Not as good as I thought
This workshop was painful, I have no skill in iMovie and trying to get my ideas onto the screen was frustrating.
for the second brief, I have this idea about showing a sill image or imagery and then with that same set up, I’d film a movie version. I’m not sure the visions in my head work towards a self portrait per say, it does on an artistic and personal level but in terms of someone else figuring out what is going on it might be a bit too abstract,
Year 12 Nostalgia with today’s guest speakers
I loved today’s lectorial, specifically the first presentation. In year 12 I was partaking in studio arts units 3/4 and we had to learn about copywrite and the moral rights of the artist. Although I enjoy being more physically involved in things, I really enjoyed learning about it and to be re-learning was a nice trip down memory lane. It was also nice to feel like i wasn’t falling behind, having pre-existing knowledge in the topic being discussed made me feel a bit more involved and not so much out of place like I have felt in other lectures.
Media SELF-PORTRAIT
The audio clip shows the imperfect side of me. I am loud, I have a honking-like way of laughing. But when you get me smiling, nothing matters to me. I’m usually reserved, and try to present myself in a sophisticated, social manner and thats something really important to me – putting on an impressive front. But genuine laughter will always come before that. I don’t have perfect teeth and my smile is crooked, this audio clip is just one imperfect fraction that makes up a side of me not usually seen.
exercise is important to me. It relieved so much stress that going through hard times was almost bearable.
I wasn’t good at math, I couldn’t force myself to be interested in science, and being creative was so hard. But I knew how to move my body and make it do what i want to do.
unlike the other subjects i finally felt i had some sort of control. and that for me alleviated so much stress. losing control or feeling like you have no control/less control is stressful and is the foundation of a downward spiral.
The audio clips have two components, my conversation with someone and my laughter. My laughter is imperfect, unchangeable, loud and annoying. four qualities I absolutely loath in anything but hypocritically disregarded when I laugh.
The conversation is reflective of my need for company.
The four images I chose specifically because they each do or represent something specifically regarding me. Like my infatuation with lighting and man-made infrastructure, my love for art, and my unconventional ideas and theories.
Night time drives during the summer is one of the only events in which I can feel utterly and wholly content (Shown in the two videos). They also show me playing around with the lens which appeals to my curiosity.
The text is something I wrote that shows a side of my creativity not reflected in my photography. I really enjoy writing and it plays a huge part in who I am.
50 WORDS OF TEXT
“Never happy” were the words reverberating through her soul, a two lyric melody sung by a soulless choir. The single tear that fell from her half-closed lids had more life in it than she.
Critiquing creativity
I really enjoyed today’s media workshop. All throughout last year in studio arts we would discuss our ideas and our concepts and explaining them was a very liberating feeling. I noticed a lot of other students took brief NO. 1 very bluntly. to elaborate, they took a “this is this and that is that” approach when filming, photographing, or recording their audio in terms of explaining themselves. I took a very abstract and representational approach to the brief. For example instead of me talking in the audio or playing an instrument, i took a recording of a genuine conversation with a friend in which I end up howling in laughter at something said. I put this in because I take pride in presenting myself in a proper, social kind of way, but my laugh goes against that and is the one thing i don’t try to control/maintain, so to put that as a part of my brief was really personal and true to who I am in a not so blunt way.
Media influencing Pop
This week I’m still getting used to my classes and the way university operates in contrast to high school.
Something I’ve come across this week is the dependance society has on media related artefacts such as their iPhone. After the ‘noticing’ task in the media1 lectorial I was given the idea to write my pop culture blog post (due week 4) on that connection between an individual and technology, specifically the iPhone.
I have this concept that we rely so much on that connection that its become an extension of ourselves, not a thing, not an object, but a part of us, a part of our bodies.
MEDIA IS EVERYWHERE – Lectorial Walkabout
Melbourne CBD plays host to a constant hum and buz of city life. everything that inhabits these skyrscraping mazes contributes its own call to the constant and endless noise booming down the streets. But its not just audible noise that citizens are bombarded with on a daily basis. It’s also visual noise. and at the heart of the ‘hubub” is (the) media, making its own unique noise and contributing in its own way. No matter where you look, you are bombarded by the media’s visual and audio information constantly. And RMIT city campus is no safe place either. Taking a walk around the campus, I listened. And by listening I don’t mean with JUST my ears, I listened with my eyes. Instead of overlooking the eye catching billboards and mind-boggling amounts of advertisement, I focused. I looked at the mediums being used, where it was placed, what surrounded it, what and how it contributed to the surrounds. First off i noticed a chalk message scrawled on the ground put there by a christian organisation for the purpose of recruiting members. A type of advertisement, a cheap piece of advertisement, but advertisement none the less and much the same; a form of media in which contributed to the bombardment of information being thrown at passers by.
What else?
Mostly it was advertisements I saw when I was on the look out for media texts. I didn’t even think to notice the amount of people glued to their iPhones as they went about their day. This I believe is because the use of gadgets such as an iPhone or an iPod has become less of a thing to turn to for information and more so a part of our lives, like ritual, like religion. Strengthening my argument is the fact that I blindly looked over the people using their electronic devices, not realising that that is a form and source of media, thinking of it, subconsciously as an extension of one’s self. a more organic form of media was the commonwealth bank advertisers recruiting members on Bowen ST. This more ‘authentic’ form of communication is usually dismissed as a nuisance, putting a hurdle in the destination from A to B, nonetheless, a type of media.
Media
Pop culture #1 Blog post
While in todays pop culture lecture, one thing I realised is that in today’s day and age, new ‘pop culture/artefacts’ that are conceived, are short lived. Once a fad is mainstreamed, people tend to divide into three, those who don’t care at all and pay no mind to the new craze, those who join the popular craze and those who step back and make a point out of picking apart the craze and separating themselves from it, labelling it as “mainstream” and refusing to be a part of it. That’s why pop culture/artefacts are short lived, because people are now quick to reject them and others are more prone to reject them later on in fear of being ostracised.
This I believe in itself is almost another popular cultural thing, to point out pop culture texts and artefacts as quick as possible. After the success of twilight, the number of vampire fans grew and thus, more texts circulated as a result, but many people were focused on pointing out that they were not going to jump on this and that caused a snowball effect as other people did the same.
Similar approaches were made with the screening of 50 shades of Grey. Many people were quick to reject this craze and to make it know they are against that pop culture and quick to label and stereotype the people who were in this new craze.
Therefore I finish with this question;
Is a pop culture/artefact only considered so if it is approached positively?
Takacs, S. (2015). Interrogating Popular Culture: Key Questions, “What is Popular Culture?” (Chapter One), Routledge: New York, pp. 1-17
Black and white to technicolor nightmare
Most of my lectures have been very vague I think. In High School it was very “this is this and this is what we’re doing” and everything was explained to you so you get and it felt very structured. I feel like I’m not connected and communicating well enough with my classes. I’m finding out about homework days after its assigned because i missed one sentence in a lecture. I feel like this post is relevant to media because everything is accessible on the internet aka through a form of media. I’m sure I’ll soon get the hang of having different classes on different sites and not in one space.
Setting up a blog
I’ve never created a blog before. I think I’ll find it useful and interesting. I’m very creative I’m always taking images, videos and writing constantly and because I’m too busy recording ideas I havn’t found an effective way to organise them in a logical and structured way. One I get the hang of using this blog I’ll consider creating a personal one to store my ideas and creations in one area where i can also share it with the public. But for now, until I become a masterblogger I’m going to continue working out the kinks and getting the hang of it.
Media 1 lectorial, ‘Reflection’, CHALLENGES AND THE WAY I LEARN
I feel like this course will be a struggle for me. I’m still finding myself, separating capabilities from interests and who I think I am from who I think I want to be.
I learn by doing and creating, trying something that doesn’t work then formulating a solution that more than compensates for the lost ground.
The most challenging aspect of this course will be sticking to it until I find if media is really the right pathway for me.
The past few years have been a real struggle for me. Being told to find something I’m good at and something I’m passionate about then doing it. But those are two very different things; being good at something and being passionate. Sitting through the media lecture I couldn’t help but wonder if its worth blindly and obediently pursuing a pathway I know little about.