I love football! “SAINTS”
These are the layout I created for the ‘Interactive Documentary on DVD/Website’.
It’s part of documentary treatment for my ‘Media Context’ assessment.

The Main

“Let’s follow”

“Introduction”

“History”

“Coach”

I will come back to this later….

The world has been changed pretty much and we are all looking forward to take more new media to make the life much more easier but I believe people should think what could the media can affects/harm in our lives.
As we know public and mass media, are very important to society to processing that create, distribute and share culture since the world has been and will be more convenience by making things possible for communication between societies and individuals but there are certain facts which makes a lot of gaps instead breaking gaps between any relationships who affected by taking new media technology. It makes a part between present generation and old generation. For example, present generations take more information and more in to mass media such as video games or computer which sources of entertainment most of their time, won’t be able to observe any real experience or try to have some conversation with anyone who dose not understand their own world with new generation who are laggards or non-adopters. Everyone is too busy with their work, getting more isolated as a group in a way.

However, the developments in media technologies will some day result in a society in which all its members are equal because in fact we do still have distinction as racial, color, gender and class. Even we try to believe that people are all equal but still we cannot deny the problem of distinction but since media technology came in our lives we can chat with all different kind of nationality without seeing each other and receive messages simultaneously at the same location as we call it public-private such as film at a theater, TV, radio, computer and so on. Media technology gave us high in social presence like personal, sociable and warm.

Media technology is a source of entertainment and education which gives us experiences without going out. Some students do not go to school to study. They can actually study by computer and be able to have their education. Later in the future, we would not need to go to school or go to office to work because anyone can do their works by using computer at home which means we won’t be able to communicate or social without seeing each other which could break down the distinction of racial, sex and color bar. Then, we all to be same no matter where you are from or who you are so, All the members would be equal in any society in the future.

In current decades, arts are developing rapidly and becoming significant in our lives. Regardless of whether it is a film, paintings, books or music performances, they are all highly promoted. Consequently, copyright is significant in our lives. It is a protection that covers published and unpublished literary, scientific and artistic works, whatever the form of expression, provided such works are fixed in a tangible or material form. As a general example, if anyone creates information or artwork, the copyright is very important. It has to be displayed because the copyright states the creator, and could come in the form of money if the creator sells the information in a book, CD, or subscription Internet service.

There are many copyright issues that we can find everywhere, in order to avoid such difficulties, it is important to be clear about matters at the beginning. For the first case, if my boss gives me a book published in the UK and required me to utilize pictures from the book for our new CD. Furthermore, I am asked to change the colours and the size of the pictures to fit with our logo. Fortunately, I know a person who is a friend of one of the authors. I asked her contact one of the authors and she responded that he is in Nepal trekking and that he wouldn’t mind because it’s free publicity. She said to just scan them out of the book and use them. In order to resolve this issue, I am to ensure my boss or company will contact the copyright owner of the book and request for rights to an Image Reproduction Licence. Ensuring both parties between author and publisher have a written agreement with their signatures. (The Arts Law Centre of Australia, 2004)

For example, If I am flat out editing and finishing my video production and the deadline is looming. Luckily an old friend is available to do the titles and some of the graphics for a reasonable rate. When it’s done through, I have a disagreement about money as it took him longer than expected and he thinks that he should get paid more, which I am unable to afford. To outline some alternative strategies, firstly is to avoid this problem in the first place by having a written contract agreement with that friend such as a Cast and Crew Agreement. (The Arts Law Centre of Australia, 2004) Stating terms such as the due date of the work and payments with signatures from both parties. This can be proved in any case rather than verbal contract agreement and avoid such problems.

Further example is the case of ‘fair use’ between Princeton University Press and Michigan Document Services, Inc. In this case, a photocopying service was sued for copyright infringement for making “coursepacks” for students at the University of Michigan. The coursepack is a compilation of readings chosen by a professor that are reproduced and bound together by a commercial copyshop. Although there is an arrangement available for the payment of copyright fees to publishers when reproducing materials in a coursepack, the copyshop in this case refused to pay such fees. The copyshop owner claimed that the creation of coursepacks for students was a fair use under the Copyright Act. The Sixth Circuit, in an en banc opinion, analysed the fair use factors and found that there was no fair use. (BitLaw Resource on Technology Law, 1996)

As you can tell now that, it is always safer to take the time and effort to contact the owner and request formal permission to use the owner’s work before copying their work or ideas in any events. It is very important that artists understand exactly what the terms of a contract are and what the other party or parties are required to do, what benefits they can expect to receive, and when they benefits are to be expected.

In eMerging Media class (week 12), we have discussed with Jenny (Betty Boo) about ‘realism’. Once the discussion began, I was wondering how does one tell what is realism or not? How and what does ‘realism’ mean nowadays anyway? Although documentary filmmakers go through the similar process of ‘the use of voice over commentaries’, ‘recorded interviews’ and ‘visual evidence via location shots’….but it is not just about doing these process anymore, it is much more than showing the real footages because documentary could be a total imagination / fiction, ‘what if’ and ‘it could/might’ situations.
I suppose it could be a tricky concept to define since the perception of realism is fading and changing whilst new technology emerges. But it could be simple too, as I started asking myself some questions from the viewer’s point of view. Firstly, what is media ‘realism/reality’ these days and do filmmakers tell the truth entirely on their documentaries without considering what they want the viewers to see? I feel that documentaries are subjected to individual perceptions.

For example, the film “Walking with dinosaur” which Jenny showed us in the first week and is entirely animated as an illusory film but still is considered as a documentary. Why is that? Is it because it could have happened in the way that was shown? Is it not realism as it is based on computer graphics as an animation file? Who actually decide/judge what realism is? Do we want to believe the realism? Again, it always comes down to the viewers’ point of view if it’s real or not, they will always have their own individual opinions.
Jenny asked us if these films “Troy” and “Passion of the Christ” are considered as documentaries. I would say that to a certain extend, they could be considered as documentaries, because the stories origins from parts of the history and myth.

As a media production student, I am aware of the possibilities of new technologies capabilities, and with these; it is possible for filmmakers to create their imagination of ‘what if’ situations with all the animations and effects to present it to the real world. No longer would thoughts be just that, we are no longer bounded by the restrictions of the physical world. But, on the other hands, as we all know documentaries could be easily controlled and manipulated by media technologies which could create the wrong realism to the viewers, then perhaps the viewers nowadays are more caution on what they see and if to believe it or not. In the world we live in, it seems that we are increasing concerned about ‘marketing’. It is imperative to attract as much viewers as possible. “Whatever sells more”, that’s all that matters nowadays? Does the artistic values still exists in our lives?
Frankly, I don’t accept that it is true realism in documentaries especially nowadays, since the technology had developed incredibly quickly to the point where we can simply fake things to look real to the audience and make them to believe that it is real. Of course, I do acknowledge there are some real documentaries which are truly based on true stories and original footage but eventually all these footages would be edited and directed by someone who makes the documentary. So can we call documentaries as realism?

Looking back, we can see that in many ways, the world has been changed a lot since new communication technology exists in our lives. They are linked to power relations existing in society at large, with reference to gender, class, age, geographic region and education and so on…

New technologies were only for loaded people or who were important so, people used to have a frame as “rich people” who had communication technology computer. We still can tell these days but not as much as before. New communication computer is very attached with everyone and it does not matter the age and rich or poor anymore. I am not a fiminist or anything but men used to believe in distinction between man and woman which is really ridiculous. Man used be the first to know and first to do and still some people think there are big difference between man and woman but the world is getting change to give lots of chances to female to prove themselves that female can do as man do. People used to believed that males always better than females in many ways especially with computer and boys are more interested because they have more opportunity, and that they have more opportunity because they are more interested but the developments of media technology computer have made the woman to be involved with man and it is the same for both sexes in society.

For example, I used to live in Kuwait for almost 10 years. When I first visit Kuwait about 13 years ago, most typical Kuwaiti women were warped up with hejab and abiya (a scarf to cover their hair/body) and just stay at home to take care of their children and family and they did not have that much time to learn about computer. Basically woman did not have any clue how to use any technologies. Women should not know as much as man know about computer because man get afraid women would be equal or know more about computer than men and not be able to listen what man say. Not only that since anyone could chat with people, men got very strict to make sure their wives do not chat with people. Woman should obey whatever men say but these days even in Kuwait, women are very educated and work the way men do especially after the invasion, men realized that they need help from women and also women proved that they could do it. Kuwait has become americanised as a free country and it is astonishing how technologies can change the way people think. How incredible is that! The power of the mass media technology!

Women have improved a lot since media technology get close to them day by day. Everything got involved with computer and everything should be done by computer such as schools, companies, shops, games, entertainments and so on. Some people might think that Arab country is very slow and still in old generation but these days, such mentality has been changed a lot for gender problems even though they are slow in taking new generation. Now, most of people in the world, they have computers and they can do many things by using computer. For example, we can have emails to have contact whoever we want, chat, check news, weather, economics, banking, groceries, shopping, and games and so on. The computer can be covered from problems such as gender, racial practices and class distinction. By using computer, we can chat with different kind of people without knowing other’s privacy. Some people could lie or pretend whatever they wish to be. Also computer could be used as punishment. For example, some parent say to their child not to use computer because they did not do homework or did not improve their work.

“The higher computer knowledge of young children over those of adults creates a dilemma for parents. On the one hand, parents are anxious that their children have the best training in the use of computers and other new technologies in order to obtain lucrative employment in the future. On the other hand, parents fear their children’s ability to get involved in hacking or accessing adult information from the internet or becoming victims to paedophiles or other criminal elements” (Marshall, ‘Technolophobia: Video games, computer hacks and cybernetics. Media International Australia’, 1997, pp.77-78). These days’ parents are getting afraid since computer became too close in our life and new generations are more involved with new technologies day by day. For example, when I visit South Korea I met many kinds who are only 6 or 7 but they are really good in computer and possibly better than adults. The parents are always checking and after them to see what they are doing with computer because they do not want their child to go to a wrong website. And most of the websites are protected under-aged persons by checking their identifications before login in.

“In simplest terms, a glass of water can be framed as ‘half full’ or ‘half empty’. These frames shape the way we look at the situation and indicate our feeling about it. The discourse that frames technology as beneficial to society but also discourse that frames technology as giving rise to losses, their risks or the harms it may bring to society or to various groups. It is linked to the Pessimistic View of Technology.”(Dicken-Garcia, ‘The Internet and continuing historical discourse’, 1998, pp19-27).

The disadvantages brought along with this rapid growing technology cannot be ignored since they influence not just our own lives, but society as a whole. Moreover, discourse about a technology can be framed from the individual, institutional, and society perspective. Also, depend how the people gets good things out of the computer and how to use it in a right way. We should be ready to take more new technology but also we should think about the fact that new technology can harm our life. So, we should think how the new technology computer in all different angles to avoid problems instead only taking new technologies.