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.
Wednesday 29 October 2008 Micheál - Project Discussion
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.
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?
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
"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
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 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.
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."
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