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ICYMI: Cameras on Cops, VR beam onto Enterprise and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-467571{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-467571, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-467571{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-467571").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: The Department of Justice just announced it will give $23 million to 32 states to help buy more body cameras for police officers. A virtual reality tour that would create all 42 decks of the Starship Enterprise is being crowdfunded. And an overfunded IndieGoGo campaign for a lamp that is exactly modeled on the moon is still available for your bedtime with tots enjoyment.
Seattle police get help publishing body camera videos online
The police aren't often fond of publishing body camera and dashcam footage online, but not necessarily for nefarious reasons -- the volume of privacy-focused video editing they require can prove overwhelming. In Seattle, for example, a flood of public disclosure requests from an anonymous programmer (known by his "policevideorequests" handle) risked scuttling a body cam trial run before it got off the ground. However, that one-time antagonist is now coming to the city's rescue. The man has agreed to help Seattle's police department publish video by showing them how to quickly redact clips and get them online. As the unnamed person explains, it should mostly involve ready-made tools; the police will strip audio from clips using free software and lean on YouTube's automatic face blurring to protect identities.
Citizen journalism game will show how your photos change the story
As the Ferguson protests made exceedingly clear, citizen journalism is both a blessing and a curse; while it can expose police brutality and censorship, it's also prone to misinformation. But how do you illustrate the complexity of the subject for the general public? If you're developer Nicky Case, who has a history of tackling difficult subjects, you build a game around it. His as yet unnamed title will have your character trying to gain Twitter followers (that is, score points) by taking photos at controversial events like protests. The trick will be to accurately capture what's happening without polarizing any group more than necessary. You may want to photograph police corruption, but the cops could block you from certain areas if you antagonize them too quickly; at the same time, you don't want to take extreme shots that turn peaceful protests into riots.
