Copyright free music and sounds

For your AS Foundation Production coursework, you need to ensure that the music and sounds used on your video are all copyright free. There are a number of ways that you can do this:

• Approach local bands and get written permission to use their material
• Approach unsigned bands on 'MySpace' and other social media sites and get their written permission to use their material
• Collaborate with music students in the school to create original music and sounds
• Create your own music or sound track - learn to use Garageband  (on Youtube )

Failing any of the above there are also a number of resources on the internet where you can find copyright free music and sounds.  While the music found on these sites may be copyright free (i.e. you do not have to pay a fee to use it in your video work) you may have to pay a fee to download it. Therefore, be careful to check the terms and conditions of any site where you find tracks you wish to use. Some may also ask you to register as a user.  Before doing so, please check with your teacher.

Click on the title of this post for links to lots of internet resources.  Others can be found at:

http://www.freeplaymusic.com/
http://www.freesound.org/
http://www.mobygratis.com/
http://www.unsignedbandweb.com/

We Media , Social Media, Whatjamacallit Media...

I just came across this video which is full of statistics that should get you thinking about how profound the impact of social media is. It seems to be authored by Erik Qualman who's written a book called Socialnomics, exploring the impact of social media.

Would You Pay For Online News?

A possible revolution in the news industry was announced yesterday. Rupert Murdoch said that his News Corporation plans to charge users of their online newspapers - these include The Sun, The News of the World and The Times. This is a very controversial move, with opinion divided on whether it will work or not. Murdoch feels that users will be willing to pay for quality and unique content. This could have a massive impact on the future content on paid for news sites. Murdoch places a heavy emphasis on the need for 'scoops', whether they be celebrity or political. Could this mean an increase in libel and privacy cases or even more frequent use of illegal news gathering methods like phone-hacking?

Foundation Portfolio and Advanced Portfolio Mark Scheme

Here's the link to the mark scheme for your  Foundation Portfolio (AS) Advanced Portfolio (A2) coursework. The link brings you to the specification for your whole course but if you skip to Page 70, you'll find the criteria for the Advanced Portfolio. For Foundation Portfolio the relevant pages are 60 and 61 (for the construction of the film) and 66-69 (for your research and planning and your evaluation). You should keep these criteria in mind as you make decisions about your project.

http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/kd/ocr_9646_kd_gce_spec.pdf

Libel Laws Go Against Free Speech?

Roy Greenslade writes in today's Media Guaridan about an article in the Wall Street Journal which claims that Britain's libel laws inhibit free speech. They claim the the "chilling effect", which places the onus of proof on the publisher rather than the person or organisation claiming to be defamed makes it easier for those who wish to prohibit scientific and political debate. Read Roy Greenslade's article by clicking on the title above. There's also a link within his article to the Wall Street Journal's article.

Privacy Law and Celebrities

A really good article from the Sunday Times about the relationship between celebrities and the press. It is particularly good in flagging up a number of key issues and cases relevant to the regulation of the press. These include:

• hypocrisy of celebrities


• how privacy has replaced libel as the law that celebrities favour


• Naomi Campbell Vs. Daily Mirror case

TV Drama Glossary

Long Road Media have a very useful glossary of key terms related to movie image in general and TV Drama specifically.  Click on the title of this post to find it

Science Fiction Gets Mashed

An interesting article from the Observer's Film Quarterly magazine looks at the latest attempt to hybridise (or mash-up) the Science Fiction genre. This time it's a new film called Outlander, which places Vikings in space. The article also reflects on some of the more and less successful attempts to create hybrid films over the years, including Alien.

Hamlet Revision exercise

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BBC and DEC Appeal Controversy

Mark Thompson, director general of the BBC, defends the BBC's decision not to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee's Gazza appeal (Click on Post title to see the interview). Do you think he is right to claim that the broadcasting the appeal would leave the BBC open to accusations of bias? Remember, the BBC has previously broadcast similar appeals following conflicts in other parts of the world. Thompson seems to claim that this situation is particularly complex, making it more difficult to preserve impartiality if they were to broadcast it. You might also want to consider what might happen to BBC journalists on the ground in Israel and Gazza should they be viewed to be siding with the Palestinians as a result of broadcasting the appeal.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/video_and_audio/7850585.stm