Mobile Blogging

I'm hoping to be able to blog in the form of pictures, videos, and text sent from my phone. Judging by the post below (failed SMS post) google blogger still has some glitches, but hopefully these will be worked out by the start of sundance.

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Sundance

Currently I am working on plans to attend the Sundance Film Festival (should have flight arrangements done by tomorrow). I have been researching all about the festival from ways to network to the films that are premiering. It's all exciting.
This year, Sundance will be premiering one shorts program, one documentary and one narrative film all on the same night, Thursday, January 21. this is different from what they have done in the past and the new schedule offers more opportunities to see films.
This year, Spike Jonze and James Franco have both entered shorts into the competition. To me this seems a little unfair that unknown first time filmmakers will be competing with some seasoned veterans. I think that the shorts competition should remain only for those who have never produced a studio backed feature. This would keep things new and offer more opportunities for the first timers.
This article offers more info about the shorts, and I will keep updating the blog with Sundance related news as I get it.

QR codes

A QR code (Quick Reference Code) is a bar code that automatically directs a person to a url when he or she takes a picture of it with a cell phone (an app needs to be pre-installed). QR codes are very popular in Asia (especially Japan) and are slowly working their way into American culture. I've seen them on magazines, posters, and print ads, all of which direct the user to a site and allow them to find out more about a product. I have yet to see them used in this way, but they can also work when viewed on a TV, such as in a commercial spot or banner ad in the lower third of a program. The best part about them is that they're extremely user friendly and free to generate.
Here is the QR code for my site:

Comcast acquires NBC

This article makes note of Comcast acquiring NBC from GE for 5.8B (official deal set to go down tomorrow morning). The user comments seem to harshly criticize Comcast for it's poor service and low bandwidth support.
For me, I question what the future of hulu.com will be. Will it start to be a pay service? If so, how will it charge?

Laura Mulvey's Gaze Theory and the Internet

A common theory in film studies is the idea of the gaze: visual pleasure through scopophilia. Feminist theorist Laura Mulvey originated this idea that cinema provides visual pleasure through an identification process with the male on-screen actor. When men see a woman actor they look “at” her, and when they see a male actor they look “with” him or put themselves in his place. When women see a woman actor they also look “at” her, and hence see her through a male “gaze”. I was wondering if this same theory would apply to Internet generated content such as youtube videos. Do we look at the videos with a sense of voyeurism or do we gaze with the people in the videos?

This blog post was originally published HERE on my Digital Media Blog.