This week’s reading is a look at the life of the creative, the worker in the more ‘creative’ jobs, like television, writing, online publishing, game development, content creation, etc. It focuses on the new work models, specifically the more informal work models with blurred lines between work, home, and leisure, in a variety of developing corporations, specifically those in ‘creative labour’ jobs. It looks in part at the positives of this, like the more relaxed routine and the informality between employees developing creative work, but has a major focus on the negatives that these kinds of models and careers can have. One of these negatives is the exploitation of employees or ‘associates’ and ‘contributors’ by employers. In these media fields, there is exploitation apparent across the entire spectrum of content creation. For freelancers, it is an apparent ‘race to the bottom’, with contracts being negotiated to those who will provide the, usually large, project at the cheapest, and large corporations employing freelancers at cent-a-word rates, or one-off sums for content that is usually not creative and sometimes borderline illegal, and very low rates thanks to a lack of unions, minimum wage, and other business laws not applying in the same way as they would for traditional, full time workers. For entrance level positions in companies, the exploitation occurs through internships, where people are brought in for unpaid work for months on end for the prospect of a position (which, at least in America, is illegal (Hickman, Blair, and Christie Thompson. “When Is It OK to Not Pay an Intern?” ProPublica. ProPublica Inc., 14 June 2013. Web)). The exploitation of full-time workers occurs thanks to unpaid overtime, forced flexible hours, and self-exploitation, in which employees force themselves to work longer and harder for less in the glamorised attempt at meeting and holding deadlines and employment.

The reading links very well to an article I read for my annotated bibliography called “When No Means No”, written by Benjamin Law (see here for that post), in which Law recounts his personal experiences with being a freelance creative, and the major strain he had to go through, a strain he put on himself sometimes so as to not die (exaggeration, but not by much). He also noted how much of the Australian workforce was working in unpaid overtime ($9471 a year) simply because it is hard to say no to the work that keeps you employed.

Arlington, Kim. “The Jobs That Didn’t Exist Last Time We Had A Census”. The Age. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 Aug. 2016. http://www.theage.com.au/business/workplace-relations/jobs-of-the-future-the-2016-census-will-include-roles-that-didnt-exist-before-20160727-gqeozd.html

This age article found online looks at how the 2016 census will reflect how the job landscape is changing. Thanks to the rise of new technologies, new applications for old technologies, and the computerization and redesign of previous industries and departments, new jobs that don’t fit into the old classic ideas of careers are being created. The article notes a US researcher predicting that “Sixty-five percent of children who entered primary school in 2011 will end up working in careers that have not yet been invented”. How this article in particular relates to the ideas of freelancing is the idea that freelance jobs and growth are becoming more prevalent, and that is the predicted route for most new jobs in creation as well as current industry positions. The article notes “Some analysts say up to 60 per cent of the workforce will be freelance or a contractor in the next five years, Peter Bradd, chairman of StartupAUS and CEO of entrepreneurial training company the Beanstalk Factory, said. The trend towards freelancing work and growth in shared work spaces was “allowing people to follow their passions and also create income on the side”.” The article also notes the negatives that this new trend brings, with a lot of old industries becoming more and more computerised, and how this, along with the previous mentioned points, is why there needs to be a focus on “the growing importance of workers with entrepreneurial, STEM, creative and social skills and the role of innovation hubs.” I feel most of this information can be trusted, coming from a generally reputable newspaper with an apparent variety of sources, although some of those quotes come from undisclosed sources and generic titles.

Law, Benjamin. “When No Means No”. The Age. N.p., 2016. Web. 1 Aug. 2016. http://www.theage.com.au/good-weekend/adult-education/when-no-means-no-20160502-gok7qh.html

This article is written by Benjamin Law, a freelance media producer and writer. The piece outlined first about his early work, and how he was told to say yes to everything, detailing the difficulties of being a freelancer, and how “To survive, freelancers are overworked, overcommitted and owed thousands of dollars in unpaid invoices, which is a better option than the alternative, which is under-committed, underpaid and dead.” He laments over how others had jobs that had steady salaries and basic dignities. He then relates that to other Australians who can’t say no when it comes to their job, leading to “Full-time working Australians – on average – work six hours of unpaid overtime each week, worth an estimated $9471 a year,” quoting a Sydney Morning Herald article as a source for the statistic. While this article is good for setting down framework for the topic, and a good avenue for possible pathways in the building of this research project, it may not be the best as a source due to the predominantly anecdotal use of stories, and only a few links to statistics.

Ertel, Michael et al. “Adverse Psychosocial Working Conditions And Subjective Health In Freelance Media Workers”. Work & Stress 19.3 (2005): 293-299. Web.

Edstrom, Maria and Martina Ladendorf. “FREELANCE JOURNALISTS AS A FLEXIBLE WORKFORCE IN MEDIA INDUSTRIES”. Journalism Practice 6.5-6 (2012): 711-721. Web.

Chris Lederer & Megan Brownlow, ‘’A World of Differences’: Special Report: Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2016-2020’. Price Waterhouse Cooper

This week’s reading looks at entertainment and media companies and how the will fit in the diverse areas of growth and shifts in cultural and societal norms. It looks at how age and youth can affect the potential expansion of certain platforms, technologies, and companies, as well as the shift other platforms would have to take in order to continue functioning in the changing marketplace. It also looks at the entertainment and media companies use of and creation of content, and how the content is consumed. All of this looking through the lens of geography, and how countries, especially countries with a developing GDP, are dealing with entertainment and media companies in terms of business and spending, consumerism, and a local content production industry.

One of the aspects of the reading I found most informative was an aspect of the reading that dealt with business models and how previously working models are becoming outdated and obsolete. These old, traditional models are having to transform and rebuild in order to maintain relevance in the market, becoming hybrid companies, dealing with a large multitude of differing and variable content and technology being demanded by a more active, more discerning consumer. One of the areas, which I hadn’t even realised, was the very large shift in direction for marketing and advertising. Where once the marketing agency dealt with the “big picture ideas”, ideas that would appeal to a large, inclusive demographic, are now having to deal with the likes of Google and Facebook, and their methods of directed advertising thanks to algorithms processing and learning our wants and needs from the way we communicate with technology and how and what media we individually enjoy. These new methods could seriously undermine marketing and advertising companies that cannot keep up with shifting cultural ideals and societal attitudes.

After an unhealthily long time, I have managed to get back into my dusty and barely used blog from years ago, just in time to post this:

Klaus Schwab, 2016, The Fourth Industrial Revolution (World Economic Forum), pp.14-26, 47-50, 67-73, 91-104

This week’s reading sees a broad overview of the megatrends, major movements and trends in a global sense, and the digital industry and economy that is forming. It looks at the various ways that this “Fourth Industrial Revolution” and the speedy rise of connected technologies and the “internet of things” can and has affected governmental bodies and national economies, through things like the transfer of money and the birth of decentralised payment methods, the transparency of government proceedings and foreign relations and data mining and privacy breeching, to a changed job market brought about by a more on-demand economy. Then there are the ways shifting technologies can affect society, mainly how this new technology and digital lifestyle can affect the distribution and retention of personal and/or private information, how it might affect people’s social skills and ability to empathize through the human connection, and majorly, how it can affect communities, in all senses of the word, and how they can empower and disempower citizens in different ways.

One of the issues I began to debate in my head was brought up early on the reading. The first subsection of the reading dealt with the new innovations and trends in the physical world, from driver-less cars to 3D printing and advanced robotics. During my first read through, I was drawn to this section purely out of amazement of what the technology could do and how exponential the rise of creation had become due to these technologies building and connecting with each other. It wasn’t until the second look, after having read the sections on how new technology could affect both economies and individuals, did I note how these new technologies were not just mere expansions of previous technologies, but could in fact shift the current notions and basics of industry and completely revolutionise, in both positive and negative ways, how the economy and corporations, from factory workers to scientists and engineers and creatives and performers. New jobs in fields no one have yet dreamed of arise, whilst others become obsolete. Practices and teachings completely reworked due to key pieces of new technology, technology that could become obsolete within years of inception. The global marketplace as we currently see it may be unrecognizable in just a few decades’ time.

Question 6

The idea that stood out most to me during Sandra’s lecture was that film script writers have to be neatly and sharply dressed, whereas TV writers can dress more casually. My fashion sense aside, one of the pieces of advice that stood out to me was that the director should really have done the most directing and discussing with the actors in the rehearsal, and talk quickly and bluntly on the day, so he/she can focus on the various other aspects that make the scene whole, aspects like camera and lighting. Before the lecture, I had always pictured the director giving his focus to all the other aspects before the day/days of production and putting more focus on the actors on the actual day. However, it does make a lot more sense, given how much has to be done in such a short period of time, and murphy’s law almost always running amok on set.

Another interesting part of the lecture was when Sandra discussed how, due to a variety of reasons, the director may have to cut or modify scenes on the day of shooting, or even directly before. I always pictured scenes being cut in either pre- or post-production, not during principle photography, but, like above, things go wrong and sometimes you need a bit of serendipity on the directors part to make up for lost time and technical problems.

Question 7

In the clip ‘Blood Simple’, there are a variety of difference cuts and edits in terms of both audio and visuals. One of the prominent edits is the J-cut, in which, usually during a conversation, the image and audio will be of a character talking, then the audio will remain but the visual will cut to a shot of the other character, usually to document their reaction to what is being said. Another technique used is the sound bridge. The sound bridge is when the audio from a shot starts slightly before the shot itself. It makes the cut seem more natural.

In the shot itself, there is a combination of atmospheric noise and distinct sounds. The atmospheric noise, sounds like the mosquitos buzzing and the electrical hum, is not a focus of the scene, and does not draw any attention away from the primary plot line occurring in the scene. It is designed to add an aspect of background noise to make the scene more natural to an audience and add more atmosphere to the set. The distinct sounds, the sound of the envelope and of the various items being placed on the table, are designed to be louder and more noticeable, so as to get the audiences attention.

Question 8

I – Mark in

O – Mark out

These two shortcuts make it easy for the editor to select the start and end of a section of a shot they want to use, making it easier to fine tune in the timeline.

Cmd R – Speed and Duration

These shortcut allows the editor change the speed and duration of a clip or piece of audio

Cmd S – Save

The most important shortcut, saves your work.

No, I have not made a Korean Music Video. A K-Film is a media ‘film’ made through the program known as Korsakow. It can be viewed write here 

Or at this link here: http://www.themediastudents.net/im1/2014/evan.parris

Why we “Shot to Edit”

When filming a scene, or a film, or whatever you are filming, it is a must that you ‘shoot to edit’. This is where the shots are filmed so as to give editing more to work with and provide greater manipulation ability when editing to fit a story, allowing for greater changes to be made in the editing process.

One of the reasons is so the editor has a better chance of cutting between takes at the best moment. If there is more footage left at the end, instead of cutting as soon as, say, an actor leaves frame, the editor can find the write moment, or the right beat, to transition to the next scene. Or possibly, if a specific transition is needed, like a cross fade, there would be enough footage to allow it without looking wrong or cutting into the main action.

Another reason is that it allows the director to make more artistic changes later in post-production. If a scene has been ‘shot to edit’, then the director has more leeway when composing a scene, and can easily change, play around with, or straight up bastardise a scene. If a scene hasn’t been ‘shot to edit, the director may not be able to do that.

Question 1

In this course I would like to be able to build on my screenwriting abilities. Learn how to properly write strong and meaningful screenplays, following the write rules and formatting it takes in professional screenwriting. It would also be interesting to see how a screenplay would change in the hands of a different director, how the creative vision can change based on perspective and interpretation. It would also be nice to dip my finger in a variety of roles in pre-,  principle, and post-production. My main goal is to write a full script, from first draft to final (with help from the rest of the group of course).

Question 2

One of the main points that I took an interest in concerning Jasmine’s screenwriting lecture  is her point about plotting and constantly upping the stakes. Jasmine seemed to suggest that the stakes are constantly upped, and the audience is constantly pushed and inched closer, until the final climax at the end of the film. Whilst I agree that plotting is a consistent push of the audience, and raising the stakes is a major part of that, I don’t believe that it should all be pushed throughout the entire film and only be resolved in the climax. Continuing with the roller coaster metaphor from the lecture, I think a film should not be a constant climb until the climax, then a drop, but a constant fluctuation of highs and lows, with some necessary plateaus of short, non-intense pauses of action and intensity. Whilst this may be harder in a short film, it would make longer films and TV shows more dynamic and entertaining.

Question 3

 I found the reading “Writings in Short Film” to be really exciting. As I mentioned above, I would love to be able to write screenplays, and this reading helped establish some of the rules that I might need in order to correctly format and produce scripts and screenplays and others. It was also nice to see one of the scripts of short films so I can get a rough idea on how it all plays out, set the wheels in motion for ideas and inspirations, get an idea of what to expect in the future of this course.

Clown Train

The film “Clown Train” uses sound as one of it’s main factors in creating an atmosphere of  fear and chilling suspense. It is this atmosphere that lends the film to it’s more horror-centric genre, generating an idea of a constant, growing buildup of suspense until the climax at the end. The underlying soundscape is filled with a constant buzz, like a fluorescent light fixture makes, as well as the various creeks and groans of the train setting. Along with these constant noises, there is also other sounds that are in dispersed throughout the film. These sounds include the feint sound of a train on the tracks, the sound of objects moving around, a feint, piano based musical accompaniment. All these sounds are enhanced by an increase in volume compared to the dialogue. All together, a tension is created not just by the sounds that are heard along with the dialogue, but the long, seemingly empty spaces between. A space that gives an ominous feeling that something, like a jump scare or revelation, is coming up. This tension, like with most horror films, is brought in in the first second of the film. The film opens without visuals, only sounds, leaving the boarders that we see as objects more opening, with the audiences individual imaginations having to feel in the gaps.

Readings

I found a real interest in the week 2 reading “Slogans for the Screenwriter’s wall”, in which a list of ideas and “rules” are established for a screenwriter. I mainly gravitated towards this reading because of my love of writing, as well as it’s simple and direct ideas and beliefs, something that isn’t as common in a lot of media based readings. The first idea that stood out to me was the idea of showing before telling, that a film should be 60% comprehensible in a foreign language. I like this idea because lends to the action portions of a script or screenplay, rather then being dialogue heavy and falling back on the cliches of dialogue, like monologuing exposition. The other idea that stood out to me was the idea that in order to write for comedy, you need to be able to write drama first. It’s a simple idea that opens up a wide range of possibilities and further ideas that can arise. It got me thinking about how some of the most emotional and dramatic moments in films and TV can be from comedies. Also, the idea of comedy being dramas with happy endings, or dramas from another perspective.

Rolling

In my belief, “Rolling” was a very thought out and creative idea, with an interesting script and strong attention to detail, but it was let down by some of it’s production and post production, which is understandable in a student film. The script of the film, mainly the dialogue, seemed to be well thought out with a lot of little other details that added to the comedic tone of the film. These details were not just in the dialogue. There was detail in the setting, including the post-it notes and toilet paper in the apartment. It was these details, along with the over-arching ideas and themes. On the downside, things like editing and sound were a little lacklustre, consistently reminding me that I was watching a film. It seemed a bit choppy and the sound could have been mixed a little better, as there seemed to be some disparages with volume.

Glowstick Graveyard

Black Light

Flickering Shadows