2(b) Using you wider knowledge of new media technologies, discuss how far young people's use of media technology differs from that of their parents.

Young people, in general, put to use the new media technologies to a far greater extent than their parents. For example, youth are much more likely to download and watch a new film rather than go to the cinema than their parents. This is because of the accessibility of these new technologies, making it so that a person can access anything they like from their bedroom.

Part of the reason behind the difference between young people and their parents is because generally, we live in very different societies. For a young person sitting in their room on their own, it is much less likely that they are not being social, as they may be using the social networking available, or texting their friends on their mobile phones. Even whilst gaming, with the new technology available in the gaming industry, more and more young people are playing against their friends and strangers accross the internet or network, and a prime example of this is with the recently released Nintendo Wii, on which others can access what you are doing and interact with you. This is more appealing to young people, as our social lives are now up over media networks like this, nearly as much as through school, youth clubs, part-time jobs etc.

However, parents do not avoid the social networks altogether. Many use these to find their friends from school and stay connected, on sites like Facebook, and the new craze for tracing your routes over the internet is popular past-time. With the Nintendo Wii, more adults are becoming involved than with previous games consoles.

There are gaming technologies, however, that mainly only young people get interested in, for example the PSP hand-held gaming device, popular with many young people because of it's high quality and you can take it anywhere if you will have the need to be entertained, which outlines another reason for the new media technologies being more popular with young people: we get bored extremely easily. Parents grew up being able to entertain themselves with anything, but young people have been brought up in a technological spin. While we are developing we get used to having things to entertain us constantly, like MP3 players playing us music whenever we are alone, or even when we're not, or portable gaming devices for when we are on the bus. We are also used to having a social network of friends available to us at the click of a button, now even more thanks to the new mobile phones being released with internet access.

In some media, however, parents are likely to use what's available as much as their children, like in digital television now being able to watch whatever you want, whenever to you want to.

Digital Piracy

Obviously through the creation of home music producing and editing software, many questions are raised over the security of artists' and record labels' rights.

In the USA, a legislation was formed to counteract this problem, chapter 10 of the United States' Copyright Law, which states:

-the first government technology mandate in the copyright law, requiring all digital audio recording devices sold, manufactured or imported in the US (excluding professional audio equipment) to include the Serial Copy Management System (SCMS).
-the first anti-circumvention provisions in copyright law, later applied on a much broader scale by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
-the first government-imposed royalties on devices and media, a portion of which is paid to the record industry directly.

The fact is, with the technology now available to us as an audience, we have the ability to take pre-existing records, deconstruct them and then publish them as our own, without going through the usual routes for covering songs. Obviously, this is a huge concern for the music industry and poses as yet another threat to the list provoked by the wave of new technology entering our media ecosystem.

Audience Experience

Whereas a few years audiences had to take what they were given and be grateful for this, now new media technologies' focus is on the convenience of the consumer. The MP3 player and other software that goes with it enables the audience to create playlists, listen to the portable device whenever they wish, add videos to the music that they are listening etc. This means that the audience is getting much more of a personalised experience.

With programmes like "iTunes", audiences can now download only the exact songs they want to listen to, instead of having to go out and buy entire albums. This means that record companies are now focusing more on the sales of singles rather than albums, as this is where they are likely to make most money. Now, the entirety of a person's musical experience can be formulated over the internet: they see singles advertised through MSN and other sites, listen to them and watch the videos over sites like Youtube, and download whatever they wish over iTunes. They can even discuss all of this in music forums. Everything that they do is designed tobe therefore for their convenience and be only what they want it to be.

Part of this started with the 'MP3 revolution' when the first iPods came onto the market. These then became an essential to the media ecosystem, replacing the portable CD player as smaller, with no jumping of music, and no having to carry around CDs.

Now more and more new media technologies are being converged, and this includes musical ones. Instead of buying a phone and an MP3 player, why not buy a phone with an MP3 player on it that you can plug into the internet and download whatever you like onto it? And it even comes with earphones! Oh, an don't forget the digital camera.

Not only has this become possible in the passed few years, but the amount of choice available to audiences is incredible, as every company wants a slice of the technological pie, e.g. Apple has the iPod, but Samsung have the equivalent. Each of these focus on the idea that audiences are unique individuals with their own needs, so the ability to create playlists, download what they like, and even choose what colour their MP3 player is is very important.

Gorillaz

Gorillaz is a virtual band formed in 1998 by Damon Albarn of Britpop band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl. The band is composed of four animated band members: 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel. The band's music is a collaboration between various musicians with Albarn being the only permanent member. Their style is broadly alternative rock, but with a large number of other influences including hip hop, electronica, dub and pop.

The reason the band is essential to the understanding of new technologies' influences on our society is that, essentially, you could look at it like second life. Two men have made millions by becoming four made-up characters. At live perfomances they use hollographic images instead of appearing themselves of these characters, never breaking the pretence. This ties in with the alias' that we as a society are creating for ourselves, and audiences love this "futuristic" and original approach to music and the combination between music, art and technology.

The band is an alternative example of the convergence happening between the different forms of merdia. Rather than a item of new technology, like the MP4, it is a band made up of the convergence of different new technologies, like the way animation is created, music produced and advertised and performed. It goes against the traditional conventions of elite persons created in the music industry as well, as it is entirely fictional with a range of non-permanent artists playing the music and, whereas as a society we are focused one representation, this band has taken technology to be able to create their own representation of themselves and their characters.

Production

Thanks to new technologies, it has become much easier and quicker for both artists and amateurs to record their music.

Traditionally, record producers have numerous roles in the recording process. among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. Their roles can be compared to those of film directors. Usually, there is also a whole team of people involved in these processes, which take days to complete to the standard of album tracks.

Today however, there is a huge amount of high-quality, low-priced software that has been designed to enable amateurs at home to be able to produce their own music. These programmes include Cubase, Garageband and Logic. This means that, rather than a large team of professionals, the effect can be created by just one producer at home. This is contributed to the rise in emerging artists; they create the music at home, and the put it immediately on Myspace. However, this does then produce copyright issues if they don't first gain rights before publishing. The combination of the internet, where creativity is a two-way flow, and home software like Cubase change the way in which the music industry functions.

The way in which music production has changed also applies to the types of music being professionally recorded. Thanks to the advent of portable recording devices, live music recording has become much more cost-effective and therefore more often are tracks recorded live rather than plugged in and layered up, also meaning that a lot of time is also saved.

Pitchfork

More and more artists are being "discovered" over the internet. Whether this is all just a marketing ploy by record companies or not, this is how they gain popularity. To go along with this, the new critics of these artists are expressing their views, not in magazines like Rolling Stone, but over the internet as well.

Pitchfork is one of these sites, started up by 19-year-old Ryan Schreiber, who is now in his thirties, the site focuses on new artists with an already-established fan base, but who have not yet hit MTV. This ties into the way in which the public gains most of its information now from the internet rather than magazines and newspapers. The site even makes money, showing the profit that can be made by using the internet to contribute to the music industry.

The popularity of the site means that it has expanded and broadened its views, becoming more professional in its approach. The site anchors the way in which the music industry has generally become much faster in its development and signing of new artists, as it publishes five album reviews a day, which adds up to a lot in a year. Because of the internet, the music industry has broadened to encompass more and more artists, and this site encompasses and focuses on these.

Article by Jack Schofield

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/apr/14/pitchfork.music

Radiohead and Social Networking

As mentioned in my previous post, stars are rapidly losing out on money because of new technology. However, with Radiohead as a prime example, they are striking back with new ways to get their money using the most imaginative means to conform with society's interests and pastimes.

Radiohead is the latest band to start up its own social networking site, to the style of myspace, facebook etc; there are friends, chat rooms, blogs. Many stars before Radiohead have managed to make a substantial amount of money from these kinds of sites. Fans buy ringtones, downloads, merchandise, and Radiohead have added to this by designing a competition to engage fans in their music and create remixes, which they have to pay to be able to download in the first place.

This also ties into the way new technology has enabled anyone to create or edit music for themselves. Radiohead has managed to use these new technologies to their own advantage.

This issue combines those of web 2.0, the combination of producer and consumer and how artists are making their money back. This means that the MP3 revolution may not be a disaster for them after all. Without web 2.0, it may not have been possible for this to happen, and it is a natural evolution of the music industry to use it. As one new technology grows and expands, others go with it.

Article by Chris Salmon http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2272312,00.html

Jack Schofield: Taxing iPods

With the wave of new technology that has entered society in the last few years and the craze for MP3 players has come the huge drop in profit for the music industry. The debate about taxing iPods has arisen due to this drop. The problem is that now that people are ripping tracks off CDs, sharing them, getting them off illegal sites like limewire, artists and rights-holders lose their money because not nearly as many CDs are sold anymore. So how does one combat this? By placing a tax on iPods and other MP3 technology. This way, producers and consumers get what they want.

But what will the effect of this be on the consumer?

Well, obviously this means that it will cost a little more than we are now used to to get our music, and there are those who would try to get round paying this. However, most will and those who hold the rights to the the music will get their due. This would still probably wind up being cheaper and easier than previously when one had to go to the shops and doesn't take away from the general convenience of the whole thing.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/04/16/uk_music_industry_demands_an_ipod_tax_and_the_law_is_still_an_ass.html

Key Terms and the Music Industry

Convergence

New technology arising from different brands that all stem from the same idea, i.e. the iPod (Apple Inc.), the iRiver (ReignCom) etc, all MP3 players produced by different companies that do the same thing.

Personalisation

The MP3 experience, e.g. iPods and iTunes, allows consumers to personalise what they listen to. They now have the ability to access songs without having to buy an entire album, and can share tracks with one another accross the internet.

Democratisation

Not only can audiences now consume what they wish, but also produce their own songs. Anyone can be an artist, with technology such a Cubasis, and blogs such as Myspace, on which it is possible to have a Myspace Music account. The idea is that the consumers can now produce and share their own work, or simply give their opinions on other works. If Lily Allen can do it, why can't you?

Digitisation

Digital files consist of 1s and 0s, meaning they can be moved, shared and read by different hardware more easily. This makes the sharing of music easier, and transference from computer to MP3 to CD player.

New Media Technologies

For this case study, I will be specifically looking at the music industry. The aspects I will be focusing on and feel will be most interesting are:

1. Production, and the ways in which this has changed

2. Marketing and Distribution - where do we hear about the latest releases, and how do we access them?

3. Audience Experience - are we appreciating music in different ways thanks to new technology, and how does this differ from a few years ago?

4. Artists - a specific study of 'Gorillaz', the way technology has enabled two people to become four, and audience experience relating to this.

5. Technology - what are the changes being made in music technology, and how does this affect us? Do they seem successful, endeering ideas? Is music technology development's pace increasing?

6. The Myspace Phenomena

I will be interested also in studying whether the changes in music have affected the ways in which the audience view the elite persons create it, and how this has affected the number of artists out there.

Whilst doing this case study, involving other areas as well as music technology, certain terminology is vital:

• 
  
  Endism - concerning some new technologies, when new devices come in they respectively replace the old, making them meaningless and forgotten. Does not include all new technologies.


• 
  
  Media ecosystems are entirely dependant on whereabouts in the world you live and how developed your society is. They are made up of what we accept as the everyday media aspects of our lives, for example in Britain these are digital television, radio stations, the internet etc., whereas in other parts of the world this may be more restricted.


• 
  
  Narrowcasting, as opposed to broadcasting, applies generally more to digital televisions, where there are channels specifically designed for a more select audience with a similar interest, e.g. the history channel.


• 
  
  The internet, to put it simply, is the bigger picture. It is the entire complex system on which the web, consisting of websites, is large part of and runs on.


• 
  
  'Push and Pull' refers to the way in which television is existing more to slot into our lives. 'Push' refers to the television that is pushed onto us, which one would view when turning on the t.v. and has no choice over what is being broadcasted. 'Pull' refers to programmes "on demand", when audiences can view whatever they want, whenever they want to.


• 
  
  For the most part, blogging can be viewed as a very positive thing. It allows people from all over the world to add their own ideas and creativity into the mix to be appreciated, or not, by others. It is another example of interactivity, ideas and responses. Now all of us are capable of deciding what we want on the internet, not just website managers etc.

Feedback #1

There is evidence of some research here - although for your film post, you seem to have simply cut and pasted from another website without sourcing where it is from. Instead, include a link to the site and summarise your findings in your own words.

C/2

Digital Technology and the Film Industry

Production:

As of 2007 the most common acquisition medium for digitally projected features is 35 mm film scanned and processed at 2K or 4K via digital intermediate. Most digital features to date have been shot at 1920x1080 HD resolution using cameras such as the Sony CineAlta or Thomson Viper. New cameras such as the Arriflex D-20 and Silicon Imaging's SI-2K can capture 2K resolution images. Thus the future of digital cinema can be expected to have as a standard 4K capture and 4K projection. Currently in development are cameras capable of recording 4K RAW, such as the RED One and Dalsa Corporation's Origin.

Film is scanned from camera-original film negatives into a digital format on a scanner or high-resolution telecine. Data from digital motion picture cameras may be converted to a convenient image file format for work in a facility. All of the files are 'conformed' to match an edit list created by the film editor, and are then color corrected under the direction of the film's staff. The end result of post-production is a digital intermediate used to record the motion picture to film and/or for the digital cinema release.

Distribution

When all of the sound, picture, and data elements of a production have been completed, they may be assembled into a Digital Cinema Distribution Master (DCDM) which contains all of the digital material needed for a show. The images and sound are then compressed, encrypted, and packaged to form the Digital Cinema Package (DCP).

Digital Cinema Distribution (DCD) is the process of transmitting the DCP to theater servers via different methods that may include: hard drives, LTO data tapes, DVD-ROMs, or satellite.
Each method of distribution faces its own unique challenges and there is currently much debate regarding preferred methods. The issue can become hotly debated by advocates for the various methods and media. Currently, there is no industry or de-facto standard for distribution. This issue will likely be decided by market forces and business models. There is some testing of the various methods going on that may provide empirical data and objective analysis in the future.

Exhibition

The way in which we are experiencing films is ever-changing, for example, the new digital mastering has meant that the viewing is much more effective in making the audience less aware they are watching a film.

Characteristics of New Media

Digitality:
New way of encoding info. 0's and 1's - binary code. How computer works, electricl pulse on or off. All progamming or entering information into a computer is based on this code. Byte is piece of 8 bits of information, a series of on or off pulses. Huge amounts of information easy to deal with in a tiny code.
Interactivity:
New ways of streaming information, compressed to travel through the air (satellite system), ISDN cable (broadband) and telephone cables, cable cable with satellite systems. Given more width so that multiple strands of information can be sent via one feed. Limited amounts of bandwidth, the more people using it the more bandwidth used. Interactive, so you can interactive with it and each other, say yes and no to it, can get it to respond and respond with it, and reply to it: feed that goes both ways. This changes the way it is used, rather than information going one way, it is now shared and responded to. compressing of digital information means you can upload as well as download.
Hypertextuality:
Organisation in texts. No longer linear, so rather than going from A to B, you can go A to Z or X to Y, like shuffling your songs. Can jump whichever way you'd like, wherever you'd like, like a dvd and the difference from a video. Can read a text whichever way you want, making a difference to the producers who have to make this possible, and need to realise you may jump out of their text and into somebody else's. Think about websites.
Dispersal:
How information can be and is shared and communicated. To do with market share, size and take-up (who's using it.). how much access users have and how producers target users and maximise their markets. couple with digitality creates huge market for producers.
Virtuality:
Already-discussed ideas linking with reality and representation. Verisimilitude, like iconography, is how real something is. cartoons are representational. some virtual worlds also representational. what is real? mimicking and representation of the world. who, why and how?
Convergence:
New technologies merging into one, like companies. MP3's showing photos. where will it go next and will people use it? Think about size: both of data and hardware, new possibilities.
Audience:
How does the audience use the technology? Do they actually use it? has it changed the way they use it? did they use it before and has it changed the way they use it if it has been updated? has the technology been led by consumer demand or by the industry? have the people who've made it made us think that we want it? who actually has access to these things? who is disenfrancised?
Regulation and Control:
Is there any control over the technology's use? who's doing the controlling and should it be there in the first place? what's done about copyright issues? What are the implications of control and people subverting it? is it realistically possible to have this control? what impact of this on the producers? what potential impact is there for the government?
Ownership:
who owns the technology and does it make a difference? how much money they have, use the market, compete with one another and how they use their money and their brand to sell various things: games console manufacturing is a good example of this.

Second Life

Second Life is an internet-based programme that was launched in 2003 by Linden Research, Inc, that came to the world's attention in late 2006/early 2007. The participants, "Residents", basically build another life, but online. They can interact with other "Residents" through motional avatars, which forms an advanced form of social networking. The clients can socialized, take part in group activities, trade virtual items: everything you do in life, just on the internet, and therefore more fun.

However, Second Life does not stay in its virtual reality. The currency, named the Linden Dollar, is tradable for real world currency through a marketplace consisting of clients and the "Linden Lab". It makes me wonder what these clients are being sucked into, personally, both mentally and financially.

The whole idea behind Second Life is based on a novel by Neal Stephenson called Snow Crash. The Linden Lab even stated that the goal behind their corporation is to create a world just like the metaverse described by Stephenson. However, this is not to be taken lightly, as this is not a game scenario, there are no characters to play and goals to reach before the finish; this is an ongoing development of a new world, and the name "Second Life" is a very appropriate one.

This is, however, not the only virtual world scenario to have been created, or to have been successful. Others include There, Active Worlds, IMVU and, for the more adult amongst us, the Red Light Center. Second Life itself has over 20 million registered accounts.

I myself was invited to join the site entitled IMVU earlier on today. I explored the options, interested to see what in fact is the attraction of these sites, and found something that, as much as I hate to admit it, actually proved quite endearing. The first step to joining up was to create your 3D avatar. This itself would seem a big attraction, as there were no overweight or greasy-haired choices here. You could create a whole new you. It went on to show choices of residence, you could choose your friends etc. However, I did not take it further than that, not wanting to commit myself to something that, quite frankly, I found a very dodgey idea.

Web 2.0

Unlike the name suggests, the term "web 2.0" does not refer to an updated version of the world wide web; instead, it facilitates the ways in which the use of the w.w.w. has changed. According to Tim O'Reilly,

""Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform."

Personally, I did not quite understand the terminology Mr O'Reilly was using here, so my own interpretation is that web 2.0 refers to the way in which the users have now become the creaters, and that the internet has in fact become a free space. It is now somewhere to be creative as well as consuming the products of others, to share one's own opinion as well as access others. Obviously there has been changes in technology, but the basic ideas of the web remain the same, it is the way one uses them that has changed.

"Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform."