Well, this one sure took a long time to complete. I
started to work on the concept of Be Integrated back in early 2007 but somehow
it went on the backburner for a long while before I was able to put my vision
on the screen. So many things happened that this particular video and storyline
would have to wait until the right opportunity presented itself before getting
recorded and edited.
After releasing a
succession of episodes from our new MoonDaze TV project, my team at MoonDaze
Productions and I decided to take a break from it to actually go back to our
primary love which is producing videos to accompany musical songs. MoonDaze TV
was a nice distraction but it's all about the music and this is where the focus
should be.
So far, there have been 3 clips released from the Utopia
album we launched in December 2007 if we count the alternative version for the
song Lustful Puppylove. But this new single and video is very special for so
many reasons. First, I feel like this is the best song from my album or at
least my personal favorite. You can view the clip on many web sites
including here on buzznet, myspace, youtube and also on my own domain:
http://www.breckstewart.com
We waited to release it as a 3rd single because we wanted
to have a strong video to accompany it. But mainly, the song and video were
created for a very specific goal. As you may know, I am deeply involved in the
fight against Digital Rights Management also called DRM. This technological
process was created solely to control and restrict what people can do with
digital files by assuming that every customer is a common thief bent on
"stealing" or "pirating" various files. But of course, nothing could be further
from the truth.
The first time I became aware of DRM and the threat it
represents to digital freedom was when I was trying to set up a system where my
songs could be sold in digital form in MP3. As I started to learn more about
this process, I got truly offended by its intent. It's like a digital lock
whose sole purpose is to keep consumers from being able to do what they want
with the files they purchased. How despicable is that?
Well, now it's here and our digital world is becoming more
and more unstable as a result. Windows Vista from Microsoft is the worst
offender of course because those DRM "viruses" were integrated directly into the
heart of the operating system so that people wouldn't be able to copy, share or
even use Blu-Ray Discs and digital files in a fair manner.
The right of fair use is extremely important in connection
to DRM because that technology comes in the way of it. Fair use is a
crucial concept because it goes back to the basic right of a buyer who simply
wishes to utilize the digital product they purchased in a way that is deemed
fair by simple common sense. But this is where it gets muddy. Whose to say how you should use the product you just bought? Is
that fair for some huge company to actually decide what you can and can not do
with what you purchased with your hard earned money?
Microsoft took years to build Vista but not only did they
not enhance the user experience from the one had with Windows XP, they went as
far as redesigning a new system that is completely customer unfriendly. By
incorporating all those barriers into the operating system, they made things a
lot more complicated and obtrusive technically. And if you think for a second
that they didn't also add numerous ways to spy on the users, you'll suffer
through a rude awakening at some point. Just do some digging and you'll see
just how many processes included in Vista phone home and report back to
Microsoft, infringing on your privacy and assuming you're a thief before you
even do anything.
I personally started to really hate Vista and Blu-Ray when
I spent a long time doing research in technical forums and sites. Then, many of
my friends and acquaintances were forced into having Vista because we're already
at the point where new systems come pre installed with Vista with no choice
to have XP for most users. And I saw how many problems they had to endure
before most of them decided to go back to XP. But
Microsoft is such a strong entity that they can simply use their monopoly and
force people to switch to the new bloated Vista system and kill XP in the
process which they plan to bury as quickly as possible.
Isn't that weird though? I mean XP was made by Microsoft
so why would they desperately want to kill their own
product? Does that make sense? Of course it does but only if one knows the
history behind Vista and how it was designed to regain control over the users.
And now that HD-DVD is history, Blu-Ray is the only High Definition video format
on the market and boy, they didn't waste any time. We can now see ads for
Blu-Ray along with regular DVDs all over the place but mostly for major
Hollywood movies of course. It'll be a long time if ever when you'll be able to
get that nice little movie from 1974 on a Blu-Ray disc. Let's face it,
Blu-Ray is and will remain a product only for a very specific
niche market.
Of course a new video format might be a nice idea but not
one that treats their customers like thieves. DVD works wonderfully well and
supplanted VHS because of many enhancements like rapid access to any part of the
movie, much higher sound and video quality, and so on... But what more do we
get when we switch from DVD to Blu-Ray? A higher resolution yes but also a ton
of DRM locks. I work with videos all the time and let me tell you that even
though Blu-Ray possesses a higher resolution that's true, most people wouldn't
even notice it unless they own a 50 inch widescreen television or have a keen
technical eye to detect those differences.
How much more resolution do we need to enjoy a movie
anyway? Is that worth it to buy a completely new not to mention more expensive
format just so the image might look a bit sharper? Do we really need to
see every wrinkle and skin pore on actors with even more details? Does this
actually enhance the experience and the enjoyment of a feature film? Certainly
not to me and I have a very sharp eye for those things. And even if you could
detect some minor image improvement, is it worth the risk of having that
technology assume that your disc is actually pirated and therefore, shutting
down your brand new shiny Blu-Ray player? You think I'm exaggerating? I wish I
was.
Anyway, the video Be Integrated was constructed to help
the cause against Digital Rights Management with animation showcasing many DRM
objects constantly scanning and shutting down
processes which they sense could violate some limitations imposed by the system
as a whole. We wanted to show just how sneaky and agressive DRM processes can
be and how this can affect many other legitimate functions in a negative manner
by stealing their CPU power away. The animation where we see those red DRM
objects flying around took a long time but I personally felt like it was needed
to prove the point effectively.
And we used sequences from a live performance I did for an
event called "Relève en Folies" in late 2007. It was a gala showcasing
150 different upcoming artists most of whom don't have much notoriety yet and I
include myself in this of course. I performed 2 songs live namely "Digital
Lover" and "Lustful Puppylove". There was also 2 dancers with me along with
many models from 2 different fashion designer Erzuly and Station 8.
The event went very well and I was happy about my
performance but sadly, the show which was recorded live ran too long and they
had to cut it from 2 hours to about an hour. This happens all the time so I
didn't mind not being in the final cut that much. But what I got really angry
about was the fact that they completely erased the unused portion of the show in
the digital master.
I got over it eventually but I felt like it was a cheap
shot. And it was truly a miracle that I was able to actually get a copy of the
backup that was shot in betacam which we reverted back to digital form. I
consider myself very lucky because otherwise, those sequences would have been
destroyed forever.
We merged the 2 performances of about 4 minutes each into
a single one with new footage added. True, some of the lips movements don't
really match in the long shots but I recorded many new sequences where we see me
lip synching the proper song which we then superimposed on top of the existing
material to create a new clip which is quite dense in terms of imagery with many
layers coming in and out of focus.
I am very proud of the result and feel like all those
artists with me on the stage deserved to have their performances preserved for posterity. For me it was really a great experience
and I met many of them backstage where we fraternized and exchanged ideas and
passions. I haven't made many other live performances since then because I've
been too busy with so many other projects but my goal is really to get to do a
live show at some point in the future and this song will of course be a part of
it.
This video can be used by anyone to promote the cause of
Digital Oppression as I like to call it. I truly hope that by doing this I
might make some people aware of this issue which is already starting to affect
many of us because let's face it, we will only become more dependant on computer
technology as time progresses. I only wish that more people become aware of the
potential problems they can have by using technologies that were created to
actually come in their way and keep them from doing what they want.
We all deserve the best and sorry but Vista and Blu-Ray
ain't it baby... Not with those evil DRM leeches running around inside
them.
No Vista, No Blu-Ray
Say NO to Digital Oppression
