This week, we learnt how consumers of the digital age have become producers with active consumption, after the internet and computers became part of our everyday lives. In other words, people do not just receive information anymore, but we also contribute via post blogs, news, videos etc on the Internet.
Now, the task of this week is:
Q) In line with the lecture content that the lecture 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.
So I did some research about Culture Jamming. I read several websites that explain it, but this one was the most simple and I thought identified clearly what Culture Jamming is:
"Culture jamming, is the act of using existing media such as billboards, bus-ads, posters, and other ads to comment on those very media themselves or on society in general, using the original medium's communication method. It is based on the idea that advertising is little more than propaganda for established interests, and that there is little escape from this propaganda in industrialized nations." (cultural jam, Urban Dictionary, viewed 24/08/10, http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=culture+jam)
It is similar to appropriating arts, but it is different as Culture Jamming aims more destruction of the commercialism.
The first Culture Jam:
There was a similar art movement of Dada in 1920s, but first noticeable Culture Jam was appeared in 1977 at San Fransisco bay area. A team of guerrilla artists called Billboard Liberation Front begun changing ("improving") billboard signs on the street and started taking credit. (Segal, P., History and Timeline, Billboard Liberation Front Creative Group, viewed 24/08/10, http://www.billboardliberation.com/history.html)
The most influential Jam:
I think it was the Google bombing. I remember a viral email that spread all over which was telling when you type in google 'miserable failure' and click 'I'm feeling lucky', it would then give you links to the bibliography page of the White House regarding George W. Bush. The impact was huge. Everyone was amazed how it happened and they had a cynical smile about President Bush and an apparant hacked Google system. Google soon appeared to adjust the search results.
The most damaging Jam:
When I searched information about culture jam, the name of company which most appeared as a target was Nike. Especially, the email between MIT graduate Jonah Peretti and Nike was quoted on so many websites. This must be the most damaging propaganda for a company like Nike, as it helped to spread the image that Nike is employing people under unhealthy conditions in Asia, and moreover, they did not handle an activist like Peretti very well.
Q1.Where and when did usable online video start? (provide some refs. and an example if possible)
A) The first version of QuickTime was released in 1991 (the apple museum, Timeline of Apple Quick Time, viewed 20/08/10, http://www.theapplemuseum.com/index.php?id=41), but it was not really usable online as the CPU of the computer was very small and the internet bandwidth was still limited. In 1995, Xing Technology Corporation developed Stream Works, and it was the first on-demand audio/video delivery system over the internet (Streaming Media, viewed 20/08/10, http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/imperium/timeline.html). But the real online video era started with the birth of YouTube. The first YouTube video was posted on April 23, 2005, featured Jawad Karim, co-founder of the YouTube, standing at a zoo. (Alleyne, R. 2008, YouTube: Overnight success has sparked a backlash, Daily Telegraph, viewed 20/08/10, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2480280/YouTube-Overnight-success-has-sparked-a-backlash.html)
Q2.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?
A) When people see something very funny on the internet, they start sending it on to friends and family. This is sometimes called "viral" as it is very easy to attach it to an Email. Many studios started taking advantage of this phenomenon, and start creating funny introductory videos about their products/shows/movies. They are luring us from mass audience or even just our daily routines.
Q3.Are short films still being made? Why? Who pays for them to be made?
A) Short films are cheaper and easier to make, so they are still very popular for many independent film makers and amateurs. But the big studios are also creating short films, such as Pixar. There are many awards for short films including the Academy Awards, Berlin International Film Festival, and Cannes Festival (Short Films Awards Festivals List, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, viewed 20/08/10, http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/shortsfestivals.html). Since YouTube made watching videos online easier and very popular, the demand of the short films are growing bigger. Not many people are interested watching short films at film festivals, but people do not mind watching them online, as it is so easy and convenient. It is still hard to find someone who is willing to pay for infamous film makers, but the opportunity is huge now, and once they become popular online, it is not impossible to find a sponsor.
Q4.The term viral is thrown about adhoc but what does it mean in film/movie arena? Give some examples.
A) I remember when The Blair Witch Project became so popular throughout the internet in 1999. The producers of the movie created a website to give an impression to the audience that this is a real documentary film, and people started passing the link through MySpace and Email. It was the one of most sucessful viral marketing ploys of the movie industry.
Q5. 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.
It is a great idea to give more opportunities to show more content to the Grey's Anatomy fans. There are some people that love watching all the special contents of the DVD movies/TV shows after watching the main story (like me!), so this type of special episode will definately satisfy the fans. On the other hand, these webisodes are still not in great shape, I feel like. For example, this Grey's Anatomy webisodes are not showing the main characters of the show, and this obviously made it cheaper. It is OK quality, but not as good as the TV shows. This disapoints the audience, and might affect it negatively.
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This is all for the week. Have a lovely weekend!
Cheers!
This is an award winning musical tragicomedy short film. This film won seven awards including Creative Arts Emmy Award in 2009. The movie was made by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy. It was written during the Hollywood writer's strike in 2008, and he filmed this in only 6 days. (Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Squidoo, viewed 20/08/10, http://www.squidoo.com/Dr-Horrible)
I love Patrick Harris! He was great on Malcolm in the middle, too.
It is great to see a low budget but professional quality movie like this. It is a fun movie which is completely different from the blockbuster distributions. No one would go to see this if it was released at the movie theatre, but people love this because this movie is so suitable for Internet. People use the Internet for many different reasons, but they always love to see something short, easy and fun.
2) The Hire series by BMW (2001-2005)
BMW created the very high quality Internet short films using various popular actors and directors. Key producers of the series were included David Fincher, Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, and the directors were including John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Guy Ritchie and John Woo! This series of 8 movies won many awards, and the third one, 'The Follow', was shown at Cannes Film Festival in 2001 (TV & New Media : BMW Films : Press release, BMW North America, viewed 20/08/10, http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Uniquely/TVAndNewMedia/BMWFilmPressRelease.aspx).
Oh my gosh, Clive Owen is just gorgeous!
I like this "the Follow" best in the series, as every scene is so beautifully shot. It is almost like you can stop the movie anytime and just enjoy watching the picture. Another movie of the series, John Woo's 'Ambush' is pretty good, too. It is a typical John Woo action movie and so cooooool.
Every movie shows the beauty and the great ability of BMW cars quite effectively, and this makes the viewer really want a BMW. What a great promotion. BMW definitely showed the company and it's products go ahead of the appearance in a new media as well.
3) Pixels (2010)
There must be so many people have already seen this short film, as it is so viral on the web lately. It is made by Patrick Jean of One More Production. It was shot entirely with Canon 5D DSLR camera and shot in two days in NY! (Mottle, J. 2010, Interview with One More Production (Creator of Pixels), CGarchitect.com, viewed 20/08/10, http://www.cgarchitect.com/news/newsfeed.asp?nid=4889)
Wow. What a great short film! This reminds me the Mazda ads which use Lego blocks to create the fun pixel objects around the car, but this movie is heaps better. The pixel objects are so pop and well designed in this movie, and the contrast between the cute pixel objects and the horrible story such as the end of the world really makes this movie interesting. I like how it ends, too. The earth becomes one cool pixel. And the credits! I loved the way they showed all the credits like the old computer display.
It is also appropriating many cultural icons of pixel images from old video games such as Tetris, Packman, DonkeyKong and Invaders, so this relates to the next week's 'cultural jamming' issues as well.
Q) Answer these questions without using Google or Wikipedia, and then write your answers in an entry in your blog. Provide the URL (with the date you accessed it) of where you found the answer, and include extras like images, embedded videos, etc.
Well, let's begin!
1. What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
A) The weight is 203 tons when it's empty, the capacity is 365 tons, and maximum operating weight is 592 tons. It costs US 3.5 million dollars.
This is an earth-hauling dump truck designed by a German manufacturer. Even the engine itself weighs 10.5 ton, 90 litre diesel, which is producing 3650 horsepower (2700kW). It's 14.5m long and 7.4m tall. (nobertbermosa 2009, World's Largest Machines Ever Built, Bukisa,viewed 13/08/10, http://www.bukisa.com/articles/40463_worlds-largest-machines-ever-built)
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Ozzy Osborne?
A) contact his manager or agents.
Ozzy Osbourne's Manager:
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne Management
9292 Civic Center Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 310-859-7761
Ozzy Osbourne's Agents:
Ari Emanuel or Ari Greenburg
Endeavor Agency
9601 Wilshire Boulevard
3rd Floor
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Phone: 310-248-2000
Ozzy Osbourne's Music Agent:
Rob Light
Creative Artists Agency
2000 Avenue Of The Stars
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Phone: 424-288-2000
Ozzy Osbourne's legal representation:
Manatt Phelps & Phillips
11355 West Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: 310-312-4000
5. Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?
A) She is a Vocaloid character of the Vocaloid2 Character Vocal Series, developed by Crypton Future Media. She was firstly released on August 31, 2007.
She is the most popular Vocaloid which used to be just a voice synthesizer before Miku. Miku was released as a virtual idol, using a sweet voice. It became popular through Nico Nico Douga in Japan. (Miku Hatsune / Vocaloid (2007), Know Your Meme, viewed 13/08/10, http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/miku-hatsune-vocaloid)
6. Find a live web cam in Antarctica. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.
hmmmmm.......I would like to stay on 'Ocean Nova' which was built in Denmark with a spacious dining room, 37 outside cabins featuring private facilities, lounge and bar and glass-enclosed observation lounge..... oh, wait. I found a news article telling me this ship had struck rocks in 2009, though! Oh, no. No way. I don't think I need any Titanic experiences at all!
8. How would you define the term 'nano technology'? In your own words, what does it really mean?
A) Nano technology is the technology of nano size machines. A Nano meter is one billionth of a meter, smaller than cells and it is about the size of three or four atoms. The small nano scale machines have so much potential to bring both benefits and dangers. For example, it can be used for medical robots or untraceable weapons. (Nanotechnology Basics for Students, Center for Responsible Nanotechnology, viewed 14/08/10, http://www.crnano.org/basics.htm)
9. What type of camera is used to make ‘Google Street View’?
A) Immersive Media Camera
This small and light camera mounted on top of a VW Beetle in America (Karch , M 2007) and a Holden Astra in Australia (Moses, A 2008). The driver of the vehicle drove up and down nearly every street and captured 360 degree images at 30 frames per second (Karch , M 2007) .
hahaha. How crazy is that? Someone made a language for Star Trek and someone else dedicated himself to make a automatic translator for that. I cannot believe that a few people are even able to speak Klingon. Gee, get a life, people!
The Tutespark for week 3 is to find at least 3 (three) examples of digital devices that are not electronic. Preferably they should be communication technologies
In the lecture, we learnt about some old technologies. This is the one of the examples that the teacher explained.
Pianola!
What a machine! I have never seen a real one.
But I remember seeing this. Beautiful street organs.
I don't remember when and where, but I used to see a beautiful huge street organ larger than this one, hand operated by an old man. It was like a dreaming time to stand in front of this instrument for tiny kids like me. The sound, the design of the organ, everything was just beautiful.
And this one. Old cash register.
What a beautiful design! If I was a thief in this era, I would have stolen the register itself, and left the money.
These are all transforming code=digital information into the machine functions. Therefore, they are the analogue digital devices.
A couple days ago, we created a movie in the tutorial. Our group made a slide show movie called 'look out below'. The story is about a woman who stalked a girl and killed her and her friend! hahaha.
However, the sound we created did not uploaded along with the movie somehow??? And each caption we created was cut off......oh well, this isn't too bad for the first experience, though.
Look Out Below
(Note: this is only an image, and it is not linked to the original movie anymore from 3/11/10)
OK, OK, I know it's not that good. But think about the fact we only had two hours to do everything and we made this with a mobile phone.
But I wanted to try again, and I made another one.
Watch this. This should be heaps better.
the moon
These are the photos I took at Paradise Point. I love the beach there, especially in the late afternoon. There is a long walking path along the water, and it is always beautiful to feel the cool breeze in the summer time. The moon rises from the water often in the blue pink sky.
It was great fun to put photos together like this. I love taking photos, but I never thought I could put them together and form them into a different creation like this. Very inspiring. I started liking my communication studies for sure. Communication, reaching out to others, must be one of our fundamental desires.
Youtube is a great way to reach to the world. If you make a good movie and get outstanding ratings by viewers, all the other mass Medias like TVs and magazines start introducing the video clip as well. It is a significant promotional tool already, and many business and celebrities are utilising this communication tool. However, the greatest thing about Youtube is whoever it is, famous or infamous, investing huge money or $0, good or bad, we are all on the same stage and everyone has an equal opportunity. You just have to upload something outstanding. Wow. How come communist people have never invented something like this and the competitions among capitalism have brought us real and equal opportunities?
Week 2 lecture of the New Communication Technology was about the languages of the cinema. It was a great lecture for a keen photographer like me! He explained the all techniques to tell the story on the movie, and it is soooo useful for the regular photographs as well.
The lecture went like this:
Cine-Speak
Learning the Language of the cinema
Shot sizes
VLS/WS: Very Long Shot / Wide Shot - eg) a person standing in a scenery LS: Long Shot - eg) bit closer, but full size of a person in a scenery MLS: Medium Long Shot - eg) a person with his thighs and above MS: Mid Shot - eg) a person with his chest and above MCU: Medium Close Up - eg) a person with his shoulder and above CU: Close Up - eg) full size face BCU: Big Close Up - eg) close up of face but still you can see eyes, nose and mouth ECU: Extreme Close up - eg) only one eye
Shots as Words – shot sizes to explain 5W1H
Who - Close Up showing details of character
What – Mid Shot showing subject performing an action
Where – Long Shot also called Establishing Shot, showing beginning of a scene
When – both Wide Shot and Close Up showing time by sunset, or close up of the clock etc
Why – Big Close Up showing more about characters and their actions
How – Medium Close Up of a series of Close Ups showing evidence etc
Head Room
Head room is also important. It has to have enough head room, but not too much neither. When you have too much head room, it creates a meaning –eg short person etc
Talking room
As same as head room, talking room is also important. If the person is too close to the edge of the screen and not enough talking room, it seems like he is talking to the wall. If there is too much talking room, it looks like he has so much to talk about.
The rule of thirds
It is the basic good compositions. Object should be positioned on one third of the screen (horizontally or vertically).
The 180 degree rule
When shoot 2 people talking, draw a line between that 2 and shoot from one side of the 180 degree line. If you don’t, it seems like they have already finished the conversation.
Inserts and Cutaways
Extra information
Making a statement
Every shot needs to drive the narrative forward.
Wow. Very interesting, isn't it?
The suitable shot sizes for telling 5W1H were extremely useful to me. I will definitely use these techniques for my next News Photography assignment which is due for next week. Gosh I have 3 assignment due within a couple weeks.......
I've been thinking about the old and new communication technology' ..... and I think I've got the answer for the previous post. The relevant definition of new and old must be:
Old communication technology – before digital, computer and internet
New communication technology – after digital, computer and internet
This must be it!
Because the first week of my ‘New communication technology’ lecture was about following things.
What is communication?
Communication is any process that transfers, transmits or makes information known to other people (Nicholas, J 2010).
Communication occurs when someone/something tries to give some information to others. It started as face to face communication, and then people started using cave drawing as a one of primitive communication tools. People started to write words on rocks, papyrus, and then books, and invented radio and television. It has become more complex to reach people in the modern era, such as social networking. Now it is more interactive than before.
What is technology?
Technology is the scientific study of mechanical arts and their application to the world. (Nicolas, J 2010)
Technology is a tool which requires some electrical devices. Analogue technology used to use dials a lot as well as buttons. Old TVs, old radios, watches, room fans ........ they were always controlled by buttons. This can be another definition of Old and New technology, if they have dials or not!
Now digital technology is so dominant and everything is controlled by computers. Washing machines, microwave, fridge ...... it is very hard to find any electrical appliances that are not controlled by a motherboard of some sorts these days.
Shifting to digital is mostly good as devices became capable of many more things, but it can be bad in some cases. It became a lot harder to use them as there are now too many functions. Many older people do not know what all those buttons and functions on their remote control are for. The structure also became more complicated and it's harder to fix them. The local washing machine repairer cannot fix the newer washing machines by themselves as only manufacturer can fix the motherboard, and of course, the cost of repair became much more expensive.
It also diminished the tentativeness, especially from photographs and music. The music from an analogue player has distinctive warm sound as well as noise (people often prefer noise to complete noiseless), and the colour and texture of the film photo is much more sensitive.
It is considered that in these last ten years we had ‘convergence’ of the communication technology. All other communication technology are converging into the internet, different media are converging into multimedia and became interactive, and businesses are converging using the new technology.
What is Communication Technology?
Anything that aids us in communicating is communication technology from a simple smile to posting comments on youtube. There are Old and New Communication Technology. Old Communication technology can be verbal storytelling, Cave drawings, written languages such as books and news paper, morse code, radio and TV. New communication technology is things such as mobile phones including text messages, Email, internet forums, chats, blogs, Youtube, Flickr, Twitter, and social networking such as Facebook.
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