And Now, the Animated News 114
theodp writes "'You have a lot of missing images, in the TV, in the news reporting,' explains billionaire Jimmy Lai. It's a gap that Lai's Next Media intends to fill with its animated news service. Artists lift details from news photos while actors in motion sensor suits re-create action sequences of stories making headlines. Animators graft cartoon avatars to the live-motion action, and the stories hit the Web. When news agencies didn't have footage of scenes from the Tiger Woods car crash, Lai's team raced to put together animation dramatizing the incident that became a YouTube sensation. Thus far, Lai has been denied a television license, but with or without his own station, he thinks his animations are headed for televisions worldwide. His company is currently in talks with media organizations to churn out news animations on demand using Next Media's graphic artists and software tools."
Re:I like it! (Score:5, Insightful)
interesting, but dangerous? (Score:5, Insightful)
Although from a technological point of view it is very interesting, a lot of details missing from the regular videos need to be 'made up' for the reconstruction. I think that's a dangerous move, as the viewer may base its opinion on video footage.
Re:interesting, but dangerous? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:interesting, but dangerous? (Score:2, Insightful)
Have you seen one of their reconstructions? It offers no credibility that is not already carried by a (misleading?) verbal description.
Re:interesting, but dangerous? (Score:4, Insightful)
I think that's a dangerous move, as the viewer may base its opinion on video footage.
As opposed to now, where viewers are only to happy to base their opinions on nothing whatsoever.
It's six of one, really. It's disappointing how easily viewers are manipulated. You could stick a flashing RECONSTRUCTION over the footage, and they're still going to come out convinced that they were right there when it happened.
And worse... they'll hold the same opinion, almost as strongly, if you just tell it to them.
Re:Just what modern news needs (Score:5, Insightful)
Eh, can't be any worse than the Colbert Report.
The Colbert report is 50% news and 50% bullshit, and is billed as entertainment. CNN is also 50% news and and 50% bullshit, but it's billed as news. You don't really see the problem with this?
Re:No thank you (Score:3, Insightful)
Sounds good to me. Maybe someday they'll try it.
Re:interesting, but dangerous? (Score:3, Insightful)
There's a big difference between a misleading verbal description and a misleading reconstruction. The human mind is more likely to accept and believe something it's seen over something it's heard.
A lot of it depends on the quality of the "reconstruction" or "enhancement". An adjustment of just a few pixels in certain news shots could turn a story completely around. "Is that a plasma cannon from Unreal Tournament that Ghandi is holding up? I always thought that was a spinning wheel."
Adding a few special effects details, and doing just a tiny bit of adjustment, and suddenly Greedo shot first.
It's already getting hard to believe what is on the news. This is not going to help. It's not a surprise at all, in fact I'd be astonished to find out that a lot of video footage I've seen HASN'T been "enhanced" in some way or other. "Enhanced" can easily mean "altered to more accurately fit the story we want to tell."
Prior art (Score:2, Insightful)
How is this philosophically different from courtroom sketch artists?
Re:Just what modern news needs (Score:4, Insightful)
I have to disagree with this outlandish statement.
In what way are they "neo"-fascist as opposed to the old-fashioned, standard variety?
Re:Just what modern news needs (Score:3, Insightful)
Fox is 100% bull (opinion pieces by neo-fascist extremists) and 0% news, and it's also billed news. Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report give better news in an hour than CNN does in a day.
The real problem is Fox News [like many other networks] also host commentary and news programs on the same network.
Their commentators are more extreme (and entertaining, this is a business after all) than the other networks.
I honestly don't think the bias on their *news* programs are any worse than the other networks.
That is not to say anything about the quality of the programmes, on any network.
Re:Just what modern news needs (Score:4, Insightful)
Their commentators are "extreme?" Have you seen how they are kicking everyone else's asses in the ratings. Not by a little bit, but Fox News programming regularly destroys competing shows in the ratings. Perhaps it is you who are the extreme one.
Perhaps stupid people like to be spoonfed news from a source that caters to their prejudices? Perhaps smarter people are more eclectic and much more likely to get their news from many different sources?
All you need to do is look at a few polls, you will see that Fox news caters to a minority. The majority of Americans are not small minded, hate-filled, racist trash who believe 'gummint should keep its hands off medicare,' but enough are to make for a lucrative market.
Re:Just what modern news needs (Score:3, Insightful)
Matt's First Law of Television: Everything on TV is entertainment, even programs billed as "news."
Re:Just what modern news needs (Score:1, Insightful)
Their commentators are "extreme?" Have you seen how they are kicking everyone else's asses in the ratings. Not by a little bit, but Fox News programming regularly destroys competing shows in the ratings. Perhaps it is you who are the extreme one.
Perhaps stupid people like to be spoonfed news from a source that caters to their prejudices? Perhaps smarter people are more eclectic and much more likely to get their news from many different sources?
All you need to do is look at a few polls, you will see that Fox news caters to a minority. The majority of Americans are not small minded, hate-filled, racist trash who believe 'gummint should keep its hands off medicare,' but enough are to make for a lucrative market.
You, sir, are not helping your case at all. You just called a large portion of Americans "small minded trash".
The obvious problem with your statement is that you, in calling anyone whose views obviously differ from yours (they must if they dare to watch Fox News) "small minded trash", make it obvious that you are not open to other ideas (close minded), and also you spoke hatefully those who disagree with you. This is also ironic because of your earlier remark that hateful people are small minded.
Your post comes off as a partisan rant against the viewers of fox, and anyone who disagrees with you in general.