Volume 4 Number 7
July 1, 2005


• Up Front

• On The Desktop

• Feature Article

• Random Links

• Site Visit

• Opportunities

• Events Calendar

• Career Guides

• JobsNW

• Resources

• Service Directory

• Lighter Side

• Eugene Indie

• PN Archives
•• Past Issues
•• Feature Pages
•• Random Links

• Proscenia Website
ON THE DESKTOP

On The Desktop is devoted to information of interest to those working in the fields of TV, Film, and Multimedia. It includes commentary, news, tips, publication links, announcements, and other resources that have recently come across the editor's desktop.

SOUND BITES: NEWS AND INFORMATION


Not long left for cassette tapes. (BBC News) From its creation in the 1960s through to its peak of popularity in the 1980s, the cassette has been a part of music culture for 40 years. However, the cassette's reign now seems to be over.
   "Cassette albums have declined quite significantly since their peak in 1989 when they were selling 83 million units in the UK," Matt Phillips of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) told BBC World Service's The Music Biz programme.
   With the US's largest magnetic tape factory ceasing production earlier this year, there are fears that even if cassettes are wanted in future, there will no longer be anything to wrap around the spools. Read Full Story.

Google Adds Video-Viewing Channel. (Chicago Tribune). Google Inc. has added a video-viewing channel to its popular Internet-leading search engine. This provides online users with yet one more way to access online media.
   To watch any of the professional and amateur videos will require free 1megabyte software that Google provides at videolgoogle.com. This is streaming video which requires the viewer to use either Internet Explorer or Firefox Web browsers for now.
   Watching the amateur and professional videos in Google's index requires free software available at http://video.google.com. The software, about 1 megabyte in size, won't do anything except stream Google's videos through the Internet Explorer or Firefox Web browsers.

Tapping into China's online gamers. (BBC News) Representatives from the games industry taking part in a conference in London this week heard that more than 20 million Chinese were playing games and the number was rising fast.
    China is set for a big explosion in spending on entertainment, largely fuelled by online sales of video games, a report this week predicted. Last year, Chinese players spent almost US$500m on online games.
   The amount of money being spent on games has led to a sea change in the attitude of officials, who used to see games as similar to gambling and laziness.
   "The government is encouraging and supporting the development of online games," said Sunray Zhaohui Liu, President of the Beijing-based New Synergy Consulting firm.
   The authorities are hoping to attract more foreign investment in games by hosting a two-day games conference in September in Beijing. Read Full Story.

Online in China. (BBC News) There are 100 million net users in China of which about 30 million have broadband. Mobile phone usage is also on the rise, gaining about 60 million new users each year.
   There are now 358 million mobile phone users in China and it makes up 44.6% of China's telecom busines.

Ergo Factoid. (Ergonian) To reduce eye strain, raise the refresh rate on your computer.  This reduces flickering that  may cause eye strain and headaches. To change this, go to control panel, display, and settings. Then click on “advanced”, then “monitor” and there will be a drop down box with different rates to choose from.  Choose a rate above 60.  Click OK until you are done. Source: May 2005 "Ergonian" newsletter (SAIF Corporation the Oregon compensation insurer). 

Micah Lexier’s new photo series explores what a decade looks like. (CBC News) Artist Micah Lexier was born and raised in Winnipeg, but for the past few years, he’s been living in New York. Currently staying with his parents in his childhood home in the Winnipeg suburb of River Heights, the 44-year-old artist is struck by the contradictory impression — common to people visiting their hometowns — that things are at once similar and different.
    "You come back and you really see the changes in people because you’re seeing them after these long increments of time," says Lexier.
    His latest Winnipeg-based project seems to echo his can’t-go-home-again experience. David: Then & Now is a photography exhibition that marks increments of time in a very intimate way: by recording the way the passing years are marked onto our bodies. Sponsored by Plug In ICA (Winnipeg’s Institute of Contemporary Art), the public art project features black-and-white before-and-after photos of men named David, placed in bus shelters around the city. In each case, a life-size photograph taken in 1993 is matched with another taken 10 years later. Don't expect any Fox TV extreme makeovers, though: there is a continuity here that is gently reassuring. Read Full Story.

Freedom and Empowerment: An Essay on the Next Step for Education and Technology.(Innovate - June/July 2005) James Shimabukuro's writes a thought-provoking essay arguing that once advanced technologies have fully liberated us from the constraints of time and place, students will turn not to a single teacher, but to a partnership of learning advisors, paraprofessional monitors, and peer tutors to reach their academic goals. Marc Prensky contents that cell phones, which are portable, powerful, and already in the hands of millions of students, are well equipped to assist student development once educators grasp their significance as learning tools. Read Article Innovate. Free subscription required.

Your ISP as Net Watchdog. <CNET News.com>The U.S. Department of Justice is quietly shopping around the explosive idea of requiring Internet service providers to retain records of their customers' online activities.
    Data retention rules could permit police to obtain records of e-mail chatter, Web browsing or chat-room activity months after Internet providers ordinarily would have deleted the logs--that is, if logs were ever kept in the first place. No U.S. law currently mandates that such logs be kept.
   In theory, at least, data retention could permit successful criminal and terrorism prosecutions that otherwise would have failed because of insufficient evidence. But privacy worries and questions about the practicality of assembling massive databases of customer behavior have caused a similar proposal to stall in Europe and could engender stiff opposition domestically.
   In Europe, the Council of Justice and Home Affairs ministers say logs must be kept for between one and three years. One U.S. industry representative, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Justice Department is interested in at least a two-month requirement.
   Justice Department officials endorsed the concept at a private meeting with Internet service providers and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, according to interviews with multiple people who were present. The meeting took place on April 27 at the Holiday Inn Select in Alexandria, Va. Read Full Story.

Andres Tapia-Urzua Interview. (Braintrustdv.com) Andres Tapia-Urzua is a video artist and event organizer whose motivating ideology developed under a totalitarian military government in Chile, where video was by necessity used as a tool of popular dissent. As co-director and co-editor of "When Video Came," he is also committed to the memory of the arrival of video technology as a medium of artistic expression in the U.S. With the advantages of being both a guerrilla video artist and a historian with academic affiliation, Tapia-Urzua has a complex, well-informed, and provocative sensibility.
   "I also think that the so-called self-taught moviemakers of today have a huge advantage over the videographers from the seventies because video is not a new tool anymore, and their exposure to the moviemaking process has been significantly more sophisticated. Although I have the feeling that since everyone is individually covering almost every aspect of production now, there is a lack of individuals dedicated to the details of the craft--'experts' in the fields of lighting, sound, photography, etc. So within this general knowledge of the process one has to find his expertise." Read the Tapia-Urzua interview online. Also see: Electronic Revolution.

Touring Mars in 3D (Apple News) Mars may be 300 million miles away, but you don't have to go there to, um, go there. At the Science Museum of Minnesota, you can take in Mars
and its eerie red beauty in the world's first high-definition, digital 3D theater that carries you right onto the planet's surface.
      The solar system premiere of "Mars 3D," produced by the Science Museum of Minnesota and Twist--a video production house based in Minneapolis, Minnesota--provides a stunningly realistic journey to Earth's closest neighbor. It's based on 3D images captured by NASA's two roving robotic geologists--Spirit and Opportunity--in one of humanity's most dramatic
interplanetary expeditions. Read more about "Mars 3D" and watch the trailer: Apple Background Story or Science Museum of Minnesota.

Interview: Gabriel Diamond of Youth Sounds Factory. With youth-oriented digital video production programs thriving all over the world, how could any one of them be singled out for its approach and achievements? It was precisely the flaccid and unchallenging nature of some of these programs that spurred Youth Sounds Factory founder Gabriel Diamond to start an "elite" program for underprivileged teens in inner-city Oakland, California. Two recent successes have validated his methods: the Factory project "Inertia" won an award at the 2005 San Francisco International Film Festival, and another Factory project, the epic "Elements," led to an opportunity for the Factory to produce an original series for UPN.
    In the following interview, Diamond articulates his frustration with other programs of this sort, and three original Factory inductees talk about independent video production vis-à-vis major film schools, spoken word, hip-hop, and the mainstream media's ubiquitous depictions of drugs and violence in the inner city.
   Due to its dynamic nature, this interview is presented in video format only. Conceived and conducted in a manner inspired by its subject, the interview contains excerpts of award-winning projects completed by the Youth Sounds Factory. Watch the Factory interview at Braintrustdv.com. (Requires RealOne Player and at least DSL to access).

Follow The Rules. (Parade Magazine) Author Lynn Brenner in her Parade Magazine article, "How To Land Your First Job," provides six tips to make yourself more appealing to a potential employer:

  • Record a new voicemail greeting and replace that college hipster message with your full name and the traditional, "Please leave a message. I'll return your call as soon as possible.
  • Change your e-mail address if you have a cute one like snugbunny@happyday.com. Create one that includes your name such as gsmith@fastservice.com
  • Proofread your e-mail correspondence and use a spell checker. Use the same rules of grammer as if you were writing a letter on paper.
  • Keep your cell phone off during a job interview.
  • Address the interviewer by Mr. or Ms. unless asked to use his or her first name.
  • Be conservative in your style of dress. This includes wearing shoes and not sandels even if the company is laid back.
  • Send thank-you letters after interviews. This option is one lost on most of the younger generation - but can do wonders for reminding interviewers who you were.

What Can You Learn From A Cell Phone? Most Anything. (Innovate - June/July 2005) Like cell phones, weblogs have obvious social uses and less appreciated educational applications. Drawing on pedagogical theory and personal practice, Stuart Glogoff documents the ways in which blogging can build community, enhance knowledge construction, and increase interactivity in both online and hybrid courses.Read Article Innovate. Free subscription required.

Thousands of Pupils Bullied by Camera Phone. (The Guardian June 7, 2005) Thousands of secondary school pupils are the victims of a new wave of bullying by camera phone. Research by the children's charity NCH revealed that of 11- to 19-year-olds surveyed one in 10 have felt threatened or embarrassed by pictures taken using mobile phones .
    The most extreme example of the dangers came to light in Dublin when a girl in school uniform allowed her boyfriend to take an intimate picture of her on his camera phone. The boy texted the image to two friends, who passed it on to others. "Within two hours police reckoned 10,000 phones received the picture. It was not intended as bullying, but the distress to the girl was immense." Read Full Article.

Creating Effective Web-Based Learning Environments: Relevant Research and Practive. (Innovate - June/July 2005) New technology tools and practices are exciting on their own, but making them work within Web-based course management systems is often a challenge. Kay Wijekumar focuses on the best ways to design and conduct an online course with such constraints--and proposes software changes that would make CMSs more effective and user friendly. Read Article. Free subscription required.

Lifetime Achievement Honoree Al Gore. Former Vice President Al Gore finally
got credit for the pivotal role he played in the development of the internet.
      At the 9th Annual Webby Awards in New York City, Gore was greeted with a standing ovation by more than 550 industry leaders as Vint Cerf, one of the inventors of the internet, presented him the Webby Lifetime Achievement Award.
      Like all winners, Gore kept his remarks within the Webbys’ famous
five-word speech limit. "Please don’t recount this vote," deadpanned Gore, as the room
erupted in laughter and applause. Review all the winners for the 9th Annual Webby Awards at Online.

READING RESOUCES

New books announced by Duke University Press. Three new book releases from the Duke University Press may be of interest to readers.

  • Cultures in Orbit: Satellites and the Televisual. By Lisa Parks. This volume illuminates the many uses of satellites to suggest that understandings of television must be expanded to encompass practices of military monitoring and scientific observation as well as commercial entertainment and public broadcasting.
  • Todd Haynes:A Magnificent Obsession. This special issue of Camera Obscura considers the work of filmmaker Todd Haynes whose work includes Far from Heaven, Safe, Poison, Dottie Gets Spanked, and Velvet Goldmine.
  • Regarding Frank Capra Audience, Celebrity, and American Film Studies, 1930-1960 by Eric Smoodin. In this innovative historical examination of the American movie audience, Eric Smoodin focuses on reactions to the films of Frank Capra. Based on his analysis of the reception of a broad range of Capra’s films-- Hollywood features, educational films, military films, and documentaries-- Smoodin considers the preferences and attitudes toward Hollywood of the people who watched movies during the “Golden Age” of studio production, from 1930 to 1960.

Free Books On Computers, Technology and Education. Dr. David Moursund, Professor Emeritus continues to make available free via the Internet, his past and recent books for educators and other interested in educational technology. The following books, along with a number of other books by Dave Moursund are available on his web site.

JUST SAY YES! YES! an award-winning, ad-free national journal filled with inspiring stories of individuals and communities engaged in creating a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world, offers a free one-year introductory subscription for teachers. YES! includes teachers' and students' inspiring case studies of positive alternatives and practical solutions to a broad range of profound environmental and social-justice challenges. It includes profiles of everyday heroes who are making a real difference in their communities and the world, inspirational interviews and features, and a take-action resource guide in every issue and online at www.yesmagazine.org.

SOFTWARE NOTES

Creating a Shot List with TOKI Shot. (Apple.com) A shareware tool for creating shot lists, it can be used for breaking down movies, TV films, documentaries, TV series, etc. It is a tool for picture and sound editors, music editors and musicians. It allows the user to:

  • create an automatic shot list starting from a cut film, each shot will have a start and end time code and a shot length
  • modify the shot list to add scene names and shot descriptions
  • export the shot list to music software (e.g., Logic Pro, Protools, Cubase, etc.,) using MIDI or sampled sound files
  • export the shot list to picture editing software (e.g. Final Cut Pro, Avid, etc.) using EDL files
  • export the shot list to databases or word processors using formatted text files

Benefits: Making a shot list is usually a long and tedious process, but it is an essential prerequisite for cutting sound tracks of movies. By creating a shot list automatically, this long and tedious process becomes a quick and easy task. TOKI Shot allows sound editors and musicians to save hours of tedious work, which can then be spent on creative work. Read More.

ClipStoryBoard (Apple) ClipStoryBoard helps to organize the production of a video in a visual way. ClipStoryBoard is born from Alberto Pian’s video experience. He is a secondary school teacher of Italian Literature and History. He also teaches and helps his students and other teachers to produce videos in class.
- You can use ClipStoryBoard to create some structures of story-telling.
- You can use Clip Board Story to edit a video.
- You can use ClipStoryBoard to dismantle some existing narrative structures.

StudioLine Photo Basic 2.8.8. As summer begins in earnest across the United States, people have already begun getting out their cameras to record their experiences for future generations. One tool that will help such individuals keep these photos organized online is StudioLine Photo Basic 2.8.8. This application allows users to build a Web gallery of up to 200 images, and its attractive interface allows users to edit several photos at the same time. Users can also use the application to send the images via email. This version is compatible with Windows 98 or newer. The Scout Report.

DSL Web Hosting 2.02. For many computer users, there continues to be significant interest in running their own built-in Web server. Fortunately, there is this free DNS client program that allows users to run their own Web hosting service from home on a DSL connection with a dynamic IP address. Utilizing this service, other Internet users can type in the domain as well. This version of DSL Web Hosting 2.02 is compatible with Windows 95 or newer. The Scout Report.

MakingMusic. This is an ongoing freeware project, with new instruments being added to the database as the research progresses. Each time you launch the application you may find you have access to different amounts of information. The aim of the project is to form a comprehensive database of musical instruments, the criteria being anything from any culture or any age that is used to make music. This may take some time!
    If you would like to submit an instrument to the database please email the details by using the link in the application ‘Help’ menu.
   What’s New in this Version
- Provides a necessary update to the database server (the database now resides on my idisk)
- Adds back & forward history navigation.
- Links update, also adds http links.
- Contains 328 musical instruments & climbing!

 

FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT

MacYiKing (Apple) The I Ching (pronounce Yi King) is an ancient oracular text. A concise translation was made in 1920s.
      Explore the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching. Click on individual lines or use scroll bars to change the hexgram. Use this program to look up the meaning of a divination using your own coin based approach.
      Many intelligent and professional people find inspiration from consulting the I Ching.
The software is offered free. Users of the software are humbly asked to purchase a book relating to ancient eastern wisdom from my affiliated links. Download.

Introducing: The new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device, trade-named -- BOOK. This fun item seems to be making it around the internet. I've traced it to many web sources but have not found an author.

BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use, even a child can operate it.
    Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere -- even sitting in an armchair by the fire -- yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.
   Here's how it works:

BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information. The pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.
    Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs. Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now, BOOKS with more information simply use more pages. Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain. A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.

BOOK may be taken up at any time and used merely by opening it.

BOOK never crashes or requires rebooting, though, like other devices, it can become damaged if coffee is spilled on it and it becomes unusable if dropped too many times on a hard surface. The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish. Many come with an "index" feature, which pin-points the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.
    An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session -- even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers. Conversely, numerous BOOK markers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK. You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with optional programming tools, Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Styli (PENCILS).
   The media is ideal for long term archive use; several field trials have proven that the media will still be readable in several centuries, and because of its simple user interface it will be compatible with future reading devices.
   Portable, durable, and affordable, BOOK is being hailed as a precursor of a new entertainment wave. BOOK's appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform and investors are reportedly flocking to invest. Look for a flood of new titles soon.

"City of New Orleans" video. (Apple Quicktime news) Here's another fun item and a trip down memory lane. Available on home video for the first time, "Ridin' the Rails" is a nostalgic look at the history of the American railroad through the song and story of the legendary Johnny Cash in 1974. Reenactments of historic railroading moments are movingly narrated by Cash and superbly embellished by his music. Enjoy the video for "City of New Orleans."