PPP Seminar: Internet Use and Copyright

This week was amongst the most important of all PPP presentations regarding how one can protect his/her own content from being stolen as an intellectual property or how one goes around the possible violations of the same concept. Personally, this is the most useful PPP presentation so far hence `i have never quite fully understood the parameters of copyright and have seen countless European and American cases where such infringements have been punitively assessed, most of which where about music or art. Luckily, in the UK any content produced is automatically copyrighted, which eliminates the necessity to register one's content for fear of plagiarism.

Subjected to Copyright:
An author or individual should not adapt, distribute, publicly transmit or perform, rent, or even lend content without consulting the respective copyright laws to said piece of work/content. As for who owns copyright, from the presentation I understood that it is the author or the company/agency that publishes the piece. Luckily, for educational purposes copyright applies without permission (given that the educational establishment is in compliance with some form of legal document/contract, like one needed for a library). I had been afraid of violating copyright in any shape or form for my next COP animation which shall feature names of brands, a super copyright double-whammy.

Alternatives to Copyright:
I had never heard of any alternatives to copyright prior, and was always thinking that every individual, like it or not (especially in the UK) is subjected to copyright in some way for his/her own personal content.

Copyleft - A form of licensing that gives a right to redistribute, adapt, or reproduce a piece of work. The main concept of Copyleft had been described by Richard Stallman in his "GNU Manifesto", where he had said that "GNU is the public domain". Upon further research of this notion, I found out that Copyleft has several lawfully identified levels of licensing that all differ in the magnitude of the restriction, ranging from Freedom 0 to Freedom 3:

Freedom 0 - Piece of work can be used
Freedom 1 - Piece of work can be studied
Freedom 2 - Piece of work can be shared with others
Freedom 3 - Piece of work can be modified and distribute altered such versions

Creative Commons - a versatile and liberating license of intellectual property and content that provides simplicity and standardization. Founded by Lawrence Lessig as a non-profit organization, Creative Commons is a more established set of licensing which has an official website which assists aspiring creators in licensing their work under their free regulations and allows them to expand their creative works. As does Copyleft, so does Creative Commons carry levels of licensing which give the artist a choice of how he/she wishes to disseminate hers/his work, all written down on their official website (link at bottom of blog entry). As my research continued, I found that artists such as Nine Inch Nails use delineations of Creative Commons so that they may sell their music without having to compete with others selling copies of the same work. Thus, for my personal animations (non-educational) I will be using Creative Commons as it appeals to me the most in both freedom and liability.

Sources:
"What is Copyleft? - GNU Project" - http://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html
"Creative Commons" - https://creativecommons.org

PPP Seminar: Presentation

During this week's PPP seminar, we entered the realm of presentations and public speaking, where one should effectively elaborate upon a new concept in front of an audience. We dissected the works of a successful and efficacious presentation and were given key tips which are to assist us in being concise, informative, and comprehensible during our journey of lecturing. Truth be told, it takes time to build up experience in presenting, and as one goes down that road, tricky moments of stage fright or difficulty during speaking will occur.

However, ironically, the presentation on how to present was quite effective in offering support for our group of animators and future presentors. The main key points of the seminar are written within my sketchbook so that I may reference them conveniently throughout my years of college, and even after, with the hopes that I will remember them (I probably will automatically from so much referencing). Among the most crucial pieces of information we got is the tip to NOT STRESS OUT! If one is properly prepared to address a crowd with a presentation, there should be no stressful impulses as one's thoughts are fully articulated within one's mind. Moreover, the most important factor is enthusiasm. Nobody wants to hear a monotone speaker blabbering on about a topic which is irrelevant even to him/her, so appealing to pathos is mandatory.

During my research, I found a myriad of TED Talks on how to effectively give a speech, as well as tips for presentations. However, most relevant of all is how to open a presentation, as many people struggle with entrances.

"Great Openings and Closings" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyE1Kz0e--0

Who am I? Why am I here? What do I want to learn?

In terms of Personal Professional Practice, we had been assigned several questions which we are to answer in 5 responses.  After all, reflecting on one's self solidifies improvement.

1. Why you chose to study this programme?

- Animation has always been my passion, and through this programme I can fulfill my desire to become an animatior.

- Through this programme I can elaborately develop my skills as an animator, by learning new techniques and augmenting creativity.

- Out of all artistic professions, I find animation the most intriguing; bringing inanimate objects to life through stop-motion.

- An introduction to a plethora of animation software and hardware I have never utilized before, with the hopes of mastering them.

- Improving 2D drawing animation skills, for I am a bit rusty at that department.

2. What do you want to learn during your time on the programme?

- Learn how to utilize different techniques of animation.

- Learn how to socialize with other animators with the hopes of creating a collaborative project.

- Learn how to create puppets for stop-motion through eclectic methods of establishing resources.

- Learn how to think critically and analytically in regards to different animations, learning their techniques and unravelling the hidden symbolic meaning behind them.

- Learn how to exchange ideas with other fellow animators.

3. What skills do you think are your strengths?

- The eclectic use of many sources for animations, stop-motion in particular, for anything can be brought to life.

- The lack of necessity for a script. Most of the times, I develop the plot and animation spontaneously as I go on animating, thinking of the next scene as I animate the current one I’m on.

- The free-form ability to constructively consider criticism of my work by other animators, and dwelling upon it with the hopes of improving my work.

- My philosophical views of existence (existentialism, cynicism, melancholia, stoicism, dualism, etc…) which account for the symbolism within my work that activates an individual’s interpretation, provoking connotative views instead of denotative ones.

- The principle of trial and error; even if I don’t know a technique, I can comprehend it on my own by trying constantly until I get it right.

4. Which things do you want to improve?

- Improve 2D animation drawing techniques – properly using shading, etc…

- Improve understanding of various animation software and hardware that I have never utilized before

- Improve practical analysis of other works, and being able to provide artists with constructive criticism

- Improve understanding techniques of animation, mostly 3D

- Improve being able to work at a constant rate without the tendency to halt the routine.

5. In what ways will you evaluate your progress?

- By presenting my animations and different projects to other students for constructive criticism. According to their thoughts, I will consider whether I’ve improved or not.

- By receiving proper feedback from the course leaders on my development.

- By creating a time-table of past and future works, viewing them simultaneously in order to deduce progress.

- By remembering the effort required to create a proper project previously and currently.

- By referring to grades and evaluations gotten from projects.