media

Venice:

• Sounds of rain dripping
• People chattering in piazza
• walks to and from hostel
• footage of people walking
• footage of kids playing soccer in the street
• footage of shadows

So far the footage has been limited but the layers are coming together.

I think the most recent podcast that I had listened to was The Ricky Gervais Show with Karl Pilkington.
I remember my ex boyfriend would play it in the car on long drives. Romantic.
Karl would be the butt of every joke and I’d just love the real laughter that Ricky would bust out at the sheer disbelief of the density of his co-host/martyr.

I don’t think I’ve listened to many other podcasts, to tell you the truth.
The sheer thought of making one has confused me a little.

I’ve forced myself to listen to one now on the BBC.
I love the English. I just feel they do comedy so well because they’re often so warped, similar to Australians but then completely different, if that makes sense. Probably not.
Anyway, it’s called The Listening Project and there’s a little girl interviewing her father. She sounds about 8 years old (specific) and she just asked him if he likes mummy better than any of his ex-girlfriends.
Kids are brilliant.

Podcasts have this incredible creative freedom to launch and translate information accumulated in any direction.
The issue I think lies in the information found, the creative efforts of your group and the shared direction – let’s also not forget that there are a tonne of other deadlines that we all respectively have to get done, amidst the podcast flurry.
We opted for a simplistic format to kick things off.

I think now that the podcast has been done (yes, I was late with my blog posts), I liked constructing it all and watching it come to fruition.
Grasping each member of the groups strengths and weaknesses helps to gauage what they can tackle as their parts and then bring it all together and make a podcast pasta.
I think we did a fairly good job for our first try, to be honest.
We had a good laugh too.

I had the most fun tackling the first recording exercise ‘do I have your attention’, forming a narrative, which I believe may have actually been the idea that Ben, one of group members, was hoping the podcast, was hoping our podcast would have become.
In hindsight, could’ve been pretty great but it’s a learning curve that’s only just begun.

We presented our rough cut to Catherine on Thursday – link here.

I really liked the sound clip that Ben prepared.
Having not been able to come up with an idea as a group, Ben took the inititave and threw a recording together, akin to what he had been trying to describe to us a week prior.
We felt that it worked in jest, as those of us in the group weren’t keen on being too serious throughout – Ben had accomplished a happy medium.

Our rough-cut was very rough but it gave the overall idea for how we wanted to present our findings.
It began with Ben, narrating and setting the tone with a little sarcasm, which was later described as arrogance by Catherine.
She suggested that we use it as a means of further developing characters throughout the podcast.
Considering our limited time frame, we found the concept of creating characters for four people to be an additional weight that we didn’t wish to carry. We were aiming for simplicity.
Catherine mentioned that she had not watched the show we were discussing, Game of Thrones.
Having only watched one episode and seeing the stereotypical female roles as mother and exotic female, she was unimpressed and didn’t give the show a second glance.
Which was what a lot of my findings were telling me too – articles in abundance convincing the public that women do in fact like GoT.
Catherine’s reaction to it as being ‘sexist’ was something that we took on board, myself especially as gender was my primary focus on the project.

She went on to say that she liked the overall tone of the clip but she didn’t think that we should poke fun at the audience, as was lightly done in the recording – so we scrapped that but kept the overall theme set by Ben in the beginning; music intro, then narrator, then launch straight into the topics broached.

Overall, the feedback was helpful and allowed us to gain a firmer grip on what we didn’t want, which eventually paved the way for what we should do.

Thanks!

This week, we got into groups to lay some tracks for the foundations of a composed recording.
Focusing on attention, we were to create a narrative compiling various sounds on the zoom recorders that Brian provided in class.

I thought about myself as a means of figuring out a possible story.
I know that when I wake up, the first thing I do is convince myself that I’m only checking my phone just to check the time.
Lies!
I’ve got an alarm, I know I haven’t missed a beat if I’ve risen prematurely.
Instead, I try not to think about the notifications, which inevitably leads to my innards twisting and knotting around each other, until I’ve given myself a stroke.
I’m convinced a past episode of ignoring notifications is the sole reason for one of my eyes being slightly smaller than the other.

Anyway, our lives are unfortunately structured around our phones and what notifications and recognition we’re receiving from others – it’s sad but it’s a fact.
We made a recording about the rituals of the everyday girl on her way to her Media 1 class.
This is my version of the compiled sounds.

Please, give it your fullest attention.

I can’t say that I was shocked to learnt that there were 6 devices per household.
6.4, to be exact – I’m not sure what the .4 would encompass but it’s shocking that it’s not shocking news, y’know?

Guest lecturer, Dr Ramon Lobato came in to talk to us as a group today about Netflix and media streaming.
In his book, Shadow Economies of Cinema, Lobato argues that ‘the pirate networks should be viewed as part of an informal, rather than criminal, economy.’

As someone who doesn’t have pay tv, nor watch much for that matter, I’ve not really experienced recommended viewing, other than by friends, who know me.
Netflix, as I understand it, uses algorithmic means of deduction based on your viewing habits; no wonder 25% of Australian subscribe to it.
I’ve only really experienced music stations recommending me music; Pandora, Soundcloud and whatever that other station is – something else music related. Spotify!

With Netflix, it does the same, which is great – it helps guide people to shows or movies that they may have otherwise not have been aware of.
It helps generate an interest and I hear that you can share Netflix accounts too?
All I know is that a friend of mine offered to share his with me but I’ve no idea how it works but I’m pretty excited and also terrified that I may never be seen in the public sphere again.
Pray for me.

“Some claim that users are now in charge and celebrate their newfound ability to control the media environment. They see the death of hit-driven culture and the birth of a cultural democracy that is no longer dominated by commercial interests… [Others] fear that digital media are eroding the common cultural forum of mass media and promoting social polarization.”- James G Webster

An article on public broadcasting, with a particular interest in the ABC, states that while public broadcasting, namely the ABC some 20 odd year ago had a larger budget of 20m, it produced only a fraction of the content of today.
The ABC doesn’t have any where near as many employees, a much smaller budget, yet it spans across a much larger spectrum.
Some 40 years ago, Senator Jim Callelland, as Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on broadcasting once referred to the ABC as “a dithering, timid, old fuddy duddy”.
‘Today’s ABC consists of four television networks, five radio networks and more on digital. A host of online services and sites including ABC iview.’
Shifting to digital has been a costly necessity, ABC News 24, iview having come into being without a cent spent by the taxpayer.
It’s a very costly and cumbersome aspect of broadcasting, keeping up with the shifts and changes like additional stations and offerings such as Netflix.
We’re not exactly suffering over here as a result of pay TV though – we’re embracing it while still enjoying public broadcasting, otherwise we wouldn’t have so many more channels, would we?

So, in regards to piracy, will it effect quality of media produced?
Jonathan Rose (IP litigator) says that “piracy in TV and film is not new and many producers expect to experience shrinkage due to the practice. “So salaries may already be lower than they would be but for pirating, and the workforce in certain industry segments may be smaller than it would be but for pirating.”

At most, I like a little streaming here and there to keep me going on a cold night or while I’m painting my nails, or procrastinating when I should be working or finishing projects.
We’re all guilty of it one way or another and in any case, it creates a level of competition, thus the rise of more pay TV stations that have much more engaging and obscure content.

Happy watching!

What’s the deal with piracy though?
Piracy is essentially the backlash against pricing of content that doesn’t match up to average societal wages, thus forcing it underground. For a lot of people, it’s just another way to make a living.
I myself have never bought a pirated dvd but I’m still a pirate as I navigate my way through the seas of online content and stream Seinfeld online. It’s my go to.

Can I just ask though, why is that YouTube link not piracy? Is it because it hasn’t showed you the full progression of the show? Why should that matter?
It’s still someone else’s IP, the jokes, the acting, the content as a whole?

I’m not sure where I’m going with this because I like being a pirate – I think there’s also something very devious about it too. I think that and the monetary aspect is another reason people continue to do it.
The cost of living grows too high for us all to keep up with, so we love to kick back at the end of the day with a little something for US – if that means we’re streaming something illegally, so be it. Pour me another glass of red.

However, if I turn the argument around and seat myself on the opposing end, I’m now impacted as a ‘media maker’ or an artist who has created something and I’m no longer receiving any remuneration for my efforts, arduous or not.

For some reason I was just reminded of an episode in Seinfeld wherein Jerry is robbed.
Just before the police officer leaves his house, he asks him if the cops have ever found any stolen goods, to which the officer replies, no.
They cut to his stand-up where he talks about how easy Batman had it – all the characters go to the effort of having costumes, while looking wretchedly evil.
I think that if you’re going to be a pirate, at least dress the part and be open about the fact that you’re doing something wrong to make things a little more interesting.

I may start wearing an eye-patch from now on.
Who needs depth perception anyway.

Google defines perspective as:
‘the art of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface so as to give the right impression of their height, width, depth, and position in relation to each other.’

While, Rory Sutherland describes perspective as ‘re-branding’, which I find interesting.

Using the analogy of ‘someone who stands looking outside a window at a drinks party, is thought of as antisocial. Whereas, someone starting outside a window at a drinks party with a cigarette is a fucking philisopher.’ – could not be truer.
Why though?
I’m of course taking this in its most literal sense, interested in perspective, rather than the sonic references in the reading this week.

We all have a varying perspective on topics, life, meaning etc.. that’s why we interview people, right? We want to get their perspective because it may aid others in their own perspective and respective lives.

I thought it might be nice to finish on this last video as it ties in nicely a single shot sequence that was referenced in a class earlier in the semester. Apple, of course, executes it seamlessly and the sound isn’t too bad either.

My brother provided the basis of the story for our one shot filming exercise for the week 6 workshop.
We had a really great group, we all gelled and brought some of our own spice to the mix.

Our story was prompted by the theme ‘misunderstandings’, using inspiration from my brother who that morning used a play on words with me, replacing ‘can’t’ to mean something uncouth.

The story played out with a couple of friends talking in the corridoors discussing work they had to finish and one of them mishearing what the other said.
That friend then proceeds to continue about her day, encountering friends along the way, telling them what her friend called her – a trail of gossip.

We filmed the shot next to the old Melbourne jail, behind building 9, wanting to be indoors for the most important verbal cue and then heading outside.
Ideas kept coming to us as we worked through our movements, trying to coordinate one meeting of friends to the other.
Lines were missed, laughs were had and we eventually finished the take and went upstairs to edit.

We hurriedly added bleep noises and some fades to neaten the video up and presented.
We enjoyed the process a lot and I think we were all a little excited to see the end result.

It was unfortunate that we didn’t have the best sound quality because of microphone positioning but it was a great first effort and we can take that knowledge into a next project; learning from mistakes made.

Overall, it was interesting to observe who took on which roles; Jemma managed and coordinated things quite well, which was great because that’s always a running issue among group work, and I know it to be a weakness of mine.

Find the link attached here

Interviews are the toast of the week and a staple meal to get me through a day.
A documentary a week helps to keep my mind working and an accompanying cup of tea to warm me up, now that the weather has turned bitter.
I think because we all collectively dared Melbourne (in jest) to get colder because we were sick of  sweating profusely at 10pm, she unhinged her jaw and decided that Winter was now here.
We beat Game of Thrones to the punch.

I cannot wait for Game of Thrones.

Where was I… Reflections, yes.
I’ve been watching a few interviews on Vice and i-D; both brands that are big on whitewashing publications.

I watched the docco below with Grace Neutral, interviewing different people in Korea on beauty ideals.
Grace goes to Seoul and meets with underground tattooists and a couple younger kids who are influenced by the growing K-Pop beauty scene.

I’ve watched this interview a few times and I believe that Grace is guilty of orientalism, although she means well, Grace is covered in tattoos; a stark contrast to the girls she’s interviewing.

Her eyes have been dyed purple, she has used scarification, body modification; skin grafts, had her tongue sliced in half, stretcher earrings all over her body – and while this is her choice it does mean that talking to a girl in Korea, with no tattoos, who also represents a Westernised beauty ideal, is a concept that she can’t comprehend.

I am with her to the point of disagreeing with young girls indulging in plastic surgery because they’ve been affected by unrealistic beauty ideals but around the 6:00 minute mark, the girl tells us that Korean girls tend to get plastic surgery just after they graduate from high school.
Around about the 18 y/o mark.
With a girl’s body fully formed at the age of 26, it’s a premature decision.
Skipping ahead a little, Grace then mentions that she feels uncomfortable being unclothed in the Korean bathhouse (where she’s interviewing the girl) because it feels like she is 14 again, showing her mother her first tattoo.

So, Grace was 4 whole years younger than a girl in Korea modifying her body.
Grace was no doubt responding to something societal by getting those tattoos, as we all inevitably do as we try to navigate our way through adolescence (and life), so she’s not doing something different.
She was rebelling against what was thought of as beautiful, or maybe she just had a group of friends who had tattoos.

I do wonder why it’s okay for her to have got a tattoo (without her mother’s consent, mind you) and the Korean girl is made to look like an air-headed princess for a single procedure.

I watched another of her docco’s on Brazilian beauty and how feminine ideals are being challenged more these days.
The girls she interviewed were a lot like her.
They had shaved their hair off, they were covered in tattoos and piercings and boasted a masculine appearance.
They looked a little punk and still fed an ideal. It just wasn’t typically westernised.

The bias wasn’t verbalised but it was definitely palpable.

I thought that these were interesting examples of an interviewee meaning well by exploring important issues but unknowingly judging a lifestyle just because it varied from theirs, or maybe it wasn’t what she expected.

I feel it’s also important to note that I find it incredible that women are fighting against what is seen as typically beautiful but I also think that beauty is personal, regardless of who you have been influenced by.
We are all influenced by something or someone, and so on and so forth.
It is the medical industries and their lax standards that allow for these premature surgeries on people whose bodies are not fully formed.
It is their lust for money that overrules morality.

Media that is released and disseminated within the populous, infects the minds of the youth who aren’t taught to think for themselves.
Instead, we’re told to look up and idolise those on billboard charts and advertising campaigns.
Reminds me of The perverts Guide to Ideology

We have to search for alternate media and information to furnish our minds with enough ammunition to be able to counter any and all bias’ we encounter.
It’s exhausting but it’s never dull.

I can’t wait ’til all this fighting pays off and my worth is no longer judged by my looks, rather my intelligence and sense of self.

Wanted to see where this thought led me – sorry if I rambled.

I considered not coming to the Thursday class, having to endure the film I had made for my first assessment.
Subjecting the class to my ‘girl gone abstract’ production.
#eyeroll

My themes were so bleak that I now look back and chuckle now that the nausea has subsided.

I’ve always had a problem with turning things on myself and then sharing it.
I don’t keep a journal, my hand gets tired from writing and I don’t like to type my feels because I find it too impersonal.
So I don’t write about my feelings, but I do take pictures of others who emulate the way I feel.
It’s my chosen form of introspection.

How many times have you had to share something personal with people?
How many times have you had to share something personal with a room of people you don’t know well?
It’s said that we find it easier to share with those we don’t know, as opposed to those we do.
I find it easier to talk to people I am close to because I feel it will be understood better than someone judging me on face value.

I think I was stuck in the middle of wanting to share myself with the class but also not wanting to share myself at all.
Adding insult to injury, I use an RMIT laptop which experiences separation anxiety from the campus server once I open it at home and proceeds to shut down my Adobe programs.
‘End program’ is the dialogue box from hell and has been the bane of my entire scholastic existence.
My project was shut down in excess of 5 separate times, forcing my soul to be crushed 3 out of those 5 times, my files to be lost, forcing me to recover and regroup.
I eventually ran out of steam and ended up submitting something I wasn’t proud of out of pure frustration, coupled with lack of motivational drive.

As I sat in class and watched others share themselves with us, I realised we have a diverse mix of creatives, each individually interesting and each video served as a teaser or trailer.
A lot of people were left to be continued and in a strange way, regardless of how each of our videos turned out, it did familiarise us all with each other a lot more.

Brian put us into groups again and showed us how to use the filming equipment.
I felt like a kid again, the cam-corder reminded me of the family recorder we’d take out on special occasions/everyday.
I’d never used the video recorders from RMIT, opting for a Canon 5D3 for all my filming work, I prefer the Canon glass, the film quality and the smooth auto focus.

I suggested to the group that we take to level 12 of building 8 to film, as they wanted somewhere sound tight.
We decided who would be interviewed, what the questions were and how we were going to frame it.
It was a quick job with the little time we had and we took the mickey out of it, as was to be expected.

It was great to put filming into practise as my contextual class is Cinema studies and we’re discussing mise en scene, editing and cinematography on a weekly basis.
I began to notice the 180 degree rule when we had to film the ‘nodding’ reaction cut-away shots, making sure we stayed on the same side of the imaginary line, so as not to distort perspective when it came time to edit.

Looking forward to editing the footage (on campus, as close to a server as humanly possible)