Tom Pearson's Multimedia

I started writing my proposal yesterday after finally settling on an idea for my 20 second advert. I have all my initial research plonked into a word file for easy access and referencing for later on (for times like this when I had to write my proposal) however I've now hit a few bumps and am a little confused. I looked up the guide on the NTU NOW to see what they required format and structure wise. It was simple, an intro/ background & context / designs and justifications / Time management plan. I started to go ahead and work on writing it up, on what I would be producing and why etc.

I then had a look at my housemate’s version. His proposal was short and sweet: Bullet pointed, concise and easy to read, however not much information. I had initially done some research on the web to get some tips on writing proposals. This led to lots of information which was really good. It made the structure given to us for writing a proposal seems so basic. I wanted to make so many more sub-headings. However the guide told me otherwise. So basically I've had to stop and rethink about my structure of my proposal. Whether I have too much spiel in there and whether I need to get rid of it. Sigh.

Ok, well after trying really hard to think of more ideas I kind of just kept stumbling back to my old ones. My favourite one of which was the one below. Here is a very short description I emailed Jools:

A band starts playing their first song. The lights are set, the atmosphere is electric. The shot cuts to each of the band members starting to play their instruments. As the song progresses, the atmosphere and set starts to subtly disappear. The light show and quality of sound progressively gets worse. The instruments are replaced by cheap alternatives of cardboard cut-outs. Drum sticks turn into flumps ( http://www.sweetgreetingsshildon.co.uk/images/uploads/soft/barratt-flump.JPG ). The list goes on. Eventually the band stops and have a look around. They look at their equipment which is now almost non-existent. They look bemused and amazed at what has happened. The shot then cuts to one of them members, POP, his shirt is gone. He runs off crying hysterically. Screen cuts to black with a written message and voice over. " Illegal file sharing ruins the entertainment industry" "for more information about illegal file sharing go to .... "


He said it was an alright idea, however I should lose the flumps (it was just an example of what I could do in the first place) and focus on exactly how it should look and the visual style. He said I needed to be confident on this. I am fairly adept at after effects and feel I can pull this off well.

Great, now I can finish my proposal

After going to Jool's tutorial, it was clear to me my ideas had not been thought through enough. I already knew they were only the first works of ideas but it seemed as if they were all shit in what he was telling me. (quite upsetting because I chose to actually think of something different rather than the usualy boring scare tactics they always use). No worries I guess. Ive been totaly stuck on what to do. And what with hand in tomorrow, I have all the research done but no proposed product. Sigh.

Basically it comes down to a few key words. I would like to base my project about either : Browsing, Intamacy or Timeline. Just working out exactly what to do is hard. Especially since I only have myself to come up with ideas. Friends and peers have had the usual suggestions explaining old piracy adverts which have been done and are now getting dry and used.

I'll post up here tonight what I've got.

I had a chat with Danny a few days ago about my research title. I initially had something along the lines of this.

" How has online distribution of moving image material affected viewing behavior?"

I later found out I had somewhat been going in the wrong direction with my question. As I explained the above question to Danny he went on to talk about distribution to cinemas and the costs involved and so forth. What I was actually trying to get at with this question was "why do people choose to view audiovisual material in their chosen environment, e.g. a cinema / TV screen / Online viewing etc". After I explained this he went on to talk about more cinema related topic of which it occurred to me. So thanks Danny for help rounding my question. The new question goes as follows.

" How have the improvements in cinema quality changed the purpose of visiting and viewing moving image at cinema venues?"

Ultimately it is in the same direction I am wanting to go with my research. I'm still refining it a bit so it may still change. But if Danny thinks the topic is ok, I'll defiantly be looking forward to working on it.

This is a word file I've been writing to help with research in regards to client project -->




Client Project Initial Research

Background to file sharing and Internet piracy


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_sharing

A short intro to file sharing.



http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2007/10/riaa-shifts-legal-battle-to-a-new-front-sues-usenet-access-provider.ars

RIAA starts to sue Usenet providers moving away from p2p focus.



http://www.usenet.com/usenet.html

A provider for Usenet. Proposes access to articles and discussion forums on UseNet



http://www.computerworlduk.com/management/online/e-business/news/index.cfm?newsid=13443

Internet users are converting from p2p to UseNet and file hosting for illegal downloading. Reasons for this maybe because of lawsuit actions taken by the entertainment industry. Results we commissioned by Ipoque



http://www.ipoque.com/company

Ipoque is a company that offers products that allow you to view data traffic. These products can measure peer to peer (p2p), Instant messaging (IM), Voice over IP (VoIP) and more.



http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=103218

Lady who uploaded a game got fined £16,000 in charges.



http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article721133.ece

Two men prosecuted for uploading over 8000 songs online. Once again uploaded not downloader prosecuted



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1046607/Up-25-000-British-illegal-downloaders-
sued-300-games-developers-turn-courts.html

More and more people being prosecuted.



http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/the-net-closes-in-on-internet-piracy-1772820.html

Lots of info on what is being done about Internet piracy.



Wired UK magazine 08/09

New approach to how digital distribution should work alongside Internet piracy to create better sales.



Similar Adverts


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p8o467rWts&feature=player_embedded

Student produced work from Andover College. Not great and a bit long for an advert. Copies’ similar adverts made by the industry. Kinda naff



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orEhUEcxHeY

A pro-piracy advert. “Sharing is caring”. Make’s you feel a lot less guilty about illegal downloading. More enjoyable to watch



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRDTbkZSM0&feature=related

Another pro-piracy campaign. “Sharing is fair”. Same comments as above



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmZm8vNHBSU&feature=related

The well know advert of Internet piracy. Often shown at the start of DVD’s. It is loud, annoying and somewhat frustrating to watch.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALZZx1xmAzg&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Funny spoof highlighting the problems with the above advert



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LkWKvMCzqA&feature=related

Famous actor appealing to stop Internet piracy. Comical and amusing to Jack Black lovers like myself and it did appeal to me greatly because of this reason. However It might not of done if it was anyone else.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE9-W9JNjio&feature=related

Another verbal reasoning scheme. Except this time its targeted to (I’m guessing) on people aged 15-25.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=685wtb-j3xU&NR=1

Another famous person talking about Internet piracy including scare tactics. Once again it was speaker specific, although she may be a big name somewhere she really isn’t to me, so I care a lot less.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wssfl22Hhp4&feature=related

Scare tactics used to stop people downloading. Somewhat ridiculous “Piracy funds terrorism”. Can also notice sounds of jail door slamming, subconscious scare tactics once again. Not enjoyable



Conclusions and suggested ideas for project

• There are many types of online downloading taking place, examples found include: Peer to Peer, UseNet newsgroups, File hosting websites

• It is illegal to upload or download with out copyright permission. It is ok to do these things with copyright permission (obviously, duh) for example, if you already owned a CD.

• Not many people are being prosecuted for Internet piracy in the great scheme of things. However this is becoming more common with public attention

• Those who are being prosecuted are generally the people who upload files for mass distribution rather than people who download these files

• Types of prosecution include: fines, IP and web provider restrictions, Prison

• The act of aggressive court proceedings by the entertainment industry in regards to internet piracy has suggested a decrease in illegal activity

• It was also suggested that decreases have been because of users migrating to other forms of online downloading such as UseNet and file hosting websites, rather than p2p services

• Therefore piracy has not ultimately been affected by court proceedings

• Other suggestions also show how internet piracy and file sharing has improved sales of music

• Many adverts trying to promote anti-piracy are fairly negative, choosing to scare the viewers. This is not only annoying but also depressing for the viewer.

• Some adverts have tried to achieve a more positive outlook, where by using celebrities to appeal to the audience to stop illegal downloading. However this then becomes talent specific, meaning that only people who have high knowledge and respect for the person will accept what they are telling them

• I aim to make a more positive advert without relying on having to verbally tell people to stop downloading. Could be done through the use of powerful metaphors. Could use a comedic or inspiring theme.

I'm currently doing some research into adverts that promote awareness of file sharing and internet piracy when I stumbled across a website called Unruly Media. This company basically has everything to do with the operations of seeding viral videos. They have a really good website with a viral video data tracker to see who and when they were watching an online video.

Anyway, I stumbled across this one, it's absolutely brilliant.

Last night I was searching for some good software to help me with my time management this year. Currently I'm working on my macbook for all of the time control odds and ends. I found a sterling piece of software called OmniPlan. I am yet to fully complete my schedule but so far its already proving useful.

I have also created my own xcel spreadsheet to see the total amount of hours I'm actually doing. This data coupled with a graph shows how well I'm spreading my real time. It's great as a visual aid.

here is an example of what it looks like:

(click to make bigger)


The data entered is not true as the dates have not come to pass yet. I was testing to see if my formula worked (which is does!). This will help a great deal in showing me where my time is going. I'm currently working on my Gantt chart which I will show soon.

I've just started my 3rd and final year at university so this is just an introductory post to what is to come. There are lots of things to do this year. I have 3 different modules to complete. These include a research project, a client project and another module ( starting next term ) which helps with understanding and become a successful practitioner.

I'm now 2 weeks into the term and have been told the key to this year is time management. This can be done with the aid of software to create a Gantt chart. I will be setting one up tonight to get a good grounding of where I stand currently and what needs to be done when. It has been suggested during each week I should spend 2 days on Client, 2 Days on Research and 1 Day on Successful Practice and Principles (SPP).

Anywho, lots of work to get done and mountains of research to look through.