The Worries of Digital Media

  I have many worries about digital Technology and its role in our lives.  Today I feel as though it plays a large role in our lives.  Its part of our every day life but in no way does it consume our lives.  Technology does not reason for us it does not think for us it does not do many human functions that are needed in daily life.  Yet it only aids us in the many tasks of our life.

  My worry is that technology will not just aid us but do many things for us.  My worry is about the day when for example a computer can read our thoughts and ideas and then formulate them into a perfect paper.  This idea can be applied to many things.  I think this will eventually happen with the development of wetware.  This is the technology that will interface directly with the human body in specific the brain.  Many people today think that digital technology controls our lives.  For many this is true, due to there are some that do not disconnect ever from the digital world. Imagine a future where you could live your life through technology, it would no longer give us a reason to interact let alone use basic human functions.  This is my hypothetical but possible concern about the advancements of technology.

  A concern in today’s society is people’s reliance on technology.  For many they cannot research with out the use of the Internet. Another example that is dear to my heart is that of the art of drafting.  Today with computer drafting it has modernized and sped up this art form.  But for many there are no longer learning how to do it by hand.  Which is a important skill, this skill can then help for one to become a better draftsman because if you do it by hand then you understand the concept but doing it by computer does not teach the concepts and the knowledge needed to be a good draftsman.  That is why digital is not always the best way to go all the time, but certainly is helpful often.

Video Composition

  This video composition was the hardest part of this course I feel.  For me video editing is the one forms of media that I don’t not have past training in.  this lent for a great opportunity to learn.  This project allowed me to learn Final Cut Pro. Which for me was a awesome experience that I believe ended with a good result.  And thanks to Kes Jones for teaching me Final Cut, she was very patient with me and was able to teach me pretty advanced editing techniques.

  I went into this video project with the idea to express freedom of speech.  The first clip I decided to use was that of Edward Murrow played by David Strathairn, discussing freedom for humans during the red scare.  I feel as though his speech strikes home to that of Wikileaks and their freedom to publish.  I then overlaid this with many iconic speakers, and many recent events.  I then flashed many images that showed disorientation, and helped lend to the panic that needs to be felt by this situation.  After the content was selected and in order and transitioned well, I then did some color correction and did a good amount of image and motion adjustment so that the film was astatically pleasing.

What is Digital Media?

  What is Digital media? Well frankly it is just about every thing today.  We interact with it many times a day.  Whether its video, audio, images, or even text.  All these mediums are no digital.  There once was a day when there was no such thing as a digital form of these medias.  But today these digital forms have changed our lives. They have made out lives instantly.  The Internet is a large part of this, it allows us to consume and send information in seconds, where as before it would take days to do the same thing.  These changes in our lives have sped up the way we live.  Today things move at a faster pace in comparison to that of 25 years ago.  Digital media has created jobs in this world it has created art.  In many ways if has changed this world for the better and will continue to.  Digital technology is constantly being developed and implemented.  Digital media in our lives is so important, a example of this is how today to function on a day to day basis many people need smartphones, because the ability to have email in your pocket along with the internet, allows for instantly communication and research seconds away with you at all times.  For me I could not make it through a workday with out my phone, because email, phone calls, texts, and the Internet are so necessary in the entertainment industry.  This is just one example of how digital media consumption, transportation and creation has changed our lives.  But there are millions of ways it has changed us, and will always change our society.  but when will digital media go to far?

Audio Composition

  The digital age that we live in has changed the way events happen.  They happen now instantly.  New goes around the world in seconds.  This audio file explores the idea and impact of Wikileaks.  Wikileaks has caused a information war around the globe in a matter of second with the help of the internet. 

  The basic music I have used for this is a song called Uncle Sam God Dam, by Brother Ali.  This song discussed the hypocritical nature of this country.  I feel as though the song lends light to how the US might break an amendment to prosecute wiki leaks.  I have also mixed in various news clips that lend light to the panic that these leaks have caused.  The static also lends to that feeling.  I have also layered in audio from a trailer for a documentary that discuses cyber warfare and how it has changed how we look at war, and how just information it self-can start a controversy, and how the internet has armed every one around the world with this power.  Wikileaks is just one group using this power, what will happen when more follow like them/ what will this lead to? Can we possibly imagine a world of censorship where the government filters every thing on the Internet?  That’s a scary thought in my opinion, and that was the message I tried to convey.

Boundary and Dissolution

There are many boundaries in life. And one that we face as students and working artists is that of borrowing/inspiration and plagiarize.

I feel it is necessary to “barrow” work.  Not in the sense of stealing it and plagiarizing it but barrowing ideas and developing them.  Where would we be today if every one started there ideas from scratch? We would be no wear because there would be no new developments in any fields.  With out the building on ideas we cant get anywhere.

In my field of scenery constructing there are many ways to build scenery there are good ways and bad ways.  We often barrow the good ways because that just is the right way of doing it.  Yet we often build on the set good ideas to better fit our needs.  I truly don’t see this as barrowing but rather it is the use of public knowledge of ideas that were not originally your own.  In no way is this plagiarizing but rather it is just the nature of the field I work and frankly live in.

With out development on the building blocks that are already built then we will never reach the sky.

Image Composition

   This image for me represents a lot of my view on the rights of humans.  I believe we all have the right to freedom of speech.  And wiki leaks is no exception to that matter.  I chose the bill of rights because it states that we all have the right to freedom of speech, press and so on.  That is why I have highlighted and edited the first amendment to stand out.  I have also shown image such as the gavel striking down on wikileaks to represent to ideas of how the courts can destroy freedom of speech by prosecuting wikileaks.  I have also add lady justice because is it justified to prosecute Wikileaks? And last of all I have included an image of the rattlesnake that was so symbolic of our countries rights during the 1700s.  The symbology of this image is to show the importance of our rights humans and as us citizens and how they are threatened by the fate of Wikileaks.

Blending of Intellect and Creativity

I believe that intellect and creativity go hand in hand.  Creativity for me is the ability to express your ideas in a unique fashion.  But to be able to do this well one must be intellectually able to understand the basic methods and ways of expressing this.  In photography for me having the creativity to think of a composition is the first step.  Having the intellect to compose that shot, and the intellect to properly take the photo are all-necessary to get a good photo.  Having the creativity to think of unique ways enhancing the photo is necessary when editing it, but having the intellect to do the editing is necessary.

I also apply this in my field of study.  As a Technical director in the theater I am charged with the responsibility to take a designer’s ideas about a set and they’re drawling and engineer them and build them and make it a reality on stage.

Having the intellect to engineer strictly sound scenery is necessary to be safe and successful at your task.  But creativity is also extremely important this is because there is not just one way to engineer it to work.  And to achieve unusual designs one must be able to creatively think of new ways to engineer and implement the designs.  With out creativity then this would not be an art form.  Because my field is truly I hybrid of these ideas, it makes it there by necessary to posses them both. And with out them I can fail at my job. That is why these traits are extremely important traits for a artist to have

What is the fate of wiki leaks? (text composition)

What will it mean if the U.S. government pursues legal action against Wikileaks? The first amendment of the Constitution protects the press, there by giving them the freedom to publish what they want.

In the case of Wikileaks, many are accusing them of espionage, for publishing top-secret documents. Yet the nature of the documents does not warrant conviction of espionage. The nature of the documents published by Wikileaks does not matter; rather the way in which the documents were acquired is the only issue. An example of how Wikileaks would be guilty if they directly stole the documents they published, and then they could be convicted. Yet Wikileaks was acquired many of the documents from an unassociated source, making it legal for them to publish.

So if Wikileaks can’t be prosecuted because the documents are not stolen, then how can they be prosecuted? Well this is a sticky situation for the government to try and pursue. To convict Wikileaks they would have to side step the first amendment and every thing it protects in our nation. So this brings up the question how will this case set the precedence for freedom of press and every thing our country was founded on? No one is exactly sure what effects this would have on our countries founding values. But we do know that by prosecuting Wikileaks it will change the interpretation and protection that the first amendment has for press and the people.

Yet the WikiLeaks document dump in fact appears to fall into an unresolved area of US law. The First Amendment strongly shields the publication of truthful information, legally acquired. But what if the information is gotten illegally? For many of the documents dumped by Wikileaks, this is the case.

Yet how could the Government prosecute Wikileaks under the Espionage Act? Well no one is really sure because the act only covers “any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States.” This does not cover email, due to the act was written in 1971 right after World War I.

So in these modern times, how can the government prosecute Wikileaks? Well no one is quite sure because there are many things that legally have to be clarified, which is a process that will take a long time to pass threw the legislature. Only time will tell what will be the fate of Wikileaks.

Tron. Open source

Through out the film Tron it preaches about open sources and the power of the user.  In the film the User is supposed to have all the rights.  This directly links to the open source movement.

The open source movement is all about free software and the power of the user.  If a user owns a devise, then there by they should be able to do with it whatever they want.  So why is it that many companies prevent this?   This is because they think the user does not have the right to alter what they have created.  To me this is wrong.  If I buy a smart phone why cant I edit the software on it to better fit my needs as the user.  This is all about the freedom of the user.

The next idea set forth by the open source movement is that software should be free to the user.  This also goes along with the idea that all information should be available to all, that goes along with the code to software.  If I buy a device then why should I have to by additional software, why can’t it just come with that software or why cant I download the programs needed free of cost?

All of these ideas have been put forth in the GNU project, which is which has become to be associated with Linux which is at the heart of the open source movement.  Linux is a operating system free to users to download.  It is based off of the UNIX engine.  All the software included and available on Linux is all free.  This software and operating system is produced by a community, this is because all of the code is available to the public, and every one can add to it.  and slowly software and OSs are developed.  This idea is one that is revolutionary and is a step in the right direction for technology.  This movement has been happening since the start of computing and will forever continue and with out it the technological world would be ruled in tierney by the large companies.

How does this relate to Wikileaks?  Well that’s easy.  Wikileaks is all about freedom of information.  Julian Asange believes that every one should have access to all the data that is at the disposal of him and his partners and that is why he is publishing it even when much governments are unhappy with him.  This stand for freedom of information is important to our rights and knowledge.  With out a well-informed society then we are living blindfolded sheltered from the war.

INFORMATIONC AN SET US FREE!

Gathering

When we talk about gathering we are refereeing to the act of research.  The topics of these readings were about Internet research.  Which today for most just means typing into google what every some one is looking for with a few search terms or a sentence in some cases.  But do most people actually know how to efficiently uses a search engine?  In my experiences the answer is no.

To better way to search is to use such terms as and, or, not.  Using these terms can make it possible to get more search results and get more specific sources.

The use of AND allows for each hit to contains both search terms. We retrieve records in which BOTH of the search terms are present.  This will yield much more hits than if just a space is used.  When using the word OR to link words this allows for the ability to get hits on things for two search terms.  Using or will allow for hits to have one term or the other search term in it not just hits with both terms.  Using the word NOT in a search term allows for you to search for one term while putting not in after that term will yield out whatever term is next in the search phrase.  This will allow for more specific searches.

The use of these terms is very simple but many do not understand this.  With these basic search skills it allows people to better use search engines.

After basic searching skills are acquired one must learn how to know if sites and information are reputable.  An easy way to do this is by looking at the web address to start.  .edu, .gov, and .gov are usually trust worthy resources.  While .coms cannot be trust worthy.  To better analyze if a site is trust worthy is if they have accurate information about there website.  Are they sponsored by an organization? When was the last update to the page? Is this information still relevant at this time?   And always cross-reference your information to ensure accuracy.

Other than basic web search one should also search databases, many of these are subscription based but are full of knowledge.  Here at UNCSA we have many of these databases provided to us by the library, I highly recommend the use of these sources.

In this growing tech based world we must learn how to find and analyze the wealth of information in front of us. If we do not we will be lost.