WAT UP WORLD

I read Tiana’s blog post about the lecture and reading, and I found a point that I missed in the lecture, which Tiana expands upon.

“The world of media is messy… the lines between things are blurred, increasingly so as time goes on… The lines between amateur and professional are now blurred. Even the lines between different mediums.”

It’s interesting to talk about media as one big mess that will continue to become an even bigger mess with time. Tiana also mentions Adrian’s point (that I apparently missed) that “we create things to fit a definition”. I think Adrian must have been saying that this is an unrealistic approach in a realm of study that is so tangled up in itself. Personally, as a Communications student, I relate strongly to the idea that the lines between amateur and professional are blurred. I want to make movies, and, yes, it’s good to have a degree in your pocket, but it’s not needed. Almost anyone can make movies these days. You can do it with the most rudimentary of equipment (e.g. phone camera). I think my education in cinema is 90% attributable to my personal, extensive watching and appreciation of all types of films.

Then there’s also the point that the lines between different mediums are blurred. Of course, this can be seen in newspapers, magazines, hyper-mediated web pages that use text, image, video, music etc. Overlapping media. But Tiana also mentions Chris Marker’s La Jetée, which is a series of photographs that works to tell a story like a film would by using voice over narration, dramatic music, sound effects, and film-esque cutting between photos (e.g. faster editing rhythm for scenes of higher tension). This also relates to the reading which discusses experimental film. But, more importantly, this reminded me of photomontage and stop motion films. Which also links to this week’s reading. The reading discusses animation. One particular quote from a filmmaker resonated with me:

“Animation is not a genre, it’s a medium. And it can express any genre.” – Brad Bird, director, The Incredibles

(Great movie, The Incredibles. I love it.) This should be a given, but it is far too easy to think of animation as a genre, rather than a medium. I was about to say how the Academy only defines two categories for animation – animated short and animated feature – but then I realised that it also groups together genres in live-action filmmaking, so… Point wasted. But I just had a look and did you know that there used to be a category for Best Dance Direction? And Best Assistant Director? And Best Title Writing? And Best Unique and Artistic Quality of Production? Wow. I’m just going to give a full list of the discontinued categories at the bottom of this post because I find all of it really fascinating.

Anyway. Photomontage. Stop motion. Animated films. Drawing by drawing, photo by photo, computer generated modelling. Frame by frame. Crossover between mediums. Blurred lines. I had a point but I think I’ve kind of lost it. I got distracted. Again. Maybe that photomontage and stop motion and animated films are types of films where crossover between mediums occurs? Ah, I’ve lost that train of thought. Damn. I swear this post had a purpose at one point.

Enjoy reading through the discontinued Academy Award categories.

Discontinued Categories: