The evolution of Movies and Television (Group Presentations/Blog Post)

The group that I have selected to talk about discussed the way in which movies have evolved drastically over the years. It started with a timeline which started back in the 1800s when the first moving picture was presented to the public. The moving picture was of a moving train and it actually looked so real to the audience during that time that it frightened them causing a stampede. Needless to say, moving pictures since the day that they have come out have always been amazing and captured audiences since day one. The group continued on to discuss the evolution of these pictures incorporating the effects that color, sound and definition of picture have had on the industry as a whole. In essence, when sound and color were added to a picture, it created a whole new experience for viewers all over. The television became the biggest and most popular medium used to date and still is. Finally, the group discussed how special effects and the high resolution are shaping the way that we view a movie. The experience is so different and new to so many people. Just over the last couple of years there have been several new changes to movies. One is the three dimensional viewing option. People are now able to buy 3-D televisions and watch them in the comfort of their own home. Along with this, pretty much every movie that comes out in the theatres has a 3-D viewing option for people who view it. The group also included a very interesting and eye opening video that showed scenes from certain movies as they are viewed and then as they are being made. One example that was shown in this video was a scene from Alice in Wonderland. In the making of the movie, you can see alice, next to two men in crazy outfits behind a green screen. Whereas in the movie you can see Alice with Tweedle dee and Tweedle dumb. Overall the group did a great job discussing the evolution of motion pictures and I learned a lot.

Citizen Journalism Blog Post

Should We All Become Citizen Journalists?

The new technological advances to date create a society where everyone has the ability to become a journalist. However, just because everyone has the ability to become a journalist that doesn't necessarily mean that they should report. A citizen journalist actually raises many ethical concerns and moral issues when reporting on a topic. As a society, we have been groomed through the years to accept the news as fact. If it was on the news, it was fact, as they had people who’s job was to check the facts of a story. The only thing that was doubted was the weather. At least some things never change. Now we live in the age of mass information. Sharing news with people is now as easy as the click of a mouse button. However, where is that “news” coming from? One of the first things that my journalism instructor Rob Priewe made sure to press upon us was to check your sources. This is something that is more important now for more people, than ever before. In this current state of overabundance of information, where anyone with an email address can start a blog, it is now up to the consumers of this information to do the fact checking. However, most of them have not been informed of this, or choose not to practice it. With the advent of social media, the sharing of this misinformation becomes even more widespread. Ciitizen journalist is in a simple way explained as a non-journalist doing the job of a professional journalist. The job varies from writing, posting a status or tweet, taking a photo or a video, researching and ending up delivering information out in the public’s eye. A citizen journalist can chose to put the information up on their own, or giving the media a tips and working together with them. For those who gives out the information not intending to give news is nowadays seen as a great tool for the media. The media don’t have the capacity to be in several places at ones, and when an event happens suddenly the citizen journalists is a valid asset for the media. They can get a hold of exclusive pictures and video footage on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and put that content in a professional context, then giving the public what they want which is news.

Sources: 

http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/Journalism/CitizenJournal  ism.html 

http://theiblog4media.blogspot.com/2012/04/citizen-journalism-good-thing-or-bad.html

Podcast Links

http://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/episodes

http://www.buzzsprout.com/43131.rss

Podcasting

1.  How does podcasting fit into the organizational communication in business, non-profit, and academic contexts?

• Podcasts fit into the organizational communication in business, non-profit, and academic contexts because they can advertise for a product and can provide a unique way to promote their products through different types of medias. It promotes interactivity and it is less harsh than just text, letting the person listen instead.

2.  Why does the speaker say that podcasting extends message?

• The speaker says that podcasting extends message because it sends across a message in some of the most effective ways such as audio, video, and the Internet. 

 

3. How does podcasting encourage participation culture according to the speaker?

•  Podcasting encourages participation culture because it encourages actions. It provides the listener with information in hope that the listener will take action based off what is said. This creates conversation and lets the listeners interact with businesses in a different way

4. What are the three critical elements of development for a successfully media when the speaker talks about email, blogging, and online ad? Why does podcasting have the three elements?

• The tree critical concepts of development for a successful media in relation to email, blogging and online ad are: whether or not your listeners pay attention to the information, the tools that you provide to the user to access the information, and whether or not the listeners can interact with the information. All of these elements can be put together to create a successful podcast. 

5. How does the concept of digital media convergence get applied in podcasting when the speaker discusses the compounding media?

• The concept of digital media convergence gets applied in podcasting when the speaker discusses the compounding media by being accessible on a variety of platforms. Whether it is a mobile phone, Facebook, YouTube, the Internet, or anything else a podcast is accessible in a variety of ways. The compounding media refers to how all of these platforms become one. Plus, a podcast being available in different forms is what digital media convergence is all about. 

Transmedia Storytelling

“Transmedia Storytelling 101” 
 1. Why is transmedia storytelling important in digital convergence communication?

• Transmedia storytelling uses multiple media platforms tell a narrative across time. Each media piece—whether it’s a comic, novels, video games, mobile apps, or a film—functions as a standalone story experience—complete and satisfying. Like a giant puzzle, each piece also contributes to a larger narrative. The process is cumulative and each piece adds richness and detail to the story world, such as character backstories and secondary plotlines.

2. Why can the media business be beneficial more from transmedia storytelling in distributing their productions?

• they can actually benefit because the transmedia storytelling is so much more involved than just a production. Each thing that they do is able to appeal to anyone of any target market.

3. How can transmedia storytelling be beneficial for different bodies of audience in consuming productions?

• As noted previously, the transmedia storytelling appeals to everyone from every different walk of life. This allows  company to appeal to everyone and all of their different likes and needs.

4. How can transmedia storytelling be worked out in terms of collective intelligence in the process of production? 

• Transmedia storytelling is the ideal aesthetic form for an era of collective intelligence. Pierre Levy coined the term, collective intelligence, to refer to new social structures that enable the production and circulation of knowledge within a networked society. Participants pool information and tap each others expertise as they work together to solve problems. Levy argues that art in an age of collective intelligence functions as a cultural attractor, drawing together like-minded individuals to form new knowledge communities. Transmedia narratives also function as textual activators – setting into motion the production, assessment, and archiving information. The ABC television drama, Lost, for example, flashed a dense map in the midst of one second season episode: fans digitized a freeze-frame of the image and put it on the web where together they extrapolated about what it might reveal regarding the Hanso Corporation and its activities on the island.

5. How does transmedia storytelling encourage the interactivity with the audience?

• transmedia text does not simply disperse information: it provides a set of roles and goals which readers can assume as they enact aspects of the story through their everyday life. We might see this performative dimension at play with the release of action figures which encourage children to construct their own stories about the fictional characters or costumes and role playing games which invite us to immerse ourselves in the world of the fiction. In the case of Star Wars, the Boba Fett action figure generated consumer interest in a character who had otherwise played a small role in the series, creating pressure for giving that character a larger plot function in future stories.