#session05

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DOOOOOOOOOOO?

Also, look, nothing terrible happened yet. ... yay?

[thegentlemanblagger]

DRM in video games and why we should let it die

Digital Rights Management (”DRM”), for those who don’t know, is a method of attempting to prevent unlawful reproduction or “piracy” of copyright protected materials in the age of the Internet. This can take many forms, from limiting the amount of devices the material can be activated on at any one time to much more restrictive measures. However, this has led to a push back from the gaming community. 

With video games, DRM has been implemented in a particularly restrictive manner. At worst, you cannot play your game without a stable internet connection (those exist??) which can infuriate gamers who have legitimately purchased a product only to be punished with extra requirements to play the game. In some cases, the DRM software can result in performance issues, as can be seen from the Sonic Mania game which has since had some DRM software patched out. Obviously, it did not take long until people were attempting to circumvent this software through exploits. However, originally it could take some length of time before the DRM software could be “cracked”. 

One of the most widespread anti-tamper software kits is Denovo, and when it was first introduced it could take months for hackers to defeat the software. In recent years, this time frame has been further and further reduced. When Resident Evil 7 was released, it took seven days for hackers to circumvent the software. When Middle Earth: Shadow of War was released, it took a day. Given how quickly after launch this software is being defeated, why does the gaming industry insist on its continued use?

So, what side should the law take on this issue? On the one hand, there are copyright violations taking place in relation to video games. But is it as much of an issue as some game developers make it out to be? Does it warrant placing highly restrictive software in their game? The EU commissioned a report on the effect of piracy on the sale of copyright material. The report found that, with the exception of recent top films there is little “statistical evidence of displacement of sales by online copyright infringements.” CD Projekt Red, famous for its Witcher games, has come out in opposition to DRM. The Witcher 3 has no DRM software, and yet has sold 10 million copies. While it has been pirated, Marcin Iwinski (co-founder of GOG.com and CD Projeckt Red) has stated many of the pirates have subsequently purchased the game when they could afford it. 

Ultimately, it may be time for the law to adapt to changing social norms regarding copyright and cyberspace. Some measure of protection should be included, but it should be kept at a minimum. After all, any game that includes severe DRM restrictions is a prime target for hackers, resulting in more people downloading the cracked version rather than buying the game. Let CD Projekt Red stand as a lesson for other video game developers: support your fan base, and they will return the favour.

[multilingualpotato]

Czech for French speakers

FUN MOOC

Hello everyone,

I would like to share with you a recommendation for all the French speakers trying to learn Czech. There is this great website called Fun MOOC, that proposes free online courses teaching various subjects. Currently they also propose a course of Czech language and culture taught in French. My boyfriend is French and trying to learn Czech and it’s his 3rd week of taking this course and he is more than happy with it. He’s doing Duolingo at the same time and he is progressing very well.

The course is well made, fun, sometimes a little bit silly (thanks to the marionettes) but also very effective. It is also informative about the Czech culture, which is always a must when learning a new language. So, I could not recommend it more.

Here is the link to the site: https://www.fun-mooc.fr/courses/course-v1:Inalco+52006+session05/about , I checked and you can sign up until April 19.

Hope this could help someone <3 

Bye ~

[lukaswittorf]

Cinematography Session05

We stopped recording the short film from last week and went on to shoot a simple chase sequence in the SIT building downtown.  After, we have brought down all the equipment we needed to the green-screen-room, I was chosen to be the DOP for the day and Tim my director, while Felix and Julian are part of the camera team as 1st and 2nd AC. 

Tim and I developed a short story and found different locations in the building to shoot a short chase sequence of one person (acted by Tim himself) waking up in a basement and trying to escape as fast as he can from the building. 

There is no chase sequence directly, but just by the camera movement, we wanted to illustrate a state of panic and paranoia. 

Before we continued with our preparation, Ash introduced us to the different types of waveform scopes, that you can use to analyse your exposure via a histogram, waveforms and vectorscopes. After my report about class, I will go into detail about my research referring to different scopes on monitors. 

After we developed a short story, I decided to draw a quick storyboard to plan at least a few of the shots before blocking the scene and setting up the lights. 

Source: Lukas Wittorf - scribbles of a storyboard 

Source: Lukas Wittorf - “Mission Impossible 67″ - Opening Scene

I found it quiet stressful being a director of photography, because everyone needs to have your opinion and is dependent on your decision. The communication between you and the staff is crucial for the progress of the shoot. 

Well, but after a few shots, I started to figure out, what I wanted to do and that made it a lot easier to tell people what they are supposed to do to visualize the sequence.   I found out that I have to improve my understanding of exposure by practicing with my Blackmagic Cinema Pocket in the next following days.  Especially the dynamic between stops and the use of ND Filters is hard to comprehend, even when it is simple math.   

Source: Lukas Wittorf - “Mission Impossible 67″ - Leaving Building

Unfortunately, I forgot to reset the shutter angle back on 180° after I adjusted it to 216° to have a more sharpness in movement. The result are darker images 

Source: Lukas Wittorf - “Mission Impossible 67″ - Escape

Source: Felix Krückel (1st AC) - DOP Lukas Wittorf

Scopes

Scopes are a tool to check the exposure of an image by visualizing luminance, brightness and chrominance without being dependent on correct color calibration or the perfect lighting environment to have zero influence on the picture and the individual perception.   

Histogram A histogram is a bar-diagram showing the luminance from 0 (=black) to 255 (white) on the x-axis and the amount of pixels of an image having the specific value of luminance on the y-axis.  Histograms are good to check the brightness and the dynamic range of an image, but not for a proper exposure.   

Source: blackmagicdesign.com - histogram 

Zebras Zebras show a striped pattern in areas of an image that overstep a customized threshold of luminance. This scope is useful to check wether an image is overexposed. 

Source: support.shootmavis.com - Zebra Overlay

Waveform  Using only a y-axis, this scope shows a range from 0-100 IRE (Institute of Radio Engineers) to measure luminance. It is to be read from left to right to locate the brightest spots more easily. 

0 IRE is total black without detail and 100 IRE stands for white, that would clip in broadcasting.

Source: cvfilmclass.blogspot.com - waveform monitor

False Color  This scope is also used as an overlay but colours the parts of a frame in a specific color belonging to certain IRE values .

The color values can be customized on mosts screens. Here underexposure and pure black is indicated with a luminance value of 0 and the color black, while clipping and overexposure will be shown in pure white.

The correct exposure for skin tone lies between 75 and 85% exposure and in this example colored in green to yellow.  

Source: www.hurlbutacademy.com - false color exposure scale

Source: www.hurlbutacademy.com - false color preview monitor 

RGB parade Scope  A RGB parade scope is used to measure the saturation of an image between values of 0 to 100 of each channel in red, green and blue.  It shows the distribution of each color over the whole image. In general, images are well color balanced if all color channels are similar equal. 

Vectorscope  A vectorscope is similar to a color wheel. It is used to show over-/undersaturation and can be used to have matching colors between shots.  In the center of a vectorscope are unsaturated colors like white, black and grey. The distance from the center of the circle indicates the intensity/saturation of color and the direction stands for a specific color hue between red, blue, green, magenta, cyan and yellow.

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Vectorscopes#/media/File:SMPTE_color_bars_on_NTSC_vectorscope.png - Vectorscope

[mumbaikaarle]

Travel Trikon Starry Night Camping On 09th-10th March, 2019

Event Tag: Trikon #1505Event Name: Starry Night CampingEvent Date: 09th - 10th March, 2019Event Cost: Rs. 1,799/- per paxTotal Seats: 30Location: Dehne Village, AsangaonGrade: EasyAstrologers use them to predict future and sailors follow them to navigate high seas. Stars, despite being tiny dots in the sky, store a plethora of information about worlds beyond Earth. From astronomy to mythology, stars have contributed to every field of knowledge. Hidden among those constellations, are trivial but interesting facts and stories. Unravel these mysteries on a fun trip to a village on the foothills of Sahyadris. Enjoy Stargazing away from the city lights and pollution. There will be games, music and yummy local food to add fun to the cool pleasant night. Major AttractionsStargazing with telescope by our astronomy expertLearn how to spot stars, planets, constellationsTry your luck in sighting shooting stars, meteors!Enjoy thrill of camping amid SahyadrisPanoramic view of Ajoba Hills, Ratangad, Sandhan ValleyChance to sleep under the stars or tentsTry your hand at star trail photographyIndulge in local cuisineWitness gorgeous sunrise amid hillsAbout DehneLocated in the interiors of Maharashtra, Dehne Village serves as a base village for famous treks in the Sahyadri range. Away from the lights and air pollution of Mumbai, Dehne offers a clear sky, making it a perfect location for Stargazing. By dawn, the skyline glows against a silhouette of Ajoba Hills and a setup of a sleepy, serene village. A wide, open, unobstructed view of the sky can help photographers try their hand at Star Trail photography too!Detailed ItineraryDay 01: Saturday, 09th March, 201903:35 pm Meet the Travel Trikon Team at Asangaon Station03:50 pm Leave for Dehne after a brief introduction session05:00 pm Reach Dehne, freshen up and head to the camping site. Set up tents and begin stargazing session after sunset!08:00 pm Dinner time. You can stay up all night spotting stars, planets, meteors or coil up in ... Read more

source https://mumbaihikers.com/m/events/view/Travel-Trikon-Starry-Night-Camping-On-09th-10th-March-2019

[bereed8-blog]

Mobile Tech and Politics

Techno-Optimism by Cory Doctorow

                I hate to admit that I do not know a lot about Internet privacy issues. I never know to what extent what we are doing online is being monitored and “watched.” To be honest, I feel like I would rather no know, because it would just make me feel like I’m on “Big brother.” This article did discuss “privacy unfriendly” social network sites and how they have been used as places for activists to link up, but also have become another aspect of our lives that the government is monitoring us. I can see how the Internet can be a great source for officials to use to keep our country safe, but I do think there should be some limitations to this invasion of privacy.

Is there anything we can do about our privacy rights? I really don’t know enough about this issue to answer this question. When I think about privacy issues and how they relate to technology, I think about all of these apps that have to power to take over your phone, and access your phone and camera. This is supposedly true for the Facebook messenger app, and one of the Flashlight apps for iPhone and Android phones. The only reason I know about these issues is because people posted on Facebook about not downloading these apps, so that your privacy is not infringed upon. I can’t imagine how an app has the power to look through the camera on your phone, like it is always watching you. I had a lot of trouble with the readings this week probably because I lack the background knowledge on a lot of these political issues.

  Communication, Power and Counter-power in the Network Society by Manuel Castells

                I can definitely see how this article connected to the privacy issues that were brought up in the Techno-Optimism article. I found this article interesting because I have never thought of communication as a source of power. I never realized that what “the majority” thinks and feels is so valuable, because most of the time I feel like, “How can I actually make a difference?” especially when it comes to politics. I know we have the power to vote, but this does not mean that once politicians are in office, they have to do what we want them to do.

                When the author proposes that “social actors [can] challenge and eventually change the power relations institutionalized in society,” my question is: What is a modern-day example of this? I kind of was reminded of activist groups that use technology and social media to their advantage. For example, the activist group “Anonymous” has been very active on youtube and social media regarding their dissent to many political decisions. Can anyone think of any other examples of this phenomenon?

  Networked Visuality: The revolution in North Africa

                It really is amazing that revolutions can occur as a result of organization via social media. We have come so far from where we were where revolutions had to happen through word of mouth. I am surprised that more revolutions aren’t occurring as a result of social media and the internet (although they probably are happening in other countries- just not the US). I feel like the new form of “war” has a new battlefield- the internet. Troops organize via social media, and the government has the opportunity to catch on to these plans. Hacking becomes a weapon for both the government and also for social activists. I was shocked to read that the government in Egypt took away the Internet and televisions in order to prevent revolutions and violence from occurring. It is scary to think that any government would have to the power to take away such an important part of life and society today.

  I really should have watched the RSA film before reading all of the articles. It gave me the background knowledge necessary to actually understand the topic. Unfortunately, I watched the film clip last, so even though it did clarify some things for me, it would have been better if I watched it first. I thought the way it was laid out simplified the topic, which was nice. One of the points I found most interesting was how valuable social media and the internet is to the government, because again, our opinions do matter to politicians because they ultimately want to be elected or re-elected based on our values at the time.

I did find this week difficult to connect to and also to understand. I hope I made sense of the readings enough. Please let me know your thoughts!

[katyauchter]

Where does "the news" come from?

I saw the three articles we read for this week as all addressing four similar themes:

  The power of the internet and mobile technologies as a rallying force in shaping political attitudes

Mobile technologies act as a juncture for crowdsourcing truths about important events, which might otherwise be leveraged for political gain.

The insecurities and lack of attention to privacy and ‘proper’ digital communications.

Dominance versus dominated parties in communication controls create and are created by shifts in media output locales.

  The power of the Internet to bring together political attitudes, at alarming costs, is something I’ve recently been reading a lot. 

A few examples:

Mexican Anti-Drug Cartel Blogger Activist

A number of Anti-Police brutality hubs

Venezuelan “new-dictatorship”

  This would be one thing if I were the type of person to be actively pursuing political research of any kind, even, occasionally glancing at a newspaper or visiting a news media site, except – I’m not.  The closest I’ve gotten to a news channel, site, or media source of any kind in the last year has been the Onion, and before that, it was walking by the Denver Post on my way to work, 4 years ago.  The fact that I’m even able to list examples of blogging activists quite surprises me, as it all comes from passive internet browsing, namely facebook.  While  I think this is in some ways great- it also makes me wonder about the neutrality of the sources I’m getting.  If most of this information comes from a network of people that are already in my friend-group…(“friend”-group to be more accurate,) how likely is it that I’ll get slanted perspectives this way, just as easily as watching or viewing information from politically biased media superpowers like FOX, NBC, or CBS?  I feel like no matter how great it is, and perhaps slightly opening it is, crowdsourcing “truths” to shape political attitudes will still shake out into filters of biased networks – be it as giant as ABC or as small as a few very opinionated facebook friends on my FB feed, and by environment, association, or whatever, individuals will be more exposed to one bias than another.  For me, the greatest advantage to crowdsourcing political information is involved in the speed and at times, media inaccessibility when this becomes most useful, (though perhaps still biasing?)  A few things come to mind- the Boston Bombing news was first disseminated by Twitter, no?  Venezuelan protests had been kept under pretty good wraps apart from social networking sites, as well as information about the Ukrainian revolution.  I’m citing these with a bit of unfamiliarity, but referencing them mainly because of the outrage by many posts I’ve seen, where people are wildly offended that these issues are not covered by mainstream media sources.  I personally couldn’t attest to this, because I never check media sources, nor do majority of the people I know, even those up to date on political issues – that’s somehow telling right?

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: This is just like that one moment in the series again. When Homura hugged Madoka and everything was spilling out and Madoka didn’t even know what was happening and was all scared and confussed.

Only difference this time is that I can’t get rid of suspicion that this time Madoka knows what is happening. 

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: EVERYTHING IS SO TENSE AND SO CONFUSSING AND SO WEIRD AND SO SCARY AND I DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW I AM SUPPOSED TO UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ANYMORE! I AM LOOSING MY MIND EVERYTIME I WATCH ANOTHER PIECE OF THIS!

Like, how I am supposed to take this? That Sayaka is a witch? Is she a witch that actually made the labirynth? I highly doub that. But she is a witch? Just being in a human form, because labirynth magic? Why? How? Or like... is she like half magical girl and half witch. 

WHAT IS SHE? THIS DOESN’T EXPLAIN ANYTHING! 

She said she is the same person she always was. 

BUT WITCHES DON’T EXIST!

Is she like... pulled from... the... 

what. 

She can’t be a witch, because witches don’t exist, but she can’t be Sayaka because Sayaka is dead or a witch, depending on which timeline we are in. 

So she is just... something. Something that knows stuff, looks like Sayaka, acts like her, more or less, but is more scary and weird and unsettling. 

I don’t really understand anything anymore.

BUT! What I understand is that this shot is very cool and interesting and I love it.

(Also, I was informed it’s not “babe” it’s “bebe”. I am choosing to believe it wasn’t typo, it was just my brain thinking about a cute and shy girl with white hair while typing that every time)

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: She almost feels like an NPC in a game or like if she is the part of the labyrinth too. Just standing there, giving exposition. Looking all bored and not really interested in any of it. Like if it’s completely fine by her or like if it doesn’t really affect her anyway so why should she care. 

Makes me wonder if she really is actually dead and she is just a illusion of the labyrinth, which is now serving as some kind of Homura’s voice of reason. 

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: But you know what? Is the answer is really just as simple as “This is just Sayaka the Witch” then I am weirdly happy about this. Like... this was cool. To see her talk and walk and do things. 

Like... I don’t know. Sure, I know that witches are magical girls. But I always thought they are insane, crazy, bloodthirsty, totally not responsive or anything like that. 

So, if Sayaka was just a witch all along, all this time and now in this scene with Homura, that’s cool. It’s cool to know she can talk and think, and though she is weird and unsettling, it was fun to see her like that. Even if it’s just thanks to some weird shit happening and thanks to them all being trapped in the labyrinth. 

I feel like I am not making any sense... 

Ugh... I don’t know... I am sure Homura doesn’t see it like that at all, and I think would I be in this situation, I would not see it like that either... or maybe I would. 

I don’t know like... even if I am lying to myself, even if it’s wishful thinking, I feel weirdly comforted to think that even if she is a witch, she is not just a mindless killing animal, but something with brains and smarts and capability to just stand around for a bit and have a chat. 

Does that make any sense? 

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: Ok, yea, the way you talk, it sounds like you totally know who the witch is. And it sounds like you totally know it’s going to be hard for Homura. It almost sounds like you are mocking her. Making fun of her.  And that makes me feel really really really bad. 

Also, since you are so keen on sharing all this knowledge, would you also like to say what you are? 

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: Well, I still suspect Witch!Madoka or Madoka the God of Hope, nothing I have seen yet changed that for me yet. 

I am still unsure about the motives though, but nothing other than everything I wrote so far through all the session came to my mind. Although now I am leaning more towards the idea of God Madoka getting lonely and doing this to have company and some kind of a life, even if it’s a fake life. Still better than nothing. 

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: Oh my god, she is thinking about it! 

No, oh god. It’s just, I wanted her to think about it. And now that she thinks about it, I don’t want her to think about it. Because it must be so painful to think about ti as you are hugging her. MAKE UP YOUR MIND, ALI! 

It’s always like that. Every time. I wish for things to happen and for people to know stuff in this world of Madoka, and everytime I get my wish, I wan to take it back. 

Well... that’s thematic. 

[jean-and-ali-liveblogs]

Ali: I am so lost and so scared. And  so heartbroken and so sad. I don’t even know what’s real anymore. I don’t even know who is real anymore. 

I don’t even know what to say anymore.

Or what is even Homura thinking. It already happened. The time have already came. And it passed. And she did it. She sacrificed everything for you and everybody else, for all her friends, for the whole world. 

And now you know even better how much it hurt to make that decision. 

And I feel like we are in some kind of a limbo, outside time and space, where Homura is going on about things that already happened, will happen, will never happen, but they are all there, always were, and always will be  there. 

And it makes no sense. Nothing makes any sense anymore. 

They just sit in this field, and the world keeps changing around them and Homura keeps talking about everything that already happened. And I don’t even know who is she talking to, is she even talking to Madoka anymore, to herself, to the Madoka that became a god. 

And everything I write makes no sense too. Just words spilling out along with the tears. And I don’t even know what I am crying for. For the pain Homura went through? For the pain she will need to go through again? For Madoka? For everything that was lost? What is even lost? 

And it feels like Homura is just stumbling through the darkness, trying to make some sense out from anything that is happening. 

And I don’t even know what she believes in anymore. And I don’t even know what I should believe in anymore. 

I am too busy crying to even think about this. And there is part of me that keeps being scared that eventually Homura will need to realize that this Madoka can’t be real. But by this point I am doubting myself. Maybe she is real. Somehow.