ACTION EXERCISE

Isn’t it always the way that what seems so simple, turns out to be brain-wracking and intense. Our first homework exercise as part of ‘Box’ was to pre-produce and film for a thirty second sequence, with ourselves as the main actor performing one simple action. One of the prompts was that this didn’t need to be interesting, however, it needed to be thoughtful and well made. Yet, I think I got these switched and ended up filming an action that could have been much more uncomplicated but produced at a higher quality.

I struggled with the same sort of thing I did with ‘Make The Bed’, and I thought an action piece involving me turning my fairy lights on and off would be fun and visually engaging, but I think the edit turned out a little more sloppy and a little less magical than I had hoped. Ultimately, if I were to do it again, I would have done something much more straightforward like sitting in a chair or brushing my teeth. I believe if I had done this I would have been able to focus more on the edit than getting wrapped up in how pretty the shot was. I also didn’t spend any time on correcting exposure or anything, most likely because I don’t know how to do this – but it is going to be necessary at some point.

However, at the end of the day, my final action piece is still important to me as I think it represents my reluctantly to let go of aesthetics and embrace the somewhat technical side this studio presents. My aim this semester, taking into account what I have already produced, is to forget a little bit about my perfectionist/‘arty’ side when it comes to pre-production, as I’m used to spending hours fretting over what I’m going to create. I also want to learn a lot more about the technical side of editing, hoping that it will help me in the long run.

MAKE THE BED

While I would have loved to reflect on a slightly more interesting exercise like ‘Lenny’, rather than ‘Make The Bed’, my practice in syncing audio and video didn’t go so well, hence ‘Lenny’ still exists as a choppy piece of art with non-existing audio. However, ‘Make The Bed’ turned out to be a more critical learning experience than I anticipated.

Overall, I was happy with the outcome of ‘Make The Bed’, and not just because the exercise came around the same time I needed to wash all of my bedding. In the end, six shots made it into the cut, though I filmed a lot more than six and took about an hour to get it all recorded. If I learnt anything, it’s that I took far too long stressing over what the shots would look like, and spending too much time there when I could have put more time and effort into the edit.

While I do like the video and am happy with the shots that resulted, I wish I had thought out the pacing the edit slightly more. When I watch it back, I’m overwhelmed by a sense that I’m rushing, and in 40 seconds there is so much happening really quickly. Generally, when I make my bed in the morning it’s a slow, relaxing activity that is normally done quite leisurely – nothing is really upbeat or exciting about it. I don’t really believe my edit of ‘Make The Bed’ reflects that, I’m almost stressed out by the whole thing.

If I were to repeat this exercise, I would have filmed with a more serene mindset, hopefully achieving much more calm shots to match the mood of the piece that I’m imagining in my mind. I would have also put less shots into the sequence, making use of the 40 seconds with longer, more purposeful clips.

I’m currently in the process of setting up my own blog, one about fashion… it’s not a subject I take lightly. I’ve been trying to gather knowledge about what grabs people’s attention in this fast paced, social media frenzied world we live in. Here are some of my curated thoughts.

if it initially pleases the eyes, the eyes will want more

the more you post, the more your content is likely to gain traction

but make sure it’s what YOU think it quality – don’t try to copy someone else

not essential. not easy, either. but it certainly does help.

Lectorial/Readings – Week 11

Image source: Netflix
Pictured: ‘Riverdale’ stars

This week, Dr Ramon Labato presented a guest lecture on recent changes in the television industry, including the impact of streaming modes like Netflix.

What counts as TV these days is very subjective, and there is a notion that the internet and social media tv based viewing are killing old-school television. However, according to the Q4 2016 Australian Multi-Screen Report, Australian homes spend an average of 2.7 hours watching traditional broadcast television, compared to 0.5 hours on average spent viewing online video. So although non-traditional online viewing is still on the rise and many Australians spread their viewing across multiple devices, TV remains by far the most-watched screen.

So while TV is not necessarily approaching death in the future of our increasingly complex media consumption, understanding the multifaceted nature of TV is crucial to all players in the market.

Some of what was discussed in the lectorial revolves around the direction of the younger generation and how they consume media, compared to a different experience older generations typically share. While some are excited by new-found freedom and tailored tastes when consuming television, others are concerned that adolescents are missing out on a cultural encounter of mass media viewing – therefore “promoting social polarization.” (Webster, 2016)

Myself and many others grew up watching ‘Friends’, a classic 90s, early 2000s sitcom that would be on the television anytime we came home from school. It was something we all watched and discussed the next day – a phenomenon we all shared together. Although I find this occurring less and less as I grow up, the same sort of concept is still there. Now with the advancement of social media, I find we are able to connect upon ideas and share our interests faster and more effectively than ever before.

One day, you’ll have a Netflix original like ‘Riverdale’ come onto the scene, and the next, almost every teenager is watching it and communicating their thoughts online, or at least reading others’. To me, it’s social union at its finest.

Lectorial/Readings – Week 10

This week’s lectorial featured Kyla Brettle as a guest lecturer, giving advice on how to put an audio piece together in the most effective way. I was instantly thankful to hear her speak because I knew I’m not very experienced in creating anything audio based without images or video to support, so I’m glad Kyla was so helpful.

Something that stood out to me as an important lesson was using the most powerful bits of sound to your advantage in progressing the story line or audio piece. Identifying the most compelling moments, ones that ‘make your hair stand on end’ and not just putting them anywhere in the storyboard. According to Kyla, it’s best to put your second best bit of content at or up close to the front of the piece, and the greatest bit at the climax of the piece (close to or at the very end of the piece). After this, your task is to then create the best path between these two points in audio.

Another point that seemed prominent to me was the art of being subtle in your work. When working the soundscape of a piece, using sound effects in strictly obvious places versus more subtle points in the storyline can differentiate a high quality piece from a less creative one. For example, rather than using the sound of a train when a narrator first mentions being at the station may not be as effective as working in the sound of the train earlier, so the audience anticipates it in the text, making it stick out more. This is why some sound designers, when the narrators mention a cat, use the sound of a dog barking instead. 

Something we were always advised of in drama class is that silence can be just as powerful as noise, and not saying anything lets the audience fill in the gaps themselves. I found it interesting that this can be true of an audio piece too, where a lull in sound can be used to immobilise the listener and capture their attention, often causing the audience to crave more/a resolution. I believe this is something I would like to implement in our PB4 to create a more provocative and stimulating piece.

Workshop – Week 10

In this week’s workshop, we covered started by covering some simple elements of sound design, including perspective and social distance.

Perspective:

• Figure: Most important/focus of attention
• Ground: Less prominent, ‘creates the listener’s social world’, setting context
• Field: Provides spatial ‘volume’, background, more distant

Social Distance – your (listener) relationship with the sound:

• Intimate – soft, close, whispering
• Personal – a close friend, relaxed, conversational, familiar
• Informal – still casual, maybe a bit nervous
• Formal – lectures, monotone, less variation, written/prepared speech
• Public – shouty, a voice amongst many

We then moved onto listening to an audio documentary called ‘My Lobotomy’. The piece by NPR primarily follows a man named Howard Dully, uncovering secrets of his own transorbital lobotomy that was performed when he was only a young boy. An extremely confronting composition, I found the audio rather difficult to listen to, perhaps because there was no visuals involved so only having the story to focus on made it all the more intense.

Whilst taking in the audio documentary, we also wrote down the noticeable story elements, sonic elements and sonic qualities, as shown below.

Image source: British Comedy Guide Pictured L to R: ‘My Dad Wrote A Porno’ narrators James, Jamie and Alice

Initiative Post – Week 10

I’m a big fan of a podcast every now and then, so if you’re looking for some ear candy to spice up your daily routine, I’m here to help.

1. ‘My Dad Wrote a Porno’

Slightly late to the party on this one, with the first series debuting in 2015 and reaching over 2.5 million downloads, ‘My Dad Wrote a Porno’ is unexpectedly hilarious to put it mildly. It’s a UK podcast about Jamie Morton and his dad’s late-blooming career as a writer of substandard erotica. Each episode sees Jamie and his two best friends, James and Alice, reading a chapter every week out loud and reacting to the cringe-worthy craftsmanship of the explicit novel. If you think you do not really want to listen to 13 episodes of adults giggling over smutty material, you may want to think again.

2. ‘Nancy’

Hosted by BFFs Kathy Tu and Tobin Low, Nancy offers provocative, brazen, and amusing conversations about the modern LGBTQ experience. Featuring special guest interviews and intimate personal recounting, Nancy shines in its ability to express an empathetic sense of how it feels to be young and searching.

3. ‘Bigmouth’

Pulling apart the latest in music, books and film, Bigmouth provides an unpretentious, clever view on all things pop culture. Presented by Andrew Harrison and Matt Hall, both seasoned reviewers in the business, the podcast also features many guest reviewers including Alexis Petridis, Robin Turner from Heavenly Records, Jude Rogers and more, discussing what are, according to Matt, “things that shouldn’t really matter to grown people.”

4. Meditation Oasis 

If you’re after something different that your usual commute to school or work podcast (although this one could be used exactly for that if you like), check out Mary and Richard Maddux’s guided meditation podcast. While each has a general theme or purpose (letting go of resistance, body awareness), all are delivered in calm, quiet tones and may be suitable for bedtime enjoyment if you struggle winding down at night.

5. Rabbits 

Rabbits is the new horror-thriller podcast that has you questioning what’s real and what’s fiction. Host Carly Parker suspects her friend’s disappearance can be explained by a mysterious game that, according to rumour, can make players go insane or die. It’s not easy to explain, but Carly’s search for her missing friend will have you fascinated and intrigued from the first second.

Initiative Post – Week 9

This week I came across a Ted Talk by former Judge Jim Tamm, an expert in building effective and collaborative workplace environments.

Jim speaks a lot about chickens, because according to him, they have a lot to teach us about collaboration. He’s interested in looking at the difference between what he calls ‘Green Zone chickens’ (chickens who get along well with each other) and ‘Red Zone chickens’ (chickens who are aggressive and try to suppress the egg production of other chickens by harming them).

Green zone chickens who were housed together had an egg production increase of 260% in just one year. The green zone was obviously more supportive, cooperative and more highly skilled at collaboration. As for the red zone chickens, after a year, there were hardly any of them left. #rip

It provides us an important lesson that translates into our own workplace environments – the one defining trait of the red zone chickens was DEFENSIVENESS. When you start getting defensive, you bring those around you down, not to mention yourself.

When issues arise in a group-work situation, people generally start to feel vulnerable, which is when this defensive behaviour arises. According to Tamm, “our thinking becomes rigid, our IQ drops about 20 points and we simply become stupid… and then you end up with a room full of red zone people who cannot solve a problem.”

Stop feeling defensive? Of course, easier said than done. Especially when you think you’re right and everyone else is wrong. Defensiveness can rule us and we don’t even recognise it until it’s too late.

However, it’s important to recognise that when we get defensive, it’s usually not from other people. It’s from our own fears that we don’t want to feel. Not surprisingly, Tamm says that one of the biggest fears we have is our own competency.

Indubitably, teamwork is crucial in many job areas, so it’s helpful to notice when this sort of defensive behaviour comes up and how it affects your collaboration process. Some common tell-tale signs of this are quickened breathing, withdrawal into deadly silence, blaming or shaming others and simply wanting to be right. And if you think you’ve never experienced any of these before, it’s highly likely you’re in denial, or as Tamm casually puts it, “overly medicated.”

Overcoming defensiveness is not something that can usually be done instantly, but it is extremely beneficial if you want to create a highly productive and positive workplace. The first step is acknowledging it, and if you can do that, you’re already halfway there.

Good luck collaborating.