10!

Free Choice.

King Kong

CGI is an important part of most modern films. In the past CGI has been used in sci fi films, but unconvincingly. the technology has now become so good that it can be used in all types of films unnoticed, films such as Sin City use CGI to make up almost all of the scenery. Films like King Kong, Lord of the Rings, Beowulf use CGI to create a lot of characters that could not exist in the film otherwise.

In King Kong the character of Kong is created using CGI. the previous film used techniques which although were effective in the creation of a good film, would not stand up to the expectations of a modern blockbuster.
The imagery is incredibly powerful and makes an extremely impressive and realistic creature.
This enhances the viewing greatly for the audience. the films epic nature is really built up by the CGI as well as by Jackson's brilliant direction.

09

New Phenomenon
GP2X games console.

The GP2X MK2 Games Console brings an entire world of entertainment to the palm of your hand. From cracking games like Doom and Quake, to being able to play movies, your MP3 music collection and even reading E Books, the GP2X enables you to have a multi-media experience wherever you are. Powered by just two AA batteries and with a 320x240 back-lit screen, the GP2X runs on the fantastically stable Linux operating system, has not one but two 200mhz CPU's with 64meg of RAM, custom graphics hardware and decoding chips, making it one of the most powerful and versatile handhelds today. It takes any SD card up to 4GBs, and can play movies inputted at any resolution, thanks to its scaling chip that will resize them to fit the screen - no other handheld can do that. With the addition of TV Connector Cables that you can buy from most electronic stores you can connect the GP2X to your TV console style, and watch your DivX movies or try your hand at big screen Quake. You get the best of both worlds. It's totally plug and play and very easy to use, with great joystick control, and the standard ABXY buttons and in-built speakers. The GP2X is so powerful and so compact we can't imagine that you'll ever want to put it down."

Extreme Convergeance. play games, watch videos, browse the web.
The audience benefits from this little tool as it gives them freedom to acccess almost all types of media that they might want to access.

the potential audience for this product really isnt limited but a good example of someone who might buy this product is a teenager in secondry school who is into gaming and has a quite long journey to and from school each day. with this console the student could watch a film, play a game or read an eboook on his way to school and this would help the time pass a treat.

games and movies can be downloaded from the company which helps bring in revenue. Ebooks can be read on the console, which means it really is the perfect travelling companion, perfect for commuters and tourists alike.

08

Converged Technology

Palm TX - Palm OS Garnet 5.4 - XScale 312 MHz - ROM: 128 MB TFT ( 320 x 480 ) - IrDA, Bluetooth, 802.11b

this Palmtop computer (PDA) is usefull for both business and leisure.

"The Palm T|X handheld is the affordable handheld with total wireless connectivity that you've been waiting for. With built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies, you can check e-mail, browse the web and work wherever you want. Its large color display and sleek design are anything but business as usual."
Its web browsing capabilities mean it can be used to shop online, watch videos, listen to music, check emails, or even check your facebook.


software:
Note Pad, Expense, Security, Palm Desktop Software, Calendar, Contacts, Solitaire, Tasks, Memos, Blazer, Adobe Acrobat Reader for Palm OS, Graffiti 2, Bluetooth Manager, Media, Palm VersaMail, Wireless Manager, palmOne Media, DataViz Documents To Go 7 Professional Edition, PocketTunes, Addit.

it has solitaire.

The TX has 128 MB of non-volatile storage. As with the T5, E2, and Treo 650 phone, data is not lost if the battery is drained, though such storage is slower than dynamic RAM. (The slowdown is most noticed on writing data, not reading.) Of this, 100 MB is user accessible, which some consider to be a leap backward from the 256 MB seen in the Tungsten T5. However, the Tungsten T5 had only 63.8 MB available for applications (the rest being available as an Internal Drive), so the application area of storage has actually increased.

"Pocket Tunes v3 - An MP3 player. Additional features, such as codecs for unprotected AAC, WMA, etc, are available for purchase separately. Pocket Tunes replaces the T5's Realplayer, which had received many complaints. The included Player can now be upgraded to version 4 for free, which resolves many bugs and problems. However, features are still limited (with mp3 being the only supported file type), as this is considered to be a bundled version."

A client for MobiTV is included, though the user must subscribe to the service separately

games specifically for Dell PDAs can also be purchased which is good for dell.

the product can also edit music,photos,video as wel as playing and displaying all these media formats

i want one

7

leisure time activity.

Home Music Producton.

NMT makes music production possible for any one. there is a huge range of products and software that all help with home music production. the main eqipment is a computer.

due to convergence almost everyhting needed is available within the computer as software. free software such as 'audacity' provides a low level of music production quality however is free and easy to use. more expensive packages such as cubase mean better quality music can be produced.

in the past to record music, and expensive proffessional studio would have to have been used, the musician or producer would have to pay for technicians, hire charges and other fees, now it is possible to do all the producing you could want in the home.
people that would really appreciate this technology are those who either want to produce music at a low cost or people who want to have a lot of control over the production of this music. the main buyers of this type of product would be amatuer musicians and producers allthough some proffesionals have started producing their own music in their own studios, for example the new radiohead album was almost all recorded in their studio without the aid of techs etc.
as well as the software modern technology as compacted and simplified other things needed such as microphones, mixers etc.
it is now possible to record several tracks of music onto a device that can be fitted into the pocket. this shows miniturisation and convergence of recording, mixing and playing machinery

the audience in this case really becomes the producer of the media. they benefit because they get he chance to produce good quality music at a very low price.
the cost of music production is now much lower than it ever has beenbefore. the fact thta a lot of the 'equipment' is now virtual and can be downloaded from the internet lowers the price a lot.

"In modern digital music, it is possible for the producer to be the only person involved in the creation of a musical recording. Said producer is responsible for writing, performing, recording and arranging the material. This change has been partially due to the increase of inexpensive yet powerful music production software (such as ProTools, Logic, Cubase, Sonar, and Garageband), which allows for entire tracks to be composed, arranged and recorded on a single computer, allowing the roles traditionally carried out by a team of people to be performed by one individual. With the advent of portable recording equipment, live album production has become much more cost-effective than in the past. This has resulted in countless live music recordings."

6

independent FAN SITE:

Shesfixingherhair.co.uk - The strokes Fan Site.





this independently run fan site is good AS it features loadsof new media technology.

there is a whole load of video and audio clips and thousands of photos.

these photos all utilise nmts by being taken digitally, or being scanned in some cases.
the videos of course show nmts and also interactivity as fans can upload their own videos and also photos of themselves with members of the band.

The Great thing about this site is how it manages to appeal to its audience. the fact that it is made by fans of the Strokes naturally means that it will appeal to the audience however there are ohter reasons aswell. the audience primarily for hte strokes are students and young adults. they are all used to the technology involved with using the internet and most will have access. the free audio and video will also appeal to students who are rolling in money as well.

It benefits the industry as it acts as free viral marketing for them. they have no involvement with the website however they benefit from anyone who goes on it and then decides to purchase strokes music. it also serves as marketing for any new material and gigs as there is a regularly updated news page.

there is a goodexample of convergence here because the site has news, photos, interviews etc, and videos, forums, blogs etc, so in a way it links features of a magazine with those of a website.

5

Podcast
Heroes, the Official Radio Show.


Podcasts are like radio shows that can be downloaded from the internet and listened to anywhere and at anytime.
they ar elike time shifted radio. this is beneficial to the audience because it means even if they have a busy schedule, or work when they want to hear a show, to listen in their own time.
this type of technology will appeal to elderly but tech savvy people. they are used to listening to the radio, and also have experience at using the internet (more and more people over the age of 60 are learning to use computers), they are not going to have much lust for technology such as HD gaming or new games consoles, however they are likely to take a liking to on demand radio as it fits around their day and gives them a lot of choice about waht they listen to.

this specific podcast is more likely to appeal to a younger audience and specifically those who watch heroes.
the BBC website says of the show

"The ultimate fan-guide to the hit TV sci-fi drama. Jon Holmes and Xanthe Fuller analyse each episode of "Heroes", looking in-depth at the characters, plot-twists, and hidden themes of this thrilling and complex series. Drop us a line with your theories and comments – heroes.radio@bbc.co.uk - and we may read out your email or call you back to take part in the show!"

the kind of people who watch heroes are going to be youngish, sci fi or drama fans. it is a good idea to repost this as a podcast as a lot of the people who might want to listen most likely are at school or work when it is aired.

in the past if a show had been missed there was little that could be done about it, now it is likely to be available as a podcast.

4

Radiohead- jigsaw falling into place. Scotch mist version.




this video is a 'live' version of a song from the then new radiohead which they released on new years eve, the day before the release of their album. they did this with all songs from the album,

it offers a less produced version of the song from the album as well as serving as viral advertising for the album.

the technology used is obviously the ability to post videos on the internet and to have good quality audio and vidoe.


it benefits the audience as it provides a free version of the song as well as showing the band performing it and giving clues as to how they create their strange sound, the audience for this kind of video is going to be fans of Radiohead who are excited about the new album, or have allready downloaded it and want to hear some different versions of the song. releasing it onm,,,,,,,,
it is also exciting as this is the first time an alum has been released entirely on line for an optional fee.
it benefits the band as they cut out the middle man as it where and it benefits the audience as they get cheaper music.
convergence used is music and video in a way.

3

i will be looking at the music myspace of Artist John Frusciante.


his myspace page has a music player on it allowing visitors to listen to four of his songs. there are links to photos of him and he has a 'blog' section where he, or his representatives can post news and information.

there are also links to videos and online shops to buy more of his music.

In his 'top friends' feature he has his record label which allows him to advertise that and other acts on the label.

there is a link to his personal website which helps broaden the advertising and provide more areas of interest for the audience.

interaction is very high as anyone can leave comments on the site.
he currently has 22043 comments on his site.

it is a good example of interactivity and also in a way demorcratisation as any one can change the page by leaving a comment.

2

BBC 1XTRA A AA A



The 1xtra site displays a lot of new media Tech.
the site offers blogs from the radio DJs, this allows the readers to have more interaction than they would if they only listened the the radio.

the site offers a listen now feature, this means it is possible to listen to 1 xtra live online or listen to any show that has been on over the previous week.
this greatly improves the accesibity and the audience figures as people who would not usually be able to listen due to work etc. can tune in at a time they choose.


podcasts are also availabe from the site, meaining listeners can get extra free audio and video. adverts and digital photos of artitsts helps to spread the word virally of new artists aswell as bring in revenue by promotion.
online videos are advertised. online videos provide excelent bonus material for listeners and gives them a sneaky peek behind the scenes of the radiostation.

similarly profiles of the djs are provided which helps bring the listners close to the djs and adds an element of interactivitty because they can be emailed with requests etc.

Case Studies: 1a

More 4.

http://www.channel4.com/more4/

The most noticeable thing about the site is that there is a lot of links on the page. they use new media to advertise programmes they show.
links can be followed to show what is on 'today'. this attracts viewer attention to programmeing.

An RSS service is also featured meaning viewers can access all news from just one page rather than having to trawl through a whole site.

the use of new media tech. helps make the site a lot easier to use and a lot more identifiable as the site of MORE4. the search feature means people can search for programmes or services that the site offers and this is useful with accessing other areas of the site.

the site appeals to the target audience by having quite a simple lay out. this is achieved by easy to use links and modern design techniques such as html and flash.

The site helps viewers access other channel sites run by channel 4. links are availible to the mainsitee, the E4 site and others such as film 4 and 4radio.

the site is a good example of interactivity as it allows viewers to easily contact the institution and alos allows viewers to access areas of the site easily.