My own research, as well as whisperings about the findings of others in this course has left me a little dubious about the efficacy of my online researching skills. The discrepancies between responses to this question may be connected to how the term ‘usable’ is understood.
My first answer considers ‘usable’ to mean video that can be uploaded (or shared), downloaded and searched, as well as viewed online by the home user…
According to Videomaker (2008), displaying media on a computer screen was the rage of the late 1980s and early 1990s. While the technology to stream media online was available from late 90s, it was not at that time possible to post or share videos online.
Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim met at eBay’s PayPal division where they each found employment. Frustrated at not being able to find a certain controversial video on the web, the threesome conceived of and created YouTube out of a garage in Menlo Park, United States. Karim posted the first video on You Tube on April 23, 2005.
Further research unearthed a claim that a company in Adelaide, Australia had been operating the same concept for users paying a monthly fee as early as 2003. The comment was posted on an online article by Nett administrator Stephen Murphy (June 23, 2009), who suggests that the sustainability of a free YouTube is in doubt due to the multi-million dollar annual losses it represents.
My second answer treats the term ‘usable’ in a more technical way, including video that can be uploaded or streamed online by broadcasting companies.
My second answer treats the term ‘usable’ in a more technical way, including video that can be uploaded or streamed online by broadcasting companies.
Long before YouTube stretched its legs, StreamWorks delivered the first live and on-demand video and audio streaming to broadcasting companies and their subscribers. The Xing Technology Corporation pioneered digital compression software in the late 80s and early 90s, when Xing developed and released a simple yet selective MS-DOS application - an MPEG video player.
Real Video (a RealNetworks product) marginally preceded StreamWorks in broadcasting video online. The latter, however, stole RealNetworks’ thunder by being the first to transmit live streaming video as well as pre-encoded video. Those of you who routinely back the underdog will be please to know that RealNetworks bounced back to acquire the software developer in 1999.
2. What recent innovations are being used to lure us in the movies? What are they luring us from?
At first glance, the majority of movie theatres appear not to have changed much since the beginning of the ‘noughties’, despite “widespread stagnating revenues” (Bush & Hwang, 2008). While the basic blueprint of the cinema experience is much the same, however, technological advances have impacted on the quality of the picture on the screen, the comfort and aesthetic of the physical theatre, and no doubt the foodstuffs available to satisfy the munchies.
High-definition audio-visuals, such as the DLP Cinema Electronics Platform, with over 35 trillion colours and able to illuminate screens just over 30m wide (Texas Instruments, 2010); surround-sound; the ‘Gold Class’ experience complete with fully-reclining leather chairs and ‘table service’. Together these innovations aim to exploit the nostalgic and other emotional ‘pressure points’ that draw viewers back to the sensory experience that makes them “...feel like a kid again” (Bush & Hwang, 2008).
Technological innovations are not limited to the communications sphere, however. Architectural innovations have led to the opening of a growing number of five-star cinema complexes around the globe that are on a par with world-class hotels and casinos. Lush interior décor, jaw-dropping architecture, and even instances of candy-coloured seating are used to make a trip to the movies an event to blog about.
Movie theatres today are in competition with a highly immersive home theatre experience that is the culmination of products such as High Definition Television (HDTV), surround sound systems, and Digital Set Top Boxes. The availability of popcorn machines, coffee machines and blenders adds polish to the reproduction of the traditional theatre experience in the home.
3. Are short films still being made?
Short films are still being made by amateurs, indie filmmakers, film students building portfolios, professional filmmakers showcasing ideas for big-budget films, young people, old people, and even some people in between.
The International Short Film Conference (ISFC) suggests that popularity of short film amongst filmmakers and audiences alike is on the rise (date unknown). On their website, the ISFC cites regular short film programs on television; shorts appearing in major international film festivals, and hundreds of short films festivals as indicators of this trend. Organisations including Screen Australia and the Australian Film Commission (AFC) exist to "...support and promote the development of a highly creative, innovative and commercially sustainable Australian screen production industry" (AFC, 2010).
Only after considering this question did I realise that at least one major film studio has been making short films and screening them alongside full-length feature films in theatres for years. Disney Pixar has kept up the tradition of creating clever 'shorts' to precede or follow such influential animated films as Toy Story (Lasseter, 1995) and Monsters Inc (Docter, Silverman, & Unkrich, 2001). See the advertisement below for examples of these miniature masterpieces.
Why? Who pays for them to be made?
As mentioned above, many amateurs and enthusiasts continue to create short films as a means of expression, as a response or tribute to a popular culture artefact, for the sheer enjoyment factor, and increasingly, as a medium for assessment purposes, in primary and secondary as well as tertiary institutions. Many budding filmmakers on a budget use the short medium to build up a portfolio, while in other cases, short film projects are ‘bankrolled’ by established directors, studios, or influential Hollywood actors who support the filmmaker's vision or simply wish to give the fledgling director or writer a leg up.
Focusing on the bigger picture, Bronwyn Kidd (director of the FLICKERFEST International Short Film Festival) stresses the vital role short films play in nurturing independent storytelling and building awareness and cultural tolerance (cited in Krauth, 2004). For this reason Screen Australia, the AFC and other organisations make funding available to shorts-makers to assist with the production costs associated with completing, editing and distributing ambitious short film projects. Other companies provide assistance with casting for short film projects.
4. The term viral is thrown about adhoc but what does it mean in film/movie arena?
The Oxford Dictionary (2010) has already responded to the rapid infiltration of this word trend in common-use language by including the following entry in its online repository:
noun
an image, video, advertisement, etc. that is circulated rapidly on the Internet
The Oxford Dictionary (2010) continues in the following vein:
"Most people are now happy to spread viral infections to their friends, family, by forwarding emails, images, or videos that have amused or intrigued them. The influence of this word-of-mouth publicity on brand awareness and sales is enormous, and one of the commonest compounds of viral is viral marketing. There are now entire companies, known as viral agencies, devoted to creating potential viral hits for businesses."
An example of a digital communications product that has 'gone viral' is TROOPS (Rubio, 1997) - an online mockumentary film that parodies COPS (a long-running American television documentary) while paying tribute to the Star Wars trilogy by setting the film in the universe of that epic saga.
5. Online video distribution isn't limited to the short film format. We are now starting to see television styled shows made solely for internet release (webisodes). Find an example of this style of content and discuss how viewing television content in this way can positively and negatively affect the viewer's experience.
The 7th Portal (Stag & Salim, 2000) is an early example of an animated web television series. Stan Lee Media debuted the original cast superhero series on February 29, 2000. When the first concept webisode was broadcast, millions of enthusiastic viewers succeeded in crashing the servers of Macromedia's Shockwave web site. Interestingly, the first public use of the word 'webisode' is attributed to Stan Lee Media 1998-99 in its marketing and promotion of this series.
The user-friendly advantages of engaging with this form of media are similar to those of other converging new communication technologies: immediacy and mobility; control over when and where viewing takes place; the ability to start, pause, resume, 'like', comment on, share, and replay at a whim; more control over advertising, et cetera.
From personal experience, I would suggest that the real and virtual cost of downloading webisodes might be seen as a disadvantage. Slow internet connections and 'drop outs' might also disrupt viewing and frustrate viewers. My younger brother is a dedicated fan of the Japanese 'shōnen manga' web series One Piece (Uda, Sakai, & Miyamoto, 1998-present). As with traditional television series, One Piece is released to Australian web viewers weekly: in this instance, the lack of immediacy often associated with new communication technologies remains a drawback. Certain web television distributors also restrict access to members (paying members in some cases) and disable downloading. These kinds of restrictions run against the grain of converging media trends, and may lead to decreased user loyalty.
Reference List
Bush, C., & Hwang, K. (November 23, 2008). Designs of the week: The movie theater experience
[Electronic version]. Retrieved August 16, 2010, from
http://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/11/23/designs-of-the-week-the-movie-theater-experience/
Check Point Software Technologies. (1996). Check Point Technologies announces secure support for Xing
Streamworks [Electronic version]. Retrieved August 18, 2010, from
http://www.checkpoint.com/press/1996/xing.html
[Electronic version]. Retrieved August 16, 2010, from
http://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/11/23/designs-of-the-week-the-movie-theater-experience/
Check Point Software Technologies. (1996). Check Point Technologies announces secure support for Xing
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http://www.checkpoint.com/press/1996/xing.html
International Short Film Conference. (date unknown). International Short Film Conference. Retrieved August
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newspage_110.aspx
Murphy, S. (2009). You Tube, you lose? [Electronic version]. Retrieved August 18, 2010, from
http://nett.com.au/blogs/youtube-you-lose/83.html
Oxford Dictionary. (2010). Oxford Dictionaries: Viral. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from
http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0929700#m_en_gb0929700
Texas Instruments. (2010). DLP Cinema Reaches Major Milestone of DCI Compliance for 2K and
Enhanced 4K Platforms [Electronic version]. Retrieved August 18, 2010, from
http://www.dlp.com/technology/dlp-press-releases/press-release.aspx?id=1384
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Krauth, K. (2004). A profile of Australian short film festivals [Electronic version]. Retrieved August 24,
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newspage_110.aspx
Murphy, S. (2009). You Tube, you lose? [Electronic version]. Retrieved August 18, 2010, from
http://nett.com.au/blogs/youtube-you-lose/83.html
Oxford Dictionary. (2010). Oxford Dictionaries: Viral. Retrieved August 20, 2010, from
http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0929700#m_en_gb0929700
Texas Instruments. (2010). DLP Cinema Reaches Major Milestone of DCI Compliance for 2K and
Enhanced 4K Platforms [Electronic version]. Retrieved August 18, 2010, from
http://www.dlp.com/technology/dlp-press-releases/press-release.aspx?id=1384
Videomaker. (2008). History of online video and YouTube [instructional video]. Retrieved 16 August, 2010,
from http://www.5min.com/Video/History-of-Online-Video-and-YouTube-95793661
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