Whilst editing, I have been thinking of what media encoder to use for our artefact video. When displaying videos in browsers, there are a number of encoders that can be used. These include:
Windows Media Player
Apple Quicktime
Realplayer
Adobe Flash Player
Depending on which one we use, it will affect the audience no matter what. There are two factors which affect this:
Computer Requirements
Quality of video
Students either have a Windows computer, or an Apple Mac computer. Windows Media Player is already installed on a Windows PC, and Apple Quicktime is already installed on an Apple Mac. If we decide to use Windows Media Player, then Apple Mac viewers will not be able to view the video, unless they download the Apple Mac plugin for Windows Media Player, and vice versa if we use Quicktime for Windows. This narrows down the option to either Realplayer and Adobe Flash Player, as it will not give any advantage to any viewer. Most websites allow you to choose the player you want to view the video in. The BBC used this service, but now due ever increasing use of Adobe Flash Player, they use that instead. Flash Player is simple to download, and I noticed when converting video to flash in the first lecture session, the quality was much better than any other media encoder. Most websites now use Adobe Flash Player for this reason. If the user does not have Adobe Flash Player, a link is provided to download. I think that the user should be given more than one choice when wanting to watch a video, because it should not be forced on the user to just use the default. If the user already has a player installed, then it shall be easier for them.
I conducted some research on this by creating a survey on www.SurveyMonkey.com. The two questions I asked 13 people were:
What do you use? A Windows PC or a Mac?
AND
What do you prefer to use when streaming media? - The options being, WMP, Quicktime, Realplayer and Flash.
The results for the first question ended up being 12 people using Windows PC's, and 1 person using a Mac. This doesn't determine every single student as I only asked 13 people, but it proves that certainly more people use Windows rather than Mac's, and maybe because Windows has always been the most popular. This study was not biased in any way and I did not know what computer's any of the users used.
The results for the second question ended up being 7 people using Windows Media Player, 1 person using Quicktime, and 4 people using Adobe Flash Player. These answers matched the first question, as the Apple Mac user probably would have chosen Quicktime, as it is already installed on the Mac's. Most of the Windows users would have chosen WMP, and the rest of the users chose Flash, because they had it downloaded on their computers. This proves that more people prefer using Windows Media Player, as it seems the default and common player. However, I was impressed that people chose Flash Player. I think as websites move from using Windows Media Player or Quicktime to Flash Player, then more people will prefer this. If people can see just how much difference in quality Flash Player produces, then I think they would certainly rather use that.
Regards to our video, in my opinion, Adobe Flash Player should be used, as the quality is much better. If users do not have the player, there will be a link for them to download it easily. It also means that our player is not biased towards Windows or Mac viewers, as it is not a default player. It is a popular choice, and so we shall stick with it. To get the flash player to work, we will need to install an FLV player on our server so the flash video can be played, but this will be simple to download. I think for our video, other media encoder links should be included, just incase users don't want to download Flash Player. I shall suggest these to the members in my group.
Friday, 12 December 2008
Monday, 8 December 2008
Filming the video
The previous friday, we booked out a camera for us to use for this filming session. We ordered:
- Camera (P100)
- Shotgun Microphone (required 1 AAA battery) - These type of microphones are good because they are the most highly directional, and used for professional recording
- Softie - This is useful as it stops the wind interrupting the audio when filming outside
We collected these on this monday, and set off to film. We went to Jon's house first to set up and test the camera equipment. When filming, the focus, and white balance must be checked. These can be controlled on the camera itself. To white balance the camera, means, you have to use pure white, instead of picking up other white's in view. To do this, a sheet of A4 paper, which is pure white, must be held up to the camera, focused on, and the white balance button must be pressed. Once this is done, we noticed the colour we saw through the camera greatly improved, and gave a better picture.
We decided since it was 2pm, we must make use of the light, so we decided to film the bottle bank scene first. We gathered the equipment, helped by Becky and Helen, and took it to the bottle bank on _______ road. Once we had chosen an appropriate angle to film at, and once Ed was prepared with his white lab coat, and waxed hair, we could film. We gave roles of Jon to direct, with me semi-directing and giving my opinion on what looks best. Because Ed was a TV and Film 3rd year student at the University, he was able to help us know what we were doing as well, since we hadn't filmed since year 1 of our course. A couple of practice runs, and Ed learning his lines, and we were able to film. Because Ed either got distracted or forgot his lines, we had to do many takes on getting the filming right. We also had distractions behind us, as it was now the time of day the school children finished, and they were gathering behind and shouting at us, asking what we were doing. Luckily, they didn't distract us too much, and soon moved on, thus allowing us to film the rest of the bottle bank scene. My other role whilst filming was to hold the microphone, which was plugged into the camera, with the softie on top, to avoid the wind affecting the audio. I had to hold the microphone, so it was just off screen, so that Ed (Dr Colm Beeny) could be heard clearly. I had to make sure the microphone was held as still as possible as any movements would make a noise and ruin the audio. We tried two different shots, a medium shot, for most of the scene, and when Dr Colm Beeny had to place a glass bottle in the bin, we used a close up shot, to show the bottle going in the hole in the bin. This looked effective. Although students should know how to recycle glass, this was just an extra scene we added, to prove that there were bottle banks around Portsmouth.
After filming, we packed up and headed back to Jon's house. We immediatly got to work to setting up the recyclable materials and non recylable materials that we had collected and brought to Jon's last week. After a short break, Ed was back in place, and we began filming his lines. Due to us not including every fact from the leaflets that we recieved in the script, we gave Ed the job of 'ad-libbing' his role as Dr Colm Beeny, as he seemed to do well at that, and was entertaining for us watching and filming him. This added to the cheesyness and entertainment value of our film, which is exactly what we wanted.
After a lot of takes, and getting lines right, we finished filming, and found it took just over 3 hours to film everything, which we were impressed with. We sat down, watched the tape back, and approved! All the scenes apart from one scene in the lounger were filmed, and we had a thought that this scene could be animated in flash to give a bit of diversity, and I said I wouldn't mind doing the task as I was good at using Flash. The other point that we didn't follow exactly to the script was not showing the wheelie bin and the recyclable materials going into the bin. We decided that Dr Colm Beeny should just throw down the materials in anger, as his role was a character on Community Service, which he was not meant to be happy with doing. We thought it was necessary to show the wheelie bin, so we will just animate this, so the materials appear in the bin. Now the filming was finished, editing could be started.
- Camera (P100)
- Shotgun Microphone (required 1 AAA battery) - These type of microphones are good because they are the most highly directional, and used for professional recording
- Softie - This is useful as it stops the wind interrupting the audio when filming outside
We collected these on this monday, and set off to film. We went to Jon's house first to set up and test the camera equipment. When filming, the focus, and white balance must be checked. These can be controlled on the camera itself. To white balance the camera, means, you have to use pure white, instead of picking up other white's in view. To do this, a sheet of A4 paper, which is pure white, must be held up to the camera, focused on, and the white balance button must be pressed. Once this is done, we noticed the colour we saw through the camera greatly improved, and gave a better picture.
We decided since it was 2pm, we must make use of the light, so we decided to film the bottle bank scene first. We gathered the equipment, helped by Becky and Helen, and took it to the bottle bank on _______ road. Once we had chosen an appropriate angle to film at, and once Ed was prepared with his white lab coat, and waxed hair, we could film. We gave roles of Jon to direct, with me semi-directing and giving my opinion on what looks best. Because Ed was a TV and Film 3rd year student at the University, he was able to help us know what we were doing as well, since we hadn't filmed since year 1 of our course. A couple of practice runs, and Ed learning his lines, and we were able to film. Because Ed either got distracted or forgot his lines, we had to do many takes on getting the filming right. We also had distractions behind us, as it was now the time of day the school children finished, and they were gathering behind and shouting at us, asking what we were doing. Luckily, they didn't distract us too much, and soon moved on, thus allowing us to film the rest of the bottle bank scene. My other role whilst filming was to hold the microphone, which was plugged into the camera, with the softie on top, to avoid the wind affecting the audio. I had to hold the microphone, so it was just off screen, so that Ed (Dr Colm Beeny) could be heard clearly. I had to make sure the microphone was held as still as possible as any movements would make a noise and ruin the audio. We tried two different shots, a medium shot, for most of the scene, and when Dr Colm Beeny had to place a glass bottle in the bin, we used a close up shot, to show the bottle going in the hole in the bin. This looked effective. Although students should know how to recycle glass, this was just an extra scene we added, to prove that there were bottle banks around Portsmouth.
After filming, we packed up and headed back to Jon's house. We immediatly got to work to setting up the recyclable materials and non recylable materials that we had collected and brought to Jon's last week. After a short break, Ed was back in place, and we began filming his lines. Due to us not including every fact from the leaflets that we recieved in the script, we gave Ed the job of 'ad-libbing' his role as Dr Colm Beeny, as he seemed to do well at that, and was entertaining for us watching and filming him. This added to the cheesyness and entertainment value of our film, which is exactly what we wanted.
After a lot of takes, and getting lines right, we finished filming, and found it took just over 3 hours to film everything, which we were impressed with. We sat down, watched the tape back, and approved! All the scenes apart from one scene in the lounger were filmed, and we had a thought that this scene could be animated in flash to give a bit of diversity, and I said I wouldn't mind doing the task as I was good at using Flash. The other point that we didn't follow exactly to the script was not showing the wheelie bin and the recyclable materials going into the bin. We decided that Dr Colm Beeny should just throw down the materials in anger, as his role was a character on Community Service, which he was not meant to be happy with doing. We thought it was necessary to show the wheelie bin, so we will just animate this, so the materials appear in the bin. Now the filming was finished, editing could be started.
Monday, 1 December 2008
Writing the script
On this monday, me and Jon met up, and went back to his house to write a script. Since we wanted to write a proper script set up professionally, we used professional script writing software, called Celtx, which we downloaded online from their website, for free. This allowed us to create a professionally written script, so we could easily follow it when it came to filming.
We used the leaflets given to us by the council, and part of my script to come up with the final script. Since we wanted the video to be slightly cheesy and funny as well, we decided to use Jon's housemate, Ed, as the presenter, as we knew he likes messing about and would make the perfect actor to play the role of our quirky presenter. Since Ed had a good sense of humour and thought of jokes, we got him to help us think of quirky, funny lines to add to our script, and this would make it better when coming to film, because he has written them out himself. We allowed Ed to think of how he'd like the character to be like, and we came up with the name of Dr Colm Beeny, a guy who is on his community service, being told to tell the students of Portsmouth how to recycle.
Ed knew how to use the script writing software, so taught me and Jon just how to create a script, and this benefited us, as we did not have to learn, and we could get on with writing the script as soon as possible. It took us a while to get to grips with the software but after practicing for a little, then we soon got the hang of it. It took a whole afternoon to write, but in the end, we agreed that it was an effective script, and we will now send the script to Helen and Becky to get their approval.
The script can be downloaded here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/41dbd3/n/New_Final_Script_doc
We used the leaflets given to us by the council, and part of my script to come up with the final script. Since we wanted the video to be slightly cheesy and funny as well, we decided to use Jon's housemate, Ed, as the presenter, as we knew he likes messing about and would make the perfect actor to play the role of our quirky presenter. Since Ed had a good sense of humour and thought of jokes, we got him to help us think of quirky, funny lines to add to our script, and this would make it better when coming to film, because he has written them out himself. We allowed Ed to think of how he'd like the character to be like, and we came up with the name of Dr Colm Beeny, a guy who is on his community service, being told to tell the students of Portsmouth how to recycle.
Ed knew how to use the script writing software, so taught me and Jon just how to create a script, and this benefited us, as we did not have to learn, and we could get on with writing the script as soon as possible. It took us a while to get to grips with the software but after practicing for a little, then we soon got the hang of it. It took a whole afternoon to write, but in the end, we agreed that it was an effective script, and we will now send the script to Helen and Becky to get their approval.
The script can be downloaded here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/41dbd3/n/New_Final_
Friday, 28 November 2008
Planning the video
Since we had the research from the leaflets, we can now plan the writing and filming of the video. This involved thinking of locations, actors, and of course writing the script. We decided that me and Jon will take on the role of this stage, and Becky and Helen will work on the website together. We will report back to each other, with each other's developments.
I originally had an idea to include two characters in the video, with one character as the presenter, and the 2nd character as a bad example of a student in Portsmouth. The bad example student would do everything wrong, and the presenter would tell him he's doing it wrong, and show him how to recycle and where to recycle. I created a script and sent this to Jon, Helen and Becky, to see what they thought of it, which they liked, but in the end we thought that sticking with one character may just be best, and we can still include all of the information I wrote in my script. I also created a storyboard, which I will scan in at a later date. The script can be downloaded here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/2f258b/n/Script_doc
Planning the video, we decided on these options:
Character
Quirky presenter
Location
Student house (we will use Jon's house as it is closest to the Uni)
Bottle Bank (to show to recycle glass)
Props
Recyclable and non recyclable materials, recyling bin, lab coat for presenter
Sound Old style music (1950's etc) to match the style of the video
Time
Day
Titles
Using editing software - hence it will be graphics
Camera Angles
Mostly long and medium camera shots, few close ups
Other
A tripod will be used to keep the camera steady during filming
These may change in the future, but for now, we will base it using these decisions. Now the decisions were made, we could start writing the script to be used, using proper script software.
I originally had an idea to include two characters in the video, with one character as the presenter, and the 2nd character as a bad example of a student in Portsmouth. The bad example student would do everything wrong, and the presenter would tell him he's doing it wrong, and show him how to recycle and where to recycle. I created a script and sent this to Jon, Helen and Becky, to see what they thought of it, which they liked, but in the end we thought that sticking with one character may just be best, and we can still include all of the information I wrote in my script. I also created a storyboard, which I will scan in at a later date. The script can be downloaded here:
http://www.filefactory.com/file/2f258b/n/Script_doc
Planning the video, we decided on these options:
Character
Quirky presenter
Location
Student house (we will use Jon's house as it is closest to the Uni)
Bottle Bank (to show to recycle glass)
Props
Recyclable and non recyclable materials, recyling bin, lab coat for presenter
Sound Old style music (1950's etc) to match the style of the video
Time
Day
Titles
Using editing software - hence it will be graphics
Camera Angles
Mostly long and medium camera shots, few close ups
Other
A tripod will be used to keep the camera steady during filming
These may change in the future, but for now, we will base it using these decisions. Now the decisions were made, we could start writing the script to be used, using proper script software.
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
Recycling Leaflets from Council
Leaflet OneThis leaflet describes how to recycle garden waste. Although it is recycling, we are more focused on the Portsmouth Recycling Scheme, and although it is not mentioned on our video, we have managed to research it. Also there is little time to cover everything recycled on the video, but it maybe should have been said at the end, as to what cannot be recycled from your home. We decided not to use garden waste, as you can recycle garden waste no matter what you want, and we are more focused on home recycling collection. This leaflet would still be benefitial to the people of Portsmouth, as it says where to take the garden waste, and when the composting centre is open. We also did not decide to use it, as student houses don't usually involve taking care of the garden, since time at the houses are limited.
Leaflet TwoThis leaflet was one of the most useful to us, because it describes the Pompey Recycling Scheme (the home delivery scheme) used to collect recycling from houses such as student houses. We used this leaflet, as well as the website, to find out just exactly what you can recycle from the house. This leaflet was also useful because it tells you where you can recycle other materials, such as furniture, fridges, electrical items, glass, books, and clothes. The only material useful to students would of course be glass, as glass is used all the time, for food and drink. This is why we have decided to include a scene in the video with where to take and recycle glass bottles and jars.
The other thing noticeable and very useful to us with this leaflet was the recycling facts at the bottom, as little things like these would help make our video quirky, in the style we wanted.
Leaflet ThreeThis leaflet described the process that happens after food and drink cans are recycled. This was interesting to know, as many people often wonder what happens after recycling has been collected. But since this was nothing to do with home collection, then the information was not needed for our video. What was useful about this leaflet though, was the little facts, which meant that they could be used on our video, to appear as quirky facts, and we would try turn these facts to make them funny and interesting.
Leaflet Four
This leaflet was similar to leaflet two, so didn't really benefit us in any major way, as it just describes what you can and can't recycle. It does mention other items that wern't mentioned in leaflet two, like not being able to recycle yoghurt pots. Since students will be eating yoghurts, this is essential information to them. The main good point about this leaflet is the quirky facts again, and this would be perfect for us to use. Since this leaflet is mostly based on tin cans, it describes facts about cans, which is useful, to students who want to recycle cans. We decided that we will not go into detail about each item recycled, but just mention them, and in that way, we hope that it will benefit students to an extent.
Leaflet Five
This leaflet we found pretty interesting because it described what kind of things you can and can't recycle at Christmas. Since Christmas was coming up, this would be great information for students. Although, there was no chance that we would be able to finish our work in time for Christmas, we had an idea to make a section on our website for Season Recycling. In this section, we could include this information, and students or people in Portsmouth will know what they can put in their recycling bins in the seasonal holidays. Although the seasonal items cannot be included in the home collection scheme, it is always good to know where to take these additional items, and this will be included on our website.
Leaflet Six
This is the other side of leaflet five, and again very useful for us in our Seasonal Recycling section on our website, as it will benefit students what to recycle in the seasonal holidays.
Leaflet SevenThis leaflet explains the importance of storing waste, and must follow the duty of care law to keep waste safe. I didn't really understand this leaflet, as I didn't know what the duty of care law is, but this could be useful to students, as they need to understand this law, and must abide by it. We wern't told about this law when we moved in, so it may be useful to make this point clear on our websites, as it is a pretty essential point to mention, as if the law is broken, then a fine will be charged.
These leaflets have been benefitial in some way to our artefact video and website, and we will use most of the information in the leaflets to inform students how to recycle, where, and when, so students can be aware of recycling, and know just what they can and can't recycle. Now the research has been done, we can now start on planning our video.
Monday, 24 November 2008
Artefact Production - Stage One
Once we knew our topic of creating a video to teach the students of Portsmouth about the Portsmouth Recycling Scheme, then the next stage was to plan it.
To be able to get information for the video, we would need to ask the council for leaflets, etc. Helen nominated herself to be the person to email them. After a couple of days, we recieved an email back from the council saying:
Dear Helen
Subject: Recycling
Thank you for contacting the City Helpdesk at Portsmouth City Council.
I have put a selection of leaflets in the post to you today. You might wish to also look at our website which has a lot of information, I have provided the following link for you. http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/AtoZ/891.html
Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards
Customer Service Advisor HHS855
City Helpdesk
Within a week, Helen recieved the leaflets, and brought them to our first planning session, on Monday 24th November 2008. We benefited from these leaflets, because they contained information we did not know about the Portsmouth Recycling Scheme, and this would be brilliant information to use for our video. Even better, they contained quirky facts that would work well in our film. I will post a new blog describing and analysing these leaflets.
To be able to get information for the video, we would need to ask the council for leaflets, etc. Helen nominated herself to be the person to email them. After a couple of days, we recieved an email back from the council saying:
Dear Helen
Subject: Recycling
Thank you for contacting the City Helpdesk at Portsmouth City Council.
I have put a selection of leaflets in the post to you today. You might wish to also look at our website which has a lot of information, I have provided the following link for you. http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/AtoZ/891.html
Should you require further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Regards
Customer Service Advisor HHS855
City Helpdesk
Within a week, Helen recieved the leaflets, and brought them to our first planning session, on Monday 24th November 2008. We benefited from these leaflets, because they contained information we did not know about the Portsmouth Recycling Scheme, and this would be brilliant information to use for our video. Even better, they contained quirky facts that would work well in our film. I will post a new blog describing and analysing these leaflets.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Data Compression
Data compression is 'the process of encoding information using fewer bits'. This results in the file being compressed (or shrunk down) to a smaller size. This is useful as it reduces hard disk space, or bandwidth (if used online). The disadvantage of this is that the 'compressed file data must be decompressed to be view or heard,' and require extra processing. This means that to decompress a file, an expensive piece of software may have to be used to decompress data 'fast enough to be viewed'. There must be sufficient storage space for the decompressed video to be stored.
There are two types of compression, lossless and lossy compression. Lossless is where the file is kept exactly the same after compression, and lossy is where a tiny bit of data is changed but not noticed the the user. Lossless data is reversible as it is 100% exactly the same, so original data can be reconstructed but since a small change is made for lossy data then it makes the task of reconstructing original data much harder.
Lossless data is data is benefitial to businesses as their work in spreadsheets, text, programs etc cannot be changed even a single bit and must not be tolerated.
Lossy data can be used in digital cameras to increase their storage space, and keeping almost a perfect quality.
In the end, unless it is really necessary not to change the data for certain reasons, there is not much difference in the end. In my opinion, I would prefer to use Lossless data, as it is 100% exactly the same as original data, even though it may need more expensive software to do this. It is better in a sense, as it can converted back to the original data, if needed to, whilst lossy cannot do this, making it harder to work with. Although lossy data does produce data that is a smaller file size, as detail is removed, but if nobody notices it, then lossy data is successful.They are both benefital in their own ways.
SOURCE: Data Compression (hand-out). Retrieved 23rd November 2008.
There are two types of compression, lossless and lossy compression. Lossless is where the file is kept exactly the same after compression, and lossy is where a tiny bit of data is changed but not noticed the the user. Lossless data is reversible as it is 100% exactly the same, so original data can be reconstructed but since a small change is made for lossy data then it makes the task of reconstructing original data much harder.
Lossless data is data is benefitial to businesses as their work in spreadsheets, text, programs etc cannot be changed even a single bit and must not be tolerated.
Lossy data can be used in digital cameras to increase their storage space, and keeping almost a perfect quality.
In the end, unless it is really necessary not to change the data for certain reasons, there is not much difference in the end. In my opinion, I would prefer to use Lossless data, as it is 100% exactly the same as original data, even though it may need more expensive software to do this. It is better in a sense, as it can converted back to the original data, if needed to, whilst lossy cannot do this, making it harder to work with. Although lossy data does produce data that is a smaller file size, as detail is removed, but if nobody notices it, then lossy data is successful.They are both benefital in their own ways.
SOURCE: Data Compression (hand-out). Retrieved 23rd November 2008.
Saturday, 22 November 2008
Limitation Factors of our Streaming Artefact
The factors that limit streaming include:
Hosting costs
Importance of aesthetics
Purpose of media
Bandwidth of audience
Content of media
So applying this to our artefact:
The hosting costs will be provided for us by the University.
Aesthetics will depend on our website. We will be converting our video to high quality, medium quality and low quality, but hopefully we will be able to upload the high quality video to our website, even though this will take longer to stream. This and other versions will be available to download. I have learnt that the quality of a downloaded file is always higher, as it is not being streamed, and doesn't depend of bandwidth or Internet speed. People may prefer to download the file if it is taking too long to stream.
The video will only target students in Portsmouth, will require funding from the Council to advertise the site, and make it public, so the students of Portsmouth can find it easily. Possible funding could also come from the University, for them to advertise and make our video aware. Since the number of students coming to Portsmouth is now 19,000, that is alot of potential students who do not know about recycling.
A factor to consider would be internet speed/bandwidth of the audience. Because everybody might have different speeds/bandwidths, then it will affect everyone, but as long as students are patient and wait for the video to buffer, then it can be viewed by all. It is also proven that at night it is better to watch streaming content, as there is less users on the Internet to watch the media.
The content will only be aimed at students, no matter if they're interested in recycling or not. If they are interested in recycling, then this video will benefit them more, but even if students aren't, then it may gain the interest of those viewers. Hopefully the content of our video will be interesting enough for students not to get bored, but to be entertained and educated.
Regards to using what media player to use, I will need to research into the different types. There will be problems no matter what, so I will post a blog on this.
Hosting costs
Importance of aesthetics
Purpose of media
Bandwidth of audience
Content of media
So applying this to our artefact:
The hosting costs will be provided for us by the University.
Aesthetics will depend on our website. We will be converting our video to high quality, medium quality and low quality, but hopefully we will be able to upload the high quality video to our website, even though this will take longer to stream. This and other versions will be available to download. I have learnt that the quality of a downloaded file is always higher, as it is not being streamed, and doesn't depend of bandwidth or Internet speed. People may prefer to download the file if it is taking too long to stream.
The video will only target students in Portsmouth, will require funding from the Council to advertise the site, and make it public, so the students of Portsmouth can find it easily. Possible funding could also come from the University, for them to advertise and make our video aware. Since the number of students coming to Portsmouth is now 19,000, that is alot of potential students who do not know about recycling.
A factor to consider would be internet speed/bandwidth of the audience. Because everybody might have different speeds/bandwidths, then it will affect everyone, but as long as students are patient and wait for the video to buffer, then it can be viewed by all. It is also proven that at night it is better to watch streaming content, as there is less users on the Internet to watch the media.
The content will only be aimed at students, no matter if they're interested in recycling or not. If they are interested in recycling, then this video will benefit them more, but even if students aren't, then it may gain the interest of those viewers. Hopefully the content of our video will be interesting enough for students not to get bored, but to be entertained and educated.
Regards to using what media player to use, I will need to research into the different types. There will be problems no matter what, so I will post a blog on this.
Friday, 21 November 2008
Week Six - Group Four
This group's discussion was about the relationship between file quality and size. Before now I'd realised that video or audio can be broadcast at different quality, and the higher the bitrate, the higher the quality. I learnt alot from this last week. This group developed on that, by saying that for higher quality media, it takes longer to buffer, and to stream, as the file size is bigger, meaning there is more to load. There were some things I was confused about, compressors, and pixels, but I did learn that lossless compression is useful because no matter how many times a file is compressed, it still remains the same quality. I learnt that there are quite a number of factors when discussing this subject, and when it comes to streaming our artefact, it has now made me think, how the media will be affected by the things I never thought of. I have learnt alot from this presentation, and will now help think of factors when streaming our artefact. I will post a blog considering the factors of this.
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Presentation Meetings
Every week before our presentation, our group met up for meetings to discuss what we had our done for our presentation.
The first week, we met up and decided that we should all go off for a week and research as much as we could about webcasts, multicasts and unicasts. I managed to find a little information but most information was difficult. When i reported back the following week, I'd also found out that everyone had been the same. We'd also got very confused about the topic, because, us ourselves, didn't know what was meant by the terms, webcasting, unicasting and multicasting. We all produced different definitions of these. We decided whose definition was best, and started to write this in our presentation.
For the following week, we split off into separate directions. Hel to research webcasting, Becky to research Unicasting, and Jon to research Muticasting. My task was to create diagrams for each, and explain each of them. I was also given the task to cover the introduction and conclusion.
We met up the next week, each with different pieces of information on our targeted subject areas. This meeting we got more confused than ever on what was what. We didn't know any differences between the two, and we thought that webcasting was the same thing as multicasting, and unicasting. After a lot of confusion, and researching, we finally found out that webcasting was the main way of streaming, and multicasting and unicasting was the ways used to do this. This made a whole lot more sense to us, and finally got us back on track to working on our presentation. I managed to find the correct diagrams and drew them out in Powerpoint, making sure I knew how to explain them. Because webcasting was the way of streaming mutlicasting and unicasting, webcasting did not need a diagram. My part was sorted.
When it came to viewing group 1's presentation, we got really scared because the group had done a half-hour presentation, very detailed, backed up their points, and even had a streaming video of examples of their work. Because we couldn't find much information on our subject at the time, our presentation was very short, and maybe lasted about 10 minutes. This scared us, so we contacted Corrine about it. We found out that we didn't read the marking scheme properly, and we had to include streaming media in our presentation.
Over the next week, each member of our group found streaming media examples for each of their areas. Youtube for webcasting, ITV live streaming for multicasting, and BBC Radio for unicasting. We implemented these into our presentation. Becky, Jon and Hel had also found more information on each of their topics, and began adding these in as well.
When we reported back the following week, each member had their desired amount of information for their area. Hel sent me the presentation, and I got to work on the introduction, covering what we would be talking about, and creating a summary of each of different areas, and finally writing a conclusion to discuss where webcasting would be going about in the future.
I realised why I'd been given the shortest to talk about, because when I pitched our idea to the class about our streaming artefact, i was shaky and very nervous. The group told me that since I was nervous, they did not want to make it uneasy for me. I was really grateful for the group telling me this, and was glad that they didn't make me say too much. I realised that the group members were all doing much more work than me, and i felt bad on this, and tried to help them out as much as possible, as i felt that i didn't want to feel like i was being left out.
Time closed in on us, and our presentation grew closer. Now our presentation was complete, all we had to do was try and learn it, and make sure we knew what we were saying, before we could have a practice rehearsal before the real thing. Final tweaks were made, and we were ready. I was actually more confident in the presentation itself rather than the rehearsal. Since I didn't have much to say, I was the person in charge of moving through the slides, and then I would stand up to say my bit. This turned out alright.
I think communication in the group was good, because we were good friends before this group, and it meant we all got along well together. We saw each other every week, and tried to be as organised as possible. We used emails to send each other information, to make sure everybody saw what each member was doing. This worked effectively, and our presentation turned out to be a success! (apart from BBC Radio One nearly not working and messing up the whole presentation! But everyone has their mistakes!)
The first week, we met up and decided that we should all go off for a week and research as much as we could about webcasts, multicasts and unicasts. I managed to find a little information but most information was difficult. When i reported back the following week, I'd also found out that everyone had been the same. We'd also got very confused about the topic, because, us ourselves, didn't know what was meant by the terms, webcasting, unicasting and multicasting. We all produced different definitions of these. We decided whose definition was best, and started to write this in our presentation.
For the following week, we split off into separate directions. Hel to research webcasting, Becky to research Unicasting, and Jon to research Muticasting. My task was to create diagrams for each, and explain each of them. I was also given the task to cover the introduction and conclusion.
We met up the next week, each with different pieces of information on our targeted subject areas. This meeting we got more confused than ever on what was what. We didn't know any differences between the two, and we thought that webcasting was the same thing as multicasting, and unicasting. After a lot of confusion, and researching, we finally found out that webcasting was the main way of streaming, and multicasting and unicasting was the ways used to do this. This made a whole lot more sense to us, and finally got us back on track to working on our presentation. I managed to find the correct diagrams and drew them out in Powerpoint, making sure I knew how to explain them. Because webcasting was the way of streaming mutlicasting and unicasting, webcasting did not need a diagram. My part was sorted.
When it came to viewing group 1's presentation, we got really scared because the group had done a half-hour presentation, very detailed, backed up their points, and even had a streaming video of examples of their work. Because we couldn't find much information on our subject at the time, our presentation was very short, and maybe lasted about 10 minutes. This scared us, so we contacted Corrine about it. We found out that we didn't read the marking scheme properly, and we had to include streaming media in our presentation.
Over the next week, each member of our group found streaming media examples for each of their areas. Youtube for webcasting, ITV live streaming for multicasting, and BBC Radio for unicasting. We implemented these into our presentation. Becky, Jon and Hel had also found more information on each of their topics, and began adding these in as well.
When we reported back the following week, each member had their desired amount of information for their area. Hel sent me the presentation, and I got to work on the introduction, covering what we would be talking about, and creating a summary of each of different areas, and finally writing a conclusion to discuss where webcasting would be going about in the future.
I realised why I'd been given the shortest to talk about, because when I pitched our idea to the class about our streaming artefact, i was shaky and very nervous. The group told me that since I was nervous, they did not want to make it uneasy for me. I was really grateful for the group telling me this, and was glad that they didn't make me say too much. I realised that the group members were all doing much more work than me, and i felt bad on this, and tried to help them out as much as possible, as i felt that i didn't want to feel like i was being left out.
Time closed in on us, and our presentation grew closer. Now our presentation was complete, all we had to do was try and learn it, and make sure we knew what we were saying, before we could have a practice rehearsal before the real thing. Final tweaks were made, and we were ready. I was actually more confident in the presentation itself rather than the rehearsal. Since I didn't have much to say, I was the person in charge of moving through the slides, and then I would stand up to say my bit. This turned out alright.
I think communication in the group was good, because we were good friends before this group, and it meant we all got along well together. We saw each other every week, and tried to be as organised as possible. We used emails to send each other information, to make sure everybody saw what each member was doing. This worked effectively, and our presentation turned out to be a success! (apart from BBC Radio One nearly not working and messing up the whole presentation! But everyone has their mistakes!)
Friday, 14 November 2008
Week Five - Group 3 (our group) Presentation
This was the week of our presentation. Because I get nervous, whilst infront of people, the rest of my group, Becky, Helen and Jon, gave me the least to say, which I was very appreciative of. We had alot of problems with our presentation, because we couldn't get to grips with our chosen topic. When we originally chose the topic, we thought it would be pretty straight forward. But little did we know that Mutlicasting and Unicasting are a FORM of Webcasting. We thought they were 3 separate things, but this made matters more confusing. Because we struggled to find information on each of the three, and finally get our heads round what each term meant, it meant that the preparation for the presentation took longer than we expected it to. We learnt that multicast server is a one-to-many server, and where the clients/users wanting to watch the content must connect to that stream to view it. This connection requires little bandwidth. In Unicasting, the server is a one-to-one connection, so each user has to have its own connection, meaning that a large network connection is required, and the bandwidth used is very high. Unicasting is the typical method at the moment, but many services like the BBC, are transferring to Multicasting. In conjunction with group 1's presentation, this added to my point of it is better to stream content online using webcasting, rather than spending alot of money and time on filming with a normal broadcast. I have learnt that webcasting has a good future.
Friday, 7 November 2008
Week Four - Group 2 Presentation
In this presentation, the group talked about codecs, what they are, and why to use them. I learnt quite a bit in this talk. I already knew about quality of video and audio, but I had never compared them until the group showed their video and audio examples of high quality video and audio compared to low quality video and audio. I never knew there was such a massive difference, buts its amazing to think there actually is a HUGE difference, and now know why codecs are used. Its because the greater the bitrate, the better the quality. The downside to this is that the file size is much bigger than that of low quality video/audio, but having a bigger filesize is worth it in the end, for the high quality that is produced.
I also learnt that Codecs are a mix of 2 words: compressor and decompressor, and coder and decoder. I had heard of codecs before but I didn't know they were used to encode and decode the digital data over the web.
This presentation has been useful to me, because i've learnt that when producing content on the Internet, to have something that looks or sounds good, you'll need a higher bitrate, producing much better quality.
I also learnt that Codecs are a mix of 2 words: compressor and decompressor, and coder and decoder. I had heard of codecs before but I didn't know they were used to encode and decode the digital data over the web.
This presentation has been useful to me, because i've learnt that when producing content on the Internet, to have something that looks or sounds good, you'll need a higher bitrate, producing much better quality.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
Name/Logo of our streaming artefact
I originally had a couple of ideas. The main idea was: UPRS
University of Portsmouth Recycling Scheme. We decided it may not work, due to getting permission from the University, and is considered too much like Pompey Recycling Scheme.
After passing the idea round the group, we decided that UOP: Recycle It! would be the best title. As it still includes the University, and in the name, it gives a slogan of what we aim people to do...RECYCLE!
I came up with a design for the logo, and it involved combing three logo's in one. The City Council logo, the Portsmouth University logo, and the Recycling logo.
This is what my design involved. My group members seemed to like this, but came to the thought of we would have to contact each company to ask permission to use their logo. Obviously the University would be pretty acceptable, but it was too complex for us to get permission from everyone. I left the task of choosing a logo up to Jon.
University of Portsmouth Recycling Scheme. We decided it may not work, due to getting permission from the University, and is considered too much like Pompey Recycling Scheme.
After passing the idea round the group, we decided that UOP: Recycle It! would be the best title. As it still includes the University, and in the name, it gives a slogan of what we aim people to do...RECYCLE!
I came up with a design for the logo, and it involved combing three logo's in one. The City Council logo, the Portsmouth University logo, and the Recycling logo.
This is what my design involved. My group members seemed to like this, but came to the thought of we would have to contact each company to ask permission to use their logo. Obviously the University would be pretty acceptable, but it was too complex for us to get permission from everyone. I left the task of choosing a logo up to Jon.
Monday, 3 November 2008
Door to Door Recycling Talk
The other week, a member from the council knocked on my door to talk to me about recycling, what you can recycle and what you can't. I told her about our group idea to make a short educating but entertaining film telling students how to recycle. She seemed really enthusiastic about it, and was intreiged whether we could get the film made by christmas, and they could use it in a 12 days of recycling event they had planned. It was looking doubtful that we would have it done, as we didn't want to start working on the film till after our presentation on the 14th November. She said that they could use it next year, if they go to freshers fayre, or at special student recycling talks, which of fantastic use for us, because it'd be a great achievement to get our work out there, and used by the council. This talk was very useful, and could earn us our way to get our work used by a professional business.
Friday, 31 October 2008
Week Three - Group 1 Presentation
This week, group presentations started. Group 1's presentation was on companies using streaming media to enhance business.
With presentations, I always find it hard to try and learn the information, if people are talking. If its presented the practical way, like this group did, I felt I learnt much better. The group made a streaming artefact showing how companies online are using streaming media to advertise, or entertain the audience.
Even though this artefact went on a long time, I learn alot about streaming media online. Before this presentation, I obviously knew there was streaming media online, but I didn't realise how much streaming media was used, and how the streaming media was used to aid the business.
Websites are much easier to produce than making a tv advert, or making a magazine, and a good example of this is NME magazine, where all the information is online, which is handy if you can't buy the magazine.
Streaming can be used in many ways, and one of the best of these ways, is live streaming, like the live 8 concert. People that could not access tv's could just watch the concert through their pc and internet.
The increasing content of streaming media on the internet and the increasing demand of it, means that more and more businesses will make the switch from paper to the internet, to help promote their product. As time goes on, more and more users will look on the internet, rather than go out shopping for information. Information will become much easier to find, and be suited for more people. As long as the information is displayed in a format everybody can access and view, then streaming media will become very big in the future.
With presentations, I always find it hard to try and learn the information, if people are talking. If its presented the practical way, like this group did, I felt I learnt much better. The group made a streaming artefact showing how companies online are using streaming media to advertise, or entertain the audience.
Even though this artefact went on a long time, I learn alot about streaming media online. Before this presentation, I obviously knew there was streaming media online, but I didn't realise how much streaming media was used, and how the streaming media was used to aid the business.
Websites are much easier to produce than making a tv advert, or making a magazine, and a good example of this is NME magazine, where all the information is online, which is handy if you can't buy the magazine.
Streaming can be used in many ways, and one of the best of these ways, is live streaming, like the live 8 concert. People that could not access tv's could just watch the concert through their pc and internet.
The increasing content of streaming media on the internet and the increasing demand of it, means that more and more businesses will make the switch from paper to the internet, to help promote their product. As time goes on, more and more users will look on the internet, rather than go out shopping for information. Information will become much easier to find, and be suited for more people. As long as the information is displayed in a format everybody can access and view, then streaming media will become very big in the future.
Friday, 17 October 2008
Week Two
In this lecture, we watched a streaming event on the University of Wisconsin website. They explained what streaming media is. Streaming media can be a live event where users tune in. The equipment needed is a camera, a video encoder and a server. It explained the difference between Unicast and Multicast. Unicast is the secure method and each owner had its own stream. It requires alot of bandwidth and a large network connection, and can have a large audience. Multicast is where data is sent in all directions and thus using less bandwidth.
Live events can be academic (used for coursework etc), research (uni functions and addresses by officials etc), admin (addresses by officials and for people who work at home), students(awards ceremonies or sporting events etc). Technical requirements needed for streaming media involve an encoder, which turns data into accessible data for the server to store. The server provides and splits the data to the users. Audiences need to access the stream, through a link on a website online. This then launches a player and connects to the server. They can also find out about the stream through email or phone. And the stream can be private or public. Media such as radio can be broadcast on a modem. But media such as video MUST be broadcast on broadband, on such rates as 256kbs (low), 800kbs(medium), or 1mbps (high + therefore a live broadcast). Broadcasters must realise that some users may not be able to tune in due to their bandwidth. The main format types that the data can be presented through are, quicktime, windows media player, realplayer, and nowadays, flash player (which can broadcast high quality video).
To make your own streaming event, you'd need technical staff to troubleshoot any errors, setup and provide maintenance and have experience in any equipment. You'd also need to provide the servers and the network. Altogether this would be pretty costly! Another way round this to contact the commercial provider who is supplies the server, but you are responsible for capturing the data. In streaming live events, the staff have to be aware for unexpected faults, like room location changes, network glitches or equipment failure.
I learnt alot from this streaming event, and it was benefit to me, because even though our group streaming won't be a live event, its always useful to know for the future, incase I decide to be part of a live streaming event. The information that I benefited from the most out of this lecture, was the unicast and multicast differences. Since this is our topic for our presentation, I was anxious to know the differences. Even though we have been researching the topics, I have been very confused between the differences between them. This information helped towards our presentation, and I now feel confident in the differences.
To make your own streaming event, you'd need technical staff to troubleshoot any errors, setup and provide maintenance and have experience in any equipment. You'd also need to provide the servers and the network. Altogether this would be pretty costly! Another way round this to contact the commercial provider who is supplies the server, but you are responsible for capturing the data. In streaming live events, the staff have to be aware for unexpected faults, like room location changes, network glitches or equipment failure.
I learnt alot from this streaming event, and it was benefit to me, because even though our group streaming won't be a live event, its always useful to know for the future, incase I decide to be part of a live streaming event. The information that I benefited from the most out of this lecture, was the unicast and multicast differences. Since this is our topic for our presentation, I was anxious to know the differences. Even though we have been researching the topics, I have been very confused between the differences between them. This information helped towards our presentation, and I now feel confident in the differences.
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Streaming Artefact
Our group decided to make an artefact based on recycling for students in portsmouth. This would be done by making a short film, and for entertainment purposes, using a 1960's style. We decided this would be a good idea, because in different towns, there are different recycling schemes, and different towns recycle different things. New students or existing students coming to/or are at Portsmouth University, need to know what they CAN and what they CAN'T recycle. There is not much guidance when you arrive in Portsmouth as a student, and we thought that if this is done through an entertaining but educating video, students will know how to recycle properly and follow the guidelines of Portsmouth City Council's recycling scheme. So the genre would be edutainment, because it is educating the students of portsmouth how to recycle, but in an entertaining way. We will conduct research into Portsmouth City Council's recycling scheme, produce a short film, and create a website, containing information as well. Hopefully the council will then use this film to educate students on special recycling talks etc.
Saturday, 11 October 2008
Friday, 10 October 2008
Streaming Artefact Dragons Den
Corrine had the idea for us to come up with an idea for our streaming artefact, and present it to the class in a dragons den format.
Pitch One: Recycling video for students of Portsmouth
Our idea was:
Teaching Students Of Portsmouth How To Recycle (because each council has different regulations)
We decided our genre was:
Education/Entertainment - Edutainment
Our target audience would be:
Students of Portsmouth (18+), or anyone in Portsmouth wanting to know how to recycle.
Our technical constraints would be:
Problems with lighting, whether we'd use natural lighting, or using extra lighting to create light on our scene. We will see about this when it comes to filming, whether we will need extra lighting
When it came to thinking of financial constraints, we realised that there would be none due to the props being recycled goods. Also the editing software is free, as it is on the University computers.
There is no server costs as the University is providing us with the server and we do not have to fund ourselves.
The time constraints will be:
Only being able to rent the camera out for three days...AND...
Filming and editing on time so that it is finished in time to hand in.
The ideas we had for our artefact were:
The style should be in a 1950's style (like a public service announcement)
Filming will be done in a student's house. Actors will be friends and/or the group
The website will mainly be modern, but may also be 1950's. We have not yet decided.
For research, we will contact the council for leaflets and information on recycling. We can also watch example 1950's PSA's for help on what to film it like.
The script will be written before filming, so the actor/s will know what to say. We can add audio voice overs afterwards.
The positives for our idea are:
It is cheap to do because we are using the University resources, and recycled materials
Filming will be in a 'fun' style and be student friendly
Negatives would be:
People may not want to be told what to do
It may not interest people, or students would already know the correct way to recycle.
Previous examples would be the Pompey Recycling Scheme website, which tells you exactly what to recycle, and we could use this as our main focus of research, where we would have to contact the council first, to ask permission. Although written material is only basic compared to an edutainment video for students.
http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/AtoZ/891.html
http://www.port.ac.uk/aboutus/community/neighbours/beingagoodneighbour/
The class suggested that a problem that would be that because the video is to be streamed on the Internet, we must follow proper rules and regulations, and one of these is copyright. The products we use for our film must not display their labels, as showing the product manufacturer will be breaking these laws. To get around this, we all thought of the program ZZZAP that was on TV when we were kids. There was a feature where two hands would show you how to make something, or pull off a magic trick etc. In this, the products they used, just had labels, such as PAPER, or SCISSORS etc, that just popped out from the side of the screen. This was brilliant product placement! And we thought we'd love to do the same!
We decided that this was a good idea to do and we would stick at it. The class agreed with us, and thought it was a brilliant idea. We had the go ahead.
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Pitch Two - Things to do in Portsmouth
The idea:
We would produce a video aimed at students in Portsmouth, as to what to do. When students move to Portsmouth, if they have never been, or rarely know anything about Portsmouth, they won't know of the things they can do. So by us showing them exactly what there is to do, then maybe they'll go out and explore.
This video would obviously be aimed at students, moving to Portsmouth, going to the University, but in fact it could be aimed at anyone coming to Portsmouth, for example tourists, wanting to know what would be good to do in Portsmouth. The information centre in Portsmouth could even use our video to show tourists just what to do, instead of just giving them leaflets.
Students would appreciate this in their induction week, as it may help them settle into the City of Portsmouth. It would be of benefit to the audience who watch this, as they learn about the sights of Portsmouth, and helps get them out there.
Problems would obviously be copyright footage, and would need permission from the City Council, whether we can film at certain places etc. Another disadvantage would be that people would rather explore for themselves as to what they can do, rather than been told. Also, there may not be time in the video to show everything, and may miss out certain places.
Previous examples are websites with lists of what to do, but there is no dedicated website, showing what to do in Portsmouth. Some people prefer to learn visually, and this video would be of benefit to them.
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/custompages/custompage.aspx?sectionid=4529
http://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/site/what-to-see-and-do
http://www.gunwharf-quays.com/things_to_do_in_portsmouth.htm
The class liked this idea, as most of them didn't know what there was to do in Portsmouth when they moved. It is like any situation when you move somewhere, you want to know what there is to do there, as it is some place new, and you want to explore. This idea was approved.
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Pitch Three: Local Music in Portsmouth
The idea:
We would produce a video or even audio artefact, on the local music of Portsmouth. There are always local bands wherever you go, and people love listening to new bands especially if they're local. Our artefact would be an alternative to a website, displaying a list of local music. We would list the name of the local bands, have a snippet of their music (for listeners to judge if they like them), how to listen more to them, give them our reviews, and maybe even display when they're playing next. We would get information mainly from Myspace, as bands seem to upload all their music there.
The advantages would be that the band would get promoted via our advert, and hopefully get some listeners, and people turn up to their gigs. Also, instead of just reading a list, watching a video with these bands, or listening to a piece, allows the user to interact more. With just a list, you cannot hear samples of the bands, but with our artefact, it'd allow it.
There would be quite a few disadvantages. If we were to make a video, we would probably have to meet up with these bands, and film them etc, to display their music. Obviously the sound quality may be poor due to the microphones used to capture them. All this anyway would need permission from the band. If we were to make an audio piece, then obviously the accessibility would affect us, with the Disability Discrimatory Act (1995), against deaf people. There is also the fact that some people may not even have speakers, and this would act against our idea completly. If we were to use the music from the band's Myspace, then the sound quality would obviously be better, but again, permission would be needed to use this. Our reviews section may include inappropriate comments about the band, and they may not like this. It would be our opinion, and generally everyone has their own opinion. Some people may take our opinion into account and not listen to them, which wouldn't be good for us.
Previous examples only include written lists. Users can generally search for music on Myspace, but with us giving our reviews, and a sample of their track, then users can maybe find a band they like as soon as possible, thanks to us finding them for them.
http://www.knowhere.co.uk/Portsmouth/Hampshire/South-East-England/info/localbands
It would be a useful idea and the class was unsure about it. This idea was pretty unlikely as there were alot of negatives rather than positives. It would be too hard to work with. The class liked the idea but thought it was basically impossible, so the idea was denied.
Pitch One: Recycling video for students of Portsmouth
Our idea was:
Teaching Students Of Portsmouth How To Recycle (because each council has different regulations)
We decided our genre was:
Education/Entertainment - Edutainment
Our target audience would be:
Students of Portsmouth (18+), or anyone in Portsmouth wanting to know how to recycle.
Our technical constraints would be:
Problems with lighting, whether we'd use natural lighting, or using extra lighting to create light on our scene. We will see about this when it comes to filming, whether we will need extra lighting
When it came to thinking of financial constraints, we realised that there would be none due to the props being recycled goods. Also the editing software is free, as it is on the University computers.
There is no server costs as the University is providing us with the server and we do not have to fund ourselves.
The time constraints will be:
Only being able to rent the camera out for three days...AND...
Filming and editing on time so that it is finished in time to hand in.
The ideas we had for our artefact were:
The style should be in a 1950's style (like a public service announcement)
Filming will be done in a student's house. Actors will be friends and/or the group
The website will mainly be modern, but may also be 1950's. We have not yet decided.
For research, we will contact the council for leaflets and information on recycling. We can also watch example 1950's PSA's for help on what to film it like.
The script will be written before filming, so the actor/s will know what to say. We can add audio voice overs afterwards.
The positives for our idea are:
It is cheap to do because we are using the University resources, and recycled materials
Filming will be in a 'fun' style and be student friendly
Negatives would be:
People may not want to be told what to do
It may not interest people, or students would already know the correct way to recycle.
Previous examples would be the Pompey Recycling Scheme website, which tells you exactly what to recycle, and we could use this as our main focus of research, where we would have to contact the council first, to ask permission. Although written material is only basic compared to an edutainment video for students.
http://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/AtoZ/891.html
http://www.port.ac.uk/aboutus/community/neighbours/beingagoodneighbour/
The class suggested that a problem that would be that because the video is to be streamed on the Internet, we must follow proper rules and regulations, and one of these is copyright. The products we use for our film must not display their labels, as showing the product manufacturer will be breaking these laws. To get around this, we all thought of the program ZZZAP that was on TV when we were kids. There was a feature where two hands would show you how to make something, or pull off a magic trick etc. In this, the products they used, just had labels, such as PAPER, or SCISSORS etc, that just popped out from the side of the screen. This was brilliant product placement! And we thought we'd love to do the same!
We decided that this was a good idea to do and we would stick at it. The class agreed with us, and thought it was a brilliant idea. We had the go ahead.
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Pitch Two - Things to do in Portsmouth
The idea:
We would produce a video aimed at students in Portsmouth, as to what to do. When students move to Portsmouth, if they have never been, or rarely know anything about Portsmouth, they won't know of the things they can do. So by us showing them exactly what there is to do, then maybe they'll go out and explore.
This video would obviously be aimed at students, moving to Portsmouth, going to the University, but in fact it could be aimed at anyone coming to Portsmouth, for example tourists, wanting to know what would be good to do in Portsmouth. The information centre in Portsmouth could even use our video to show tourists just what to do, instead of just giving them leaflets.
Students would appreciate this in their induction week, as it may help them settle into the City of Portsmouth. It would be of benefit to the audience who watch this, as they learn about the sights of Portsmouth, and helps get them out there.
Problems would obviously be copyright footage, and would need permission from the City Council, whether we can film at certain places etc. Another disadvantage would be that people would rather explore for themselves as to what they can do, rather than been told. Also, there may not be time in the video to show everything, and may miss out certain places.
Previous examples are websites with lists of what to do, but there is no dedicated website, showing what to do in Portsmouth. Some people prefer to learn visually, and this video would be of benefit to them.
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/custompages/custompage.aspx?sectionid=4529
http://www.visitportsmouth.co.uk/site/what-to-see-and-do
http://www.gunwharf-quays.com/things_to_do_in_portsmouth.htm
The class liked this idea, as most of them didn't know what there was to do in Portsmouth when they moved. It is like any situation when you move somewhere, you want to know what there is to do there, as it is some place new, and you want to explore. This idea was approved.
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Pitch Three: Local Music in Portsmouth
The idea:
We would produce a video or even audio artefact, on the local music of Portsmouth. There are always local bands wherever you go, and people love listening to new bands especially if they're local. Our artefact would be an alternative to a website, displaying a list of local music. We would list the name of the local bands, have a snippet of their music (for listeners to judge if they like them), how to listen more to them, give them our reviews, and maybe even display when they're playing next. We would get information mainly from Myspace, as bands seem to upload all their music there.
The advantages would be that the band would get promoted via our advert, and hopefully get some listeners, and people turn up to their gigs. Also, instead of just reading a list, watching a video with these bands, or listening to a piece, allows the user to interact more. With just a list, you cannot hear samples of the bands, but with our artefact, it'd allow it.
There would be quite a few disadvantages. If we were to make a video, we would probably have to meet up with these bands, and film them etc, to display their music. Obviously the sound quality may be poor due to the microphones used to capture them. All this anyway would need permission from the band. If we were to make an audio piece, then obviously the accessibility would affect us, with the Disability Discrimatory Act (1995), against deaf people. There is also the fact that some people may not even have speakers, and this would act against our idea completly. If we were to use the music from the band's Myspace, then the sound quality would obviously be better, but again, permission would be needed to use this. Our reviews section may include inappropriate comments about the band, and they may not like this. It would be our opinion, and generally everyone has their own opinion. Some people may take our opinion into account and not listen to them, which wouldn't be good for us.
Previous examples only include written lists. Users can generally search for music on Myspace, but with us giving our reviews, and a sample of their track, then users can maybe find a band they like as soon as possible, thanks to us finding them for them.
http://www.knowhere.co.uk/Portsmouth/Hampshire/South-East-England/info/localbands
It would be a useful idea and the class was unsure about it. This idea was pretty unlikely as there were alot of negatives rather than positives. It would be too hard to work with. The class liked the idea but thought it was basically impossible, so the idea was denied.
Week One
This was our 1st session for Streaming Technology, where we were put into groups for our presentation. I was put in with Helen, Becky, and Jon. The topic we chose was the difference between podcasts, multicasts, and unicasts. We were be presenting our topic sometime in November.
The session today involved completing a task which involved converting a video (AVI FILE) to a high quality file, medium quality file, and low quality file. We had to compare the differences between the 2, and it definatly showed the difference in the quality. We then had to convert the AVI to a flash file, using some software, and this surprised the most, as this was amazing quality, and much better than the other media files.
From this session, I learnt that even though converting to a high quality windows media file, was good quality, converting it to a Flash file was much better and produced much better quality. If I was to convert a video file again, I would definatly consider converting it to a flash video file, as the file size is small, and the quality is brilliant.
The session today involved completing a task which involved converting a video (AVI FILE) to a high quality file, medium quality file, and low quality file. We had to compare the differences between the 2, and it definatly showed the difference in the quality. We then had to convert the AVI to a flash file, using some software, and this surprised the most, as this was amazing quality, and much better than the other media files.
From this session, I learnt that even though converting to a high quality windows media file, was good quality, converting it to a Flash file was much better and produced much better quality. If I was to convert a video file again, I would definatly consider converting it to a flash video file, as the file size is small, and the quality is brilliant.
STRTECH Blog : WELCOME!
Hi! This is my blog for the STRTECH 3rd Year Unit at University of Portsmouth. We have been told to write a blog/journal for each week, as to what we learnt during the session. I will posting these blogs every week.
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