Control vs the collective

The network society paradigm is the process of moving from a centralised to decentralised network in the way we communicate and gather information.

This process happened with the internet as shown below:

away with control

This is a process i have discussed in part before here:

http://jaz.zguy.com/?p=169http://jaz.zguy.com/?p=167

During this process the pre-establish controllers always try to grasp back for control. But when the internet is a machine for making more internet we live in a place where it is impossible for it to be combatted because there is no one controller on the internet. It is a network anyone can add to and take from both giving and receiving information.

The new distributed network means that information can iterate faster and progress quicker without the limitations of the controller applied. Memes are the perfect example of this because every second there are thousands of new meme iterations created and distributed across the network on the internet to everyone which would not be possible if there was only one controller.

 

 

The worlds nerves

This week I have created a meme based on the changing climate and world view bending effect of technology through the way it has revolutionised our communication.

The worlds nerves

This remediation was created to highlight the massive dynamic introduced by new technology moving from ships to telegraphs and now the internet to transport information globally. It has not only drastically changed the speed of our communication is has changed the way we communicate, the way we speak and our understanding of the world no longer as separated exclusive groups based on location but now you can communicate, work with, buy from, share ideas, be friends with and much more with anyone anywhere globally. This dynamic change has created ‘the internet’ something most of don’t go 10 minutes without accessing. It has changed what we need to know because why would i remember that if i can jut google it. This huge dynamic shift in the way we communicate as collective member of the internet access the world is truly worth of the mind blowing meme.

60 Second project

My video:

Project Statement:

For this project i tried to focus on creating a piece that was able to be interpreted by the viewer to create aesthetic engagement rather then just telling a story to the viewer. This lead me to try and focus on a conceptual idea rather than a narrative. I tried to focus on the concept of always being watched/judged.

I used continuity editing to create a flow in my project mostly heavily relying on the way shot reverse shot works and almost as a ‘camera magic trick’ to put someone always watching as the video I go about judo.

This combine with the montage nature of the piece means it maintains a temporally correct flow forward in time. This is very clearly presented and uninterpretable element to my project which i think balance well by the non explaining of the other character figure who is watching whether i am training or competing which i believe both with the sound that slowly builds until the start of the competition section helps with. This was intended to create the sense that he is always following but leave the questions of why he is following and what he is looking for or doing.

The sound in this project is a collation of ambient sound mostly used to avoid silence and jarring sound and has most diegetic sound turned down but the soundscape behind the project feels very diegetic in the second half of the piece which environments like it are where most of the sounds are captured from. The underlying sound helps link the shot and reverse shots together and maintains temporal and spatial reality throughout the piece.

The use of always sound even though it is soft at the begging helps tie the end of my project together and highlight and cause you to focus on why/what is the older figure doing. The use of absence of sound (like Fred Ott’s sneeze in 1984) really draws the mind back to focus.

 

Research:

shot reverse shot first showcased in Greed (1924) is now a staple of continuity editing which became popular pre WW2 and has maintained the predominant filming method since which i used heavily.

A montage feel which was first used by early soviet filmmakers to shorten the time it took for characters to go about certain activities and avoid the slow/boring parts of the film. This helps continue my project flowing for those not already interested in judo. This effect i tried to use to maintain engagement for those not interested in judo so they can they aesthetically engage with the ideas/concepts that can be interpreted from my project.

Fred Ott’s sneeze in 1984  helps show us this impact of the absence of sound and the usage of sound as discussed in this article about film sounds.

Fake reality, Easy as 1 2 3 ?

In todays world most of our friend we ‘catch up with’ by texting and viewing their online persona. Everyone online persona is curated we all know this but we still strive for the lives of others base on their online presence. The question is just how easy is it to not just curate but create pure fiction to represent us on our online persona. This reminded me of a relatively recent episode of Lucifer where they come across someone who appears to have the perfect exciting life but then the reveal capture in my remediation :

This shows how easy it is to fake the online persona with a simple camera cut. This lead me to think how far can you go with developing an online persona of fiction. This lead me back to 2006 where for 4 months Lonelygirl15 was ‘blogging’ about her life but it was all actually a scripted show. This shows just how easy it is to create an manipulate the online persona. read more about lonelygirl15 here and here

Permission to meme ?

This week I was introduced to the ABC program called Troll play, Let’s just say it was not that great. Also this week in a lecture we looked at the permission and control methods large companies try to use to control the flow of media and reuse of their content. As far as i understand as far as something is considered transformative in nature online websites won’t pull down your content so i remixed the one almost redeemable part of troll play into a short 36 second remix on soundcloud entitled ‘you are a funny woman’:

I did this since the abc is highly protective of what content they consider to be theirs and i would much rather listen to my 36 seconds 41.5 times straight then listen to the 24 minutes 54 seconds the episode of troll play i listened to is. I also am using it to point out how you can create something completely different and original from others content that they should have no right to stop you or own that content.

 

My Transmedia Story

This week looking at the huge blockbusters of the transmedia industry such as Marvel and Starwars which are huge blockbuster productions across all media got me looking at smaller transmedia stories that are around us every day. As we interact with the world if people aren’t putting themselves across multiple platforms we are confused and dazed. Especially me and my peers that are currently studying Communications and media at UOW it is assumes that everyone have multiple media presences. But even not in that circle everyone expects that you have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, youtube (to watch not necessarily create) at the bare minimum.  So i created this simple remediation of some of my own:

View post on imgur.com

I think this remediation showcases how the current transmedia world  we live in requires not just what we see and create to be transmedia but also for us to be transmedia people otherwise society will leave you behind uninformed and unnoticed.

 

 

Is copyright limiting the power of the meme machine ?

firstly a look at the interaction in-between traditional copyright laws and the age of the internet.

Copyright says that everything unless specifically stated is covered by copyright protection and permission must be acquired to use something that someone else has created if it retains identifiable features. The exception to this is creative commons licence which generally require the attribution of the original creator but you can use it for any purpose you want.

So how does the world of internet memes which are copies of copies of copies and the internet which is fundamentally at its core the process of copying and replicating itself to be accessed.

Meme creation on the internet ignores all copyright laws and just uses whatever content they want to meme and remix it in the process of meme creation. If copyright applied to memes the meme machine would stop working properly which leads to my imager remediation showing off what copyright on the internet looks like/could cause.

MEME  strong or copyright infringement?

 

Soundscape

In this project my aim was to create a layered soundscape from lots of simple sounds from everyday walk and the Judo experience. Soundscapes like this are what i aimed to create and show the way many simple sounds can be layered to create a soundscape that allowed for multiple interpretations. But I also wanted to create a decisive finish but as a sound project it still because ambiguous due to the fact you don’t know the visual context of the sound. The  soundscape is a combination of sounds from my home, the university and Judo and hopefully shows the contrast and complementary elements of them all.

Are we in The Meme Wars ?

This week I was challenged to look further into the memes and whether they had some ‘greater purpose’ for existing and whether memetic warfare was happen and if it was, was it work?

so after looking around and seeing even politicians using memes to try and disseminate their opinions like Clive Palmer who seems to only post memes now. So in response some people create memes that try and spread the opposite message. I believe this to be memetic warfare in action.

View post on imgur.com

You look at this remediation and depending on where you sit politically probably have a different response. Now that i have highlight the fact these memes are trying to desalinate messages for someones benefit in the ‘Meme Wars’ do you consciously decide that certain ones of these memes ‘aren’t funny’ because you decided they disagree with your opinion but if i had just showed you the memes would you have had a good time and laughed at some old guy making and getting memed?

The power of the collective – Resistance is futile?

The power of the collective internet is a strong thing and has been for a long time now. This article from 2010 shows us how much the internet can do when it feels it has been wronged, how easy it is to do and do while being entirely anonymous. I was reminded of this when i was shown this it reminds me  that when you have many people like the internet does through reddit or 4chan (the two most common instigation places for this) there is not much that can be done to stop it.

This remediation hopes to show this is a lighthearted linking 7 of 9 to the ‘old powers’ such as huge companies and governments who now are accountable to the power of the collective.

via GIPHY

 

While i take a lighthearted look at this it is important to recognise the emense impact this can have in shaping our future in a world where if the majority feels wronged by someone/something the power of the many can be used to change it for the better or the worse?