So everything happens to strike twelve right in front our eyes; week twelve and the time when this is due. The learning graph above provides this objective visual of my first semester learning experience in this Media course. Indeed, everything seems to be heading into the positive direction and upon reflecting on my media blog, I realise that five more semesters of this isn’t as overwhelming as it seems. Probably the biggest realisation for me is realising how broad media actually is and to recognise these four components from a visual perspective, goes to show how much I’ve grown as a media practitioner and will continue to throughout these next two and a half years.

Of course, technical skills don’t develop overnight. Prior to this course, I’ve had experience using Premiere Pro software but was a little rusty without having used it for quite a few months. Through the Haiku exercise, I was able to reinvigorate these editing skills in an abstract and simple way. I mainly focussed on using transitions and text that resonates with the beat of the background music, and experimenting with using black and white rather than colour. I’ve always had this love/hate relationship with sound in the past that I was keen on this sound interview activity. Moreover, being introduced to the Zoom H2n microphone was the first time it felt like was the beginning of what I consider; my journey to becoming a media practitioner. From this exercise, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve hired and used the mic for project briefs and for initiative projects. As we progressed from smartphones to camcorders and DSLRs, we combined camera techniques, sound and editing through an interview and in preparation for project brief three. As a result, I was particularly proud of the outcome of project brief three. With my expanded knowledge and a few weeks of practical experience, I became confident enough to utilise my skills in an initiative post on a recent overseas trip (check out Frame by Frame). With this particular week focussing on photographs (one of my favourite weeks), I decided to focus on my post-production skills in a micro sense by paying attention to even the smallest of details. As soon as project brief four rolled around, I volunteered to be the main editor for the video essay. My Split Screen post describes how this task enabled me to have a creative outlet and utilise Premiere Pro in much more complex ways. Although my technical skills have significantly improved both during production and through Premiere Pro and Audacity, I still have a lack of experience in other editing software and essential production aspects such as lighting.

Personally, professionalism has been the biggest learning curve and I’m glad that this course had put us in the deep end from the beginning. Critiquing everyone else’s PB1 and reflecting/comparing it to my own was a task that wasn’t necessarily hard itself, but rather positioning myself to be put in that mindset in order to improve and grow with future projects took some getting used to. PB2 wasn’t one of my proudest outcomes in both the video itself and my written reflection (and partially because it was a self-portrait), but I guess we all have to start from somewhere right? Once PB3 (an interview yay!) was proposed to us, I became overwhelmed by the bombardment of paperwork and being introduced by the reality and complexity of copyright in the media industry. Having worked independently for the previous weeks, PB4 reflected what I would regularly encounter as a media practitioner – being forced to work individuals you wouldn’t necessarily choose to work with. Thanks to my lucky stars, I was amongst a hardworking and dedicated group of individuals, which truly reflected in the rough cut feedback we received from Louise. Professionalism may not be the most exciting aspect of the course and I still need to adjust, but it allows me to stop once in a while to absorb the bigger picture.

Again, this would not be the most thrilling aspect of the course but studying and discussing about the conceptual/theoretical side of media was definitely some nutritious brain food for me. At first glance, I thought this was just going to be some repetition of Year twelve media, boy, how I was wrong. Week one came to me with an embrace and reassured me that my decision to study media (instead of science) was indeed the right decision (as you can check out), and discovering how much I was more of a hyper-attentive learner. As the weeks progressed, the readings became longer and at times, difficult to complete but the lectorials became more engaging and hands on in order to dissect the complexity of these various concepts. The one reading and presentation that has impacted me the greatest, is the comic book and editing presentation.  This lectorial and reading became pivotal towards how I approach editing and depict narrative in a more thought-provoking and appreciative way now. Likewise, my cinema studies posts not only impacted me the same way, but has also ruined the way I watch movies and shows (in a bitter-sweet way, of course) through the “art” of noticing. Although, this aspect of the course has blown my mind more times than expected, I do hope that the next semester will be more practical based.

The sense of my media practice would have to be my personal best and flows through my initiative posts. From my initial post,  I was able to showcase my train of thought by creatively bouncing off someone’s ideas – in this instance, Brian’s love for the eighties. The Melbourne moment exercise was when I realised that spontaneity is something I need once in a while to extend and ooze out my creativity in all forms of media (such as my “Frame by Frame” post I mentioned earlier). Since a blog isn’t restricted to a certain form, I decided to create a game post and was my first attempt to engage any of my (potential) readers or whoever just came across the post on their dashboard. My recent Bag Raider’s music review was my attempt at being more intimate in discussing something that I was passionate about and was inspired by a recent e-mail about work placement.

Ultimately, semester one has further cultivated my passion to work in the media industry and my own creative freedom. I’m looking forward to the engaging and practical aspects of this course that the studios will provide, and the work placement aspect (that I will hopefully get organised very soon!)

I have to admit, I was a nervous wreck on the inside when showcasing the rough cut to both Louise and my group. As the main editor, I was in charge of compiling the entire footage and gave me a creative outlet to an extent. The team and Louise seemed to be impressed with the analysis, the use of voiceover and host to camera approach. However, just like our audio essay, there has to be a significant amount of content that needs to be extracted in order to be within the five minute time frame.

The only footage that’s missing is our introduction and conclusion consisting of a split screen with multiple Emily’s entering the cinema, which texturizes the essay by providing some sort of narrative. Initially, the team and Louise had difficulty choosing what interesting and relevant information needed to be cut in order to stick to our controlling idea and avoid repetition.

After thoroughly reading the script, Louise was able to extract repeated lines and remove any slow paced gaps in the visuals to put us back on track into the texts and narratives concept rather than drifting off into institutions and audiences. As much as Louise is happy that we’re on track with our video essay thus far, we still need to source found footage, audio, splice the introduction and conclusion, add in captions, video effects, transitions and add in credits. Once again, fingers crossed this will ALL be accomplished once the clock strikes twelve!

If Wednesday workshop reminded me of anything, it’s that the media industry is much broader than I have ever thought. Louise (thankfully) gave us break from PB4 to discuss the importance of completing and searching for EIGHTY HOURS of work attachment. Let me just take a side note and write out the recipe for finding work placement.

Preparation time 
Less than three years

Time 
80+ hours

Ingredients
-Work attachment guide
-The necessary forms
-Your contact details
-Cover letter and resume
-Confidence and that smile of yours
-Your research

Method
1. Organise and know what you would like to do with your 80+ hours. It doesn’t necessarily have to be at one place.
2. Remember that you have to be supervised by a media professional.
3. Constantly refer to your work attachment guidelines.
4. Research on possible work attachment by using Google, have a chat to your tutors at RMIT, utilise that network of yours or check your RMIT email constantly.
5. Re-read/re-vamp/do your resume and cover letter (letter of introduction and expression of interest)
6. Email, ring or talk in person – pretty much get in contact with these media professionals. Never say “did you get my email?” Main thing is that you’re well prepared and that you make clear what you can offer them and what you’re looking for them to offer you.
7. Make email short and concise.
8. Wait for response.
9. Reply back to the person (approved or not).
10. Move onto another potential work attachment (if not approved).
11. Inform tutor of work attachment (if approved).
12. Fill out necessary paperwork and submit.
13. Confirm everything with everyone.
14. Enjoy and make the most out of that work attachment.
15. Repeat steps 3-14 if you would like to continue work attachment at another place that you’ve researched.
16. Write a 1,500 word reflection once 80+ hours have been completed and are currently in Media 6. Don’t make this reflection public.

A not-so detailed recipe but is essentially the gist of what is needed to graduate. But anyway, back to Wednesday workshop, there are many possible work environments that’s acceptable towards the media spectrum.

There’s the digital producer/integrated producer that branches out to an endless list of jobs; video producer, writer/copy editor, graphic designer and even a social media manager – just to name a few. These jobs involve working within a multidisciplinary team and finding internships in this field is prominent online. On the contrary, if I decide to head towards Film and T.V production, jobs are usually found through word of mouth and connections. The fast-paced and toughness of creative industries involves roles as a video producer, graphic artist, copywriter and (once again) many more. Internships in this industry can be found online or through (the obvious) advertisements and can be contacted through the creative director or production manager.

The possibilities seem endless! Now that we’re reaching the end of first semester, I’m still uncertain about what where I’d like to allocate my hours or even where my interests lay. I’ll have to stick to step 1-5 before I could eventually complete 6-16, but of course, not for too long.

Medium theory “focuses on such characteristics of each medium and how each medium (or each type of media) physically, socially and psychologically distinct from other media” – Murphie & Potts (2002)

As the definition suggests, media theory allows us to answer the question of “what is media?” in three philosophical concepts:
– Media as conduit (textual analysis)
– Media as languages (affordances)
– Media as environments (medium analysis)

We once had a strong belief in the Transmission Model where the message from the sender to the receiver was linear and irreversible, but since the conception of technological advances and media convergence it has proven that this model is almost obsolete.

Technological determinism refers to the belief that technology is the agent of social change. If we take a trip down memory lane, there was once a time where Walkman’s were once the must-have item in portable music devices, until the iPod revolutionised the capacity and portability of the way we listen to music a few decades later. Can you believe that the World Wide Web is only twenty-six-years-old?!

Even though they seem to be major game changers in the technological world, we can’t determine technology to be the sole “agent of social change”. In fact, we must take the cautionary note that “the structure of technological revolutions is neither simple, technologically determined, nor everywhere the same, either historically or culturally”. So even though, Facebook, the smartphone, the Cloud and any other digital device have impacted our social climate and lives in general, there’s other factors that need to be considered.

Any bets that PJ Ligouri’s idea for this short film from the pun itself: Office Space (2013). A few years back, my life consisted of binge-watching PJ’s videos and even being one of the reasons why I’ve developed an interest in narrative through film. PJ’s imagination goes wild with each film and story he produces. He takes it even further with his experimentation on film elements such mise-en scene and sound. Below I took a screenshot of my (messy) annotations on Office Space, one of my favourite videos by PJ.

(I have no idea why GIFs aren’t working on my blog posts nowadays)

Our aim for our video essay is to contrast the delivery of our audio essay through being entertaining, inclusive and engaging. Although our script features witty dialogue and familiar pop culture references, our visuals doesn’t quite have that same effect.

Thankfully serendipity did its magic and decided that Emily should be the only host of the video essay. With this decision, it allowed us to provide complexity in our editing skills and the humour that reflects through the dialogue. As someone who’s familiar with the basics of Premiere Pro, split screening was a bit more on the complex side. But with a few Google searches here and there, I managed to discover how it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be:

Due to the camera being on auto-settings, the lens would often adjust towards the light reflecting onto the subject. This made the process and illusion much more difficult than it was intended to be. In order to smoothen out the edges and blend the images into one frame, I had to rely on the good ol’ RGB curves in an attempt to match the same shade of red for each footage.

The next problem was to crop and smooth out (as much as possible) the area around Emily’s head to show both Emily’s on the same frame. This involved using a mask to crop this area and then key-framing so that it would be consistent throughout the entire clip. I guess the moral of the story is to never use the phrase “don’t worry we’ll just fix it in post” and to get yourself out of that mindset. Even though the process was quite tedious at times, I’ve felt a sense of achievement and finally understand how Natalie Tran and Anna Akana do it (I think I’ve finding some inspiration flowing through).

This week’s lecture focussed on our future as media makers, by introducing The Studios for semester two and the rest of the course. Other than the practical aspect of it, I’m also looking forward to collaborating with people who will help to cultivate my creativity and have the same drive to complete projects to the best of our abilities.

Although theory intertwines with understanding the practical side, I really hope that The Studios do concentrate on being hands-on compared to semester one. The biggest worry about choosing a Studio is my indecisiveness. As I’ve said in my previous blogs, I’ve never realised how broad media actually is until recently that I just want to have a taste of everything first before deciding on what area I wish to focus on. Yet again, I hope The Studios now and in the following semesters offer the best of everything. The hardest part is where do I begin?

It was in 2006 that Jack Glass and Chris Stracey formed a dynamic duo, and ten years later they return to perform to an intimate, sold out gig at Brunwick’s Howler’s. At just about half an hour until 10, the once half-packed venue buzzed with a packed, ecstatic crowd.

Anticipating at the front of the stage where the speakers blare some chill tunes, the lights switch from a blue to a pink hue. As the music started to diminish, the crowd instantaneously divert their attention to the stage where a trio emerge in their matching white shirts and drum sticks.

Opening with their upbeat track Waterfalls, sent the audience into a jumping frenzy as the catchy chorus kicked in. As the title suggests, Snake Charmer’s exotic drumming and staccato pan-flutes charmed the audience into a head-bopping and swaying trance, while one of the duo’s mellower tunes Way Back Home extenuated their hypnotising vocals.  

Sunlight threw the audience back to an ecstatic state of bopping and singing-along, but it was only a taste or preparation of what was yet to come.  Fresh from their new EP, Breakdown possesses an alienating yet nostalgic sound combined with airy vocals that manoeuvred the audience towards an eccentric, yet authentic side to Bagraider’s. Eventually, the preparation came in handy with the duo concluding in a state of euphoria. The crowd was intoxicated by the anticipation, nostalgia and infectious tune, Shooting Stars.

In Vivre sa vie I have attempted to film a mind in action, the interior of someone seen from outside.– Jean-Luc Godard, Télérama, 1962

Vivre Se Vie is a film told in 12 chapters, much like a novel or a screenplay. Although the film’s title ‘My Life to Live’ suggests it follows the life story of the protagonist Nana (which it does), it ultimately is structured as a documentary showing the events that led to her death. The film is very much alike a documentary of Nana’s life and death. According to director Jean-Luc Godard, “All great fiction films tend towards documentary, just as all great documentaries tend toward fiction… each word implies a part of the other. And he who opts wholeheartedly for one, necessarily finds the other at the end of his journey.” In a very French New Wave fashion, Nana is shown to be very withdrawn, distant and level headed when dealing with other people. Although small glimpses of Nana’s interior motives are shown.
Chapter 3 in the film, titled THE CONCIERGE – THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC – A JOURNALIST, shows Nana in a cinema watching Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928). This scene is important because it shows a running theme throughout the film; women being interrogated, threatened and persecuted by men, which leads to their ultimately ends in death.
Godard doesn’t set out to make Nana the archetype of a “good” woman or the voice of a generation. Nana is her own woman, an individual off and on the screen. She is distant and withdrawn from the viewers, who do not create empathy for her. Godard expresses Nana’s journey in a way that is profound and poised and exploits life with a matter-of-fact approach, but does not make a distinct effort to create an emotional connection with the audience. It is this that creates the impression that the film is not fiction, but a documentary of Nana’s life in which she is suppressed and seen as inferior to her male counterparts.

Courtesy of: http://filmmakermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/girlwalkshomealoneatnightguycostumeneckgirlnormalclothesbrightwallgood.jpg

Ana Lily Amipour’s 2014 Iranian film, subverts the audiences’ expectations by fusing two juxtaposing genres into a familiar narrative of “boy meets girl”. The title itself, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night associates with the “damsel in distress” convention that is prominent in the Western genre and Vampire sub-genre. Assuming that her audience are conditioned by formulaic narratives and these conventions, Amirpour uses the title to create this perception which is then reversed in the actual film. This provides entertainment factor and re-articulates in this cycle of genre.

With the knowledge that it has elements of a Western, viewers’ would expect a stand-off that consists of a close-up of the eyes coupled with a tension-building soundtrack. The tension linger on to about six minutes while the actual fighting sequence itself is featured for a brief minute. In A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, the Western genre conventions shines within the non-diegetic sound as she taunts and teases her victims for several minutes while the actual attack occurs for less than a minute.

The Vampire sub-genre is intertwined within the romance between The Girl and Arash. Since this film was released in 2014, the vampire and romance genre mix cultivated a massive following amongst younger audiences. Amirpour is aware of the film’s space and therefore plays with this concept through the scene where Arash is ironically dressed as Dracula and is unaware that The Girl herself is a vampire. As The Girl tilts his head to reveal his neck, she kisses his neck rather than sinking her teeth in it.

In hindsight, the film encapsulates a variety of other genres. The thriller-suspense that occurs during the murders, an essence of film noir from the black and white imagery and 1950s James Dean-esque of Arash’s costume, the French- New Wave through The Girl’s costume and persona, and coming of age through the character development of Arash and his interpersonal relationships. Wow, talk about genre mixing.