Final Course Reflection

In the first week of this course, I wrote a blog post entitled “Media 1, Week 1: Here We Go.” And go I did. The weeks have flown by, and challenge upon challenge has been thrown at me which I have accepted and attempted with various levels of enthusiasm and success. A good place to start is to look back at the “Dear Future Self…” goals we set, all the way back in Week 1.

“Find something within the media industry that you are passionate about and can do as a career.” I’m still tossing with this idea of “passion.” Right now, if I were to follow my passion all I’d do is find a sunny spot in the house and nap there all day. Realistically, this is not a viable career option, and to throw back to Cal Newport ideas from Week 1, this would probably stop being appealing if it was all I did every single day. At the conclusion of this course I do, however, have a stronger idea of what I am decidedly not passionate about. I found myself irritated at some of the activities in the workshops, such as the Sony MC50 exercise where we filmed mock interviews. I can understand that that practical experience is a big part of this course, and is a big bonus for most students, but I find that I preferred theory and discussion, and that these exercises took away time from these, which I enjoyed more, simply because my style of learning is better suited towards reading, writing and listening.

Honestly, the fact that I learn better this way and enjoy this style of learning was a point of tension for me, in terms of enjoying Media 1 and the Media course overall. It’s frustrating to hear fellow students complaining about the set readings and writing, or don’t think it’s a priority to come to class.

“Learn practical skills related to film making.” As I discussed in my previous point, I found the practical work in the course less engaging, and thus I’ve had to reconsider how important this goal is for me. Whilst not relevant to Media 1 specifically, I’ve really enjoyed Introduction to Cinema Studies, which I also blogged about. It really broadened my understanding of cinema, and encouraged attention to details I wouldn’t previously have noticed.

“Be better at writing for a public audience.” This is one point I feel I have definitely made good progress towards. The first blog post I wrote I spent ages agonising over, but as the course progressed it became so much easier and I found myself looking out for things to write about. My blog posts ranged from slightly humorous to ~art~ and to more formal. I found myself looking out for things to blog about everywhere, whether it be an interesting article I read, or something I noticed walking home. I think writing is one of my stronger points, and it’s a skill I hope to hone further and hopefully apply in my career.

“Graduate with a positive outlook to the future and my place within the future.” Although I’m still a fair way away from graduating, this objective is still central to many of my insecurities. This course is, I think, quite broad, and whilst this is a good thing, it means that I’m finding it hard to find a way to carve out a career path. There are lots of things I would like to do, but everything seems too difficult or overwhelming. At many points throughout the semester I found myself wondering if I had chosen the right course, not because I did not find it enjoyable, or I thought it was a bad course, but more because I didn’t feel I had the same level of passion, especially regarding practical work, which I mentioned earlier, as my fellow students. I’m therefore looking forward to the Studios and the Work Attachments, which I hope will give me a better idea of the places where I can take this course and what that kind of work is like.

Photo cred: Me

As shown in the ‘learning graph’ above, I do feel like overall I did improve my skills and knowledge throughout the semester. The big jump in the ‘professionalism’ skills (the blue line) coincides with, you guessed it, the commencement of Project Brief 4. If I were to pick out the most beneficial things I learned this semester, it would be learning how to blog, and learning how to collaborate in a team. When group work was mentioned in the Lectorial that faithful week, I was also part of the collective groan that was heard, but now I feel I have a completely new perspective on collaborative work. My group was a joy to work with, and I felt we all worked together efficiently toward a common goal (to create awesome video/audio essays!), and also I made some great new friends I might never have been introduced to if I weren’t for the group project. I’ve come a long way from my initial musings on what video/audio essays actually are. PB4 would have been a mammoth task to take on by myself, so now I definitely see the value of teamwork and hope to utilise this positive attitude going forward.

Dear Future Self….

In week 1, we were asked to reflect on the things we wanted to achieve by the end of the course. I said:

Find something within the media industry that you are passionate about and can do as a career. So far, I’ve not made a lot of progress on this point. But I have discovered what I am not passionate about, which is a definite step in the right direction.
Learn practical skills related to film making. I don’t feel like I have significantly improved my practical skills. The videos I produce still look very amateurish, especially in the sound department. I did realise, however, that my interest lies more in the theory and creative planning behind filmmaking. I think I’d be happier as a storyboard artist vs a sound recorder, for example.
Be better at writing for a public audience. I’ve definitely improved on this. I remember it took me ages to write my first blog post, and now I smash them out.
Graduate with a positive outlook to the future and my place within the future. Plenty of time left to work on this one.
Learn how to pitch an idea to someone. Again, not much has changed. I may be confident in writing, but verbally I stumble on my words.

I decided to try this exercise again, but with more of a general focus rather than just regarding this course. I realise that improving my handwriting should have been one of them, but that will probably never happen.

IS BEING ALWAYS CONNECTED TAKING A TOLL ON US?

France has just passed a law that forbids companies of 50 people or more from sending emails after work hours. Dubbed the “right to disconnect” amendment, the law is based on ideas that the work day is becoming too stressful, and due to technology and the Internet, this stress is no longer left behind at the office once employees go home.

I know for a fact that I have trouble “switching off.” My phone is the first thing I see in the morning, the last thing I see at night – I even take it to the toilet. And don’t lie to me, I know you do it too. I hate not having any notifications, but when I do, I don’t feel like dealing with them.

A question to consider is, are we more stressed because we have more to do, or are we simply too inefficient at doing the work we have because we’re constantly distracted by technology? I’ve checked my phone 3 times already whilst writing this post.

I think that the “always on” nature of how we live in the 21^st century has definitely affect us in some way. However, it is too soon to tell whether this has significantly affected our productivity or stress levels for better or for worse.

Week 12 Lectorial

Our last Media 1 Lectorial wrapped up on Monday. In the absence of any readings this week, the lectorial was generally a reflection on the course and getting ready for the future of the degree.

We discussed the final reflection, which is due next week (June 3), and were asked to look back on the Course Objectives for Media 1, which are:

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

-Analyse and discuss media objects in terms of disciplinary frameworks.

-Analyse and evaluate your own learning styles.

-Explore and use a range of production technologies to make media.

-Reflect upon and explain your creative choices in individual and group contexts.

The first point has been well covered with the readings, lectorials and especially the Project Brief 4. The blogs have been a major part in covering the second point: analyse and evaluate your own learning styles, as well as the last, regarding reflecting. If I’ve done anything in this course, it’s reflecting. I think the activities in the workshops definitely encouraged the exploration of a range of production technologies.

I’m sad to see the end of the lectorials as I’ve really enjoyed them. I liked the more informal style of the lectorials compared to normal lectures, as well as the increased interaction and use of technology.

My Media Moment

We had a brief discussion today about a ‘media moment’ we’d experienced the last week. I didn’t get a chance to talk about mine, so here I go.

I, like many others around the world, watched the latest instalment of Game of Thrones on Monday. Now, a certain tragic something happened to a certain beloved character, which was immediately picked up by media outlets and newspapers who had nothing better to do.

My dad, who does not watch the show, read about the incident on the Herald Sun and engaged me in conversation about how dumb he thought the whole thing was. With my feels still recovering, I informed him that if he’d watched the episode itself he would’ve felt very differently.

However, I thought this was a good example of how consuming something through different forms of media can mean very different experiences. In the context of a television show in its 6^th season, the incident was very touching and significant. Yet, conveyed by a reporter and read briefly on a website before moving on to the next story, it has as very different effect.

Blockbuster Cinema

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwCdNJsJLhc

Source

In the Cinema Studies Screening earlier this week some interesting ideas about the progression of popular cinema toward giant, blockbuster movies were raised.

The best example of 21^st century blockbuster cinema is, of course, your latest Marvel movie. These are movies about high concept action, spectacle, and most importantly, excess. Excess is when the action or visuals go beyond just serving the narrative: they are meant to be a feast for the senses. Thus cinema has gone a long way since classical Hollywood films, when everything in the film had the purpose of serving the narrative, and also where continuity editing as we know it today was developed.

Modern ‘spectacle’ films have, as David Bordwell calls them, ‘intensified continuity.’ They use extremes: rapid editing, bipolar extremes in lens length, close framing and dialogue seen and a constantly moving camera.

The most recent Marvel film I had the (dis)pleasure of seeing the latest Captain America. It consisted, as you would expect, of excessive action scenes with some brief dialogue scenes that were mainly Iron Man making ironic quips. It becomes hard to follow a film when there is always so much going on, visually and audibly, but perhaps theses movies aren’t really meant to be followed. Maybe these films are just meant to be two hours of stupid fun. There is always room for thoughtful, slower films, but Marvel films perhaps owe their success to the desire of the masses to spend two hours away from the stress of every day life.

What week is it again?

So… it’s already nearing the end of the semester. I’ve almost completed 1/6^th of my course. Last night, I was gearing up to do the readings for this week when I realised there were no readings for this week. This was accompanied with that strange feeling of emptiness I always get when things are coming to an end.

I’ve settled very easily into the routine of going to uni. If I am anything, I am a creature of routines. My go-to cafe in the morning knows my name and my order. I take pleasure in my routine morning train naps. The slow ride up the escalators at Melbourne Central because I can’t be stuffed walking up them in the morning – all the while that stupid clock plays Waltzing Matilda.

This has been my life for the last twelve weeks. And as the semester comes to an end, I realise that these routines are coming to an end. Next semester I’ll build up new routines. They won’t be better or worse, but they’ll be new.

I’m trying to look forward to new things. Anyway, here’s to change, and the near future.

Marshall Mcluhan

McCluhan is an important figure in 20^th century media theory, who is best known for coining the term ‘the medium is the message.’ Brian, in the Lectorial, described his writing as ‘associative,’ jumping from idea to idea. So, as he’s deemed to be an influential media theorist, I decided to watch one of his lectures to see what he’s all about.

The introducer of the lecture interestingly, and almost presciently, mentions that 21st century academics will look back on Mcluhan’s statement ‘the medium is the message’ and view it was provocative and outrageous. Certainly, it is a loaded statement to unpack, but I do see its relevance to modern understanding and theories about the media.

Mcluhan states in the lecture, as an example “what you print is nothing compared to the effect of the printed word.” We know that the printing press revolutionised communication, and so did the advent of the telephone, television, and the internet. These technologies and mediums have shown to have significant effect on society and the way we communicate. I can therefore accept this part of Mcluhan’s argument: mediums are powerful, and capable of sending messages.

However, I’m hesitant to agree with Mcluhan on his argument that, for example, TV is the message, and the ‘affect of the program is incidental.’ Maybe TV sends a message, but the program determines the kind of message the medium is sending out. A blank canvas is void of meaning until a painter creates an artwork on it.

I did like that he described TV as a ‘popular folk art.’ If he was around today, I think that he would also give this term to the content people are able to produce with social media, like blogs and vlogs. They are perhaps even more folk art than TV – created by the people, for the people.

PB4 Progress + Feedback

We finished the rough draft for the audio essay this week. I think we’re all pretty pleased with the results: our argument is fairly easy to follow and the examples are solid. Also, we received some helpful feedback from Louise in the workshop today.

However, overall the essay is a bit dull. At this point, it doesn’t really use many of the affordance of the audio essay. It is essentially just us reading out a written essay. We’re planning to add a lot more different sounds and music to add more texture and make it more engaging.

For example, at some point in the essay we discuss the negative feedback Scott McIntyre received for his controversial ANZAC day tweets. It’d be interesting to read out some of the negative responses he received, and layer these so they sound very intense, like an angry mob.

It feels good to be on track with PB4: the audio essay just needs a bit more polishing, and we’re well on the way with the video essay.

How has technology affected culture?

In the Lectorial on Monday, Brian introduced the idea that technology can be socially disruptive. I think this point is very interesting, and it can definitely be substantiated. Technology has changed the way we live our lives. A simple example could be the invention of the telephone – instant communication across large distances was now possible, rather than writing a letter, waiting for that to be delivered, and that person having to send a letter back and repeat the process again.

The telephone changed the way we communicate for ever, but this didn’t mean that it was in any way a final stage of the evolvement of technology and culture. The introduction of mobile phones, and most recently smartphones, suggests that development of technology is a constant process that is always affecting the way we live our lives.

Technology has also allowed us to more easily cross not only physical distances, but also social distances. Before the Internet, a middle class Australian would never expect to bump into the President of the United States in the pub down the road. But on platforms such as Reddit AMAs (Ask Me Anything), anyone can head online and interact with famous and important people. I mentioned the president for a good reason: Barack Obama did an AMA a while ago, answering questions from ordinary people.

We are able to connect with people in ways we never have been able to before. This is significant in transforming us socially, as we are able humanise and empathise with strangers across the globe, and thus, technology is able to create a global interactive network that brings us closer together.

RMIT Media & Communication

Jasmijn van Houten

Category Archives: Media 1