As the video game industry continues to grow, Hollywood studios are capitalizing on this intellectual property (IP) success through film and television adaptations. Students from Heinz College’s Master of Entertainment Industry Management program sought to better understand the current market for these adaptations. In Part II, see what film and video game executives consider to make an adaptation successful. Additionally, through a survey of gamers and non-gamers, learn what potential audiences prefer to see.
Colonialism has consistently been a force in the global purview, including the technological space. In recent years, the expansion of artificial intelligence has vastly increased corporations’ global influence. As the world’s technologies continue to advance and innovate, individuals must keep a watchful eye on the ways in which digital colonialism might repeat harmful practices from the past.
Due to the popularity and booming business of video games, Hollywood studios have capitalized on popular game titles by developing new content based off of their intellectual property (IP). This study sets out to better understand video game IP’s impact on film and television markets and what specific elements might impact an adaptation’s success.
Sustainability and AI were at the forefront this year at the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) Future of Museums Summit. What role will museums play in creating climate-friendly communities? And how can AI be used to maximize efficiency, increase accessibility, and deepen engagement? Read key conference takeaways from Xueer Ho and Dr. Brett Ashley Crawford.
An overemphasis on data-driven work within the nonprofit sector has been shown to result in cycles of disempowerment, driven by third-party data demands of funding bodies.. This compounds due to the many market orientations nonprofits need to adopt, particularly prevalent among the arts. A key to navigating these markets and funder requirements lies in identifying a specific data culture best fit for your organization and investing in resources and training in order to achieve that framework sustainably.
Through the Art Collection Search, people can now browse the Carnegie Museums of Arts' collection online. I think this is a perfect segue to our Successful Digitization Projects Funded by the IMLS presented at the conference in October. After resolving some of their copyright issues, and following up on the statute of limitations for art (the artist's death + 70 years) the site is up!
No registration is required. Just go to the website and browse!
I now have a microphone connected to my mixer, and the whole shebang is linked to my laptop through an RCA-to-1/8 cord. Here is a pic of the cord:
The black end connects to the laptop, and the red/white end connects to the mixer.
As luck would have it, someone here at CMU was disposing of a microphone stand simply because the plastic clip that holds the mic in place was broken. As my mics came packaged with their own clips that fit perfectly on the unwanted stand, I turned someone's trash into my treasure.
This is a picture of my desk-turned-recording-studio:
Note my beautifully salvaged microphone stand. Also note the Technology in the Arts Web site on my monitor. (Plug, plug, plug.)
Maybe it was annoying, but I walked around the office most of the day on Friday describing my mini podcast studio as "totally awesome." Not everyone shared my enthusiasm. I try to be professional about things, and what happens?
1) The guy that works across the hall from me leans into my office, notices the equipment, and says, "I have to ask." Yes, but I don't have to answer.
2) Jerry Coltin, CAMT's former executive director, tells me the USB mic that came with my computer will work just fine for podcasting. While this may be true, it won't look like I'm getting ready to produce the new Boyz II Men comeback album, which is exactly the look I'm going for.
3) Cary McQueen-Morrow, CAMT's current executive director, says I'm the biggest geek at CMU -- and that is like calling someone the ugliest person at the University of Pittsburgh. (By the way, that is ONLY a joke. As a West Virginia University fan, I'm obligated to say horrible things about Pitt.)
Next Week: Audio Interviews with CAMT Staff
This week, the Metropolitan Opera announced it will broadcast live performances to movie theaters in the US, Canada, and Europe. The Met also plans to make more than 1,500 historical recordings available online through Rhapsody, a digital on-demand audio and video subscription service. Now that the Met has the rights to distribute both new productions and historic broadcasts on virtually all electronic formats, opera lovers can even watch streaming video of performances on the opera company's website. Read the full article here.
A growing number of opera companies are using technology to reach out to new audiences. According to DRoxy, a digital radio blog, the British opera company Hatstand Opera was the first to release opera podcasts, with its first edition of Podopera in the summer of 2005.
Not much to report for now, but I wanted to update on the arrival of our podcasting equipment! Very exciting... it's almost like having a newborn baby. (Well, the podcast equipment doesn't spit up on me or make frequent stinkies.) Here is our mixer:
And here is our microphone:
Note that there are inputs for two microphones, which is the setup we'll be using during the conference. Also note the cleanliness of my desk. I use Lysol wipes every day because I am a germophobic freak of nature. Am I sharing too much?
Now comes the experimentation stage. In the coming days, I will be testing different connections to my laptop to determine what gives me the best sound quality. My research indicates that two cables with RCA (red and white) plugs at one end and a 1/8" plug at the other will work well, so I plan to try that first.
During the conference, I will be strategically located at a table or booth with a laptop and a couple microphones. If you're attending the conference, I may just grab you for a 10-15 minute interview. I plan to then offer up a series of 20-30 minute podcasts in the weeks following the conference. I will also be documenting the development of the podcast on this blog site as a basic guide for arts organizations interested in using the technology for further engaging their audiences.
To find the best podcasting software and hardware to meet my needs, I decided to do some online research. By Googling terms like "podcast," "podcast software," "podcast hardware," and "podcast microphones," I was able to find countless product reviews and general podcast articles.
What most people don't realize is that an individual with a decent computer can start a podcast for next to nothing, because most of the best software is open source (aka free) and a basic laptop or desktop microphone will serve a lone podcaster with no real audio quality demands.
For the TitA podcast, I decided to go with Audacity, a free podcast recording and mixing software. Audacity lets you record multiple tracks and then overlap them creatively. In order to convert the audio files recorded with Audacity to podcast-ready MP3 files, you will need to set up LAME MP3 according to these instructions.
Once you have Audacity with the LAME MP3 encoder properly installed and configured, you will be ready to record your first "podcast." I use the term podcast loosely here, because an effective podcast requires planning. Click below for my first test podcast, for which I broke my own rule and refused to plan. This is simply to prove that podcasting can be extremely cheap.
Click to hear me rambling while a presumably deceased man sings the blues in the background.
If this were a real podcast, I wouldn't simply link to it; I would also submit it as an RSS (see my recent post about RSS feeds) so people could subscribe. But I'll discuss that process in a later edition of my podcast blog series.
Because I want to set up my podcast area at the conference in an interview-friendly fashion, I decided to go with an external mixer and two standard microphones. The mixer and mic setup will provide higher sound quality and the ability to adjust interviewer/interviewee levels on the fly. Based on affordability and favorable online reviews, I opted for the Behringer UB802 mixer and two Shure PG48 microphones.
Do your part to spread the word about net neutrality! Visit www.wearetheweb.org.
As many of you know, CAMT moved most of its servers and upgraded systems over the weekend to provide a more sustainable network. We strive to offer our partner organizations nearly 100 percent uptime, and co-locating our servers so our hosted sites are accessible in the event of a power failure is a major step towards achieving that goal. The following is my log of the day's events:
7:05 AM - Guillermo and I arrive at the CAMT offices on the campus of Carnegie Mellon. It is one of those beautiful Saturdays that are rare to Western Pennsylvania... no rain, no humidity, blue skies. You know, perfect weather for sitting inside and staring at computer screens all day.
Melody was at the office until 8:30 PM last night, and she came in at 4:30 this morning to get a head start. She looks cranky. She needs coffee.
7:30 AM - The CMU IT reps show up to move our servers. This process is complicated by the fact that Melody has to set up a router in our office and make sure the servers communicate with us once they're in their new home. Otherwise, the servers would have to be assigned new IP addresses, which would mean days or weeks of downtime for our clients.
8:00 AM - There is still no coffee. Somehow, I had expected it to magically appear, but it doesn't look as though that's going to happen.
"Gosh, in the four hours that you've been here already this morning, I would have thought you could at least get some coffee," I joke with Melody. She is not amused. I head to Starbuck's to feed the corporate monster and our caffeine addictions.
8:45 AM - Everyone's computers are able to connect to the network but mine. I complain to Melody and Guillermo that I'd really like to read celebrity gossip Web sites while I drink my coffee and eat my donut. My cries fall on deaf ears... or maybe they're just ignoring me.
9:10 AM - As is to be expected of all technology endeavors, there are a few snags. We run afoul of several of Murphy's Laws, and the servers are hiding from us. If I had a time machine, I would travel back in time and smack Murphy. Unfortunately, the building of the official CAMT time machine has been postponed until after the server move.
Melody and Guillermo are talking about Spanky, Alfalfa, Pickle and Porky. I think they've lost their minds, but it turns out that these are the nicknames for some of our servers.
9:30 AM - I still cannot connect to the Internet. Melody informs me that I am not today's top priority. I am simply flabbergasted.
10:15 AM - My computer is finally connecting to the Internet! Paris Hilton is up to no good, as usual.
11:30 AM - Guillermo is configuring DNS settings for our servers. For those who don't know, DNS is short for Domain Name Server/System/Service. DNS translates domain names into IP addresses and vice-versa. While everyone is most familiar with URLs like www.google.com and www.yahoo.com, these domain names are all associated with IP addresses, such as 198.105.232.4.
Noon - When routers attack! We experienced a brief moment of panic when the router at CAMT and the router at the new server location were refusing to communicate. I quell everyone's panic by blowing bubbles. This is the extent of my contribution thus far, but let us not downplay the importance of bubbles during a crisis.
Pretty bubbles ease the stress.
12:45 PM - Eureka! It seems that one tiny, miniscule setting was incorrect, and it was the root of all our problems. I blow more bubbles, but the novelty is beginning to wear off.
Note to self: Do not blow bubbles directly into the eyes of the systems administrator.
Fortunately, we were able to correct the routing issue quickly, but it's often the case with technology projects that the smallest mistakes cause hours of agony.
1:20 PM - Once again, my expertise pays off in a big way; I am the only one equipped to handle the intricacies of our lunch order. Very important - Guillermo does not want mayo. If this step of the server move is botched, we could lose precious time waiting for him to scrape his bun clean.
Guillermo hates mayo. Is this absolutely clear?
While we wait on our lunch delivery, Melody and Guillermo settle in to spend the next hour or two configuring our new routers to allow the appropriate traffic into and out of our network, while blocking unauthorized access.
2:00 PM - Uh oh! The entire Carnegie Mellon network is down because of a water leak at the institution's Internet Service provider. Unless it comes back up soon, we will have no way to test our settings and changes.
3:00 PM - Just in the nick of time, the CMU network is back up and Melody and Guillermo have finished modifying the router settings. We have started our testing of client sites, and it appears that everything is up and running.
It was a long and hectic day, but we learned a little about ourselves, a lot about each other and nothing about dinosaurs or hydrogen fuel cells.
Here is another way for-profits are cashing in on creative uses of technology. Read this article posted on wired.com about how The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas plans to implement handheld devices for gambling anywhere. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71466-0.html?tw=wn_culture_6
With the incredible amount of content on the web how do we know if we’re just repeating ourselves? The Internet has given many a chance to publish their thoughts in a public forum where many were never able to before. It’s become easy to publish a blog or a personal web page with services such as My Space or Word Press. With as much content on the web there has to be a blog or two or a web page or two where the content is similar or almost identical. It may be highly improbable, but can it happen? What I really wonder is, can my brief ramblings I posted on a blog end up in someone’s term paper or book report? I don’t claim to be an expert on anything you would want to turn in to your English professor, but I would find it humorous and a bit incredible.
Here’s an interesting article I found on the high tech battle on plagiarism.
Don’t copy any of this without proper citations. Your English professor will catch you.
I recently attended the Dance/USA National Round Table in Portland, OR, and thought I'd share a few things from the event... First, I am scared to try and move in any way that might be considered "graceful."
On my second day at the conference, I decided to check out one of the "Get up and Move!" morning warm-up sessions.
"Heck," I thought, "They can't be doing much more than stretching at this ungodly hour."
When I peeked in the session room, it looked like the cast of Cirque du Soleil warming up for a show. This was nothing like my high school P.E. stretch-out activities.
I walked past the session room and got a donut instead.
Speaking of Cirque du Soleil, please check out their Web site for an example of how extreme site design can be a hassle for visitors.
While it's important for arts organizations to offer aesthetically pleasing and stimulating Web experiences, it is equally important to offer alternative sites for users with older computers. If you're going to include fancy Web elements, such as Flash animation, on your site, be sure to offer a non-Flash version as well. Otherwise, you could be shutting out a large portion of your audience.
By the way, the clown that greets you on the Cirque du Soleil front page is absolutely terrifying:
"Mommy, I don't want to go into that Web site. Please don't make me go."
It was also confirmed during my time in Portland that technology is unavoidable. Many of the discussions at the Dance/USA conference revolved around technology. Dance company administrators seem to be very interested in how their organizations can begin using MySpace, YouTube and other popular Internet tools to increase audience and potential audience awareness.
YouTube works especially well for arts groups with visually gripping programming. The site is a free service that allows you to upload and share videos. Click here to visit the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture (NAMAC) Web site and read about some documentary filmmakers that are using YouTube to share their work about the rebuilding of New Orleans.
