coatsey-1978 - Tumblr blog

[coatsey-1978]

What’s Next

With all the developments in the digital environment over the past few years the question must be asked by organisations to day What’s next?

Source: Yanko Design

In the below article CMO.com interviews 6 professionals to get an insight into what might be in store for us in the future. In particular I like the comments made by Jeff Hasen CMO of Mobivity regarding seamless transfer between apps on different devices. I can see how great this could be imagine listening to music on your iPhone then when you get home or into the car the music starts from where you left it. These new advancements in this article aren’t really launching a new angle but merely refining what is available in the market for users today. These refinements are based around the interaction users have with their digital devices and removing some of the thought process required by the user in their everyday life.

http://www.cmo.com/content/cmo-com/home/articles/2013/7/18/Whats_Next_Big_Thing_CWTK.html

Some of these advancements pose quite a scary thought to society as the risk of our privacy being lost online is a real threat and these new devices that we use capture vast amounts of information that users may not like in the public domain.

Steven Coates

[coatsey-1978]

Assessment 2 - Digital Media Project

MC38 National Titles 2013 Final Race

Introduction

This video is the first of a series of films to be compiled to provide the crew of the sailing vessel ‘Vino’ some reflective training sessions from the recent National titles that were conducted on the waters of Sydney Harbour. The footage was captured using a GoPro video camera mounted on the back rail of the vessel. The video is of the final race of the series in which we managed to capture victory in this race that earned us 3rd place overall in the series. Unfortunately due to the weather the footage is not as vibrant as hoped but we are able to capture the maneuvers and some of the commentary on board.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrGHJ2e0bec

Production

Prior Skills

This is the first time I have endeavored to create my own short film of any form. I have taken some video footage but have never attempted to edit any form of video before this. I must say that it was a great experience and much easier than I had originally thought.

Role

My role on the boat was to ensure that the GoPro was completely charged and the memory stick clear before racing for the day. Due to the memory capacity of the storage we are not able to film an entire days racing. During races we are forced to stop recording to conserve memory and battery life. Post capturing the footage it was my role to download the files to my PC not only to back up the footage but also for viewing with the team as we use this as a training tool. To date we have only shared the videos in large files of 2 gigabytes that are not joined into one complete movie. This has been very cumbersome and has restricted our ability to share the footage.

Software/Hardware

The hardware used to capture the footage was a GoPro Hero 3 video camera using a waterproof housing to protect it from the elements. The camera was mounted to the middle post on the stern of the sailing vessel facing forward. The mounting brackets are standard issue from GoPro that utilse a series of hinges to ensure the camera is mounted horizontally in line with the deck of the boat.

The software chosen to edit the footage was chosen from a selection of other packages available on the market. The final choice was to use the GoPro CineForm Studio package that is freeware software that allows you to convert the MP4 files to .avi files. The editing package used was Windows Movie Maker 2.6 to trim the files into the most interesting sections of the race.

Production Process

The process for final creation of the video using Windows Movie Maker 2.6 was easier than I had expected. As I had a predetermined idea of the sections of the race that I was interested in it made my job easier editing the raw footage. I had originally planned to put a music soundtrack to the footage but in some portions of the footage the audio of the team during maneuvers is audible and it is possible to hear the start and finish signal.

Reflection

What did you learn about digital media production by attempting this project?

The biggest lesson I learnt from this exercise is that if you intend to edit films on a regular basis the software to do the editing is of utmost importance. For this project I selected to use software that is available for free download from the internet. During the software selection process I came across another package AVS Video Editor 6.5 that was available for free download but when you proceeded to publish the movie it prompted you for payment.

A great lesson through this project was to leverage the online forums and information that is available in a number of tutorials on YouTube. When uploading my file to YouTube my image was stretched to fit into the window. This resulted in my video being out of proportion and visibly hard to watch. From my research I was able to isolate the issue and rectify the problem.

How did this learning align with your understanding of the emerging narrative forms possible in digital media production, and/or digital media’s impact on contemporary media communication practices and popular culture?

In reviewing some of the other works that have been captured using GoPro style equipment it is evident that there are currently rapid amounts of development in the equipment being used. The new equipment is small easier to use and the quality is also very good. Kelly Slater in a post on Instagram quoted the following:

“Pretty crazy how you can shoot yourself these days. GoPro is now the bane of every surf, skate and snow photographer’s existence!”

This quote refers to the ease of use and also the new advanced angles that are possible with the mounting systems these days.

The ease of uploading my video to YouTube and the sharing options is remarkable. With minutes of upload I was able to email the link to my crew members and had feedback from them nearly immediately. The new GoPro revolution has created a new breed of film makers in not only extreme sports but it has even enable the home films to be taken to the next level. We now have used the GoPro to film our kids in the surf and are able to edit and view the footage that night.

The creator of the GoPro camera Nick Woodman developed the product to capture surfing images of him and his friends out in the water. Once developed the device quickly gained the attention of the wider extreme community and the company is now valued at around $2.3 million US dollars.

This just demonstrates that there are still many opportunities and areas where advancements can be made.

A thoroughly enjoyable experience that has really opened my eyes into what is possible with only a little practice and Google as assistance.

[coatsey-1978]

The GoPro Revolution

The GoPro video camera has changed the way an individual is able to capture footage and has turned everyday people into small time directors. The below image is a link to a 60 Minutes report with Nick Woodman the CEO and developer of the GoPro. It outlines the development path he chose and his drivers to produce a product that was accessible and usable for the everyday individual.

Included in the development Nick identified that the video camera should also be able to take high quality still images from the same device. The below image taken from Transworld Surf shows what is capable using the GoPro as a digital camera. The images that were once dreams of cameramen are now a reality. The only issue is that the hardware development may erode the need for these specialist photographers.

Source: Transworld Surf

On the back of the hardware they have also developed an editing package that allows the users to easily edit and save the footage to disk or to share via social media.

This development has exploded in social media over the last few years and revolutionised how we capture and share our films today.

Steven Coates

[coatsey-1978]

Newspaper Pint Decline

Due the developments in online media the humble newspaper is experiencing hard times as many users are turning to digital channels to view their favourite newspaper. Most major newspapers now have apps available for download that keep the user up to date with breaking news from all areas of society. I use the Sydney Morning Herald and ABC app on my phone and iPad to keep abreast of what is happening in the world. The Sydney Morning Herald app was free on the iPad to begin with but they have now introduced a monthly cap on articles and then request you to subscribe for further reading. The below article states the upside created from the digital world that whilst the print decline is unfavourable the digital subscriptions and advertising have created a new income stream that has helped counter the revenue decline.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/increase-in-digital-sales-allays-decline-in-newspapers-20120809-23x2y.html

[coatsey-1978]

The Downside to On-line Media

In another course that I have studied about the Digital Environment we looked into the impact that the digital revolution is having the library system. It was a very interesting study as it exposed a significant downside to literature becoming readily available online. As a society we continually embrace these new services available but often we forget what we might lose as a result of this change. The local library system provides wonderful services above just stocking books so if they do not embrace this change we may lose an important community service.

The below links reference some on-line articles that discuss the issues and outline the need for our current libraries to evolve in order to survive this new trend.

http://www.davinciinstitute.com/papers/the-future-of-libraries/

http://www.ala.org/offices/sites/ala.org.offices/files/content/oitp/publications/policybriefs/confronting_the_futu.pdf

http://www.infotoday.com/OnlineSearcher/Articles/Features/So-Now-What-The-Future-for-Librarians-86856.shtml

http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub129/freeman.html

Steven Coates

[coatsey-1978]

Movie Creation

In attempting to create my own short movie of a recent sailing regatta that I competed in I have been trying to choose the best software package to edit the footage. The footage shot on a GoPro camera mounted on the rear of the vessel was downloaded in very large files of 2Gb each. As this was my first attempt of creating films I endeavoured to use what free software that was available in the market. Through lengthy research and using some trial packages I decided to use Windows Movie Maker 2.6. This packaged allowed me to edit and sequence the clips to form the final product.

[coatsey-1978]

MC38 National Titles

The digital media I intend to use for this assignment is a short film that will be posted on YouTube. This short film will be to demonstrate the performance of the sailing yacht Vino in the McConaghy 38 national titles held on Sydney Harbour.

  The McConaghy 38 class is a unique class where it is regulated that the owner must be the helmsperson of the boat for the regatta. These rule work to limit the number of professional sailors as it enforces that there must only be from the

  SWOT

Strength

My knowledge of the sailing the rules and maneuvers as I sail on this boat regularly I will be able to edit the footage to only include the important sections for the short movie.

Weaknesses

To date I have never cut and created a film in any way so this will be my main weakness but also provides a level of excitement as it will be a good area for development.

Opportunity

This might open the door for me to do some more work on editing short films for sailing regattas as it is not widely done at this stage.

Threat

The threat for my production is that the outcome will be unprofessional due to my lack of training and experience.

  It is the intention to edit the footage taken during the event using a GoPro camera and be used as a training tool for the helmsman and the crew to review before the upcoming regattas during the first half of 2014.

  The timeline for the projects will be as follows:

Week 51          Gather and name all the movie files.

Week 1            Prepare and practice using video editing software

Week 2, 3 & 4 Cut media files into important sections

Week 5            Compile segments into full length movie

Week 6            Review and finalise for submission

  Steve Coates