Tag: technology

Defining Concepts

arthurcortez on

The Potts & Murphie reading (whose names remind me of RMIT’s campus cafe), take on the influences of technology on our culture and its transformative evolution through the 17th to the 19th century.

Firstly, the authors reference the term technology‘s origins from the Ancient Greek, as the system of art. In the 17th century, the meaning behind the word is extracted from exactly this,  until its shift to a modern usage in the 19th century. Occurring in the rise of  science, technology became the system of mechanical and industrial arts, the foundation of a new world whose growing future is dependent on its mechanical inventions. Therefore, the term technique is subjected as the way we use such technology. The technological concept is labelled as a “vast pile of junk”, without the knowledge of the how and why we use them. “Losing” our techniques or awareness of operational skill means corresponds with its uselessness.

Culture, on the other hand, requires more effort in understanding. Whereas it is possible to contain culture as its self-contained element within arts and/or entertainment, i.e. French culture and youth culture, it simplifies the potential for culture to embrace all human activity. The early 19th century recognised culture as the artistic and intellectual aspects to a civilisation, Romantics claiming  industrial mechanisation as inhumane. In the 20th century, however, with the foundation of our dependency on computer technology, we witness a convergence of civilisation’s “techno-culture”.

Ultimately, the technology we use today is reliant on a co-dependency between how we use them (technique) and the benefits they provide for us. But if the human mind is correlated to the abilities of the advanced computer, does that make our bodies technologies themselves? Then the computer technology we are dependent upon would possess its own techniques that provides purpose to our modern existence. The challenge on the definition of technology once again arises, in this case…techno-culture beginning even further back in history than we imagine. The artistic and intellectual aspects of civilisation is then to be considered, the offspring of the technology of our own bodies, with which civilisation is built upon.

Intertextuality

arthurcortez on

In the pretext of applying the concept of intertextual studies to my learning, the idea of sharing my exploits in creating TV for Broadcast media on my blog is suggested by Elliot. Considering that creating media is my passion and reflection is not, this would be a minimalist initial attempt at such.

Having created short films since 2010, I wouldn’t say that I had any trouble with the actual production side of things. I confess that as a solo film maker, I had my problems having to rely on other people’s availability, but I sincerely believe that it all turned out really well. The idea of representing an organisation (RMIT) and communicating with other organisations such as Sensis and St. Michael’s Grammar School purposefully, gave me a sense of pride in what I do, rather than amateur projects I have been involved in the past. The post-production side of things, however, is something I only became aware of recent times. I mostly acquired my proficiency with Adobe Premiere through experimentation at the beginning of the year, having relied on other people to do my editing in the past for me.

A massive event that would influence my career in film making, however, is my very first attempt at using green screen. This is a thought that every amateur film maker and media man would think of as professional, although it is proven to me as easier than I thought it would be. Through experimentation and the gift of You Tube tutorials, I was able to create a substantial segment opening appropriate to our host program, ABC’s Behind the News. Adobe After Effects was always something I shied away from, but this first step towards advanced editing and animation inspires me to pursue this course of learning.

One thing about film making that I desperately profess as a weakness and that this assignment has not helped whatsoever, is the use of lighting. I am a purveyor of wonderful stories and am aware of the importance of lighting in framing a scene but it is not yet something that I am capable of achieving. Perhaps future projects may do the same thing this one did for me.

Evolving the Pen

arthurcortez on

Possibly amongst the most intriguing pieces of reading I have had to do, the writer takes on the action of writing, which I would say has always been taken for granted, as a technology within itself. Bolter does not relegate this technological aspect to that of the printing press or the computer, but rather as writing being the catalyst for the development of other technological potential and the two mentioned as catalysts for writing potential. Did that even make sense, or am I not so articulate with this technology?

He goes on to mention the Ancient Greeks and the science they were invested in to successfully express abstract thoughts onto space, which we now consider as art and outdated. On the other hand, he criticises the invention of the press (and especially the computer) as “the first uniformly repeatable commodity, the first assembly line and the first mass-production.” The implication is that despite all this advancement, the writer is then pushed further away from the writing, making it more quantitative than qualitative. The machine permits duplication, efficient printing, as well as rapid editing without the writer having to exercise the same mental and physical processes as that of the Greeks.

But what really touched me is the commentary on the advantages of literate men (and women), specifically white, in the long tradition of literacy. One could not deny the fact that white people brought up in a Westernised environment, surrounded by English-speaking people, do have the advantage of having that base upbringing to further their literary skills. Being born in the Philippines does not give me the natural autonomy nor the wider vocabulary of my colleagues and indeed provides barriers in my expression at times.

The question I posed above is not the first time that I may have posed it. It is more challenging for immigrants like me when having to translate thoughts in our own foreign languages to that of English. And I am not speaking about immigrants with broken English either, though of course they are a part of this category. I must make my own way of reaching that same level of understanding through activities such as further reading. Just as it is easier for me to speak in Filipino-English (mixed), which my colleagues would not appreciate, writing is a state of mind that “is not possible to put away.”

Image from David.