Thursday 11 December 2008 Hear with your Eyes and See with your Ears

I went to see an exhibition of work by the legionary Quay Brothers last week, it was held at University of Brighton Gallery.
I have to say I was very impressed. I think these brothers are a lot more influential in modern artistic trends than people might think. I know I have seen very similar work which was composed long after the Quay Brothers first introduced there dark juxtaposed style.

Judge for yourself

Dissertation - Propaganda Through Digital Media

Yesterday we had a class discussion on our dissertation ideas. My initial idea is based around propaganda and how digital media shapes our options of war. Since I moved to Brighton in September I have been delighted to see the variety of exhibitions here with the Brighton Photo Biennial (a series of photography exhibitions) been one which I seen most of.
‘Iraq Through the Lens of Vietnam’ and ‘Why, Mister, Why?’ Were for me two of the most influential.
‘The Incommensurable Banner’ by Thomas Hirschhorn been the most graphic and probably the most realistic.
‘Why, Mister, Why? ‘Used image manipulation (Photoshop etc.) to convey its message while’ Iraq Through’ the Lens of Vietnam stuck mainly to conventional photography.
Both mediated a message and drew on emotions influencing our option of what can and what cannot be justified in times of war.
The idea of propaganda and truth is one which has always fascinated me, so I'm looking forward to delving into the minds of the world's most successful puppeteer's.
pup⋅pet⋅eer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object — a puppet— in real time to create the illusion of life

Wednesday 10 December 2008 Interview Tips from person who mite or mite not be from Linden Labs

Interview Tips

- don't be too casual when it comes to clothes, an open shirt is clever.
- bring some of your work as an example
- be enthusiastic
- know the company
- don't talk nonsense, you don't have to know everything
- don't take offense to rejection keep on looking and applying!
- remember your interviewer is also looking for a work colleague
- never ask about wages
there you have it.

Roots Multi Touch Tangible Installation Teaser from BricK Table

Multi Touch Interactive Installation using Processing.

Monday 1 December 2008 Semiconductor Films _ Brighton

Brilliant Noise

A Semiconductor film by Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt made at the NASA Space Sciences Laboratory, UC Berkeley, California, USA. 2006

Karl SimsEvolved Virtual Creatures (1994)

http://www.archive.org/details/sims_evolved_virtual_creatures_1994

Linking Audio to Objects in 3D Max

Heres a quick example of a technique I tried in 3D Max which links audio to an object by linking its parameters.

Massive Attack - Visuals by Unithd Visual Artists

Heres two examples of work by Unitd Visual Artists.
Massive Attack 2008

Natural History Museum - Darwin’s Canopy Exhibition



United Visual Artists are a British-based collective whose current practice spans permanent architectural installation, live performance and responsive installation.

Bit Shifter & Flight404 • “Feedback” / “Flight Risk” from Bit Shifter on Vimeo.

This is a some 8 bit inspied visuals created with Processing by Robert Hodgin.
http://createdigitalmotion.com/

Design Interactive - Initial Idea

My first idea of the new brief Design Interactive is based around interactive club visuals. I talked to Mike Blow about this idea and we disused ways in which we could judge where people are positioned in a club. Mike suggested that I use an Infra Red camera which could calculate colour and respond to this. I started to research this online and discovered that it mite be possible to make my own cheap IR camera.
I am also interested in using Processing and maybe even Abelton to relate visuals to the audio and therefor create a connection of colour and sound this is a subject which I have been interested in for a long time. I think its interesting that the rules of visual design can also work be applied to music production.

Reasons for Idea
I researched a number of ideas including an Interactive Portfolio Website, Interactive Club Visuals and an Interactive Commercial Site for a Music Venue.
I decided to go with an idea based around an interactive club visual installation project. The main influences for choosing this project include:

Background Interest
I spent some time in the past creating visuals.

Experience
Hopefully one day I will get a wage to feed my poor unfortunate future family by working in video production.

Improve
I hope to use this project to improve my knowledge of motion graphics software.
Understand

Processing
Mike Blow introduced us to Processing which is a computer program built for the electronic arts and visual design communities to create and develop computer art. I really like the ethos behind this open source language and its results are really impressive.

REM Animal
Although I would not be a fan of REM I can defiantly appreciate the power of Processing which was used with Maya and After Effects to create this video by Motion Theory (Mathew Cullen and Gray Hall)

Friday 28 November 2008 Uzikport Interface

Heres the main interface to my final design.

Thursday 27 November 2008 Design Futures - Conclusion

I have to admit this project has defiantly opened my mind. If you had mentioned the terms 'Wikinomics' or 'Prosumers' to me six weeks ago I would probably have replied, 'No I don’t have a Tesco Value card'.
I have heard the theory that the next wars with be fought silently in virtual worlds where the general public are unaffected until the final outcome has been reached.This now seems much less sci-fi when I contemplate the fact that up until the time I started this project I was totally oblivious to a worldwide revolution happening all around me in both the 'real' and 'online' world.
A whole new wave of thinking and decision-making is flooding the gates of mainstream bureaucracy and established co corporations can no longer afford to dismiss it as amateur idealism.
'Were going Web 2, like it or not.'

It’s a revolution from the bottom up with the implementation of true democracy. People are quite literally on mass 'taking the power back'.
No doubt there are downsides. Purists of past doctrines will argue that this is all leading to mindless chaos with absolutely no direction.
Everybody does has a choice to make – embrace the future, create and discover, help shape the future world that we all live in or, bury your head in the sand and moan about how you used to once buy music from an established high street corporation who could dictate what and when you should listen too - 'oh, the good old days!'

But its not just a music industry revolution, this affects every branch of our society and has already seeped its thinking into “conventional” bureaucracy – example - 'Marketocary' and more importantly the seed has been set for a policy of open source government which for me would summons the end of the revolution and the start of a new era.
No longer would politicians fall into government because they are 'a part' of a political party. Elected representatives would be individually selected by their personal merits alone, leading to a government body consisting of the very best pool of talent available.
'Teamwork succeeds private effort'.

Although partially conducted in a virtual world, this revolution is very real and if an industry refuses to compile it will inevitably fail.
The music industry is at the front line of this revolution and most adapt if it’s current embodiments are to have a future role.
As Bod Dylan would say 'The Times They Are A-Changin'
Open source is far from the seedy undercurrent, which was once related to it by the established hierarchies. FightAids@home is one example of how mass collaboration through the Community Grid system is working on making the world more efficient.

This is a move towards a world where it is harder to hide but it's also a move towards a better educated world where propaganda and dictatorship is much more difficult.

I for one am ready to embrace. The choice is yours.

Monday 17 November 2008 Dissertation - Initial Ideas

Dissertation - Initial Ideas
Music Ownership
Music Collaboration
Attaching a virtual audio sample to a poster.
Digital Footprint
Virtual/ Real life Morals / Ethics.

Music Ownership
The first topic that sprang to mind was music ownership. This is an issue which I am presently dealing with in the Design Futures Brief so I’m not 100% sure I want to delve deeping into this subject. If I did “Prosumters” which is discussed in Wikinomics, the CopyLeft movement and The Cult of The Amateur – Novel are three areas in this subject which interest me.

Music Production & Collaboration
In this topic the
Abelton Live (Music Production Software) – software which is used. Copyleft, copyright
Copyleft
Copyright
Nine Inch Nails – dissension to release free material, working Abelton Track files etc..

Sticking Shadows
Attaching a virtual audio sample to a poster. Just a topic which I discoved again throught the present projkect Digital Design.


Digital Footprint

Virtual/ Real life Morals / Ethics.

Wednesday 12 November 2008 Updated Concept _ Post iPhone Trama Concept

Post iPhone Trauma Concept¬_ Updated Concept
Background Facts
Any venue or business which broadcasts music must pay for their use of copyright music by way of an annual blanket licence fee.
In the UK this body is called Broadcast Music Incorporated.
BMI holds a database of all registered music in the UK and it also partners with 12 other worldwide bodies including USA, Canada, Germany and France.
BMI collects license fees on behalf of its songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed..

MuzikPort- Concept
MuzikPort would be installed in association with BMI at participating music venues as part of its licensing fee.
Through acoustic technology, music data would be fed back to a touch screen hub or hubs. Here users could download recently played music. The hub would also include links to a BMI networking website where information on the artist and venue would be available.

Decision Time

Decision Time
After a couple of sleepless nights, I decided the most viable associate for my concept to be associated with would be B.M.I.
Reasons
• BMI is already in direct contact with music venues : night clubs, discos, hotels, bars, restaurants and other venues; digital jukeboxes; and live concerts
• BMI and associations like it are under serious pressure from groups such as Copyleft and Common Licence groups. Even brands like Coca Cola are co operating with the Peer to Peer illegal downloading community. BMI needs to evolve.
• In feedback from venue licence owner’s I found out a greater degree of trust when cooperating with an established organisation like BMI.
• Database of suitable venues is already available.
• A concept like this would once again connect music with the real life physical atmosphere of a music venue. The connection between the music venue and music fan is restored.
I hoping by getting BMI onboard with this concept they will also consider introducing new licences with will include an alternative or middle ground to Common Licences.
• Every released track would be available - not just selected iTunes tracks.
• BMI thought Fast Track is also partners with similar associations in (United States), GEMA (Germany), SACEM (France), SGAE (Spain), SIAE (Italy), AKM (Austria), ASCAP (United States), BUMA-STEMRA (Netherlands), MCPS-PRS Alliance (United Kingdom), SABAM (Belgium), SOCAN (Canada), and SUISA (Switzerland).

Uniqueness -Brainstorming!!!!!

Uniqueness – Brainstorming!!!!!
• As Mukikport would be run in association with BMI. Every released track would be available - not just selected iTunes tracks.
• Concept could be run in association with MySpace – Advantages here would include a much larger music database which included unreleased and unlicensed tracks.
• Service is free.
• No Subscription.
• Don’t need an iPhone or any mobile phone application.
• If run with BMI, it would enhance the image of BMI and improve it’s service to its registered artists. In the light of resent Copy left and Common Licence alternatives, BMI needs to evolve. “Were going to Web 2.0. Like it or not” – The Cult of the Amateur – Andrew keen
• Concept would include a touch screen display. Users would have visual information to relate to background music.
• Concept could be run in association with LastFM.com. This would target an alternative maybe more loyal audience.
• Users could find out on a map where and when an artists music is been played.

•Artists could find out where and when their music is been played. This would help to find out where best to promote their music.
•Users can leave feedback on the music labels site. This could lead to the future direction of the music label.

Post Class Discussion

On Monday we had a class discussion in which we presented a brief outline of where we all are in our projects.
During the discussion I discovered through a classmate that part of the technology involved in my concept is already available through prescription iPhone app.
This definitely set me back a little and I now had to take this on board and incorporate this into an updated concept.

Friday 7 November 2008 Updated Audioport Concept

New Concept – AudioPorting - Updated Concept


• Just added what technology is going to be used.
• Added some more advantages for the venues involved.
• Improved the terminology.
• Described what the main hub would resemble.
• Not limited the idea to be linked with iTunes
• Added some lastfm.com links

Updated Concept

What about the possibility of a devise installed at participating music venues which could read and store (through acoustic fingerprinting) audio track information (its ID3 metadata) and when requested pass that information on through Bluetooth to a mobile devise.
The devise would not send the complete audio file just the ID3 metadata info. Acoustic censers would be placed where music could be easily identified and feed back to a main hub/ or kiosk (this would resemble a mobile credit top up machine or old school jukebox. Once the mobile Bluetooth user downloaded the track info, the user would be asked or directed to a database website e.g. site similar to iTunes or MySpace. Once logged into their account the user could download the complete audio track plus optional additional information on the selected artist and the particular music venue.

For example
• Selected Artist’s Previous Work
• Where the Artist is next touring/ performing.
• Similar artists*
• If the selected music falls under an electronic music genre, info on what DJ’s might be likely to play this track. This would then lead to info on that list of DJs or radio show.
*lastfm.com is a good example of how a similar artist option.
e.g.
http://www.last.fm/music/Mick+Harris
http://www.last.fm/music/DJ+Vapour
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Teknoist


Information would also be available on the venue where the music data was first downloaded from.
For example
• Future venue Events / Listings
• Background info on the venue.

Blogging!!

Today I realised that I have a lot to learn about blogging.
Or maybe it’s that Blogging has to evolve!!!

One suggestion would be is to incorporate a way in which all updates are recorded and automatically placed at the top of the blog, as well as automatically saving a version of the old draft for reference!
Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Thursday 6 November 2008 Audioporting Concept - Positives (As I see it!) -Update

Audioporting Concept/Devise Positives Update

Today I delved a little into the broader socio effects of the concept on the music industry and socity as a whole.

• Making music more accessible will generate more revenue for the music artists.*
• Device will gather important import data which could be used by Music Licensing Bodies to calculate a more accurate system of collecting and distributing royalties to its members –songwriters, composers and music publishers.
• Music venues will be better informed to their customer’s musical preference and target market.
• In this system, venue customers could decide what the future listings and music policy of the participating venue are, thought feedback from users to the venue.
• Less well know artists could publicise their music faster and therefore create a broader fan base.
• Users could interact with their favourite artists easier e.g. find the artists MySpace.
• As users could find out what venues play what music, where and where, fans of lesser well known music genres could get to know each other more easily .i.e. human’s need to group as individuals -"The Roar of Collaborative Culture". This in turn will inevitably lead to other hybrid music genres – “When information is brushed against information…”

*e.g. Radiohead's decision to let its fans decide how much to pay for its album In Rainbows in October 2007 was both a PR and commercial success.

Wednesday 5 November 2008 Bluetooth - The Unifier

Bluetooth is a wireless protocol utilizing short-range communications technology facilitating data transmission over short distances from fixed and mobile devices, creating wireless personal area networks (PANs). The intent behind the development of Bluetooth was the creation of a single digital wireless protocol, capable of connecting multiple devices and overcoming problems arising from synchronization of these devices e.g. MAC to PC, Zen to Mac.
Bluetooth is now an iatrical part of all most laptop and mobile phone technology.

An ethos of unity throughout different technology is something which seems to be a big part of the origins* and evolution of Bluetooth. This is a characteristic which in the current Web 2 and Wikinomics environment leads me to think this technology has a healthy future.

* Bluetooth was named after a tenth-century king, Harald Bluetooth, King of Denmark and Norway. He was known for his unification of previously warring tribes from Denmark (including now Swedish Scania, where the Bluetooth technology was invented), and Norway.
Maybe it would be good to continue this ethos and unify music producers with their target audience and via versa.

Audio Track Data -ID3

Originating in 1996 as a child creation of the audio file format MP3, ID3 is a data file containing basic audio track information such as the artist name, song title and year of release. In its original format it occupies just 128 bytes but this file size can be increased as ID3 is updated.
Other commonly used audio formats including MAC .aiff and Windows .wav and .asf now also support ID3 though an updated version – ID3v2.

New Concept - AudioPorting

Through DRM and watermarking research I came to the conclusion that music ownership is an issue more relevant to Music Law rather than a Design Futures Project.
So I have decided to rethink my concept.
Through the project discussion I have had with my lecturers and class mates I began to see less relevance on a physical receiver box and started to investigate more along the lines of wireless technology e.g. Bluetooth and Cloud Computing - which I explained in previous posts.
And by combining this technology with ID3 metadata and acoustic fingerprinting I devised a new concept.

What about the possibility of a devise installed at participating music venues which could read and store audio track information (metadata) and when requested pass that information on through Bluetooth to a mobile devise.
The devise would not send the complete audio file just the ID3 metadata info. Once the mobile Bluetooth user downloaded the track info, the user would be asked or directed to a database website e.g. site similar to iTunes or MySpace. Once logged into their account the user could download the complete audio track and well as receiving optional additional information on the selected artist.
For example
• Selected Artist’s Previous Work
• Where the Artist is next touring/ performing.
• Similar artists*
• If it’s the selected music falls under a electronic music genre, info on what DJ’s might be likely to play this track. This would then lead to info on that list of DJs.

*lastfm.com is a good example of how a similar artist option.
e.g.
http://www.last.fm/music/Mick+Harris
http://www.last.fm/music/DJ+Vapour
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Teknoist

Information would also be available on the venue where the music data was first downloaded from.

For example
• Future venue Events / Listings
• Background info on the venue.

DRM - "Ladies &Gentlemen, Alternative Research, Please!!"

After researching DRM I can’t help comparing the issues raised by DRM bodies with the issues involved in the “War on Drugs”.
I think it’s a matter of self choice which will be changed through choice and education and not forced through restriction.
If people want to copy music then they will find a way. Maybe the music industry should take a step back and take on board some of the oppositions expressed by Anti- DRM associates.
“Wikinomics” refers to a technique used by Cory Doctorow, author of Boing Boing (sort of blog) which has 750,000 readers; he is also a successful science fiction novelist.
Doctorow gives his online fans the opportunity to download for free online versions of his latest novels.
“By giving fans free e-books, Doctorow enlists his devoted readers as unpaid evangelists for his work” Wikinomics - Don Tapscott & Antony Williams
Doctorow himself sites the fact that he trusts his fans with free online material as a main reason of his profound success.
I think the music industry should take their heads out of the sand of restrictions and start to consider some alternative methods of copyright before they get left in the past.

Wednesday 29 October 2008 Micheál - Project Discussion

Today we had an open class discussion about on how each of our projects was taking shape. I really enjoyed this session.
Some of the suggested areas of research raised about my project included

• Copyleft Movement

• Wikinomics (How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything - book by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams – Dec 2006)

• Consumerism

• Ownership (Death of the Autor)


I also talked about my research into DRM and as the discussion developed it was apparent that its shortcomings seem common knowledge.
E.g. a Microsoft/ BMG early attempt at DRM have been listed in the Top 40 Worst Technologies of all time.

One of the main points I took from the discussion was in realation the use of a physical box that was part of my initial idea.
In my initial idea I had planned to use a physical receiver box in my concept but after todays discussion I agreed that it would be better to find a more elegant system of reading the audio data, at least at design / concept stage.

The issue of copyright and ownership especially with music seemed to be something a number of my classmates are investigating thought this brief. #
This is also very evident thought-out the web, with mountains of options, groups and organizations based on this issue.

I left the discussion with a much better direction of how next to research.

Tuesday 28 October 2008 DRM and its Failures so Far

After a little research is it very apparent from the vast amount of documentation across the net that DRM is a subject which is hated and investigated in equal amounts. Corporations such as Sony, Apple Inc., Microsoft and the BBC have all spent a colossal amount of resources researching and implementing DRM technology. With this a colossal counter offensive has resulted from individuals, organizations and groups opposed to Digital Rights Management and all that DRM stands for.

The origins of DRM stem from the early 1990's and the advancement of digital media and in turn analogue / digital conversion technology. As this technology became more mainstream so did the need for a format of DRM, especially within the music and film industries.

And with the foundation of DRM technology came the entourage of solicitors and the legal train that represent the music and movie industries as a whole.
The likes of Apple iTunes Store, Sony and of course Microsoft all got their own versions of DRM, even Napster a former hero of pirate music have now got involved and use DRM.

One example of how DRM restrictions have gone too far is E-Books, due to the restrictions placed on this new technology , the format took far longer to get off the ground and is only now starting to see any real return for its investors.

Example of some of the DRM Technologies and associated devises.

• DVD Region Code Some DVD Discs 1996+ Many DVD-Video discs contain one or more region codes, denoting the area[s] of the world in which distribution and playback are intended.
• FairPlay The iTunes Library, iPod 2003+ The purchased music files are encoded as AAC, then encrypted with an additional format that renders the file exclusively compatible with iTunes and the iPod.
• 3-play Microsoft Zune 2006+ Music files that are received wirelessly from other Zune devices can be played only a maximum of three times on the device. Recipients cannot re-send music that they have received via the sharing feature.[citation needed] Initially, these files would also expire after three days whether they are played or not; that restriction was lifted in a firmware update released on November 13, 2007.

Sam Butler - Advise

I talked to Sam Bultler yesterday about my project so far.

Main discussion points
- Is this type of project suitable for the brief?

- Maybe the technology is not advanced enough to be considered Design Futures.

- Consior the evolution of audio technology through the years with an emphasise on the changing formats e.g. vinyl, cassette, mp3… (Physical to non physical - implications of this)

- Who would pay for the devise?

- Why would the music venues involved agree to participate?

- Why would BMI or IMRO get involved?

Monday 27 October 2008 Acoustic fingerprint - The Logical Alternative

Acoustic fingerprint

"An acoustic fingerprint is a digital measure of certain acoustic properties that is deterministically generated from an audio signal that can be used to identify an audio sample or quickly locate similar items in an audio database."

This seems the most logical way of identifying audio as this method does not include DRM I think a technology of this kind will be a much more viable solution of reading audio information compared to DRM, as it does not impose restrictions on transferring audio into different audio formats.

This technology is at a very advanced stage and right now is capable of identifying individual audio tracks from a particular artist or group even after audio compression has been applied e.g. converted to MP3, Wave and Aiff.
Another impressive advancement in this technology is the ability to identify an original master recording among all other copies; this ID is so accurate it can be used as forensic evidence in a court of law.
This point surely one which Lev Manovich would smile at as he in a way predicted this technology through his essay "THE PARADOXES OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY"
It is discussed in the essay’s reference to William Mitchell's book "The Reconfigured Eye: Visual Truth in the Post-photographic Era."

"3. Mitchell's third distinction concerns the inherent mutability of a digital image." - THE PARADOXES OF DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY - Lev Manovich

Copyleft -Mass Collaboration

"Copyleft is a general method for making a program or other work free, and requiring all modified and extended versions of the program to be free as well"
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/
(Taken from the General Public Licence or GNU website)

Copyleft, the opposite of Copyright is the practice of removing copyright laws and restrictions.
Rules of Copyleft
- Freedom to use and study the work,
- Freedom to copy and share the work with others,
- Freedom to modify the work,
- Freedom to distribute modified and therefore derivative works.

With the birth of the World Wide Web came the realisation that through mass co operation, tasks which once seemed impossible are now been broken down and solved and this more than occasionally occurs without the backing of any major corporation or government.
FightAIDS@Home is one example of this. In this project “a global network where millions of individualscomputor users, donates their spare computing power via the internet to form one of the world’s most powerful computing platforms” “that might one day cure AIDS.”
“Wikinomics – How Mass Collaboration Changes everything “- Don Tapscott & Antony Williams.
Tiny BASIC (Programming language) which originated in 1975 and more recently Linux (Operating System – 1991) are both examples of Copyleft.
After reading some of the by now international best selling book “Wikinomics” I understand a little better how ideas like Copyleft can work both financially and morally.
And it is clear, the more people get involved in researching a subject, the better the final outcome.
I think terms like Copyleft will become much more mainstream over the next 10 years.

Monday 20 October 2008 Watermarking Music - A non starter

Watermarking Music (Page from Security Pro News.com)
http://www.securitypronews.com/news/securitynews/spn-45-20051130WatermarkedMusic.html
(A nice introduction by the lovely John Stith)

I'm really glad I read this article as it gave me a good insight in where this technology is right now and where it’s headed and unfortunately for the researchers involved audio watermarking technology is going nowhere fast.
Basically the technology as you can imagine is pretty successful when it comes to watermarking DVD’s but when it comes to audio there seems to be a lot of confusion in deciding the next direction to best steer the technology.
And with other more successful alternatives already available I doubt this technology will ever really take off.
I think researchers involved in technology like this should take note of the failures involved in DRM and more pacifically EBooks. Too many restrictions and users will just opt for an easier alternative which with the implementation of Web 2 and 3 ideologies, will more often than not be restriction free.

Initial Project Inspiration -Rane Serato

I first thought of this concept after using Serato Rane technology.
Basically Serato bridges the gap in the electronic music industry between the vinyl music the ever present digital format - analog to digital. Artists using Serato technology can use normal turntables to mix music from their laptop.

The use of this techology got me thinking about pirated music been playing in a club. As I have no problems with music downloaded for personal use, the fact that a electronic act would play music which had just been downloaded for free to a club full of people who had just paid an entry fee does seem a little unfair.

It has to be said that this is rarely the case and not at all related to Serato technology but more broadly related to any venue that plays recorded music digitally.

Monday 13 October 2008 Design Futures - Initial Idea

My initial idea involved creating a receiver box which remotely reads an embedded signal from from watermarked audio tracks at licensed music venues. This would be placed in any club / venue which pay an annual licensing fee to play music to an audience. This fee is usually paid, to the country's governing body (BMI-U.K, IMRO-Ireland). It would be supplied by the licensing body as part of the annual fee which the venue already pays. As the devise could accuracy record the number of plays for each piece of music, the licensing body could work out, a much more accurate way of distributing the fee to the individual recording artist. This could also be used as a marketing research tool for both the record companies involved and the governing body itself.
For this concept to be successful it would have to have the full backing of the licensed music industry included recording artists, record labels and all the music venues involved.

Exsisting Technology:

Wednesday 8 October 2008 Iraq Through the Lens of Vietnam

Iraq Through the Lens of Vietnam
Dates: 03.10.08 - 15.11.08
Venue: University of Brighton Gallery

The first impression I got from the exhibition was the contrast between the high tech digital imagery of the Iraqi war and analog old school photography of the Vietnamese conflict.

The imagery through high resolution digital form is bright and fresh this contrasts with the paler more subdued darker photography of the analog images.
The final publication of each somehow drawn from how the images were produced. The imagery of the Iraqi war gives the observer the impression of instant, up to date photojournalism, which is instantly ready to be mass published through a number of different media.
Compare this to the methods used to capture and publish imagery by photojournalists during the Vietnamese war.
In 1960/70 war images took much longer to capture, render and publish.
The exhibition's website (www.bpb.org.uk) points out instances during the Vietnamese war where photojornalists had to hike for 3/4 weeks to get to the areas of combat, carrring just one or two rolls of film.
"These photographers, who were also combatants, had to go to the combat zone by hiking down the Ho Chi Minh Trail, an extremely dangerous journey that could take many weeks. They carried a roll or two of film. They would develop their films in makeshift underground darkrooms, wash film and prints in jungle streams, and hang prints in guerrilla camps. For publication, most photographers would have to hike back up the Trail to the North, not daring to entrust their film to anyone else."

Two trails of thought stem from this information.
1, The first trail of thought lead me to conclude that since the photographers of the Vietnamese war were also soldiers, therefor able they were in a better position to capture much more realistic imagery.

2. The second trail of though is that the modern digital technology presently used means it is much easier to capture and publish imagery therefor this leads to a more realistic interpretation of the war in question. It also reaches a wider audience thought more technologically advanced communication.
It also is published much faster leaving less time for the imagery to be censored and again leading to a more realistic representation of the war in question.
However this point does call into question the process of "Embedding" photojournalists into particular military units. This is obviously an attempt to censer the imagery captured and thus giving a biased one sided view of the war in question the foundation stone of any successfully propaganda mission.

The most impressive image of the exhibition for me, is an image of a child in a metal asylum, chained to a bed. The way the image captured the emotion of the boy I really did feel dislocated from the typical half hearted emotion felt when seeing some of the other images, the images hits home the true cold cruel reality of war.
As an infant the boys mother was gunned down and killed while he was still in her arms. This drove the child insane, the background information continued to say that when helicopters flew over head the child would try in vein to scream over their sound.
All the background information was really helpful and made the exhibition a lot more interactive and for me much more interesting.

One point about the exhibition i did not fully understand was the fact the exibition seemed to only show imagery of US troops in Iraq. Every state in Europe if not the whole western world has played there own role the assist the "allies" efforts in Iraq but this is never fully reported in any depth by our own media. This most also say something about our role in this war. The exhibitions deliberate contrast of offical US imagery of the Iraqi war and internet leaked imagery of Guantanomo Bay is certainly ironic when we consider what we as the a European citizens did nothing substantial to object.

Use of independent web site footage.
While the idea to include this form of imagery was expressive in principle, the fact the imagery captured was pixelated and left me unsure of why this was included.
I only found out for sure when I was later researching the website.

Overall I thought the exhibition was a really worthwhile experience and defiantly got me to think about issues while I would not have considered before.

BrightonPhotoBienntial

Brighton Photo Biennial is a annual 6 week series of photography exhibitions held in a number of locations throughout the city. This year the program is curated by Julian Stallabrass, a provocative writer and critic.
"Stallabrass will explore the history and diverse scope of images of war using vernacular,
documentary, art, digital, montage, historic and contemporary photography."