wooooooo

easy peesy japaneesy

YAZAAA. addrennilini

First you create youre own ‘habbo’, a little caricature that represents yourself in the 3D world and of course a name to go by. Then you enter the hotel, and choose where you want to go, the lobby, a bar, the pool etc. Here you can choose how you say something (whisper, shout etc) and then when you speak, the text is displayed for everyone in the ‘room’ to see (cute as it comes up as a little speach bubble from the caricatures mouth and then ‘floats’ up to remain on the screen) You can then have ‘private’ conversations with other habbos while the ‘public’ can see it. or you can be invited or simply go to a room within the hotel where other people have established certain ‘businesses’ and etc. You can get a job, which will pay in ‘material’ items in the 3D world which you can add to your own room. You can constantly change your clothes and interact with certain things in teh world, such as going swimming etc. You can use your credit card to get ‘credit’ to buy things from a catlogue to furnish your room, and many other things.

Really, it is just so extensive i could not possibly cover all there is to habbo hotel unless i went on for hours.

I think the main differences in socialising within such 3D worlds is that you dont know who you are talking to, they are anonymous users and you only know them by their display name. The 3D aspect definately makes alot of difference to the ‘simple’ msn. there is so much more oppotunity to do other things. you dont even have to talk to other people to be entertained, simply walking around and watching the caricature interact with objects is fun enough!

As for where this sort of application may lead  us… im not entirely sure. Personally i wouldnt become obsessed and spend all my time on there, but the whole idea of getting a ‘job’ through other users – i think somewhere there are actually people who profit from setting up such ‘businesses’ and what not. which is kind of scary to think about and sad in a way – to think someone would just sit at their computer day and night messing about with that application…. people need 2 get lifes – REAL ones (i know this is slightly ironic as it brings up the debate and point of one of our lectures of what is defined as reality etc) but really. what has this world come to?

  The history of motion picture film, therefore, is the history of a very subtle industrial and economic combination of continuity, evolution and outright change.                                                  (Enticknap 2005, p5) 

When entering the movie theatres of today, with your pop corn and choc top in hand, you seem to generally have an expectation somewhere in the back of your head that you are about to experience some pretty spectacular special effects  (especially if your walking into blockbusters like Spiderman 3 or 300). But this now almost seemingly essential feature of the Hollywood blockbuster did not always exist. It is only with the development of technology (more specifically digital technology) that this idea comes to be established as almost concrete convention for a modern smash hit. However, there emerges a trend in the speculated reasoning for the development of CG/CGI (computer generation/ed image) and other related special effects and for their continual inclusion within the major Hollywood films. There also emerges a similar trend in another area of change that has occurred within the film industry as a result of technological advances; digital video recorders are now readily available to any consumer and corresponding developments in other technological contexts, such as the software development and the internet, allow for anyone to create and edit a film and then have that film viewed by others all over the world. Here the commercial idea of profit is also seen to play a significant factor in the continual development. Essentially, while there does exist other elements that are seen to contribute to the continual development of digital technology in relation to film, behind many of them is the sole commercial purpose of financial gain.

Digital technology has resulted in terms such as ‘special effects’ and ‘CG’ becoming accepted as part of everyday life. Due to commercialisation, the further development of such technologies and the inclusion of special effects have come to be established as an essential element for vast financial success of a film.

First it is recognised that the methodology of creating films is being greatly impacted through the convergence of film, television and computer technologies. As Ohanian and Phillips suggest, filmmakers are now provided with ‘a new and exciting…set of rules to understand, to use, and to break, in the quest of telling a story’ (2000, p3). As such, special effects continue to be developed and utilised because they allow for a filmmaker to bring fictional worlds and images into reality (Ohanian & Phillips 2000, p3) which greatly enhances the impact of the story being told as a viewer comes to believe that such is possible within our own reality, ‘Digital media makes commonplace the simulation of nonexistent realistic worlds.’ (Manovich 2005, pp30) This contributes to the audience’s engagement with the text, entertaining them and more often that not resulting in a particular impact. By impacting positively upon one audience a film can ensure the return of another, as the role of the film critic and social networks come into play. This then comes to the ensuing success of a Hollywood film through revenue, highlighting the notion that the continued development and inclusion of special effects within such films is a result of commercial influences. As Hirst and Harrison point out: 

                                                Hollywood is one of the commercial success stories of the twentieth century, and it

                                    exemplifies the advertising maxim that to sell a product, you must engage and

                                    entertain the audience. (2007, p124) 

 With movies such as Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, Shrek, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Spiderman and so on, occurring over the past decade it is clear that digital technology has established itself within the blockbuster framework. But while this digital technology allows for more detailed creative expression on behalf of the filmmaker, it also comes to account for the millions of dollars that are poured into cinema and the entity of the Hollywood phenomena.

Another change that the digital revolution has inflicted upon the film industry comes in the form of the development of ‘cinema’s machines’ (Utterson 2005, p2). Today digital video technology is readily available to all consumers, meaning that anyone and everyone can participate in the practice of movie making. Essentially, behind this change also comes the push of commercialisation.

Firstly, the idea that handheld ‘cam-corders’ were invented in the first place comes from the idea of production for commercial sale and profit. Secondly, the now widespread availability to all consumers of digital video recorders and related technology means that anyone can make a movie, and corresponding developments of digital technology software and internet applications means that these movies can be viewed by millions around the world. This of course is a reference to sites such as YouTube and MySpace. In reality these sites are not profitable organizations, however most people who post their scripted films on YouTube are generally seeking recognition, hoping to have their talents ‘discovered’ and ultimately come to the result of financial profit, as supported by the many resources now available which provide instruction in how to effectively utilise digital video and be successful in the field of digital cinematography. These ‘how to’ resources contain sentences like ‘This book is an attempt to encapsulate all the basic technical and craft knowledge needed to become a fine digital cinematographer.’ (Wheeler 2001, p.xvii) and ‘I want to help aspiring professionals get into the business and young professionals get better’ (May 2004, p11).  On the other hand, there are those who use digital video recorders simply to document their lives so to pass onto the next generation. As May suggests: 

Documenting the lives and travels of family and friends is a noble tribute to our time on this stage, a meaningful gift to all generations, worth doing and doing well. (2004, p10)

However, in the context of this essay we are generally referring to scripted films in ‘story telling’ style, not home video and therefore we come to the conclusion that advances in digital technology have shifted the means of production and distribution of film into the hands of the audience (May 2004, p9) but yet, it is still the largely commercial element of financial gain that is driving this practice.

Thanks to the digital technology revolution we can now create our own quality films and our cinematic experiences are now dramatically enhanced by the incorporation of special effects into the film industry. However, the underlying commercial driving element of these changes within the film industry is not so different to what they have always been in the ‘Hollywood’ era. Sure, most films have valuable underlying lessons or hidden meaning in regard to human kind and culture but really when it comes down to it, they are driven by the want and need of financial profit, just like everything else in our ever developing commercial world. For as long as ‘Hollywood’ exists, so to will commercial elements contribute significantly to the creation and composition of special effect blockbusters.

The following are some links related to special effects and digital video technology that may provide further information:

www.youtube.com

http://www.dvt.co.nz/

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4206983.html

http://www.matteworld.com/film/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002688109

http://www.pixar.com/howwedoit/index.html

http://www.fxguide.com/article408.html

create your own film special effects using this from adobe – http://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects/

  REFERENCES 

• Enitcknap, Leo 2005, Moving Image Technology: from zoetrope to digital,  Wallflower Press, London

• Hirst, Martin & Harrison, John 2007, Communication and New Media: from broadcast to narrowcast, Oxford University Press, Melbourne Australia

• Manovich, Lev 2005, ‘Cinema and Digital Media’, in Andrew Utterson (ed.) Technology and Culture, The Film Reader, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon

• May, Pete 2004, The Essential Digital Video Handbook, Focal Press, USA

• Ohanian, Thomas & Phillips, Michael 2000, Digital Filmmaking: The Changing Art and Craft of Making Motion Pictures, Butterworth-Heinemann, USA

• Utterson, Andrew 2005, Technology and Culture, The Film Reader, Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon

• Wheeler, Paul 2001, Digital Cinematography, Focal Press, Oxford

www.random.com

www.bored.com

http://www.i-am-bored.com/

http://www.addictinggames.com/

www.onlinenewspapers.com

www.bands.org

www.createbands.com

www.australia.com

http://www.tourism.australia.com/

www.galta.com.au

so here is a smaller version….

we had to create images in regards to certain topics. mine are as follows…….

 FRIENDS……

the original of photo…..  

now with photocopier applied and some text…..

COMMUNICATION……..

 - simply a picture of the Parkes radiotelescope with ‘neon’ affect applied.

 AUSTRALIAN ….

 - this is an image of the australian made kangaroo logo with the yellow of the kangaroo removed to leave blank space and ive posted them in a collage type way over an image of the Sydney Harbour bridge being built…

There was also the categories of news-worthy, popular, games and celebrity. however, instead of single images, i chose to combine these last categories in one image.

the background is of a nuclear bomb test. in the foreground i have placed a photoshoped image of anna nicole smith (photocopy effect applied) and then added the text ‘its all fun and games until someone gets hurt’

therefore it addresses the idea of news-worthy in the idea is anna-nicole smith really news-worthy in comparison to such atrocities as nuclear warfar etc.

it looks at the idea of celebrity – is ANS a true celebrity, or a household joke?

it looks at the idea of popular – is war popular? (obviously not..) and the recent death of anna nicole has seen a greater rise in her populatiry.

and lastly, it looks at games… is warfare merely games played in order to ‘win’ the ‘prize’ ???

and that is the end of photshop fun.

thank you adobe photoshop, for making all my dreams come true! ahaha

The before wedding image….

The before of Julian….

The before of me ….

 and the wedding!……

It actually doesnt look as good on the net as it does when i finsihed it in photoshop… in photoshop it looked great! the skin tomes and everything matched and it didnt look fake.

oh well.

il get it eventually. it just takes practise!

 THE FRENCH NEW WAVE: ITS INFLUENCE AND DECLINE

Jean Douchet

Database: Film & Television Literature Index 

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=104&sid=b900ad44-4b2a-41ea-a700-d34b97dcd619%40sessionmgr109

• Two types of cinema – Melies (mannerist – In mannerist films, an unrestricted formalism presides in which a knowledge of cinema is systematically interspersed with and blended with the act of representation, obscuring the film’s true legibility. In such films, the use of references is no longer liberating but stifling, no longer creative but alienating. Appreciation and imitation remain the only education necessary to understand them. Reworking older forms should serve, however, to filter the world and the reality of an epoch, not obscure it. Unusual angles, an affected style, incidental formal inventions–these may be interesting but are useless when they become only self-referential: too much cinema destroys cinema) or Lumiere (naturalist – a mindless naturalism developed, which is content to merely copy reality. But imitation alone is not art. Without a style of its own, cinema can never soar. It remains satisfied with a “human” presence that it can drag across the screen and wallows in the tired cliches of a cinema-verite that the New Wave rejected long ago.)
• From a commercial and financial point of view, spectacles, special effects, and diversions have won the day. The cinema of fact, of observation, is in the minority and resists these influences as best it can.  Although the consequences of the New Wave’s contribution to cinema’s development are obvious, they have not always found their way into the mainstream.
• The true descendants of the Sixties continue to restore to fiction its power to represent and question the real. They create a mechanism that doesn’t copy life but questions certain aspects of living. The New Wave continues to roll.
• Goes through, decade by decade, providing examples of the most influential directors who are classed as ‘descendants’ of the French new wave cinematic style. Analysing their style and contribution to the continuation of new wave in modern film.

 AN ENCORE FOR FRENCH CINEMAChristina WhiteSection: International Business

 http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=5&hid=4&sid=b900ad44-4b2a-41ea-a700-d34b97dcd619%40sessionmgr109

• Outlines statistics regarding the recent French film, Amelie, using it as evidence to support the idea that French cinema is making a return/ comings into the mainstream. With new wave techniques no longer being used to create such successful movies.
• The French film industry is certainly wising up. Gone are the navel-gazing menages-a-trois that have become the stereotype of French cinema. In their place are a wide variety of American-style genre films–from action adventures to gothic dramas–churned out by a wave of young directors, many of whom have worked in the U.S. “French cinema has been seen as elitist, appealing more to cinephiles,” says David Kessler, director of the National Cinematographic Center. “Now, we’re able to reach a larger public.”
• One wonders however, if the success of a movie is measured only by the intake of profit made upon its release

 Alphaville (Book Review)Source Citation: Bould, Mark. ”Alphaville.(Book review).” Extrapolation 47.2 (Summer 2006): 332(3). Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. Griffith University Library. 18 Mar. 2007 
<http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=EAIM&docId=A154392863&source=gale&srcprod=EAIM&userGroupName=griffith&version=1.0>. 

·        Gives a thorough overview of the film. What it does, how it does it, what the implications attached back then meant, what they mean now, and how they have changed and what these different implications mean now.

·        The continued neglect of Alphaville seems even more peculiar during and after the postmodern turn: splicing genres, fabricating a surface out of eclectic allusion, separating signifier from signified, refusing fixity of meaning, juxtaposing modern redemptive architecture and authority with the messiness of the unredeemed world, constructing a mise-en-scene out of “transitional zones … liberally interspersed with their characteristic signage”

I have thus decided my essay shall concern the topic of French New Wave cinema, and how it changed the way films were looked at/ how the techniques and devices deiffered from the established norm. etc.

 Mailing list: www.firbreculture.com

SCAVENGER HUNT

1. What is the weight of the world’s biggest pumpkin?1,385 pounds (628 kilograms) (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2004/01/pumpkin.html)  2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Grant Hackett?email : gali@granthackettonline.com or go to his blog site and post a comment at: http://granthackettonline.free.fr/?page_id=107  3. What is the length of a giraffe’s tongue?Average: 18-22 inches (www.ask.com then directed to http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-giraffe.html) 4. How would you define the word ‘ontology’? In your own words, what does it really mean ?The philosophical study of the big question, being and existence. www.dictionary.com 5. What was David Cronenberg’s first feature film?Stereo (1969) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Cronenberg  6. When was the original ‘Hacker’s Manifesto’ written?January 8, 1986. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker%27s_Manifesto) 7. Why do all phone numbers in Hollywood films start with ’555′?the prefix of ’555′ was reserved for TV and movies use so the viewing public wouldn’t harass real phone customers when they were looking to speak with their favorite stars. These days, 555 phone numbers are actually being assigned to legitimate businesses, and Hollywood has been restricted to numbers in the 555-0100 to 555-0199 range.http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20020826.html 8. What is the cheapest form of travel from Crete to Rhodes?Ferry 9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?‘Do the Clam’ by Elvis Presley (http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis_presley_australian_chart_hits_list.shtml) 10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?The Black Assassinshttp://www.griffith.edu.au/school/art/staff/stockwell.htm

How Do Search Engines Work?

Exactly what is a search engine? Basically, a search engine is a software program that searches for sites based on the words that you designate as search terms. Search engines look through their own databases of information in order to find what it is that you are looking for. Please note: search engines are not simple. They include incredibly detailed processes and methodologies, and are updated all the time. This is a bare bones look at how search engines work to retrieve your search results. All search engines go by this basic process when conducting search processes, but because there are differences in search engines, there are bound to be different results depending on which engine you use.

1. The searcher types a query into a search engine.
2. Search engine software quickly sorts through literally millions of pages in its database to find matches to this query.

The search engine’s results are ranked in order of relevancy.

Are Search Engines and Directories The Same Thing?

Search engines and directories are not the same thing; although the term “search engine” often is used interchangeably. Search engines automatically create web site listings by using spiders that “crawl” web pages, index their information, and optimally follows that site’s links to other pages. Spiders return to already-crawled sites on a pretty regular basis in order to check for updates or changes, and everything that these spiders find goes into the search engine database.