Joni eccentricproductions.com.au

I recently became a “podster”. A podster is an individual who owns an iPOD of any color or size. I assume the size and color one chooses does infer something about a person’s personality but that can be researched at another time.

iPods’s are at the heart of the most recent high tech revolution “IPOD Revolution. iPOD”. iPOD sales have even surprised Apple. In 2004 ten million people bought iPods, and became apart of the podster revolution. The iPod is renowned for its elegant appearance, large storage capacity, fabulous colors, free tunes software and its small compact design. The iPod is advertised as a music device. Its compact size and lightweight allows a person to easily take it with them anywhere. It is also capable of being connected to different devices through which one can listen to music e.g., car stereos, speaker’s etc.

The iPod is not only popular with the younger music savvy generation. Many capabilities are attracting older podsters. Although many buy the iPod simply to disseminate their music, the iPod is capable of so much more. A renowned university in the USA, Duke, gave each of their new students iPOD’s loaded with handy information on starting at the school. Thus it is apparent the iPod can be used to carry music and homework. The iPod can also function as an excellent hard drive. One can also download popular books and the daily newspaper onto the Pod. The pod is a revolution unto itself.

With the wide spread dissemination of the iPod, the demand has exceeded the supply (reference
) although one might believe the Music industry would embrace the rise of the iPod, the opposite is occurring. Music Companies and Producers claim the iPod is partly responsible for the amount of music, which is now being illegally downloaded via the Internet.

In the twenties, the music industry pursued an Act of Congress to stop radio broadcasters from playing their music because they felt if people listened over the radio they would have no need to buy their music. The next step they took was to try and tax blank cassettes because these might be used to record music. Naturally they had the same issue with blank DVD’s. Shawn Fanning’s invention of file sharing, entitled Napster, was another issue of great concern to the RIAA. What RIAA is not aware of is that they are constantly declaring war on their greatest customers, on those that want their music the most (Reference).

I am opposed to music being downloaded illegally. I do believe that artists should receive compensation for their work. Furthermore, we must acknowledge that it is more than just the artist who is suffering from illegally downloaded material. Managers, record labels, art directors, music engineers and many more also receive money from the sale of music. The RIAA needs to re-think how to disseminate music for profit. The RIAA needs to accept that technology is here to stay and find a way to work with new technology and not against it.

I recently wrote an article on the rise of the iPod. I am a self proclaimed Podster, but after reviewing 3rrent information on cell phones and their ongoing rise as more than just communicative devices I am concerned. Why did Apple not incorporate cell phone capabilities into the iPod? An iPod can act as a Hardrive, photo gallery, contact list, calendar and music machine so why did it stop there?

Many have started to promulgate that cell phones will be the new entertainment devices. Memory cards are now available for phones to allow them to play full-length feature films and TV shows, “thanks to technology that converts phones into mini DVD players” (Reference) The British company RokPlayer is selling these new memory cards, which in the past have been used to store music and photos on mobile phones.

What makes RokPlayer so unique is that it allows people to access their TV shows or movies at their own leisure, much the same way a personal DVD player works. Until now, Optus Zoo customers have been able to watch live TV broadcasts and Hutchinson’s 3 whilst Telstra’s I-mode have offered video highlights.

In an effort to exploit technology developments many leading Hollywoods studios are attempting to embrace the new viewer platform. “In the future, mobile phone users will be able to receive and view film excerpts, shorts or videos on their cell phones” Referance

A recent intriguing article “Mobile phone ‘soap’ available from May” is about a new Australian soap, staring some recognisable faces, made specifically for cell phones. This so-called ‘soap’ is actually six pictures with corresponding dialogue. As this idea sounds more like a comic book for a cell phone than a ‘soap’ the makers have commented that its not TV or Video because, “most people do not have video capable phones”(Reference).

Many Australian’s might not yet have the latest mobile phones, but if America and Asia are any indication of where we shall be in a year, every person who owns a mobile phone will have digital video capabilities, thus quickly making the comic book presentation redundant.

One issue I continually revisit in my ‘blog’ is the marketability of products and their advertising potential. Without appropriate marketing strategies and advertising potential it is very difficult for products to reach a broad consumer base.

We are currently in a dynamic age where people expect instant gratification. Adolescent’s are renowned for having a shorter attention span, which can be clearly attributed to the types of lives we currently lead and the structure of TV entertainment to which they are exposed and conditioned. We also know that people are expected to spend longer days at work; many commuting long distances by public transport. Consequently, we spend fewer hours at home and more at work and travelling. Time is precious so we have the rise of such products as Tivo which allow us to no longer be confronted by annoying time consuming advertisements while watching our favourite TV shows and Films. Marketing is therefore faced with two problems 1) To find new advertising outlets 2) To explore effective methods to market to “an on the move” society.

Broadcasting programs to Mobile phones will solve both such problems. Consumers will not have the options to skip commercials on mobile phones and programs can be watched on the go and while commuting. We still however, need to be sensitive to the “type” of programming as people who watch shows on mobile phones will most likely do so for shorter periods of time, and at different hours to previous prime time shows.

Programming for Mobile phones will need to consist of concise shows. It is possible that short films will become in great demand. Furthermore, lunch breaks and after hour traffic will become the new prime time airing.

Although broadcasting live to mobile phones does not yet have a strong audience I believe that within two years, watching programs on mobile phones will be as common as watching on home television sets.

Taboo subjects

I recently watched the movie “Old Boys” ; by director
Chan-Woo Park. One of the main themes the movie dealt with was “incest”. Incest is a difficult subject for people to both confront and analyze. The film raised the question of “incest”, but did not condemn it. Westernized stories usually condemn any reference to incest. The movie forced one to realize how few westernized films tackle “taboo” subjects in such unique manners. Many films will mention incest to describe a serial killers background or why a young girl tried to commit suicide, however few films will analyze taboo subjects in a non-society accepted format. I am not applauding such behavior as incest but rather the ability to look at the subject from such a unique point of view.

In Nicole Kidman’s recent film ‘Birth’ her and her ten-year-old co-star, Cameron Bright, had a sexually charged scene in a bath together. Audiences around the world condemned Kidman for sitting in a bath naked with a young boy. Kidman has defended her actions as being artistic (Kidman’s defence). Some websites have compared Kidman’s actions to that of a pedophile and claimed she is unfit to be a mother. Although the movie does suggest unacceptable behavior it is merely a film, not reality.

Throughout the ages artists have often been responsible for revolutionizing society and bringing forth change. Many such artists are condemned during their life times and only achieve greatness once dead.

Is it not the duty of an artist to question society? In the documentary “The President Versus David Hicks”, the filmmakers were condemned, by some, for portraying a non-judgmental view of Taliban fighter David Hicks ( ). In a recent discussion with one of the Directors, Bentley Dean, he seemed to imply that he did not agree with Hick’s actions but felt it was important to convey the story in an impartial manner. Filmmakers(story tellers) have a duty to analyze and criticize accepted norms. When famous Japanese film maker Shohei Imamura, was asked “What is the most important quality that young filmmakers must develop today?” he said “whenever I am writing a script I am very aware that my films must be true”. (Reference)

Sometimes reality and truth are not comfortable for people to deal with, however this does not negate filmmakers from attacking and analyzing both taboo subjects and controversy.

More Information:

This article had very strong views on Nicole Kidman’s bath scene .

Friendster was first established in 2003 by Jonathon Abrams. It was marketed as a tool to “help users find new dates and new friends by referring people to friends or friends of friends or friends of friends of friends”( Reference )

Friendster today boasts 13 million on-line participants. It is free to join friendster! What you are not told in the marketing propaganda for the site is that it is a highly functioning networking tool, which allows marketers to reach their target audiences at the click of a button.

The hit television show “The Apprentice “ recently used Friendster as a marketing tool to publicise the second season of the show. All eighteen contestants had their profiles listed on the web-site. Friendster users were able to view the profiles and network themselves as “Fans”) . The primary reason for placing the contestant’s details on the web-site was to increase awareness and build a fan base before the second season commenced. It has also been used to market feature films. The 2003 Film “Anchorman” placed the characters details on friendster to help hype the films appeal (Check out the-extra information).

What was marketed to the public, as a seemingly fun interactive way to stay in touch with friends has become a powerful marking tool? Furthermore, because the marketing is more subtle than some other forms, people feel more comfortable as they believe they are checking out prospective friends rather than being used in a marketing game.

Another web site, which has had tremendous success in North America, is Jdate . Jdate is a Jewish dating site. An informal and causal opportunity to shop for dates online. Although the prospect sounds overwhelming to many, it has become the norm in Jewish North America to at least try the site. One would be hard pressed to find a single, unmarried member of the Jewish community, who had not at least “scouted” their options. Moreover, many non-Jewish people like the site as well and they sign up.

Jdate, however does not only gain its revenue through their paid subscription database but it has also become a terrific tool to market products to a niche market (More On Niche Marketing). Almost everyone on the site is both Jewish and single, thus instantly defining the targe audience and to sign up to Jdate one must first answer a number of questions, such as “Salary, DOB, Height, Work Out Schedule, Food likes and dislikes etc”. The ongoing list of questions is a marketing agents dream. While perusing your dating options on JDate you are confronted with a myriad of advertising. Constant pop-ups almost inhibit your ability to check out your potential dating options. Jdate is certainly not as networked as Friendster but it does allow for other forms of networking.

It is interesting to monitor how these networking structures have become one of the most dynamic marketing tools being employed today. Referring back to my entry on “Mobile Phones and Movies” new technologies such as Tivo advertisers will soon need to find original and indirect forms of marketing to take the place of, the trusted, television commercials.

Networked web sites will continue to grow. What networked web sites offer us that television shows do not, are specific details about customers. Although placing particular commercials between specific shows does allow for advertisers to reach their target audience, those people do not have to first answer a number of personal details. Most web sites, which allow people to interact, collect personal data and target specific user groups. It is this new method of marketing that will allow advertisers to be able to market more effectively and efficiently to their target audiences in the future.

Video games and ARG’s have become a new vestibule through which to tell stories. Video games combine a number of different story telling devices such as music, visual tools, interactivity and exciting characters. Unlike television shows, films and books, video games allow you to interact with the story, and become a part of the story. Interaction in a video game allows the game to become a three dimensional story, where each angle may contribute to another exciting discovery.

Interaction in video games has opened us up to a new form of story. The embedded narrative in a story is the frame; it is limited to short discrete non-interactive moments. What many video games and ARGs introduce us to is the “emergent” story. This is the story, which “transpires” as we play the game. The “ immutable narrative is the embedded part of the story”(Referance) . People no longer want to be voyeurs looking in; they want the opportunity to contribute. “Emergent narrative, by contrast, are the stories that evolve organically through the gameplay itself. They’re the stories that the players create for themselves. And if the game design is robust enough, they are unique to each one.”(Resource)

I believe that one must be careful not to attribute the success of an emergent story entirely to the player. A well written embedded narrative allows a player to construct a decent and exciting story rather than their own personal amateur narrative. Most importantly a good story guides the player, but leaves the actions of the player to be open. The game “Online Caroline” has a very strong embedded story; however the lack of interaction you are able to have appears to restrict your personal emergent storyline. What this illustrates to me is the point that games are not inherently a medium through which to tell stories.

The rise of the emergent narrative in game play is becoming more and more important. A compony recently changed their name to symbolise the change in direction that technological savvy game makers are incorporating. “Butterfly.net, Inc., provider of fully integrated tools, middleware and services for the online video games industry, has changed its name to Emergent Game Technologies.” (Article)

One of my favourite high school games appears to be one of the first examples of a game with a strong emergent and embedded narrative. “Paint Ball” is a physically active game played on a large field. There are two teams which represent opposing sides in the game. Naturally, the idea is to “paint/kill” your opposing team-mates by firing a paint gun. When one starts the game you are given the outline of a scenario, as you continue play each team member creates his or her own emerging story. I was excited to recently discover there is now a paint ball video game (Video Game) however, there does not appear to be a strong emerging narrative in it. It was the emergent narrative that made “Paintballing” so exciting.

A novel attribute of stories told through interactive games it the ability to interact with elements that do not affect the embedded story. It is the idea of interaction, which is the key element in an emerging story. Our ability to interact with the text is what makes “our” story different and unique from another persons. In films and books we are only exposed to elements that affect the outcome of the story, in interactive video games we may have the opportunity to interact with characters that do not affect the outcome of the story but serve to change our emergent narrative.

Everyone wants to feel unique and special. Emergent narratives make us feel special by giving us our own personal stories to experience and re-tell.

Resource:
“Thoughts on Interaction”

“More Feelings On Online Caroline”

I even found an online simulation dating game!!!! I have not tried it yet.

Many people have wonderful memories from sitting around a table and playing “Cluedo”, trying to analyse all the clues to work out who did what to whom, where and how? Some games shops also sell “Murder Mystery Party ” packages, a game which allows people to take on a prescribed role while trying to solve “who dunit”. The Alternate Reality Game (ARG) “The Beast”, seems to be yet another form of such “Who dunnitt” games.

Nowadays many people in Western culture seem to be so disillusioned with reality. It appears as though some will stop at nothing to suspend reality, however most attempting to escape take illegal drugs, commit adultery and maybe even more! Being a participant in an ARG game appears to allow one to suspend reality in a safe and exciting environment. It gives players the chance to form new friendships, save lives and solve murder mysteries. People who fall down the rabbit hole of an ARG game are given the chance to feel as though they have a greater purpose.

In an article “Down the Rabbit Hole” one lucky player in the ARG game known as “The Beast” had the chance to interact with the creators by decoding a message to answer a public phone at a specific time. Undoubtedly, he was a hero amongst his peers for not only decoding the message but also having the opportunity to interact with the creators.

In my attempt to understand why people jump down the rabbit hole, I wondered what wonderful prizes people win by deciphering such an array of multi media clues. I was surprised at what I discovered. Although one game known as “Uncap the Ride” funded by BMW gave players the chance to win a new BMW, most ARG games did not offer exciting winnings. It appears the phrase “it’s the journey not the destination”, seems to summarize how ARG players feel about their games. As previously mentioned above, the primary reason ARG players play is the ability to suspend reality and feel that they are being involved in a greater cause.

A further question that may be implicit was “Why do people make these games?” When making large or small ARG games involves a great deal of time and money. BMW commissioned an ARG to draw attention to their BMW short films and Boise Art Museum in Idaho Commissioned an ARG game to be made to draw attention to their new exhibit. “The Beast” was funded by Macintosh and created to draw attention to Steven Spielberg’s movie AI.

The conclusion one draws therefore is that it appears that ARG’s are being used as intelligent marketing tools to attract new consumers or draw attention to new products.

Websites With More Information On:
The beast

Cloudmakers.org

InformationWeek Weblog-Link

I was recently paroling the many topics associated with Blogging. Although, I have linked this article to the Information WeekWeblog, it is only one example of an ongoing debate.

“Are Bloggers Journalists?”

Should bloggers have the same constitutional rights as journalists?

Its seems that bloggers have come under a lot of controversy as to wether or not they are “journalists”? The definition of a journalist is “Journalist 1) One who keeps a journal or diary.2)
The conductor of a public journal, or one whose business it to write for a public journal; an editorial or other professional writer for a periodical.” Although definition “one” might concur with the argument that a blogger is a journalist, definition “two” would require the individual to be involved in a profession to be a journalist. The dictionary definition, I have used, only seems to support the platform for the argument but does not answer the question.

My blog entry “Internet legislation and its inability to truly govern” , raises some of the issues related to governing the Internet and its content. What I also promulgate is that in the USA, where blogging is currently more widely disseminated “The first amendment of the United States constitution for freedom of speech has caused much delay in Internet legislation”. Consequently, it is apparent that the US will have more difficulty regulating bloggers, regardless of journalist status because they must always uphold the first amendment.

The further I have continued to delve into this raging debate, the more interesting it has become. Nolonger is it simply a question of whether a blogger is a journalist, but greater social questions have been raised. “The question now isn’t whether blogs can be journalism. They can be, sometimes. It isn’t whether bloggers “are” journalists. They apparently are, sometimes. We have to ask different questions now because events have moved the story forward.”( Reference ). Jay Rosen (bio) illustrates to us the shift in journalism that has occurred due to the Internet and such new tools as blogging. Blogging is shifting the balance of power from the news disseminators to the consumers “It does, however, mean that the old political contract between news providers and news consumers will give way to something different, founded on what Curley correctly called a new “balance of power.”” Earnst Miller has promulgated in an article that “Freedom of the Press Belongs to Those Who Own Servers” (Reference), he did however go on to add that freedom would only exist when everyone owned a server. What this emphases to me, is that the press is still owned by a select group. If you have to own a server to be a blogger, to be a journalist, then you are automatically more financially capable than most of the world population.

In a top ten list posted highlighting the advantages created by blogging this was my favourite:

“10.) Journalism traditionally assumes that democracy is what we have, information is what we seek. Whereas in the weblog world, information is what we have—it’s all around us—and democracy is what we seek.”.

Although when I started writing this article I was strongly against blogging being viewed as journalism, the more I delve into the subject the more it appears to me that the question is not relevant. What is relevant is the impact that blogging is having on journalism. Newspapers will now be forced to try new ideas and espouse less bias views. Blogging will start to create a less bias view on newsworthy stories because there will be more opinions. It has long been a known fact that newspapers and journalists are bias. It is almost human nature to not be able to be truly impartial. Consequently, the more views published the more democratic an environment we will be creating.

I entitled this piece “Citizens Journalism”, after a quote I read in “The Nation”. I thought it best described the blog entry. The Nation article goes on to discuss the shift of power from the journalist to the audience. “loss of sovereignty in the press”.

In conclusion, it is apparent that whether a blogger is a journalist or not is irrelevant. What is more important to understand is the “loss of sovereignty in press”. We are moving into an unchartered landscape. The Media has for a long time been able to control the views of nations. With a drastic shift in power from the media to the public this might effect a shift in political power.

I believe we are yet to see the full intensity of the power of the “blog”.

Until recently I was not aware of what an effect blogging was making on the world. It seems that Blogging has become another form of media expression for artists. Many filmmakers, including myself, are now using Blogs to record and disseminate information about their upcoming films.

Movie Blogs and on-line journals for how movies are created will further demystify the film making process. However, they will also give aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to have a voyeuristic understanding of the filmmaking process.

An interesting experiment would be to have a producer, director, actor and editor each write a Blog on the same project. It would be interesting to see the production of a film from many different perspectives. The aforementioned exercise would also help those, already in the industry, to understand what each person encounters in the film making process. In turn this might lead to interesting changes, which might be beneficial financially and intellectually.

Singer, songwriter Ben Lee has a blog attached to his web site. It is interesting to see what he writes and to whom he responds. The director, Bobby Roth, who recently made the independent film “ Berkley”, has also attached a blog to his movie’s website. In it he comments on the films progress, and his personal thoughts and feelings. It is also accompanied by photo blogging.

With the rise of Tivo, and the imminent loss of advertising potential on television, TV and film studios will have to look for new avenues to advertise. In an effort to keep up with changing times web-based portals such as Friendster have been used to market such programs as The Apprentice and Movies like “The Anchorman”. Consequently, it seems only natural that blogs will soon be used, publicly, to market people’s careers and progress. I believe it is not in the distant future before we see such actors as Tom Cruise and Russell Crow writing their own blog’s (of course with much help from their publicists) so that they are able to “have their own say”.

Web-blogs are already having a major impact on the corporate world. Due to the easy to use nature of web-blogs and wikis they are fast becoming one of the fastest growing forms of media dissemination with-in corporate environments. High profile companies such as Microsoft are already using blogs as a seemingly informal marketing tool. Robert Scoble one of Microsoft top marketing spokesmen uses his blog to humanise the company’s image, by using conversational style. General Motors vice Chairman Bob Lutz, writes his weblog in the voice of a knowledgable car-dealer.

Blogs are also part of a low cost software network that has streamlined the way information is published. Blogs allow all levels of an organisation to have an equal say. Furthermore, the seemingly natural style of blogging and lack of face to face contact allows people to feel less inhibited with their thoughts and feelings. In large corporations where CEO’s often do not have the time to interact with many employees blogging has created an environment to allow for more free flowing communication.

In an attempt to stay abreast of current innovative changes in the industry I created a blog “australianshortfilm.blogsome”, purely for the purpose of promoting my upcoming short film. I have started to record information in my blog so that everyone involved and everyone who wants to be involved are able to easily find out what is occurring, how and why.