Is Illegal Downloading More Damaging to Independents or Studios?

The producers of The Hurt Locker, Voltage Pictures, have decided to take legal action against people who have illegally shared their films through peer to peer file sharing networks.  They argue that file sharing hurts independents more than it does the big studios.  One of the founders of the Pirate Bay file sharing site argues that file sharing actually increases film revenues by creating a greater interest and discussion around films.  What do you think?  Is it easier for big studios to swallow the cost of their films being viewed at home rather than in the cinemas?  What other ways can they make money out of their films if their cinema and DVD income is reduced?

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