"Mission to Earth"

1. Using "Mission to Earth" as an example, not what is new or different about digital cinema compared to traditional filmmaking. Consider the story and appearance of the film.

"Mission to Earth" was quite an interesting film. While I was talking with another student about the film, I mentioned that I was glad to have a bit of the background info/plot before watching the movie because then I was able to focus more on the images rather than the narration. Without this information, I am sure I would have been more focused on the plot and would have missed out on a lot of the art and aspects of digital cinema presented.   

The appearance of the film was the first thing I noticed that was different from traditional filmmaking. I was surprised to see 2-4 boxes with different images/happenings going on at the same time. Throughout the film, I noticed different things with these boxes. First, there was always one box that was larger than the other boxes, and it was in this box that the main character actions, the immigrant woman, were portrayed. This box was also very plain and bland color-wise, and rather still as it barely portrayed the woman's actions. In the smaller side boxes, there were frequent animations with symbols, signs and a variety of color. 

Another aspect of the film that I noticed was the narration and woman's actions. Unlike tradition filmmaking, every verbal aspect of this film was given by a 'voice of God' narrator. As viewers, we never saw this narrator, but he told us everything we really need to know. On the other hand, we never heard from this immigrant woman, but she showed us everything the narrator told us. It was interesting to see these two pieces work together. In addition, we never saw the immigrant woman interact with any other human beings. The narrator told us of two instances when she interacted with humans, yet we never saw these, probably to further show her distance from the rest of society/Earth.

One final thing that struck me as being different from traditional filmmaking was the piecing together of the film clips and the 'pauses' to do so. When the film started playing and then froze to 'find a new clip' I thought it was a scratch on the DVD, but I was rather surprised to learn that this was normal for this film. I found this to be an interesting way to grab the audiences' attention. It also gave the audience a moment to collect their thoughts on the film and what they had just seen. 

2. What other art forms does this film remind you of? Explain the similarity.

I am still trying to decide what other kinds of art this film reminds me of- I think that because it is was so obscure and different that it can relate to many different art forms. One thing that "Mission to Earth" reminded me of was a type of adventure book that I used to read when I was younger. If I remember correctly they were called, "Choose Your Own Adventure" and as the reader you were able to choose what the main character would do in certain situations. For example at the end of a road if you wanted the character to turn left you would turn to page 54, if you wanted them to turn right you would turn to page 96, but if you wanted them to turn around you would go to page 154. These books provided the reader with some control of the situations, which reminds me of the DVD controlling what we, as viewers of "Mission to Earth" see. Since each viewing is different and the DVD choose what we see, the images and boxes portrayed throughout the movie provide a different meaning each time.


3. Did you like the film?
 
Yes. Although it was rather obscure and different, I thought it was a very interesting film. It discusses some interesting topics, including life on different planets, immigrants, and society from a different point of view. Relying on digital media rather than traditional filmmaking allowed the filmmaker to put a different spin on the typical 'outsider' story. In addition, I found the ending to be a cliffhanger, as it wasn't too clear on what the immigrant woman decided to do, exciting as it gave some freedom to the viewer to make up his/her mind about the woman's choice.


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Photography

1. What are some photographic effects that can be achieved using digital or analog (darkroom, film, lights etc) technology?

Although digital photography is believed to be something new, the techniques and abilities of digital photography are similar to those of analog photography. Surprisingly, in both digital and analog photography the photographer and or editor has the ability to change the light in a photo. While an analog photo requires this do be done in a darkroom, digital photography can be changed in computer programs like Photoshop and iPhoto.

Change the light - dark room, photoshop, create fictional pictures, add new information/animations

2. What are some photographic techniques that can only be achieved using digital technology?

 Morphing/detailed inventions of things that have never existed.

3. What is the difference between analog photography and digital photography?

 The main difference between digital photography and analog photography is light. Digital photography relies on light sensors to capture the image while analog photography uses an exposure method on light sensitive film. Analog photography also relies chemicals to capture images, in addition to light. Film and memory card

digital- computer info- reduced to computer code- move info/info

Photoshop

Today in class we played around with Photoshop.

Here is my original photo:

 

And here are some of the photos I created using Photoshop:

Wikipedia!

Sharing knowledge is a dialogue; it’s not a one-way street where one is only sharing information and one is receiving. As a result, as the “World Knowledge Advisor” I have chosen Wikipedia to be our encyclopedia from here on out. 

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia.com

         

Since 2001, Wikipedia has become the world famous “free encyclopedia that anyone can edit” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia). Although there have been numerous controversies and fights over the accuracy of Wikipedia, Wikipedia has built a strong and intelligent community that confirm/check information. Wikipedia only has one worker, the software developer, while the editors and checkers are all volunteers. Giving up one’s free time shows that these people want to provide this information to the world; they’re not selfish or in it for the money, but rather for the knowledge of all human beings.

Wikipedia provides free access to all of human knowledge, ultimately providing free knowledge to anyone on anything. No fees or hidden costs- just knowledge. Furthermore it provides a neutral point of view. Since the writers and editors of Wikipedia are everyday people just like you and me, they provide both sides of a story, while a for-profit encyclopedia company may edit or revise articles or sides of a story in order to keep shareholders happy.

The information shared on Wikipedia goes through a number of quality tests. Frequent users of Wikipedia have created a small community of 600-1,000 persons that do a bulk of the editing and fact checking on Wikipedia. In addition, only 18% of the edits made on Wikipedia pages are by anonymous users. To create a Wikipedia page, one must create a username and page; once a username is created one can provide as much or as little personal background. In randomly looking at some usernames, I came across numerous academic professor and professionals who are professionals in their field. One user, POL089, states on his/her personal page, “I do my best to make contributions that are true, relevant, and impartial, and sometimes to rewrite paragraphs in a better way. My rewrites don't often get reverted or changed radically, so presumably they are considered an improvement” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Pol098). Most, if not all, users edit Wikipedia pages to improve the information, rather than hurt it.

Wikipedia is the better encyclopedia because it is a “a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia). It doesn’t require one to be a professional in a field or have a M.D. or P.h.D. after his or her name, because sometimes professionals don’t always know everything. As a collaborative encyclopedia, Wikipedia allows people from a variety of backgrounds to come together to share knowledge and information with the rest of the world. It starts a dialogue about a specific topic and encourages the rest of the world to part-take in this dialogue. As a multilingual encyclopedia, Wikipedia is not an exclusive encyclopedia; one does not need to know English to understand the text. Articles in Spanish, Dutch, French, Portuguese and Chinese are just the beginning of Wikipedia’s multilingual text.  

Just as in the classroom where discussion is as important, if not more important than a lecture, the free, collaborative and multilingual dialogue that Wikipedia creates and encourages is more important than the typical and standard Encyclopaedia Brittanica.

Modern Times

After watching the clip from "Modern Times," I was able to see both the positive and negative effects of technology on both Charlie Chaplin and myself.

In "Modern Times," Charlie Chaplin is controlled by the technology he works with. The machine is constantly providing work for Charlie and at times he is struggling to keep up with the machine. As I discussed with a classmate during the exercise, the machine controls Charlie, Charlie doesn't control the machine. In addition, the machine isn't for Charlie's benefit, in fact it negatively effects him and his behavior. For example, when he stops working, his hands and body are still doing the motions of his job and it is a struggle for him to stop. The machines positively impact the boss, and only the boss, because he is able to make more products, thus allowing for more profit.

When the men bring in the lunch machine for him to try out, it seems like a good idea as it provides a way of multitasking and producing more product. Unfortunately though, this machine does not help, but rather creates more problems. In addition, the machine is just awkward for Charlie; he has no control over what he is being fed or when as food is being shoved in his face throughout the experiment.  As seen in "Modern Times," technology seems to have a negative impact on Charlie Chaplin's life, as he no longer has control over even the littlest things in his life.

In comparison, technology has had a positive impact on my own life. In my everyday life, I frequently rely on my computer, cellphone, and iPod for various things. As an exchange student at Lingnan University, I use my computer to stay in touch with my friends and family at home. Frequent emails, video chats, IMs, and Facebook keep my connected even though I am halfway around the world. Furthermore, with my cellphone, I am able to keep in touch with friends in Hong Kong. Since my cellphone from the U.S. does not work here in Hong Kong, I rely on my Hong Kong phone and phone number to keep in contact with local students.

Unlike Charlie Chaplin, I feel like I have power and control over the machines and technology I use. When I step away from the machines, I am okay; I am not shaking or trembling like Charlie, I am able to move on with my life.

Technology is a great tool, though one must be able to have control and power over the machine and oneself.

Introductions!

 Hi! I'm Sara.

I'm a Junior at Hobart and William Smith (HWS) Colleges in Geneva, New York but I am currently studying abroad at Lingnan University. I am double majoring in Writing and Rhetoric and Media and Society; I am looking to combine the two to work in communications.

Digital media is a huge part of my life- I am almost always connected to my phone or computer; I frequently check Facebook, Twitter, send emails, read and write blogs, watch Youtube videos and more. I remember one of my teachers in high school saying "Remember what presentations used to be like without Youtube?" Digital media plays a huge role in everyday life- it not effects how one sees something but also allows one to see things in a different way. No longer are newspapers just words- now there are videos, blogs and slideshows to accompany articles. With digital media, the world is becoming more connected and further educated. I've taken numerous courses where a requirement is a blog, forcing the students and teacher to stay connected and communicate in a different way. Digital media is allowing human beings to think outside the box of what is normal.

I'm originally from outside of Boston, Massachusetts, but have been very fortunate to have traveled throughout high school. I've been to China (once before studying abroad in HK), Europe, South America and Antarctica.

I am also keeping a website about my time abroad in Hong Kong and at Lingnan. You can check it out here.