Camera Training

This week was my first week back at University as a second year! Scary right. Ultimately I am that type of person who will get themselves worked up and nervous about anything possible which I am stopping! The idea of becoming a second year and working on WINOL is very daunting, for the pure fact that to get a successful package out, the work has to be put in, and WINOL requires a lot of effort. This semester I am starting out in the field of features and production. For the whole time I have wanted to be a Journalist I have strived towards the feature side, especially fashion, so I am hoping that this chance will allow me to explore this and see whether this particular aspect of Journalism is in fact what I want to do. So, one of our first lectures this year was camera training, we are lucky enough to have brand new macs in TAB9 and a load of new equipment to use such as new lightweight/compact cameras, which are far easier to use (and hold) than the previous ones. In this post I am going to write up the notes I retrieved from this lecture as it will remind me in future when I have to attempt (emphasis on the 'attempt') to use the cameras, also it will hopefully help other second years if they are unsure of something. The aspects are put into bullet points as I believe it's easier to read and just to be even more helpful I will put the main words in bold so what you are looking for is easier to find!

- In the new camera the zoom is now buttons rather than the twisty bit of the lens, and is located on the side of the camera.
- The T - W button which is located on the screen, allows you to access the menu
- MF = manual focus
- AF = auto focus
- Manual focus is best to be on pretty much all the time however in worst cases and you have little time and the lighting is good, you can use auto. When we are in manual we are in control, which is ultimately the best position to be in, we run the camera, the camera does not run us.
- On the left hand side of the camera you will find the iris, white balance and gain
- Gain = can be put on high, medium or low. The more gain the more grain, so it is therefore better to have it lower
- Iris = located next to gain. Iris allows more light in, allowing for a better picture in some circumstances.
- White balance = next to gain also. To use white balance, put the camera into manual by pressing the MF button, zoom in on something white, put up the gain if it is too dark, press the AWB button at the front of the camera then zoom it.
- Shutter speed is located at the back of the camera. Make sure the frame rate is always 50 or above. Press the shutter, then move the button up and down to change.
- AE+ button is a quick way of changing the brightness when it is in auto.
- The SD slot is located at the bottom of the camera on the left hand side. 'Slot Select' will choose which SD card your shooting on.
- Zebra = 70/80 is skin colour. This button is beneath the screen.
- Menu/Thumb - T/W, use this joystick to move around
- Camera resolution should normally be 1920 x 1080
- Record mode =

• Normal - Simple Shooting
• Pre Rec - You are recording all the time, even more your press record. This type is good for things such as Football matches where you only want the goals but you still get everything is incase.
• Clip Continuous - Changes between the 2 SD cards you have in the camera 
• Frame Record - Stop frame animations, can have still frames. 
• Time Code - Record Run - best

- LCD  = focus assist if you put it on it, it draws a line around what is in focus. Everything out of the blue/green line is out of focus. Ultimately if there is no blue/green line, nothing is in focus!

- Recording in display shows what you are doing, recording in manual can then control the level of each channel.

Lastly, to see the clips you have recorded, you push down on the recording button (I think) and hold. Click on specific clips to watch them.

With these new cameras, are we are not using tapes like we had to do with the old ones, once we have transfered data to the computers to edit, we will probably have to wipe the SD card before giving the camera back to the learning counter! 

Hope this helps!

I'm back!

So, I think it is obvious I have not blogged in about a million years but I do have some reasonable excuses for this. Number 1, I have spent the past month day and night revising for my Philosophy exam which I have in approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes. I am completely prepared and WILL pass. Ok, being honest I do not feel like that at all. I spent all of last night tossing and turning about my fate if I fail but have now decided that I will relax and try my best. Today my Media assignment is due in which is all completed but I doubt is even on topic but you know. Not only this but as I have already said, I have my Philosophy exam. Apart from the fact that we are sitting it in the 'shed of dread' (yes, the name says it all), I am so scared that I will sit down and forget everything I have learnt and revised. The thought is nearly as bad as the whole 'turning up to lesson naked' nightmare people have.Ultimately, this post is pointless and since my brain is filled to the brim of revision and I can't take any more last minute revising I thought I might as well blog nonsense in order to keep my mind busy. If i wasn't doing this I would probably be sat in the corner of my room rocking backwards and forwards crying my heart out. But, in the words of Oasis, I will stop crying my heart out and try my hardest at this exam. Stay Classy Bloggers. Peace.P.S, below is an image of my revision notes stuck to my wall so I can remember everything. Impressive right?

Elections

Parliament can fun for a maximum of 5 years - it needs to be dissolved by the Queen before an election. Ultimately, it can be dissolved at any time - if the Government no longer has a majority or an election can be triggered if the government loses a vote of confidence in the Commons. A vote of confidence in the commons is quite rare though. 
Jim Callaghan lost by 1 vote in 1979 - winter of discontent. Due to this one vote, Thatcher won the election and came to power. 
Locke - 'if your going to take things from people you must give them a voice'. John Locke, known philosopher, described the way in which you must be happy with the representation of people e.g. MP's etc. Another known philosopher, Rousseau, believed in a direct democracy which was on the spot. People should be involved in every aspect of this and by it being on the spot it it could be relating to such ways as texting and online for future voting prospects. 


Coalition government has passed a law fixing the date of elections every 5 years, the next occuring on the 7th May 2015.
Up until now, the Prime Minister fixed the date of the elections. It has been tradition to hold them on a Thursday, which has been around since 1935! Little fact of the day there for you!
In order to vote you have to register (on the electoral register) and since you are not automatically on it -even if you pay taxes- roughly 45 million people are already on the register. 


This year there is the US presidential elections and the French presidential elections. Consequently, we do not have a presidential election as our head of state is the Queen herself. We as a country do not directly elect our Prime Minister. 


Voting Polls
England - 37,912,549
Scotland - 3,885,148
Wales - 2,262,769
Northern Ireland - 1,134,983
(Source - BBC)


Citizens living overseas can vote but less than 15,000 of the estimated 5.5 million actually do. 


Who can't vote you ask? ...
- Under 18's
- Prisoners
- People with criminal records
- Members of the House of Lords
- European Union Citizens


Representation of the people act is the law that covers elections.
 In 1918 men over 21 and women over 30 were allowed to vote
1928 - universal suffrage (all adults over 21 were able to vote)
1969 - all adults over the age of 18 had the right to vote but it not compulsory (it is compulsory to vote in Australia)


Who can stand? - Citizens over the age of 18


First Past the Post, Not PR - whoever gains a majority in the constituency is elected. This means that national voting percentages are not reflected in seats. Furthermore, the election comes down to marginals as most votes in safe seats are wasted. There are not many marginal seats and the meaning of them is that it is undecided who will be there. Labour won half the seats in 2005 but only had 35% of the vote. This has lead to people voting tactically by trying to stop the party they dislike rather than choosing their own personal choice. This is tactical voting - for example, a labour supporter in Winchester. 
In the 2010 election most cities voted Labour, which is the working class, however the countryside voted mostly conservative. 


If you want to become an MP you must put down a deposit of £500. This money will be returned if you get at least 5% of the votes cast. This deposit used to be much less but it was changed due to many people running just for the fun as they had about £100 to spare. By having the increase it makes sure the people who are running are serious about it. Spoilt ballets are always disqualified, this relates to people drawing pictures or putting crosses by everyone's names. If there is a close result there can be a recount in some cases. 


Closer to home
In Winchester 1997, Mark Oaten won against Tory MP Gerry Malone by 2 votes in the local election that year. He went to high court and was granted a by-election, resulting in Oaten winning by a landslide. 

Schopenhauer and Nietzche

Schopenhauer's work comes within the general School of General Idealism of the 19th Century. He was a contemporary with Hegel who was someone Schopenhauer particularly hates. His position is that of immateralism which is to say that the apparent world does not exist independently of perception. In any ways Schopenhauer is similar to Kant, such ways are that they both believe that you can deduce by reason that there is a necessary pre-existent formless 'something' which is a necessary condition of the existence of anything at all. Yes, pretty confusing right. I'll have to get back to you on the meaning of that long and winding sentence and the meaning behind it. 

Kant - each object can be a 'thing in itself' separate from another 'thing in itself'. He argued that all experience could only come through us by our facilities and senses. In simpler terms, what we could experience ultimately depended on the nature of the facilities which we possess. 

For Schopenhauer there is only one undifferentiated 'thing in itself' and this is existence as a thing in itself. For this he uses the term 'WILL'. Consequently this can be confused with the term 'free will' and therefore is a bad choice. The concept of will in Schopenhauer is the same according to Nietzsche as 'eternal fire' in Heraclitus (a pre-Socratic). Nietzsche hated Socrates such as Plato and believed that the Socrates were only trying to think their way out of things and it would never work.

All experience is subject dependent. Therefore we could see reality in 2 ways (which is named the double aspect theory). Things in themselves independent of experience. Similar to Kant’s theory of noumnea, but for Schopenhauer all noumnea are the same thing – a ‘everything as a thing in itself’. This is an example of his term the will. His work was securely in the mainstream of Western Philosophy and he knew about Buddism and Hinduism. Due to this, he was the only major Western Philosopher to draw parallels between Western and Eastern thought.

Nietzsche believed in the term ‘good is dead’ and thought that the future would be full of violence. Not only this but also thought that humanity was a passing phase, ultimately branding him anti-human/Christian. Nietzsche’s main book was named The Birth of Tragedy and focused on the art form that transcended the pessimism of a meanless world. 

Weber Seminar - Summary

4 Fundamental types of social action;
1. Instrumental rational action - Performed due to social status and security factors. Ultimately doing something to further yourself.
2. Value rational action - It is a good thing to do
3. Affectual emotional action - Emotional reason behind it
4. Traditional - what you believe should be done in society. 'Just because'. 


Weber believes there is no absolute knowledge. This could possibly be related to Hegel and the way in which Hegel believed knowledge is the instrument used to get hold of the absolute. 
The first bureaucratic state was the German Empire. The Prussian army was the heart of the state and was also highly bureaucratic. 
A bureaucracy is a rule conducted from a desk/office. The world comes from the French word 'Bureau' meaning desk. 


Weber and Bureaucracy
- Weber was a German socialist and at the time of the German empire people were directed by rules which were impersonally applied. 
- These were staffed by full time professionals who lived off a salary. 
- Credentialism relates to the preoccupation with formal educational qualifications. 
- The 'ideal type' of bureaucracy is ensuring efficient functioning of the organisation. 
- Capitalists seek machinery to enlarge profits
-  Karl Marx had a class interest
- Nietzche - believed we should never be obedient. What we believe is right.  
- Weber said that truth is rationalisation. E.g. going out drinking to meet friends. Ultimately, I see it as kind of the excuse you make to do something. 
- Prussian Bureaucracy - created new jobs and therefore a new class; the middle class.
- Non-teleological idea belonged to Weber
- Weber thinks that you can use a hypothesis in human behaviour not just science - scientific method.
He believes that you can use scientific methods on humans.
- If you create a hierarchy in 1 country then one in another the hypothesis is that you will create a war.
- Weber is a social scientist and this relates to his 4 types of social action shown at the beginning of this post.
- Bureaucratics HAVE to stick to the rules. They get paid a salary to stick by these specific rules.
- The state is a monopoly of legitimate violence. We can not take the violence into our own hands as that is the states job.

Weber - Lecture

The Big 4
Marx (class, ideology, economics)
Nietzshe (morality, culture)
Weber (power, legitimacy, domination)
Freud (sexuality, irrationality, sub-conscious)


Max Weber came up with a general theory of rationalisation. Weber believed the death of civilisation is through bordem and that creative people are seen as lunatics. Marx's theory is that classes have to beat other classes and so on. An example of this is the Paris Commune and how for the first time in History the establishment was overturned, even if only for a few days. After the 1870's along came anti-semitism, corruption, Moulan Rouge, prostitution, racism and war. This all results in the start of WW1. 


1871- Franco-Prussian War
        - There was a big impact on Germany; Germany turns into the German empire after the win of Prussia. Germany was a geographical region with different countries who spoke German. With the defeat of France, all the German speaking countries except Austria join to create the German empire. 
Germany was the 1st modern bureaucratic state. 
BUREAU- French word for office
CRATIC - Political


Nation building requires officials such as doctors, factory inspectors etc. German bureaucracy was incredibly efficient and the universities at the time were very similar to the military. University students wore similar uniforms to the military.
50% of parents in this generation work for the state in places such as schools, offices, police officers, doctors and so on. Karl Marx believed our parents who do work in bureaucratic jobs would be dead/struggling at this time. However it actually allowed for the rise of the middle class with loans and banking etc. 
Max Weber analysed the state as a whole and believed that in some way we would all be a cog, connected to one another, then other connected to the state. Weber (much like Marx) is Kantian and believed that humans can not know the objects in themselves, no absolute reality; we only have a mental picture - the ideal types of organisation such as socialism, nationalism and liberalism. 
The meaning of Teleological is that we are going somewhere, the known process of development. 


Method in sociological is Kantian - scientific - hypothesis + successive approximation to truth. 
There is no absolute knowledge, but it is possible to be honest and to have reasonable truths. 
Kant believed of the internal feeling when being honest. Journalists use opinion as you can't know the actual truth about a murder etc. So J's often use such ideas of Kant. 


Weber has 4 fundamental types of social action
1. Instrumental-rational action (social status + security factors)
- when you did it for rational good
2. Value-rational action
- It is a good thing to do e.g. coming to the lecture. It shows values and is educationally good
3.-emotional affirmation/disaffirmation (oriental)
- Because you have affection for someone. Coming to a lecture as you love someone who is in it.
4. Traditional (rational inheritance-anticipating) orientation. Affectual
- It is tradition. E.g. Family BBQ's, you have to go as it is a family tradition etc.


There are also different types of authority;
- Traditional (family, ceremonies, ritual submission)
- Charismatic- people who we obey (doctors; even though they give us weird pills we trust that they know what they are doing) 

Politics

It won't surprise me if anyone reading this has stopped simply by reading the title. Yes I know, Politics, for many people the most boring thing you could ever listen to. I mean at least if your watching it on the TV or hearing it on the radio you hardly need to concentrate. Yet reading it on someone's blog, hmmm no thanks. But in order for such information to sink in it is a good idea for me personally to write up my notes. Although I don't find Politics very interesting, it is a very important topic for a Journalist -no matter what type- to know so therefore this is the reason I am blogging about it. 


When talking about Local Politics, the top level of Politics is the County Council, then followed by City/District Councils. Ultimately, both can be kind of put together therefore creating a unitary authority. People who are in the 'Cabinet' (were not talking of a place you keep your glasses or fine china), are the highest ranking members of the Government. The Shadow Cabinet relates to rival parties. The often order would go - MPs - Cabinet - Shadow Cabinet - PMQ's. 
Civil Servants are the people who make/stop things from happening. These people are NOT elected, yet get paid a large sum of money to do their job. These people are neutral and are not on one specific political side. Ultimately, they are servants of the public. 


National Politics
The press are named the 4th estate in National Politics. Journalists sniff for corruption and check the politicians are doing their job. Not only this but Journalists have privilege to allow them to talk and write stories. The Police allow Journalists to do so as they want to show that they are doing their job properly, therefore allowing Journalists this privilege. 
John Wilkes is a hero of Journalism. He is also the only Journalist who has a statue which is situated off fleet street; the street where all the large newspapers were situated. 

Wilkes was forced into exile numerous times and called the King a liar. All of which are obviously defamatory statements. His newspaper was named The North Britton and attacked a number of people including Lord Brute, an MP. All in all Wilkes established privilege for us Journalists allowing us to write about parliament and allow for free speech and the constitutional basis of free speech. The rules of privilege means that you can report basically anything said in the House of Commons but as a Journalist you must not forget the Sub Judice rule which is contempt. 


Now going on to fair comment, it provides a defence if a comment is an opinion, supported by facts, is honest and is in the matter of the public interest. With your comment you can basically say what you like about politicians and in newspapers there is no need for balance. Consequently, in TV and radio you are expected to be balanced. 


Voting in the commons is formally called a 'division'. The parties try to control the way in which their MP's vote through whipping, unless there is a free vote. Whipping relates to tough people who keep everyone in line. They are the parties enforcers and they threaten punishment for party members who ensure that they vote according to the official party policy. These people are selected by the Prime Minister. 
The people in the House of Lords are not elected, they are sometimes experts in their fields and also are often rich. All laws have to be approved by both Houses of Parliament and Lords. 
- The lords are not elected and do not represent any particular constituencies.
- They are not paid a salary, though they can claim expenses
- Lords are allowed to vote on changes to taxation and finance. 
-They never have the final word, though the Government may sometimes choose to compromise. 
The same amendments must be agreed by both Houses. In the event of a disagreement, the lords do not have the power to reject legislation. 


Green Paper = Consultation document, the start of a law. E.g. 'We think everyone in the UK should have a slice of pizza every day'. 
White Paper = When it comes back and is actually made into some sort of law. E.g. 'We like the idea of this but we think it should be two slices of pizza.'
This white paper then gets sent to the committee stage and experts will check the laws.
Hansard is the written document in Parliament. It can be described as the official report of the proceedings of Parliament and are published daily. 
Party Funding relates to subscriptions from members, donations from wealth donors and state funding. The number of party memberships have fallen dramatically so parties often rely heavily on wealthy donors. This then leas to claims of cash for honours - Lloyd George sold them openly.