In todays lectorial the importance and power of editing was discussed. The concept of editing being the process of giving meaning to things via the context of what comes before or after.

This is called the Kuleshov Effect, in which by placing two unrelated images or shots in sequence, meaning is derived by the audiance. The first example of this was shown by Lev Kuleshov (for whom the effect is named), where he showed audiances an image of a man looking at the camera followed an image of a bowl of soup. Then the same image of a man looking ahead followed instead by an image of a dead child. Then finally once again the image of the man this time followed by an image of a woman lying on a couch.

Audiences perceived different emotions from the man, even though it was identical images each time. Audiences felt that the man felt, hunger, sadness and lust all from the same image, where the only difference was what he was shown to be looking at. This shows the importance of editing, as something as simple as this can give powerful meaning to media.

Further more, the lectorer (who’s name I’ve forgotten) also different meaning can be achieved from simple sequences of photgrpaphs that can change based on the composition. The example given was to show a picture of the fictional Joffery Baratheon followed by a picture of Christopher Pyne. Immidetly the audiance reaction is that the two are being compared to each other and similarity is implied, even though if looked at from a purely litteral standpoint it is just 2 slides.

Another sequence showing the same image of Joffery, but this time followed by a different image of Christopher Pyne was not met with the same reaction, instead the implication is that Pyne is reacting to Joffery.

This is because of the placement of the people in the images, in the first sequence both Joffery and Pyne are in similar positons in the image, as well as having similar facial expressions. Whilst in the second there is contrast between Joffery looking towards the left and leaning forward to Pyne who is looking towards the right and leaning back into the screen. Once again meaning is derived from completely unrelated images of a fictional character and a politician.

This shows the power of editing in being able to add meaning and weight to media, and its upmost importance in creating narrative or a message to be conveyed.

In Tuesdays lectorial we had a number of guest speakers, including Anne Lennox, who is RMIT’s Senior Coordinator Copyright Management + Digital (University Library). She discussed the various issues relating to copyright that we as media students face.

These include rights of ownership for content you created, as well as the responsibility not to infringe on other peoples copyright.

Also explained was the more complex components of copyright law, such as creative commons, length of copyright duration (authors life +70 years) and the exceptions under Fair Dealing, which allows for critque or review. As well as satire and parody without the risk of being taken down. There are however limits.

We also talked about the ease of which online social media sites like Facebook or Pinterest can easily breach copyright law.

It is a very complex and sometimes confusing issue, and as a Media student I will take extra care to avoid getting into trouble.

Since I need more blog posts, and this was a suggested one: Here is the 10 things I wrote down in class that I want to get out of this course.

1. Get better at editing video
2. Make stuff outside of my comfort zone
3. Learn how to use software better
4. Get better at working on group projects
5. Learn proper terminology for media/film stuff
6. Make a movie with a fake blood special effect that puts Kill Bill: vol 1 to shame
7. Learn more about how the media industry works
8. Learn to write more realistic dialouge
9. Figure out how to have multiple bits of a video on screen at once in non-stard shaped screens (EG a “shattered glass” effect with each section showing the scene from a different angle (Multiple shots would probably be nessiary so cameras cant be seen)
10. Make firends with similar interests and hobbies to me

Those were my 10 things, hopefully my future self looks back on this and feels proud, but honestly he’ll probably forget about it in 2 weeks.

On a 45 minute walk along Swanson Street between Latrobe and Bourke Streets, these are the media interactions I encountered whilst taking special care to notice my media surroundings.

Up High

• Store names
• Billboard advertisements
• Flags (both commercial and national)

On The Ground

• Chalk notices advertising upcoming events

Foreground

• Signs
• Posters
• People on phones (texting, talking, playing games, surfing internet)
• People listening to music on iPods/phones
• People on laptops at Cafes
• People selling magazines in person
• Tibetan freedom rally, with singing and information flyers

Mid-Ground

• Screens displaying traffic info (EG: “Give way to pedestrians”)
• People handing out political flyers (Socialist Alternative)
• People playing video games on handheld console (3DS, playing what appeared to be Majoras Mask 3D)
• Framed pictures of lettuce in Subway
• Trams with ads on the side (especially phone/internet plans)
• Free wifi from shops/Testra phone boxes
• TVs playing inside cafes/restaurants (Especially sport)

Background

• Radio playing commercial stations from inside shops
• Instructional signs on how to use MyKi
• Foreign language signs above side streets restaurants.

In My Hand

• iPhone (used total of 4 times)
• Facebook (x1)
• Texting (x2)
• Checking the time (x1)

In this 45 minutes of taking special care to notice the abundance of media around us, I came to the realisation that without deliberately looking for it, its hard to notice the sheer amount of screens and advertisement that surround our daily lives. From the ground at our feet to the sides of skyscrapers, Media interactions are everywhere, and in todays world taken for granted.

In week 2’s lectorial we discussed the composer John Cage, and his piece 4’33”, which is 4 minute and 33 seconds of a pianist not playing his piano.

It raises questions such as: What defines music? Or what is silence? In class we had a short burst of silence, and discovered that the longer it goes on the louder the background noises become, electronic whirring, people breathing, cars in the background etc…

Here is a video of the performance courtesy of Joel Hochberg on Youtube.

This is my first Blog Post, apperently we are meant to do 3 a week. So I better start.

In the first “Lectorial” for Media 1, we read through an extract of a passage written by N.Katherine Hayles entitled “Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognititve Modes”.

It compared and contrasted the difference between “Deep Attention” and “Hyper Attention” and the changing trends in our society where young people are leaning more towards the latter.

According to Hayles, Deep Attention is “characterized by concentrating on a single object for long perioids of time”, for example reading a novel or watching a movie without distractions.

To contrast Hayles describes Hyper Attention as “switching rapidly around different tasks” and seeking multiple stimuli at once, for example watching TV whilst also using a phone to surf the internet.

She, also raised the issue of the rising prevalence of Hyper Attention in young people and the ramifications of this in the education system.

We also discussed questions such as whether we saw ourselves as using Hyper or Deep attention: I would definitely say I usually engage in Hyper attention, switching between multiple steams of mental stimuli in normal life, however I am also capable of Deep Attention, when a particular object has engrossed my attention fully and I have no problem spending hours on the same piece of stimuli (given thats its interesting enough).

One thing I found interesting was that in the full passage of writing (from BlackBoard, not handed out in Class) was the comparisons to ADHD/ADD and the rising prevalence of the afflictions.

That concluded my first Blog entry. As I’m currently unaware of the expected length/tone/contents required, I expect all future posts to be better than this one.