Questions about Leave Britney Alone's youtube video

1)Consider “Bus Uncle” or Chris Crocker’s “Leave Whitney Alone” and upload the one you prefer to your blog. Then comment on the following:

I will rate this video 5/10. =]
A) How many viewers are estimated to have watched the youtube video?

According to Youtube, there are estimated to have 34,222,774 viewers watched 'Leave Britney Alone".

B) How would you rate the video?

• Is it of high quality in technical terms? Is it interesting aesthetically eg camera angles, use of light, the narrative, and so on?
• Does it raise interesting socio-cultural issues?

I think this video is not in a very high quality because it contains a rather simple filmming techinque. However, I think this video is quite interesting since it has a very strong dramatical effect. The guy in the video is very emotional and is full of warth as he feels 'sorry' and 'upset' about how Britney is badly treated or chased by the media and the public.

After I do some research on the net, I found that some people just regard this video as an ironic piece of recording towards Britney since they think that Chris Crocker is simply "an actor",and also some video responses just ironically labelled Crocker as a 'Drama Queen" and, according to Wiki, Wired Magazine noted, "sent world Schadenfreude levels zooming to heights unseen since the Fatty Arbuckle Scandal."(Chris Crocker Internet celebrity)

 Moreover, when Crocker was defensing fro Britney's comeback performance, he seemed to be covered by a curtain or a bed sheet and the lighting was in a very warm tone, I think all these helped to enhance his bad feeling and emphasize the sad atmosphere of the video.

Furthermore, I think this video reflects that the showbiz thing can easily arouse public's attention. I think Crocker is really seizing the opportunity of the criticism towards the public figure- Britney Spears' comeback stage performance. He grabbed the chance and made good use of this and thus it "brightens' his career life and he became an Internet Celebrity.

 Reference Link : ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Crocker_(Internet_celebrity)#cite_note-Britney_drama_queen_inks_TV_deal-57 )

C) Do you think deserved the attention that it received from the internet community?

I think this video is not really deserved that much attention from the internet community since this video is neither well-produced nor great-organised. And not much meaningful messages can be brought from the video.

Screening: Mission to Earth

1)Using “Mission to Earth” as an example, note what is new or different about digital cinema compared to
traditional filmmaking? Consider the story and appearance of the film.

    I think the narrative has to be able to cope with the digital cinema system as the system is very unique and the techniques behind are all about database therefore the narrative has to have a structrual relationship to the database system, for example, the variation of the main character's identity is shown by the multi-frame windows. And the small windows all around can reflect the character's different feelings and thoughts. Hence, everytime when audiences watch the film by focusing on different windows, they get different stories and different endings.

 I think this kind of variation is very kind to be shown in traditional filmmaking since the conventional film or narrative always go very smoothly, at least not as many pauses as those in "Mission to Earth". We can notice that there are pauses occured from time to time and this is the changing time for the database behind. I think all these are very different from the traditional filmmaking.

2)What other art forms (eg film, digital art, painting, websites etc) does this film remind you of? Explain the similarity.

   
    This film reminds me of different kinds of websites we visit everyday because I think the variation of the structure of the film is quite similar to those in websites. Everytime we visit a website, we can choose what our focus is and then get the specific information we want. This kind of freedom can really alter our opinions and feelings towards a website and it is just like the way we enjoy "Mission to Earth", we can determine what window to look at and hence getting different entertainment and information.


Reference Link: http://www.softcinema.net/mission_to_earth.htm
                          http://www.turbulence.org/blog/archives/000504.html

Digital Photography VS Analog Photography

1) What are some photographic effects that can be achieved using digital or analog (darkroom,film, lights etc) technology?

     First, changing light can be done in using digital technology or traditonal tachnology. We can have a brighter or darker photo and we can combine different images , for example, we can have a double exposure on one photo so two different images can get overlapped and thus create a new form of image. And that is the way we can change an image in an artistically or creatively.

 2) What are some photographic techniques that can only be done using digital technology?

    

     We can cut up or combine different photos only by using digital technology since nothing can be changed after exposure if we are using traditional technology to take a shot. Therefore, those kind of combinations have to be done by digital technology. Moreover, we can obtain some high contrasting colored photos with the help of advanced technology. In traditional technology, the colors of the photos can't be controlled as well as those in a digital image. When we shot an object, it may not be possible for us to take some very contrasting colors at the same time or they may not be able to be put together. Furthermore, we can only use digital technology to create some imaginary and unrealistic things, for example we can have a pictures of a dragon or a monster when we are using computer technology.

3) What is the difference between analog photography and digital photography?

    

     I think analog  photography can give us some more realistic images since everything are fixed after exposure so we can get the original images from what we take a shot of. This kind of technology reminds me natural images. On the other hand, I think digital photography give us perfection and it is a technique that can create perfection since we can fix and change everything on the images in the way we desire and that's how perfection come.

Hand Colouring Picture

We support the Wikipedia!

We support the Wikipedia!
(Group members:Penny, Maggie, Kyra, Millie, Tina)


Our two argeuments are:
1. Wikipedia can make immediate changes and correction.
>The founder of the Wikipedia tells a fact that a team of elites is always behind the Wiki system in order to monitor the Wiki anytime and anyhere. So, everything on Wikipedia is always work in progress.
evidence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQR0gx0QBZ4&feature=related


>There is a great number of volunteers from all over the world who always ready to add evidence, links, proof and reference to issues.
evidence: http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Staff


2. The accuracy of Wikipedia is high.
>Wikipedia is more neutral. Because everyone can post what they know or think on the website.


>Encyclopaedia Brittanica may contains some biased  information because Brittanica didn't display its rough draft and everything must be checked by a copy editor.


>Also, there are some unaccepttable and minor errors in Brittanica.
evidence:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2005/jan/26/schools.uk2

Wikipedia or Encyclopaedia Brittanica?

  I will choose the open source like wikipedia since it is better in many aspects.
 
  First, for the quality and accuracy of the information, wikipedia provides people with loads of information that are well-monitored. There is a big team consists of elites from all over the world monitoring the whole system of wikipedia. They can see all immediate changes on web and they will check and monitor all of these immediate activities. Once they found any inappropriate content or data, they will correct it. And if there is any contraversy over any piece of data, there is a voting system which solve conflicts in a democratic way. I think this can ensure the quality and accuracy of the information uploaded. Moreover, information can be surely posted in a neutral stand since everyone can post what they know or what they reckon on the web and things will turn out neutral after may be some neccessary combinations, voting system and final changes.
 
  For proprietary encyclopaedia like Encyclopaedia Brittanica, the quality and accuracy of information can be ensured too, however, since the sources are owned by the specific companies or organisations, data can be bias or not neutral enough for people who can reach them. This kind of sources cannot be changed by public but only by the owner of the information. Refer to the survey conducted by the Nature Magazine, errors discovered in Wikipedia were far less than those discovered in Brittanica. (Wikipedia's, 2005)
 
  Second, for the needs of particular cultures, wikipedia can suit people from all over the world since this is an open source which can be changed by the public that come from different backgrounds and have different nationalities.
 
  And therefore, as I mentioned above, proprietary encyclopaedia like Encyclopaedia Brittanica can only be edited by its owner, which make it not suitable for people having different cultural background. People may find that some sources cannot cope with their personal belief or stand.

  Hence, I will choose the open source like wikipedia since it is a more flexible and well-monitored system and also a worldwide platform for people all over the globe to share their opinions and information.

1. Wikipedia's Accuracy Compared to Britannica . (2005 December 15) http://science.slashdot.org,
    Retrieved September 11, 2010 from:
    http://science.slashdot.org/science/05/12/15/1352207.shtml?tid=95&tid=14

Discussion: Evaluating the effects of new technologies ( Modern times)

1. What are the benefits of the new technologies (industrial machinery, feeding machine, closed circuit cameras) shown in the film? Who gains from these technologies?


  I think the new technologies make things easier and more convenient for both the workers and the boss in terms of the time control on work and communication between the employer and the employees. Since the industrial machinery can fix the working processes in a very regular and steady way so the workers can do their jobs continuously. And i also think that the boss can really benefit from the technologies because he can monitor his staff at anytime and anywhere. And he can keep a close communication with his staff since he can reach the worker very quickly via the closed circuit cameras when he needs to give an order.
 
  As for the feeding machine, I think people who use it can benefit from its automatic step-by-step processes which can feed them with different kinds of food, for example, soup first, and then main course. It is convenient for people to enjoy their meal.
 
2.What is the effect of these technologies on the main character’s life/mood/body?


 For the boss, i think it is beneficial for him to use technologies in his company because it helps his company running smoothly in many ways, for example, the steady working speed and outcome. However, on the other hand, technologies can ruin his company very easily once they broke down because almost everything in his company rely on machines.
  And for the employees, i think those technologies don't benefit them much because they are monitored by their boss even in toilet. They dont have much privacy and I think fixed system make them very tense since they have to concentrate all the time in order to catch up with the speed of the machine. And they have to repeat the same task over and over again which really make them feel bored. The main character even get crazy at the end of the film since he can't control his body movement due to the repetition of his task. And this shows the negative effect on him from using technologies

3. What effects does using computers and the internet have on your life/mood/body?

  I think computers and internet definitely make my life more convenient because I can do almost everything on the net and I can search for everything on the web too. No matter how many things I need to do, I can simply get them done by several clicks on the net. However, I think they also bring me some bad things, for example, I might rely too much on computer and internet and the convenience I am enjoying might minimise the face-to-face connection between me and my friends since I can easily contact them on the net which may lower my motivation to contact my friends in person.