The Creative Commons, a licensing system which complements copyright and allows for creators to permit others to use their work in a way they see appropriate without having to go through tons of paperwork, has had a profound affect on the way people now share and collaborate with each other online. In particular, video footage and music is now readily available for use on your own films as long as you accredit the author in most cases.
An example of one way in which these licenses have been used is that of the Elephants Dream. Using open source software, allowed these producers to make a film which they couldn’t have done without such a license unless they had lots of funding. Elephants Dream (which on the Inter Movie Data Base a user has commented it is a “failure”) is pioneering and the first of it’s kind.  

I have since used these ideas myself to make a film which I will discuss I a later blog. My greatest issue while film making is that I am not fluent with producing music and nor do I know anyone that is. As a result I have in the past struggled to come up with scores of music to accompany my films. But with the knowledge of the creative commons and many people producing free to use music I shall now be incorporating this into whatever productions I make.

Every generation has its perks, and with the Internet, the MTV and Culture Wars generations as they’re commonly referred to, has the almost untapped downloading of media via the Internet. In relation to television and films, since the 90’s there has been an unfound number of illegal downloads through peer to peer servers and torrent based clients.

A peer to peer works something like this, an individual will hold a file, lets say it’s a screener to a film that has yet to be released. They then rip this to an audio visual file or something similar on their computer and put it into their file sharing folder. They may use a client such as Kazaa or Limewire. Only when they are online and someone using the same client is searching for the specific file that they have, can someone else download it directly from this other person, as long as they are online and have an open connection. If you or that person (known as peers) get disconnected from the Internet the connection will fail and you will only be able to continue downloading when you re-establish the connection. Download speeds depends on a various number of things such as Internet connections, Firewalls and other obstacles. But nonetheless it is peer to peer and the examples I have given is one of an illegal upload and download as screeners are intended only for the person it is given to watch and review.  

A torrent based client is slightly different. Once again someone would have to gain access to a file and then create a torrent of this file. This is like a small packet of information about the bigger file, how it is constructed and where it should be constructed etc. For this you will need a Bit Torrent Client such as Bitlord or ABC. Finding a torrent is slightly different to searching on a peer to peer network as torrents are catalogued on individual websites such as Pirate Bay, Torrent Spy and Mininova. Here you put in the key words and search for a healthy file. A file deemed healthy will be one with many people downloading it and many people acting as seeders (hosting the main file). Once this has been found, the torrent is downloaded and then opened in the torrent client which then uses the information in the torrent to establish a connection and start filtering through and rebuilding the image of the visual file on your computer. The main difference between this and peer to peer is that here, instead of downloading from one individual you are downloading as part of a chain of people who are all downloading the same file as you are.
Both methods are generally used for transfer of large files and as a result have been used to share both films and television shows. Films may be ripped from DVD screeners or releases while TV shows are generally captured using a TV capture card. What evidently happens is that an online audience is built up whom instead of waiting for a US show to appear on the UK shores, download TV shows such as Lost and the latest show to hit BBC entitled Heroes as it is screened in the
US.  

The benefits of this, although arguably illegal, are that the files are of high quality, they are on your computer to view as and when convenient and can be watched over and over again and of course can be watched sometimes months before they are actually televised. Another benefit of this method is when you’ve missed an episode of something, especially if it’s popular, you may go and download it, or if you want to see an old series of something, again you can probably find someone or a group of people who have it. You also watch the programmes at your own convenience.  

This notion of time shifting isn’t a new one what with video recorders being around for more then twenty years now. But the Internet itself has opened up a whole host of problems where piracy is concerned and one that is thus far proving difficult to police. The whole file sharing phenomena has allowed audiences to grow and to share more easily television shows and films alike, but is the download via peer2peer or torrent based the way forward?. Surely you would make more hits from screening on the Internet then allowing to freely download and share video files? This one is debateable and one which will have to be considered as a method of opening up and developing a networked audience.

On August 1^st 2005 Current TV, the first viewer created content network channel went to air. Created in part by Al Gore, this channel has no less then 30% of it’s programmes on a 24 hour network (that’s approximately 7 and a half hours each day) produced and voted on by its audience. Based on an initial idea from MTV in the early nineties it allows the everyday man to report on everyday events in a way that he/she sees it. They then upload it onto the website and the online community then choose the best of what’s been uploaded to be screened on television. In a sense it’s the biggest screening before air of a programme or short film. As it’s recommended by so many people it’s more the likely going to be worth watching if on an interesting topic. The website even offers tips and training about how to make the best of what you have to upload good content.This is a very unique and innovative way of giving ownership to the viewer and ensuring that not only are they not passive, but that they actually have the freedom to air their own views and to share this with the rest of
America and with the world (online). Current TV’s programmes consisted of short pod’s of around three to seven minutes created by citizen journalists and emerging filmmakers and although shunned by critics on the outset, with thanks to the rise of other viewer created mediums such as Youtube, Current TV has boomed and is now looking to go global.
This subject has been looked at in more detail in the research dossier in the appendix section.  This is an amazing idea for television, which utilises the true power of the Internet. By screening its programmes on this medium first it acts as a filter for what is then later seen on the actual network. So for those who aren’t able to access the Internet they still get to see the best stuff. For those who don’t live in the states or can’t pick up a feed can still watch the best programmes on the Current TV websites. The whole idea is a universal one, let the people be part of what they watch and as a result the ownership and responsibility they take on with encourage them and others to watch the channel. As this channel gives the freedom to say what the people need to, it offers an untapped opinion of
middle America. With cameras and audio/visual equipment at rock bottom prices, it’s even easier now for people to get their hands on the basics to assist them with contributing.  With regards to this notion, I once again look back at an idea I had around student created content on a student based channel that would not only voice their opinions and ideas, but would also act as a calling card for potential employees. At this stage however it still seems like a demanding task to raise such an idea and one which has no validation for potential. The idea of somehow getting interactive with the audience is important and using the Internet as a means of communicating their input or feedback I believe is essential. The television of today should be a dialogue rather then a passive activity.

Once again, I would have like to have discovered the first film and television show to actually use the Internet as a means of marketing and communication, alas the Internet is so full of information that I am still sifting through piles of information to get anywhere close. What I can however establish that one of the biggest leaps in Movie-Internet relations was the release of the 1999 Blair Witch Project. The film in itself is an innovation as on a budget of little more then $30,000, and produced by a bunch of amateurs, this film went onto make millions, thanks partly to its web based advertisement campaign.  Before the film was released a website appeared entitled the Blair Witch which established that a young group of documentary film makers had gone missing in the woods. Since then, there had been police searches for them but to no avail. Later in the next year one of the filmmaker’s bags is found with footage of what happened to them. The whole website was set up as if this had really happened and people actually bought into it. The fact that people believed this actually happened and there was footage to prove it made the whole thing much more scarier then a normal fictitious horror movie.What the Internet had provided was a way of setting the ground for a film far better then any trailer could, and as it had never been done before it was new, fresh and people really did believe in it.  As a result of this and of the online boom, every film that now arrives on our screens has money plunged into marketing it on the Internet whether a full blown page or a single page with iconic images and music. Even television shows have bought into the same medium, writing up synopsis of episodes, character profiles, images and so forth, the kind of interactive input you would find on a DVD with added platforms such as online forums and special downloads.  The initial Blair Witch page is quite haunting even today, and played on one of humans greatest fears, the unknown. Today, just as poster blindness prevents us from noticing an event in our neighbourhood or an advertisement for something we really love, we often neglect the fact that amongst the enormous numbers of webpages out there, some are actually really informative, useful and entertaining. It’s no wonder though that hundreds of thousands of new pages are created every day. I believe the Internet is an important medium to use in some way or another is it is the extension to the television. Most households own or have access to a computer with the Internet and browsing is just as easy as channel surfing on an idle day. Therefore, just as with the Blair Witch project, a well placed webpage, with the right stigma attached to it, released at the appropriate time can be very affective. Its use there after can develop as your film of show develops to accommodate for its growth and its audiences needs. Ultimately it is the interactive tool between the film and the audience.

Television, as mentioned in an earlier blog, has been streaming on the Internet since the early nineties. It has however never had so many free to view channels as it does now. The World Wide Internet TeleVision is one such example, available in five European languages and harbouring the feeds to no less then 2316 stations of which 94 are coming form the
United Kingdom. These channels are however not your typical television channels but Internet specific streams such as BBC Weather, E-Music Television and Information TV, where typically pre-recorded footage and re-released programs are streamed. Most is there for relatively current, but does not have the same glossy entertaining feel as television does. Here you download a feed that you open on your media player and then watch or listen to what feed you receive.Beeline TV, Broadcast-live and Crafty TV are other similar examples. These contain more mainstream channels such as MTV feeds, Nickelodeon and ESPN, and vital news channels such as Sky News and BBC News 24 (of which some streams can be found directly from the homepages of these websites).  

Other sites offer a one off fee to view Sky channels such Watch Sky Free and Watch Online. Whether these work or not is however another matter.  Another way to turn your computer into a television is to buy a TV card which once connected to an aerial may pick up all free to view digital channels.
Even though some of these sites contain mainstream feeds, they often come from homepages of websites which can already be accessed. The majority of free to view online television channels are like the many cable networks across
America. They appeal to the minority and thus do no have such a great following. They do not screen big shows with big stars, do not have big budgets and are not subsidised through advertising. These factors alone make them an inferior option to terrestrial, digital and cable television channels which offer much more quality and range.   This is not really an avenue I wish to go down at this stage. I once had an idea of a station specifically for students, with student produced content, but such a station may fall into all of the categories which make the online channels fail so miserably.Secondary sources of the televisions use on the Internet is of course through TV guides (such as the Radio Times, TV Guide, and On the Box) and reviews (such as TV.com, Radio Times and The Mirror). 

The moving image on today’s web comes in many forms. My ISP (Internet Service Provider) is AOL and as soon as I log in I am confronted by multimedia images. I click on a link to another page and am immediately confronted by animated advertisements encouraging me to buy into Orange phone network. Advertisements have become a very common site on browsers whether on the actual webpage or as a pop up. They vary from full blown mini films, to short animations and flashing images, but there is no doubt they are out to get your attention and to make you buy. Advertising is a lucrative business.I then sign onto MSN messenger, my instant messenger client provided by Microsoft which also has access to my emails. Not only does this have the familiar advertisement at the bottom, but if I choose to talk to a friend who has a webcam, we can instantly have a video conference call (also known as a video conversation) between the two or more of use. All that is required is the latest version of MSN, a webcam at either end and an Internet connection. This is only between two PC’s though and is very basic compared to that which was discussed in an earlier blog, but nonetheless it is video technology used for communication at its simplest.
I then check my emails where I am able not only to receive links to video sites (which will be discussed shortly) but also have video footage sent to me which I can then download onto my computer and watch at my own leisure (on a media player such as Windows) whether it be a home movie or something else.  A visit to MySpace, to check up on my friends, once again allows me to view videos (although this site hosts links to other sites as well as uploading your own here). The videos here may be of anything within reason (i.e. should not offend nor break any laws). It allows for a wide variety of media file formats (asf, .wmv, .mov, .qt, .3g2, .3gp, .3gp2, .3gpp, .gsm, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4, .m4v, .mp4v, .cmp, .divx, .xvid, .264, .rm, .rmvb, .flv.) and tend to be either music related of video blogs also known as vlogs, of people logging their day to day lives on video and then uploading them to the Internet.  Many of Myspaces’ links come from a site called Youtube. This site, developed in 2005, has a simple yet extremely affective concept. It is a platform which allows for people all across the world to upload video content of all kinds of variety as long as it does not breach the terms and conditions of the site. As a viewer you simply go the website and start browsing. The homepage hosts featured videos as well as popular videos and active channels. You may also browse through categories, channels and communities or through key words or tags.

Videos are screened in a decent size window and can be viewed in full screen. You as the audience are also encouraged to rate and leave comments on the videos which you watch. On the right hand column you are also recommended other similar videos to watch. Thus making the site very addictive and easy to handle. If choosing to use Youtube, you simply create an account and then are able to upload your own videos. Most users are limited to 10 minutes per video, or 100mb. This concept had never been done before, but since has spawned many similar sites such as Google video which not only also allows you to upload your own videos, but allows you to search the entire Internet for relevant videos to your keywords. Once again you can watch these in full screen mode, and are offered other recommendations as well as categories of videos and the top 100 (also through audience rating).  

Then there are podcasts which are generally video or audio files, which are intended to be played on computers and mobile phones, and are watched or listened through RSS feeds. There are also websites such as podcast.net which hosts others podcasts for mainstream viewing. These seem much more basic (especially the audio only feeds) compared with the aforementioned Youtube and Google Video and so lack the multimedia feel of what a computer of phone now can offer. It is therefore clearly obvious why it is not as popular.  Then there are websites such as peekvid, which host links to a number of movies, TV series, cartoons, comedy clips and anime which can be found on the Internet for viewing. In this respect it is slightly more specific in its content. This website however contains many invalid links, and those that do appear tend to be of low quality and in breach of copyright.  Citizen Journalism is another form of user generated content and is discussed further along with examples in the appendix section.  All of the above are different varieties of the way video can and have been used on the Internet, and would not exist without such a platform. These forms of video delivery and purpose are the main forms within the online sphere and almost set a boundary to which I can either build upon and improve, or look further to break out of and adapt. Adaptation however needs to first serve a purpose. All of the types mentioned above can fall into four main categories; information, entertainment, advertising and communication from an audiences point of view. From an author there are also such considerations as creativity, intended meanings and expression of oneself.  All of these need to be taken into account when producing an online product. From the outset I should have it clear in my mind which category I want to fall into.