According to MTV, the average person attending Coachella festival in California is set to spend approximately $361 per day, topping both Tomorrowland and Glastonbury! MTV states that No. 1 Currency, a travel money specialist, worked the cost out to only include admission, alcohol and meals per day. If you ask me, I’m sure the average person would actually spend a lot more…….. On that “festival-perfect” outfit. Celebrities with the likes of Alexa Chung have been known to spend $5000 on outfits for the event, but I think many people would spend approx. an extra $300 to get the boho look that characterises the desert wanderers of Coachella. Don’t get me wrong, I love looking at all the festival outfits people post on social media, but I do truly think if Instagram etc were no more, people would care far less about what they wear and concentrate a lot more on having fun rather than snapping Insta-worthy photos.

Side thought: I always wonder if who are famed on social media must feel the pressures to live up to expectations that they spend all their time crafting perfect images? It is easy to create the perfect version of yourself if given enough time. Likes and followers can become dangerously important to people when it dictates their self worth. I know far too many average people, girls in particular, who strive to feed their ego through likes, and will delete photos if they do not get enough. These girls are not even teenagers, stereotypically insecure, but in their 20’s and whom I would otherwise describe as confident and self-loving. I think social media is great fun, but actually quite sad when it gets to this point of control in one’s life.

I put my metaphorical big kid pants on today and went to the study and learning centre. Despite my referencing difficulties, pride had held me back from heading over and asking for some help. Instead, I had taken to googling questions (for an essay due that same day may I add) and frustratingly received different answers back every time. Really do wish that I’d gone there sooner because I found the staff super, super helpful and thorough. I thought they went above and beyond to assist, even giving me sheets to take home to make sure I remembered the answers.

Would (and will) definitely return

It has been 365 days since Boko Hakam kidnapped 200 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria. 365 days of disbelief and worry for the families of those stolen, and 365 days of sheer fear, torment and possible death of the girls. It is simply awful. Today many are critiquing the uselessness of the #BringBackOurGirls tag on social media, saying it has done nothing over this period of time to assist in find the girls and punish the perpetrators. However, I think it has been a great tool in opening up political discussion and raising awareness to the wider community whom are online.

I found this article by Ben Scott, that really illustrates the importance of hashtags in contributing to agenda setting and providing people pressure onto the government to take action.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/05/16/bringbackourgirls_a_defense_of_hashtag_activism.html

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/04/14/comment-i-was-19-when-i-had-my-first-case-black-guilt

In upcoming weeks, for not only Media, but also Cinema Studies and Pop Culture, I have group assessments. I am really looking forward to working with other people. Rachel’s talk in the Media lecture #6 got me thinking about the different obstacles I may have to overcome in order to complete a successful presentation. Through personal experience, Rachel explained the idea that those you are friends with may not always make the best people to work with. It was not a concept I had really thought about before as I assumed it must be easy to work with people you know well and like. I cannot say what will happen yet, but I would like to keep some of her strategies in mind.

1. Having clear objectives and setting goals

2. Good communication between team members

3. Consistency, in that people can trust that you will do as you say

4. Respecting your teams members

5. Supporting your team members and being there for one another

6. Responsibility in the work you do

7. Equitable with the sharing of the work load

Though the first half of lecture 6 was on a topic I have listened to not once, not twice but three times now.. I do believe it was still useful. Amy Saunders, the Media liaison librarian gave a talk on how to best use the RMIT library system to our advantage. I previously learnt the information in a Pop Culture lecture, but also went and did a library class in my spare time. I found that I was able to write this post whilst listening to her as everything sounded familiar and I looked up when I heard a piece of information that sounded different to what I previously learnt.

Mental note: “Film OR Moving Image” or “Film OR Motion picture” when researching.

Before the media lecture today I went to hire a camera with Kristian, Gianna and Steph. Originally we went so I that could teach Kristian about the camera and what he had missed out on in a previous tute. However, I ended up learning stuff as well. I learnt more about the microphone, menu settings and also solidified information I had learnt in class. I definitely felt that having others to learn with was beneficial as they filled gaps in information I had and it made the learning we did together fun. I am hoping, that with more practice of the equipment, I will gain that confidence that I felt I was lacking for brief 2.

Well, I hated presenting just as much as the last time…… Although I put a lot more effort into the second brief than the first, I was still not really that happy with the result. I think its nice (ugh, “nice”) in an aesthetic way, but I don’t think the essence of myself was really captured as I got more caught up on “changing perspectives” rather than ME. As Rachel mentioned, which I agree with, it seemed more a piece about things I like, rather than an introspective or informative one. She said the idea of change didn’t really come across and my message wasn’t clear, which I completely agree with and wrote in the 300 word section. I honestly think I lost the plot a little when I got super bored with the music I made. I became too frustrated trying to use Logic Proc and too obsessed with editing to music rather than thinking about the brief itself.

Originally I wanted to do something with all parts of my personality, fast cuts and upbeat music…But I was turned off the idea because I thought that I couldn’t make it “work”. In watching my class-mate’s pieces that were of this style I actually loved that it wasn’t super-perfect, it was kooky and it was them! I need to gain some confidence and try new things, without worrying about “perfection”and having experimentation as the goal. Onwards brief #3…..

Found this in my YouTube favourites from a long time ago. It is a short film on a man’s last moments with his dog, a dog that has bought absolute joy and love to his life. The beginning is a great example of how a clash in graphic matching (in editing) can be an effective way to tell a story. The contrast in cuts between the man riding his bike, of movement, and of his dog create interest, but continuity is still provided in the narration and music.

Any dog, or even pet, lover will find this to be a tear jerker.