Presentation:The computer-generated imagery and the film of Final Fantasy

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User Generated Digital Media

“Leave Brittany Alone” Blog Questions:

a) How many viewers are estimated to have watched the you tube video?
-more than 40000000 viewers

b) How would you rate the video?
-I will rate for dislike.

c) Is it of high quality in technical terms? Is it interesting aesthetically e.g. camera angles, use of light, the narrative, and so on?
-NO,I don't think it is of high qulity video in such aspects. On the contrary,it seems that the video was taken by simple equitments. And whether any skills used in taking it is not the important point when we watch and consider this video.

d) Does it raise interesting socio-cultural issues?
-Yes. It makes us know that the huge influence of the Internet. When we upload or share anything on the Internet,it's probable that our sharing will draw a lot of attention from others all around the world immediately.

e) Do you think deserved the attention that it received from the Internet community?
-No. In my opinion,the reason of receiving the attention is the exaggerated way of expressing his feeling about his idol in the video such as crying and shouting. However,it is a fact that there aren't any obvious aesthetical or ethical value in this video.

d) Briefly describe the video.
-A man who is called Chris Crocker,supported his idol Britney Spears and criticized someone defamed his idol such as Perez Hilton and Simon Cowell.

e) Find at least one interesting video, based on Crocker’s or Bus Uncle, and upload it to your blog.

f) Report some positive and negative comments about this new ability for computer users to make and widely distribute and respond to online films (such as the above three videos). (eg see Leadbeater, We-think, xviii; Burgess and Green, Youtube, Cambridge: Polity, 2009, 10…, 21-30).

-Positive:There will be more chance for people to express their feeling. And some talent people can share their works or show their performance for others freely throught such convenient platform including Youtube,Youku and Tudou. Viewers can also respond to the video immediately they have watched, which offer some valuable opinion from others.

-Negative:Personal privacy will be easier to be violated because of the convenient sharing function of the Internet. It should be cautious that some sensitive information may be revealed throught the clips on the Internet.

Social Networking and Online Identities

Interview classmates:
-How many online identities do you have? What are they like?
 4
-In what ways are they different to your “in person” identities?
No difference.



What are some benefits of expressing one’s identity online?

-It is more free and easier to express our feeling which can't be revealed in the reality.
Because of the new identify,we never worry about the secret disclosed by others especially someone know us in the reality.We can act as what we want and follow our inner mind to play the role that is different to what we showed in the reality before.
-It is the good way to meet some friends who have the related interests with us.
We can have more than 1 identities online at the same time,which means the different groups of friends we can meet with our identities. For example, we create the academic identities for the peers and schoolmates while we possess the entertaining identities for our online friends or any particular enthusiasts.


What are some risks?

-The risk may be losing some personal information. It is inevitable that someone may guess our real identities and find out more information throught the information available online or even sometime what we ever expressed with our online identities. The Internet is so convenient that we only need to type any key words with search engines, a lot of results about the key words will be shown immediately.
-We may be cheated by someone with fake identity online easily. This is because we never know his/her real identity when we make a new friend online. All of the information about him/her,which just be told by himself/herself, can be fake such as the name,age,education,appearance or the marriage status etc.

Internet and Media

•         What is the primary source of news for you?

The primary source of news for me is the Online News. It is becausee my homepage of my explorer is the website of Yahoo Hong Kong. Then when I access to the Internet every day, I will firstly check the news shown in the website. And I make it a habit to be the way of aquiring the basic information such as what happened in Hong Kong. 

•         Do you think that ‘mass media’ will some day be totally replaced by digital media / internet?

Yes, I do think so. Nowadays, there are more and more people using mobile phone,laptop or other digital media to get the latest news everytime everywhere especially the youngsters and office workers. It is obvious that using the digital media and Internet is more convenient than mass media. As opposed to mass media, we not only don't need to buy any newspapers,television or radio,but also never spent time to wait for the broadcast because we can save the webpages on the Internet as the bookmark for viewing everytime and revision in the future.

 Also,using digital media is cost-less since most things shared on the Internet is free and there is no limits of units or time when we access to the Internet because of wifi available in many places and the monthly plan of the payment provided. Therefore,it is probable that as time goes on,mass media will be replaced by digital media when all people enjoy the convenience of using digital media or the new generation dominate society in the future.

Digital Knowledge Sharing

(1) What is a brief history of the encyclopedia?
-Pliny the Elder:A Roman statesman compiled a work of 37 chapters covering natural history, art and architecture, medicine, geography, geology and all aspects of the world around him.

-Middle Ages:The work De nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae  ("The wedding of Mercury and Philologia") written by Martianus Capella (4th-5th century),which consists in a complete encyclopedia of classical erudition,firstly introduced the division and classification of the seven liberal arts. And the first Christian encyclopedia were the Institutiones divinarum et saecularium litterarum of Cassiodorus (543-560).

-17th–19th centuries:The beginnings of the modern idea of the general-purpose, widely distributed printed encyclopedia precede the 18th century encyclopedists.

-20th century:
Early-Popular and affordable encyclopaedias such as Harmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia and the Children's Encyclopaedia appeared. 
Middle-Several encyclopedias,which were notable for synthesizing important topics in specific fields,were released, often by means of new works authored by significant researchers.
Late-encyclopedias were being published on CD-ROMs for use with personal computers.

-21st century：
The encyclopedia's hierarchical structure and evolving nature is particularly adaptable to a digital format
-Disk-based (  DVD-ROM or CD-ROM format)
-Media ( animation , audio and video )
-Hyperlink
Reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia    

  

(2) What are some key features of that encyclopedia?

 (a)according to Wikipedia

 

-multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project
-written collaboratively by largely anonymous Internet volunteers who write without pay
- continually created and updated, with articles on historic events appearing within minutes, rather than months or years.
Reference：http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:About

(b)according to Encyclopedia Brittannica4

-general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia
-available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet
-about 100 full-time editors and 15th edition
-continuous revision:continually reprinted and every article updated on a schedule
Reference：http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia_Britannica
                 http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/186618/Encyclopaedia-Britannica 

(3)Which encyclopedia was most useful for this research?
In my opinion,Wikipedia is more useful for me to do any research. This is becuae it is easy and quick to access to the informatiion by tying the key words with the krybroad in the Interent. And there are a lot of versions of languages for our convenience. Some key term in the article even affix with the link,which provides convenience for us to easily understand and find out the further infotmation. Besides,the quality of information on the websites is trustable because of the control of the team in Wikiped

(4) Can you trust this encyclopedia (the one you used) 100%? Why or why not?
No. I can't trust Wikipedia 100% although I believe so far it is the most useful encyclopedia for me. However,It is impossible that all things written on Wikipedia is truth when the autors are lots of anonymous Internet volunteers even some of them are professional people. Or we can say that Everyone makes mistakes. Therefore,100%truth is not existed until now but we can try to refer to it and then find out the more trustable answers with our understanding and contemplation.

Digital photography

Differences between analog photography and digital photography.
analog photography:
The quality of analog photography is better than digital photography such as the quality of detail and the ability to capture colour. However,the cost of taking photo with film cameras is quite high since you need to buy films before taking photo regularly. And some time is necessary  for pocessing the photo and you can't get the immediate feedback with film cameras.
digiatal photography:
As opposed to analog photography,digitalgral photography has less quality but more quantity as long as you have enough memory in your cameras. It is easy to preview and delete any photography in the cameras you don't like. And digital cameras are more expensive but using it to take photos is cost-free because of memory cards.

What use is digital technology to photographers?

Photographers can edit the photo easily with some softwares on the omputer such as PhotoShop,the most popular image editing softwares. Using those softwares,  photographers can change the colour,light and the composition of the photo to make the photo more  sharp and attractive.
Also,photographers can use any tools from PhotoShop to beautify the models in their photo. For example,removing the blemishes and whitening the face. And some even may completely add or remove somethings to create the illusion to cheat others.

Is photographic truth at an end? Has it every existed?
Although it can't be denied that there are any photo never modified in the world,photography isn't the truth at an end. Beacuase of the digital technology and the intention of photographers,photography may be modified and never reflect the truth. For example, photographers may take any photo from some special angle,making the target seems bigger or amazing. Moreover,in order to increase the benefits,most people tend to use digital technology to make their products or models shown in photo more beautify and perfect to attract the viewers.Therefore,photography never equal to the truth.

PhotoShop

Gamer Revolution

According to the film, what are some pros and cons of playing video-games for individuals and societies?

-Pros: Any casual games can entertain people and make players relax such as Puzzle games and card/board games on computer or TV. Those games also train the hand-eye coordination and logical thinking while players play with software programes or other players throught online system. Besides, Players can improve their problem-solve skills and the abilities of coordination with others(not matter the AI or real peoplen)when they face the mission in any action game. Also,it is easier to make friends and communicate with them all around the world while playing online games. It just a chance to make foreign friends who have the same interest.

-Cons:It is a fact that most game players are addicted to the games easily especially online game. It is because there are endless missions and skills provided in the game and players just want to pursue them again and again,which may make some teenagers no longer pay any effort on their studies and even play games without rest.On the other hand, it is also easier to cause violent behavior because of any violent game. Teenagers may heve the wrong concept about violence and then tend to imitate some violent action shown in the game.

According the film, is there any evidence that digital games can encourage aggressive values and anti-social actions in the real world? Do you agree?

-No. I don't think so. Although in most of time,players need to be aggressive in the game, it is not means that they will be more aggressive in the real world. It is probable that players can distinguish between the reality and the world inside the game. Playing digitai games just like watching movies or TV programmes beacase there are both various themes including violent. Therefore,it is believed that the problem is not common with the age restriction in games.

Should governments have the right to ban certain games? Why or why not?

-Yes. I do think the government have the right to ban cartain games. It is obvious that some games are extremely violent and sensitive to the public and children. And some of them even just focus on the representation of violence without any meaning. So it is proper to ban the games just striking controversy in society and leaving bad affect on the mind of children.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Weta Featurette

-What are the Pros and Cons of Computer Generated Imagery?

Computer Generated Imagery(CGI) can help us to create all fantastic things in the movie easily even it is imposssible to find out in the world. For example,Avatar,Star War and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Because of motion capture,giving us a feeling of realistic, just like the dream world really exist. And any dangerous scenes such as falls and car crashes can also be shown in the movie by CGI. Also, Creating the 3D animation and virtual character by CGI can enhance the qualities as opposed to the cartoon in the old days such as Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.That provide the chance for children to enjoy the high qulity animation.

However,the disavantage of CGI is relying on computer graphics excessively. That will makes fillm maker lack the creativity because they will trend to pursue the visual effects only such as spectacle but disregard the true meaning of the story which should shown in the film.

-Will Computer Generated Imagery make actors obsolete? Yes or No? Why?

No. CGI can't instead of actors totally in the progress of film making. This is because the motion capture-the most important technology for the CGI-is depend on digitizing and tracking the human movements. That means human actors is necessary for producing CGI such as virtual characters.

-Should digital characters be nominated for acting awards competing with humans?

No. Digital character is produced by humans and all of  their action(or performance) appeared in the film both come from human actors(markers).The CGI producers just apply the movement of human actors to such digital character. And it is a fact that such characters never act on their own mind and pay the efforts or show their talent to take part in  movie shooting.

-What are the advantages and disadvantages of motion capture?

Advantage: making the movement of all things appeared in the film realistic and closer to the reality.

Disadvantage:Becuase of the laws of physics,any exaggerated and fantastic movement can not be represented. And the performance of the actors(markers) may be not satisfying enough, which also affect the outputs of CGI.

-Should animation strive for photorealism?

No. animation and photorealism both have their own artistic value. Also,the skills required

 for them is different. We can't judge which one is better but at the aim of pursuing the illusion of reality, we can find the style,technique and the character of the painters from photorealism paintings while animation only simulate the reality to make the shape and movement through technology but it is more motional.

Mission to Earth

(a)Digital cinema  are different to the traditional cinema. First,they are produced with softwares totally by the autors. The software generates variable screen layouts and chooses different things from databases to display in each frames to tell the story or theme. The story relys on the main video,motion graphics,sounds in different frames at the same time. But the traditional cinema often use only one video which including the characters,plots,dialogue to represent the story.

Second,the sequences of media elements from the digital cinema can be changable. And the change follows the rule defined by the autor. That means you may find a new picture of the story constructed by different media elements when you watch the cinema for the second time. On the other hand,the sequences of  video deisplay of tradition cinema are fixed . And there is only one story in each movie which has already planed by the autor in tradition cinema.

Third,there is no dialogue in the digital cinema. The story is only told by the voice over.However,there are a lot of dialogues shown in tradition cinema. And we often understand the story through the dialogues of the characters.

Digital cinema is constructrd by different media elements such as video,motion graphics and sounds. And all of such media element is arranged by softwares.But tradition cinema show the story for audience by video only.Instead of softwares, the development of story is decided by film maker in tradition cinema.

(b)This film reminds me the eletronic comic,which is also drawn in a lot of frames. And all of the pictures in the frame tell us the story through seeing them in the computer,just like the different media elements showing in frames in digital cinema.

(c)This medium can encourage film makers be more creative because they can make the film to tell the story  throuh a few versions(not just one version),depending on the rules defined by autor. Also,audience can understand the film by their own perception when watching the film.

Modern Time:pros and cons of new technology

First,Chaplin was a factory worker in the film. His job was tightening bolts in the film. Therefore, he should repeated the same work again and again  in the production line with industrial machinery, which made him jerky and never stop the rhythmic movements of his nut-tightening even during a break.
Second, Chaplin and other workers were observed every time in the factory by the boss with the closed circuit cameras,which made Chaplin nervous despite he wanted to takAlsoe a rest,the boss ordered him back to work.Also,beacuse of the order of the boss through the closed circuit cameras,the speed of the production line increased gradually.That caused Chaplin's problem(the jerky and rhythmic movements)more serious afterward. Finally,he has gone crazy completelly.

What I experience with digital technoligies which is similar with the film,is typing on the computer.When I type a lot of words and repeat the movement of the fingers with the keyboard on the computer, the fingers
will be tired. Likewise,using the computer to work or access to the Internet to browse the web pages, the trigger finger and the shoulder will be hurt because of maintaining the same posture or gesture for a long time.

The self-introduction

My name is Macy Ma who is a Visual Studied Student. I was admitted to Lingnan University last year. Now I am a Year 2 student.
I love my course because it is creative and inspiring. Also, I have a lot of hobbies such as listening  to music,reading novels,watching movies whether documentary films or horror films,which may be a bit related to the course.
Besides,the aim of making the blog is to share all of my feelings and reflection of what I have learnt in Digital Media class.
Therefore, my blog is expected to focus on any discusssion and views about visual cultuer in the form of digital media.
However,because of the time limitation, the design of the blog is not beautiful enough and the content is not very rich but I will try to fill my blog with more detailed design and meaningful entries in the future.

(The source:http://rudolfherczog.deviantart.com/art/Future-World-2-37872318)