The Death of Hollywood

Of course Hollywood is dying! Ever since the emergence of new technologies, Hollywood began its slow and painful death. How so, you may ask? Well, ever since the World Wide Web became... worldwide and accessible to all, there has been a dramatic growth in opportunities, particularly within the film industry. Now we have specific websites that we can go to to upload videos - documentaries, short films, home videos, anything really. But then , of course, this leads to piracy and illegal downloading. Many people upload snippets of unreleased films which is fraudulent behaviour, it is completely unacceptable! Yet, it is still done. So this could only mean bad news for Hollywood, right? Not quite, I think we all forget that "there is always a light at the end of a tunnel". 


We could consider the shift from Hollywood cinema to Hollywood cinema: Online. It would be a great change, as many people are recently becoming more dependant on their computers and the Web. Maybe, we could look at airing new releases online instead of restricted to the cinemas? Of course there is a higher risk of piracy, but if an industry can offer several other benefits in exchange for the single price of a film, this could bring great exposure and attract more... lackadaisical (that's a nice word for lazy) people who prefer to sit at home and enjoy the company of themselves. I believe that "file sharing over the internet has considerable commercial promise for all copyright owners, including the Hollywood studios." (Currah, 2006, p 441) I think the online experience would be an amazing opportunity for Hollywood, if only they realised!


Currah, A 2006, Journal of Economic Geography, 'Hollywood versus the Internet: the media and entertainment industries in a digital and networked economy', vol. 6, pp. 439-468, viewed 2nd September 2011, via Griffith University Database, DOI: 10.1093/jeg/lbl006

Scavenger Hunt.

1. Where was the first University established and in which year?
          I used Altavista.com to search for the oldest University. The answer I found was: Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. It was founded roughly around 969 AD.


Yahoo Answers, 2006 viewed 25th August 2011, <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060729054252AAiUY0V>


2. What is Stephen Stockwell's band called and what does he play?  Can you name a couple of their songs?
        I don't know if my method counts as cheating... but I typed "Stephen Stockwell rock band" (assumed they were rock) into Altavista.com and found an older blog of someone who used to do this subject who answered "The Black Assassin". So then I searched "The Black Assassin Stephen Stockwell". It then led me to a site which explained that Stephen played the keyboard.


Blogger, 2005 viewed 25th August 2011, <http://www.users.on.net/~lenus/nct/2005/04/nct-week-6.html>
Live-Wirez, 2006, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://live-wirez.gu.edu.au/Staff/Stephen/default.html>


3. What is the weight of the world’s biggest machine? How much did it cost to build?
        This was quite amusing to search for, although I searched for heavy machines I got lots of "Worlds heaviest man in love, worlds heaviest dog, worlds heaviest woman". I unfortunately was only able to find the world largest and heaviest aircraft. This was said to be the An225 Mriya. The cost was not stated.


Bukisa, 2011, viewed 26th August 2011, <http://www.bukisa.com/articles/40463_worlds-largest-machines-ever-built>


4. Who is Justin Bieber's lawyer, and what is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact the lawyer?
          I wasn't able to find this but I did find a lawyer who was called Justin Bieber and his contact number was: (215) 563-1110


Justin M. Bieber Esquire, viewed 26th August 2011, <http://justin-bieber-law.com/>
        
5. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
          Searched 'cheapest travel option gold coast to melbourne' in Altavista.com and it led me to Flight Centre where I searched for the cheapest option. The result was: $119 for an adult.


Flight Centre, 2011, viewed 25th August 2011, <https://secure.flightcentre.com.au/tundra/ibe/flights/book;jsessionid=14FDEB591281AA8E3B488F8CEFA4CED1.abnel76?execution=e1s1>


6. Who is Hatsune Miku? What company does she belong to? What is her birthday?
          Miku Hatsune is an anime "vocalist" from the Vocaloid Character Vocal Series created by Good Smile Company. Her birthday is on the 31st of August. I found this information by first typing in "Miku Hatsune" into Altavista.com. I found who she is in the first reference. I then found her birthday in the second reference. Finally, I found the company in the third reference.


Anime Vice, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://www.animevice.com/miku-hatsune/18-20703/>
SgCafe, 2011, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://sgcafe.com/2010/08/happy-birthday-hatsune-miku/>
TailGrab, 2010, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://tailgrab.org/2010/03/review-good-smile-companys-hatsune-miku/>


7. Find a live webcam in Belarus. Find a place to stay in Antarctica.
          The live webcam I found was World Webcams. And the  accommodation in Antarctica that I found was "Beachside Resort and Spa, 2555 East Colorado Boulevard Antarctica, Antarctica." I found both these sources through AltaVista.com


World Webcams, 2009, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://www.world-webcams.net/webcams,belarus.html>
Hotel, 2011, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://www.hotel.com.au/Antarctica-Antarctica/Beachside-Resort-&-Spa-2-hotels.asp>


8. What song was top of the Australian pop charts this week in 1991?
          Firstly, I had to search the week number we are currently in. I found out we are in Week 33. Then I searched "australian pop charts, week 33 1991" and found a site called World Charts. If I read the site properly it said that in week 33, the number one pop song was 99 Reason - Jo Beth Taylor.


Epoch Converter, 2011, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://www.epochconverter.com/epoch/weeknumbers.php>
World Charts, 2011, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://www.worldcharts.co.uk/archives/australia/aus90.htm>


9. What type of car is used to make ‘Google Street View’?
          I basically typed the exact question we were asked into AltaVista.com and it directed me straight to the answer: Volkswagen New Beetle.


Auto Blog, 2011, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://www.autoblog.com/2007/06/01/take-a-look-at-the-vehicle-thats-taking-a-look-at-you/>


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


1. ¿Dónde la primera universidad fue establecida y en qué año?
2. Cuál es Stephen Stockwell' ¿la venda de s llamada y qué hace él juega? ¿Puede usted nombrar unas par de sus canciones?
3. ¿Cuál es el peso de la máquina más grande del mundo? ¿Cuánto costó para construir?
4. Quién es Justin Bieber' ¿abogado de s, y cuál es el mejor contacto de la manera (lo más aprisa posible, el más confiable) el abogado?
5. ¿Cuál es la forma más barata de recorrido del Gold Coast a Melbourne?
6. ¿Quién es Hatsune Miku? ¿Qué compañía ella pertenece? ¿Cuál es su cumpleaños?
7. Encuentre un webcam vivo en Belarus. Encuentre un lugar para permanecer en Ant3artida.
8. ¿Qué canción era la tapa de las cartas australianas del estallido esta semana en 1991?
9. Qué tipo de coche se utiliza para hacer el View'? de la calle de Google del `
10. Traduzca estas preguntas a español y después tradúzcalo nuevamente dentro de inglés.


1. Where the first university was established and in what year?
2. Which is Stephen Stockwell' the bandage of called s and what he does plays? Can you name a pair of your songs?
3. Which is the weight of the greatest machine of the world? How much it cost to construct?
4. Who is Justin Bieber' lawyer of s, and which is the best contact of the way (possible, more fast most reliable) the lawyer?
5. Which is the cheapest form of route of the Gold Coast to Melbourne?
6. Who is Hatsune Miku? What company she belongs? Which is its birthday?
7. It finds webcam alive in Belarus. It finds a place to remain in Ant3artida.
8. What song was the cover of Australian letters of the outbreak this week in 1991?
9. What type of car is used to make the View'? of the street of Google of `
10. It translates these questions to Spanish later and tradúzcalo again within English.


I used: Babel Fish 2011, viewed 25th August 2011, <http://au.babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt>

Rubber

The film, Rubber, begins with a man describing to the camera how many films actually have "no reasons" for doing what they have done. He goes on to list quite a few examples and then turns to an audience within the film itself. Showing an actual audience in a film goes against the film norm. Further on, as the film progresses the main character is established, this being a tire. This also challenges standard film conventions. As the plot enfolds we see that the tire is trying to understand who he is and what his purpose is. This can be said to be the "normal world" of the tired. Plot point one begins when the tire, Robert, discovers he can telepathically destroy objects. Syd Fields "paradigm" helped me with identifying plot point one. (Field, 2011)

 

What I inferred from this film, through the techniques being used and the rejection of standard film norm, was that this was a type of "avante garde" film. In ordinary Hollywood films there is also an effective use of the mise en scene. Rubber uses very little in its set up. The beginning of the film had several chairs placed along a dirt road, but as the man later explains there are no reasons for many films it is assumed this was just an example of what a film can do, just because it can. The cinematography is very basic yet very skilful, the colour palette consists of 'cool' tones, so there is quite an efficient use of blue. Particular sounds are enhanced, an example of this is when the tire rolls over the plastic bottle. The lack of soundtrack is interesting and provides very little distraction. 

Reference:

Field, S 2011, The Paradigm Worksheet, viewed 26th August 2011, <http://www.sydfield.com/featured_theparadigmworksheet.htm>

Tumblr's Terms of Service

Tumblr.com is a social networking site where you are given the opportunity to create a webpage for yourself. To be a part of this website you must be aware of the Terms of Service. Firstly, the "subscriber" must understand that Tumblr can control the availability of their services without giving notice and they are allowed to modify their Terms of Service when they please and will notify users through e-mail, or a post on the website itself. It is the users' responsibility to make themselves familiar with any adjustments. The user must be at least thirteen years old, anyone younger is not permitted to provide their personal information when registering for Tumblr. The user must understand that Tumblr may go under construction at any time, but Tumblr's team will prevent this from happening as much as they can. (Tumblr, 2010)

Members of Tumblr can post such things as text, graphics, logos, tools, photographs, images, illustrations, software or source code, audio and video, animations and themes. Although it should be made clear that any material posted on Tumblr becomes the property of Tumblr but will be protected by copyright laws. The user may download and copy other's content on the site as long as copyright and other information of the original source remains intact.  (Tumblr, 2010)

Tumblr only reveals personally identifying information to employees, contractors and affiliated organisations that are in need of the information to provide services for the website and to those who have agreed not to "spill the beans" to another. (Tumblr, 2010)

Tumblr Terms of Service, 2010, viewed 26th August 2011, <http://www.tumblr.com/policy/en/terms_of_service>
Tumblr Privacy Policy, 2010, viewed 26th August 2011, <http://www.tumblr.com/policy/en/privacy>

Halo Reach vs. The Sims 3

As you can see by the title of this post, I personally find Halo Reach and The Sims 3 quite appealing to me. There's an obvious contrast between the two games, one based on killing the other team and the other based on creating a life for your character. When playing Halo you often have bursts of adrenalin when you have assassinated the opposition from behind or miraculously managed to headshot them from across the venue. It's exciting and often leaves you wanting to beat your current amount of kills, therefore, very addictive. Whereas, The Sims 3 is laid back and the idea of leading a life different to yours is quite exciting in its own way.


Although I have mentioned two games, I am going to focus on Halo Reach in this post. Most people think that violence in video games will influence violence in reality. In an American journal article I have been reading, it comments on how school shootings are said to be the result of violent gamers. Although, they conducted further research and discovered that "the most common shared trait was a history of suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts, often with a documented history of extreme depressed feelings". (Olson, C.K 2004) So, as a result I don't think that video games actually affect the players, unless, the individual had psychological issues - I say this sincerely, just so you know.

Reference:

Olson, C.K 2004, 'Media Violence Research and Youth Violence Data: Why do they conflict?', Academic Psychiatry, vol. 28, no.2, pp 144-150, viewed 24th August 2011, via Griffith University Database.

Has Myspace faded into the background?

I used to be a loyal member of Myspace, well, until Facebook was the new craze. 


Being a part of today's youth, I experience and witness the rise and fall of certain fads amongst my peers. It is obvious that the latest trend is social networking sites, specifically with teens. (Hayes, 2007) What is a social networking site you may ask? Social networking sites are "Websites that encourage social interaction through profile-based user accounts." (Keenan & Shiri, 2009) Myspace and Facebook are the prime examples for social networks. Myspace was founded earlier than Facebook and was, for a while, extremely popular. You could create then customise your profile, making it as attractive as you possibly could. It was also known for "Myspace Music". This is where musicians made their own profiles and updated regularly with tour dates, new tracks,  photos and sometimes even communicating with their fans. But for some reason, this wasn't enough. Then, as we all know, Facebook came into existence. It wasn't till around 2008/2009 that Facebook became "cool".

"The emphasis on Facebook is taking your existing ‘‘real world’’ connections or networks and making them accessible through the web."(Keenan & Shiri, 2009)




Reference List:


Hayes, S 2007, 'The Myspace Culture', Voices From The Middle, vol. 15, no. 2, pp 50-60, viewed 24th August 2011, via Griffith University Database.


Keenan, A & Shiri, A 2009, 'Sociability and social interaction on social networking websites', Emerald Insight, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 438-450, viewed 24th August 2011, via Griffith University Database.

Proof that I can use databases :)

1. Stephen Stockwell's first journal article:


Stockwell, S 1981 'Kuranda Police Shooting' Legal Service Bulletin, vol. 6, pp. 48-49, viewed 11 August 2011, via Griffith University Database.


2. Governor Slugwell appeared in the following comic:


Burden, B 1985 'When The Shoes Aren't Worth The Shine' Flaming Carrot Comics, 7th edn, Renegade Press, Burbank, United States of America, via Underground and Independant Comics.


Burden, B 1985 'To Take Arms Against a Sea of Troubles'  Flaming Carrot Comics, 10th edn, Renegade Press, Burbank, United States of America, via Underground and Independant Comics.


Burden, B 1986 'Epilogue' Flaming Carrot Comics, 11th edn, Renegade Press, Burbank, United States of America, via Underground and Independant Comics.


3. What is the latest medical thinking on the dangers of mobile phones?


I did some research and it was quite hard to find the most recent medical position, although I found an article from 2002. The article states that:

"Last year, researchers from St Vincent’s showed that chronic mobile phone usage exposes brain cells to heat-shock proteins that may have the potential to induce cancer. Increased concentrations of heat-shock proteins are present in cancer and neuro- degenerative diseases."

Kenyon, G 2002, 'Long-term risk from mobile phones examined', The Lancet, vol. 3, p72, viewed 10th August 2011, via Griffith University Database.

4. In Bladerunner, what is Leon's reaction when Holden asks him about his mother? Quote the 1982 draft script and provide a full reference. 

"Leon: My...

Leon looks shocked, surprised. But the needles in the computer barely move. Holden goes for the inside of his coat, But big Leon is faster. His laser burns a hole the size of a nickel through Holden's stomach. Unlike a bullet, a laser causes no impact. It goes through Holden's shoulder and comes out of his back, clean as a whistle. Like a rag doll he falls back into the seat. Big slow Leon is already walking away, but he stops, turns, and with a little smile of satisfaction fires through the back of the seat."

http://solomon.afso.alexanderstreet.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/pdf/FS001268.pdf

5. What does Paul Soukup say Walter Ong saw as the main paradox in 20th century communication? Cite your source.


“that a society given so much to the use of diagrams and to the aneuvering of objects in space . . . should at the same time develop means of communication which specialize not in sight but in sound”


Soukup, P, 2004, 'Walter J. Ong, S.J. A Retrospective,' Communication Research Trends, vol.23, no.1, viewed 11 August 2011. 

Okay, so I know you're probably watching this video and thinking it has no relevance AT ALL to the internet/new communication technologies, but I've tried to think outside of the box with this post :)

Nowadays, when I think of the internet my thoughts go straight to the negatives. Cyber bullying, harassment, hacking, fraud etc. So I thought I'd focus on harassment/cyber bullying and the uncertainty of talking to strangers online. In this video you see a man dressed up in women's clothes pretending to be Katy Perry. Obviously, it's a joke but if we think past this video we consider the types of people on the internet. We never truly know who we're talking to.

Cyber harassing "can take a variety of guises. A direct form of Internet harassment may involve the sending of unwanted e-mails which are abusive, threatening or obscene from one person to another. It may involve electronic sabotage, in the form of sending the victim hundreds or thousands of junk e-mail messages (the activity known as “spamming”) or sending computer viruses. Indirect forms of harassment may involve a cyber- stalker impersonating his or her victim on-line and sending abusive e-mails or fraudulent spams in the victim’s name." (Ellison & Akdeniz, 1998) 

In this video all sorts of people have gone on this website for fun, hoping to talk to some cool new people, instead they are confronted with this crazy looking man. I know he hasn't done anything illegal or wrong, but it just makes you think of the many times you've gone on a website and spoken to someone who wasn't who they said they were. The internet is a scary place, and the extent of it is greatly underestimated.

Reference:

Ellison L & Akdeniz Y, 1998 'Cyber-stalking: the Regulation of Harassment on the Internet', Crime, Criminal Justice and the Internet, pp 29-48, viewed 26th August 2011, via Griffith University Database.

My experiences with communication technologies.

My first major communication committment began when I was about nine. I emailed family overseas and kept in contact with friends who also had email addresses. This evolved into MSN messenger and many more people got email addresses so they could instant message each other. MSN continued to grow and added new feautures such as Video Chat and Voice Chat which as a result became more interactive, it was more than just a few words flying across the internet to each other.

Over a few years I became a member of Myspace.com and so did all of my friends. Here we were able to make our own profiles, add music and photos, comment each other publicly, talk to complete strangers and basically have your own life on a website. Myspace has/had the same concept that Facebook.com now has. I find websites such as Myspace, Facebook, Tumblr and even Blogspot great ways to communicate with others but not such a great place to post private and personal things.

I think there is almost a breach of privacy when it comes to social networking sites. Although, I guess it does depend on the information to put about yourselves on these websites. I try to refrain from posting my deepest darkest secrets because I know it can get into the wrong hands... and no one wants that.

Our first New Communication Technologies lecture.

Today's lecture was an introduction to the course. Our lecturer, Stephen Stockwell touched over the assessments and described what we would be learning throughout the semester.


I was actually surprised when Stephen brushed over the history of communication and told us that cave drawings were a form of communication, although, now that he mentioned it it does make sense. He defined communication and technology. Communication was described as:

"any process that transfers, transmits or makes information known to other people."

And technology was described as:

"the scientific study of mechanical arts and their application to the world."

Prior this lecture I was quite unsure about the content of this course. I knew it would obviously have a connection to technology but was completely surprised when we were taught the brief mechanics of technology and the way things work. 

The model above is far more complex than what Stephen spoke about in the lecture. I'm still a little confused about what it means, but Shannon and Weaver explain that:

"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." 

Furthermore, I was pleased with this first lecture and keen for the weeks to come.




Photo source: 
Shkaminski, viewed 29th July 2011, <http://www.shkaminski.com/Classes/images/Shannon-Weaver%20Model.gif>

Introduction

Hi, my name is Nisha Gabrielle Fernandez. I'm seventeen years old and turn eighteen in September. I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Communication which led me to New Communication Technologies. I'm doing this course for a year to bump up my GPA so I can transfer into a Bachelor of Business/Creative and Professional Writing. I'm particularly interested in writing and therefore plan to write as a profession.

When I'm not writing I find myself playing guitar, drawing and attempting to paint (not so good at it yet). I love music, especially acoustic/alternative/metal/rock and the occasional pop song. I'm actually attending Soundwave Revolution in September so that's pretty exciting!

I actually blog in my spare time, so this course is quite appealing to me.