Thursday 6 July 2017

Game tests your ability to spot fake news—and it’s not as easy as you’d think



Factitious was designed as way to help people recognise what news is fake.
Spotting fake news can be hard with so much of it polluting your timelines and news feeds. But one game wants to help you brush up your skills so you don’t get fooled in the future.
The game, Factitious, was designed by former American University Fellow Maggie Farley and Bob Hone, a professor at the University. The game was created in the college’s American University Game Lab.

Essentially, the game uses a Tinder-like interface that has people swipe left or right to see if they can spot fake news. Swipe left if you think the article that pops up in front of you is fake and swipe right if you believe the sample article is real.

In Factitious, the game defines fake news as “stories fabricated for fun, influence, or profit, as well as satire, opinion, and spin”—not stories you don’t agree with (which is how President Donald Trump uses the phrase).

“Fake news is impossible to stop, so we wanted to playfully teach people how to recognise it,” Farley said in a blog post about the game. “But the game is fun to play in itself.”

With fake news proliferating wildly since the 2016 election, being able to spot it is essential for anyone who wishes to read factual news. Factitious helps you spot what stories are fake and even gives you a bit of a hint by looking at the source of the article (which is helpful to know moving forward).

 on The Daily Dot

Monday 3 July 2017

In a Fake Fact Era, Schools Teach the ABCs of News Literacy



Fourteen-year-old Isabel Catalan stares intently at her laptop as she walks me through a recent assignment one sunny morning a few weeks before summer vacation. The studious eighth grader and I are sitting in a tiny, colourful classroom at Norwood-Fontbonne Academy, a small private elementary school in the tree-lined Philadelphia suburbs, which also happens to be my Alma mater.

In most ways, Norwood feels a lot like I left it nearly 20 years ago. Catalan wears the same plaid kilt and golf shirt combo that I did, and lugs her books from class to class in the same blue canvas tote we used to call our "daily bags." In the hallway I pass my old social studies teacher, who’s been working here for almost half a century. On a bookshelf in Catalan’s classroom, I spot a roughed up copy of The Face on the Milk Carton that I’m almost certain I checked out from the library sometime around 1999.But in other ways—important ways—the school is radically different. The clunky desktops and overhead projectors have given way to flatscreens and laptops in every classroom. And while back then Microsoft Encarta was our main research tool, today Norwood students have a world of information—and misinformation—ever at their fingertips.

Which brings us to Catalan’s assignment. On the screen in front of her is a viral tweet written by one TrumpsterMarty: "Muslims were already banned from the United States! 1952 US LAW! RETWEET." It comes with a screenshot describing the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which barred immigration by anyone who seeks to overthrow the government "by force, violence, or other unlawful means."

Image by Issie Lapowsky
"This, by its very definition, rules out Islamic immigration to the United States," the screengrab reads.


Catalan, who wears her pin-straight brown hair brushed all the way down her back, pauses for a beat. “This one, I had to think about,” she says. Then she talks it through. "I looked at who posted it: TrumpsterMarty," she says. "The person who posted this wanted you to retweet it. It just doesn’t sound accurate."

She decides the post is fiction, and Checkology, the online platform she’s showing me, tells her she’s right. Checkology is the latest creation of the News Literacy Project, a non-profit founded by former Los Angeles Times reporter Alan Miller. Since 2009, the tiny eight-person non-profit has been working one on one with schools to craft a curriculum that teaches students how to be more savvy news consumers. Last year, in an effort to scale its impact, the team bundled those courses into an online portal called Checkology, and almost instantly, demand for the platform spiked.

“Fake news is nothing new, and its impact on the national conversation is nothing new, but public awareness is very high right now,” says Peter Adams, who leads educational initiatives for News Literacy Project. Now, Checkology is being used by some 6,300 public and private school teachers serving 947,000 students in all 50 states and 52 countries.
Norwood began using the program in March following one of the most frenetic elections in American history. Inspired by the avalanche of "alternative facts" and fake news they were seeing in their own social media feeds, teachers Lindsey Sachs and Shannon Craige decided to launch a four month-long course in teaching students to sift fact from fiction online.
Checkology

"News has shifted so much. Everyone can be a reporter now," says Sachs, the school’s technology teacher. "It’s about them realising you can’t take everything at face value."
The platform offers lessons on the First Amendment, the difference between branded content and news, and how to distinguish between viral rumours—political and otherwise—and reported facts. Teachers help the kids understand sourcing, bias, transparency, and journalistic ethics. The platform also includes interviews with working journalists such as Matea Gold at The Washington Post, who help put a face to the boogeyman that has become known as "the media."


"This is no longer something that if we have time to expose children to, that would be great," says Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, executive director of the National Association for Media Literacy Education. "This is a crisis situation. We do not teach our students enough about what they need to understand about the world they live in." Checkology, she says, is one important tool helping to change that.

Infograzers

On the day I returned to my Alma mater, the students were categorising online posts as news, entertainment, propaganda, publicity, advertising, raw information, or opinion. As Craige stood by, 13-year-old Catherine Aaron, an 8th grader already dressed in her softball uniform for that day's game, puzzled over a headline from the left-leaning outlet Daily Beast. It read, "And Then They Came for Big Bird: Public Broadcasting Reels From Trump’s Plan to Destroy It." The sub-headline continued, "Next on President Trump’s hit list: public broadcasting. His plan to de-fund it will have a decimating effect on access to nuanced journalism and educational TV." Aaron had a hunch this was the author's opinion. "What makes you think that?" Craige prompted the 8th grader.

"The language of it is more of an opinion," Aaron says. "Decimating. Destroying." Sophie Giovonnone, 14, isn't so sure. She thinks it might be working as publicity for Democrats, "because it could cause some conflict" for Trump.

I ask Giovonnone whether she knows what the Daily Beast is. She doesn't. In fact, most of the students say that outside of class, they rarely encounter much news online at all. Only one student in the whole class uses Twitter. No one even has a Facebook account. Their social media lives consist mainly of Instagram and Snapchat, one of the few platforms that still meticulously curates what news is and isn't allowed in its Discover feature. (WIRED recently joined Discover.)

For a moment, I think, maybe the fact that these students aren't using Facebook or Twitter is a promising sign. Maybe the very nature of the platforms this generation is growing up with will shield it from the internet's onslaught of misinformation. But Adams stops me short. Kids today, he says, are "infograzers." Without realising it, the memes they share and and viral videos they watch each day are telling them stories about the world they live in—not all of them true.

"What counts as news has broadened for this generation," he says. "Unless they learn to flag content and figure out why something might not be sound evidence, it sticks with them." And even if they're not skimming social media, it's become second nature to them to whip out their smartphones and Google the answers to any questions they don't know. Tools like Checkology encourage them to dig deeper than the first headline that turns up.

As they get older, the spectrum of online sources they use will broaden even further, and that's when these skills will matter most, says Ciulla Lipkin. "When we were growing up some of the work we’re doing in school might not have seemed relevant at the time, but it’s teaching students skills they need for the future," she says. "It gets students to practice asking questions." Or, as Sachs puts it, "We're arming them before they hit the battle."

The question is—as it is for all school subjects—will that practice stick as students grow up and technology evolves? The company is currently crunching the numbers on its first quantitative survey that measures how students' understanding of the topic changes from the beginning of the course to the end.

Catalan, Aaron, Giovannone, and the rest of the 8th grade class walked away from Norwood on Monday for the last time. This fall, they'll head off for high school. If by some chance they return to this place 20 years down the road, as I did, they will no doubt find that the world of communication has changed even more drastically since they sat in these very seats. Now, as the country continues to fight over the fundamental definition of truth, it falls to educators across the country to prepare their students for whatever mayhem those changes may bring."

How web series are shaking up Australia’s screen industry

First published at The Conversation, June 30, 2017. Written by - Lecturer in Film and Screen Media Production, Griffith Film School, Griffith UniversitySenior Lecturer, Film and Screen Media and Creative Director, LiveLab, Griffith Film School, Griffith University

The recent Film, Television and Digital Games Survey, conducted by the ABS for Screen Australia, showed a staggering growth in web series made in Australia: from just 107 episodes in 2012 to 3,248 in 2016. At the same time, the amount of TV drama broadcast fell from 632 hours to 497, while the amount of TV documentaries being made dropped from 566 hours to 444. This explosion in web series is fostering a far more democratic platform than TV or cinema.

This week at Melbourne Webfest, 50 series from Australia and around the world are competing in 21 categories, with the winners announced at a gala event on Sunday. The Melbourne awards follow the Australian Online Video Awards, and international events like The Webby Awards, The Streamy Awards, and LAWebFest.

The relative youth of the world’s major web festivals reflects the immaturity of the form itself. But these fests are growing up fast, and online content is being taken seriously by industry elders in broadcast TV and cinema: both the Emmy and AACTA Awards now welcome online video into some categories.

It may be that the Screen Australia figures don’t show the true scale of the growth, as online content isn’t always produced by an established production company or broadcaster, making it difficult to track. Still, while 2011 may not be the Year Zero the statistics suggest, there can be little doubt that there’s been extraordinary growth in this mode of TV production.

Who is making the content?



Drilling down into demographics is tricky given the nature of the web, but some high-profile success stories help to paint a picture of who’s behind this surge. Women feature strongly, with comedy stand-outs from producer Tamasin Simpkin (The Katering Show), and the team behind SketchShe, a trio of female sketch comedians perhaps most famous for their lipsync car videos.

Online has also been a great proving ground for LGBTIQ voices like Julie Kalceff, creator of Starting From … Now, and Jade of Death director Erin Good, a six-part supernatural drama. The web has given these emerging writers, directors, and producers the chance to create content that would have struggled to see the light of day in a conservative, risk-averse broadcast market.





Australian factual content also does well online. One example is YouTube science powerhouse Veritasium. Its creator, Derek Muller, came to YouTube as a 29-year-old, while working on the ABC’s Catalyst program.

It’s telling that while Catalyst has been pruned back at the ABC, Muller’s YouTube channel has gone from strength to strength, racking up an astonishing 4 million subscribers. His most popular video, on the Magnus effect, has over 34 million views.

 
An episode of Veritasium.

Animation has also contributed to the growth in Australian web series. The Sexual Lobster YouTube channel, for instance, has been a recipient of Screen Australia and YouTube’s Skip Ahead funding program for Australian YouTubers. In 2016 the program awarded funding to three established YouTube channels for longer projects, either one-off films or pilot episodes.

ArtSpear Entertainment, which began as a live-action project, has seen its subscriber base grow from just a few thousand to over a quarter of a million in just two years after shifting to parody animations of blockbuster movie trailers.

Amid the surge of new web series, there are also a sizeable number of very low budget projects, often produced by film students or recent graduates. That in itself is nothing new, with series like SYD2030, Flat Whites, and Newtown Girls examples of web pioneers from the early 2010s.

But while those early series may have lacked the production polish of a broadcast TV show, the passion of these shows’ makers is now matched by ever-improving production standards. WebFest’s Content Director, Alexander Hipwell, has noted a “massive jump” in quality web series.




Digital technology continues to level the playing field, allowing emerging talent to compete alongside bigger budget productions. Series made for as little as $2500 were selected for Melbourne WebFest over projects with budgets between $500,000 and $1,000,000. These “amateur” works may hold their own - competing even in the top festivals - alongside fully funded work.

So what does this mean for the traditional funding models, and regulatory frameworks? The Australian government is looking to recalibrate the screen industry through its review of screen content, while the broadcasters are working hard to find ways to stay afloat within their current business models and funding structures. What is clear is that the screen industries are being gradually taken over by new content creators like those treading the red carpet at Melbourne Webfest. They will undoubtedly be at the forefront of the changes to come.

How To Make Air Powered Blood Squibs For Gunshot Special Effects

by  -Via Laughing Squid


Squib is a fun word to say, and squibs are fun to talk about because their name sounds so funny people can't help but ask "what the hell is a squib?!" when they hear it said aloud.
But filmmakers know squib isn't just a funny word- it's the secret to making gunshot effects look realistic on camera.



In his latest tutorial, John P. Hess of Filmmaker IQ gave us a quick history lesson on blood squibs and demonstrated how to make an actual air powered blood squid for gunshot special effects on a backyard movie budget..


Sunday 2 July 2017

Learn 15 Key Elements of Mise-en-Scène from This Handy Infographic

Originally posted by V Renée on September 18, 2016  at No Film School

What the hell is mise-en-scène and why is it important to filmmaking? If you're just starting to study the craft of filmmaking you've probably come across a strange word you've never seen before: mise-en-scène. This French term, which translates to "placing on stage", is used to describe the design elements of a frame, or as one of my film professors says, "everything within the frame that makes up the frame," and she meant everything. This includes lighting, costuming, camera placement, camera angle, props, blocking, lenses, even film stock—literally everything—I mean it.

Admittedly, mise-en-scène is kind of a convoluted and overly-complicated concept to understand, but it's necessary to look at what your camera is capturing from a wider perspective. In other words, it's a concept that helps you look at the shot as a whole, not just with the cinematographic elements (lighting, camera angle, etc.), character elements (blocking, wardrobe, etc.), or set design (props, decor, etc.) alone.

To get a better grasp on what mise-en-scène is, check out this helpful, and very detailed infographic created by Michael and Christopher of ShoHawk that details 15 of its most important concepts.

[And for the record, it's pronounced "meez-on-sen"...or mēz ˌän ˈsen for all of you dictionary nerds.]































Saturday 1 July 2017

Amateur Vs. Pro: How Differently The Same ‘Ugly’ Location Looks When Pro Photographer Shoots It


Award-winning art photographer Vijce is back with fresh inspiration, though it’s not exactly the colourful work you may be used to from him. This time, the German camera pro used a gloomy train station staircase as his main subject, but the beauty he brought to the’ugly’ location is something we can all learn from.

“To be honest, I’ve captured my favourite street photos in the ugliest of all places,” Vijce wrote in his recent PetaPixel feature. “Sure, it’s a bit more challenging to find the extraordinary in the ordinary… but isn’t that what street photography is all about?” Indeed, he somehow manages to capture the industrial grit of the station in a softer, more ‘human’ light, an effect he insists can be achieved in any place a photographer has available to them.

If you simply observe any length of scenery for a while, no matter how depressing it may seem at first, you’ll notice things that other passing by don’t see. You’ll notice people that you would otherwise ignore. Vijce writes that this is the key to finding unique shots in any situation, as well as experimenting with perspective by laying down, walking around, and looking up.

Check out the surprisingly powerful photos below, as well as a special video at the end.

(h/t: PetaPixel)

 

To the average photographer, this train station staircase would probably look gloomy or ‘ugly’

 

Image credits: Vijce

Image credits: Vicje

 

Award-winning photographer Vijce, however, saw a world of possibilities in the unusual location

 

Image credits: Vicje

Image credits: Vijce

Image credits: Vijce

 

All a photographer must do is spend time observing the location, then play with perspective

 

Image credits: Vijce


Image credits: Vijce


Image credits: Vijce

Image credits: Vijce

 

What was once a depressing industrial atmosphere now appears more ‘human’ and ‘alive’

 

Image credits: Vijce

Image credits: Vijce


Learn more about the compelling process below: