Dom Dinh

Oh, WordPress, how I’ll miss you in my final days of using this site. It’s come time to talk about my larger video project – AI: The Deepfake Rabbit Hole.

Creating this video was quite hard as formulating an opinion on the nature of AI and deepfaking proved to be quite difficult. Even in my original scripting and recording of the video, I initially could not conclude whether or not deepfaking was good or bad. However, after reviewing my footage, I came to a point where I wanted to make sure my information in the video made my opinion somewhat clear, in that, for the most part, while deepfaking can be extremely dangerous if used for malicious reasons, there were legitimate benefits in using the technology as a final goodbye.

I was racing against the clock on this video as, per usual, I had barely made a script, coming together with key points for my video and improvising as I went along. As I started to read more into the topic though, my plans shifted and I wanted to ensure through sourcing as much references as I could in order to ensure the audience knew that I was speaking out of genuine knowledge instead of simply rambling.

In saying this though, this didn’t stop me from going on small comedic rants here and there, in which some you can see in the final product. I did this for a few reasons, but mainly for the fact that I didn’t want to necessarily portray a person that was just providing a lecture, but rather a person that was passionate about a topic that could sometimes trail off and make mistakes here and there, as I feel those are the most interesting informational videos.

Creating humor in my videos is one of my best strengths, whether that be through fumbling my words, or using my editing skills to boost my comedic timing, such as the cutting of music when I make a mistake, or a zoom-in on my face. The best moments for me in a video is when I unintentionally do something that ends up making a much better product later – spontaneity is something I work very well with, and it helps drive my brand as a “low-maintenance” person.

Utilising my same recording techniques as last time, I used the sunlight of my bedroom window alongside a magnetic light to ensure the darker side of my face would be lit to make even shadows. Recording my audio separately using my iPad Pro and a professional audio interface and boom microphone, I positioned the mic off to the side to make sure it could hear me, without introducing any kind of “popping” into my audio, as my microphone is classed as being “directional” to pick up my voice.

While in the editing room, I realised I had to record a bunch of B-roll, or secondary footage, in order to help back up my piece-to-camera without making it boring for the viewer. Using the software OBS to record my desktop screen, and also use objects around my house such as potted flowers and a statue, I recorded my own footage in order to supplement my talking points, as well as mask another autofocusing issue I had with my camera – my lens doesn’t seem to like me very much!

While normally I use footage from the internet under the law of Fair Use, restricting myself meant that I could become more creative with my edit.

Finding music was a tough challenge, but I managed to find a few through the Free Music Archive which posts music listed under Creative Commons licenses; I managed to find some music under the “Jazz” genre and went from blending it into my video seamlessly.

I learned a few things from the making of this video that I will definitely take away with me as I enter the industry after graduating from university. Firstly, making sure I give myself enough time to film and edit; I usually think I have enough time to edit everything, but crunch editing and then having to post and write descriptions takes a lot more! Crunch editing is something that I shouldn’t be bringing with me into my future, as while it’s handy, it can be a real pressure.

Overall, though, I’m pleased with how the video turned out, and I couldn’t be happier.

cutting it close here, but when has that ever stopped me from crunch editing a video?

an unlisted version of me discussing deepfake is now available on YouTube! check out the full version here: https://t.co/zoEhq2t3wZ#ALM102 pic.twitter.com/0PFzjDLJn0

— Dom Dinh (@dom_dinh) October 1, 2021

Music used:
Glow-Flow by Ketsa is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/dimensions/glow-flow

Moonlight Moovie – Piano (ID 1621) by Lobo Loco is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/harvest-times/moonlight-moovie-piano-id-1621

References:
Chadwick A & Vaccari C, Deepfakes and Disinformation: Exploring the Impact of Synthetic Political Video on Deception, Uncertainty, and Trust in News, Sage Journals, 6(1)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2056305120903408

Donoughue P 2018, Dead musicians are touring again, as holograms. It’s tricky – technologically and legally, ABC News, accessed 30th September
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-29/hologram-technology-letting-dead-musicians-tour-again/10600996

Holmes 2017, How Carrie Fisher Felt About That Rogue One Cameo, Cinema Blend, accessed 30th September
https://www.cinemablend.com/news/1608640/how-carrie-fisher-felt-about-that-rogue-one-cameo

O’Neill P 2019, The world’s top deepfake artist: ‘Wow, this is developing more rapidly than I thought.’, Technology Review, accessed 1st October
https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/09/18/132961/the-worlds-top-deepfake-artist-wow-this-is-developing-more-rapidly-than-i-thought/

Uberduck, accessed 1st October [website]
https://uberduck.ai/

Westerlund M 2019, The Emergence of Deepfake Technology: A Review. Technology Innovation Management Review, 9(11): 40-53
https://timreview.ca/article/1282

I never really enjoyed science in high school, but one of the things I absolutely loved was seeing the clever advancements in technology that could inform our own world. Of course, I’m talking about virtual reality.

Setting out to create this video, I decided to employ a slightly different style than my usual videos and set a different tone. While most of my content is somewhat comedic and employs use of comedic cuts, I wanted this video to stand out as more educational content, first and foremost.

I did extensive reading within scientific journals found through some simple Google searching to convey my level of research beyond a baseline understanding, and from there I set out to set up and film.

This time, filming my video came with its own set of challenges. Although I was able to record during the daytime, the colour of the sun as it reflected through my window was constantly changing in intensity, which is why many times throughout the video, you see it changing from a more cool colour temperature to an extremely orange, warm tone. I set out to correct this as much as possible with my editing software, but alas some of it went through the cracks.

To rectify shots drastically changing from one shot to another due to the length of time needed in filming the video (more on that in a little bit), I used old footage I had taken on a trip in the north eastern part of Victoria from my video library and slotted it into a relevant part of the video as part of my narration. This also helped hide any glaring visual mistakes that I wasn’t happy with, which leads me onto my next point: camera issues.

This camera lens doesn’t seem to like me very much. Although I love its shallow depth of field to give the background a nice blur, often after recording long amounts of video, it decides to completely go out of focus, and unfortunately I barely noticed it until I went into the editing room. By this point, I wasn’t able to do any reshoots to try and fix this, so I relied on these overlay texts and footage to ensure people’s attention for the whole 2 minutes wouldn’t be fixated on the out of focus piece-to-camera – this also allows for a more educational style of video. With this, I actually decided against utilization of an ending credits and instead left much of my referencing (including music) in the description of the video, as I felt it was best to end my video on a simple fade out instead of having a black screen of text at the end.

As per usual, I largely improvised my script only utilizing key points in my notes in order to create a more natural sounding and looking piece. Unfortunately, due to flubbing up my lines, mainly from forgetting and fumbling over various words, the entire video took roughly 45 minutes to film; which is what caused many issues such as my camera going out of focus, or the sun decided to be a little mean to me.

In order to make the talking points seem less disjointed and more natural, I employed the use of an editing technique that many other YouTubers use, we call it J-cutting. It’s when the audio from the next piece of footage is played over the previous piece of footage for a few seconds, and allows for information to parse through the viewers mind a lot easier than suddenly throwing them into the deep end.

In the lighting, apart from the natural daylight I used from my window, you’ll notice a splash of pink in the background from my potted plant lamp; this was intentional in order to create a more visually interesting background than just my dark TV and create a more “fun” atmosphere. Combined with the use of both contemporary and blues background music used throughout, it gives me that sort of “cool teacher” vibe that I wanted to inform the rest of the video.

Doing this style of video has certainly been a fun experience, and it gives me inspiration to start doing more educational videos while also slowly introducing my quirky comedic style that I love doing so much.

Music used:
Mircoobee by Keinzweiter is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK: England License. (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Keinzweiter/M/Keinzweiter-Mircoobee)
Traveling to Louisiana (ID 1174) – Remastered by Lobo Loco is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/my-favorite-blues-country-compilation-remastered-1/traveling-to-louisiana-id-1174-remastered)

References:
Howett D, Castegnaro A, et al. 2019, Differentiation of mild cognitive impairment using an entorhinal cortex based test of VR navigation, Brain, DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz116
Maples-Keller JL, Bunnell BE, Kim SJ, Rothbaum BO 2017, The Use of Virtual Reality Technology in the Treatment of Anxiety and Other Psychiatric Disorders, Harv Rev Psychiatry, 25(3):103-113. doi:10.1097/HRP.0000000000000138
Nwosu AC, Mills M, Roughneen S, et al. 2021, Virtual reality in specialist palliative care: a feasibility study to enable clinical practice adoption, BMJ Supportive & Pallative Care, DOI: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002327

First podcast I’ve ever produced, and well, it’s a doozy. My podcast, which I wrote for my ALM101 class, dabbles on the pitfalls of crowdfunding in its exhibition of the democratizing potential of the internet.

Basically: has crowdfunding showed us an online world where we can feel like we have our say? I delve a lot deeper into the subject with a bunch of sources, some anecdotes here and there; I basically say that… it’s muddled. The online crowdfunding space has turned into another place of commercialism rather than truly bringing projects to life from the ground-up.

In a way, the whole topic is muddled, so heck, it was a challenge to write up a script for. Within 2 or 3 hours, I’d rewritten multiple parts, and had many mumblings to myself about which sources to use where. Crowdfunding was already a topic I was very interested in before knowing it was a question for the class, and I say as much in my podcast, but reading through the statistics and industry insight really allowed me to have an even bigger perspective, and teach me why things were a certain way when it came to crowdfunding; being able to cite academia in an argument or debate is a power-move I’ve always dreamed of using, but never been able to execute.

Creating my own content was a breeze for me; as most people reading this blog might know, I’m a voice actor that’s actively been on the internet creating content since I was 13; I barely just made it over the line to sign up for YouTube (mostly because I’m a goody-two shoes that always adheres to age restrictions and reads the terms & conditions), so creating a podcast where all I have to do is basically just naturally narrate?

A script, that I made?

It’s free real estate.

As a result of being on YouTube for a while, I’ve been one to always read into copyright and use of music, specifically, royalty-free music (don’t want those pesky claims on your videos), and one site that I’ve grown to love and use is a Japanese royalty-free website called Dova-Syndrome. I have to use Google Chrome to translate it, but it uses their own policy, rather than Creative Commons, that stipulates no royalty fees, nor a need to display copyright or provision, at least from their own site. The composers themselves set additional conditions if they wish, and all it takes is a simple look at whether or not they require credit; all composers are verified as true and real through the Dova-Syndrome website. It’s common courtesy for me to at least credit the artists behind the work, given the amount of dedication the composers have put into it, but nonetheless it’s been incredibly useful.

Ultimately though, the challenges of creating this podcast just came down to making sure I was engaging as possible and being able to edit down my words in under 6 minutes! I could barely contain myself, and even I had trouble stumbling over my words at times; most of the time I had to re-compose myself, and drink a little bit of water. Problem solved.

Overall, it’s made me less scared about this whole world of podcasting, and heck, taught me a thing or two about conversational reading for my voice over, so way to go ALM101 for teaching me important skills.

I was even considering making my own podcast about voice over, but maybe I can leave the classroom out of it, and just kick back and have some fun.

Music:

‘Sally’s Shop’ by TSM Sound (used with permission in accordance with dova-s.jp/_contents/license/)

‘WARMING POP’ by Ma-Kun (used with permission in accordance with dova-s.jp/_contents/license/)

References:

Bradley, D. B., III, & Luong, C. (2014). ‘Crowdfunding: a new opportunity for small business and entrepreneurship’, Entrepreneurial Executive, 19(2014), pp.95+, retrieved 30 January 2020, Gale Academic Onefile database.

Brown, A. (2020). ‘ALM101 Study Notes 9’, lecture notes, Making Social Media ALM101, Deakin University, written 1 May 2019

OUYA (2012). ‘OUYA: A New Kind of Video Game Console’, Kickstarter, retrieved 30 January 2020, <https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console>.

Philips, T (2019). ‘Ouya’s game store closes for good next month’, Eurogamer, retrieved 30 January 2020, <https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2019-05-22-ouyas-game-store-closes-for-good-next-month>.

SMACH Team (2016). ‘SMACH Z – The Handheld Gaming PC’, Indiegogo, retrieved 30 January 2020, <https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/smach-z-the-handheld-gaming-pc#/>.

Wawro, A. (2012). ‘Why Ouya Is Making A Killing on Kickstarter’, PCWorld, retrieved 30 January 2020, <https://www.pcworld.com/article/259121/why_ouya_is_making_a_killing_on_kickstarter.html>.

Wei Shi, S. (2018). ‘Crowdfunding: Designing an effective reward structure’, International Journal of Market Research, 60(3), pp. 288–303. doi: 10.1177/1470785317744113.

Honestly speaking, I’ve never been one to obsess over my image; over how I look; and honestly, I never used to be one to care about what people saw me as online. However, one thing I am always particular about in terms of my looks is something that represents me online; something that, heck, some people will solely remember me by. I’m, of course, referring to the dreaded profile picture.

It starts off harmlessly enough: your Facebook profile picture of your time in Sydney; then the overlays that Facebook gives you to commemorate events or solidarity – I’m looking at you, Marriage Equality Plebiscite. But then, it gets a little serious – you start swiping through the filters; the angles. When did I start caring about the way my smile looks, or the shine that my nose gives off? And why did I start looking to my friends for “dp validation, bois”?

Actually, you know what? Why exactly do we always care about these simple 800 by 800-pixel images? Why do we obsess over a selfie to post as #IWokeUpLikeThis, when it really took us five or ten minutes just to find the right angle?

Well, studies are showing that profile pictures have something to do with displaying one’s true personality traits. We often create and post our profile pictures with the intent of showing our true selves online, and the one of the most effective ways of doing that is by posting one small image to one’s profile.

Even through all the cartoon profile pictures, the animals, the favourite celebrities; every one of them tells a story. I mean, sure, maybe posting a screenshot from Friends or The Big Bang Theory as your profile picture might show you off as a little basic (no offense, sitcom lovers), but it shows a big part of who you are even if you’re literally using the profile picture to hide your real face; you have this innate knowledge that it represents how people look at you online – your online identity.

So, what do I obsess over in terms of my profile picture? Well, it’s changed throughout the years; which is very telling of my own change in personality, and who I am as a person.

I went from a zoomed-in picture in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to a screenshot of me during a work experience trip to Channel Seven, to standing in front of the all famous Disneyland Castle (bless up Mickey). And then all of a sudden, my tastes changed. I had that Disney profile picture for three years, and it was good enough for me until I realised – I’ve never really liked who I was throughout high school. Shocking, I know.

Suddenly, my profile pictures became a little simpler; a little more of who I am as a person today: here’s a picture of me that I screenshot from a singing cover I made where I thought my hair looked great. And you know what? It was reflective of my personality at the time, because in all honesty, I thought I looked cute in that picture, and that’s how I wanted to be seen.

A year down the track? I thought that picture was a little much – kinda cringe in all honesty, and in that time, I became much more confident in my looks; my use of glasses, my hair, my clothing; well, gosh darn it, I looked like a whole new person with a whole new perspective. #NewYearNewMe.

So, what’s my point with this? Well, as my personality has shifted and changed, so has my online personality.

What was once a demure display of “Look, I went to Sydney for the day!”, and an annoyingly optimistic personality through texts, with multiple exclamation points and ALL CAPS FOR NO REASON; I’ve felt like I’ve blossomed in my six-or-seven years on the internet.

No longer am I embarrassed by talking to myself in front of the camera online; heck, I’m even starting a live stream for playing video games – with my quirky face and messy room in them. No more opportunities for photos with blank expressions in them; I’m going the full monty of duck face.

excuse the messy room; i'm making my streams look pretty pic.twitter.com/i8XIkyTcL1

— Dom Dinh (@DomDinhVA) December 11, 2019

Heck, I’m not even embarrassed to admit online that I left my assignments to the last minute. In front of my tutors, no less.

That moment when you're looking through the #ALM101 notes and realise;

…
OHNOIHAVENTSUBMITTEDTHEASSIGNMENTYET pic.twitter.com/Bo9ovmv0nl

— Dom Dinh (@dom_dinh) December 21, 2019

In the six years I’ve been on the internet, some things will never change.

Resources:
Hudson, A & Gore, J 2017, ‘Who’s Who in That Picture? The Association between Profile Picture Content and Social Well-Being’ in ‘The Journal of Social Media in Society’, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 184-205, retrieved 19th December 2019, https://www.thejsms.org/index.php/TSMRI

I spent what felt like a solid 15 minutes in ALM101 mulling over what I wanted to film for Twitter, to inform people about copyright. It’s gotta be something witty; something out there; and something special. So tell me why in the last 2 or 3 minutes, I saw the Disney licensed hat in my lap and thought, “Eh, this could work,” and went right to praising our new corporate overlords for 12 seconds.

A fun little quip about copyright for #ALM101!#IMadeSomeMedia pic.twitter.com/fOsWvyFEuT

— Dom Dinh (@dom_dinh) December 5, 2019

Looking back on it, it actually taught me two things:

1. Diamonds are made under pressure.
2. Vlogging is hard, man.

And that latter point is something that I think we underestimate; we often look towards social media influencers as people with an easy life; vloggers only have to pull out their phones and document their life, and all of a sudden they can get millions of views and a job with those same corporate overlords, right? I’m looking at you, Jake Paul.

But let me tell you, in those small fifteen minutes of trying to come up with content, I ran into writer’s block, camera shyness, and would’ve most likely failed my videography class guidelines for the rule of thirds. And that’s because I sincerely doubted whether or not I could execute this idea correctly; that’s what vloggers do on a regular basis to entertain their viewers. They have to constantly be thinking about what their audience wants to see, and how to best keep them engaged with their brand – oh, don’t even get me started on editing – I dread to think of the lives of people that do this daily.

As content creators step into the madness that is copyright, dealing with YouTube problems of royalty free music and the ever-so wide ocean of commenters raging, “You stole this from so-and-so!”, it’s no wonder why you see so many YouTubers having to create videos for their audience explaining why they need to take a step back; why they’re just the same as you and me: human beings.

It’s an uphill battle for a lot of vloggers, and this generation expects instant gratification from a click away.

For vloggers on the daily grind, you vlog, or you die.

Well, where to begin?

I’m Dom Dinh; a voice actor from Melbourne. I’m currently studying at Deakin University, majoring in both Drama and Advertising – a strange, but intriguing little mix of passions.

Now, my tagline here may be “low-maintenance extraordinaire, but when it comes to social media and writing blog posts, I’m anything but. Building brands and coming up with new ideas are my favourite pass time. It’s probably why I’m always jumping from one hobby to another, and all with the moniker of being an influencer.

So what’s going to be on this blog? Expect a lot of ramblings on the very thing we use absent-minded, in fact, to read these words right now. A whole lot of rants about social media algorithms and how a creator can grow online, not just with engagement but with design.

Mainly with YouTube. I like to think I’m a connoisseur of YouTube.