Do Rights Matter – What is DRM?

The BBC has an excellent article explaining exactly what is meant by Digital Rights Management. This is a key issue in the age of the internet and has major implications for how institutions continue to make a profit from the media content that audiences consume.

Can Gaming Kill the Cinema Star?

Computer games have come a long way since the Pong and Space Invaders. Where they were essentially a series of lines and dots on the screen, today’s games have almost cinema quality graphics and sound; so much so that many movie franchises like James Bond and Star Wars have extended their brand with a catalogue of computer games. Whatever the quality of the visuals and sound, however, games have, up until now, never been able to offer the audience the same depth of characterisation, quality of dialogue or compelling narratives as cinema. So while games may offer the audiences more interactivity than a movie, their ability to become a truly immersive experience has been limited by these shortcomings. Keen to develop new audiences, and improve the experience of existing one, the games industry is now looking to Hollywood screenwriters to help them overcome these problems. Click on the title above to read more about this and ask yourself whether games will eventually replace cinema as a mass entertainment form.

The Key Questions In Media Packed Into One Article

Mark Lawson uses the recent TV phone line scandal to ask many of the key questions in Media Studies in one tidy article - (I very much doubt this was his intention but it does anyway.) This isn't just relevant to New Media but also to Broadcast News and Contemporary Issues in British Broadcasting in Year 13. Most of all it addresses the big issue of Audience Theory - what is the nature of the relationship between the audience and the producer? He claims that the phone scandal, and the public's reaction to it, challenges the commonly held view that the audience today is a sophisticated and media savvy. He also discusses the different conceptions of the audience that are revealed through the recent Virgin Media and Sky row - with Rupert Murdoch and Sky seeing the audience as a mere consumers and television as just another product to be sold rather than some kind of cultural artifact that contains meaning for the viewer, "their status more akin to that of guest, student, even patient." He raises the issue of "trust" and how news programmes have sold themselves on the basis of their trustworthiness. However, is this now possible when so many people feel they can trust blogs more than traditonal news outlets like the BBC and NBC (in America)? Are blogs to become the main news source for the next generation? If so, what impact will this have on our shared cultural understanding? In an increasingly personalised media world, will we ever feel connected to those around us?

One Man And His TV Broadcast

Jeff Jarvis details how inexpensize and easy it is for an individual to create their own television output using sites like YouTube, a digital camera and iMovie. He does warn, however, that while the audience can become the producer, the quality of his programming may not yet compare to the that of the BBC or Channel 4 (though have you seen Hollyoaks in the City?)

Game On

The Science Museum has a great exhibition on the history and future of video games running from now until February 2007. It's a great opportunity to play games going back to the 70's and to trace the development of technology, especially the graphics and sound, over the years. There's also the opportunity to play with the latest, most interactive games like Nintendo's new Wii system. What you'll notice is how much more immersive games have become over the years. As the graphics, sound and gameplay develop, players become more involved in the world of the game. Some would say that this is a bad thing, leading players to become detached from reality and those around them. However, the development of online gaming allows players to experience this virtual world with others from all over the world - increasing our connectivity. Even if you don't get to the exhibition, you should check out the museum's site to find out more (follow the link in the title of this post.

YouTube Proves Its Worth

YouTube has just been bought by Google for a small fortune, proving the popularity of watching video online rather than through your TV. Google are likely to have been attracted to YouTube because of two things: its current popularity earned through viral publicity and the distributon deals it has signed with Universal Pictures and CBS television in America. The signing of these deals are a clear sign that the big traditional media institutions are convinced of the future of online, bitesize viewing, where viewers watch their favourite programmes or movies online rather than on the couch.

SFX Media Blog

The good people over at SFX College have their own media blog, which is well worth checking out. It covers more than just new media and carries links to a wide range of media related articles.