Marc Prensky's "Emerging online life of the digital native" and Dave Weinberger's "A New World" both present different views of contemporary internet users. In light of your own experiences with new technologies do you think they are accurate portrayals? Discuss why or why not with specific examples.
New Communication Technologies changed and is still changing the life of contemporary internet users.
The conclusion of the ‘NetDay’ survey of 200,000 U.S. students in the year 2004 is that ‘Students are not just using technology differently today, but are approaching their life and their daily activities differently because of the technology.’ (www.netday.org)
Using the internet or the computer today is totally different from earlier years. In the text ‘Emerging online life of the digital native’, Marc Prensky shows why this is the case and what exactly the differences are. He developed the two groups ‘Digital Natives’ and ‘Digital Immigrants’. He writes about what they are doing differently by using technology and how they are doing this.
Digital Natives or ‘native speakers’ of the digital language are the todays students and the younger children. They represent the first generation who grow up with all the new technologies. They spent their entire life surrounded by computers, internet, mp3 players, video games and cell phones. And these ‘different kinds of experiences lead to different brain structures’ (Dr. Bruce D. Perry, Baylor College of Medicine).
The Digital Immigrants on the other side were not born into the digital world. Mostly they are elderly people who later become fascinated by the new technology and use the computer and the internet for emailing and researching, but in a totally different way than the Digital Natives.
The online possibilities for Digital Natives are growing every day and their online life is much bigger than just the internet. For the Digital Natives the online world tells them how to live, to react, to survive and how to manage the daily activities. The cyberspace is a part of themselves and their everyday life. This is a big difference between the two groups. Of course often the Digital Natives and the Digital Immigrants are using the exact same technology such as email, blogs and eBay. But mostly there is a very big dissonance between the two groups.
When you observe Digital Immigrants, you can often see, that they are only using the internet for working or informing about important things and they mostly have a specific reason why they are using it. And often they prefer the traditional way like writing a letter, searching for a word in a dictionary or reading the newspaper in the morning instead of doing all these things on the internet because they are too used to it and they are still faster doing it the traditional way. For younger people using the computer and the internet is like brushing the teeth in the morning. Sometimes it is the most important thing in their life and they are checking their emails, or the social networking sides multiple times a day, sometimes even every few minutes. Digital Natives love to communicate via internet by sending emails, using IM (Instant Messaging), blogging or chatting. They have their own ‘language’, because writing is still slower than talking. Sometimes they are just using a few letters to say a whole sentence. For example ‘k’ for ‘OK’, ‘cu’ for ‘see you’ or even ‘H4T5TNT’ for ‘home for tea at five tonight’.
But the bad result of this is, that often especially the younger children have lots of problems with a normal conversation. It’s tough for them to write an essay in class or just speaking correct sentences.
Another big difference that Prensky mentions in his text is that Digital Natives are sharing really intimate details and knowledge they get from a specific source. On their blogs they write about their personal experiences, their problems and their emotional life. Earlier the people had the motto ‘Knowledge is power’ and they kept information as a secret. Today the young people love to share what they know as soon as they receive it. They exchange everything like songs, videos, even school- papers or exams, pictures and websites that express their personality. Digital Immigrants in comparison mostly doing intellectual blogging and only speaking about general themes in chat rooms for example. For them the online world is not an emotional thing, it is more informative.
In the text ‘A New World’, by David Weinberger the story about Michael Ian Campbell is a perfect example for the emotional involvement.
The 18- year old Campbell was known as a polite, kind man in his hometown. He was interested in new technology and used the internet for communicating with other people. But he was too much into the online world. On the internet he didn’t act like he would do in normal life and so it happened that he wrote a message to a girl he only knew from the internet where he said that he wants to go into her school the next day and massacre people. The result was that the girl informed the police and Campbell had to go to prison. When he was asked why he did this he answered, that he wants to become an actor and therefore he was trying on a role. He wanted to be like his favourite actor, John Malkovich. Probably if he had met the girl in normal life nothing had happened. Maybe he had told her about his idol, but he never had tried to act like him. Here you can see that the internet let Campbell became someone that he wasn’t. Of course and fortunately this is not the normal behaviour of all internet users, but it’s not at all unusual on the web to ‘try on’ a different personality or to switch personalities from chat room to chat room.
As a conclusion of all these points, it can be said, that both texts are accurate portrayals of the contemporary internet users. Prensky’s dividing of internet user into the two groups ‘Digital Native’ and ‘Digital Immigrants’ is very suitable. It shows the differences between the using of technology today and earlier. In these days older people are afraid of the new technology or may question its value, but although technology is growing and growing and with it also the Digital Natives. Technology has changed the behaviour of an entire generation in a short time and it will go on and influence all people whose daily life involves interaction with it, whether they are native internet users, new inspired users or just parents or friends of these people.
References:
- Prensky, Marc. 'Emerging Online Life of the Digital Narrative' 2004. 12 Oct. 2009
- Weinberger, David. 'A New World' 2002. 12 Oct. 2009
- Livingstone, Sonia. 'Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: teenagers’ use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and selfexpression' 2008. 23 Oct. 2009
- ‘Prensky’s Digital Native Versus Digital Immigrants’ 2008, Jim Rich, pp. 1-13. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from ProQuest Database.
- www.marcprensky.com
- www.marcprensky.com/writing/PrenskyThe_Emerging_Online_Life_of_the_Digital_Native-03.pdf
- www.smallpieces.com/content/chapter1.html
- http://depd.wisc.edu/html/TSarticles/Digital%20Natives.htm
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Summary lecture week 10
The lecture today was about Video Games and how we can 'study' them. I'm not really interested in video games, but this was although an informative and funny lecture.
- demographics of games: traditional: 18-25 year old males (80 percent of the gaming market),since 2005 more and more females- 59% males, 49% females
- different video games: PC games, console games, online games, arcade games, mobile games -> these markets are quite different, different audiences
- females playing more mobile games, males more PC or arcade games
- today there are also a lot of fitness games (e.g. for Nintendo Wii)
- games are often like everyday life: you have to learn the objectives, how to play it and often you have to work, earn money and learn things in the game
Three different ways of studying games:
1.Social science approach
- about effects of games on people (-> violence- what most debates are about)
2.Humanities approach
- meaning and context of games
- difference between meaning and context is: - narrative (story of the game)
- medium of arts
3.Industry and engineering approach
- about development of games, new technologies
Experiment:
female:
- console
- guitar hero
- pokemon
male:
- PC
- first person shooter
- demographics of games: traditional: 18-25 year old males (80 percent of the gaming market),since 2005 more and more females- 59% males, 49% females
- different video games: PC games, console games, online games, arcade games, mobile games -> these markets are quite different, different audiences
- females playing more mobile games, males more PC or arcade games
- today there are also a lot of fitness games (e.g. for Nintendo Wii)
- games are often like everyday life: you have to learn the objectives, how to play it and often you have to work, earn money and learn things in the game
Three different ways of studying games:
1.Social science approach
- about effects of games on people (-> violence- what most debates are about)
2.Humanities approach
- meaning and context of games
- difference between meaning and context is: - narrative (story of the game)
- medium of arts
3.Industry and engineering approach
- about development of games, new technologies
Experiment:
female:
- console
- guitar hero
- pokemon
male:
- PC
- first person shooter
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Task for week 9/10
The task for this week is to add some form of art that I have created to my blog with using special software.
And this is the result... I used photoshop to change this into what it is now :)
And this is the result... I used photoshop to change this into what it is now :)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Summary lecture week 9
Jason's lecture today was about how to teach yourself software.
He gave us some really good advices what to do, how to do it and what not to do.
First he told us, that you should try to teach yourself easy software and not to ask first other people for help. For example how to use Adobe Flash, a really important page, cause the most movie websites or the sites of MTV or Nike use Flash.
But he also mentioned, that the right use of software could be a problem, cause if your not that into it you can make terrible mistakes. Therefore we talked about how you can teach yourself software in a few days. The result was that it's nearly impossible to do that, cause good software is deep and you need months or years to learn it. It's not enough if you have tried photoshop once for example and then say 'Yes, i can use it'.
At the beginning you should try to learn it by playing with it, open the software and try to use it. But make sure that you save all your data. Save your work is really important.
Another advice was to try many different ways to learn software and don't waste your time by spending to many hours at one solution.
And if you have problems or if you need help use the help file or search for help or better join forums and ask questions. But make sure that the forum has an active community. Another way for help could also be the use of video tutorials.
But always keep in mind, that if you are able to use software it's all about the content. Easy software can be used by every person, but the content is important!!
He gave us some really good advices what to do, how to do it and what not to do.
First he told us, that you should try to teach yourself easy software and not to ask first other people for help. For example how to use Adobe Flash, a really important page, cause the most movie websites or the sites of MTV or Nike use Flash.
But he also mentioned, that the right use of software could be a problem, cause if your not that into it you can make terrible mistakes. Therefore we talked about how you can teach yourself software in a few days. The result was that it's nearly impossible to do that, cause good software is deep and you need months or years to learn it. It's not enough if you have tried photoshop once for example and then say 'Yes, i can use it'.
At the beginning you should try to learn it by playing with it, open the software and try to use it. But make sure that you save all your data. Save your work is really important.
Another advice was to try many different ways to learn software and don't waste your time by spending to many hours at one solution.
And if you have problems or if you need help use the help file or search for help or better join forums and ask questions. But make sure that the forum has an active community. Another way for help could also be the use of video tutorials.
But always keep in mind, that if you are able to use software it's all about the content. Easy software can be used by every person, but the content is important!!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
News for today!!
...really crazy and scary.I think the climate warming and the changing weather are going to be a huge problem in the next years.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Lecture summary week 8
The weeks lecture by Stephen Stockwell was about 'Political Possibilities'.
We learned more about CyberPolitics and eDemocracy and it was a really interesting and informative lecture.
We started with the definition of Democracy and some other terms like CyberPolitics or eDemocracy. Then we moved on and had a look at new political formations arising from new technologies, for example the work of hackers and cyberpunks.
CyberPolitics:
- politics of the internet
- there are a lot powerplays around the actual structure and functions of the internet (decided by the Internet Society and ICANN and even by political activities in forums, between bloggers and in games.
eDemocracy:
- intervention in real world politics
- it covers political campaigns and the government's use of the internet
- people can discuss political debates and critizise the government and their mistakes
After that we moved on to a general view of democracy. We learned more about it's history and we spoke about some simple definitions of democracy continue to inform popular discussion:
-the rule of the many
-the rule of the majority
-government of the people, by the people, for the people
The Democracy as we know it today is mainly the product of the nations of the industrial age. But the things we talked about in the lecture don't adress the impact of the present period of rapid transition from an industrial to an information economy and the consequent challenge to the power of nation states by global economic and cultural processes.
Then we had a closer look at the universal acceptance of democracy and the ambivalence of political process. Around eighty percent of Australian and American adults say, that they are interested in politics, but actually no more than half of the adult population follow public affairs in the mass media and only as few as five percent vote in elections.
The most obvious alternative to representative democracy is participatory or direct democracy, based on the ancient Greek model where all citizens have a right and a duty to be involved in all decisions made. Democracy, they argue, can only work where citizens understand that they have a duty to foster democratic processes as a common undertaking and, most particularly, a duty to participate in those processes. Participation is seen to educate and empower the participant and this is crucial to the health and strength of democracy.
So the search for a definition of democracy can never be concluded.
Chantal Mouffe argues in her preface to Dimensions of Radical Democracy that:
-democracy can only consist in the recognition of the multiplicity of social logics and the necessity of their articulation... [with] no hope of final reconciliation. That is why radical democracy also means the radical impossibility of a fully achieved democracy.
Our next topic was: Gaps in the Mass Media
The increasing concentration, centralisation and commercialisation of the mass media appear to have foreclosed avenues for democratic participation in currently existing representative democracy. To have a closer look at this we talked about Habermas ideas and his thoughts of the public sphere.
Basically you can say that if the mass media are the main forums for democratic deliberation then citizens must have the potential to make their voice heard or it is not a democracy. We learned,that there are potentials for demotic use of the mass media through the gaps provided by their commercial, competitive nature, by building public spheres for autonomous deliberation and by appreciating the hermeneutic capabilities of the citizen-audience.
Then we talked about 'Free Speech and Censorship'
-> 'The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it' (John Gilmore)
Deliberation and discussion are key attributes of democracy, maybe talk is the most important element of democratic activity. The ability to convince and the willingness to be convinced are what provide the give and take that makes democracy something for all citizens. And that requires access to free speech!!!
But in Australia there is no constitutional right to free speech, like we have it in the USA and the most European countries. So we have to ask: Is free speech a basic right?
Rather we might view free speech as self-correcting mechanism - in using free speech people make democracy happen.
But there are a lot battles between free speech and censorship on the net. On the one hand it's the case, that the net is like a newspaper, but it isn't mass media in the accepted sense. And you also have the problem of copyright.
Later Stephen went on to 'Citizen-Hacker: Doing Global Democracy'
One space for the recreation of the citizen has been cleared by the hacker. They move freely through machines and their networks to find obscure and hidden information. Hackers regard computer systems not as corporate property but as part the common wealth and do not believe it is wrong to break into systems to look around and understand.
The Hacker's Manifesto from 1986 explained the hacker ethos: 'This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons? We explore... We seek after knowledge?' (Blankenship 1986).
Today Hackers have a bad name. They are always named together with computer criminal, but in the Hacker's Handbook of Hugo Cornwell he notes two other uses: 'those involved in the recreational and educational sport of unauthorised entry into computers and, more generally, the enthusiasts 'who love working with the beasties for their own sake, as opposed to operating them in order to enrich a company?'
And there is also 'The Hacker Ethic'. This code says, that the data the hackers found are for free sharing and that they never harm information they found.
As the final word Stephen chose Hugo Cornwall's quote:Computers 'can threaten our traditional concepts of freedom, individuality and human worth. I like to believe hacking is a curious re-assertion of some of those ideas.'
After that we came to the topic 'Cyberpunk':
It is an outlet for political expression with regards to the internet and studies the political possibilities.
The word 'Cyberpunk' comes from the amalgamation of Cybernetics (the study of communication, command and control in living organisms, machines and organisations) and Punk (a style of fast, loud, short rock music with an anarchist political philosophy and a DIY, anti-expert, 'seize the day' approach to life).
Cyberpunk developed as a reaction against the over-blown stories of for example George Lucas's Star Wars.
The movie Matrix pushed the limits of cyberpunk so it became like the bloated soap operas that it had originally scorned. Nevertheless it deals with philosophical issues at some depth. It also explored a possible future world where machines are smarter than humans and where people are dominated by machines and media.
Cyberpunk Themes:
1. Technology and Mythology:
- connected for a long time
- in greek mythology ('Prometheus')
- 'Sisyphus' (used technology against the wishes of the gods -> see Albert Camus' Myth of Sisyphus')
- 'Adam and Eve'
- 'Faust' (a doctor, who sold his soul to the devil for unlimited power and knowledge, but was very unhappy with it, cause he couldn't find a way out of the deal)
- 'Frankenstein' (Dr Frankenstein tried to reanimate the reconstituted dead, but he created a monster which went out of control)
-> Cyberpunk was used to remythologise technology
2. Utopia and Dystopia:
- there are strong myths for and against technology -> Utopias (imaginary places, people, world, everything is perfect and humans and technology are in harmony)
3. Cities as Machines
- the city is a machine for living- it creates human life just as humans create it
- the city is a natural thing, created by natural beings (humans)just as bee-hives and ant nests are created by natural beings
- the city is a living being- a cyborg which combines human issue with synthetic infrastructure
4. Technological change
The First Media Age(centralised dissemination) vs. the Second Media Age(decentralised interaction)
-> First Media Age:
- early forms of electronic were quite similar
- but the telephone was a great invention
- characterized by the use of one source, but many receivers
-> Second Media Age:
- invention of the Internet
- characterized by distributed systems of interaction
Finally you can say, that the right understanding for technology is really important.
The new media brings with it a need for new understandings- particularly political ones- to protect the public interest.
New Technologies are always a chance, but you have to think really carefully about their need, the problems they can bring and how it can effect our live and the community.
We learned more about CyberPolitics and eDemocracy and it was a really interesting and informative lecture.
We started with the definition of Democracy and some other terms like CyberPolitics or eDemocracy. Then we moved on and had a look at new political formations arising from new technologies, for example the work of hackers and cyberpunks.
CyberPolitics:
- politics of the internet
- there are a lot powerplays around the actual structure and functions of the internet (decided by the Internet Society and ICANN and even by political activities in forums, between bloggers and in games.
eDemocracy:
- intervention in real world politics
- it covers political campaigns and the government's use of the internet
- people can discuss political debates and critizise the government and their mistakes
After that we moved on to a general view of democracy. We learned more about it's history and we spoke about some simple definitions of democracy continue to inform popular discussion:
-the rule of the many
-the rule of the majority
-government of the people, by the people, for the people
The Democracy as we know it today is mainly the product of the nations of the industrial age. But the things we talked about in the lecture don't adress the impact of the present period of rapid transition from an industrial to an information economy and the consequent challenge to the power of nation states by global economic and cultural processes.
Then we had a closer look at the universal acceptance of democracy and the ambivalence of political process. Around eighty percent of Australian and American adults say, that they are interested in politics, but actually no more than half of the adult population follow public affairs in the mass media and only as few as five percent vote in elections.
The most obvious alternative to representative democracy is participatory or direct democracy, based on the ancient Greek model where all citizens have a right and a duty to be involved in all decisions made. Democracy, they argue, can only work where citizens understand that they have a duty to foster democratic processes as a common undertaking and, most particularly, a duty to participate in those processes. Participation is seen to educate and empower the participant and this is crucial to the health and strength of democracy.
So the search for a definition of democracy can never be concluded.
Chantal Mouffe argues in her preface to Dimensions of Radical Democracy that:
-democracy can only consist in the recognition of the multiplicity of social logics and the necessity of their articulation... [with] no hope of final reconciliation. That is why radical democracy also means the radical impossibility of a fully achieved democracy.
Our next topic was: Gaps in the Mass Media
The increasing concentration, centralisation and commercialisation of the mass media appear to have foreclosed avenues for democratic participation in currently existing representative democracy. To have a closer look at this we talked about Habermas ideas and his thoughts of the public sphere.
Basically you can say that if the mass media are the main forums for democratic deliberation then citizens must have the potential to make their voice heard or it is not a democracy. We learned,that there are potentials for demotic use of the mass media through the gaps provided by their commercial, competitive nature, by building public spheres for autonomous deliberation and by appreciating the hermeneutic capabilities of the citizen-audience.
Then we talked about 'Free Speech and Censorship'
-> 'The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it' (John Gilmore)
Deliberation and discussion are key attributes of democracy, maybe talk is the most important element of democratic activity. The ability to convince and the willingness to be convinced are what provide the give and take that makes democracy something for all citizens. And that requires access to free speech!!!
But in Australia there is no constitutional right to free speech, like we have it in the USA and the most European countries. So we have to ask: Is free speech a basic right?
Rather we might view free speech as self-correcting mechanism - in using free speech people make democracy happen.
But there are a lot battles between free speech and censorship on the net. On the one hand it's the case, that the net is like a newspaper, but it isn't mass media in the accepted sense. And you also have the problem of copyright.
Later Stephen went on to 'Citizen-Hacker: Doing Global Democracy'
One space for the recreation of the citizen has been cleared by the hacker. They move freely through machines and their networks to find obscure and hidden information. Hackers regard computer systems not as corporate property but as part the common wealth and do not believe it is wrong to break into systems to look around and understand.
The Hacker's Manifesto from 1986 explained the hacker ethos: 'This is our world now... the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud. We make use of a service already existing without paying for what could be dirt-cheap if it wasn't run by profiteering gluttons? We explore... We seek after knowledge?' (Blankenship 1986).
Today Hackers have a bad name. They are always named together with computer criminal, but in the Hacker's Handbook of Hugo Cornwell he notes two other uses: 'those involved in the recreational and educational sport of unauthorised entry into computers and, more generally, the enthusiasts 'who love working with the beasties for their own sake, as opposed to operating them in order to enrich a company?'
And there is also 'The Hacker Ethic'. This code says, that the data the hackers found are for free sharing and that they never harm information they found.
As the final word Stephen chose Hugo Cornwall's quote:Computers 'can threaten our traditional concepts of freedom, individuality and human worth. I like to believe hacking is a curious re-assertion of some of those ideas.'
After that we came to the topic 'Cyberpunk':
It is an outlet for political expression with regards to the internet and studies the political possibilities.
The word 'Cyberpunk' comes from the amalgamation of Cybernetics (the study of communication, command and control in living organisms, machines and organisations) and Punk (a style of fast, loud, short rock music with an anarchist political philosophy and a DIY, anti-expert, 'seize the day' approach to life).
Cyberpunk developed as a reaction against the over-blown stories of for example George Lucas's Star Wars.
The movie Matrix pushed the limits of cyberpunk so it became like the bloated soap operas that it had originally scorned. Nevertheless it deals with philosophical issues at some depth. It also explored a possible future world where machines are smarter than humans and where people are dominated by machines and media.
Cyberpunk Themes:
1. Technology and Mythology:
- connected for a long time
- in greek mythology ('Prometheus')
- 'Sisyphus' (used technology against the wishes of the gods -> see Albert Camus' Myth of Sisyphus')
- 'Adam and Eve'
- 'Faust' (a doctor, who sold his soul to the devil for unlimited power and knowledge, but was very unhappy with it, cause he couldn't find a way out of the deal)
- 'Frankenstein' (Dr Frankenstein tried to reanimate the reconstituted dead, but he created a monster which went out of control)
-> Cyberpunk was used to remythologise technology
2. Utopia and Dystopia:
- there are strong myths for and against technology -> Utopias (imaginary places, people, world, everything is perfect and humans and technology are in harmony)
3. Cities as Machines
- the city is a machine for living- it creates human life just as humans create it
- the city is a natural thing, created by natural beings (humans)just as bee-hives and ant nests are created by natural beings
- the city is a living being- a cyborg which combines human issue with synthetic infrastructure
4. Technological change
The First Media Age(centralised dissemination) vs. the Second Media Age(decentralised interaction)
-> First Media Age:
- early forms of electronic were quite similar
- but the telephone was a great invention
- characterized by the use of one source, but many receivers
-> Second Media Age:
- invention of the Internet
- characterized by distributed systems of interaction
Finally you can say, that the right understanding for technology is really important.
The new media brings with it a need for new understandings- particularly political ones- to protect the public interest.
New Technologies are always a chance, but you have to think really carefully about their need, the problems they can bring and how it can effect our live and the community.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tutorial week 8 + 9
Task for this week:
What opportunities can we find for political participation via the internet? We have to do some research and answering most of the following tasks.
->
First we had to sign an e-petition.
Democracy is essential for our live. It guarantees the human rights and gives us a choice to be part of a community, in which we have the chance to decide and change things.
I signed an e-petition of the German parliament. It is about a commission of inquiry to investigate the financial crisis. I think that's really important, cause it is about our future and our money.
You can find me as number 1059 with the following link:
https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/index.php?action=petition;petition=6483;sa=sign
Next I was to respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.
The following task was to find out what Barack Obama is up to today. On the website http://www.barackobama.com/ it is said, that the president has some interviews on a number of the major Sunday morning news shows, including ABC's This Week George Stephanopoulos , CBS's Face the Nation, NBC's Meet the Press , CNN's State of the Union with John Roberts , and Univision today (September 2o).
Our next thing was to find out,who our local, state and federal representatives are.
It was pretty tough for me to find out who they are, cause I'm from Germany, but finally I got all these information
-Local member of parliament:
Cr Ron Clarke, MBE– Gold Coast City Council
(http://www.councilofmayorsseq.qld.gov.au/content/FAQ.asp)
-State member of parliament:
Peter Lawlor- State Member for Southport
(http://www.qld.alp.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=379)
-Federal Member for Parliament:
MP Stuart Clarke
(http://www.robert.com.au/)
The last time our Southport State member Peter Lawlor spoke in parliament was on the 17th of September.He talked about the Personal Property Security Bill.
(http://parlinfo.parliament.qld.gov.au/isysquery/51b8dcba-dc7c-4ce1-8aef-552b04e771fe/27/doc/)
(pictures:google images)
What opportunities can we find for political participation via the internet? We have to do some research and answering most of the following tasks.
->
First we had to sign an e-petition.
Democracy is essential for our live. It guarantees the human rights and gives us a choice to be part of a community, in which we have the chance to decide and change things.
I signed an e-petition of the German parliament. It is about a commission of inquiry to investigate the financial crisis. I think that's really important, cause it is about our future and our money.
You can find me as number 1059 with the following link:
https://epetitionen.bundestag.de/index.php?action=petition;petition=6483;sa=sign
Next I was to respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.
The following task was to find out what Barack Obama is up to today. On the website http://www.barackobama.com/ it is said, that the president has some interviews on a number of the major Sunday morning news shows, including ABC's This Week George Stephanopoulos , CBS's Face the Nation, NBC's Meet the Press , CNN's State of the Union with John Roberts , and Univision today (September 2o).
Our next thing was to find out,who our local, state and federal representatives are.
It was pretty tough for me to find out who they are, cause I'm from Germany, but finally I got all these information
-Local member of parliament:
Cr Ron Clarke, MBE– Gold Coast City Council
(http://www.councilofmayorsseq.qld.gov.au/content/FAQ.asp)
-State member of parliament:
Peter Lawlor- State Member for Southport
(http://www.qld.alp.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=379)
-Federal Member for Parliament:
MP Stuart Clarke
(http://www.robert.com.au/)
The last time our Southport State member Peter Lawlor spoke in parliament was on the 17th of September.He talked about the Personal Property Security Bill.
(http://parlinfo.parliament.qld.gov.au/isysquery/51b8dcba-dc7c-4ce1-8aef-552b04e771fe/27/doc/)
(pictures:google images)
ireport
I created a (fun) news-story.
First I was thinking about making a video about a shark attack or a robbery, but then I found the following video on my computer and had the crazy idea to change it into a 'news-story'. I made this video last May back in Germany and actually it is about a spontanous event (Flashmob) at a famous place in Cologne where a few hundred people brought their own pillows and started a pillow fight.
So this is my really crazy news-story and my video:
Demonstration for snow in Cologne!
Cologne, 24th September 2009
Yesterday a few hundred people demonstrated in Cologne, Germany for more snow in the following winter. They started a big pillow fight to copy real snow. The demonstration took place in front of the famous cologne cathedral to get also support from the powers that be.
(http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-332922)
The funny thing is that I got a message from CNN/ireport after uploading my video and obviously they are believing in my story...:)
Hi there,
Thank you for sending a video of the pillow fight in Cologne. I have a couple of questions about your submission.
1. Can you confirm you shot this video? Is there anyone else to courtesy?
2. What is your full name?
3. Are you over 18?
4. When was this shot? What was the scene like?
5. Is this an annual event? Who organizes it?
6. Do you live in Cologne? Does it usually snow there?
7. What’s the best phone number to reach you?
8. Do you give CNN permission to show your iReport online and/or on TV?
If you have anything else to add, please do. I look forward to hearing from you!
Best,
Katie
And this one:
Hi Carolin,
Thanks for your reply. I just need a little more information about the video before I approve it for CNN. Can you send me a link to where the event was announced, or any information about it? I haven't been able to find much online, but that may be because I don't speak German!
Thanks,
Katie
First I was thinking about making a video about a shark attack or a robbery, but then I found the following video on my computer and had the crazy idea to change it into a 'news-story'. I made this video last May back in Germany and actually it is about a spontanous event (Flashmob) at a famous place in Cologne where a few hundred people brought their own pillows and started a pillow fight.
So this is my really crazy news-story and my video:
Demonstration for snow in Cologne!
Cologne, 24th September 2009
Yesterday a few hundred people demonstrated in Cologne, Germany for more snow in the following winter. They started a big pillow fight to copy real snow. The demonstration took place in front of the famous cologne cathedral to get also support from the powers that be.
(http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-332922)
The funny thing is that I got a message from CNN/ireport after uploading my video and obviously they are believing in my story...:)
Hi there,
Thank you for sending a video of the pillow fight in Cologne. I have a couple of questions about your submission.
1. Can you confirm you shot this video? Is there anyone else to courtesy?
2. What is your full name?
3. Are you over 18?
4. When was this shot? What was the scene like?
5. Is this an annual event? Who organizes it?
6. Do you live in Cologne? Does it usually snow there?
7. What’s the best phone number to reach you?
8. Do you give CNN permission to show your iReport online and/or on TV?
If you have anything else to add, please do. I look forward to hearing from you!
Best,
Katie
And this one:
Hi Carolin,
Thanks for your reply. I just need a little more information about the video before I approve it for CNN. Can you send me a link to where the event was announced, or any information about it? I haven't been able to find much online, but that may be because I don't speak German!
Thanks,
Katie
Monday, September 14, 2009
Lecture week 7
Free Software and the Creative Commons
This was a really funny lecture. It was about the 'Digital Life' and we got to know more about free software and saw some really crazy things on the internet. I learned a lot about using other software, cause usually I'm the normal windows user with only little software knowledge.
We had a look at pages like www.mininova.org, www.portableapps.com or www.openoffice.org.
There are two options: You can have the software online, or you can have all the applications on your computer, or on a memory stick.
Open Office is like Microsoft Word, Power Point etc. but you can download it for free.
That's the same with GIMP (like photoshop), Blender (animation) and a lot more.
And if you have any problems with your computer software, just go to www.freewaregenius.com and download their software packages.
The problem of www.download.com, another so called 'free- download page' is, that it first says the downloads are free, but often you have to pay for it in the end.
The result of all these is, that you can safe a lot of money, cause you can find really good free software for downloading, but be careful if it's really for free.
(picture: google images)
Tutorial week 7
The task for todays tute is to download one or more of the freeware apps that Jason mentioned or one that we can find by ourselves and then write about it in your blog.
I downloaded the 'YouTube Downloader'.
It is a software program with which you can download videos from YouTube and many other pages and convert them into other video formats.
It is really easy to use. Just visit YouTube, choose your favourite video,then specify the URL for the video and click the 'OK' Button and that's it. After that you can also use the downloaded videos for your IPod, MP3 Player or just play it on your computer. Special features are also that you can cut and select the output quality of converted videos and that you can play the videos in Flash. So basically it is a very usefull and easy handling programm.
Another program I downloaded and tested was Picasa.
It finds and organizes all the pictures and you can also work on them, like fixing red eyes, or cut some pictures. You can send your photos via e-mail or create an online picasa page with all your pictures on it or you can watch the photos via slideshow of the album. It's easy to handle and you don't need so big knowledge as for photoshop for example.
(pictures:google images)
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Summary lecture 6
This lecture was about consuming and producing.
Consume:
1. Big Screen:
- Cinema (shared experience)
- Television (first shared, but today more private experience)
- personal computer (private/ shared)
-> all three are consumers of media!
2. Small Screen:
- Personal media player (iPod) ->on the go
- mobile phones (iPod touch)
- 'Smart phones', 3G- Information ->on the fly
Produce:
- Fan films (fanfilms.net), fan edits, 'phantom edit'
- mash ups:
Re-Genre
Re- Cut
- mobile production:
ENG
short films
Consume:
1. Big Screen:
- Cinema (shared experience)
- Television (first shared, but today more private experience)
- personal computer (private/ shared)
-> all three are consumers of media!
2. Small Screen:
- Personal media player (iPod) ->on the go
- mobile phones (iPod touch)
- 'Smart phones', 3G- Information ->on the fly
Produce:
- Fan films (fanfilms.net), fan edits, 'phantom edit'
- mash ups:
Re-Genre
Re- Cut
- mobile production:
ENG
short films
My google maps
My way 2009-2010 auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen
German Sports University Cologne auf einer größeren Karte anzeigen
Tutorial week 6
The task for today is to create my own google maps. But first I should search my Name at personas (http://personas.media.mit.edu/personasWeb.html). And above you can see the result :) Unfortunately it couldn't find anything with my full Name, so I only got information about my first Name 'Carolin'. But it was a funny experience to read all these crazy things about 'me'.
Tutorial week 5
This short film is about a photographer who took a picture of a moribunding child istead of helping. She wins a price for this picture later, but she isn't able to accept it, because she is feeling to guilty. I think this is a really good short film- it doesn't really need many words, but the pictures are very deep and soulful.
This is my favourite film. It shows how bad and egoistic a person can be if he has the chance of lots of money and a life in heaven. I think this short film is really arousing and the story and the actors are really good. When you watch the movie you feel always the need of changing the actors behaviour. I think the film has the intention to awake people and that they should think about their own thinkings, feelings and behaviour. It is a really thought-provoking short film.
My third film shows how many really different things can happen at the same time. For one person it is a perfect day, for another person maybe the last day in his life...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Summary lecture 5
During this lecture Jason Nelson mostly screwed around and showed us a lot of unique and interesting websites and tools. The first page he showed us was speedtest.net. The page gave us an interesting look how long it takes, if you wanna communicate with computers all over the world.
After that he explained to us the Dot Com boom and crash. First the people were so much into it and they spent a lot of money for .com stocks, but later the internet was not yet such a profitable tool and the people didn't investigate in it any more.
Then we got an overview about archive.com, really interesting page, which want to show the visual evolution of the internet pages. It takes screenshots of all kinds of major wbsites over the years and Jason showed us the beginnings of myspace, which was first a really boring page.
Jason went on and told us more about social networking sites and then we took a look at some crazy social networking sites like 'elftown' or 'Woofer'- the anti 'Twitter' page.
Later we got more information about Google Maps and how we can use it. That was the same with sketchcast, a funny tool, that converts you and your online drawing into a video. As an example we saw a video of a lady and a hotdog.
After that he explained to us the Dot Com boom and crash. First the people were so much into it and they spent a lot of money for .com stocks, but later the internet was not yet such a profitable tool and the people didn't investigate in it any more.
Then we got an overview about archive.com, really interesting page, which want to show the visual evolution of the internet pages. It takes screenshots of all kinds of major wbsites over the years and Jason showed us the beginnings of myspace, which was first a really boring page.
Jason went on and told us more about social networking sites and then we took a look at some crazy social networking sites like 'elftown' or 'Woofer'- the anti 'Twitter' page.
Later we got more information about Google Maps and how we can use it. That was the same with sketchcast, a funny tool, that converts you and your online drawing into a video. As an example we saw a video of a lady and a hotdog.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Summary, lecture 4
BIG SCREEN TO the small screen!
I----------------------------------------------I------------------------------------------------I
Timeline:
1895: Birth of Cinema
1906: First feature length narrative film (in Australia, by Australian) - few years later Europe, then USA
1927: First spoken film ('Talkies') -> 'The Yazz singer'
1929: First all colour movie
1933: First drive- in theatre (in New Jersey)
1937: Disney released 'Snow White', animated movie
1939: first TV, but only very little shows on TV
1939- 1952: hieps of movies were produced during these years
1952: 3 D
1955: Hollywood started to produce movies for television
1956: first videorecorder
1959: 'Percepto Vision' invented by a horror film producer (it gave little electro shoks), 'smell cinema'
1963: videorecorder for consumer, multiplex theatre- now blockbuster movies were shown
1967-69: Sony introduced VCR + Portapak
1970: Imax
1972: pay TV (in America)
1985: first blockbuster video store where you could rent movies
1986:Computer-Generated-Animation(Luxo Jr., Pixar)
1995: 'Toy Story'
1997: DVD, Video
2001: BMW 'The Driver', production of a short film for the Internet (with the brand new BMW in it)
Today: everybody can produce little films and put it on the Internet, for example 'YouTube' (TROOPS)
(pictures: google images)
I----------------------------------------------I------------------------------------------------I
Timeline:
1895: Birth of Cinema
1906: First feature length narrative film (in Australia, by Australian) - few years later Europe, then USA
1927: First spoken film ('Talkies') -> 'The Yazz singer'
1929: First all colour movie
1933: First drive- in theatre (in New Jersey)
1937: Disney released 'Snow White', animated movie
1939: first TV, but only very little shows on TV
1939- 1952: hieps of movies were produced during these years
1952: 3 D
1955: Hollywood started to produce movies for television
1956: first videorecorder
1959: 'Percepto Vision' invented by a horror film producer (it gave little electro shoks), 'smell cinema'
1963: videorecorder for consumer, multiplex theatre- now blockbuster movies were shown
1967-69: Sony introduced VCR + Portapak
1970: Imax
1972: pay TV (in America)
1985: first blockbuster video store where you could rent movies
1986:Computer-Generated-Animation(Luxo Jr., Pixar)
1995: 'Toy Story'
1997: DVD, Video
2001: BMW 'The Driver', production of a short film for the Internet (with the brand new BMW in it)
Today: everybody can produce little films and put it on the Internet, for example 'YouTube' (TROOPS)
(pictures: google images)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tutorial Week 4
The task for the tutorial today is to answer a lot of questions, but without using google and I'm not allowed to get all my answers from wikipedia. So, let's see what I can find...
1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin? How long did it take to grow?
-The world's biggest pumpkin was found on September 29, 2007. His weight is 1689 pound. It's really huge!! The world record holder is Joe Jutras. His pumpkin took 5 months to grow up to this size.
(www.yahoo.com)
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=162&gid=50
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Lilly Allen?
-If you want to contact Lilly Allen just visit her website: http://www.lilyallenmusic.com/lily/
or use twitter...
3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
-A giraffe’s tongue is 18-20 inches long, that's about 46-centimeter...Wow!!
A giraffe needs about 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of food per day. It' their main activity during the day. They prefer eating leaves from the acadia tree and at the zoo they also love to eat hay, carrots, and leaf eater biscuits.
(www.scroogle.org)
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giraffe.html
4. How would you define the word 'glycomics'? In your own words, what does it really mean? What does the term 'seagull manager' refer to?
-Glycomics is the study of scientific processes including genetic, physiologic, path
ologic, and other aspects. It's about the entire complement of sugars. Glycans is really important for the survival and healthy function of a cell. You can use it to get an answer to cancer, infectious diseases, diabetes, inflammation and immune disorders.
(www.scroogle.org)
http://www.griffith.edu.au/science/institute-glycomics
http://www.tower.com/handbook-glycomics-richard-d-cummings-hardcover/wapi/113383396
Seagull manager:
-A Seagull manager doesn't work at an office the whole time. He only has to come into the workplace if there is a problem or if he has to criticize or critique employees. The word was first used in an Marketing article by Michael Madison. It is a management style of interacting- the Seagull manager gives advices, but then he leaves and other people have to deal with it.
-Another funny definition:
'A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.'
http://www.employmentcrossroads.com/2009/02/humor-some-new-business-jargon/
(www.scroogle.org)
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/seagull_manager
5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film? Which of his films had 'Blondie' in it?
- His first feature film was 'Transfer' (1966). The story is only about two people and their relationships. It is a very short film, only about seven minutes, it is written, shot, edited and directed by Cronenberg.
-'Videodrom' is the film, in which 'Blondie' Debbie Harry is an actor in it.
(www.scroogle.org)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000343/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/
6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
- Written January 8, 1986, by 'The Mentor'
(www.yahoo.com)
http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html
7. Why do phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555' ?
- Many years ago it was popular in the USA to use exchange names as part of the telephone number. The first 3 letters of the exchange name were dialled followed by numbers. The number 5 on the dial corresponded with the letters JKL, but you can't make all English place names using these three letters, so the solution was the 555 code. And the reason why Hollywood used the 555 code was, cause it was a fictional number and they didn't want to use real numbers. They wanted to prevent real subscribers being harassed by members of the public trying out the numbers quoted on the screen. And another reason is: Hollywood is fake so the phonenumber definitly has to be a fake, too...
(www.scroogle.org)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_(telephone_number).....sorry :)
8. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Sydney?
- I think the cheapest way would be to walk from the Gold Coast to Sydney :)
But probably it's not the most comfortable way.
So if you want to travel by plan you have to pay between 50 and 100 Dollar, depends on the date you want to fly. Or you can take the Greyhound, then you have to pay around 100 Dollar.
Or rent a car.
http://www.greyhound.com.au
http://www.webjet.com.au
9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
- In week 34 top of the Australian Pop Charts was the song 'I want you back', Jackson 5.
(reference: my neighbour :), i'm sorry, but i couldn't find it...)
10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vo
cals?
- It's the Brisbane punk band, the 'Black Assassins'.
(www.yahoo.com)
http://live-wirez.gu.edu.au/Staff/Stephen/default.html
1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin? How long did it take to grow?
-The world's biggest pumpkin was found on September 29, 2007. His weight is 1689 pound. It's really huge!! The world record holder is Joe Jutras. His pumpkin took 5 months to grow up to this size.
(www.yahoo.com)
http://www.bigpumpkins.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=162&gid=50
2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Lilly Allen?
-If you want to contact Lilly Allen just visit her website: http://www.lilyallenmusic.com/lily/
or use twitter...
3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue?
-A giraffe’s tongue is 18-20 inches long, that's about 46-centimeter...Wow!!
A giraffe needs about 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of food per day. It' their main activity during the day. They prefer eating leaves from the acadia tree and at the zoo they also love to eat hay, carrots, and leaf eater biscuits.
(www.scroogle.org)
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giraffe.html
4. How would you define the word 'glycomics'? In your own words, what does it really mean? What does the term 'seagull manager' refer to?
-Glycomics is the study of scientific processes including genetic, physiologic, path
ologic, and other aspects. It's about the entire complement of sugars. Glycans is really important for the survival and healthy function of a cell. You can use it to get an answer to cancer, infectious diseases, diabetes, inflammation and immune disorders.(www.scroogle.org)
http://www.griffith.edu.au/science/institute-glycomics
http://www.tower.com/handbook-glycomics-richard-d-cummings-hardcover/wapi/113383396
Seagull manager:
-A Seagull manager doesn't work at an office the whole time. He only has to come into the workplace if there is a problem or if he has to criticize or critique employees. The word was first used in an Marketing article by Michael Madison. It is a management style of interacting- the Seagull manager gives advices, but then he leaves and other people have to deal with it.
-Another funny definition:
'A manager, who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves.'
http://www.employmentcrossroads.com/2009/02/humor-some-new-business-jargon/
(www.scroogle.org)
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/seagull_manager
5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film? Which of his films had 'Blondie' in it?
- His first feature film was 'Transfer' (1966). The story is only about two people and their relationships. It is a very short film, only about seven minutes, it is written, shot, edited and directed by Cronenberg.
-'Videodrom' is the film, in which 'Blondie' Debbie Harry is an actor in it.
(www.scroogle.org)
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000343/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/
6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?
- Written January 8, 1986, by 'The Mentor'
(www.yahoo.com)
http://www.mithral.com/~beberg/manifesto.html
7. Why do phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555' ?
- Many years ago it was popular in the USA to use exchange names as part of the telephone number. The first 3 letters of the exchange name were dialled followed by numbers. The number 5 on the dial corresponded with the letters JKL, but you can't make all English place names using these three letters, so the solution was the 555 code. And the reason why Hollywood used the 555 code was, cause it was a fictional number and they didn't want to use real numbers. They wanted to prevent real subscribers being harassed by members of the public trying out the numbers quoted on the screen. And another reason is: Hollywood is fake so the phonenumber definitly has to be a fake, too...
(www.scroogle.org)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_(telephone_number).....sorry :)
8. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Sydney?
- I think the cheapest way would be to walk from the Gold Coast to Sydney :)
But probably it's not the most comfortable way.
So if you want to travel by plan you have to pay between 50 and 100 Dollar, depends on the date you want to fly. Or you can take the Greyhound, then you have to pay around 100 Dollar.
Or rent a car.
http://www.greyhound.com.au
http://www.webjet.com.au
9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?
- In week 34 top of the Australian Pop Charts was the song 'I want you back', Jackson 5.
(reference: my neighbour :), i'm sorry, but i couldn't find it...)
10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vo
cals?- It's the Brisbane punk band, the 'Black Assassins'.
(www.yahoo.com)
http://live-wirez.gu.edu.au/Staff/Stephen/default.html
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Summary, lecture 3
Cine- Speak
Learning the Language of the Cinema
There are a lot of different Shot Types:
VLS/ WS: Very LS/ Wide Shot
LS: Long Shot
MLS: Medium LS
MS: Mid Shot
MCU: Medium Close Up
CU: Close Up
BCU: Big CU
ECU: Extreme CU
First there is the Shot, then the scene and finally the film...
Shots are like words. They can help you to answer the questions Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Who? is most important and has to be answered first, cause without the who the story can't exist.
1. Who?
- Shot Type: Close Up
It answers the question of 'who' by showing the character in detail.
2. What? -What is the character doing?
- Shot Type: Mid Shot
It answers by showing the subject performing an action. Important: It shows the character.
3. Where? - relationships between people and places
- Shot Type: Long Shot
The Long Shot gives the answer to the 'where' question at the beginning of a scene, it is also known as the Establishing Shot. It is important for the audience to know where the action takes place.
4. When?
- Shot Type: Wide Shot and Close Up
Both types can help to answer the 'when' question. Time can be a difficult thing to capture on the screen. You have to know in which time the film is playing and all the people, places and things have to fit in these time. The passing of the time is really important.
5. Why?
- Shot Type: Big Close Up
It can helps to answer the 'why', by revealing more about a character and their actions.
But the 'why' questions must not be explain to early, otherwise there is no reason to watch the film to the end.
6. How?
- Shot Types: Medium Close Up or series of Close Ups
They can explain an event and answer the 'how' question.
"RULES"
Head Room:
-not to much or to little head room
Talking Room:
- not to much or to little talking room
Rules of Thirds:
- you need a raster over the picture
- it's all about positioning
- subject of interest must not be in the middle of the picture
180 Degree Rule:
- it's the line between two people having a conversation
- it has to be 180 degree to take a photo where you can see the faces of both people
IMPORTANT:
Every Shot has to be arranged.
Every Shot needs a reason why it is in the film.
Every Shot has to be new.
Every Shot must have a purpose.
TASK:
Watch a movie and answer the Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? questions.
- I decided to watch the movie 'Blood Diamond', cause I think it's a really good and interesting film with a lot of different shot types. And by chance I watched the preview of the serial 'Dexter' and was really surprised about the inconvenient shot types.
In the preview they show normal things like baking an egg, or preparing meat for baking or crushing coffee, but because of the really 'Extreme Close Up' all these things are looking really disgusting and unnormal and fitting perfect into the preview for 'Dexter'.
Blood Diamond:
Who?
In the beginning of the movie there are a lot of Close Ups of the leading actors Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) so the viewer knows who the character is.
What?
To answer the 'What?' question the audience can see some Mid Shots where the producer shows what happend and what the story is about. You can see that Danny is an diamond smuggler and make deals about it. Or you can see Solomon and his family and in the next sequence the viewer can see, that his family were attacked and broked away.
Where? When?
The story takes places during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1999 and you see some Long Shots and Wide Shots for example of the landscape or the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Directly at the beginning of the scene the viewer gets to know where the story is set.
Why? How?
Through the different Close Ups the audience get to know more about the characters and what they are doing, why and how. You can see the faces and the feelings of the people. Danny always wants to be a tough guy, but he also has a lot of problems and fear. And in the face of Solomon you can see also fear, but there is still hope and he has a really strong will.
(picture: google images)
Learning the Language of the Cinema
There are a lot of different Shot Types:
VLS/ WS: Very LS/ Wide Shot
LS: Long Shot
MLS: Medium LS
MS: Mid Shot
MCU: Medium Close Up
CU: Close Up
BCU: Big CU
ECU: Extreme CU
First there is the Shot, then the scene and finally the film...
Shots are like words. They can help you to answer the questions Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?
Who? is most important and has to be answered first, cause without the who the story can't exist.
1. Who?
- Shot Type: Close Up
It answers the question of 'who' by showing the character in detail.
2. What? -What is the character doing?
- Shot Type: Mid Shot
It answers by showing the subject performing an action. Important: It shows the character.
3. Where? - relationships between people and places
- Shot Type: Long Shot
The Long Shot gives the answer to the 'where' question at the beginning of a scene, it is also known as the Establishing Shot. It is important for the audience to know where the action takes place.
4. When?
- Shot Type: Wide Shot and Close Up
Both types can help to answer the 'when' question. Time can be a difficult thing to capture on the screen. You have to know in which time the film is playing and all the people, places and things have to fit in these time. The passing of the time is really important.
5. Why?
- Shot Type: Big Close Up
It can helps to answer the 'why', by revealing more about a character and their actions.
But the 'why' questions must not be explain to early, otherwise there is no reason to watch the film to the end.
6. How?
- Shot Types: Medium Close Up or series of Close Ups
They can explain an event and answer the 'how' question.
"RULES"
Head Room:
-not to much or to little head room
Talking Room:
- not to much or to little talking room
Rules of Thirds:
- you need a raster over the picture
- it's all about positioning
- subject of interest must not be in the middle of the picture
180 Degree Rule:
- it's the line between two people having a conversation
- it has to be 180 degree to take a photo where you can see the faces of both people
IMPORTANT:
Every Shot has to be arranged.
Every Shot needs a reason why it is in the film.
Every Shot has to be new.
Every Shot must have a purpose.
TASK:
Watch a movie and answer the Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? questions.
- I decided to watch the movie 'Blood Diamond', cause I think it's a really good and interesting film with a lot of different shot types. And by chance I watched the preview of the serial 'Dexter' and was really surprised about the inconvenient shot types.
In the preview they show normal things like baking an egg, or preparing meat for baking or crushing coffee, but because of the really 'Extreme Close Up' all these things are looking really disgusting and unnormal and fitting perfect into the preview for 'Dexter'.
Blood Diamond:
Who?
In the beginning of the movie there are a lot of Close Ups of the leading actors Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) so the viewer knows who the character is.
What?
To answer the 'What?' question the audience can see some Mid Shots where the producer shows what happend and what the story is about. You can see that Danny is an diamond smuggler and make deals about it. Or you can see Solomon and his family and in the next sequence the viewer can see, that his family were attacked and broked away.
Where? When?
The story takes places during the Sierra Leone Civil War in 1999 and you see some Long Shots and Wide Shots for example of the landscape or the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Directly at the beginning of the scene the viewer gets to know where the story is set.
Why? How?
Through the different Close Ups the audience get to know more about the characters and what they are doing, why and how. You can see the faces and the feelings of the people. Danny always wants to be a tough guy, but he also has a lot of problems and fear. And in the face of Solomon you can see also fear, but there is still hope and he has a really strong will.
(picture: google images)
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Wide Shot (WS)
This is a wide shot. It means that the subject takes up the full frame. The wide shot often works as an establishing shot.You can see the whole setting and get your own impression of it. A problem of the wide shot is, that it means different things to different people. For some people it is much wider than my example, they would call it a very wide shot or an extreme wide shot.(picture:flickr.com)
http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/wide-shot.html
http://www.tongaturismo.info/pictures/Fa%20Fa%20Island%20wide%20shot.jpg
Medium shot (MS)
(picture: google images)
http://www.releasing.net/filmmaker/long_medium_close-up_shots.html
http://www.releasing.net/books/33-medium.html
http://arts.endow.gov/about/40th/images/lincoln.jpg
Shot description 'ECU'
ECU stands for Extreme Close UP. It's an shot type of the camera work. There are a lot of different types of shots like wide shot (WS), medium shot (MS), medium close- up (MCU), close- up (CU) and variations of these frame sizes. The ECU gets right in and shows extreme details. In film, photography and television you work with it, cause the Close-ups are one of the standard shots used regularly with medium shots and long shots. In the Extreme Close Up the shot is so tight that only a fraction of the focus of attention can be seen. A good example for this is the picture above.
(picture: flickr.com)
http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/extreme-closeup.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close-up
Third Week Tutorial
Theme of the tutorial this week:
Language of the Screen
Effective Online Research – It's more than just Google and Wikipedia!
We have to find the explanation of:
ECU
WS
MS
Language of the Screen
Effective Online Research – It's more than just Google and Wikipedia!
We have to find the explanation of:
ECU
WS
MS
Summary, Lecture 2
Summary, Lecture 2- A Short History of Computing and the Internet
The most important people in the early history of Computing:
- Charles Babbage:
Charles Babbage, born in 1791, is the inventor of the first digital computer. His idea was to create a machine that can calculate and print mathematical tables. Later he conceived a massive, brass, steam- powered, general- purpose, mechanical computer.
- Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace:
Ada Byron, born in 1815, translated an Italian article about Babbage, ‘Sketch of the Analytical Engine’ and thought about a machine which would be able to compose and play music, produce graphics and be of everyday use. And she created the first computer program.
- Alan Turing:
Alan Turing , born in 1912, did the serious work required for the development of the computer. During the Second World War, he worked with a program to break secret German 'Enigma' codes. Later he investigated programming, neural nets, and the prospects for artificial intelligence.
The first Computer:
The first commercially produced computer (Altair) was in the 1950s by IBM. They were really big, unwieldy and expensive. These machines were created for the military, government and corporate work.
In the early 70s, a concept was invented that made the personal computers of today possible and approachable by the general user.
Because the first PC had no language and no set of terms by which the user could communicate with their computer, Bill Gates started to create a language for it and began to work with his own little garage company called ‘Microsoft’.
Apple:
- first home-made PC by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
- Apple I sold for $USA666.60
- two years after the Altair they launched the Apple II and Apple grew really big
- the PC turned from a toy into a business tool
IBM and Microsoft:
- first IBM produced mainframes for big companies
- by 1980 they decided to get into the PC market
- after a few years, IBM gained more and more of the market share - largely through its association with the software giant Microsoft
Another Operating System:
- GNU/Linux, by Linus Torvalds
- it was his own version of Unix
- it spread quickly across the world as a completely free operating system (alternative to the expensive systems like Windows, MacOS and Unix).
The Internet, The Web and Cyberspace:
The Internet is often called an ‘internetwork’ and that really describes it. It is a network of networks, which includes servers, mainframes and personal computers and many other devices that use CMC technology.
- interconnected by the telephone system or broad- band cable and satellite services
- people all over the world are linked to each other in an information-sharing system
- the first idea came from RAND corporation in the 1960s
- they created a scheme for a communication, command and control network
- first it was developed for the government and the military, but later also for all people
World Wide Web (WWW, or Web):
- founded in the 1990s when people began to see the potential for computers to communicate with each other as a matter of course
- HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) is the name of the language in which web pages are written
- Important: internet is not the same thing as the web!! -> the web is only a part of the internet, the internet is more complex and it includes many other things as well as the Web
Cyberspace:
- really difficult to define
- it is an interconnection of reality and imagination
Early Internet Applications:
- Email (Electronic mail)
- FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
- IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
- MUDs, MOOs, MUSHes
- IM (Instant Messaging)
- Facebook/ MySpace
- Twitter
The most important people in the early history of Computing:
- Charles Babbage:
Charles Babbage, born in 1791, is the inventor of the first digital computer. His idea was to create a machine that can calculate and print mathematical tables. Later he conceived a massive, brass, steam- powered, general- purpose, mechanical computer.
- Ada Byron, Lady Lovelace:
Ada Byron, born in 1815, translated an Italian article about Babbage, ‘Sketch of the Analytical Engine’ and thought about a machine which would be able to compose and play music, produce graphics and be of everyday use. And she created the first computer program.
- Alan Turing:
Alan Turing , born in 1912, did the serious work required for the development of the computer. During the Second World War, he worked with a program to break secret German 'Enigma' codes. Later he investigated programming, neural nets, and the prospects for artificial intelligence.
The first Computer:
The first commercially produced computer (Altair) was in the 1950s by IBM. They were really big, unwieldy and expensive. These machines were created for the military, government and corporate work.
In the early 70s, a concept was invented that made the personal computers of today possible and approachable by the general user.
Because the first PC had no language and no set of terms by which the user could communicate with their computer, Bill Gates started to create a language for it and began to work with his own little garage company called ‘Microsoft’.
Apple:
- first home-made PC by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak
- Apple I sold for $USA666.60
- two years after the Altair they launched the Apple II and Apple grew really big
- the PC turned from a toy into a business tool
IBM and Microsoft:
- first IBM produced mainframes for big companies
- by 1980 they decided to get into the PC market
- after a few years, IBM gained more and more of the market share - largely through its association with the software giant Microsoft
Another Operating System:
- GNU/Linux, by Linus Torvalds
- it was his own version of Unix
- it spread quickly across the world as a completely free operating system (alternative to the expensive systems like Windows, MacOS and Unix).
The Internet, The Web and Cyberspace:
The Internet is often called an ‘internetwork’ and that really describes it. It is a network of networks, which includes servers, mainframes and personal computers and many other devices that use CMC technology.
- interconnected by the telephone system or broad- band cable and satellite services
- people all over the world are linked to each other in an information-sharing system
- the first idea came from RAND corporation in the 1960s
- they created a scheme for a communication, command and control network
- first it was developed for the government and the military, but later also for all people
World Wide Web (WWW, or Web):
- founded in the 1990s when people began to see the potential for computers to communicate with each other as a matter of course
- HTML (Hyper Text Mark-up Language) is the name of the language in which web pages are written
- Important: internet is not the same thing as the web!! -> the web is only a part of the internet, the internet is more complex and it includes many other things as well as the Web
Cyberspace:
- really difficult to define
- it is an interconnection of reality and imagination
Early Internet Applications:
- Email (Electronic mail)
- FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
- IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
- MUDs, MOOs, MUSHes
- IM (Instant Messaging)
- Facebook/ MySpace
Summary, Lecture 1
Summary, Lecture 1- Introduction to New Communication Technologies
What is communication?
Communication transfers information to other people.
For a long time the basic model said, that “The speaker produces a message that is heard by the listener.” (Aristotle)
Because communication is more than that- it’s a bigger complex, we have a new model today.
“The speaker produces an effect on the transmitter which sends a message (which is degraded by the noise of the transmission process) that is intercepted by the receiver which converts it into an effect that is heard by the listener.” (Shannon & Weaver)
What is Technology?
The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives and to the world.
- Analog
- Digital
- Convergence
Old Communication Technologies:
- Oral
- Graphic
- Written (mail)
- Radio
- Telephone (Landline)
- Television
New Communication Technologies:
- Computer -> email (slowly going away), message boards/ discussion lists
- Mobile Phone (now including Telephone+ Computer), (SMS/MMS)
- Internet
- Instant message (IM) -> full word writing is going away!)
- Twitter
- Weblogs
- YouTube
- Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace)
- Smartphones
What is communication?
Communication transfers information to other people.
For a long time the basic model said, that “The speaker produces a message that is heard by the listener.” (Aristotle)
Because communication is more than that- it’s a bigger complex, we have a new model today.
“The speaker produces an effect on the transmitter which sends a message (which is degraded by the noise of the transmission process) that is intercepted by the receiver which converts it into an effect that is heard by the listener.” (Shannon & Weaver)
What is Technology?
The application of science, especially to industrial or commercial objectives and to the world.
- Analog
- Digital
- Convergence
Old Communication Technologies:
- Oral
- Graphic
- Written (mail)
- Radio
- Telephone (Landline)
- Television
New Communication Technologies:
- Computer -> email (slowly going away), message boards/ discussion lists
- Mobile Phone (now including Telephone+ Computer), (SMS/MMS)
- Internet
- Instant message (IM) -> full word writing is going away!)
- Weblogs
- YouTube
- Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace)
- Smartphones
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Resume of the second tutorial
It was so much fun... I really enjoyed this tutorial. Last week I was definitely lost. It was my first week at Griffith, the second week in Australia, the first time I worked with a Mac and the first time I used blogging. I didn't really know what to do and how to use it.
But today it worked really well, I completed my blog with images and YouTube videos, saw funny and interesting things and I could made me more familiar with the blogging. But of course I don't know if I did it right, but I hope so and otherwise it was a good exercise and an interesting and funny lesson!
...and that's it :)
But today it worked really well, I completed my blog with images and YouTube videos, saw funny and interesting things and I could made me more familiar with the blogging. But of course I don't know if I did it right, but I hope so and otherwise it was a good exercise and an interesting and funny lesson!
...and that's it :)
Different views of the future computer!!
I think, this is really interesting. The man shows his view how the home computer could look like in the year 2004... And above you can see how the people at the moment think about the future computer...(pictures: google images)
Brand new mobile phone
This is a good example of the convergence of communication.
You can use this mobile phone of course only for calling, but you can also enjoy the big entertainment functions. With the keyboard you can write very fast and easy, on the inside you can enjoy your favourite entertainment like music, games, etc. and work efficiently on the move with the Windows Mobile. You can use your mobile phone like your home computer. It's possible to have instant e-mail on your phone and for a fast internet connection this phone has Wi-Fi support.
(picture: google images)
Funny Commercial
At YouTube I found this really funny commercial about the newest way to enjoy watching TV...
Oh my god..
I don't know what to say... Which crazy guy created this thing?? :)
And the question is:
(pictures: google images)
http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/simonandkirby/archives/category/topic/art-editing
There are so many crazy technologies...
Wow, what is it?? I found this really crazy bathtub. I think it's really an unusual way of taking a bath..People are often looking for enhancements for their daily cleansing and adding a touch of technology and some personal prerequisites have made people to come up with crazy but lucrative designs for the home today including your normal bathroom requirements. But do you really need an integrated TV or cellphone? Probably crazy things should belong to crazy people :)(picture: google images)
Tutorial week 2
Sooo, hopefully today i have more ideas what to write and to do. Last week, i only wrote boring stuff. Before this course i wasn't really good at 'tecknolegy', but i think this tutorial is a good way to improve my knowledges and become a really computer nerd :)(picture: flickr.com)
Task for today:
Find 4 pictures depicting convergent technology...
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
New communication technologies (First week, first tutorial)
Today it's my first tutorial for New Communication Technologies. I created my first blog and use it for the first time...Every week we have to write down what we are doing in the course and have to answer the tutorial tasks.
Definition for ‘Convergence in Communication’:
'By having a common underlying mechanism and infrastructure, many communications technologies, like Internet access, voice, video and data communication, can be combined and be provided through a single device and over the same network – the convergence of communications.' (http://voip.about.com/od/notonlyvoice/a/CommConverge.htm)
Definition for ‘Convergence in Communication’:
'By having a common underlying mechanism and infrastructure, many communications technologies, like Internet access, voice, video and data communication, can be combined and be provided through a single device and over the same network – the convergence of communications.' (http://voip.about.com/od/notonlyvoice/a/CommConverge.htm)
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