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.