I recently upgraded my iPhone to a 3GS, principally because of the ability to record video on the device. Here is an example of a video which was shot using the 3GS (except for the last violinist in the series)
Here is the essence of what I have learned in putting it through it’s paces:
1. It records pretty good video
2. To make sure audio is optimal; hold the unit on the sides and minimize hand movement. The microphones are on the bottom of the unit and holding it around them leads to much noise. Because the microphone is built for ‘near recording’ … you may need to boost audio levels very significantly. I used the audio package which is included with FinalCut (Soundtrack Pro- and boosted by 12dB 2-3x for some sections and then used the nose reduction (w/o using the noise print)- which resulted in acceptable audio quality.
3. Prior to or after selecting record, touch the screen to focus on your subject. You only have one shot at selecting the focus subject. Stop recording and refocus as needed– this is important.
4. Try to minimize your own noise- try to avoid moving the camera unnecessarily also, the mic picks up your breathing – so be aware of that. Also be careful with finger position near the lens, as you get fuzzy fleshy fingers appearing during shots if you are not careful…
5. Enjoy the flexibility of a wide angle lens and a minimal size; you can shoot really neat angles and move the unit in ways that a larger camcorder would not allow.
6. Try to play with the positioning of the iPhone- the iris tries to optimize the scene; so try moving the camera around to get the best shot/lighting.
7. When importing from iPhoto to FinalCut Pro- export in highest quality (480P), note that the mp4 takes along time to render; consider rendering the footage in a native format to FinalCut (such as DV) to improve your ability to rapidly edit…
Outputting video file:
I found a quality issue when I followed the media output recommendations suggested by YouTube; instead of using their recommendations, I used the On2 encoder and outputted a Flash flv file format – set on 512Kb/s, best quality, MP3/stereo audio … I initially tried (as recommended by YouTube: 1080i (or p) format, H.264 compression for video, AAC for audio- although the quality of the video was better, this resulted in motion artifact with fast movement, high contrast segments).
People have devised some interesting devices to hold the iPhone for video… but it takes the fun and spontaneity out of it. In the spirit of going even further… there is a company that has accessorized the iPhone to the point that it starts to look like a professional video camera… but with the Sony Blogger and other technologies, I think that it also defeats the point…
Yes, inside of this, beats the heart of an iPhone…
Also, when using the iPhone to shoot interviews; it is less intimidating than a regular camcorder and that can be a big advantage… and the other benefit is that all of your videos automatically flow into iPhoto– which is a great way to keep a video record without having to worry about uploading, etc…
As I mentioned in my last post, I think that Avatar is the watershed production that will push the envelope and create a real ‘need’ for 3D in the home… I have had a few ‘early adopters’ ask me what systems are compatible with 3D– so I put together this early, early information (subject to change) on building a system for this pending content/player software, etc. Cable boxes will also need to be upgraded to enable playback- perhaps with some technology gadgets add-ons.
In addition, two-lens/image sensor-based prosumer 3D video cameras (and a clever Sony design that makes use of only one lens and mirror- see: http://www.pcworld.com/article/172939/sony_develops_singlelens_3d_camera.html ) are also in the works to let you create your own 3D. Of course, video edit packages will need to be enhanced to permit video editing, processing and post-production. BTW, I had produced several 3D movies and entertainment experiences about 15 years ago- shown to audiences of thousands during medical conferences. We used a technology which was developed by StereoGraphics Corporation- a company that was founded by Lenny Lipton that pioneered 3D projection and shutter glasses technology. At that time, we needed to re-fit an expensive 3-tube (Red, Green, Blue) Barco CRT projector with a ‘120 Hz, fast-green phosphor- tube that could provide the rapid refresh to provide the additional image channel to show the additional channel of information enabling 3D projection). In addition, the projector had a Stereographic ‘Z-screen’ technology (the precursor to the modern theater systems) that enabled the synchronized polarization of video projection so that the ‘passive’ polarized glasses worked. It was fabulous — a great 3D experience. However, the passive (’sunglasses’) did not provide as good a 3D image as the more expensive ‘CrystalEyes’ 3D glasses which were much more expensive (around $1,500 at the time). Active 3D glasses have come down in price- and now can be had for less than $100 for gaming systems. Lenny is inspirational — he has come up with multiple patents, is a filmmaker, kids book author, and developed the lyrics for the song “Puff the Magic Dragon.” His company was sold to Real D Cinema- the company that provides the 3D technology for the theaters (as well as other professional 3D technologies for production).
Back to 3D in the home; here is the latest information regarding the requisite technologies (of course, there also needs to be content to make use of this technology):
Technology is coming together to enable 3D in the living room (or home theater room)…
Here are the pieces to make 3D possible in the home:
1. New 3D media standard: The standard for 3D recorded media is locked in with the new standard for 3D Blu-ray was announced on Dec. 19.
2. Compatible disc players:
The Playstation 3 is expected to be able to play full 3D content pending future software upgrades. The PS3 has a great deal of horsepower (with its ‘Cell’ multi-core processor) under the hood that gives it an extra boost, enabling real-time processing the two 1080p signals used by the spec. Other dedicated blu-ray players may be able to display in 3D with a firmware update, but no such announcements have yet been made. In many ways, the Sony Playstation 3 is the most- future proof Blu-ray player as it has the greatest hardware capabilities and upgrade capabilities with the devices capabilities, network-based upgrades and Internet connectivity.
3. Compatible displays (with high refresh rates- enabling stereo display) – here is the list of monitors that are 3D capable:
4. The last component will be the 3D glasses which will work- (either passive glasses with polarized filters- like those used in the theater) or active (more expensive glasses- typically used in gaming systems)
As I continue with video productions for both our Astute clients as well ‘my own scripts’ for some Indy movies, I wanted to share the following information that can help others transfer ideas in their ‘minds eye’ to media…
“For some next-generation students, however, the shot at a Hollywood job is no longer the goal. They’d rather make cinematic technique – newly democratized by digital equipment that reduces the cost of a picture to a few thousand dollars..” (1).
The famous filmmaker Werner Herzog fans the creative fires more with his recent statements to young aspiring filmmakers– as he dvises young filmmakers they don’t need to go to film school, but rather explore the world on foot, and not let fear of rejection keep them from their dreams. Herzog said that, with small, modern cameras, a feature film can be made for “$15,000 dollars” nowadays. ”You have to go out and do it,” he told the master class. “That’s one of the basic things you have to know about the profession.” (2)
I was recently ‘blown away’ by an Indy movie made by Uruguay filmmaker Fede Alvarez gives Montevideo an NYC-style demolition — and does it for a few hundred bucks. The video has landed him a production deal with Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures. The effects are sensational.
Although this effort was a major production (just look at the credits). There is much that can be done using a minimal budget. One really creative and well executed example of using the Internet media to teach how to create media can be found in the Film Riot series– http://revision3.com/filmriot/episodes.
On the other end of the media delivery spectrum, Stephen King, master of horror literature and screenplays for major motion pictures helped to make use of technology to extend his product reach (3). For his novel ‘N’ — N- www.nishere.com
He created visual comic book… to build interest and augment and highlight his book. leverages bet- running ads before playing.
I am always interested in more rapid, professional methods for communicating drama, emotion, and story line. Kings work provides a clever way of using 2D artwork (perhaps digitized photos- to expedite the creative rendering of people and faces). He uses ‘pan and scan’ technique to enable dramatic transitions and exposing key elements of the story at just the right timing. In addition, changes in depth of field, select element movement (sign in the wind, etc). This is also a great way to create a ‘storyboard’ and visualize what a production will look like- enabling the creative team to get feedback on shots, angles, casting, etc. prior to going to film… feedback is easy and cost-effect to solicit with quality and quantity online…
I had the privilege of meeting James Cameron at SIGGRAPH- the big computer graphics conference back in 1993 or so at a real-time computer graphics special interest group meeting in LA. There was only about 16 people in a hallway and his focus and determination to leverage the emerging technologies (and talent in the hallway) for cinema and story telling was very evident. He was focused on the use of computer graphics- he was passionate about it and leveraged this technology to create Titanic and most recently ‘Avatar.’ Which by the way, will provide a second round of opportunity with the game market- likely leveraging technology from Microsoft (with perfect timing) for it’s project Natal
This is amazing technology – using the most sophisticated ‘avatar’ technology that I have seen to date (and I have seen a lot of high end work for simulators and avatars).
Awesome Digital Camcorders adopt some of the features of serious cameras…
My current quick video set up consists of a Sony EX-1 – which provides 1080p as well as 60 fps of 720P – for great slow motion (BTW- I have a collection of many DV cameras including the Canon XL2 (which has a great telephoto, variable zoom lens), the Panasonic VX100, various other Sony HD, SD cameras) Most of the output is for DVD, web – and the HD is useful as it enables the ability to crop, zoom and pan video in post-production. It is very useful to eliminate a stray light pole or other items in a scene that can distract from The Sony has the long-play batteries and two 32GB SXS flash cards which pretty much last an entire day of shooting- without having to worry about changing tapes… The media can hold multiple formats of recording on the same media which is very helpful. The lens is also good for both close-in shots and wide shots. The other things that I like are the ‘histogram’ capability to monitor shots coupled with a great large lens-ring, manual iris control – its excellent dynamic range, the built in lens ‘cap.’ Of course the necessities of XLR external input for microphone with phantom power enabling power to the pre-amp in the shotgun microphone without having to worry about the charge in the microphone, the excellent HD display that is cleverly built to swing in and out to protect and keep the profile of the camera to a minimum. Digital is awesome for rapid review of footage, using thumb-nail image navigation.
Media transfer is readily enabled through use of the USB 2.0 cable. Transfer can also occur through the laptop equipped with Express bus card reader (e.g., the high-end MacBook Pro). You need to have software which enables re-stitching the video which spans two memory cards. Other features that I have not exploited include the ability to have a semi-transparent frame from a past scene to enable optically lining up sequential scenes- useful for special effects- making something disappear, change or other continuity requirements, setting custom ‘looks’ with different camera settings to again enable continuity.
A portable lighting kit (Arri with focusable Fresnel, halogen lights), a Sennheiser shotgun microphone with audio stand. It’s a pretty good, quick set-up stand. LED lights would be great to use- especially for tight areas- where the heat and size of traditional lighting does not work.
In the future, I plan on using both still cameras with HD capability (such as the Canon 7D) as well as the Red video cameras (www.red.com).
The Still DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera morphs into a movie camera
The Canon 7D is the first ‘affordable’ still camera to provide great video capability. The camera provides a big image sensor with the capability of great low light sensitivity, depth of field, use of the Canon range of interchangeable lenses as well as the ability to shoot at 1080P as well as a number of other standard video formats.
However, this camera is a bit of a compromise, it is a great still camera that also shoots video. It doesn’t have all of the video centric controls that a video camera does; but it does have a great image sensor that provides a more ‘cinematographic’ style in a shoot. A great demo video showing the combination of the Canon 7D (which has about a 12 min video duration limit due to the FAT32 file system limit of 4GB file size) accompanied by a low cost (around $500) Glidecam HD-2000 stabilizer (I have one- it takes careful use/practice to get good footage): http://vimeo.com/7405872. Using a still camera as a motion camera involves items like lenses that offer stabilization (like Canon did with optical stabilization in its lenses on the XL series). For example, Tamron offers a nice lens with vibration compensation: http://www.tamron.com/lenses/prod/1750_vc_b005.asp. Some will try to use their old flash cards in this camera and will get dropped frames. You will need to buy new, faster read-write speed 16 or 32GB high speed cards to take advantage of the video features to avoid these issues. I tried one of the 7D’s out and am impressed with its resolution, low light capabilities- and simple to use focus. I did miss the servo-based zoom capability provided by a standard camera along with the standard video ergonomics. However, the idea of being able to record high quality video with interchangeable lenses is very promising … perhaps less is more. I am intrigued with the idea of shooting a video with the 7D and a bunch of lenses- supplemented with traditional video cameras to enable a range of capabilities.
Here is an example of why this camera is such a boon in terms of technical quality to the Indy shooter: http://vimeo.com/6475938 . Look at the quality of the images, the depth of field, range of color… fabulous. The trick is that it is relatively easy to shoot random people… and it looks good with music– it is another story to tell a compelling story with script, acting, planned scenes, etc. But, as you can see, the technology is now available at very reasonable pricing to enable high quality videography- the quality of which you see in the theater without the cost of film, and using a camera set up of less than $10-15K (camera body, memory cards, lens, tripod, Glidecam, external sound and mic, lights) and of course access to an Apple or PC with video edit software (e.g., FinalCut Pro on the Mac, AVID, or Adobe Premier Pro) as well as some post software like AfterEffects, Shake, Color, etc.
Final Thought- Regarding Video on the Web.
One key consideration in evaluating ANY technology is that frequently what you see on the web is a poor reflection of the source material. Compression artifacts (such as loss of color depth – with dithering and loss of resolution) plague the quality of much of web-posted content. It is important to design media so that it looks good on the web- be careful; more careful than usual with lighting- dramatic lights can look bad on the web since everything tends to be even more pronounced. It is better to have more continuous tones/shadows so that compression does not compromise the imaging too much. Sound is frequently compromised when people listen to pieces on their computer monitors- in their office or noisy home. Subtle sounds, music and effects are lost.
References:
1. Elizabeth Van Ness, “Is a Cinema Studies Degree the New M.B.A.?,” The New York Times, March 6, 2005.
We all know the connecting power of Facebook- the power of sharing our life’s details and observations simultaneously with many of our friends.
We also are observing changes- less elective business travel, more focus on one or two key professional associations rather than multiple associations—with a desire to do more of our business electronically which is punctuated by the recession — using tools like GoToMeeting, WebEx, observing conferences using Astute Conference.CAST® and doing our certification and testing online (with tools like Net.SCORE®).
We are all getting used to the power of Google- in rapidly getting both the most direct and esoteric results of our search. The power to instantly mine the enormous wealth of the Internet.
News and publications are 24/7- and paper is being replaced with electronic media as the preferred and most profitable method for disseminating information. Publication deadlines are becoming compressed from old editorial paradigms in which the dance between writers and editors had involved mailing manuscripts and redlines between the parties for six months to a year leading to approval for publication.
Video is now becoming a key feature of all media- in the past couple of days, Firefox has introduced the capability to play videos within the browser without a plug-in. Look at the impact of video on the web- with the number of views of Michael Jackson videos in the past week… what a powerful and important ’shared resource’ that we now have at our fingertips!
So, with this quick review, we are seeing the ‘mash-up’ of all of the above events/patterns/trends.
In this background, we are seeing the evolution of a powerful new suite of software technologies- Google Wave and Microsoft Live Mesh. These platforms enable instant collaboration over networks – building on the power and popularity of social networks to enable the ability to share interactively. But instead of providing the ‘first wave’ of technology which provides only the ability to share one to many; the next ‘wave’ or ‘mesh’ of technology enables true, interactive communication/collaboration between individuals and groups. Sharing of images, text, the ability to self-assemble which groups/individuals that are part of the ‘conversation’ are all features of these new platforms as well as the ability to make use of computers and cell phones to share this information.
Catch the next wave of communications (Googlewave and MS Live Mesh)
I see the combination of Google Wave and/or Live Mesh coupled with rich media providing a powerful platform to dynamically share information to people who can use it to evolve that idea to new heights in a more rapid and efficient manner than ever before.
These platforms allow an unprecedented level of rapid, dynamic collaboration. We now have tools which break the barriers of space and time and allow for an unprecedented level of collaboration. The concept of providing a ‘virtual meeting’ which couples the traditional notion of ‘lectures’ and aggregation of participatory audiences is only the beginning of the possibilities- imagine coupling this information with dynamic aggregation of content and participants; information sharing as well as new dynamic advertising and revenue opportunities.
With the increasing agility of technology, organizations and individuals will have tools to process information in unprecedented ways and can either use these tools or watch others create and refine knowledge with them.
In the past, organizations tried to maintain control over information flow and insure that quality is maintained in a consistent and consistent fashion. One had to pick the right people to review publications and control the process. If those who were to review the information are not available; then there was a delay in reviewing and getting the information out.
Instead, speed to market of the information is a driving force, organically sharing information and letting ‘market conditions’ – availability and speed to react; providing the context of ‘group dynamics’ drive the decision-making process. Web 2.0 brought citizen journalism and less expensive and more rapidly created media available to enable professionally produced news to co-mingle with traditional news media. This next ‘wave’ will provide a new powerful capability for building communities of knowledge- on demand and with the necessary agility to cope with an ever increasing, exponentially building knowledge coupled with the speed of the Internet in sharing information.
References/Resources:
Microsoft has its live mesh approach; Google has Google wave; I
suspect that Apple also has something up its sleeve- as it is making
huge investments in data centers…
Microsoft polished commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFpwzg-AP_Q
-btw- it is getting more and more important for tech companies to do
great videos- the production quality of this is quite impressive…
Google may have an advantage- in their experience online as
well as the gadgets/tools that are being developed… open source-
big developer community- fact that Facebook is non-Microsoft…
It’s great to be able to make a difference and improve our collective condition. It is even more satisfying to combine ‘artist expression’ in making a difference. I have been fortunate to have been able to produce several efforts that educate and inform in a visually interesting and engaging manner. Two experiences that occurred this week illustrate this good fortune…
ReStart DC is a great program that focuses on providing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) which can save lives. ReStart provides the defibrillators as well as training. Astute designed both the website : http://www.restartdc.org/ for the initiative as well as produced several videos to demystify the fact that everyone should be comfortable using an AED. The devices speak to you, and provide instructions and ONLY shock if it is needed. Take a look at the videos that we produced. The instruction may help save a life.
Lynne Cheney speaks at the launch of ReStart DC
In the past week, we won the 2009 National Family Caregiving Awards Program with our partner, The Copper Ridge Institute. The video provides in depth training on how to care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease in the home. We transformed a nine hour continuing education course for nurses into a one hour video (available on the web) in both English and Spanish — see: http://www.alzcast.org/dvd_caregiver.asp
I am very excited about the future of video for healthcare education. In addition, there are strong opportunities for the direct provision of video on mobile devices – like iPhones. We are working on some exciting new prospects in this area as well.
The new kindle is very exciting- it is markedly improved in functionality from the prior versions- with a better user interface and longer battery life.
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and The Original Kindle
There is only one major problem that is emerging with the device- a legal/positioning issue surrounding speech to text.Apparently the Authors Guild has pressured Amazon (the maker of the Kindle) to enable the publishers/authors the ability to stop the device from providing speech to text and hence, preserving the revenue stream for audio books as well as a ‘legal discussion’ as to whether or not the speech to text feature of Kindle would violate copyright of the works that can be downloaded.Amazon has obliged by creating a ‘toggle’ to enable the publisher to select whether or not the book can be converted from text to speech and states that it has not broken any copyright regulation in providing this feature on the device. See: http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,160415/printable.html and http://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USTRE51R02R20090228 .
I think that there is a dangerous precedent that the AG has embarked on, perhaps reversing all of the hard work and progress that has gone into making computers more accessible as well as the section 508 guidelines that provide accessibility for individuals with disabilities to experience websites in a manner which offers the same functionality for all.
The Kindle has triggered an ‘awareness’ of the possibilities offered by speech to text; offering both accessibility as well as an additional means by which all can consume publications. I would doubt that the AG will approach and request all of the following companies to build in ‘toggles’ to prevent speech to text: Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, the makers of all Linux text-to-speech software, and every PC manufacturer) and these functions are needed to sell into their respective markets and to enable accessibility.
In my personal opinion, the AG puts itself at risk with this activity in several dimensions:
Many publishers publish text books and other publications that are sold to federal, state and local governments.There could be a significant backlash to these publishers if they pick and choose which works can and cannot be accessible on particular devices/formats.Accessibility is critical to the government with the 508 as well as commercial companies (see recent case with Target and accessibility http://www.dmnews.com/Target-Suit-Raises-Bar-for-Web-Businesses/article/92728/ ).I would think that Amazon, the AG and individual authors who elect not to make works accessible are putting themselves at risk.
From an accessibility standpoint, there may be options for receiving information in additional formats; however, devices like the Kindle are almost a Godsend to those with disabilities- now the most recent works offered in the Kindle format by Amazon could be accessible with speech to text.However, if publishers select the option of not providing speech to text as an option; then accessibility suffers- and the promise of the device is diminished.
My concern is the fact that Amazon has opened the door by making the concession to the AG which may prevent individuals in the future from receiving the latest information- creating a greater divide between those with and without disabilities. Amazon has reacted to prevent titles from not shipping to their platform but in doing so, has created a precedent that may do more harm than good in its influence regarding the provision accessibility for future hardware and intellectual property.
In addition, the fastest growing demographic is the over 55 population. With an increasing population that has visual challenges (e.g., age related macular degeneration) – the Kindle could be a great asset with this fast growing, visually challenged group… the great potential of the Kindle may be only serve as a small ’spark’ rather than illuminating the great potential of this device and paradigm shift if authors/publishers start to selectively limit the accessibility of their works.
There are big changes of seismic proportions occurring in one of the most well funded areas of education- continuing medical education.This blog entry documents changes in medical education- although specific to medicine; they may be of interest to anyone following developments in educational program development.
I was recently in San Francisco for several meetings and took the pulse of the annual Alliance for Continuing Education meeting – which brings together medical education executives, association educational leaders, organizations that support educational activities as well as sponsors.The industry is in transition- as funding is decreasing and radically changing.In what I will refer to as ‘education 1.0’- the business model was to come up with an idea for an education program, pitch the idea and obtain funding by a sponsor.Success was measured by the number of participants and some participant reported survey information about course success (or in some cases, aggregate results on activity specific ‘tests’).
The evolving educational paradigm- Education for Life & Performance
Now, the model has turned on its head.Outcomes are the name of the game.It is critical for a wide range of reasons to build educational activities that can be mapped to clinical outcomes.The players in the ‘education 1.0’ era are seldom equipped with the necessary tools/expertise/connections to make the jump from ‘education 1.0 and outcomes-based education or ‘education 2.0’ – as this is more of a research protocol activity that involves different players as well as connections within academia.In addition, program funding is now frequently required to be made directly to a non-profit association or care provider- making it more difficult for the traditional medical education firms to survive in this new period (as many of the firms were the primarily recipients of educational funding in times past).In addition, the program funding opportunities are now routed through electronic submission processes that further remove interaction between program requestor and sponsor.
Electronic medical records (EMR), a subject of the ‘economic recovery package’ which is being promoted by President Obama can help to facilitate outcomes collection and integration.EMRs are more efficient in bring hospital records to the fingertips of providers – creating a more efficient information flow which can improve patient outcomes, decrease adverse drug reactions (by having key, timely information available regarding allergies, other medications that are being taken) as well as rapid insight into a patient’s condition.These same systems, when used as a data research tool, can shed light on the clinical outcomes of educational initiatives.
The provision of education is dramatically changing in ‘education 2.0’ – instead of passively sitting in a lecture hall or attending a conference, the concept of ‘prescriptive’ education is front and center in this new world of education. The idea of a single expert providing ‘grand rounds’ in a hospital auditorium is likely to be a thing of the past.In the near future, expert opinions will be collected and synthesized- and provided on the next generation of professional social networks and ‘digital dashboards’ – more on this below. People are getting used to rapidly consumed information which can be exchanged with peers- like in social networks.While, I don’t see the majority of this education consumption occurring at ‘the point of care’ or at the bedside; I see education occurring in ‘aggregate’ in evenings and weekends and I see education being electronically incorporated into the EMR. Education can then be tracked and consumed ‘anywhere, anytime’ with pod/webcasting and other technologies.
Outcomes and quality care initiatives are also driving ‘education 2.0.’JCAHO – Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations now incorporates patient satisfaction indices along with morbidity/mortality data with the new website: http://www.qualitycheck.org (see 1/20/09 press release:http://www.jointcommission.org/NewsRoom/NewsReleases/nr_1_20_09.htm ).As a result outcomes may also dictate economic success of provider institutions.
Because of these new changes in the funding and competitive environments- education will be integrated with EMR results- education and clinical performance will now be integrated in a profound and measurable manner- and educational effectiveness and technique will become more of a science.Funding opportunities from hospital systems as well as third party vendors (equipment manufacturers, pharmaceuticals, EMR companies, etc), government agencies (such as NIH, CDC) will provide new and exciting collaborative efforts.
In a broad sense, education and performance will be inextricably combined.This will usher a new age of medical education and practice and if successful, we may draw lessons from this experience that can enhance education in many other sectors—think of the application of this concept in any field where one can measure performance and offer ‘perscriptive’ education on an on-going basis to improve the results…
Becoming educated is not simply just exposure to knowledge; it is also the sequence and staging of the information- prerequisites-that enable us to progress.Education is also a social experience- that typically requires reinforcement, and interaction to learn and apply concepts.Education requires context to provide meaning and understanding.Novel software, marketing, and the successful interplay between business and education will all be critical to enable new and exciting educational opportunities to emerge.Economic realities can also help to forge a new environment wherein those organizations that are agile and adaptive enough will prosper and those that remain static in these changing times will cease to exist.
The Chinese Symbol for Chaos/Crisis/Opportunity
As the Chinese New Year approaches, I am reminded of the relationship between the symbols for ‘chaos’ and ‘opportunity.’For those institutions that are equipped with the right strategy- the world is your oyster.
Universities are under tremendous pressure these days.Declining endowment portfolios, increasing institutional and tuition costs, greater difficulties retaining and recruiting faculty, greater challenges for students to obtain loans during this period of frozen credit.In addition, our increasing unemployment and diminishing liquidity make the option of the traditional four year college/university increasingly difficult.
But one of the greatest challenges is the growing acceptance of the on-line universities.How can more than a few of the elite institutions with large research funding as well as self-sustaining endowments; i.e., the Ivy League schools survive?Increasingly, there is a growing competition from on-line university options; their low direct and indirect costs (no on-campus travel, lodging, meals, lack of options for concurrent employment).In addition, on-line universities are based on Internet technologies and they are typically much more efficient with on-line marketing.The on-line university does not have the overhead of the brick-and-mortar University- and hence is much more agile both from a financial perspective as well as the opportunity to offer a more diverse faculty/subject/degree programs.In addition, the recurrent campus violence which has plagued several college/universities doesn’t help.
From the employers perspective- there is a diminishing distinction between recipients of on-line versus brick and mortar degrees.
One can argue that the experience will never be the same online versus living on campus.The great library, the social scene, fraternities/sororities, sports… I can’t argue with this- but at what price?The idyllic, isolated college campus is removed from the ‘working urban world.’ Students continue to be taught in terms of achieving ‘individual performance.’However, success in the ‘real world’ of industry is based on a ‘team’ – collaboration.Name a new product/service that was developed with the same isolation as a ‘term paper’ requires.Colleges and Universities will need to reinforce the collaborative mindset to enable graduates to be successful in this increasingly global economy- particularly as the economy undergoes increasing stress; requiring more resourcefulness on the parts of individuals and organizations.
Each of the ‘traditional’ experiences is being transformed by technology.To bring all up to speed; I will provide a brief overview of all of the changes that are occurring:The social scene occurs with great helpings of Facebook, MySpace, Twitter; physical libraries have been marginalized by online resources (journals, search engines, even books online).The next generation of ebooks will make more of a dent here as well with digital paper on the horizon as well as Amazon Kindle and Sony’s continuing efforts in developing ebooks.People are relying more and more on social networks to connect, to find items (eBay) jobs (Monster, Career Builder, Craigs list), housing (e.g., Craigs list).Online dating supplants meeting in social settings.
In addition, few educational institutions are making use of the principles of ‘life-long’ learning…. They are focused on a offering the ‘diploma’ but very few reach out to alumni to continue to offer training and/or networking opportunities- or even ‘case studies’ of successful alumni.
My prediction is that the successful educational institutions will form novel, new partnerships which will enable ‘the long tail’ of courses and subject areas which will extend beyond the traditional limited offerings.New certificate programs will arise.Many campuses will either merge, disappear or will become privatized; creating a ‘great shake out’ and consolidation in education.Campuses will also renew their interest in research – as a substantial amount of funding that supports our campuses arises from this funding and opportunities for enhanced corporate-university partnerships will arise.
At some point in the near future, campuses will embrace technology- not the simple adoption of BlackBoard to enhance curriculum distribution and other commodity functionality; but a new breed of technology which will embrace this iPod, Facebook, TiVO, YouTube, iPhone/SmartPhone, Google, Wikipedia generation and equip them with educational tools and a range of worldwide expertise which will give them the basis to compete and work in the new reality.
So, what does the ‘eCampus’ of the future look like?It will provide us with an educational portal and/or Widgets that will enable us to learn on-line at low price points.Just as iTunes gave us the .99 cent song; eLearning will connect us with great talent, on-demand and the quality of this experience will continue to increase- enabling view of lecturers, sophisticated educational presentations with dynamic graphics, three-dimensional simulations, online surveys, social networking, and job opportunities all integrated into a powerful framework.
Imagine the opportunity afforded by transforming multiplayer 3D games into challenges that thousands of individuals could use to solve corporate or social problems and in some cases, earn a living.In some cases, these opportunities would be on an ad hoc basis; in others, this would be a career or a hybrid between the two.Wikipedia is truly inspirational in that it has enabled the masses to amass a huge repository of ‘shared knowledge.’
Mobile phones will be the power tool for the student of the near and more distant future. The mobile phone of 2010 will have dual-core processors, super-fast data connections, and graphics power rivaling that of the original Xbox. Amazing phones with built in video projection, voice transcription and other capabilities will come out in the coming years and will be rapidly accepted and purchased by the world community. In fact, mobile devices are the most rapidly ‘phased-in’ technology with technology cycle times measured in 12-18 months versus the much longer replacement time of desktop and laptop computers of 3 years or more.
Mobility and rapid access to ‘just in time’ education will enable students to both learn and hold the ‘world of knowledge in the palm of their hand.’ It will become harder and harder to justify a $20-50,000 per year tuition when so much content will be available in such a small form factor. Universities/Colleges and other educational institutions finally have the opportunity to be available in a powerful, ubiquitous technology to maintain and regain the needed relevance and wisdom that can empower the next generation.
In 2008, we still had some tail winds of the dot.com period pushing us in the direction of enhancing technology and innovating.As the pull-back in the economy occurred, the idea of coming up with a ‘comprehensive solution’ has become the mantra. While there is great political ‘hope’ with the upcoming inauguration of President-Elect Barack Obama; few people have determined a path for economic success for small business. I think 2009 is a year of opportunity- if you look in the right places.As the environment becomes more ‘stressed,’ two discrete organizations are emerging- different ways of coping with the challenge.
Jim Carrey’s latest Movie “The Yes Man” illustrates the two options in his typical ‘extreme humor’ – the movie resonates with me and is reflective to show that we do have options – even when the time seems grim…the most success that I have seen in starting companies are in periods of economic downturn and uncertainty- this may seem counter-intuitive- but it may make sense from a combination of Carrey’s film and the short simplification of the way that people and institutions’ react to economic/sociological downturns:
A. Some companies/individuals feel that ‘the glass is half empty’
Many organizations and individuals are paralyzed by the ‘economic crises’ and are ‘running in place’ – not making decisions- or waiting for others or some ‘sign’ that will enable decision making to occur- perhaps waiting for a signal that ‘the crises is over’ and ‘it is safe to make decisions again.’Many of these organizations will suffer greatly during this down turn and careers will be damaged in these enterprises.Innovation and moral will deteriorate.Negotiations with these companies become solely focused on dollars and cents and often lose site of the true value proposition.There is no longer a discussion of a solution- just filling a need (or not filling it- given the “economic issues”).
B. Others feel that ‘the glass is half full’
Some organizations are embracing this time and re-thinking what is important to their organizations- what is needed to survive.They realize that they need to do something fundamentally different to survive and prosper in these changing times. These companies have the opportunity to examine the new landscape of their ‘ecosystem’ and determine the best path for success.This is a period of renewed outreach- forming partnerships.It is a period where there is less competition and some organizations are more willing to listen.Negotiations with these companies are refreshingly novel- and there is an increased transparency between the organizations needs and what products and services can be provided to both meet existing needs as well as to enhance the position, scalability and ability of the company to meet the needs of its current and future customers.
Given the option, it is obvious that organizations resembling ‘B’ will provide a strong customer base.My guess is that about 25% of organizations fit category ‘B’ and that is why I am excited to be going into 2009.We have seen a lot of new opportunities and I am very encouraged.It will take a combination of insight (gleaned from our most extensive body of experience to date), shared vision and a sprinkle of great technology (and the technology has never been better) and we will have the recipe for success – Yes!
As the largest consumer electronic show rolls into action (CES) and makes announcements this week, 3D TV is now coming of age. Now that digital television is the de facto standard (or will soon be) and 1080p is becoming standard fare for flat screens- the next horizon in home electronics is the 3D TV.
A bit of background on this-
3D displays have been around for some time, but there has not been the distribution platform to make them viable or to create sufficient content. The red/green glasses didn’t provide sufficient quality and so few titles were available in the movie theaters, that it just didn’t have critical mass. Theme parks, like Disney (e.g., Bug’s Life exhibit) and later movie theaters started to use the polarized (sun glasses type) of 3D glasses and due to an uptick in theater receipts and a growing list of top revenue generating animations that have used the technology- now there is sufficient interest to seriously deploy the technology for the home. In addition, higher performance chip sets in Blue Ray boxes, TVs, game systems as well as higher capacity discs (e.g., Blue Ray) provide the necessary capabilities to provide 3D to the home.
I think that 3D will invade the home theater first- as this is a more controlled environment, where people will use the 3D glasses, rather than in the kitchen or living room while they eat their pizza or read the paper (if they are still reading papers in the next 2-3 yrs). In addition, 3D is focused more on the ‘big screen experience’ – such as the home theater. Furthermore, people are always looking for ‘bragging rights’ to differentiate their home theaters- and to invite others over- it is much more enticing to say “let’s watch it in 3D…” Home theater projectors are more likely candidates for 3D than the flat screens – as 3D is more fun as a group experience- and the displays are typically larger.
I have created 3D movies for trade shows and it is a lot of fun- especially to see the audience dodge a large object as it moves. In one case, we created an animation of the bladder, prostate and other organs and showed it to hundreds of surgeons- they loved it).
In my experiences with 3D interactive programs- there is an art/science to the creation of compelling content- the end-user experience is influenced by the type of movement, use of color, number of simultaneous object movements, etc. The reason that I bring this up is to point out that 3D movie/interactive experiences need to built from the ground up and typically are not just an after thought or ‘conversion’ from one media type to another. Hence, we will see some conversions of titles from 3D on the big screen to the smaller home theater screen; but I doubt/hope that we will not see poor quality, after thought 3D featured in media as a ‘check the box’ feature of the media… if this occurs, acceptance of this ‘new media’ will be hindered by its low quality…
With computer animation as a standard for movies- the animators have the tools to very cost effectively produce 3D versions of their fare. It is a bit more costly for live action- but with the increasing amount of all digital production- this too is much more affordable. Game developers, authoring computer games- particularly using Xbox360 and Playstation3 offer HD graphics- and are also in the running for 3D interactive experiences that can be displayed using this technology. Interactive 3D game play is a compelling application of the technology as well.
Some background on 3D:
As humans, we (or about 70% of us) have pretty good stereoscopic vision. The 3D material is stored in two ‘viewpoints’ – there are movie frames that alternate between the left and the right eye’s perspective. These views are polarized so that they are visible through the corresponding polarized lens of the glasses. Hence, the left eye, sees the left frames and the right eye sees the right frames. The movies are typically rendered (if animation) with about 45 degree offsets so that they achieve a stereo appearance. Feature live action films achieve the effect by using 2 cameras to capture the action that have a similar offset.
Our eyes need about 15 frames per second (preferably around 30) to have ‘flicker fusion’ – or to make action continuous. With 2 eye viewpoints, the 3D devices need to operate 2x this speed- with a minimum of 60 frames per second. As you may notice, many LCD TVs are now advertising 120Hz (or 2x this speed– faster means better rendition of movement which is especially important in action adventure flicks and sports). So, the technology is now at a reasonable point in terms of speed in generating images to support 3D as well.
From an evolutionary perspective, predators have stereo vision (eyes close together on the front of the face to enable more accurate tracking and leaping to get prey- think of lions, tigers) and prey give up the stereo vision to have a larger field of view (think of mice) so they can see a predator sooner. I think that we have a more ‘emotional/visceral’ reaction to stereoscopic motion pictures because of this evolutionary history…
but it takes the fun and spontaneity out of it. In the spirit of going even further… there is a company that has accessorized the iPhone to the point that it starts to look like a professional video camera… but with the Sony Blogger and other technologies, I think that it also defeats the point…
