Anyone who dropped by the ABC's News page during cyclone Larry would have noticed some of the stuff we were doing to enhance the overall coverage, including posting video rushes and accepting and posting pictures from the audience. As a result, the Public Relations Institute of Australia had a chat with Brisbane ABC News Online boss Bob Johnston.
"On our site now, we invite contributions from the audience as a matter of course. So I guess these sorts of events focused the public's attention on what's possible. But we hope to get to a point where this is just a standard part of our news coverage, and not only for big events, not only for capital cities, if there's an event that's important to people in small communities, I mean if they can get a photo to us, we're happy to take it. So it really is transforming the relationship with the audience."
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Monday, March 27, 2006
Another remix trailer - Must Love Jaws
In the tradition of "The Shining", "West Side Story", "A Christmas Story" and "Titanic" remix trailers comes "Jaws" in the style of... well, not exactly sure. Certainly not the way it was originally produced, that's for sure.
"In the resort community of Amity Island, Chief Brodie and Matt Hooper didn't always fit in...
Until the day they took a fateful trip, and met a special friend.
In a world, that doesn't understand, in a place where all hope is lost, love comes to the surface.
This Summer, prepare for the family adventure of a lifetime..."
I never thought I'd say this, but thanks to Mobutu from the Adobe forums for the heads up.
Update - Also got pointed towards a weepy, chickflick remix of "Cabin Fever". Would have been a little better without the blatantly false review quotes, but very nicely done anyway.
"In the resort community of Amity Island, Chief Brodie and Matt Hooper didn't always fit in...
Until the day they took a fateful trip, and met a special friend.
In a world, that doesn't understand, in a place where all hope is lost, love comes to the surface.
This Summer, prepare for the family adventure of a lifetime..."
I never thought I'd say this, but thanks to Mobutu from the Adobe forums for the heads up.
Update - Also got pointed towards a weepy, chickflick remix of "Cabin Fever". Would have been a little better without the blatantly false review quotes, but very nicely done anyway.
Friday, March 24, 2006
GetUp! - "Fund Our ABC" petition
Obviously I feel it would be inappropriate for me as an employee of the ABC to sign this, however it doesn't preclude me from making it known to others.
GetUp! - Action For Australia - www.getup.org.au
Update 28/03/06 - After busting the initial goal of 10,000 signatures in 12 hours and the second goal of 20,000 signatures in 24 hours, the goal now is to hit 50,000 signatures before it closes today. Already they're over 43,000.
Friday, March 17, 2006
DV.com - Trish and Chris Meyer | Camera Control, Part 1
I started on After Effects back at version 4, and I thought I had a pretty good grip on how things worked, having had years of experience dealing with keyframes, compositing and interpolation as a vision switcher. Then version 5 came out and introduced AE's "3D space", complete with cameras. I have to admit it's an area I've tended to shy away from, lacking any good examples of basic 3D tutorials. But now, AE gurus Trish and Chris Meyer run us through the basics of After Effect's 3D cameras, and show a trick how to get nice, smooth movement.
As always, DV.com requires registration.
What is Podcasting? | Ask A Ninja
The ABC is one of the most prolific creators of audio podcasts. But what is Podcasting? Ask A Ninja answers that very question to anyone over the age of 12.
"That's the simplest way to explain it.
We're a factory that produces apple pies for whales."
Man, I love this guy.
"That's the simplest way to explain it.
We're a factory that produces apple pies for whales."
Man, I love this guy.
The Bulletin - The ABC at war
The article that's caused all the fuss over the last few days.
While there, don't forget to check out the full interview with Minister Coonan, and a little feature piece by Paul Daly.
And meanwhile, we let people talk and just get on with the job.
While there, don't forget to check out the full interview with Minister Coonan, and a little feature piece by Paul Daly.
And meanwhile, we let people talk and just get on with the job.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Australian media reform - It's happening!
A bit of light reading for when I get home tonight.
If you have thoughts on where Australia's media needs to be headed in the long term, have your say. Minister Coonan wants to hear from you!
If you have thoughts on where Australia's media needs to be headed in the long term, have your say. Minister Coonan wants to hear from you!
ABC Video on Demand (VOD) page went live Monday
Just thought Id mention it. This is stage two of our Broadband Revolution, moving on from our initial Broadband page.
Perhaps more importantly from my perspective,
Perhaps more importantly from my perspective,
Sunday, March 05, 2006
So what's wit' da no posts?
I have to admit to being less than diligent with my blog postings of late. This has mainly to do with my ever increasing workload (with more responsibility to come in the next few months) and my ongoing moderator position with Adobe at their User Forums. I have to say, with Premiere Pro 2 out it's just amazing how many posts that place runs through every day.
Anyway, tomorrow I'm off to Sydney for the A.B.C. Cross Platform Production Conference at the Ultimo studios. A fascinating mix of international guests talking about what they've been doing and the problems and solutions they've found in this area, followed by the heads of the ABC departments telling us what they've been up to and where they think the Corp is headed in the future. If nothing else, I get to take a look around the new ABC studios. I spent a few months working at the old Gore Hill studios back in 2000, but I've heard wonderful things about the new facility. I'm really looking forward to it. To top it all off, Tuesday marks 1 year since we launched ABC2, so much festivity is to be had that night. I keep thinking I should take a video camera, but I doubt I'd get mine through the door. I do intend to take notes, and pictures, so hopefully I should have some thoughts on that once I get back. If nothing else I'm thinking I'd have been better served with a smaller camera than the XL1-S I currently own.
One last thing. Monday marks the launch of the new half-hour version of Australia Wide. The producer's come up with an interesting mix, and we'll see how it all comes together with her in Sydney and us in Brisbane. If you can watch ABC2, give it a whirl at 5pm and 8:30pm and let me know what you think.
Until then, bat on.
Anyway, tomorrow I'm off to Sydney for the A.B.C. Cross Platform Production Conference at the Ultimo studios. A fascinating mix of international guests talking about what they've been doing and the problems and solutions they've found in this area, followed by the heads of the ABC departments telling us what they've been up to and where they think the Corp is headed in the future. If nothing else, I get to take a look around the new ABC studios. I spent a few months working at the old Gore Hill studios back in 2000, but I've heard wonderful things about the new facility. I'm really looking forward to it. To top it all off, Tuesday marks 1 year since we launched ABC2, so much festivity is to be had that night. I keep thinking I should take a video camera, but I doubt I'd get mine through the door. I do intend to take notes, and pictures, so hopefully I should have some thoughts on that once I get back. If nothing else I'm thinking I'd have been better served with a smaller camera than the XL1-S I currently own.
One last thing. Monday marks the launch of the new half-hour version of Australia Wide. The producer's come up with an interesting mix, and we'll see how it all comes together with her in Sydney and us in Brisbane. If you can watch ABC2, give it a whirl at 5pm and 8:30pm and let me know what you think.
Until then, bat on.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Flash Video FAQ
Figure it out yourself! L.A. video firm Roguish has gone to the trouble of allowing you to compare, side by side, different Flash codecs and encoders using a variety of different video content, from text over colour gradients, to water, to fire, to black & white 16mm. With the new Flash 8 codec becoming more and more of an option for internet video delivery it's a very handy little tool to have access to. Kudos to Roguish for putting that sort of information out there.
Australian Story Online - episode 2
The second of our Australian Story Online specials went up last night.
For three decades Peter Dawkins was the man Australian singers relied on to turn their music into chart-topping, record-breaking hits.
Then, at just 42 years of age, he walked into a doctor’s surgery complaining of various odd symptoms. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.
Last year, an extraordinary medical procedure that held hope of a better quality of life was offered to Dawkins, but there was a catch – it would cost $35k and Peter Dawkins 'simply didn’t have the money' after being unable to work for so long.
It was at that point the industry that he had done so much for returned the favour in a most unexpected way…Friday, February 24, 2006
Podcasting is IPTV's Killer App | DV.com
Franks Capria makes a pretty good point in this article from DV.com.
I agree that the iPod is a mediocre portable video device. The screen is too small and scratches too easily. I stand too far away from it on the treadmill at the gym. The battery life is too short, lacking the juice for a New York-to-Los Angeles flight. The click wheel, which is an awesome music controller, isn't nearly as intuitive as a video controller. But none of that really matters because I don't think of my iPod as a portable video device. It's an IPTV set-top box.
It's an interesting discussion, running through the current problems facing IPTV and Podcasting, how to create a Podcast and where the money is.
I agree that the iPod is a mediocre portable video device. The screen is too small and scratches too easily. I stand too far away from it on the treadmill at the gym. The battery life is too short, lacking the juice for a New York-to-Los Angeles flight. The click wheel, which is an awesome music controller, isn't nearly as intuitive as a video controller. But none of that really matters because I don't think of my iPod as a portable video device. It's an IPTV set-top box.
It's an interesting discussion, running through the current problems facing IPTV and Podcasting, how to create a Podcast and where the money is.
DV.com - Podcasting is IPTV's Killer App
As always, DV.com requires registration, but it's worth it.
As always, DV.com requires registration, but it's worth it.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Australian Story Online - A week (almost) on.
So I drop in on Martin yesterday to get the lowdown on what I'm sure will be the waves of adulation from all involved given our victory on Monday night.
Nothin'.
He makes a very good point.
"Last night we posted a full version of one of this country's top programs on the internet simultaneously to it being broadcast, and not a peep from anyone."
Comments were then made that if this had been a commercial channel the trade rags would have been buzzing with the news. But that's the joy of working for the national broadcaster.
Nothin'.
He makes a very good point.
"Last night we posted a full version of one of this country's top programs on the internet simultaneously to it being broadcast, and not a peep from anyone."
Comments were then made that if this had been a commercial channel the trade rags would have been buzzing with the news. But that's the joy of working for the national broadcaster.
TV catches the Net video bug | Tech News on ZDNet
After years of the internet being used to show TV programs, it looks like TV is going to start showing content created for the internet.
Because they need something to get the peoples back.
Because they need something to get the peoples back.
Ellis vs Whedon - count the nerdgasms
So anyway, last year Warren Ellis starts posting pictures (Ex. 1, Ex. 2, Ex .3, Ex. 4) taken by his loyal (and devout) readers from the San Diego Comic Book Convention. Some of the images were truly horrifying in a "cross-the-road-to-escape-even-looking-at-you-,-you-FREAK!!!" kind of way, but a lot of fun. So it comes as no surprise that Ellis posted the fact that the site for this year's Con had gone online.
Of course, that's when the fun began.
In response to Warren Ellis' statement that
"there are one hundred thousand hungry people out there who need to attend San Diego Comics Convention in order to walk right past all that comics shit and go straight to sniffing Brandon Routh’s cricketbox, sending bits of themselves to the cast of SERENITY and masturbating ferociously in the men’s stalls while wearing V FOR VENDETTA masks and discounted Hulk Hands."
the page got a response from one Joss Whedon, who was obviously sitting around his office trying to avoid writing the sequel to Serenity.
And thus it began.
"Who is this Ellis guy anyway? He thinks he all that cuz he wroted “Planety”. The facts is, KomiKon is AWESOME becuz people dress up like stuff — but nobody dresses like Warner Ellis, I guess, mister sour grapes. I talked to Sumner Glou and she said nobody ever mailed her body parts except for one time an arm and then a messenger brought her a thyroid gland but big deal, SERENDIPITY fans happen to be the most tastefullest fans who have extra or redundant body parts."
The back and forth went on with gay abandon.
To read the responses from those witnessing it you'd have thought God had dropped in on Lucifer's LJ site to hang some shit before suggesting they should sneak out for a beer later.
"Boys, boys… don’t fight! I have an idea! DO join up, and write some comics TOGETHER. Deliciously twisted plots and characters, touching moments of hilarity… it.. would… be… og… crap. Fangasm. Now I have to change."
"Holy Procrastination! I love it! Hey Joss, as long as you’re slackin’, come over to Whedonesque - we need more - uh - you!"
"I am in the same message thread as both Warren Ellis AND Joss Whedon. I am vicariously famous. Twice."
"Man, this is just ten different kinds off geek-borne happiness right here. Two of my favorite comic-mkaer-people trading teh funnay right in front of me. Thank God for strep."
And on it went.
Of course, the blogosphere went crazy, as it is wont to do.
I mention this in passing because I find it an interesting example of celebrity, the internet and geeks in general. No outrageous statements or insights, but I get the feeling that this will be of further interest to me down the track. With that in mind I continue this blog's stated purpose of being a poor man's del.icio.us so I know where to find it when it becomes relevant to something.
That is all.
Of course, that's when the fun began.
In response to Warren Ellis' statement that
"there are one hundred thousand hungry people out there who need to attend San Diego Comics Convention in order to walk right past all that comics shit and go straight to sniffing Brandon Routh’s cricketbox, sending bits of themselves to the cast of SERENITY and masturbating ferociously in the men’s stalls while wearing V FOR VENDETTA masks and discounted Hulk Hands."
the page got a response from one Joss Whedon, who was obviously sitting around his office trying to avoid writing the sequel to Serenity.
And thus it began.
"Who is this Ellis guy anyway? He thinks he all that cuz he wroted “Planety”. The facts is, KomiKon is AWESOME becuz people dress up like stuff — but nobody dresses like Warner Ellis, I guess, mister sour grapes. I talked to Sumner Glou and she said nobody ever mailed her body parts except for one time an arm and then a messenger brought her a thyroid gland but big deal, SERENDIPITY fans happen to be the most tastefullest fans who have extra or redundant body parts."
The back and forth went on with gay abandon.
To read the responses from those witnessing it you'd have thought God had dropped in on Lucifer's LJ site to hang some shit before suggesting they should sneak out for a beer later.
"Boys, boys… don’t fight! I have an idea! DO join up, and write some comics TOGETHER. Deliciously twisted plots and characters, touching moments of hilarity… it.. would… be… og… crap. Fangasm. Now I have to change."
"Holy Procrastination! I love it! Hey Joss, as long as you’re slackin’, come over to Whedonesque - we need more - uh - you!"
"I am in the same message thread as both Warren Ellis AND Joss Whedon. I am vicariously famous. Twice."
"Man, this is just ten different kinds off geek-borne happiness right here. Two of my favorite comic-mkaer-people trading teh funnay right in front of me. Thank God for strep."
And on it went.
Of course, the blogosphere went crazy, as it is wont to do.
I mention this in passing because I find it an interesting example of celebrity, the internet and geeks in general. No outrageous statements or insights, but I get the feeling that this will be of further interest to me down the track. With that in mind I continue this blog's stated purpose of being a poor man's del.icio.us so I know where to find it when it becomes relevant to something.
That is all.
Eddie gets it!?! (In other news, pigs to commence daily flights between Sydney and Melbourne.)
Newly rewarded (the poisoned chalice perhaps?) CEO of Channel 9, the guy who was all over your TV screen for the last five or so years, Eddie McGuire has his say to "the Australian" about his long term views for the network now that he's got one of the most heavily scrutinised jobs in Australian television.
Maybe he could phone a friend.
All this is yet to come in our brave new post-Kerry TV world...
McGuire admits that while his initial concentration is short-term, his mind wanders over the big-picture issues. Attracting viewers back to FTA is one of them. "We have to be more nimble on our feet, keeping up with what people want," he says. "That can be difficult when on one hand you have people getting their television on tiny phone screens, while others put massive plasma screens on their walls. Television has always been about information and entertainment. Meeting both needs at the same time is the trick."
And that, of course, is the trick. Channel 9, the darling of the blue-rinse set over the last 20 or so years, has been accused before of dismissing younger viewers in favour of where the money was. So how does Channel 9 face this brave new world of Generation C while maintaining a link to audience members that have trouble dealing with their remote control? Moreover, given former Nine supremo Sam Chisholm said last year that his view of the future was TV, only smaller, will there be a change in thinking now that the iPods of Eddie's kids have his attention?"I absolutely believe free-to-air television can maintain its mass audiences. There are still a lot of things that haven't changed. TV is interesting in that it's had an image of being new and flash for a long time, but it has also been very conservative.
"People my age have grown up with traditional television, but kids these days are into mobile services, watching television, texting and using the internet at the same time.
"They are now their own programmers, and the challenge is there to try to get that iPod generation to bring their ideas to us, so we can be their portal of choice. The trick is to be relevant to them again. That is not to say you're going to jettison the generation before them, but there's a mix there somewhere."
Maybe he could phone a friend.
All this is yet to come in our brave new post-Kerry TV world...
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
"Welcome to the Super Bowl" | ESPN.com: Page 2
Bill Simmons runs through his experience at the NBA's All Star Weekend held in Houston, Texas. A fun read, written as only Simmons can. Make sure you read to the end to hear his story about sitting at the next table to M.J. and Charles Oakley in the bar at the Houston Four Seasons.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Australian Story Online - The first of many
Those who pay regular attention to KingLeonard - The Weblog will realise that things have been quite quiet of late. This has been as a result of;
I mentioned at the end of last year that we were working on this, and I made particular note of its importance, not from a viewer experience or as an enabler of "folksonomic interactivity", but from the publishing aspect. Well, while this episode has actually been quite a bitch to get done (albeit only taking a day or two from our end), the system is slowly being put into place to automate and streamline the process even further. Flash video plugins for our automated compression system are on order and further tweaks are being made to the ABC's publishing software. The issue here is to create a system that allows other program producers to create ongoing extended editions to allow viewers the opportunity to not only view the entire program at their leisure, but also see extra bits that just can't make it into the show due to the inherent shortcomings of scheduled content. By making this as simple and easy as possible it opens up all sorts of opportunities for these programs to get involved rather than be scared away by the prospect of "compression" and "servers".
Anyway, I took a few pictures to mark the occasion and here they are.
The "Fishbowl" - home of the Brains Trust.
Jessica Daly - She's the one looking after all the content. You can see Jess' small
screen debut at the start of the McInnes Pilot we produced late last year.
Tim Madden - Design Guru and all round genius,
telling his wife he's going to be home late.
Tim making sure the site is running before it goes live.
The idea is that this computer shows us what people are seeing in their
homes and offices, beyond the boundaries of our proxy server.
So all in all a bit of a win. I'll be interested to hear feedback, which will no doubt begin tomorrow, but I think we did all right. Once again, kudos must go to Martin, Jess and Tim who have driven this project forward. Once it's fully operational I can see this being the start of big things for the future of the Corp online.
- Two Weeks Holiday
- A superior workload upon returning to the job
I mentioned at the end of last year that we were working on this, and I made particular note of its importance, not from a viewer experience or as an enabler of "folksonomic interactivity", but from the publishing aspect. Well, while this episode has actually been quite a bitch to get done (albeit only taking a day or two from our end), the system is slowly being put into place to automate and streamline the process even further. Flash video plugins for our automated compression system are on order and further tweaks are being made to the ABC's publishing software. The issue here is to create a system that allows other program producers to create ongoing extended editions to allow viewers the opportunity to not only view the entire program at their leisure, but also see extra bits that just can't make it into the show due to the inherent shortcomings of scheduled content. By making this as simple and easy as possible it opens up all sorts of opportunities for these programs to get involved rather than be scared away by the prospect of "compression" and "servers".
Anyway, I took a few pictures to mark the occasion and here they are.
The "Fishbowl" - home of the Brains Trust.
Jessica Daly - She's the one looking after all the content. You can see Jess' small
screen debut at the start of the McInnes Pilot we produced late last year.
Tim Madden - Design Guru and all round genius,
telling his wife he's going to be home late.
Tim making sure the site is running before it goes live.
What better way to celebrate than wood fired pizzas.
"Ooh! Exotic Potato!"
"Ooh! Exotic Potato!"
I should mention, that guy with his back to the camera is
Martin Southgate, driving force behind the project
and uber-producer.
Martin Southgate, driving force behind the project
and uber-producer.
Martin and Jess check the site once it's live. Despite some misgivings from
certain southern naysayers, the Flash Server held its own through the peak
period following the show.
certain southern naysayers, the Flash Server held its own through the peak
period following the show.
Jess "capturing the moment"
Martin and Tim checking the site through our "Off-Air" computer,
in the heart of the News Online offices.
in the heart of the News Online offices.
The idea is that this computer shows us what people are seeing in their
homes and offices, beyond the boundaries of our proxy server.
So all in all a bit of a win. I'll be interested to hear feedback, which will no doubt begin tomorrow, but I think we did all right. Once again, kudos must go to Martin, Jess and Tim who have driven this project forward. Once it's fully operational I can see this being the start of big things for the future of the Corp online.
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