Dead Actors, Live Audiences

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to Mass Comm 101 classes in Spring 2018.

If I want to see Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in a movie, I find a copy of their 1949 film, Adam's Rib. Soon I may be able to see them in a whole now movie created many years after their deaths. Movie technology has advanced to the degree that not only do we have trouble telling animation from live action. We now have difficulty telling live actors from dead ones. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Is this technology good for the movie business or bad for the movie business? Why?

•What jobs will this technology eliminate? What jobs will it create?

•You are a major Hollywood star. How do you use this technology to fund your retirement? How do you use it to provide income for your heirs?

•Will the audience want to see new movies (or TV shows or video games) with John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe in them? In 50 years will audiences want to see new movies with a young Jennifer Lawrence or Johnny Depp?

Virtual Thrills

The rollercoaster business has had its ups and downs. Sure, you can create faster rides and bigger drops, but it increases safety risks and decreases the number of people willing to enjoy such an intense experience.
The rollercoaster business has had its ups and downs. Sure, you can create faster rides and bigger drops, but it increases safety risks and decreases the number of people willing to enjoy such an intense experience.

This is where virtual reality (VR) comes in. This summer, Six Flags Magic Mountain started handing out VR goggles on one of its rollercoasters, turning it into a multimedia experience. Will this be the next big thing in theme park rides or is it a novelty that will wear off soon?NPR reports.

Questions...

•Who has used VR? What have you used it for?

•How might you adapt "Avitar" as a VR rollercoaster experience?

•What other stories (movies or other stories) could be adapted for a VR rollercoaster experience?

•How could Magic Mountain use VR to compete with Knotts' Scary Farm around Halloween?

•In your opinion, will VR be a hugely successful technology, or will it be more like a Segway for your eyes?

Gotta Catch 'Em All

Pokemon is a little like a horror movie. Just when you think the monster is dead, it rises up once again.


Just when you thought you were through with Pokemon, it rises up in the form of Pokemon Go, which has become an immediate sensation. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Who has played Pokemon Go?

•How could the Getty Center use augmented reality? How could it be used for a Hollywood Boulevard walking tour?

•How much of Pokemon Go's success is due to escapism during a time of police shootings and other turmoil?

•How could Pokemon Go be used to get children (or adults) more physically active?

•What negatives could come rom Pokemon Go?

•Will this be a short-lived fad, or something that will hang around awhile?

Sage on a Stage

Is the college classroom really necessary? Why not have a studio, some slick software, a behind-the-scenes production assistant, and a lot of students interacting through monitors. This is one vision of the future of education coming out of Harvard University. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Who has tried Distance Education (DE)? Is it as good as the physical classroom?

•What types of students are a good fit for DE?

•Would Glendale College students be a good fit for the type of DE that is being tried at Harvard?

•TV news anchors look and act a little different than newspaper reporters? Might we see some differences between classroom and DE professors?

•How will education be technologically different in 20 years? Will all education be DE?

•What careers will open up with the expansion of DE?

Virtually There

The following is a MediaNote Classic. It was originally presented to MC101 students in February 2015.

Folklore has it that when "The Great Train Robbery" was shown in 1903, some audience members pulled out their revolvers and shot up the screen. Unfamiliar with the idea of moving pictures, some folks didn't know how to react when an actor pointed a gun at them from the screen. So, just to be safe, they fired.

Hard to imagine what they would think of virtual reality, where people can experience a war zone or a historic event or a fictional world. NPR reports.

Questions...

•Create the VR version of "Avatar." What would the VR user want to experience in the Avatar world?

•Name a movie about a real-life event. What would you like to experience from that movie?

•What are some real-life adventures you would like to experience, but probably won't?

•Will this technology be good or bad for Hollywood? Why?

Harvard for Everyone!

Your Humble Blogger went to Harvard. OK, maybe he doesn't have a degree from Harvard, but he took the campus tour.

Today, you can take the campus tour at Harvard or Yale or many other elite (and not-so-elite) universities through virtual reality headsets. The Los Angeles Times reports.

By the way, the locals pronounce it Hahvahd (the local regional accent tends to pronounce "r" as "h".

Questions...

•Would you consider a VR tour when thinking about transfer, or do you prefer brochures, campus visits and other traditional recruitment tools?

•Should GCC send low-cost campus VR tours to prospective out-of-state or international students? Why or why not?

•What can't a virtual tour tell you about a prospective transfer campus?

•Will this type of campus tour do more to benefit students from high income families or low-income families? Why?