Production Progress

Week 7; Post 2

This week, due to sickness and absentees last week our group was formed and the ideas began to roll out. I am in a group with three others. This week we decided what we were going to film, how we were going to film it and what we should edit it on afterwards. The first problem we hit was deciding on what our idea should be, however we ultimately decided on an idea that would be simple to film, around the campus. It would be focusing on interactions, with nature, people, animals and technology. The protagonist would simply walk around, smell the flowers, talk to friends, feed the birds, and look on Facebook. A problem that we did have was coming up with what we should use to film the project. We could have used a handy cam, however that seems too professional, especially when our idea revolves around everyday life. Alternatively we had the choice of one of two options, the HD video camera that is a feature of the iPhone 4, or the video camera of one of the other group members DSLR camera. It was decided that it is most likely that we would use the DSLR camera, however we would make the final decision on the day. We did not make a decision on the editing software that we would use, however due to the fact that there are Macintosh computers in the computer lab that we work in, it is most likely we will use iMovie. It is most likely we will not use Final Cut, predominantly due to how complicated it is, and it does not suit the project, as it is only 30 seconds to a minute long. 

Issues In The Lecture

Issues in the Lecture
Week 7; Post 1

*How is Wikipedia useful?
Wikipedia is not only an extremely useful tool for knowledge, but it is used for a multitude of other features. These may include finding pictures, finding links to more reputable sites, finding names or just looking up random facts. Although it may be argued that wikipedia is only useful for trivial searches, that require no reference or the like, it is extremely useful as a first step. For instance when looking for information an a particular subject, that you have no prior knowledge of, wikipedia is a helpful first step on your quest. Furthermore it is efficient in the fact that on topics that may change frequently, the information can be edited to reflect its current position and information. However wikipedia is never an alternative for a peer reviewed source, as it can be misleading and falsified.*Has anyone here edited Wikipedia? How hard is it?
Apparently editing wikipedia is easy and hassle free, this indicates that information can be falsified with ease. however it also means that people who are passionate about sharing correct information are not deterred by any lengthy initiation or validity checks.* Why does Facebook work?
Facebook just works because it has built a network that now has so many points of access and information it is hard to be without it. You can access it on your phone, on your computer and your iPad & iPod Touch, and you can even edit Facebook through text message and email. Furthermore, with the vast amounts of people that look and share everyday, it is much simpler to post information, a question or a request on someones 'Wall' that trying to send a text message or have a phone conversation, especially when the reply is not urgent. It is also really effective at organising parties and events, in that you can simply invite all your friends with the click of a button. And most importantly; It's FREE!* What would it take for you to close down your Facebook account?
For myself to cancel my Facebook account would require a life or well being threatening situation or a fee charged. If i knew that someone was stalking me, or my family or someone was trying to force information about my whereabouts or contact details I would close my account. If Facebook was to start charging a fee, say even $5 a year, it would not be the cost that would deter me, rather the hassle of trying to pay, either by setting up a credit card or etc. However, if myspace is any indication of the implications of an overworked and unorganised system, Facebook may (or may not) meet the same fate as its once popular predecessor. It has already been noticed that more 'creeps' and 'weirdos' have made their way to the social network. Although, having said that, it does seem to be that Facebook has set-up pretty strong precautions and safety measures to ensure that it is a friendly environment, such as selecting who can see your posts etc.
* Is citizen journalism the end of traditional journalism?
I believe that citizen journalism and traditional journalism are two entirely separate categories. One, for the trivial and opinionated world, the other for the professional and 'real' world. citizen journalism is purely the medium for countless opinions and biased information, that ultimately, people who agree, are going to want to read. Whereas professional journalism is (meant to be) unbiased and purely a medium to state the cold hard facts. therefore I believe that they will continue to co-exist as similar, but not identical mediums of the news. 

Production tools

Production Tools

Well this week marks the beginning of a small production task, however as I was unable to attend the tutorial this week I will not be able provide the details of my idea, however today I will provide an insight to the usefulness of the websites offered in this weeks tutorial.

iMovie;

As a mac user (an fan) iMovie is at the top of the list. Not only is it easy for me to access, but it is one of the easiest movie making software packages to use, ever.

iMovie works with a basic 'Raw footage' and 'Project' window, of which the user simply has to drag the selected clips or segments to add them to the project. If one wishes to access the audio, visual or duration elements of the film it is as simple as clicking a button, and dragging whatever you want into the film. iMovie comes standard with basic audio and visual effects, as well as inbuilt themes, backgrounds and text animations.

Overall it is the small film makers dream.

Movie Maker | Xtranormal

This type of software would be excellent as an alternative to physically getting out there and filming. However, I am a passionate film student and take pleasure in getting the camera and playing around with shots. Although this type of animations seems to be cheap. If this type of software was to be used, it would be more efficient as a storyboard tool.

YouTube video editor

this type of video editing would be ideal for a really simple video, where audio and visual effects are not important, nor is precision editing. Although this may be good for some people, editing on the internet can sometimes cause problems, with unsaved work being deleted and bugs corrupting data.

At the end of the day I am more than likely to use iMovie than anything else.

The Internet and the Film Industry

The Internet and the Film Industry

Metophorically speaking, technology is sinking sand. The more you struggle against it, and its awesome power, the more it will suck you down, to meet your untimely demise. However, if you relax and embrace the sludge, you will eventually find your self back on your feet. The revolutionary and more often than not, beneficial advancements of our new era of technology must be embraced, for those who refuse, will inevitably get left behind. "Up to this point, the attitude of the film industry toward the Net has been one of skepticism and, to an extent, envy, says Michael Comish, managing director for AtomFilms Europe, which broadcasts short films online."

(Technology How has the Internet affected the film industry 2000)

The film industry like any other is constantly evolving, spawning from an ingenious invention by Thomas Edison. The "Kinetoscope, launched in 1894, [which] became the first moving picture apparatus offered for sale, and provided the inspiration for the leading European inventors,Robert Paul and the Lumière brothers." (Christie, I) 

After that It grew rapidly, evolving through the eras of silent film, to the talkies, eventually embracing colour to wind up as 3D, full High Defenition, 7.1 Surround Sound systems with fully integrated and rendered CGI, in nearly every home. As you can see, in just a brief overview of it's history, film has always and will always utilise technology as it becomes available. So why is the internet different? 

Predominantly the internet is cause for concern as the home of thieves, with millions of people on the search for free content, it's only a matter of time before that content is a multi million dollar film, "if the free content...is a real movie, we have a problem. The production of even a half-decent film takes highly significant financial and human resources — civilians cannot even imagine just how expensive, time-consuming and labor-intensive it is to make a film of any kind. And all it takes to destroy it is an illegal Internet upload." (LAvideofilmaker, 2009)

However, it has been clearly proven that with the correct precautions and programming, the internet can be utilised as, undoubtedly, THE BIGGEST distribution channel in the WORLD. One such example is netflix, however film studios do not seem to embrace it either.

"As Netflix continues to grow in both audience and content, Hollywood film executives are feeling more and more threatened. " (Kaiser, T 2011)

"In the past year alone, the number of subscribers to Netflix has increased 66 percent. The video-rental company has even pushed competitors like Blockbuster and Movie Gallery to file for bankruptcy protection."(Kaiser, T 2011)

So why are film executives scared?

"Film executives believe Netflix is having other impacts on the movie industry ... For instance, movies on Netflix lose value more quickly than those that don't because "Netflix takes scarcity out of the equation" by offering movies to users anytime they want. In addition, film execs say Netflix discourages users from buying new releases. Disc sales are decreasing annually, and 30 to 50 percent of DVD's are still in their original shrink-wrap."(Kaiser, T 2011)

Basically put, studios that refuse to utilise this distribution channel are only looking at the negatives, for example, had they simply used netflix, what they missed out in new release sales, they would have made up for in the extremely wider channel of customers that they reached. 

In conclusion, just as technology has been embraced before, the internet is no different, and will ultimately offer more positives than negatives.

Technology How has the Internet affected the film industry 2000, viewed 01 September 2011, <http://articles.cnn.com/2000-05-15/tech/film.and.web.idg_1_cannes-film-festival-film-industry-sightsound-com?_s=PM:TECH>

Christie, I, Who's Who if Victorian Cinema, viewed 01 September 2011, <http://www.victorian-cinema.net/edison.htm>

LAvideofilmmaker 2009, The film industry and the internet do not get along, weblog,  August 18, viewed 01 september 2011, <http://www.lavideofilmmaker.com/blog/2009/08/18/the-film-industry-and-the-internet-do-not-get-along/>

Kaiser, T 2011, Hollywood executives fear Netflix impact on film industry, viewed 01 September 2011, <http://www.dailytech.com/Hollywood+Executives+Fear+Netflixs+Impact+on+Film+Industry/article21075.htm>

Questions From the lecture...

Week 5; Post 2

This week we delved into the crazy world of film, and how filmmakers use its uniques methods and conventions to tell stories and convey meanings. But a question that has arisen is 'why do we like what we watch on screen?' and 'How does watching movies help us?' 

'Why do we like what we watch on screen?'

As the Clapperboard states, we as a human audience not only looks for what is said and done, rather what isn't said or done. This concept in effect has caused the birth of a great genre known as drama. With our keen eyes we are able to identify the subtext within a film, and in doing so we keep entertained seeing tension, romance and an array of other emotions swell, through viewing shots that are blatantly showing us what we need to see, as opposed to reality where it may be missed simply by blinking. "Subtext is the meaning behind the words, the emotions within the speech. As the prefix suggests the subtext is hidden below the text."(Subtext: The Meaning Behind The Words, 2011) In seeing this hidden text, we are able to mentally establish the characters point of view, of which in turn allows us to see the significance of the changes they are experiencing. “Such character developments are used to express a central concept or a theme” (Exploring the meaning of Movies). This leads me to my second question,

‘How does watching movies help us?'

Through the clever manipulation of subtext, the audience can establish what is happening to the character, this in turn reveals the moral or message to the story. “...a popular theme has been characters building up the courage to overcome their own self-doubt in order to achieve” (Exploring the meaning of Movies).Through the appropriate use of characters personalities and events, we, as the audience, are ushered into relating to the characters and their predicament. Once this connection has been achieved it is more than likely that any message or theme of the story will have an emotional effect on the audience, often feeling empathy toward the character and their achievements. It is this inspiration that helps viewers in their daily escapades. 

Tutorial Tasks

Week 5; Post 1
Tutorial Questions; Scavenger Hunt
Where was the first University established and in which year?

The answer to this question is determined by how one defines the term university. If, by university, one means an institute that issues certificates of education then you would be looking within the era of the 1100's. However instates that were simply established to teach, without the pressures of certification, date as far back as 300BC. "the oldest universities are headed up by the University of Nanjing, in China, founded around 258 BCE. It was only formally termed a “university” in 1888, but it has offered education to Chinese without the issuance of formal degrees for centuries." (Smith, S 2011) However In an academic article, found through the griffith university library, I discovered that medieval, no specific date, europe was the first to operate an institution, fitting of the term 'University'. To answer this question I used the library search engine and the ask search engine.
Smith, S 2011, What are the oldest universities in the world, viewed 23 August 2011, <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-oldest-universities-in-the-world.htm>
Altbach, P & Forest, J 2006, 'History of Universities', International Handbook of Higher Education, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 159.

What is Stephen Stockwell's band called and what does he play?  Can you name a couple of their songs?
Ask.com - Stephen Stockwell band
I found this information by initially searching in the engine ASK. After that i was linked to the page "http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas.htm", of which then provided the link to the official page of the band "http://www.blackassassins.net/Lyrics.html"
Stephen Stockwell played the keyboards and did the vocals in the punk band called the Black Assassins. 
The list of Songs are as follows:

ASIO*

Drugs*

Beggin' The Bullet

Death Comes To Townsville*

Death Take Me Now*

Fear & Loathing In Toowomba

FMFMD*

Going To The Wedding

Hanging Toads

Iranian Massacre

Multinational Corporate Lifestyle*

Pain Barrier*

Painters &Dockers Blues

Planet X*

Raspberry Cordial Blues

Screaming From The Watchhouse

Run Ronie Run*

Stompetition

Summary Offenses Act

SWAPO*

This State Must Pass

White Lies

Azaria*

Barricades

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

The worlds largest machine is the Large Hadron Collider. "It is big and it is clever. Woven from enough wire to stretch to Saturn, the Large Hadron Collider is the world's biggest scientific instrument, and perhaps the most complex engineering project ever attempted." (Battersby, S 2011)
"The Large Hadron Collider is nearly 30 years in the making - and costs the member countries of CERN and other participating countries an estimated €4.6 billion (about US$ 6.4 billion)." (10 things about the large hadron collider you wanted to know but were too afraid to ask, 2008)
I found this information through the ask search engine, and was ultimately directed to the first website, that then provided a link to the second website containing the cost information of the machine. The sites are reputable science information sources, so I trust that it is unbiased and real.
Battersby, S 2011, The Worlds Biggest Machine, viewed 23 August 2011, <http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20159-the-worlds-biggest-machine.html>
10 things about the large hadron collider you wanted to know but were too afraid to ask, 2008, viewed 23 August 2011, <http://www.neatorama.com/2008/09/12/10-things-about-the-large-hadron-collider-you-wanted-to-know-but-were-afraid-to-ask/>

Who is Justin Bieber's lawyer, and what is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact the lawyer?

Although it may sound to simple, with this question is simply typed into the Ask search engine 'Justin Beiber lawyer' and the top hit was for the Scooter Braun website. Out of curiosity I clicked the link, only to discover that it actually was the right lawyer. Scooter Braun was the firm that represented Beiber from the beginning, they were responsible for connecting Beiber and Usher.
http://scooterbraun.com/


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

If booked well in advance a flight wold cost approximately $85 at the lowest possible class. If one was to drive, at the current fuel prices of 131.9, travelling approx 1718.8 km's on an average fuel consumption of 0.093 litres per kilometre, it would cost $223.78 in fuel to drive. To take the train would cost $141.22 in the economy class of two separate trains, after firstly being transported to the train station via bus. So I thinks the answer is obvious, the cheapest way to travel would be to ride a bike. But if thats not your strong point then flying is the cheapest way.
Flight costs- Jetabroad
http://www.jetabroad.com.au/Flights/OOL-MEL-25-Aug-11/1Adult
Fuel costs- Motor Mouth
http://motormouth.com.au/pricesearch.aspx?Region=Gold%20Coast
Distance calculator - bing maps
http://www.bing.com/maps/
car fuel consumption specs- Cars guide
http://www.carsguide.com.au/search/specs-search/
train timetable & information - Country Link
http://www.countrylink.info/



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

Miku Hatsune (初音ミク)

Age: 16
Birthday: 31st August
Zodiac: Virgo
Height: 158 cm (5'2")
Weight: 42 kg (92.4 lbs)
(Fanmade) Character Item: Welsh/Spring Onion
She belongs to Crypton Future Media. 

I got this information through these sites found with the ask search engine. 
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Hatsune_Miku
http://myanimelist.net/character/7156/Miku_Hatsune


Find a live webcam in Belarus. 
I found a live webcam on a site called Webcam Galore. It had a live webcam in Minsk - Belarus.


Find a place to stay in Antarctica.

I was unable to find anywhere that offers hotel accommodation, however this site - Antarctica Dream offers camping expeditions to multiple antarctica locations. They are in the mid $6000 to high $9000 range, Spanning from a week to two weeks.


What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1991?

unfortunately, I was unable to locate the charts for this week exactly in 1991, however I was able to find, via  the aria charts website the charts for that year. The top song was 'Everything I Do, I Do It For You' by Bryan Adams. 
http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1991.htm


What type of car is used to make ‘Google Street View’?
After searching the web for a while it became apparent that google doesn't use any one kind of car, it uses all different vehicles, including sedans, wagons and 4WD's. 


Translate these questions into Spanish and then translate them back into English.

Spanish

¿Dónde estaba la Universidad estableció por primera vez y en qué año?
¿Qué es la banda de Stephen Stockwell se llama y qué hace el juego?¿Puede usted nombrar un par de sus canciones?
¿Cuál es el peso de la máquina más grande del mundo? ¿Cuánto cuesta construir?
¿Quién es el abogado de Justin Bieber, y lo que es la mejor manera (más rápido, más fiable) ponerse en contacto con el abogado?
¿Cuál es la forma más barata de viajar desde la Costa de Oro a Melbourne?
¿Quién es Hatsune Miku? ¿Qué compañía no pertenecen a ella? ¿Cuál es su cumpleaños?
Encontrar una webcam en vivo en Bielorrusia. Encontrar un lugar para quedarse en la Antártida.
¿Qué canción fue la parte superior de las listas de pop de Australia esta semana en el año 1991?
¿Qué tipo de vehículo se utiliza para hacer 'Google Street View'?
Traducir estas preguntas en español y luego traducir de nuevo en Inglés.

Back to English

Where was the first established University and in what year?

What is the band Stephen Stockwell called and what makes the game? Can you name a couple of their songs?
What is the weight of the world's largest machine? What does it cost to build?
Who is Justin Bieber's attorney, and what is the best way (faster, more reliable) to contact the lawyer?
What is the cheapest way to travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does not belong to it? What is yourbirthday?
Find a live webcam in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.
What song was top of the pop charts in Australia this week in 1991?
What kind of vehicle is used to 'Google Street View'?
Translate these questions in Spanish and then translated back into English.

Facebook, Rules and Restrictions

Week 4; Post 2

The general terms of Facebook basically provide a list of rules and restriction designed to best protect the safety of users, their information, the wellbeing of their computer and experience on Facebook. The terms cover such items as

• You are not allowed to share, publish, sell or marginalize content or information of any other user
• You are not allowed to sell the content of your account (for advertising purposes)
• You must be of certain age, give correct personal information and you must not be a convicted sex offender.
• You may not use Facebook as a means to carry a malicious virus or trojan virus, harass other users and post advertising or obscene material.

Although the list goes on, unless the user posts a virus, or link to a virus, or obscene material online, there is a very slim chance that the admin team of Facebook would actually find your wrong doing. For example lying when providing your personal information; there is no way Facebook can dispute the identity you have given unless it has been trademarked. 

Facebook has the right to collect your personal information, including your activity on the site and minor details about your computer, such as the IP address, however they may not give that information to anyone. The information you provide on you account ‘wall’ is available for everyone to see, unless you have opted for a higher privacy setting.

The predominant privacy setting on the Facebook site are controllable by the user. That means that they can choose whether their ‘friends’, ‘friends of friends’ or anyone can see the content that they post. For information that has no privacy settings, such as the display picture, Facebook had provided guidelines of what they may do in the case that they do not wish to share such information. 

Overall Facebook merely uses the information that you provide to show more relevant advertising, make the post from friends that you see more relevant, make the overall experience of Facebook faster and smoother and provide relevant links to other areas of Facebook.