Today’s lectorial, given to us by Daniel Binns, was based around the idea of ‘narrative’ and discussing the definition of it.

The notion of ‘everything is story | story is everything’ is one that appears to be quite subjective and almost confusing. After watching Daniel Askill’s “We Have Decided Not To Die” (2004), I believe that not everything can be considered a ‘story’ or ‘narrative’. Askill’s creation is presented more as an art piece, something quite separated from your traditional ‘Hollywood’ idea of a narrative. There was no character development furthered by cause and effect and the sequences were not logically ordered.

In saying this, not everything needs to be narrative driven! Askill’s work is a masterpiece, a beautiful piece of art.

Today in class we started brainstorming our Project Brief #4.

We got given the header of ‘technologies’ to research. At first my group really struggled to find a point at which to start our assignment, as it is entirely up to us to decide on what aspect of our given topic we would research and hone in on.

We’ve decided to explore the way that the different major ‘technologies’ throughout the ages have influenced the world around them, and the context that these technologies exist within. Our assignment is going to cover the printing press, wireless, television and the Internet. It’s going to be really interesting as we found that everything has essentially been leading up to the Internet which is a massive culmination of all the different technologies that have come before it. Like the wireless, television and printing press, the Internet serves to inform and make communication easier.

We figured that technology is created to serve a purpose and to make our lives simpler, yet found that there is a dark aspect of technology that is actually pulling us apart as humans? Are we benefiting from technology in the long run? Will technology be our demise? Hmmm…..

I’ve been watching lots of Kardashians and wanted to share my thoughts on it. After the lectorial, I really looked at the show as a text! It’s a text, isn’t it? So crazy – these people have so much power. Enjoy.

What is a text, and what is textual analysis in Media studies?

Texts are vehicles for the production of cultural meaning. Texts in the media world include images, documents, social practices and institutions. A text can be anything that is studied. Even a haircut is a text, according to G.Branston & R.Stafford, ‘Approaching Media Texts’ (Ch.1) in The Media Student’s Book. London: Routledge, 2010.

Texts don’t always give off one definitive meaning. Texts can be interpreted differently by different groups of people and social groups.

I think that all media texts can be deconstructed and analysed by anyone whom the text in question speaks to.

As an audience, we make sense of texts by relating them back to us and acknowledging how they affect us and the social climate that we live in. I can agree with this. Especially in this media age, we are constantly taking in all of the information that we view on the internet and interpret it to our own lives. We save what we value and we skim past what we don’t. With the media being so omnipresent in our lives, texts are all we’ve got.

Today in Media One we viewed everyone’s Project Brief 3 videos. All really impressive. Everyone has really interesting friends who have truly lived incredible lives.

I’m always really nervous when the time comes for everyone to watch my video. It was okay though. My table, which consisted of Eliza, Sally and Sam, had some really constructive feedback on my project brief.

Their initial response was that the found footage worked well in my video and gave it a sense of continuity. Eliza mentioned that the footage was all very positive which pairs well with Brodie’s personality and was definitely an aspect that I attempted to intertwine with the footage. They mentioned that it really encapsulated Brodie’s curiosity of the world around him. A creative possibility that they thought would serve my project brief well would be to add more Brodie. I agree with this to a degree but purposefully put less physical shots of Brodie in it to really contextualise the found footage and to allow the audience to interpret their own idea of Brodie.

I also gave some feedback on Sally’s work. My initial response to her video was that I thought that she used the original footage of her friend with his guitar in a way that really complimented the found footage. It really gave off the idea that he loves his guitar and it makes up a substantial part of his life. A different creative route that I think Sally could have approached was with the sound – I think she could have played around with some interesting sounds that weren’t created by guitars. Could have really altered the meaning of her text and thrown the audience off. A link to her work is here:

PROJECT BRIEF #3

My project brief is subjected on my friend Brodie. He is here in Melbourne for one year on a tourist visa and can be seen and heard in my project brief. I tried to capture his positive outlook on life, his existential curiosity and willingness to explore the world and learn from society around him.

I believe that I captured the essence of Brodie quite well in my project brief. I captured his general nature and was able to contextualise him quite well by using the found footage. I still think that I fall short in my abilities to express a certain point by editing clips together. I need to sharpen my technical abilities so much in my opinion.

An epiphany that I reached whilst creating this brief was how crucial editing is to making a comment on something. The placement on certain clips next to other clips can exercise meaning in different ways and it was fun to play around with that concept.

What I learnt most in the developing of this project was how crucial technique is to the broader Media landscape. After watching my clip back and seeing technical faults, it worries me that a good idea is not enough to get you by in the world. A good understanding of technique and different practices goes hand in hand with your conceptual idea and in unison, is what makes for a great piece of art.

This weeks lectorial was right up my alley. I love collaborations in media and art and all of the great creative possibilities that it brings. I think everyone has a favourite collaboration whether they know it or not, especially in music. I love when artists work with other artists to create a hybrid of ideas that culminate in something great.

One of my favourite collaborations is this one between French alt-rock-popstars Phoenix and American director Sofia Coppola for the song ‘Chloroform’. I think it’s beautiful and you can really see the merging of these two artists, in Coppola’s unique filming style and feminine outlook and with Phoenix’s unique sound. So good.

Today in our lectorial we learnt all about collaboration and the positives and negatives of it. We also discussed some techniques to ensure that everyone within a group is collaborating effectively and fairly.

Some pros:
GOOD = better ideas come from more heads.
GOOD = inspiration can bounce off different people.
GOOD = support and having someone to catch you when you fall.
GOOD = maintain focus/drive – it makes you more responsible.
GOOD = you can get projects done faster.
GOOD = share the workload.
GOOD = can tackle BIGGER projects.

Some cons:
BAD = you end up doing all the work.
BAD = you rely on other people and they let you down.
BAD = you don’t feel comfortable.
BAD = you can’t compromise with your team. Logger heads.

I personally really enjoy working collaboratively. I find the social aspect to be incredibly stimulating and can add an element of enjoyment to an otherwise laborious assessment task. I also find that I learn more effectively in a group, as it’s a great place to talk out ideas and delegate specific tasks to people who enjoy them. We live in a world where we must rely on others for help so working in groups can really set someone up for success.

In today’s class we got to play around with the Zoom H2/N recorder. It was great to familiarise ourselves with a piece of equipment that will no doubt be playing a big role in our future studies. We went out and recorded around the university and I made some observations. I found it really hard to record something without the audio file picking up A LOT of background noises. It leads me to believe that to pick up a single voice you would have to conduct the recording in a studio like setting, which is totally fine. I guess if I wanted to record the streets, nothing would be more authentic than a lot of background noise.

Here I am, sitting in the Atelier Space in week 12. A stressful time but the best news story has come along that made me think about copyright and the effects that it has on individuals.

LINK TO ARTICLE: http://petapixel.com/2015/05/21/richard-prince-selling-other-peoples-instagram-shots-without-permission-for-100k/

Essentially, an artist named Richard Prince is screen-shotting other peoples’ instagram photos and selling them under the guise of art. The individuals responsible for these instagram posts have not given consent for Prince to use the photos, but it doesn’t matter. What Richard Prince is doing is totally legal as instagram is considered a public domain. Prince’s appropriations are considered fair use which I think is a total flaw in the copyright system. I love art and crossing boundaries, but this is just ridiculous. You just can’t blur the lines of copyright and fair use and not compensate the true artist of a particular piece of work, even if it just a silly little instagram post.

RICHARD PRINCE SUCKS 🙁