POP CANDY
Flavoured carbonated candy that creates a fizzy sensation when dissolved in the mouth.
The atmosphere of the class was a world in and of itself. It was almost a full house! And with the inclusion of our two guest panelists Lucy Schmidt and Michelle, the air bristled with excitement and anticipation. With a ferocity as if fired from a machine gun, presentations began almost as soon as the class had settled, aside from general introductions, there was little chitchat. Poised, focussed, astute and some noticeably tense, each class member waited for their turn to reveal their world.
For my presentation, I was fortunate in that I was number 15 on the running order and therefore was able to learn from presenters that went before me. I noticed that some had received criticism that they were speaking too fast and as a result had compromised vocal clarity. This was something that I have fallen victim to in previous presentations where, due to excitement, nerves or just the need to get my story across, I stumbled over my words resulting in entire sections being inadvertently omitted. This is exactly why I decided, some days before this presentation, that I would write a prose and not deviate from the script. Though, this is not my preferred method of relaying information at presentations, it is particularly annoying as an audience member as one can feel detached from what is being posited. It can remove the human aspect and may leave people thinking that they may have been better off just reading the presentation.
Cue cards are a go-to method for many, though, with the assignment time constraints and the complexities of my piece, I decided to read my prose, off the page, verbatim. I had carefully timed the script to ensure that I would not have to rush, however, finishing about ten seconds early suggested that I could have slowed down somewhat. Regardless, I proceeded to improvise the final few seconds which I felt wasn’t all that bad.
Overall this method was the best for what I needed to achieve on this occasion and I was grateful for the feedback. The comments that the panelists made in relation to my world were; Stayci, “a beautiful rich world”, Lucy said it was, “the most well established world in my imagination” and then Michelle remarked on how it was “so juicy”, though, Michelle must have missed my opening and thought it was a book and not a one scene film vignette psychological drama. This was quickly clarified though I wondered whether I hadn’t been clear enough in relaying the form I am intending to use.
The comment that resonated with me the most, was Lucy’s thoughts on my description of the physical sensation of pop candy, “Using physical words to describe feelings, made me feel” she remarked. My affinity with Lucy’s feedback was less about fuelling my ego further, and more about a statement of confirmation, that my overarching strategy to create visceral sensations in all of my worlds this semester has been recognised.
For the year, I have endeavoured to push the boundaries further with the look to producing precisely these responses from people. Having been inspired by the likes of David Lynch, Matthew Barney, and metal music, I may well continue to apply methods to induce such reactions in works to come.
However, I understand that these artist’s productions are perhaps not everybody’s cup of tea so to speak. And likewise, my insistence on aiming for the grotesque may not be either. Regardless, viewing the process hereto purely as an exercise has been greatly beneficial for my future development as a media practitioner.
P.s… I feel as though passivity across the board is on the rise perhaps as a result of heightened bureaucracy on account of the exponential growth of the human population — like I am trying to describe in the world of Beecroft. As consumers, we are rarely given the opportunity to really feel what is being presented outside the underground and/or grind-house. When we dare dip the big toe into the warm milk of the mainstream, we have been immediately conscripted to toil like the poor sods in Beecroft’s world.
This is why I have arrived at the belief that it is healthy to exercise the exploration of pop candy and other sensations.