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Volume 3 Number 18
• On The Desktop • Feature Article • TechNews • JobsNW |
On The Desktop is devoted to information of specific 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. One of the more annoying problems with logging onto the Internet these days is picking up a spyware infection. The Federal Trade Commission suggests that you look for signs that your computer has been infected. These include:
Spyware is a program that surreptitiously monitors your actions. While such a program is sometimes sinister, like a remote control program used by a hacker, software companies have been known to use spyware to gather data about customers. Spyware infections have been primarily limited to those who use Microsoft's Internet Explorer. But now, according to a November 30th NewsScan story, a new bug makes vulnerable other browsers such as "... Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Apple Safari. This latest bug, called the Infinite Array Sort Denial of Service Vulnerability, causes the affected browsers to execute an infinite JavaScript array sort, which in turn causes a crash." The Federal Trade Commission suggests that you update your operating system and browser which may include free software "patches" to fix vulnerabilities. The Commission also recommends:
Other News Converse Gallery Features Creativity. Check out the wide selection of 24-second films that have been produced by indie film makers at the Converse Gallery. This is a delightful online site of micromovie commercials contributed by individuals that who may eventually win up to $10,000. Submissions are still being accepted. Finding Creative Ideas in Advertising. AdForum.com’s creative library, AdFolio, includes over 38,000 ads from around the world. Thousands of professional marketers and advertisers use it every day as a source of inspiration, to stay on top of the world’s best work, to keep an eye on the competition and to meet their other research/monitoring needs. Top 10 Animated Cartoons for Children's Rights. UNICEF has just released the 'Top 10 Cartoons for Children's Rights', as selected by polling broadcasters and communicators, to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Why We Miss Our Errors. The ability to write clearly is a skill anyone working in multimedia needs to master. We are often asked to write the textual content for a web site, a script for a video, or the text for a print advertisement. Yet, we all make mistakes when it comes to spelling words or inserting typos that get overlooked. The saying that a second pair of eyes is essential in writing for publication is very true. That is why we have copy editors. Exhibit Site Benefits Designers. Everyone in the world of exhibit design and "hands-on" learning will benefit from a online visit to the homepage of the British Interactive Group (BIG). Visitors to the site can learn about a host of "best practice" techniques in the field of exhibit and museum design, along with information about recent case studies and relevant research that examines various interactive designs in detail. The core area that contains most of the content is the "Knowledge base" area of the site. Here visitors can peruse articles that detail basic exhibit building "rules of thumb", visitor interactions with computer exhibits, and information on designing flow patterns through exhibits. The group's online newsletter is also a real find, as visitors can learn about current developments in the field and learn about new initiatives by various institutions in the arena of exhibit design. Source: Scout Report. Flash Video. The current issue of "The Edge Newsletter from Macromedia has an interesting article about the use of flash video by Julie Campagna. The article notes that from car manufacturers to mega media corporations, companies large and small are using Flash Video to deliver immersive, effective, and entertaining experiences. Get inspired. Of particular interest is the use of flash by Volvo - the Swedish car company. Take a look at that organization's discussion about their use of this medium and then check out the actual Volvo web site. Finally, read Julie Campagna's article for more information about Flash video. The Return of Local Media - Time to Repair a Broken Broadcast System. The Brennan Center's Free Expression Policy Project and the Consumer Federation of America has issued an important statement to the FCC on media localism to coincide with an election that may decide the fate of media ownership for years to come.
Read Full Document (PDF) When Good Technology Means Bad Teaching. Technology is a double edged sword: it can help cut through gordian knots of student confusion. But a recent article in the Chronicle for Higher Education suggests, gadgets without training and effective use can do more harm than good in the classroom. Educators and trainers are encouraged to read the article. Read Full Article. Ref. JQ Johnson. UO CET. Ben's Game. Throughout Ben Duskin's battle with Leukemia, he played computer games, which helped him get through the treatment process. He also began to think about the need to have something positive that helped other kids battle their illnesses. So when Make-A-Wish approached him to grant his wish, he decided to design a video game that would be helpful for kids like him who have cancer -- a way to fight back and relieve some of the pain and stress involved with treatment. This free game can be downloaded Ben's Game from the Make-A-Wish web site Three health levels serve as ammunition in the game: Winners and Nominees. Nominations announced for the 2004 British Academy Children's Film and Television Awards in association with the LEGO Company have been made. QuickTime Developer Series. Learn how to harness the powerful capabilities of QuickTime for your own projects with two new books from Morgan Kaufmann's QuickTime Developer Series. "QuickTime Toolkit Volume One: Basic Movie Playback and Media Types" introduces programmers to working with QuickTime. This hands-on guide shows you how to open or display QuickTime movies in Macintosh or Windows applications, control movie playback and import and transform movies and images. The book also covers how to create movies with video data, text, time codes, sprites and interactive elements. "QuickTime Toolkit Volume Two: Advanced Movie Playback and Media Types" covers advanced types of QuickTime media data, including video effects, Flash tracks and skins. Discover how to capture audio and video data, broadcast that data to remote computers, play movies full-screen and load movies asynchronously. Source QuickTime News June 25, 2004 Young Video Producer Finds Market for a Dance Idea. India-born Debdoot Das is the director of the highest-selling dance video on Amazon.com. His "The Quick and Dirty Guide to Salsa" is an example of using today's prosumer digital tools to create a marketable product. His work has been so successful that it has lead to distribution deals with Navarre and NetFlix. "I had a heavy dose of cinema growing up," says India-born Debdoot Das. "I wrote my first script when I was 11. Living in central Calcutta, which has a really old film industry, everyone knew me. I was a curiosity. To humor me the movie people gave me strips of negatives to play with. People used to say, 'One day you will be a great filmmaker.'" So it wasn't mere fancy for the movie-loving son of a photographer and nephew of a well-known actress to imagine himself directing his own feature. It is slightly more improbable that what has brought Das within reach of his dream is the unexpected success of his dance instruction video, "The Quick and Dirty Guide to Salsa." Read more about how Das made this highly successful entry into the home video market. Documentary about The Inventor of the Synthesizer Released. Inventor of the modern synthesizer, Robert Moog continues to shape musical culture with some of the most inspiring electronic instruments ever created. " MOOG," the film, takes you inside the mind of this legendary figure as he shares his ideas about creativity, design, interactivity and spirituality. Check out the trailer for " MOOG," in theaters now. Source: Apple Newsletter. OneMinutesJr Award 2004. Fourteen films were nominated for the OneMinutesJr Award 2004. The pre-selection was done by the BBC (UK) and SVT (Sweden), the jury for the final selection consisted of three people: Two young filmmakers - Ellada Kiryakulova from Azerbaijan & Bektour Sydykov from Kyrgyzstan - and the Hungarian filmmaker Moldovanyi Ferenc. The winners were announced at the OneMinutesJr Award in Amsterdam, NL, on Sunday, November 21st, 2004 - here are the nominees and winners ( CATEGORY "BEST OF THE WORLD"
CATEGORY "INSIDE - OUT" (on social inclusion) Information Site About Careers In Film and Video. The film industry web site, FilmFetish.com, has launched a film resource section geared towards young people interested in careers in the film and television industries. The main goal of this project is to encourage young people who enjoy the cinema, but don't have any direction or adequate information on the industry, to be able to make an informed decision whether they should consider a career in media, and to provide them with information on the types of positions that exist, above and beyond the obvious." The resource section provides information about the many career choices in the industry, their functions and training requirements. The website will also be posting interviews with actors, producers, cameramen, DP's and other professionals in the coming weeks. There are also links to organizations that provide youth with opportunities to learn about the filmmaking process and work on their own film projects around the United States and abroad. Professionals and film school students can also find links to corporations and non-profit groups that fund independent film projects.
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