This image is taken from Project 3 to give an inkling of the tone of my portrait. While I angling to inject humour into the film as my friend Keegan is a very funny person, I also what to showcase the transitional period he is in at the moment in his life. In addition, this shot is indicative of his thoughts on himself, his need to keep up physical appearances while being able to self reflect on the life that surrounds him.
I was recently reflecting on my Portrait, showing it to my friends and Keegan (the subject of said piece) and I was trying to think of what guided me to present it as I did, with talking heads from friends and from Keegan himself describing their relationships and thoughts on him as a person. It finally occured to me as I was listening to some podcasts recently. One of my favourites is called Harmontown which involves my personal hero Dan Harmon, creator of two of my favourite TV shows, ‘Community’ and ‘Rick and Morty’, in front of a live audience discussing whatever pops into his brilliant mind. After being fired from ‘Community’ he decided to take the podcast on a tour around America for a month and hired the director Neil Berkley to make a documentary of the trip. I have watched the regular version twice and the extended edition once and I love this film and I am not a person who heads straight for the documentary isle in my locale movie rental store (figuratively speaking as those do not exist in this dimension anymore). This trailer captures the films tone and story while showcasing how it gave me inspiration for my own piece. And yes I am not ashamed to admit it, even now, months after the film’s release, this trailer still manages to make me tear up.
As a man who has deeply devoted his life to everything TV and film, I have seen the original Star Wars Trilogy many, many times. I was introduced to them when I was 10 years old by my father and they are films I can always go back to if I am in the mood for a good film. The only downside to this is the fact I was never alive to witness the event of a new, good Star Wars film being released (good being the clarifying word in this sentence, cough cough Prequels). The excitement around The Force Awakens has reached critical mass, and we are still seven months away from its release. The raw emotion emanating from the internet after the release of the second teaser trailer is a thing of beauty as a fan of film because it shows the unifying power an cinematic event can have on the world. The passion and expectations Episode 7 is a wonder to behold and I hope the populace can put aside these expectations and enjoy what will hopefully be a great movie.
Here is one of the YouTube reviewers I follow reacting to the trailer in a very nerdy way, just showcasing the effect nostalgia and expectations can have on a fan on film.
While I, like most of society, am aware of the constant nature of media in this era it is still very overwhelming and surprising when I am asked to confront what that actually means. The task assigned to us was to go into Melbourne, my group specifically outside of the state library, and note down ALL mediated interactions/communications we encountered for 45 minutes to an hour, . Here is a list of what we managed to notice.
-Ad for the movie ‘Focus’ -‘Appliances Online’ blimp -State library signs -Protest for Tibet banners -Chanting in protest for the unrest in Tibet -Free tram zone sign -ING direct ad -Yarra trams -Tibetan flag -Canon camera -’24/7′ biscuits -Superman -Telstra free WiFi booth -Myki -Commonwealth Bank -Cirque de Soleil -Construction signs -Traffic lights -Kiis 101.1 -AC/DC -Twitter -Coffee -Discussion on the protesting -Tibet national anthem -Discussion on cupcakes -RMIT -Dalai Lama -‘California Republic’ clothing -Children’s book festival -Apple iPhone -Samsung Galaxy -Vans -‘Lottas’ shoes -‘Dotti’ clothing -Community Season 6 -Pandora -Spotify -Google -Instagram -Facebook -Weather -Time -‘Harmontown’ Podcast
Even with the never ending stream of ads, conversations and chanting all around me what really surprised me was how much of my interaction with media was contained on my phone. Delving into the process of noticing allowed me to fully realise how a modern society filters media communications. There is a constant intake of media in our everyday lives but by choosing to focus in on a specific section of this intake, the rest becomes a part of the background, white noise in a world trying to make you notice.
I assume every cliched ‘this is my first uni blog post’ has been used and I also assume that this attempt at meta humour is not capturing the imagination of any reader but to be fair it is pretty exciting to be surrounded by film fanatics who understand this sentence.
Movies and TV are subjective to every individual but let’s be honest… there is no better film IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING THAT HAS EVER BEEN then Back To The Future. Or maybe The Breakfast Club. Well then there is 12 Angry Men. The cinematic landscape is littered with gems which have changed the way we view the world, treat each other and left a lasting impact on the pop culture zeitgeist. Movies are an artwork I have always appreciated and I hope the next three years help me to further understand every detail of the craft.
In addition, as a man addicted to television, I would recommend the reviews offered by The AV Club. I read the review every time I watch a new episode of TV and it really adds a new layer of enjoyment to see the episode through the eyes of a professional.
Thank you for you time,
Jeremy
PS…
