Joni eccentricproductions.com.au

This blog continues my initial thoughts and understanding promulgated in my blog “Mobile Phone Movie Requirement“. After writing the post I also came across an entry by one of my MMP classmates titled “iPod Mobile Phone”. My classmate, Oyven, also highlighted the rise of the iPod, but he also commented on the monopoly that Apple has within the industry. Although I am a big advocate of the products and changes Apple has brought to the media industry I don’t believe in any organisation having a monopoly.

However, with regard to my phone movie the following are the main concerns I previously highlighted:
1) Size of image screen.
2) Sound.
3) Use of written or spoken English, re-target audience.
4) Size of file.

Prior to writing a script for the short film I wanted to do further research into ESL students and what types of films they might enjoy. ESL students vary greatly in their degree of understanding the English language. For example we have many ESL students in our Masters program. Some of them speak English better than most of the Australians in the class, while others appear to grapple with simple words.

I work at a school part time so I decided to talk to the head of the ESL department to find out what issues I should be most concerned about, and to run some ideas past them. I also chatted to my project partner, who is also an ESL student. However, the problem with her is that she is not a typical ESL student. Her spoken English and understanding of English are too good for us to base any research criteria upon. I think we were aiming somewhere more in the middle ground.

What I ascertained from research on ESL students:
* There is no one type of ESL student. Some can speak English but can not write it and others can read and write but are unable to speak English.
* Some ESL students can not read or write (since the ESL students the movie is catering for are in an ESL program, I am assuming they can at least read basic English).
* Avoid the phonetic alphabet.
* Try and use the three line system when writing, that English speakers learn when first writing. Capitals go all the way to the top and small letters only go half way
* Written words must be clear.

Once I had a basic understanding of what would be best suited to ESL students I started brainstorming some ideas. I knew I wanted it to be visually funny so that even if the words were not understood the message would still be conveyed visually.

I wanted the “sound” to be an addition but not a necessity. Thus, I wanted there to be music which enhanced the film but if the person was in a noisy area and did not have an earpiece they could still view the film.

With those parameters set I was inspired by early silent films, especially Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was most known for his vagrant like character. He always wore clothes too large for him, which added to his physical humour. Chaplin’s over the top humour, which is still applauded, and laughed at by current viewers was my primary inspiration.

How could I create an over the top character in a brief period of time, with out the use of sound?

With all these facts, and ideas, the following is the film script which developed:

First Kiss Script:

Title: First Kiss.

Written words: The style the words are written in is similar to a dictionary style.

Kiss: Touch with lips esp. As sign of love affection.

Scene 1: A young overweight teenage boy standing by a door. The light further highlights the sweat dripping from his forehead.

Words:
Anxious: troubled, uneasy, causing anxiety

Scene 2:
The overweight boy is sitting next to a cute teenage girl. They are both facing foreword and we assume they are whetting a film. The boy pretends to need something on the opposite side of the girl and leans across her. When he is close to her he kisses her on the cheek! The girl appears disgusted.

Wording:
Pounce:
1. Swoop down upon and seize,
Make sudden attack seize eagerly.

Scene 3: The young girl slaps the boy across the face and storms off!

Wording:
Reject:
1) Put aside as not to be accepted

Scene 4: The boy raises his arm in excitement. He has a big grin across his face.

Wording Score you are the man!

Music: Simple operatic style music, to further intensify the comic nature of the short film

My partner down-loaded the short film to her blog, so feel free to view it “The Kiss”.

The final point I would like to add is that when creating a mobile phone movie is that the size of the file is all-important. I made a simple very short film, but the size still needed to be greatly condensed to be able to be sent. I recently read an article “A better browser for cell phones?“which dealt with the subject, but was more focused on Internet browsing on small screens. Nonetheless, its a great article which already highlights the move to small screen’s and the immanent battle for the best technology to reach these screens.

Our task was to make a short phone movie for ESL (English as a second language) students. The moment we were given the task my mind started to race with ideas. The very size of the screen that the film would be viewed on would affect the type of movie that we needed to create.

Moreover, an even larger issue re-surfaced in my brain. In an earlier blog, “Mobile Phone Movies 2″ I commented that the iPod needed to start to be a full entertainment deck which should include phone and film capabilities. No doubt the makers of the iPod were already hard at work. The groovy new iPod with a TV/Film screen has already been released in the USA. We should also not forget the PlayStation2 portable that kids can be found wondering around their local high schools with.

The point I am attempting to make is that thinking of making movies for small screens instead of large ones is probably where a great deal of new jobs will start to exist. Thinking small is something, as new and emerging media gurus, we should adopt for more than just our mobile phone assignment (as a 5.2foot female, I have always thought good things come in small packages).

Many people feel that the move to small screens will be short lived, just a passing phase. However, I believe we are only viewing the cusp of the epidemic. As a society ruled by petrol prices more and more people are turning to public transport and commuting. Thus, providing a key time to view “the news” or your favourite show that you missed the night before. Furthermore, life is becoming more and more fast pasted. People no longer have the luxury of sitting still long enough to watch the latest shows.

We are also in a very unique period of time in the entertainment industry. For the first time since “the moving motion picture” industry gained momentum in the late 1800’s making films has become a commodity, which is both easy to view and create. With the rise of “Final Cut Pro” and how cheap cameras have become every one can be a moviemaker.

Like Podcasting for songs, I think we will soon see a rise in podcasting television! Once small screen rendering is perfected Tivo might make the leap to cell phone’s and iPods. Bigger is no longer better.

What is also occurring is a generational acclimatisation to small screens. Almost every teen has a mobile phone; most have the latest mobile phones to ensure being fashionable. The other half of teens have iPods or Play Stations. This new generation, who is growing up with small screens knows no different. Unlike the older generation who finds the screens too small to watch, I believe the new generation will grow up watching these mini screens and being comfortable with the size, or simply getting new glasses.

Okay, back to “my short film” for the mobile phone. As I have discussed at length the size was a large determining factor in the type of film I wanted to create. When I refer to size, I am referring to image size and not data size, although that too is very important.

I knew depth did not transpose well to mobile phone movies so the film would have to use lots of close up images. This is one of the reasons there are opportunities for movies to be made specifically for small screens, because not all films will be easy to view on small screens.

Furthermore, sound was another factor I took into consideration. A movie that would be disseminated from a small device would obviously lack certain sound capabilities. Although one might hear perfectly when a phone is placed to one’s ear, the person might have difficulty hearing music or words when they where watching the phone screen.

A final issue that I needed to reflect upon was that the film was being made for ESL students. This was an area that I knew would greatly affect the content and an area that I needed to do greater research into.

Anyway, these were my initial thoughts regarding both the subject and the task.

shoni :: Infinite Narrative Episode 2 :: May :: 2005

She ran down the street. Her palms began to sweat. Breathing became difficult. She stopped suddenly, and gripped a lamp post to stop herself from collapsing. “Is this really happening?” she heard herself say out loud. She thought if she actually said it, it would seem more real. More tangible. Maybe she would live?

MMP blog Infinite narrative

Anna folded the paper and re-packed it in her little pink bag. She put down, her still half full coffee mug, and left the little coffee shop. As she set foot on the cold pavement outside the store she was flooded with memories. She felt faint. A man walked by and looked at her strangely. A small child pointed. A group of teenage girls giggled excitedly at her expense.

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.

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”.

Reality television may only be a vestibule to get us used to the idea of “Big Brother”. The concept of Big Brother as a character emerged in George Orwell’s novel “1984″ The term “Big Brother is watching”, was a line of propaganda used to scare others. The movie Gattaca continued to deal with the idea of the government watching every step and being omnipotent. The notion of Power and control is an interesting idea to further explore. As media becomes more and more convergent, our private lives are less private. When I first watched Gattaca I wondered how it was possible that society slowly allowed itself to be so policed. However, as different technological tools continue to impact and converge on one another reality shows may only just be embracing what is the norm. It may be that one then just begins to question less and less when in such circumstances.

It could be contended that all reality shows incorporate the idea of Big Brother. Cameras watching contestants from every angle, at every moment. Although reality shows are termed “reality” when we look at the number of script writers and directors we are forced to ask the question “is reality television truly reality?” People on reality shows do not act as they normally would because:
* They are not in normal circumstances.
* Impression management (the idea that we behave well when we are being watched).
* Social desirability bias (we follow social rules when we are being watched) and other contributing variables.

Furthermore, editors and directors are able to manipulate the sequence and format in which we view an event.

The idea that reality shows are not true reality might, in time, encourage producers to create a real “Truman Show”. The “Truman Show” depicted a man raised in an artificial environment from birth for the purposes of a reality television show. As producers and studios continue to try and top each other for their next ratings we might soon see people depicted in artificial environments without their consent for long periods of time.

One of the main reasons reality shows have become so popular is because of their use of convergent media. Reality shows have managed to harness not only the television set, but also the use of cell phones and the internet. Reality shows have raised the bar on potential marketing strategies. Advertisers are no longer forced to only communicate through print media and television advertisements; they are now able to advertise on the internet and cell phones. As digital recording devices, such as Tivo, progressively become more widely spread people are able to easily skip through commercial breaks on television. Consequently, advertisers are forced to find new avenues through which to market their products. It may eventuate that mobile phones will become more utilised by advertising agents (and in turn this will bring mobile phone fees down).

When reviewing an article on the Future of Reality television Gary Carter, a key figure in the global distribution of Big Brother commented that “audiences now demand a great deal more than in the past. Expectations have grown so much that viewers now expect a degree of control over their programming that has gone as far as exercising control over the final outcome of a show.” Internet Reference . While reviewing the article one may ask why have we not marketed non-reality shows in the same fashion? There is nothing to stop television dramas from being affected by viewer opinions, or create special segments to only be viewed on the internet or on a mobile phone. DVD distributors add special features to Movies when you watch them on DVD so why then have television dramas not as yet added special features to their formats?

When reality shows first started airing, many believed that it was just a passing phase. However, reality shows seem to have worked their way into the norm. The following is only a small assortment of what reality shows are currently airing:

“The Benefactor”: Mark Cuban, billionaire, gives away a million dollars to a stranger.

“Survivor”: A group of stranger’s compete in a number of different tasks on a deserted island to win a million dollars.

“The Billionaire: Branson’s Quest for the Best”: This is a take off of The Apprentice but with Richard Branson.

“The Apprentice”: A group of upcoming businessmen and women compete against one another to become Donald Trumps new apprentice with a salary of $250,000 a year.

“The Partner”: Top law school graduates compete against lawyers from less privileged schools for a spot at one of the top law firms in the US.

“Big Man on Campus”: Sorority sisters pick the “coolest” Fraternity boy.

“Wannabes”: Comedian Jamie Kennedy tries to show people what it is like to try and make it in Hollywood, with a group of ‘wannabes’.

Reality shows have simply become another genre with which to interact. The use of convergent media in reality shows has also given us a prototype by which we might change the format of both movies and television shows.

Reality shows have allowed the all Seeing Eye to not only exists in our society but to be embraced!

References:
Reality Television

Excellent Wiki on Convergence And Television

Very Funny Article on Why More Reality Shows Are Needed

New Reality Shows For 2005