspect, to attempt to maximise the effectiveness of communication and ensure that ‘Every shot drives a narrative forward’.
Last week I learnt about the multifarious world of Communication technology – new and old. But one type of communication that did slip my mind in the definitions of new communication technology was film and cinema.
A film speaks to the audience; it can communicate many different messages, beliefs or even values. If I was to look at some examples: The movie ‘Ferris Buller’s Day Off’ could communicate an individual’s love for life and spontaneity, Wall-e could communicate someone else’s disgust for how we treat a fragile planet. Any Paris Hilton movie could express a certain individuals vain aestheticism and the wide array of ‘Adult Film’ can exposes a lot about someone’s more explicit desires: it is obvious that cinema communicates effectively to an audience.
But it is not just verbal communication or acting skills that communicates a message in cinema. There are so many other ways an audience receives and interprets messages in film and this is precisely where cine-speak comes into the picture.
A cinematographer provides the audience with information about the film, they provide this information to let us know exactly ‘Who, how, when, where, why and what’ this film is about. To efficiently communicate this, each shot is placed in a specific sequence and filmed for a specific amount of time as well the use of as shot size, distances and angles and focus.
In cine-speak, a cinematographer may, for example, focus the camera on an individual in a crowd to communicate to the audience ‘This is who this film is about’. Similarly, sweeping shots of a city, country or landmark may be used to communicate ‘where this film is’. The list of techniques goes on and on, to provide a limitless supply of options to assist communication through film,
A good cinematographer knows that a film can be strategically planned, in every aspect, to attempt to maximise the effectiveness of communication and ensure that ‘Every shot drives a narrative forward’.
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