Technology
The film relies heavily on technology and in many aspects it predates or anticipates both technologies as well as cultural habits that would later become standard online practice and interaction: Netiquette. The design, look-and-feel, animation, and programming was created by Christian D. Bruun. Programming was assisted by Steven Osit and Kate Schaffer.
The technological implementations have several aspects:
- 1) The technical aspects of filming and recording four to six cameras simultaneously on two separate locations or sets. The set-up included two-way live video feeds embedded real-time in an interactive interface. The cameras included DV cameras (SONY PD-150 pal, Sony TRV900) and a variety of USB and FireWire web cameras.
- 2) Extend the reach and universe of the film beyond the movie going experience. This included making the featured websites available online for the audience to be able to explore the back stories as well as future developments of the characters in the film. This meant that the websites had to reflect each characters or mimic the social environment in which it existed.
- 3) The marketing of the film utilizing the websites and viral video clips. The clips could be emailed as well as transferred and shared on PalmOS devices. Initially launched at the Sundance Film Festival the clips was an early example of digital video viral marketing.
- Internet. All the websites created and used in the film was also made available on the internet.
- SilentCity.net. This is the main character's web video diary (a precursor to Blogs and Vlogs). New videos featuring Andrew Osborne as the online version of John Roth was regularly uploaded. These videos both preceded the film but also continued Joe's life after the film ended.
- AngelCam.org. AngelCam is the 24/7 online website of webcam girl Angel. On her web site we can watch what John is watching in the film and read about Angel's daily activities. For a while the site was truly live as real life web cam girl Liz Owens' camera feed was streamed through the site. The site was loosely inspired by the phenomenon of JenniCam.
- FinalExit.net is the goth website where Moira Ingalls and Ed Simone meet.
- InterCon-X.com is the adult web cam service designed to enable both professionals and amateurs to connect and watch and talk to each other.
- Web chats. Developing the interfaces for the web chats in the film Tim Dorcy and his iVisit software were consulted.
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Famous quotes containing the word technology:
“If we had a reliable way to label our toys good and bad, it would be easy to regulate technology wisely. But we can rarely see far enough ahead to know which road leads to damnation. Whoever concerns himself with big technology, either to push it forward or to stop it, is gambling in human lives.”
—Freeman Dyson (b. 1923)
“One can prove or refute anything at all with words. Soon people will perfect language technology to such an extent that they’ll be proving with mathematical precision that twice two is seven.”
—Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860–1904)
“If the technology cannot shoulder the entire burden of strategic change, it nevertheless can set into motion a series of dynamics that present an important challenge to imperative control and the industrial division of labor. The more blurred the distinction between what workers know and what managers know, the more fragile and pointless any traditional relationships of domination and subordination between them will become.”
—Shoshana Zuboff (b. 1951)