Digital Technology and the film industry

1. Production - how has digital technology changed the way films are shot? How has it made the process more creative? -Digital technology means that filmakers are able to view what they have shot on set, whilst still filming, instead of having to watch what they have filmed later during production so using physical film means that you can't insure you get a good shot in production format. Also when filimf with digital cameras it eliminates some of the porblems that can be found when using physical film, such as electronic jittering and gate-weave. There are further steps that must be taken wehn using physical film such as the transfer of all the film to video medium, and when transferring the film to digital media each frame must be positioned perfectly in referance to the other frames. Every extra step that must be taken with physical film adds to the overall production cost and the length of time it takes for the production. The introduction of digital technology eliminates many of these extra steps and offers a cost effective solution that creates the same visual experience for the viewer. Digital technology makes lots of effects work a lot easier, such as keying out wires, and visual set work, meaning the process can be more effective and complicated but be produced just as easily. 2. Distribution - how do we access films now? How do the films get distributed to the cinemas? How is this changing?

-Digital technnology nowadays means that we can access films through DVDs instead of VHS or having to go and see them at the cinema. DVDs allow the viewer to skip scenes, flick back and pause the film which were things that you could not do so efficeintly with VHS. Our cinema experience has also changed with the introduction of 3D movies and surround sound. Also our home cinema environments have improved so we can have the same experience of the cinema in the more comfortable surroundings of our own homes.

3. Exhibition - how do we experience films? Is the cinema experience changing? Is it under threat with home cinema technology?

-I don't think that the cinema is under threat from the new home cinema technologies because the cinemas still show the films before we can buy or rent them on DVD so if a person wants to see a film they will still go to see it at the cinema. Also our home cinemas will never be as big as the actual cinema so it is not as much of a spectacle so you dont get the same atmosphere when in a using the new home cinema technology.

Websites i researched on:

http://www.highdef.com/library/Digital_Film.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_%28place%29

Feedback #1

George, you have some interesting findings here so far, but you are missing the film industry research task. You will need to complete this during the first week back.

Moral Panics and Concerns with Online Technology

Some of the moral concerns with the continually developing digital world are things such as what is classed as real, and what is classed as not. For example, in the MMORPG Second Life there are areas where you can engage in inappropriate activities such as having sex with children. The problem is that Second Life isnt real, so should this be treated as a crime, or just a game? If it is treated as inappropriate there is the further question of how far you have to go for the police to get involved. I believe that these issues will be solved as this technology progresses and gets more complex.

What is the Future for Online Technology?

Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/dec/03/mondaymediasection.internet 1. Who is Chris De Wolfe and what does he say is the future for social networking? What impact will portable hardware have on this area of technology?

• Chris De Wolfe is one of the co-founders and CEOs of the massive continually expanding social networking site that is myspace.com.
• He believes that social networking will become ever more personal and ever more portable, stating that half the future social network traffic will come from non-PC users.
• He also thinks that social netowkring sites are driving the web forward, and helping other industries as the sites become more and more collaborative with industrys such as music and advertisement.
• Wolfe says that "Social activity is happening everywhere and we expect applications and features to be more fluid" meaning that as more and more people join these social networks, the networks themselves will have to cater for each individuals needs by making more applications and features available to the user.
• This will require more collaboration from other internet sites and communitys such as thw widget community and online flash games. For example, Youtube has collaborated with the social network sites Bebo and now the user can choose a video from youtube to feature on their personal profile.
• "Supporting a more collaborative web creates a more global and participatory internet experience for everyone."

2. Who is Chad Hurley and what does he say is his company's goal? Is he a positive or negative technological determinist?

• Chad Hurley is the a CEO and co-founder of the video broadcasting site Youtube which lets users upload their own videos.
• Chad says that within 5 years video broadcasting will be the most accessible form of communication, you will be able to access it on any screen "in your living room or in your pocket" and it will bring together all aspects of diverse media, with videos from music to cooking, to videos of your familys and friends.
• He also states that the tools available for video recording will continue to get smaller, cheaper and easier to use, increasing the range of users who will be able to record and upload videos to Youtube.
• Youtubes goal is to make uploading videos to Youtube as easy as making a simple phonecall, and in the next 5 years the world wil become a smaller place.

3. What does Maurice Levy say is the challenge for advertisers and what is 'liquid media' compared to 'linear media'?

• Online advertising will still depend on what has always been at the heart of impactful advertising, in both analogue and digital forms; creativity.
• Maurice says that the challenge for advertisers is that peple are no longer willing to put up with interuptions during their entertainment experience, and do not want to see commercial breaks, so the advertising companies have to continue to come up with more imaginative and creative ways to advertise their products.
• "This implies a brave new world of engagement and involvement between marketers and consumers and will also mean co-production between marketers and media owners."

4. What parallels does Norvig draw between Edison inventing electricity and the development of online technology in terms of searching for information?

Norvig is suggesting that electricity is an extremely important thing in modern life, and that almost everything we do depends on some sort of electronic item that we are aided by, and in the same way the internet will one day evolve far enough for us to depend on it in everything we do, and it will be able to aid us to do pretty much anything we need.

5. What are the issues for the developing world? How is this evidence of a 'digital divide'?

Fears are that as we continue to develop and thrive in the new digital world, rural areas in places such as Africa will not be able to get the same digital equipment due to poor infrastructure and not having enough money. As we are likely to continue creating new online communities and digital aids, that these rural areas will be left behind in these developments and become alienated and divided from the rest of the world.

The key issues for Audiences and Institutions

Digitality: A new way of encoding information using binary, meaning that a huge amount of information can be stored and dealt with using a tiny code. Interactility: New ways of streaming compressed information, that means mulitple strand of information can be compressed and sent through the air, ISDN cables, telephone cables and cable sattelite systems. This feed is interact, meaning you can interact with it and respond to it, meanign we can upload and download. Hypertextuality: To do with the organisation in text, no longer linear, so you can jump around the text instead of having to go through it all to get where you want, for example with a dvd you can now skip scenes instead of having to fast forward through it all. Dispersal: How the information can be shared and communicated, to do with the market share and who is using the market, and how the producers target the users of their markets. Virtuality: To do with how real something is, what is representational and what is real, for example second life is mimicing real life but it is not real. Convergence: New media technologies are merging with each other, for example phones now containing music players, browsers, and cameras. This is constantly changing, but where will it go next?

Online Magazines...

"An online magazine is a magazine that is delivered in an electronic form. An online magazine may be online-only, or may be the online version of an otherwise print-published magazine. Today, most online magazines are Internet websites. An online magazine that caters to a niche or special interest subject matter, i.e. a zine, is referred to as an ezine (usually pronounced "e-zeen"). An ezine that appears on the World Wide Web is called a webzine, although webzine may also refer to all online magazines. Other names include cyberzine and hyperzine. For web sites that represent an existing print magazine, the web site is usually referred to as " Online", whereas an online only magazine is often titled " Online Magazine"."

Taken from wikipedia

Zinio is a company providing digital magazine distribution for popular magazines in a digital format. You can find lots more information about Zinio on this website

Zinio Magazine Reader

I have also found an article about digital magazines from the New York Times. safe

Hello!

so yeah ive totlally got a blog, and its way better than hugos.