My Essay Plan

Does the extensive use of computer/video games have an adverse impact on the health of young people. What are the most recent papers? Clarify what both sides of the argument claim and only then offer your reasoned opinion based on facts.


I chose this topic because there are currently, so many violent games out there that young players are addicted to. With this in mind there some health scares and also disruptions in their everyday life. In my view, the stereotypical boys are getting aggressive and more physical due to such violent exposure. I will be conducting some extensive research for reliable evidence to show what issues are arising when young adolescents are participating in video games and online games. Writing both sides, the good and the bad side of video games for adolescents, hopefully I come up with a conclusion that is agreeable to all. 

OUR FILM!

Finally done. Our film is about text messaging which is a very communicative tool today. Here is the link to our video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnfgRO2ZCOg

Week 8 - filmmaking progress part four...

We are nearly finished with our editing work. All the scenes are successfully shot. Some scenes that were initially in mind did not work out because we are only beginners I don’t think we can shoot a scene where the guy is abducted by aliens. Today, we are in search of the right music for our film.  Thankfully Creative Commons Mixter helped us out. Any music we can use legally for free. I found one that was quite suitable for our theme. All we had to do is credit the music provider in our video and that’s it!

Using music by someone else without permission is definitely unacceptable. Thanks to Creative Commons, films like ours just for classes are just so convenient. Students can’t afford to pay thousands of dollars just for a music score. Next week our group will do a finishing touch on the film before class.

Week 7 - filmmaking progress part two...

So we started shooting today. We shot scenes through my iPhone but we made a little mistake. We shot it vertically if that makes sense. Does not look too professional but hopefully it works out well through some good editing skills. We also took some screenshots of the text messages so the storyline follows nicely. We tried using iMovie but failed. We didn’t take all of the scenarios at once just the ones we could shoot in class. Two of our group members decided to shoot them at their place since they are roommates. So, if all that is complete by this week, all we have to do is the editing next week. One of our group members knew how to use Windows video maker so we chose that instead. It’s better to edit with the one you can use right?

Come to think about it, our idea for this short film is very intriguing. Have you ever felt you’re heart skipping a beat because of text messaging? This is exactly what we are portraying. A little exaggeration here and there but still the power of this phone communication device, toying your emotions is definitely a highlight.

Week 7 - Lecture

Wikipedia is definitely the first source I choose to find information about anything I need to know instantly.  Of course many of our teachers encourage us not to use it in our research essays, it is however a good starting point.

The readings for today talked about peer governance and the 'inclusionist and deletionists' of Wikipedia. The most interesting section was the example case of the 'inclusionist and deletionists'. It is without a doubt that Wikipedia's information is untrustworthy. Mainly because people can edit the information easily. It is an open source. Although it is now quite restricted, it is still doubtful. Some information can be true but some can be fabricated. But, then again, despite of all this, people tend to come around Wikipedia usage. Perhaps because we are already so used to it, it is an automatic choice. Like using Google as search engine.  'Google it' is probably the most common phrase now... 'Just quickly read Wikipedia' is only just behind.

Kostakis, V 2010, 'Identifying and Understanding the Problems of Wikipedia's Peer Governance: The Case of Inclusionists Versus Deletionists', First Monday, vol. 15, no. 3, viewed 7 September 2011, <http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2613/2479>

Week 6 - filmmaking progress part one...

Our task is to make a short clip anything that deals with new communication technology. One of our group members suggested that we should have a girl texting her boyfriend. They start messaging each other but the guy stops. With no reply, the girl worries and starts thinking about different kind of scenarios in her head. Thought this would be a great idea for filming because it is quite relatable and texting is of course, a new communication device. Sort of like the ice coffee advertisement for Dare.

We will have to go through some copyright issues because it is important that we don’t use anything illegally. Creative commons is one of the sources that we will use especially for music. All in all it was a great discussion. We made a Facebook group just to keep everyone in contact in case someone found a new idea. Which is probably a good communication tool. I think for group assignments Facebook group is a great way to communicate to everyone and share ideas or comments.

Week 6 Lecture

The birth of cinema was 1895 and since then filmmaking developed in a way that no one possibly could have thought back in the days. By developing new technologies we can now watch movies on demand. The Internet can easily do this as it also allows you to watch streaming live films on television via Netflix or Foxtel. YouTube is another predominate device that consumers can watch feature films. It is a good source for developing filmmakers before entering the ‘real world’ of cinema. In our lecture, famous directors shot some short films targeting the Internet market. BMW short film series was a great success.


The timeline of cinema, as our lecturer elaborated, reveals how much technology developed during these periods. It is still continuing to please the audience. 3D television says it all.

An article questions if cinema is still required in our world today. The issue is that most revenue comes from DVDs instead of cinema itself. Is it killing Hollywood? Well not exactly, films are still making money right? And isn’t that what Hollywood is all about? Worst-case scenario, consumers watching films online for free. Although, it is quite scary what the future holds for cinema next. Hopefully technology will keep cinema alive instead of the Internet dominating.

Roddick, N 2006, ‘Does Cinema Need Cinema?’, Journal of Sight and Sound, vol. 16,  no. 9, pp. 1-12, viewed 4 September 2011, ProQuest Central database