Glossary of Terms

Video Formats:  There are an array of different formats for video as some have to be compatible with others such as there is a format for apple, as mentioned above that would not work on an average PC, so there would have to be another format to be able to function with both. Also other apps have been made which provide the same service and have their own formats. A video format is how a video is saved for example if you export a file on an editing software (Final cut pro). Every video application has a proper codec and container. To add one more layer of complexity: both codecs and containers go in and out of style  so a format which was prominent a few years ago may be something few people are using today.


Steaming: Streaming is when you watch a video or listen to music in real-time, meaning the provider is playing the video at the same time, this means there is no video to download and you have to be connected to the internet to watch it, rather than saving the video on your device. To stream a video or audio, the moving information is a stream of data from a server. The decoder is an individual player or a plugin that works as part of a Web browser. The server, information stream and decoder work together to let people watch live or prerecorded broadcasts. There are many type of streaming services such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch and SkyGo.

File Compression: File compression allows you to reduce the overall bits and bytes in a file which can help transmit the document at a faster rate over slower internet collections, so the file can be sent to someone else much quicker rather than have to wait which would waste time. Also the compression can take up less space in storage of where the file is saved.  You can work with compressed files and folders in the same way that you work with uncompressed files and folders.

Aspect ratio: This is the ratio of the width and height of an image on the screen. The most used ratio for the very first films was 4:3, it now has changed a lot over the years and both film and television have different aspect ratios, also online (interactive video) has many varied ratios depending on where the file is uploaded. These are the main examples:

Frame rate: The frame rate is the number of frames or images that are projected or displayed per second. The professional frame rate for motion pictures is 24 frames per second and, for television, 30 frames per second (in the U.S.). Frame rate is what creates the movement in the video as it is a collection of images which are played at 24 pictures a second. 

 

Moodboard

Mind map

Mind map of different uses

digtial video technology

The principles of digital video technology in interactive media- Unit 62 - task 1-Manuele Bonuglia

Digital video is a major use in today’s world which is shared all around the world I many different formats whether it is your phone, tablet, computer. In this essay I aim to explain the principles of of digital video technology in interactive media. I will evaluate a variety of applications and the uses of digital video while discussing the technology involved. An example of an interactive media platform is the Internet; this is the largest program that video I used on. On YouTube alone there are 60 hours of footage uploaded a minute. This website is a channel dedicated to videos.  A video is the recording, reproducing, or broadcasting of moving visual images. Moving images are known as the frame rate which is the number of frames or images that are projected or displayed per second this what creates the video. Over they years they have become more advanced since the beginning of the film. This has led to the different formats of video which allow files to be saved and posted to the internet. A video format is a type of file format for storing digital data on a computer system, an example when you would choose a file format is on premiere pro as you export the video and save it. These can be Avi, Windows media player, .mov and mv4. Another platform is DVD/DVD player, which is a digital optical disc storage format invented in 1995 after the VCR, which is played on a DVD player or a device which can play discs such as a video game console, computer and a portable video player. A device which uses discs are videogame consoles, which is a major platform and has the most advanced interactive video as you actually control what is happening on screen. These devices also have a use and can be separated into three sections; promotional, entertainment and educational. For example a trailer would be a promotion as it helps sell the film to audiences who will then consume the film. An example of educational is “My GCSE science” which is an educational channel which helps teach viewers about science in the GCSE course. Entertainment would be a film which is consumed by the audience and only for entertainment purposes. These three sections are what the content is separated in for the consumers.

Interactive media is a method of communication in which the programs output depends on the user’s output, so the program would feature a collection of content created by the users, such as posts, videos and images.  This type of media interacts the user in a way that non-interact media does not so you a part of the program rather than just watching from the side. The main two examples of interactive media are websites and video games as you as a user are engaged in what is happening on screen, for example YouTube is dependent on the output of users as they upload content everyday. An example of non-interactive media would be a TV show as you only watch the episodes and have no effect on the output. However, if the show is requiring audience participation then it is interactive. They can be separated into three groups  which would be entertainment, education and promotional Social networking websites are an example of interactive media. The sites use graphics and text to allow users to share photos and information about themselves, chat and play games. Interactive media has become a major component of today’s society where only more 10 years ago it had barely started. The growth has been economical and now businesses today rely on interactive media where user content is what causes the output of content.  An advantage of the many interactive media is that they make technology more intuitive to use, for example smartphones are easy to use and it relies on the users experimenting with their products rather than reading their instructions. Intuitive means using or based on what one feels to be true even without conscious reasoning; instinctive. Another advantage is Another advantage of interactive media is the possible medical uses that it has as it can benefit disabled people do tasks much easier for example Computer chips implanted in a quadriplegic's body, for instance, have been able to take the movement signals sent by his brain, which is used for Stephen Hawking. However, a disadvantage is that it can be intrusive as in some countries and cities, for instance, stores use computer-generated voices projected out in to the street to try to lure customers into the store. One other disadvantage of the many forms of interactive media is that they are delicate and weak which means they are prone to breaking for example devices can be damaged very easily such as tough screen phones or tablets, which could wear down over time. Overall Interactive media has been a a positive in today’s society as it has created a wider view of the world rather than just what we hear on television which is only one aspect.

As mentioned before social networking is a huge component of interactive media a major format is Facebook which is used for entertainment and contacting other users. For example videos are posted daily which are viewed on accounts posted on the “timeline”. It is also used for advertisement which are posted on the timeline and appear at the top of the page this is the way Facebook which can be either a link or a video which could be a trailer for example. A benefit of the application is that all the media is shown in one area and videos/posted can be shared instantly such as if someone sees a video they can have it appear on a friends timeline so they can see the video. Another benefit is that Facebook has vast capabilities and can even video chat which means there is no limit to any type of commutation. This even lets you live stream online which lets your followers view, this gives you full interaction with the audience allowing them to comment and give their opinions. A disadvantage however is that it can be difficult to find posts by different accounts such as if you want to a find a video that was uploaded you have to scroll down until you find it, rather than on YouTube you can find it instantly if you search the name of the video or words associated with it. Another disadvantage is that your information can be easily found out if your account is not on private, however this is not a huge disadvantage. One final drawback is your video would disappear more easily once uploaded as it would not appear on the timeline compared to YouTube where older videos can still appear when you are surfing the website. They call interactive media because it is referring to products and services on a digital computer system which can respond to the user’s actions within video, texts or images, this what creates the interactive feel. So it becomes “interactive” once the user is involved in the presented content, one major example is video games where you can interact with other players where you can all influence what is happening on screen when connected online. So overall the output of the media comes from the input of the user. So bringing Facebook (My example) into this, it allows the interaction from the user on all the videos from the “comments” this can even have an effect on the user as online reaction has caused changes in content in previous years.  

There are an array of different formats for video as some have to be compatible with others such as there is a format for apple, as mentioned above that would not work on an average PC, so there would have to be another format to be able to function with both. Also other apps have been made which provide the same service and have their own formats.

Streaming is when you watch a video or listen to music in real-time, meaning the provider is playing the video at the same time, this means there is no video to download and you have to be connected to the internet to watch it, rather than saving the video on your device. To stream a video or audio, the moving information is a stream of data from a server. The decoder is an individual player or a plugin that works as part of a Web browser. The server, information stream and decoder work together to let people watch live or prerecorded broadcasts.    There are many type of streaming services such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch and SkyGo.

Resolution is the detail the image holds and the more resolution, the more detail in an image , this is due to the amount of pixels, this will create the size of the image so it is key that a picture has a high resolution otherwise the image will look unclear when expanded. In addition to image size, the quality of the image can also be manipulated by “Compression” so the image may be a uncompressed file but saved in a different format aka JPG, it will compress the file as it analyses images in blocks of 8x8 pixels.

A successful use of interactive video is viral marketing, a marketing technique whereby information about a company's goods or services is passed electronically from one Internet user to another. This would social networking websites to create the buzz, films have adopted this technique over the last few years so they got audiences talking about the film just in time for the release. An example of this is Paranormal activity which was a huge success grossing 193 million dollars worldwide on a 15 thousand dollar budget. One reason for this was the astounding marketing. This type of marketing relies on individuals passing information on from person to person which is what creates that “Buzz” or “Word of mouth” so Paramount (film studio) teamed up with Eventful.com to have audiences participate in an online fan base. This led to a “demand it” it button which let audiences decide where the film will be released which has never been used before so this was unique and news about this went global creating the buzz. In fact it had 1 million of its audience had used this feature. Even the CEO stated that if the film was not demanded it would not have been released. So the key argument is was the reason for success and would have worked with other films, the key component was the actual film itself and if it lived up the hype. For example if the film was considered bad then the “word of mouth” would have been less and the film would have made less money. Many films have tried this technique and even more than general audiences would think, one key component is target audience and the teenagers who are more online would see “Paranormal activity” compared to “Toy story 3” which is aimed at children. This is interactive because it has the audience involved within the marketing rather than just consuming marketing. Another use of Viral marketing was for “X-men: Days of future past where thy created a website stating that “Magneto” had killed John.F.Kennedy the video is below:

It helped create the assumption that this film had changed history hence the name “Days of future Past”, however my point is that this was not actually that effective in gaining more profit for the film. It begins with a small intro into what happened then gives a visual of the killing with archive footage, this gives an insight to what will happen in the film to create buzz. The target audience for the film is for teenagers as they would be the ones who would find this on the internet and as to why this a more visual video without much text as it only explains the vital information to keep the viewer engaged. The platform this video appears on is YouTube and the website “thebentbullet.com” to create a make it more official as it happened in real life. The main purpose of the video is to help create buzz for the film and get people talking about it however I feel that this was not the reason for the films success as the trailers had more buzz than the viral marketing and also this add only had 1.7 million views and the main trailer had 33 million views.  

This is an example of a user generated video which was uploaded to YouTube, this is the website where most of this type of content is uploaded and I found a video which was made with high quality production that would pass for a TV show. The story is about “Darth Maul” , a star wars character and he is being chased down by Jedi knights and he fights them all off and manages to defeat them all. It is a simple story made into a short fan film. The audience is by the title Star Wars fans who use YouTube. It also is more aimed at teenagers as it is a bit violent which graphic deaths but does not have any blood so can be viewed by 12 year olds.