Errol Morris has an interesting Documentary style, because he films his participants in a place that they are comfortable and often uses the rule of thirds to frame them. The story is about the creation of a Pet Cemetary, and he gets the perspectives of both the rendering companies (companies devoted to repurposing dead animals as resoruces) and the people backing and the people working to create and manage the Pet Cemetary. There’s a lot of emotion involved, and the interviewees are often filmed in a position that you can clearly see their eyes. I like the way that Errol has carefully cut the documentary to incorperate the silences before and after they speak, and also leaving in parts of the interview that left it feeling authentic and wholesome, like the sound of a car horn driving past, even though the interviewee commented on it.

I noticed that Errol communicates a lot with silence, often a scene will feature the interviewee in a natural habitated accomidated with nothing, just a still shot of the character to let you think about what you’ve seen and heard and how it makes you feel.  I noticed that he would often scenes run a little bit long, and leave a moment of silence after the interviewee has said what they want to say, most of the time, the person would fill the silence. Due to the lack of music within the piece, it was a refreshing sound to hear one of the characters gently strum on the guitar, and it put the audience at ease.

He would also often convey something about the character he was interviewing with the landscape that surrounded them. For example, he filmed a wealthy insurance businessman at a desk surrounded with awards, and he filmed a young college graduate in his small home in the country.

For my final project brief, I would like to include accomidate parts of Errols style, like

• The use of silence when presenting an emotional scene
• Filming characters in their natural habitat, (if possible)
• Put the camera focus on the eyes
• The use of Rule of Thirds whenever possible

While working on my third Project Brief about the immersive effects of a Gambling room filled with slot machines, I decided to briefly look into addiction as a whole.

Addiction and Immersion are more related than we think. Drugs, and their sensory stimulation, slot machines and their flashing colours and lights can create a truly immersive experience that we could all easily create an addiction to. The definition of addiction has been argued to have several meanings. Prior to the 19th century, addiction meant being “given over” or devoted to something, but after the 19th century, the word addiction typically revolved around drugs, withdrawal symptoms and tolerance, particularly around the anti-opium movement. Arguably, addiction is not limited to drug use, it’s not always harmful, and withdrawal symptoms and tolerance aren’t necessarily linked to addiction. (1) The definition of “Addicted” became solidified in the Cambridge dictionary as “unable to stop taking drugs, or doing something as a habit” (2)

Gambling, like most addictions requires compulsive engagement and attention. There are many similarities between drug and non-drug addiction, known as behavioural addiction. Behavioural addiction involves a compulsion to seek a natural reward despite negative consequences to the person’s physical, mental, social or financial well-being, this natural reward could include money, food, sex etc.  Both forms of addiction include symptoms of cravings, tolerance, withdrawal, the inability to control their behaviour, and elevated rates of relapse. Studies have shown that non-drug related rewards can alter neuroplasticity in regions of the brain, and affect dopamine receptors that would also be affected by drug abuse. (3)

 (4) 

Cambridge University defines Immersion as “the fact of becoming completely involved in something”, similar to an addiction but for a shorter period of time. The long-term effects of both a behavioural and drug addiction affect a protein known as “FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog B” or “ΔFosB” (DeltaFosB).  This protein plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of pathological behaviour, changing the way that your brain responds with the dopamine release reward system of the brain. Once an addiction is formed, breaking the addiction requires lots of time and effort, because the brain needs to be rewired. (3)

I’m hoping, that by researching specifically what makes slot machines and a Gambling room so addictive, I can learn what immersive techniques are being used, and apply it to my work in the future.

(1) Alexander, B.K, and Schweighofer A.R.F 1988, Defining “Addiction” Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia

(2) http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/addicted

(3) Olsen CM (December 2011). “Natural rewards, neuroplasticity, and non-drug addictions”. Neuropharmacology.

(4) Drugs, Brains, and Behaviour: The Science of Addiction https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain

Frisson has colloquial terminology regarding how people describe it, such as “shivers down your spine” or “the chills” but essentially, it’s the feeling that makes the hairs stand on the back of your neck. It primarily concerns arousal of the automatic nervous system. (ANS) ANS is activated usually because of a very high or low frequency, or rapidly changing sounds. These properties, as well as increased heart rate are often experienced with the onset of frisson.

¹The reason we experience frisson is still a philosophical debate which can be approached from perspectives of psychology and neuroscience.  (Cochrane, 2010.) Strong emotional experiences, ones that often elicit frisson take place in both the caudate nucleus, and the nucleus accumbens, which are parts of the brain which activate moments before and after an emotional peak. Patients that experienced frisson had increased blood flow to parts of the brain that were also activated by surrounding responses like food, sex, and addictive drugs. This suggests that once we experience frisson, we develop a craving for it, though that doesn’t explain why we experience that frisson in the first place.

“It is possible that the reason we develop such affinity for frisson-inducing music is that once we experience musical frisson, we develop a dopaminergic anticipation for its return, effectively becoming slightly addicted to the musical stimulus”

Though this journal can find out which parts of the brain are activated when people experience frisson from music, they can’t really understand why music would generate dopamine release in the first place because of it. ² David Huron argues that having multiple people experience frisson can form group mood synchronization, creating a better relationship between people hence having a better defence against other human groups, though the claim is unsupported with evidence.

After an extensive search for theories behind the experience of frisson, my search came up short, and there isn’t much information behind why frisson would ever be evolutionarily beneficial.

 ^{(1) by Lucas D. Harrison and Psyche Loui (2014) Thrills, Chills, Frissons, and Skin Orgasms: Toward an Integrative Model of Transcendent Psychophysiological Moments in Music}

^{(2) DAVID HURON (2001)  : Is Music an Evolutionary Adaptation? School of Music, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA}

I decided to research the effects of the two most common Hallucinogens used in Australia. LSD (Lysergic Acid di-ethyl amide) and Psilocybin. Hallucinogens are very immersive, and I wanted to know if we could apply similar effect to these substances to create more immersive media.

I’ve decided to use the journal article to describe the effects of these drugs, called

“A Comparative Review of the Neuro-Psychopharmacology of Hallucinogen-Induced Altered States of Consciousness: The Uniqueness of Some Hallucinogens” by Sayin, Umit. NeuroQuantology; Bornova Izmir”

LSD (Lysergic Acid di-ethyl amide): When consuming between 80-150 micrograms of LSD, colours become very vivid, and it takes the human brain and mind on an unexplainable “journey” which lasts 7-8 hours. The text refers to the 3 dominant changes in perception with the use of LSD are Visual, Acoustic, Tactile and Body perception. Overall, the common trait that they share is a sense of amplification of that sense. “Sounds may seem to be more profound… Music may become unbelievably deep and philosophical.” And “the tactile sensations may become extremely vivid.  When eyes are closed different geometric images, geometrical self-repeating figures of coloured fractals… Kaleidoscopic images are very commonly perceived during LSD use.”  Visual patterns are reported multiple times throughout the article, and could very much contribute to an immersive experience. The human brain has evolved to have pattern recognition, and there’s obviously a sense of satisfaction when a pattern is found.

Psilocybin (“Magic Mushrooms”) Psilocybin is similar to LSD in the fact that it creates a colourful images, and can induce visual patterns. But a dominant notable difference is that Psilocybin induces a more of a narrative throughout the experience or ‘trip’. The journal defines it as a feeling of “touching and unifying with a higher reality”, auditory hallucinations, a dreamy state, “switching between the worlds”

When picking an immersive footage for PB2, we found that the majority of the class picked the video containing the most colour, and half of the class argued that they enjoyed the song with a voice, as it implied that the piece had a narrative. A hypothesis to what makes Hallucinogen consumption such an immersive experience is its ability to overwhelm its user with a range of stimulant effects, and the want to establish a pattern or narrative within it. People lose interest if they are given all the story and information at once, so they need to be given enough information but not too much, so that they’re left curious, and constantly seeking new information.

Alex Grey was an artist who was inspired by the effects of LSD and other Hallucinogenic drugs, and the paintings he drew were often very symmetrical, reinforcing the idea that the experiences are captivating because of pattern recognition. Here are a few examples of his works.

How can we apply this information to media production?

The described experiences were immersive because they…

• Overwhelm several senses simultaneously
• Convey the possibility of an alluring narrative, but one that wasn’t instantly understood.
• Allow the user to recognise patterns that they otherwise wouldn’t.

We can apply this to media by producing film and audio that…

• Periodically is rich with colour or volume, followed with the contrary.
• Doesn’t instantly give away a clear narrative or message.
• Has visual patterns such as the rule of thirds, and audio patterns like beats time signatures.

An example of patterns in film is within scenes from the Grand Budapest Hotel directed by Wes Anderson:

Following the final media lecture, I decided that I would like to do some research on what comes under the umbrella of “Media”. To give me some ideas of what I’d like to work on in the studios in the future.

Print Media

Print media has been around a long time, originally predominantly in regards to Newspapers, magazines, books etc. But nowadays print media is now more widespread and accessible easily online.

Television Media

Television media is different to media like movies. It refers to not only television channels and shows, but now also the television media that’s streamed on the internet.

Movie Media 

Media in terms of films and motion picture technology are often studied as a separate subject all together due to how huge the category of cinematography is, and how much can be conveyed using the correct film techniques. Once again the services for viewing movies have been largely extended with the internet.

Video Game Media

Yes, Video games is regarded as a form of media. Gaming Consoles, as old as the original Atari are regarded as an interactive form of media. With the huge development in gaming graphics, stories and interaction over the course of the last 30 years, video games are likely to become a more respected and renown form of Media and Communications.

Media overall is a very broad term that is assigned information and ideas shared through a means of mass communication. eg the internet, television radio etc.

This makes media a great subject for me specifically, because in the future, my ideal career path will ideally surround communication, without being tied down to a specific topic or idea.

Kristin Lieb starts her speech by talking about a documentary that “Completely changed her life” it was called Killing us Softly” by Jean Kilbourne. Which reveals the way that women are represented in ads designed to “keep women in their place”. Kristin is a Marketing media student, who began working as a professor in her early 40’s.

The terms “sex sells” is a term that people often overlook, but it really has a rough meaning. She also talks about the fact that upon showing her students the documentary, they responded with contrasting responses. One student said that the advertisements shown in the documentary must be extreme examples, Another student said that it could explain why young teenage woman are so self conscious about their appearance. Kristin examines the idea of how long it takes for teenage girls to feel ready to go out, in terms of putting on makeup and trying their best to built up their confidence enough to enter the real world.

Kristin then talks about how pop stars and sexuality is represented in popular culture. She talks about the types of popular female musicians fit in to the music industry, with the few examples mentioned:

• The “good girl”: Sweet and kind (most artists stay there) which leads to…
• a “Temptress” The pop star moves now represent themselves as more sexually desirable, “clothes begin to fall off”
• a “Diva” is a female pop star that’s regarded for her talent and accomplishments as an artist rather than their looks and their actions. An example is Adele.
• the “Hot Mess” is often an artist who undergoes something like addiction and falls to the pressure of being a pop star. An example is Amy Winehouse or Whitney Houston

What these categories have in common is the fact that they’re based on a shallow judgement of looks and the way that the artists are viewed as a person, rather than their achievements. They also are temporary positions to be in.

Kristin Lieb pushes the idea in her classroom that any of her students can talk about anything, and there should be no restriction of freedom of speech. Upon being asked on the opinion of Beyonce, the students mostly agree that she’s great without referring to much about her as a musician. A boy in the class says that a reason Beyonce is so powerful is because “Everybody wants to fuck her”. Kristin saw that at the core, that’s not necessarily incorrect.

A band called Colliapy Jones a 14-16 year old trio competed in a competition called “The battle of the Bands” and came 3rd place, and the advice that the director or judge of the competition gave to them was that they should “play up the sultry in the act to reign in the audience.” Which was sexist because not only were they very young but they would be told that if they were men. This blew up on the internet and on Facebook. They got covered in Billboard, MTV and other media coverage for it.

High Fidelity refers to the reproduction of sound with little distortion, giving a result very similar to the original. I wanted to look at high fidelity and low fidelity in terms of music. From what I can hear, music with high fidelity (as well as being some Jack Black movie) seems to have a lot of treble and high pitched sharp noises.

For example:

But it seems that Low Fidelity or “Lofi” music also has a very large fan base. Lofi music is very easy listening, and the lack of sharp pitched noise makes the sound quite relaxing.

For example:

This is interesting, because it means that I can use the different fidelity in the future to create a more diverse soundscape, and either create a peaceful and calm vibe or a sharp and intense one depending on the scene that I’m trying to create.

https://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/hohonu/documents/Vol08x16EffectsofAdvertisingonSociety.pdf

by Goldie Hayko

This text examines the emotional and psychological effects that advertising has on a person. It also briefly touches on the history of advertising, dating all the way back to the 3000s BC, and 1472 in English culture.

I’ve chosen to read this text to learn more about the effects of advertising, particularly because I didn’t really agree with Tim Wu’s argument in the text “Attention Merchants”

The study of advertisements and the effects they have on a person mentally have been studied since the late 1800’s. Some psychologists believe that people are “subliminally stimulated” which can causes people to think in a way that is almost controlled by the media, though people in the market business believe they are simply trying to attract customers. Goldie brings up the example of the author Richard Pollay’s metaphor of “brain surgery” when he talks about the influence that advertising has on the human mind, they influence people in the most intimate of spaces, our own homes. Advertisements are designed “to attract attention, change attitudes and command our behavior”. Advertisements send messages in a very easy to absorb way, and we take in concepts and ways of thinking without even knowing it.

“Commercials manipulate people’s strongest desires and greatest fears to convince them to buy the preferred products.” -Allen Kanner and Renee Soule. Goldie gathers various sources and materials to draw the following negative effects that advertising has.

• advertising often promotes products that are harmful to us, like alcohol and fast food, which essentially leads to an unhealthy lifestyle.
• Advertising upholds stereotypes regarding class, race and gender, leading to an inadequacy amongst people, and allowing prejudice to thrive
• “Advertising projects an unrealistic standard of the female body and thinness”, leading to woman, and particularly in young girls to feel like purchasing the advertised product in order to look identify more with the advertised model.

The author Dinyar Godrej regards the effects of advertising initially quite non existent, though long after viewing the advertisement “the effects will show up”

Advertising often targets a young audience, and because young people are easily influenced, they become more easily ingrained with a warm connection with a brand or company or “nostalgic childhood memories of a brand” -Schlosser

“Studies are now showing an effect in young men as well, with an increase in awareness of and concerns about their bodies and thus increase in body dissatisfaction” -Lavine, Sweeny, Wagner.

On an contrasting note, John E Calfee describes how advertising could have positive effects. In the 1970s, studies had been done to show that fiber could help prevent cancer, which led companies like Kellogg’s creating cereal’s that were rich with fiber, backing up their advertisements by saying that it would lead to a healthier lifestyle and prevent the risk of cancer. This greatly increased the consumers consumption of fiber rich foods.

After reading this text, I can say that I’ve learnt more about the long term effect of advertising, and it went more into depth with legitimate examples.

As a final assignment for Media 1 at the end of the first semester, My group, consisting of Matthew James and Qiming Zhang set out to create an Audio Essay which talked about Authenticity in Pop Music, the negative publicity that artists like Rebecca Black receive, and looking for what kind of artistic expression receives the most audience attention.

Initially we faced difficulties in how to structure the recording. Matt wanted to structure it like a kind of talk radio game show, and I wanted to structure it as practically a written essay read out loud. We came to a great middle ground which keep the audio interesting and full of captivating soundscapes and interesting formal and informal language, whilst also keeping the audio text academic and relating to a topic with references to peer reviewed journal articles. We initially started recording the first things that came to mind regarding the subject. Shortly after, we decided to gather the opinions of a local audience in the form of a vox pop, and create responses to the comments they made and the opinions they had. Looking back, I would’ve liked to have conducted a larger vox pop, so that we could’ve had a larger sample size to work with, hopefully with many people saying similar things to create a stronger argument.

We related it to what we’d learnt in class about attention as much as we could, we talked about the different forms of Hyper and Deep attention with pop music requiring hyper attention and art music requiring deep, but we didn’t want to reference it so blatantly in the final copy.

Qiming sometimes had trouble communicating his ideas to us, due to his lack of confidence with English, so we did everything we could to include him within the audio recordings, and gave him the topic of talking about the contrast between eastern and western pop music, which he delivered within the audio recording.

We communicated on a Google Docs page as well as Facebook, having every thought and idea quickly written down and suggested as an option to add to our audio essay. Often we’d each take turns creating edits of the essay, and then combining the best of both versions. Shortly after we’d created a poor quality draft, we gathered feedback from the media professional who came to see the class workshop. Her name was Catherine, and she instructed that we should redo the recording to make our arguments key ideas more precise, and  play on the interesting group dynamic. Matt wanted to keep the feel of a casual talk show, and so Catherine suggested we record some of our audio from within a car while driving, to add a more casual connotation and more interesting soundscape. We inserted this idea into the recording implying we were freely talking on our way to and from the vox pop.

We ended up with many recordings, many of them often not including very academic material, and had to be left out. The end product was a result of sifting through many recordings, and picking the best parts from each.

Some of the things I found difficult were.

• Editing the recordings to have the same background noise, eg white noise and indicators of the car
• Keeping track of the huge number of recordings that were made
• Keeping up with the edits that were constantly changing throughout the group.

With the audio essay now completed, I’m happy with how it turned out. Personally, I would’ve preferred it if we had used more scripted material, to keep the audio more compact and precise, but I can appreciate the casual delivery, as it makes the audience more calm and interested. I can safely say that I could apply the experience to future projects, and create a more solid and well planned out audio documentary in the future.