PhotoSynth

The future is now. Photosynth 

iPhone-The Future Is In Your Hand

For my New Media presentation I chose to speak about the iPhone. This new wireless device has seemed to captivate audiences all over the world & is becoming the "must have of 2008," named the invention of the year by Time Magazine. For the first time you literally have the internet in your pocket. With the touch of your finger you can surf the web…check your e-mail…manage your contacts…listen to music…have visual voicemail…take pictures…record videos & much much more.

Internet Video

For my presentation on new media I chose to focus on internet video sites such as YouTube. My presentation is in blog form, so you can see that here.

Some of my favorite internet videos from various sites:

Jake and Derek's Road Trip 2: The Lost Footage (from YouTube)


Nick Swardson video making fun of druggies (from Super Deluxe)


Lasse Gjertsen edits video into music (from Dailymotion)


Jake and Amir - "Lyrics" (from Vimeo)

robots

I'm doing a presentation on robotics and military use. its not really media but it could be.

Listen to me!

When trying to decide on a new form of media to present, that has just taken off and become very popular, I immediately thought of YouTube. Not just the site itself, but some specific content that the website contains. It is the “self-promotion” of talent though homemade digital videos. This is not a very recent form of media, but I have noticed it getting very popular in recent years.

Most of the time these videos are filmed from built in computer cameras, or web cams mounted on the computer’s display. The “artist” in the video then introduces himself or herself, and begins singing to a karaoke track they have stored on their computer. Most of the time these singers are just starring blankly into their computer screens at their own image being filmed by the camera. They evoke emotion as if the song was their own, and as if they were performing for a live audience. However, much too often these home videos are of poor talent quality and potential, and to the artist’s surprise, the video actually becomes a worldwide form of comedic entertainment viewed by thousands made possible by the amazing YouTube.

Google Earth

Voyeurism is an old habit that has gained a considerable amount of popularity in recent years because of technology. Google Earth, an online map of the world, is quickly becoming an amazing resource for people around the globe. The concept of satellite images is nothing new, but making it available to the public is worth talking about.
Google Earth is a program for both Mac and PC that allows the user to “search” the globe. It’s possible to type in an address to see an aerial view of the location, zooming capabilities for close up shots or far away views to find directions, and a way to spend hours looking around. The feature that makes Google Earth an impressive program is its 3D capabilities. The view isn’t this flat image, but a 3D view of the world. Looking straight down into the Grand Canyon is an amazing sight, and looking straight down at people on the street is both fun and a tad bit creepy.
The peak of this program has yet to happen in my opinion. People are just beginning to take advantage of this amazing piece of software. Giant ads are being placed in desolate areas of the earth to promote various endeavors. The Simpson movie had crop circles of Homer and Maxim had a football field sized ad in the middle of the Nevada desert.
The future of this program is causing a lot of talk about National Security. The idea of being able to look down on the world is something exciting, but it may also be considered an invasion of privacy. Right now it’s only images, but in the future it’s very possible that we will be able to see the globe in video. It would be absolutely mind blowing to punch in coordinates and see live video of the earth, but is it appropriate? It’s an exciting thing to think about, but at some point we need to consider what is a useful piece of technology and what is necessary.

High Def Media...

No longer the realm of computer nerds and high budget film studios, high definition video has come to the masses. Advances in technology and mass production have lowered the price of HD capturing and viewing devices so much that the common consumer can be involved in this visual medium.

In fact, this past weekend I was involved in such an experience. The 48 Hour Film Festival came to Boston and I was on a team set to produce a short film in only 48 hours. We had the option to film in standard definition (480) for free, but opted for the HD camera (1080p) instead, investing some money for the upgrade. This was quite an experience, and the video looked crisp and clear, even while filming at night in the rain. Hopefully I will be able to show a clip of the film (in a compressed form however) during my presentation on this subject.

The image above is an example comparing HD to SD (Standard Definition) video. Its a frame from the movie, Terminator 2 : Judgement Day. The frame on the top is clearly the HD one, its crisp, undistorted image had much more detail than the SD frame below it. The color is more vibrant in the SD image, but not as realistic. The SD frame is stretched to fit into an aspect ratio foreign to the standard NTSC format. (I'm not sure what resolution the HD frame is in as the caption for the image was unclear)

The future of High Definition Television is looking bright, but who knows where it will take us. Maybe 3D is the next big leap?