Review of Friday 30th 2010

Today i worked on my flash drag and drop game, i now have the second level 'half' working with the 'HittestObject' function tracing the contact between the Asteroids and the Spaceship.

Todays lesson:

• Hourly rate of a Website designer (Average of around £50) - Student hourly rates will be very low. (£5/h)
• Target Audience - Class, Race, Religion, Age, Minority, Sex/Sexuality
• Deadlines
• The term 'amature' defines itself as meaning work with no pay (i.e Student)
• Budget

One thing that stood out today that I have learned is that if i get the oportunity to work on a project for a client then after my pitch the first thing to do is find out what the clients spesifications are for their product, next is to find the demographic and apply ideas to work with the set project. After the budget is setteled (Depending on my qualification or previous work efforts) i can haggle a hourly rate.

Product brief for new product – ‘Nexus Prime’

The task required includes with the designing of the advertising entities for Google ©.  The estimated time for completion of the promotional propaganda will fit in-between 3 – 4 weeks.

A scheduled list of advertisement techniques should be accomplished:

·         Television Adverts

·         Bus Stop Posters

·         Magazine Adverts

·         Mobile Ads (Angry Birds Example - http://bit.ly/o31fp8)

·         Cinema Adverts

·         YouTube Adverts

To promote this new device, images will be provided that can be manipulated within the designated guidelines. All images are regulated to Attribution-NoDerivs CC BY-ND

Specification of ‘Nexus Prime’

·         Super AMOLED

·         720 x 1280 pixels

·         Android (4.0)

·         Dual core, TI OMAP4460, 1500 MHz

·         1024 MB RAM

·         8 megapixels

·         1920x1080 Video (1080p HD)

·         NFC Technology

·         Bluetooth 3.0

Regarding the above description the product advertisement may include some/all of the specification within the promotion.

Logo construction

Based upon the initial design (See Fig.2) for the ‘Nexus Prime’ logo – part of the required advertisements include a re-design. Also remember to keep the theme of the ‘Nexus’ with the strong colours of Blue, Red, Green, and Yellow. (In that descending order)



(Features that the next generation Google Nexus phone must have – See Fig.1)

Fig.1

Fig.2



 

//Circle
var mc2:MovieClip= new MovieClip();
mc2.graphics.beginFill (0xFF3399FF);
mc2.graphics.drawCircle(0,0,100);
mc2.graphics.endFill();
mc2.x=100;
mc2.y=100;
addChild(mc2);
//Square
var mc:MovieClip= new MovieClip();
mc.graphics.beginFill (0xFF999999);
mc.graphics.drawRect(-25,-25,200,100);
mc.graphics.endFill();
mc.x=60;
mc.y=60;
addChild(mc);
//Drag and Drop
mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, pickupObject);
 mc.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, dropObject);

mc2.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_DOWN, pickupObject);
 mc2.addEventListener(MouseEvent.MOUSE_UP, dropObject);

  function pickupObject(event:MouseEvent):void {
            event.target.startDrag(true);
           }
     function dropObject(event:MouseEvent):void {
            event.target.stopDrag();
            }
  
//Import image
var ym:YourMum = new YourMum(100,100);
var myImage:Bitmap = new Bitmap(ym);
addChild(myImage);
setChildIndex(myImage,0);
//Scale down
//myImage.scaleX = 0.5;
//myImage.scaleY = 0.5;
//Import MovieClip
var Tt:Test = new Test;
addChild(Tt);


- Just something we did today.

Interactive Media Jobs

http://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/uk/interactive%20media.do

Search the website and find three jobs that you like the look of.

1) Photoshop

2) Flash

3) Developer

From my own experience I can define the use of each job title:

Photoshop requires the ability to understand the idea of 'layers' so that the maximum workload can be accomplished. Also, skills in applying effects to photographs and have the ability to; mask; misinterpret images; change brightness & contrast and fluctuate the appearance of any property.

Flash uses similar techniques as the skills needed in Photoshop; the idea of layers. Motion tweening is a key must in this area as it can be used for great out-comes if used correctly and professionally. A new type of coding language is an even larger must have ability as Flash uses ActionScript 1, 2 and 3. Actionscript 3 is a professional coding language that can be used for great effects.

The title of a Developer defines itself as being a hard labor-intensive, work-ethic based character. Many hours are used plugged into the computer generating command lines so that the framework of a game, (mobile) application can function. Skills in GLBasic; JavaScript or C ++ will give a boost to the options available.

Salary

Photoshop = £17,000 - £35,000

Flash = £27,000 - £40,000

Developer = £32,000 - £57,000

Qualifications / skills / experience

All of the job titles require computer savvy people - With a strong interest and passion for modern art and design. One must be at ease with the Adobe Workshop Applications and have a general knowledge of how to understand the ethics of coding.

What is a job agency and how do they make their money?

A recruitment agency in the UK will locate positions for people looking for jobs advertised by employers, sending them out for interviews and helping them with all of the preparation, i.e CV's and personal statements. Basically doing the hard part. But at a cost; most UK Job Agencies make their money by charging a percentage of what their clients earn. For example, if a client is recruited by a Job Agency and begins working on a salary of £20,000 per year, the agency may charge 10% of this.

Explain what is meant by 'Permanent' and 'Contract'

Depending on what job is chosen there will be a difference in what each job suffices. Permanent and Contract work. With a permanent job the position is protected from cancellation unless the company goes bankrupt. With a contract job the position only usually lasts for around a month and is very unreliable but the upside is that the salary can be almost doubled compared to permanent job contract.

Other helpful links

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/jobs/sports-interactive/

http://www.skillset.org/interactive/careers/

Besides advertisements, how else might you meet potential employers?

Personally from my own experience I was referred to local design company from a work placement at school, having the power of the Dorset County Council behind you really helps, but there are other ways as well.

Just get out there - print off hundreds of CV's and give them to every company that you have an interest with, also knowing the right people does help - regardless of what some may say; pester people; ask around because someone will have a opportunity available. Having a interesting and fulfilling CV will help an enormous amount, involve yourself with charity work as employers like this. Creating your own portfolio type website can help present your own work and is a great way to show off your personality and interests - as well as your ability and skills in the subject area of your choice. This is a modern way of showing off your abilities and will be noticed by potential clients and employers, this technique also proves the ability of understanding the modern era.

Trade fairs and shows are also an amazing opportunity to get up close and talk directly to employers all in one place. There you will be able to discuss what work could be available and whether your skills are up to the standard requirements.

Ethics of Privacy

Copyright ethics

What is a Copyright?

The definition of a Copyright is the right for the creator to hold their licencing terms. For example; If one were to sketch an idea for a logo on a piece of paper - as soon as the drawing had been completed the artist who created that work would hold the rights to it, i.e. meaning that under section 107 of the U.S Office Copyright laws nobody would be able to use or recreate that image for 70 years after the creators death.

What are the 3 moral rights?

• The right of attribution - Whoever has created the work has the right to be identified and credited as such. Where the work is used/shown/displayed in a performance or otherwise, then it is the right of the creator to be recognised for their work.

• The right of integrity - The work is not allowed to be modified or changed in any way without the consent of the creator/copyright holder. This is to protect the creator, by only allowing the works to be shown/used in a manner that they see fit. A musician may allow a sample of their song to be used in some situations, but not others. For example, a release may be granted for a sample to be used within a commercial advertisement, but not in another song by a different artist, or vice-versa.

• False attribution - No one is allowed to use the works and make any attempt to pass it off as their own works. This protects the creator by allowing them to have the recognition deserved to them, and is to stop others from effectively 'stealing' and claiming ownership of their creative works.

How might copyright affect you and your work with interactive media?

The interactive media section requires many assets for production in websites; games; videos; music; pictures and films etc. And the easiest way to acquire these is through an internet search such as ‘Google’, but what most people do not realise is that most of the images, videos and music are copyrighted. This puts a seal on them so that if they are used publicly the owner is liable to prosecute. If a copyrighted product is used on a website for example, it may be possible to contact the owner of the image and seek permission to use it, it is a misapprehension to many that copyrighted assets are off limits but in some circumstances the owner will give permission for the images etc. to be re-used or altered for production in other things. Although the likeliness of being granted permission to re-use the ‘Coca-Cola’ logo would be very steep – minor esteemed images from lesser known producers would be more likely to be grant permission.

4. Do you think illegal downloading is morally right or wrong? Justify your position.

Respectfully illegal downloading is ethically incorrect because it doesn’t not credit the owners for their products, but I can say from my own experience that it has been made so easy to do that it has become a norm amongst everybody I know, there is a plus side to illegal downloading – being on an interactive media course the Adobe media suite is a must and I would not be able to afford the cost for the software to complete most of my coursework at home. With a few click I was able to download the software and get working. On some levels certain people would agree that I have used it for the right reasons but it still falls into me being in the

wrong. The major reasons that the law is trying to knuckle down on this is because film producers are losing a large profit margin from illegal film sharing. One way that I could see a workaround, and a possible convincer for the illegal downloaders to stop would be to develop the video rental business, in this day and age this possibility is becoming a larger reality everyday with the introduction of ‘Love Film’ and direct video rentals to the users television. (Google TV).

5. What does Creative Commons do?

Creative Commons is like the middleman of copyrighting. It allows developers of graphics, pictures etc. to be more precise about the ways in which their works can, or can't be used. It allows the creators to make their own copyright rules for their work. For example; the creator of a piece of work may grant permission for anyone to modify as long as they feature the unique author; on some works the permission will allow anyone to adapt/change it and once altered can be attributed to the person who has transformed the work, without crediting the original creator. Other authorisations allow the commercial/ non-commercial use or what countries the law applies to, for example an image may be able to be re-created in America but not in Canada.

6. Use an image from Creative Commons in your blog correctly

Here is a photo I have attached from Flickr. Courtesy of TAKA@P.P.R.S

(From the Creative Commons search filter)

The producer of this image has stated some Creative Commons conditions.

Attribution — You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

Share Alike — If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.

7. Give your opinion on the way that total freedom from copyright might affect our culture

Having the freedom to alter any piece work would induce far more creativity in the world because people would have a starting place to begin some of their work. Having this possibility of sharing work would advance the production techniques of music; films; games and graphics etc. For example if two game companies were to create two completely separate platforms - but to achieve a higher standard of gameplay they needed code from each other, they would be able to share the information and possibly combine to produce one sole game or two separate fully capable game that function accurately. With the copyright laws both companies restrict their sources so only people on the team would be able to view it. Unlocking the restrictions would allow for greater possibilities.

The down side to all of this is that there would be many duplicates and low quality products from people who do not have the expertise behind them, making it hard to find originals and well produced creations. Copyright laws were introduced to protect authors, thus to stop other people from copying and producing original work claiming it as their own, although again this would suffocate the imagination for other people, for example; if someone had re-created and image and applied their own uniqueness to it that turned out to be a success they would not be able to advertise this unless given access by the original author through the Creative Commons guide.

My finished 'Paul the Alien' website walk-through

VoIP using Skype

As a means of communication, VoIP - when first released was used between business companies as a modern way of holding conferences. But in this day and age anyone with an internet connection and the right software on their home computer or laptop can have a video chat with anyone; anywhere.

Personally I use Skype as a way of talking to my Father in Wales, my Friend Mike in Germany or even any of my other friends living around the corner.

Here is a preview of a video call I had with my friend Tom (who is also on my College course)

P.S - Ignore the gesture behind Tom.

Another step forward using this protocol is the adaptation in modern smart phones and tablets such as the Motorola Xoom (Purposely ignoring the Apple devices)

Also, possibly in the near future, a concept that has recently been tried and tested - 3D video calling. According to AndroidHeadlines.com (See below for link) - Sharp announced 2 glasses free 3D phones that can both capture and display 3D images. Possibly opening doors for 3D video conferencing if a manufacturer were to place a 3D camera on the front.

http://androidheadlines.com/2010/11/did-someone-say-3d-video-calling.html

Current Status on Unit 1 Part 62 - Website (Paul the Alien)

Roughly a month ago we were set an assignment to design and create a flash based website that had reference for a new or upcoming film. My decision was to create a web-based interface for the film 'Paul'. After building up the website with graphics, videos and ActionScript 2.0 code I had a fully functioning site, which took approximately 3 weeks to achieve. Before I started creating the web pages I made a mock-up of my desired loading screen; (Left), Finished loading screen; (Right).

This is the homepage of my website as of 15/03/11. I have recently added small tweaks and animations to this page including; Spaceship animations and sound effects; mouse follower; blinking eyes on Paul the Alien and Blades that slide in from the left.

The next page of my website is the Gallery. Using knowledge of previous lessons I implemented the picture flow effect to some of the screen shots of the film.

Today I added the 'Trailers' page which will include video trailers of the film and reviews.

National Readership Survey

The NRS (National Readership Survey) is a non-profitable organisation that carries out research on members of the public by using surveys to aid the manufactures of Britain's major newspapers and consumer magazines. The surveys that take place include questions that define what demographic of people read what magazine/newspaper.

NRS interviews a large sample of 36,000 adults (aged 15+) each year on a continuous basis, of which usually take on average around 27 minutes to complete and will be walked-through by a representative of the NRS in the interviewees home.

The techniques that NRS use are widely respected by companies that produce media for the public. One of these being in the form of 'The Daily Mail'.

Research Blog Assignment (Part 2/3)

Market research is a large collection of data that is recorded from the general public. If a company wanted to branch out at a new demographic they would use this type of research to find what their needs where and by the strongest means; meet the specified requirements with the greatest potential. Market research is a very common strategic advancement that not only creates a larger profit in the companies pocket but full-fills the needs of previously over-looked people.

After the market research has been undertaken the next stage would be to alter the product to match the designated requirements. An example of this would be 'Coca-Cola', this company has been around for over a century and is sill going as strong as ever. This is mainly due to the fact that they produce products for different markets; 'Coke Zero' - which mainly for the diabetic market. Before this product was released diabetic people could not drink Coke due to the high sugar content but 'Coca-Cola' noticed this by conducting market research and so-forth released 'Coke-Zero' which contains no sugar.

For this assignment we were given the option to research one of three;

The Simpsons; Pokémon or Star Wars. My decision was to go ahead with the Simpsons mainly because it was the one topic that I had the greatest amount of knowledge about.

From this I can detail on how Matt Groening (The creator of The Simpsons) used market research to promote the Simpsons, and the answer is - He didn't. At least for the first 2 series. When Matt Groening's 'The Simpsons' first appeared on the Tracey Ullman show on April 19th, 1987 every Simpsons family character was based on his own. His father - 'Homer', mother - 'Margaret' (Marge), three sisters - 'Lisa' and 'Maggie' and 'Patty', and 'Bart' - which is an anagram for 'Brat' is told to be based on Matt Groening and his sibling brother 'Mark'.

In the early days of the Simpsons people have always enjoyed the crude humor and shenanigans of Bart Simpson, but in the more recent series the episode have been based solely around Homer due the face that the target audience has developed considerably with families and older generations watching it. In spite of this the controversies have developed - a few that stand out are the homosexuality and religious views. In one episode, Colonel Saunders is God and many characters in Springfield are against Catholics. Thus causing a debate on what message the Simpsons is trying to present. But what most people do not realise is that they speak both sides of the story, instead of being completely biased towards one side of the argument.

Many people believe that the hypodermic needle theory effects children the most. Mainly because they have a small of perception of the world and are easily influenced. Having a role model like Bart Simpson has a possibility of giving the wrong idea to young people giving them the belief that skating naked through town is a good idea. Although the media says that they cannot influence people directly due to the face that kids like to be kids and the only influence they receive is from peer pressure from friends etc.

The reception theory has had it's deals with the Simpsons in the past, yet again with the religious views. One critical view that has stood out from the rest is the point made by Pakistani viewers. Apu nahasapeemapetilon is the owner of a 'Kwik-E-Mart' and has been known to alter dates and sell products at an extortionate price. Even though this just seems like a typical character from Matt Groening's sketchbook, people have raised criticism claiming that he is targeting Asian people working in '7/11's'. In fact - in the media's defense they have stated that this is not the case as he is based on a completely legitimate shop owner who was not Asian but American so therefore cannot be in anyway be related to a racist attempt.

Unit 62 Criteria 1 Understanding principles of digital video technology in interactive media

Unit 62 Criteria 1

Understanding principles of digital video technology in interactive media

Throughout the media industry today, designers are creating multi-platform application technologies that allow for far more previously ‘gadget’ handicapped people to be reached. Ten years ago the general mass public could only access interactive media through activities such as arcades, festivals and home consoles such as the ‘Playstation One’, and for the lucky ones; 56k dial-up on their dell computer. Contrasted with the access today, according to http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com - 74.63% of the world’s population own a mobile device. This allows for developers to design games, applications, videos and images that can be viewed at and interacted with right in the user’s hand.

The arrival of user generated websites such as YouTube allowed the world to be watch videos from the public’s perspective, instead of being hyped up by the media corporations the videos online would come straight from the people. Meaning no misinterpretation of news around the world and most importantly anyone could share videos – for free. Another aspect to this that was not capable before was the option to share sentimental memories with friends and family across the globe, for example; a family in America films a wedding that has recently taken place, instead of writing or e-mailing to one another describing the events, members of the website could, in a few clicks, upload a video to a ‘cloud’ which would come easily accessible to watch by the other family in Britain. This simple and yet clever tool allows people to be brought closer together.

YouTube started off in 2005 by displaying their videos in the .flv format (Flash Video) – The reason for this is that flash is such a comprehensive way to embed videos although it does required the Adobe Flash plug-in for the browser. It is widely used amongst almost every website, from advertisement banners to interactive spaces. Flash videos are very small in size when compared to other formats such as .Avi and .Wmv and yet still retain a high playback quality. Advances from this method allowed users to upload and watch their 3GP videos straight from their mobile devices. This option allowed many more users to share videos as people could be restricted by the lack of a computer. Over the years YouTube upped their game in the market by increasing the pixel definition of the videos leading to a higher quality viewing experience which they later transformed the file format to MP4. One other aspect of Flash Video is that it is nearly impossible to download from the browser, this stops fraud and illegal selling of online videos, although not impossible to download (via a browser add-on) this still limits the novice internet browser.

The birth of YouTube has given life to many new aspects of marketing and media, one of these directions has formed the term known as ‘Viral Marketing’. Viral Marketing can be a form of many things; Interactive Flash Games; Videos, Text Messages and images. Over the past few years the scale on how effective Viral Marketing is has developed dramatically, as more and more businesses are developing these marketing techniques the better the Viral’s are becoming. The way Viral Marketing works is quite simple – Word of mouth. If member of the public watches something on YouTube or plays a game that they find interesting or funny they will tell friends, who in turn will tell their friends and their friends again. ­This method of marketing has proven very successful over the years and with views on YouTube exceeding well over 26,000,000. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm_n3hg-Gbg&feature=related

The release of the world’s first Smartphone - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_(phone) Developers have been designing applications for these devices such as Games, Videos, Applications, Web Pages and MOD’s. Over time, mobile phone manufactures started to implement the Smartphone into the market allowing anyone to easily get their hands on one. At this time only well-educated developers could or would know how to develop for mobile devices but recently in the past few years the manufacturers of Smartphones such as ‘Nokia’ have released online methods that allow the general public to develop an app on their website using ‘Ovi App Wizard’ http://appwizard.ovi.com/web_nokia/signIn.jsp

Streaming Methods

· Downloading

· Progressive downloading

· Streaming

Downloading media works by initiating a packet transfer from a remote system (server). Developers for the home consoles such as the Wii; Xbox 360 and PS3 can use this method of media transfer for online gaming. Since the first online capable console developers have had a new target to aim towards, additionally the Dreamcast created a new demographic of people that games could be developed for.

“Progressive downloading is a term used to describe the transfer of digital media files from a server to a client, typically using the HTTP protocol when initiated from a computer. The consumer may begin playback of the media before the download is complete. The key difference between streaming media and progressive download is in how the digital media data is received and stored by the end user device that is accessing the digital media.”

Quoted from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_download

“Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather than to the medium itself. The distinction is usually applied to media that are distributed over telecommunications networks, as most other delivery systems are either inherently streaming (e.g., radio, television) or inherently non-streaming (e.g., books, video cassettes, audio CDs). The verb 'to stream' is also derived from this term, meaning to deliver media in this manner. Internet television is a commonly streamed medium.”

“Live streaming, more specifically, means taking the media and broadcasting it live over the Internet. The process involves a camera for the media, an encoder to digitize the content, a media publisher where the streams are made available to potential end-users and a content delivery network to distribute and deliver the content. The media can then be viewed by end-users live.”

Quoted from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streaming_media

Compression Methods

· Lossy

· Lossless

In the media industry when films or music are edited and finalised the last step by any savvy user is to compress the file so that the ultimate piece can be quickly transferred or burned onto a disc. When a film is in the production stage the video clips are usually in the .Avi or .Mpeg formats – these RAW files are typically quite large in file size. Before the compression a movie sequence could be well over triple the file size of that when it is compressed. There are two compression methods used in the media industry today; Lossy and Lossless.

The Lossy compression method is a binary code function that encodes data so that it loses some of the quality but decreases the file size. In most cases a RAW image with a file size of 108.5KB could be reduced to 1.14KB but will sacrifice quality, usually a low compression is applied when uploading to media websites etc while still reducing its file size to 9.37KB and keeping the quality. In some cases the file size can be reduced by up to 30 times that of the original. This method of data compression is by far the most used way in the media industry today.

“As an example, let's look at a type of information we're all familiar with: words.”

In John F. Kennedy's 1961 inaugural address, he delivered this famous line:

"Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."

The quote has 17 words, made up of 61 letters, 16 spaces, one dash and one period. If each letter, space or punctuation mark takes up one unit of memory, we get a total file size of 79 units. To get the file size down, we need to look for redundancies.

Immediately, we notice that:

· "ask" appears two times

· "what" appears two times

· "your" appears two times

· "country" appears two times

· "can" appears two times

· "do" appears two times

· "for" appears two times

· "you" appears two times

Quoted from - http://www.howstuffworks.com/file-compression.htm

By looking at this process it is easily noticeable of how Lossy compression works. By finding duplicates of words or in the binary format if there were “0000000000” this would be shortened to “10 x 0”.

The Lossless compression method compared to the Lossy compression is less compressed as it withholds its quality far more; film producers and editors usually export their movies after using this compression method. This process of compression works by removing free space from the clip, byte for byte the film is almost identical. For general use this compression method is not suitable for MP3 players and mobile devices.

Conclusion

In conclusion to this essay I can personally say that I have learned far more about video compression methods and file formats, also from research I have realised how the media industry works in today’s time compared to ten years ago. From my own personal experience of editing video’s I know understand the process of the benefits of compression.