New Communication Technologies Video File

This is the final cut of my NCT movie. Its taken a while to  get everything working but its all here now so i hope you all enjoy it. I dont own the rights to these videos but it is produced under fair use for educational purposes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMVOjNzgSA0.

Week 9 Tutorial task 1: Essay Plan

Topic: Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people. What are the most recent papers? Clarify what both sides of the argument claim and only then offer your reasoned opinion based on facts.

Progress so far: Not much progress on it so far. currently investigating information on some behavior of people who use video games too much. So far though I have seen a lot of  publications. as an interesting counterpoint not many REAL studies have been done on the correlation of this. http://www.gamestudies.org/0102/squire/. The aforementioned article has some interesting points on how the studies that have been done so far on this topic have actually proven the opposite. Are the studies that make video games appear to cause violence using the wrong questions and test conditions or is the real cause of the violence something that already existed in someone before they played a game? Other problems to consider is obesity amongst gamers and just what is being done about it. E.G, Nintendo Wii, Xbox Kinect, Playstation Move.

Week 8 Tutorial Task 2: Progress on the Video

Significant progress has been made on this project thus far. At this point the first compile of the video has been made and while i do not own the rights to the images used in this video it is assembled under the Fair use for Education and Academic purposes clause. It has been compiled using Windows Live Movie Maker. I have to apologise for the hard coded subtitles in some of the clips due to a limitation of the program im using to create as it is unable to properly compile video files out of Matroska Video File(mkv) format videos. I am also intending to add a short sound track in during the central part of this clip but i have not yet completed that part as yet. For those interested in seeing what i have done thus far with the clip you can see the video clip as it currently stands on this link below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27htqC2-VIA

I will upload an improved variant with the soundtrack by next week so please stay tuned to for the final work of this. I must admit that this is proving quite a challenge and I am loving it so this may not be the only movie i make but it may be a while until I do another one after this.

This particular video file is to bring across a message that i find important. I have a very low view on people who go out of their way to peek on women and i have noticed that its almost a large fan culture in some countries. So i would like to use some of the footage that supports this culture to go the other way in this short clip. In my mind its a very short step from looking in on someone in a situation where they are not at their best  to putting them in a worse situation for your own gain.

Week 8 Tutorial Task 1: Open Source software

This week was all about open source software and creative commons led by Adam Muir. For this discussion I will be reporting back on my experiences with some video players. I now use VLC media player for viewing video files on my computer. In the past i had used the more standard Windows Media Player for my viewing needs but i started to get annoyed at it. As newer video technologies became available more and more often i found myself having to download larger codec packs for the program and it never seemed to work quite properly. From dual audio animation where it would play both audio tracks at once to jumpy and distorted video files from the newer divx and xvid video types. I found myself at an impasse until a friend told me of a open source media player that handled all of these types of video file without needing codec packs. Needless to say i was stunned and thrilled.

Without even doing any research which i now admit was incredibly foolish i went out and grabbed the latest variant of the vlc media player which at the time was still in beta testing and fully expecting a 50 meg or higher download( I was on 56k dial up at the time) i was stunned to see the player was a tiny 5 megs to download. It was basic, but all of the codecs that where released at the time where included in it. Hesitantly i went for a troublesome dual audio file i had at the time and loaded it up and i was stunned. It had only loaded one of the two soundtracks and the subtitles track was clearly visible as well. Sadly it was running the Japanese sound track and well i cant speak Japanese so i was confused as all hell how to get this to work. 5 minutes later i had found a simple menu that allowed me to change the soundtrack from Japanese to English and also a menu to turn the subtitles off as i didn't need them for the English audio. I was hooked.

A little down the track and a few updates later i wondered who had created this marvel of software and for a product this excellent why was it free? I found out it was created as open source software by a group of students who where as annoyed as i was at the codec problems of the more mainline players. Since those early beta days this player has evolved a number of times yet it still retains its minimalistic look, will play any video file that you can think of. Its still free software and I happily use it at home for everything from mkv dual audio files, avi files, xvid .264 files and DVDs. I have yet to find a file that wasnt completely corrupted that vlc will not play.

Week 7 Tutorial Exercise 1: How is Wikipedia useful

Wikipedia is useful as a free access encyclopedia which is not restricted by the time frame that is prevalent in all printed encyclopedia's. In those it can take 3 years for an item to be published verified and then printed and on the shelves in either a library or your own bookshelves. Wikipedia has this information immediately available but this comes at a cost. Wikipedia does not have the same standing as other encyclopedias due to the fact that its harder to verify the information on it. Also anyone can edit Wikipedia which may end up in abuse of the site.

Wikipedia however it may be frowned upon in a scholarly way due to the ease of change to it can be an excellent starting place for an assignment or guide on a topic. I have used Wikipedia a few times to point me in a direction i had not considered before when stuck on a topic for an assessment. Wikipedia if used correctly as a guide can be a great asset for a student these days but it can not be used as a reference tool.

Week 7 Tutorial Post 2 - Progress on videoclip

On the topic of the video clip i have chosen a series of clips from a couple of animation shows involving hot springs. Of major note in this list is Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny, Kenichi the Mightiest Disciple, Full Metal Panic Fumoffu and Love Hina. Now that i have the episodes and points that i wish to use located i just need to find a program that works for me to cut the clips out and put them together in an order i can use for my topic of "Murphy visits a hot spring".

Week 6 Tutorial exercise 2: Exploring Cheap AV production tools

My basic context for the short video is "Murphy at a hot spring". Its an idea of what can go wrong by taunting Murphy's Law by a repair technician in a hot spring. At this current point I am looking at using either Pinnacle's Video spin or you tube's video editor to achieve a short disaster clip on this topic. Stay posted for more information on what I will be using.

Week 6 Tutorial Exercise 1: is the internet killing hollywood

Hollywood is having trouble adapting to the internet due to the anonymity that is afforded to the everyday person. This then allows for easy distribution of illegal copies of movies which then reduces the profits that the big studios in Hollywood. It benefits the smaller studios as it will let them get awareness out there of their products. Hollywood needs to look into ways to distribute their products in a similar sort of format to iTunes as a way to combat the trend of  illegal downloads. In some cases illegal pirate copies of films can be available before the movie is in the cinema. As a possible way to combat this why not sell rights to watch the movie over the internet earlier than release or on release date? If Hollywood studios where to sit down and think about the possible benefits of this system or utilize the new internet TV's appearing nowadays to create a true home cinema experience it may revitalize the studios.

Week 5 Task 2: Scavenger Hunt

1. The first University established is that of the University of Bologna, Spain which was founded in the late 11th century. I found this information on the Encyclopedia Brittanica website on the following link on the 26th of August 2011. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/618194/university/284212/Early-universities

2. Stephen Stockwell's band is called The Black Assassins. He played the keyboard and was also a vocalist. Some of their songs included Death take me now, ASIO, Run Ronnie Run and Death comes to Townsville among others. http://members.optusnet.com.au/~toxicoh/blackas.htm 26/8/2011

3. The Largest machine in the world is the Hadron Collider in overall size but the heaviest machine i can find reference too is the Krupp Digging machine which weighs in at a collossal 45,500 tons. http://www.oddee.com/item_97210.aspx 26/8/2011


4. Justin Bieber's Lawyer is Kenneth Feinswog but i am unable to find his contact details. i located his name on the following link http://www.aceshowbiz.com/news/view/w0006112.html 26/8/2011

5. The cheapest one way flight from the Gold Coast to Melbourne that i have been able to find costs $89 and is available on www.airfaresflights.com.au i found this information on the 26/8/2011

6. Hatsune Miku is a 3d Hologram owned by Crypton Future Media. I'm not sure what her birthday is unfortunately as this is one interesting use of future technology. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/11/japanese-pop-star-takes-the-stage-as-a-3-d-hologram.html 26/8/2011

7. Live webcams in belarus can show many things. the link provided here and accessed on the 26/8/2011 show tourist cites around the city http://www.camscape.com/Europe/Belarus/index.html. Come tour Antartica with Antartic Dream Tours http://www.antarcticdream.com/en/index.html

8. The number one song in australia on the 26th August 1991 was Brian Adam's Everything i do, I do it for You. http://www.take40.com/music/number-ones/date?day=26&month=7&searchYear=1991&Search.x=44&Search.y=13 26/8/2011

9. The google street view cars where Volkswagon New Beetles. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/01/take-a-look-at-the-vehicle-thats-taking-a-look-at-you/ 26/8/20122

Week 5 Task 1: How does the film "Rubber" utilise the elements of screenplay in its first act

The main character of the film Rubber is a tire with psychic powers. The film however starts with a deserted street in the middle of nowhere with chairs which where then destroyed by a car knocking them down. Following this a police office got out of the boot, retrieved a glass of water and proceeded to give a treatise on the use of "no reason" in films. The first act then shows an audience with a variation of people from a child dragged to the movie by his father too a pair of know it all film buffs. The tire then awakens and starts to learn to move. The tire itself is a diversion from film norms in where the primary character is human based or at least able to speak the language of the films viewers e.g. English. The tire then proceeds to learn how to move and mastering that then starts to learn what it can do. After squashing a water bottle and a scorpion it comes across a beer bottle which it cant squash. From this point it learns how to use psychic powers to shatter the bottle and then proceeds to continue using this power. Music is heard during its second psychic power usage which is then revealed to be coming from a car driving nearby. the tire then starts to follow this car as a possible love interest until it is hit by another car. After recovering from being hit it then proceeds to follow the 2 vehicles and exacts revenge with its psychic attack on the second cars driver. During the leadup to this point we also see other things from the audience to display a sense of time elapsed. The audience had to stay on location overnight and where woken up by the usher and realised that none of them had food.

NCT Week 4 Post 2

For this task i chose Facebook as the social network site. In the ToS agreement anything you post on Facebook is owned by you but Facebook has the right to remove anything that would be of offensive content to other users, or any posts that may be deemed to incite riots or similar discontent that may be illegal. Facebook can also backup your content for a period of time in the event that you delete the content after use of the web site is ended. They have privacy regulations that seems to have been significantly relaxed in recent years as is visible on the charts listed here on http://mattmckeon.com/facebook-privacy/ . This may be partly due to recent events happening in regards to global security issues and intelligence communities.

There is also an indemnity clause in the ToS to say that Facebook is not legally responsible for any activities a user posts that may be considered illegal to the government where they live, e.g. inciting riots, planning bank robberies, organizing lynch mobs etc... This is to ensure that the owners of the website are not held responsible for one persons misdeeds therefore punishing everyone else who would use the site the way it was intended to be used.

I don't have any major concerns about this myself as I don't really use social networking websites very often but it makes sense to not be held liable for everyone out there who makes an offensive post

NCT Tutorial 4 Post 1

In this post we have to choose a topic from a listing provided by our lecturer. Of this list i have chosen to respond to the question of What sort of computer games do you find most engaging? Why? What does it say about you? Why does computer game violence, mostly, not affect the players? Is there a level at which it does effect changes in people?

I find that the most engaging computer games for myself are either First Person Shooters or MMORPG's like World of Warcraft. First person shooters provide a challenge especially in multiplayer as there is no predictability with the oponents as your versing other human players with their own play styles from around the world. In an MMORPG like World of Warcraft in particular theres an essence of challenge there as well but its more of a fantasy world where magic and swordplay is still the most common things to be seen. In this world its more on teamwork to achive a goal in a set quest as the game is not really geared to have one type of class being able to do everything well. For example, a dungeon run in WoW requires a varied team. You need a "tank class" to soak up damage, 3 damage dealers of varied classes to deal damage but they just cant take many hits and a healer to keep the group alive. 

Im not sure exactly what this says about me but I personally have never let what happens in the game affect me in real life outside of the game apart from at one point in time an urge to go back to the game as the MMO can be very addictive when played with likeminded people you can get along with.

Computer Game Violence mostly doesn't affect people in real life as the majority of people can tell that its not real and will leave the game behind after they finish playing much like watching a movie. You leave your sense of disbelief at the start of the movie and don't use it again till the end and its this way with the majority of people playing computer games. Unfortunately there are people in the world who invest themselves so heavily in the world of the game they are playing that the bleed over effect is so great they can no longer tell the difference between the game world and the real world. This can be due to stress, depression or a number of outside effects that make the game world more appealing than the real world.

New Communication Technologies Tutorial Task 1 Week3

TASK 1

 

-  As a request by our Lecturer Steven Stockwell we were requested to locate the first journal Article he wrote. He wrote a journal article for the Legal Service Bulletin, ISSN 0817-3516, 1981, Volume 6, Issue Feb 1981, pp. 48 - 49 on the Kuranda Police Shooting. I found this document on the Griffith University Database. (citation: Stockwell, Stephen, 1981, 'Kuranda Kolice Shooting', Legal Service Bulletin, vol 6, pp 48, viewed 12 August 2011, via Griffith University Database

 

-Governor Slugwell appears in 3 comics of  Flaming Carrot Comics. He appeared in issues 7, 10 and 11. (citation: Burden, Bob, 1985, Flaming Carrot Comics, no. 7,  Renegade Press, Burbank, CA) I found these in the Griffith University Trial databases -Underground and Independent Comics.

- The latest thinking is that mobile phones can cause brain cancer with prolonged use. (citation: Cell Phones and Cancer Risk 2011, viewed 12th August 2011, http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/cellphones)

- In this reference Leon looks surprised but there is no reaction to the needles, resulting in Holden pulling a gun but Leon is faster and shoots first. (citation: Fancher, Hampton, 1938-; Peoples, David Webb, 1940-; Kibbee, Roland, 1914-1984, Blade Runner 1982 Draft Script, Electronic Edition by Alexander Street Press, L.L. C., 2009) I found this script on the American Film Script's Online in the Griffith University Trial Databases.

- The main paradox Walter Ong sees in 20th century communication is that it is founded on love and hope of a higher presence that points communication beyond an exchange of information to something deeper. (citation: Soukup, P.A, 2006, 'Contexts of Faith: The Religious Foundation of Walter Ong's Literacy and Orality',  Journal of Media and Religion,Volume 5 Issue 3 Page 175, viewed 12 August 2011 via Griffith University Library Database)

Lecture 1

On Thursday morning the 28th of July i attended the very first lecture for New Communication Technologies at Nathan Campus of Griffith University. The title of the Lecture was Introduction/Communication Technology in the Everyday. In the course of the lecture a number of different communication methods where discussed to point out the difference between the old communication technologies and the new and developing ones. After a pointed discussion on what the definition of old technologies and new technologies are based on age we also briefly covered a small portion on hacking crimes and how that is forcing change on the electronic world.


We also covered the theory of communication transmission by Aristotle which was then further developed in more recent times by Shannon & Weaver with the addition of broadcasting technology. The original theory was developed in response to the great theatre productions of aristotle's time where the actors would be encoding and sending a message out to the audience who where recieving the message in person. With the addition of Shannon and Weaver's developments we bring in the more modern broadcasting where the message is sent out to a wider audience who are not present where the production is performed. This then generates a far wider audience than the original theory but can also result in a far wider interpretation and in some cases even disruption due to loss of signal in the broadcast. This has further developed from the original broadcast form of analog technologies to the newer digital systems. Where analog systems worked by sending out a wide wave of signal on a freaquency band the newer digital signals are on a narrow frequency band and sent as a binary infomation signal. This change has both its upsides and downsides that may only come fully apparent in years to come.

Technology has also been converging in recent years. As an example of this we just need to look at the modern "smart phones". An average smart phone retains the ability to make a phone call and send a text message of the original mobile phones but they now also have integrated cameras and video recording capability, internet browsers, social networking capability, instant messaging, music players, radio access and other tools that previously would have required a far wider range of appliances to be carried around with a person. What will this convergence of varied technologies bring to us in their next incarnation? I hope to learn this in the coming weeks.

Introduction to myself

Hello there all. My name is David James and i'm a first year student at Griffith University in Brisbane. I'm studying a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Creative Writing and Literature with a view to doing a postgraduate degree in Book Editing. This blog was created for the New Communication Technologies Subject. Other classes i am studying this semester are Social Enterprise, Academic Writing and Great Books A. I chose the New Communications Technology class to gain an understanding on where literary and creative works may be viewed and written in the near future on top of the older more common methods at this point in time.