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Issue : 08
February 2005
Newsletter of D E C U - I S R O
Man can be destroyed - not defeated
- Ernest Hemingway in Old Man and the Sea .
A. K. Sangal Group Director, COSSAG-DECU
A & N network
The two groups of islands viz. Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) lie in the
Bay of Bengal, separated by a deep ten-degree channel spread over
900 kms from North to South. The home to a number of aboriginal tribes is
now dominated by generations of freedom fighters/prisoners, locale of
mainland.
In an endeavour to connect remote islands, where even the transport
connectivity is very poor and lack total communication, ISRO has already
established its first "state-of-the-art" Development and Communication
Network (DCN) also called the Gramsat network in this region. Initially, an
Extended C-band VSAT-based Gramsat network has been set up
connecting nine (09) nodes in eight (08) islands of A&N region as per the
requirements of local administration, who are now regularly and efficiently
utilising the network since more than six (06) months for Interactive
Tele-education, Computer training and E-Governance. All the sites provide
the following services:
• An International Conference
on Edusat............................................ 06
IP/Interactive Multicasting
Point/Multipoint videoconferencing
Voice-over-IP (VoIP)
Internet access on LAN and
External Data Sharing (File transfer,
PowerPoint presentations for
E-governance, etc.)
Contd. on pg. 2...
• Film for Development ?.......................... 08
• ‘Swarg-Nark’: An Infotainment
Television Series on Sanitation .............. 09
• What comes first... Science or Arts ?!.......10
• Role of Editing in Films and Video......... 11
• Organisational Behaviour ........................12

Contd. from pg. 1...
The network has been used regularly for 20 days and
8 Hrs per day for Education, Internet, E-governance, etc.
Under Telemedicine project, ISRO had also established
three (03) telemedicine nodes, of which two are at Port
Blair namely GB Pant hospital and Navy hospital,
Dhanavantari and the third one i.e. Richardson hospital at
Car Nicobar. Regular telemedicine consultations are held
amongst each other and as well as with the specialist
centres on mainland.
Tsunami Disaster
Unfortunately on 26th December 2004, the worst-ever
natural disaster in India, the TSUNAMI, has mainly
affected the entire A&N region of the country. More than
5,000 people were killed, several hundreds injured, got
uprooted, displaced and stranded nowhere to go. Still more
than 3000 people are missing. Many of them had to
abandon their homes and were ferried to much safer
islands. Infrastructure and property worth several crores
of rupees was damaged/destroyed. A beautiful tourist place
once upon a time has become a sight of destruction on
number of islands. The coastline of number of islands has
changed by more than 0.5 KM.
All the islands of A&N region were badly affected by
Tsunami. The island named Hutbay to a great extent was
submerged under water including the ISRO node and its
hardware. The maximum affected island is Car Nicobar
where the ISRO installation was totally washed off,
leaving no trace of even the VSAT antenna. One of the
islands namely, Kamorta (Nancowry) was saved because
of the obstruction by the Trinket Island.
Post Tsunami Support
Soon after Tsunami, the destructed areas were left with
disrupted communication links. The more affected remote
islands were not only de-linked with rest of the world due to
lack of communication support but also due to discontinued
commutation by ships owing to fear of recurring Tsunami
effects. This is when the ISRO satellite communication
systems came to rescue in providing sustained communication
support for rehabilitation activities and healthcare.
Some efforts for the Tsunami affected people included:
Identification/Communication to near & dear ones
Administrative support through
videoconferencing
Data transfer like death toll, list of survivors,
relief material supply information viz. food,
clothes, medicine, etc.
Telemedicine
Internet access
By 27th of December, 2004 a gateway was established
at ISRO Ahmedabad, which was temporarily configured in
Closed User Group (CUG) of A&N DCN network to provide
audio, video and data connectivity from main land by
interfacing ISDN line and BSNL telephone exchange. This
node was used to provide communication support, network
monitoring, as well as multi-point videoconferencing for
health care support to remote patients of A&N from the
Doctors/specialists of Gujarat. Also, a high-level technical
team of ISRO was sent to A&N islands to restore the
damaged systems to the extent possible. The systems of
Mayabunder node were shifted to Hutbay node, as the
communication support required there was more important.
Contd. on pg. 3...
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Contd. from pg. 2...
Since the Nicobar Islands region was most affected, it
was required to configure the existing DCN network nodes
to connect PHCs also for telemedicine purposes. As a
first step, it was planned to immediately set-up two (2)
Telemedicine nodes at Campbell bay and Kamorta
(Nancowry). A DECU technical team was sent to establish
telemedicine links to Primary Health Centres (PHC) of
Campbell bay and Kamorta. To provide connectivity, the
Gramsat (DCN) node of Campbell bay was extended to
the PHC, Campbell bay located at a distance of about 2KM,
through a LAN extender SDSL modem. Similar configuration
has been implemented at Kamorta. In due course of
time, it is planned to provide telemedicine connectivity
to about 24 more PHC's throughout the A&N region.
All these patient nodes will be connected to the specialist
hospital i.e. GB Pant Hospital, Port Blair. Further 10 more
Islands will be provided with the DCN nodes.
region. According to the chief of local administration, about
2000 people could communicate with their near and dear
on their well being from these remote islands during first
15 days. Till date support to more than 6000 people has
been provided.Relief commissioners and heads of
various departments also used this effectively to assess
the quantum of damage that has taken place in the
disaster.
The network was utilised round the clock and was
operated 24 hours for 1-½ months post Tsunami, to
provide communication to near and dear located in Nicobar
Contd. on pg. 3...
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Contd. from pg. 3...
Medical advises were regularly
given to heavily devastated Car
Nicobar islands through Telemedicine
VSAT installation at this island
from GB pant hospital Port Blair.
During his scheduled visit to
A&N islands to monitor relief and
rehabilitation activities, the Hon'ble
Minister of Home Affairs, also visited
the telemedicine node at PHC,
Campbell bay and had an online
interaction with specialist doctors
of Port Blair hospital through
videoconferencing. It maybe noted
that Campbell Bay PHC is the
farthest and remotest PHC of the
country. Transfer of medical data and
online ECG was also demonstrated
to the hon'ble minister. The hon'ble
minister acclaimed the efforts put in
jointly by ISRO and local administration and also suggested speedy implementation of similar systems throughout the
region at the earliest.
At some nodes, the facility of Internet access was the only means of communication to local public. Also some task
teams working on relief and rehabilitation activities like the NGO's, Private relief activists, etc. had been using it since
Tsunami.
A word about the survivor - "He is alright" through ISRO network brought back life to his family according to
press.
The timely efforts in A&N islands by ISRO has proved how a Development Communication Network can be readily
configured to support emergencies and post disasters communication through ISRO space systems.
CARTOON By Tushar Tapodhan
“
My brother was in Kondul. He was posted there as Police Wireless
Operator and after 26th Dec. we did not have any communication.
On 29th we came to know that rescue team has brought all
the survivors from Kondul to C/Bay and because of this DCN all
were very optimistic to know about thier survival. From the screen,
one word of the operator from Campbell Bay that, “he is all right”
had brought back life in my family. Survival and life was more
important than anything else, for the crowd waiting to know about
there nears and dears.
”
- One of the relatives of the rescued persons
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
4 ICE Age DECU - ISRO

ICE Age DECU - ISRO
5

Forging International Partnerships in use of Multimedia for Education through EDUSAT
In the context of preparations for EDUSAT, Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and ISRO have come together to
provide a platform for about 50 senior educators and administrators from the developing Commonwealth countries of
Africa and Asia to benchmark practices and develop partnerships in the use of technology for education at an International
"Participants at the conference are spending two days to share experience and good practices among African and
Asian Countries' educators; explore and examine global standards in both technical and content development aspects of
using technology in education; synergize and develop potential South-South partnerships and develop a model incorporating
the core principles of good practice. The conference was inaugurated by Prof. Gajaraj Dhanarajan, former President and
CEO,Commonwealth of Learning. Prof. Ravindra Dave, former Director, International Institute of Education, UNESCO was
the guest of honour and Prof. Rajasekharan Pillai presided over the function. Dr. K.N. Shankara, Director SAC gave an
overview of the Indian situation while Mr. B.S. Bhatia, Director, DECU welcomed the guests. Dr. Usha Reddi, Director,
CEMCA-COL proposed a vote of thanks.
"Context, pedagogy, and processes constitute the key elements of best practice in the development and use of multimedia
in formal Education', said Dato Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan,
Former President and CEO, Common wealth of learning, in his
inaugural address at the International Conference on Benchmarking
of International Practices in the Use of Multimedia for Formal
Education" in Ahmedabad, India from January 18-20, 2005. The
two day international conference has been jointly organized by the
Development and Educational Unit/Indian Space Research
Organisation and Commonwealth of Learning, Canada.
Picking up from the inaugural address, Prof. Ravindra Dave,
former Director, International Institute of Education, UNESCO spoke
of the key importance of the South-South dialoge and partnership
that this two day conference proposed. Dr. V.R. Rajasekharan Pillai,
Vice Chairman, University Grants Commission, India highlighted
the urgency of the educational need. The work of academics now
begins, he said as they have to enhance access, inclusion and excellence in education, of learners, and especially of
teachers.
Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is committed to the promotion of the meaningful application of technology enabled
learning for development. COL perceives one of its major roles as that or providing opportunities for educators from different
Commonwealth countries to come together to discuss and develop models of partnerships in the use of information and
communication technologies for education.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), through its unit, the Development and Educational Communication
Unit (DECU), has the mandate to promote the use of satellite technology for meeting the developmental and educational
needs of India. ISRO has pioneered the use of satellite through the path breaking experiment SITE in 1975 and has since
engaged in the purposeful development and deployment of satellite based technology. Edusat, India's dedicated education
satellite caries the capability of providing audio, video and data services to the nation through its national and regional
beams.
Mr. B.S. Bhatia, Director, DECU-ISRO welcomed the participants from five different countries.
Contd. on pg. No. 7...
6 ICE Age DECU - ISRO

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PRESENTATIONS MADE BY THE REPRESENTATIVES,
OF THE PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
Contd. from pg. No. 6...
Singapore
Acquainting Teachers to the Art of ICT Integration
in Schools:
Teachers are more likely to integrate information and
communication technologies (ICT) in their courses, when
professional training in the use of ICT provides them time
to practice with the technology
and to learn, share and
collaborate with colleagues.
Perkins (1993) argues that
the best use of any physical
support system, including
ICT, is an art; and it is necessary
to acquaint the teachers
with this art. Base on the
case study of Singapore, this
paper examines professional
development in the use of
ICT to address the design of
the learning environment,
taking into account opportunities
and limitations. The following issues and recommendations
are discussed: (i) policy and management of
teacher professional development on ICT, (ii) pre-service
teachers' capacity building, and (iii) incentive system
and motivational strategies for professional development
of teachers.
Africa
Broadcast Technology,
still the best technology
option for delivering
educational resources to
under resourced education
community.
The use of the broadcast
technology, in a collaborative
partnership drives, has contributed
to the development of
a new institution in which
national and provincial
governments in Africa and elsewhere has contributed
towards a common goal of reconstructing, developing and
delivering much needed educational resources to
education systems.
The use of broadcast technology for educational
purpose is a movement that started years back and
continues to make an impact all over the world. Likewise
Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership
(herewith referred to as the "Partnership") has
conceptualised and implemented a model that has not only
provided resources to the needy, but has contributed
towards an improved way of using broadcast technology
to improve learning and teaching.
The objective is to share the experiences of the
Partnership inusing technology to empower, education
and support governments to
deliver quality educational
resources and the related
benefit thereof.
An attempt is made to
demonstrate how the use of
broadcast technology has
been fostered and developed,
to ensure access, relevance,
pedagogical soundness,
building educational capacity
among teachers and contributing
to other national challenges
such as fighting the
HIV/AIDS pandemic and
improving Maths and Science education.
Malaysia
The Use of Multimedia for Formal Education:
This is a look at the use of
multimedia in education (MIE)
in the school sector in
Malaysia. It gives brief background
information of the
present education system and
how it had developed as such.
The paper then discusses the
issues of policy and gives a
brief historical overview of MIE
in Malaysia. The issues of
acquisition and development
of content of MIE and the support
system for the Use of
Multimedia within the school
sector are then discussed.
This leads to the discussion on the issue of partnership in
the use of multimedia in education, which the look at a
specific project called the e-Learning for Life. Particular
aspects of the projects such as the nature of intervention,
development of content, mechanism use to encourage
MIE, training of teachers and the impact of intervention
are then examined in greater detail.
Contd. on pg. No. 8...
ICE Age DECU - ISRO
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Contd. from pg. No. 7...
Sri Lanka
Use of Multimedia for Formal Education:
Education has played a vital role throughout the entire
history of Sri Lanka, which spreads well over twenty-three
centuries. The introduction of Buddhism in the third
century BC was the major influence. Thereafter, a strong
educational tradition based on Buddhist principles
and values was established (Sri Lanka Ministry of
Education, 1969). This ancient system of education
fulfilled both spiritual and vocational needs of society.
The impact of this system of education is well portrayed
by the large number of literary works, a hydro-based
agricultural system and the technological skills displayed
in arts, the field of crafts, sculpture and architecture
(Sri Lanka Ministry of Education, 1969).
Western learning based on Christian principles was
first introduced to Sri Lanka by the Portuguese who
invaded the country in 1505. Later, this was continued
by the Dutch who succeeded them in 1653, and finally
by the British who ruled the country from 1796 to
1948 - till Sri Lanka's independence.
Education in Sri Lanka is compulsory between the
ages of 5-14 years and free to the students from
kindergarten through to university graduation. At present,
most of the undergraduates receive a monthly allowance
in the form of a scholarship to cover their expenses based
on their performance at the Advanced Level
examinations and the status of their family income. This
scheme replaced an earlier bank loan system. This
clearly shows how the Sri Lankan government values
'education' and considers education as the key criterion
for the development of the country. By investing in
human capital the government anticipates that the
society will benefit tremendously in the future.
The integration of IT education into Sri Lankan school
curriculum in 2000 was the major step taken forward in
order to achieve an "Information Society" with
"E-culture" in the future. Most of the projects have
provided basic infrastructure facilities to set up ICTs in
selected schools and training teachers in IT and some
are still on-going. However, the access to computers and
adequate teachers to teach IT subject and use IT are
sources of concern.The inadequate emphasis and
awareness given to IT based teaching using multimedia
is the reason for limited usage in multimedia in schools
at the moment. There is only one project (NIE)
focussing on the development of locally produced
software and selecting free software. The locally produced
software have not been circulated among schools
yet. The actual impact of using multimedia in school
system could not be assessed at the moment since these
software have not been circulated to schools yet.
Film for
Development ?
Dharmesh K. Bhatt
Producer VPG-DECU
When I went to see Ashutosh Gowarikar's
'Swadesh', the mind was preconceived of
having some thing different than the usual stream. It
happened also so. A young remote sensing scientist from
NASA, USA who happens to be of Indian origin,
develops concern over the conditions of his region in
India, in particular and India in general.
Similar concern was expressed by Dr.Vikram
A.Sarabhai, father of Indian space programme, some
30 years back and his vision then, is the grounds for
what we see today in space applications in India. He
then was convinced that space could play a "meaningful
role" in the development of our societies and bring a
sustainable development. This deliberation of his was
the force behind having an organisation like ISRO. ISRO
since it's inception works for providing a meaningful
end-to-end solutions to the problems of our societies
using space.
A scientist from USA, in film Swadesh, after all these
30 years comes to India with similar concern, when the
country has gone a long way. This really raises several
queries and concerns in front me as a spectator of this
film. What ISRO has done all these years in providing a
space based sustainable infrastructure for rural
development, is unique in itself in entire globe, and
deserves to be first understood properly and then
projected appropriately. Every development work to be
undertaken has a takeoff point. What DECU-ISRO has
done all these years for rural development makes a very
strong takeoff point for any mainstream or off stream
cinema, and not just projecting the contents of the script
in a way as if things need to be addressed from scratch.
One thing, however needs appreciation in Swadesh,
a good blend of commercial cinema and development
messages can be sold to a specific class of audience.
8 ICE Age DECU - ISRO

Film for
Development ?
About 'Swarg-Nark'
DECU in collaboration with IEC,
Department of Rural Development has
produced a package 'Swarg-Nark'
consisting of video programmes and
quickies on sanitation and hygiene to
reach out to the larger segment of the
rural society. IEC, Department of Rural
Development,.Govt. of Gujarat is
responsible for implementing the Total
Sanitation Campaign in Gujarat. The
campaign emphasises creating awareness
through intensive Information,
Education and Communication (IEC) to
bring about attitudinal and behavioural
changes for relevant hygiene practices.
The programme approach is participatory,
demand-driven and gender
sensitive.
Aim of the Programmes
The purpose is to make the community
realise the need for environmental
sanitation and to motivate the community
to come forward for implementation
of sanitation programmes including
use of facilities created and their
sustainable maintenance for improvement
in general quality of life in rural
areas.
Programme Themes
Importance of Personal Toilets
Toilets with Urinals for
Aanganwadis and Schools
Facility for appropriate
disposal of used water
Community Sanitary
Complex (Community Toilets)
Hygienic behaviour
Cultivating attitude for
public hygiene
Programme Features
The programmes are targeted to
rural masses with focus on
children and families..
The programmes are of 20-25
minutes' duration and quickies of
40- 50 seconds.
The programmes are produced
in drama format.
The programmes are not merely
in formative but have an
appropriate mix of entertainment
and information.
The programmes are in simple
Gujarati.
The series has about 20
programmes.
Sample Synopsis of
SWARG - NARK
Subtitle:
Bala Ne Shala (Toilets at School and
Aanganwadi)
Key Concept :
Facility of toilet is helpful in preventing
school dropouts
Synopsis :
The story revolves around a girl who
due to lack of facility of toilet at the school
is forced to leave the school. Her friend's
mother on knowing this organises villagers
and government functionaries and
K. M. Parmar Sci./Engr, SRG-DECU
gets a toilet built for the school. Eventually,
the girl and many more like her are able to
join back the school and continue their education.
Subtitle:
Gheli Vahu (Cleanliness in and
around house)
Key Concept :
Civic sense and attitude for cleanliness
makes a person respectable.
Synopsis :
A newly wed couple, modern in looks
comes to live in a village. This village is
particular about cleanliness. The wife litters
the lane by throwing garbage, which
causes strife with her neighbours. The villagers
admonish the couple. Realising the
social boycott, the wife decides to change
her attitude and maintain cleanliness.
Neighbours then develop relations with the
couple.
Subtitle :
Hun Ne Maro Loto (Toilets at Home)
Key Concept :
Toilet at home is a necessity for a
healthy living standard.
Synopsis :
The story is of a young girl and boy who
desire to marry each other. The girl's family
objects, as the boy's house does not
have a toilet facility. The boy's family passes
through a comic-tragic phase and ultimately
realises the need for having a hygienic
toilet. With the help of a government
scheme they build a personal toilet and
marry their son.
Contd. on pg. No. 10...
ICE Age DECU - ISRO
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Contd. from pg. No. 9...
Subtitle :
Naukari
Key Concept :
Efforts for cleanliness and hygiene is
everyone's responsibility
Synopsis :
The programme shows how a teacher
has to struggle for creating basic amenities
and maintaining cleanliness in the
village. Eventually, the Sarpanch and
villagers realise his concern and with their
help the teacher transforms a filthy village
into a hygienic and better living place. His
efforts also bring him a confirmed job in
the same village.
Subtitle :
Simado
nec-
Key Concept :
Sanitation facilities are equally
essary for women.
Synopsis :
The programme deals with the
problems of sanitation among the lower income
villagers especially women. Lack of
sanitation facility creates a dispute
between a happily married couple, the wife
returns to her village. Meanwhile the man's
family also suffers due to lack of sanitation
and realises the problems of their
daughter-in-law. The family then creates
the basic facilities at home with the aid of
a government scheme.
VCDs Availabe With DECU
Jal - E - Jivan
A series on Drinking Water and
Sanitation Issues in Gujarat in Gujarati
Produced by DECU and IEC, GWSSB,
Govt. of Gujarat
Swarg-Nark
A series on Environmental Sanitation and
Personal Hygiene in Gujarati
Produced by DECU and IEC, Dept. of
Rural Development, Govt. of Gujarat
Aao Milkar Kare Padhai
A series on Literacy in Hindi
Produced by DECU
Dr. Mira Desai
Pagers entered and disappeared as fast. Smoke signals got replaced with Satellites. Horses and pigeons gave way to
telegrams and today e-mails are part of life. Manual typewriters got replaced with electronic ones and now with computers.
Human made paintings gave way to photographs and now to digital images. Though many of these coexist, there are few that
dominate the life of people unlike the others. Computers have come for a long time but taking a long time to get integrated into the
direct usage by the so called common people as refrigerators or telephones or for that matter mobile phones. Washing machines
are yet not in many Indian home as compared to mixer grinders or juicers.
Any technology on its own does not become part of day-to-day life of any society unless it is in line with the sociology and
psychology of people. Economics, anthropology and political sciences also dictate the scientific inventions in form of technology.
And it is an interesting process as certain technologies take over the lives of people, some become inherent part while others take
decades to get infused and many even fail depending upon the way the particular society react to that technology.
It is also in the history of human civilization that each technology brings with it some additional features over the last one and
has advantages and disadvantages. Taking the case of mobile phones, which is increasingly becoming part of human body.
Facility to communicate with anyone and everyone when 'on move' is being used and abused. The privacy of the person, ongoing
debate of cancer threats to humans with mobile usage coincides with 'reach' and 'access' to the near and dear ones as they could
communicate before their death (9/11 Air crashes). But it is the user who has to decide if s/he wants to be 'disturbed' by being on
the edge at the mercy of any caller or use it at his/her discretion.
Technology gives the users many choices. Most often the choice is between freedom from the drudgery to the imprisonment
to that particular technology. Experience shows that instead of the user of the technology remaining in charge of the situation, it is
usually the other way round. Technology starts ruling the life of the user. And comes expressions like 'frustration', 'loneliness' or
'isolation' without a particular technology as people react in the absence of electricity, failure of cable connection, or loss of mobile
phone and so on.
Apart of the micro issues of technology in human life there are macro issues of control and access to technology. Any technology
that gets developed invariably serves interests of 'someone'. Besides every technology have two sides. And most often
majority of the people are not interested in the 'technology' per se but are keen to get their work done. It is this time in history when
pace of change in technology is much faster than the pace of adoption of that particular technology. It is the classic case of
humanities ruling sciences because unless and until technology is adopted its invention hardly makes sense. Volume of usage
makes technology affordable. But obsolesce of technology interferes with the volume.
So, the heart of the controversy is: the hen or the egg, Science or Social Science…what comes first…??!!
Mira is Reader in Communication Technology at Extension Education Department of S.N.D.T. Women's University, Juhu campus, Mumbai.
10 ICE Age DECU - ISRO

Jayesh Lall Sci./Engr., VPG-DECU
The Oxford dictionary meaning of "EDITING" is
'to prepare reading material for publication by
correcting and modify the text.' Shortening a
verbose passage makes the rendering crisp and interesting.
Going one step further, by introducing the same
approach to films, one can achieve similar results. The
end product becomes more
viewer friendly, easily understandable
for both the lay viewer, as
well as the professional film buff.
Filmmaking evolved from the
early silent talkies to the grand
Hollywood spectacles like "Gone
With The Wind" in 70-mm/stereophonic
sound.
The tenets of editing remain
the basic backbone for construction
of Film. Principles laid down
by film pioneers like D.W. Griffith
& Edwin S. Porter put emphasis
on Timing, Pace, Rhythm and
Continuity. These are the corner
stones on which the entire edifice
of a film stands. As a building is
built brick by brick, similarly the
film is developed shot by shot,
sequence by sequence. "A film
can be created on the Editing
Table". Therein lies the charm
and magic of editing. By creating
a new idea by juxtaposing shots
was first executed by Russian
Director, Eisenstein. He insisted
editing is an intellectual amalgamation of ideas.
Layperson well understands the fundamentals and
importance of editing in making of a film or video, how
ever it is interesting to know that on the physical plane,
the actual 'cutting' of shots and 'splicing' them manually
on a table is carried out in "The Cutting Room". Film
cement adheres the cut shots one to another by the
splicer. The Picture and Sound Tracks are rendered thus.
Then they are synchronised. All this is a very laborious
process, and time consuming. Whether they be Documentaries
or Feature Films, the same rule applies when
it comes to celluloid .With the Advancement of Technology,
film cameras developed to electronic video cameras,
which use magnetic tapes to record their material.
Hence, even editing had to change to suit this electronic
medium. Electronic splicing had
to take over the manual process.
With newer and more complex
software being developed, editing
between VCR and VCR
could be accomplished in a jiffy,
and visual effects like wipes, superimposition,
dissolves and
fades could be rendered with the
press of a button!
Once a programme was
completed in a linear fashion
(step by step, shot by shot) any
changes or removal of a
segment in between could not
be carried out. Hence the emergence
of the technique of Non
Linear Editing (NLE) was
evolved. With Non Linear as the
word suggests, instant juxtaposing
of shots or sequences can
be rendered. Omitting any shot,
or replacing one by another, can
also be achieved instantly. All
this depends on the Software
installed in the computer, being
used for editing.
Editing is a creative process, where the end product
can be rendered by Multi-layering. Here several video
(as well as audio) inputs can be progressively superimposed,
one on another, to create a multi layered 'feel' as
per the directional and editorial requirements. The skill
of the Editor comes into play to create this visual and
audio extravaganza for today's viewers. What ever the
advancement in the technology be, one thing is for sure
, an editor's 'brain' will always make its presence prominent
and inevitable.
Editing is a creative process, where the end product can be rendered by Multi-layering.
ICE Age DECU - ISRO
11

Newsletter of D E C U - I S RO
Book Post
PRINTED MATTER
Development and Educational
Communication Unit
Indian Space Research Organisation
SAC Campus, Ambawadi Vistar P.O.
Ahmedabad - 380 015
Phone : 91 (79) 2676 39 54, 2691 31 20
Fax : 91 (79) 2676 85 56, 2691 58 14
email : decuiceage@sac.isro.org
To:
When a person does and when
a person says are referred to
as his/her behaviour. There are two
things to be observed, these are what
and how he/she does that and what and
how he/she speaks that. So there are
four components to be observed to understand
one's behaviour.
Cartoon
Sandip Ghorai
Sci./Engr., COSSAG-DECU
Surely, one does and says in an
environment which may constitute
a human interaction and or impulse
generated within himself/herself, in
consequence of a past or current event
or thought. No two persons are alike,
except in body structure, distinguishing
them from different races and creatures.
Since birth, the child goes on acquiring
to himself/herself to death, certain
qualities unique to himself/herself,
namely, knowledge, skill, belief, value,
role, status, attitude etc. And these total
up in common language, to one's
personality. All these attributes, he/she
gathers, by way of his/her experience
in interactions with environment, namely
family, society, social structure, group
institution, culture etc. All these influence
him/her and he/she selectively
accept and observe them to make a life
pattern reflected in his/her behaviour,
By Pravin Patel
observable to others. To understand his
behaviour which must be observable to
you, there is a need to see what and
how he/she does and hear what he/she
says and see how he/she says. If you
are an observer, you should develop the
skill in you to perceive. And this perception
in you is again a unique one
depending on your personality and
perception resulting interpretation of his
behaviour and this interpretation you
make on the basis of your experience,
which you gather through your life. This
experience is the sum total of the
acquisition of your perception, motivation
and learning etc. This interpretation
(that is, the meaning that you give to
other's action) that we call as your
understanding of the other man's/
woman's behaviour. Such a meaning
that you give will also depend on your
self-image and other's image in you, as
built up in your mind from other's
previous interactions with you and his
motivations as you are to understand
first your behaviour and the forces that
act upon him/her.
TEAM
Manjari Shah
Pravin Patel
Jawaid Hashmi
Rajashekhar S L
Phani Kumar S
Gayatri Ayyangar
Dharmesh Bhatt
Published by : DECU / ISRO, Ahmedabad
12 ICE Age DECU - ISRO