Tag Archives: unsymposium

1080PPR (Pixels per radi)

Posted on by under Networked Media

Rectangular film chamber. Photo: Peter Harris

Sounds weird, doesn’t it? Unsymposium 0.7 has been and gone. That was an eye opener to a completely different look at authorial control. Here I was thinking that the author had control over what codes and conventions they use to create a film of a specific genre. But I guess in retrospect, Adrian was right. The codes and conventions have the author at bay. You can’t just make a Sci-fi film out of nothing. You need the codes and conventions to make the film. You cant make it science fiction without them. So ultimately, the codes and conventions define what you can do, you don’t have that control. And with that your freedom is gone, you can’t do anything you want anymore. You realised that you’re at the will of technology and technique. Artificial intelligence will take over the world and humans will be the slaves to robots. It was nice knowing you.

Another point I guess, is that you can’t make the codes and conventions. They define themselves, or more so society and history does. But the author doesn’t. Back to the original point however (the one that comes in at the title), why do we have a rectangular screen for movies? There’s something you can’t control. It’s just deeply entrenched in cinema culture. It’s forever been a component of film. They’ve been rectangular frames, as far as I know, forever. That’s something right there that says a lot. What happens if someone makes a round film of sorts. Perhaps it could be interesting. I don’t know if it’s been done before, that requires further research. (Unless anyone else know’s differently).

There’s my take away for you. You’re under control. Now you do what they tell you.

Video unrelated, I couldn’t resist.

0.6 The Long Tail and Feeding the Fire

Posted on by under Life, Networked Media

 

Not everyone wants a lifesize Gandalf statue, but it’s accessible to those who want it. Photo: Ewan Roberts

Of all the points raised in the Unsymposium 0.6, I feel the discussion surrounding the 80/20 rule, the long tail and niche markets to be the most relevant, and definitely something I can relate to. One of the great bonuses of having all of the small links in the network is the incredible wealth and depth of information that is available, something that Adrian has pointed out multiple times throughout the course, as well as reiterating in the Unsymposium.

An example of this is very prevalent in the film world. I read articles all the time from major newspapers, Time magazine, etc, that are catering for the general public in the best way they can. They’re a mass produced publication that has to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. For someone interested in upcoming films and productions, this can give you a brief sort of overview from someone outside the industry. As Adrian said, it’s enough to keep the people happy. But sometimes you get people who are incredibly interested in a single subject. For example, I am a Middle-Earth lover (in case you haven’t read any of my other posts that Middle Earth continually infiltrates). I can read major headlines in the paper and magazines talking about the upcoming Hobbit films (eg, major news such as the press release announcing the Hobbit as a trilogy over two films), but I can also access a plethora of blogs and websites, run by people like me and read by people like me, who absolutely love all things Middle Earth. Not even all of Middle-Earth, there are some websites dedicated purely to maintaining a public and accessible update on the next film of the Hobbit trilogy (Desolation of Smaug).

With access to such blogs I can read inside information, from people who have friends, family and relatives working on the project. I can read any sort of official news or updates (even some of this doesn’t make it into the mass produced news). I can read exclusive interviews with the cast and crew of the production. I can view photos (both behind the scenes and promotional), I can receive updates on when NZ Post is releasing the next series of New Zealand stamps commemorating the films release. I think you get the picture.

TOR.net (the one ring .net) is a perfect example of this. A site dedicated to Middle Earth. Thanks to the internet, I have access to this. Something myself and others are interested in, that normally we would have to have incredible connections to view. The kind of information the site contains used to be accessible to the people in the movie industry or involved in the production. Not anymore. Thanks to the long tail. So let’s support the little guys and the independent websites and blogs out there . The independent publications, the ones that matter for people like me, with unique tastes and interests.

Taste Testing

Posted on by under Entertainment, Networked Media

Amazon, it’s a jungle out there. Photo: Michael Durwin

One of the important aspects of Anderson’s Long Tail and the Unsymposium this week was the interconnectivity of the network and the recommendation engines of online shopping sites and services. As I touched on last week, I’m a fan of services like Spotify and other ways of buying “things” online. One of my reasons for liking Spotify is the artist recommendations that I get, based on what I listen too. It opens up worlds of exploration. However as was discussed in the Unsymposium, there are some issues regarding these systems. They are mainly based on the technical component of the recommendation; meaning the engine that runs the system as Adrian said. Services like Facebook make recommendations that are based on advertising and money making. They should be ignored, or at least dealt with more thoroughly. Something like Amazon or Spotify make recommendations based on what you and other people are interested in, and how one product relates to another. This is a much better system and one that has much more potential.

I have a bone to pick with these systems though. When I first started to buy things from Amazon, I thought great! Look at all these interesting books, movies and albums that I would have never thought to look at. Now I’ve been buying things online for years and they’ve harvested a lot of my personal data. Unfortunately I have varied interests, like most people. Sometimes I get a good recommendation. The rest of the time, I don’t. I have sent Amazon’s emails to my spam folder. The problem? As soon as I show interest in something that is incredibly popular, say for example a blu-ray like Marvel’s The Avengers, my personal recommendations become over powered by garbage. Millions of people like that movie, they look at it, wish list it and buy it. That means I start getting lots of recommendations for the big box office hits of the year. The problem with this? Unlike a lot of people who buy movies, I’m not really interested in the biggest and best movies for the most part. What began as a personal recommendation has been polluted and violated by trends. I guess that’s the problem of buying a huge range of different items from these sorts of services, it becomes almost like a grocery store. It wouldn’t make sense for Woolworth’s to recommend carrots to people who buy bread, simply because so many people do large grocery runs that contain both. Sure some people might be interested in both, but if you’re looking for a recommendation, it needs to be more specific. Perhaps these systems in their current form are best for purists and people who tend to purchase only products from a niche market online. I guess their potential is limited by the current software and engines that run these systems.

So in some ways, there are issues with these systems limiting the scope of what you buy, like Elliot said. But I’d also like to believe what Jasmine said, about it not being an issue because people are capable of ignoring the system. I think media literacy comes into it again. As someone who has grown up with these things coming into play and has studied media and advertising, I’m pretty switched on when it comes to these recommendations. I’m confident enough on the web to make my own decisions, and know when a recommendation is relevant or simply just another popular pick. For me, they don’t really create an issue, other than the fact that I don’t get to reap the benefits of them properly. A lot of people who aren’t as experienced with web based media and recommendation systems, don’t take recommendations lightly, they’ll follow up on them, especially if they’re something super popular. What it really comes down to is your literacy and knowledge of your own tastes and interests, in combination with recommendations. On Spotify I tend to ignore a lot of recommendations, because they’re bands I don’t like. There’s a few bands I like that are like a diamond in the rough. Maybe one band out of a genre that I find entertaining. Where Spotify assumes that I like thinks simply based on what other people like and similar music, that’s not really how my tastes work. Perhaps I ask too much of the system? I think though that they are definitely a positive factor of the network and something that I can see being developed and implemented to become more personal and effective in the future, as Adrian said.

Disclaimer | Background image: Emma Gawen
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