It was our first time to get a glimpse into the types of cameras that we could utilise to create our short stories. It was exciting, I always love to test out and get my hands on new equipment and most importantly how to use it. On Thursday, April 9th, we looked at the SONY MC50 camera (http://www.sony.co.uk/pro/product/broadcast-products-camcorders-nxcam-avchd/hxr-mc50e/overview/)

The first thing that stood out to me was the large screen that popped out from the camera. Its always great to have a large screen to see what you are filming and what you are doing, so that was a relief. The second thing was the weight of the camera, it was surprisingly light, yet still had a heavy edge to it, which is great, because it means business! Overall, it was great to see what was available to us to make our films. Personally, I am not yet ready to substitute it for my DSLR, simply because I can pull focus better and overall it is more customisable (Shutter speed, ISO, e.t.c). However, in terms of practicality and versatility, it definitely triumphs over any DSLR. It would be great for documentary film making, or gathering B-roll material for your film without having to carry around a heavy DSLR. The great thing about the camera is that image quality is really not a problem, and with the in built zoom, you have the ability to utilise many different lenses without having to interchange and carry around a heavy bag of expensive lenses around.

To test out the cameras we were assigned a small group task of filming ourselves greeting each other. It was more of a fun activity rather than gaining any beneficial knowledge or skills about how to use the camera, it was good to meet some new people as well.

Overall, it was great to see what equipment was available to us. I was excited about using the small microphone for interviews, because it adds that element of depth and sound quality that really adds to the final product of a film. Great sound, although sometimes not essential, really makes a difference. No one likes listening poor audio when it comes to music, let alone films. It would be great to do a comparison of image quality between my DSLR to the Sony MC50, maybe i’m underestimating it’s ability

It was a confronting experience to watch each individuals self portrait. It’s so personal to put yourself on a pedestal for the world to see. You are stripped of any shelter or security that you once utilised to cover your inner feelings. Everything is on display yet, nothing at the same time. Each classmates piece was uniquely different and showcased a small glimpse into their crazy world. But thats what was interesting in viewing all these self portraits, was the way it reduced the seemingly unique experiences of our life into something that is shared with everyone. It makes you realise the similarities that you have with each person. The moments we share with the world around us and with other people are all very similar when you gaze from a distance, however when you look closer, you become privy to the nuances that makes us all an individual. Thats what the videos did, it showcased things from our personalities, mental processes and our likes or dislikes. It was really interesting, to see everyone on display like this. It’s not until you reflect on what you saw that you realise the subtleties that make up each person.

Not going to lie, that sounded pretty pretentious, but I always try to make things more complicated than they have to be. Simplicity is key to conveying a message. So lets try that again…

Watching each persons self portrait was an interesting experience, you got to see a glimpse into their life and understand the things that define them as individual, it made me nervous for people to see my work, I didn’t want people to see me as some dark personality, however, it was rewarding overall!

There I go, clear and concise, if only life was like that. Just stop… quit while your head!

So basically over the easter break I really used that time productively. I caught up on sleep, I watched some films, I finished all my blogs, I’m up to date with everything… Well the last two things… Especially the ‘up to date’ thing, is a blatant lie. I haven’t gotten anything achieved! Its really frustrating to be honest, I came into this year being like, ‘I’m going to be on top of everything!” But I guess every year starts like that, because I end up losing any kind of motivation to do anything. Its that kind of feeling when you get up out of bed and all you want to do is sleep in and watch movies, do anything but work. It’s this kind of serious procrastination that leaves me going in circles, I ask other people what I should do when I know what I need to do, complete the bloody assignment you loony!

I’m sure most of us have experienced this, but from April 12, I am going to be motivated to do things, Im starting to exercise more and now that I am out of my sling, I have no excuses. So expect a lot more of these blogs, because I am going to be aiming to complete a lot more of them each week, not because we are supposed to because obviously I haven’t really been following any rules, but because it gives me something to do, and I need that motivation to do something!

I need to live by the Nike saying ‘Just do it”

I want to look back on this year and realise that it was a fulfilling one that i’m happy about. I want it to be great, I can’t sit around and contemplate all the things that I need to do instead of doing them,it is going to get me no where.

Anyway enough of this rant, here is what i’ve been up to and some goals I have for this week.

Films I’ve watched:

• Fast and Furious 7 – Look it was to be expected, fast cars, explosions, lots of fun, with a pretty mediocre plot line, but it was nice to see the tribute at the end of the film.  (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2820852/)

• The Judge – A very all rounded film, that was great to watch. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1872194/)

• Cafe de flore – One of my favourite films so far, the reviews don’t do it justice in my opinion, I really enjoyed this. It frustrates me that a film like Fast and Furious 7 is rated higher than a film like cafe de flore. Probably based on the emotional connotations associated to Paul Walker being in his final film and therefore it seems to immediately be warranted as a great film. I’m going to stop there! (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1550312/)

• Predestination – It is an interesting film worth the time, it was filmed in Australia so it was nice to see some places I recognised. However, the fact that Australian films need to be ‘American’ or have and American in it to appeal to the masses annoys me, don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t detract from the film in any way. (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2397535/?ref_=nv_sr_1)

I’ve been to a few Comedy shows, which were great, Paul Foot is as crazy in person as he is on T.V. Half way through the performance he mounted a member of the audience and started saying nonsensical statements whilst stroking his head. It was absurd, but it was great to watch.

I also saw Daniel Kitson who’s show actually stuffed up, but in the end it was probably more entertaining than what it would have been originally.

Music i’m listening to:

• Selected – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFZ75Bg73NJnJgmeUX9l62g

• Everything but the Girl – Great artists, really give them a listen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyuRjqux18o)

Goals:

• Get on top of work
• Start a stencil project
• Start reading a book

Peace.

I was assigned the task of creating a clip based on MOVEMENT. We had to gather 7 different types of stock footage and put them in a sequence in order to display our editing skills. Initially I began to chose clips that I thought looked interesting, but then I decided to find clips that resembled a theme of some sorts. I wanted to briefly illustrate the contrasting elements of the natural life versus the man made destruction that humans have created.

The use of the bomb and other clips of war are contrasted to natural life such as moving clouds. The movement depicted, highlights the birth and demise of life due to the exploitation of the world by humans. The telephone call at the start was mainly included because I thought it sounded cool, but it also came back to the idea of the unnatural and artificial aspects that embody our world.

Although subtle and short in length, I intended to showcase these themes through these edited clips. It may seem quite mundane and intense, but these themes of ‘exploitation’ and ‘destruction’ are the first things that came to my mind when searching through the stock footage on the website.

Artificial Existence from Lucas James on Vimeo.

You know those amazing family holiday slideshows where all the pictures seem to move and zoom in, well, there is actually a name for this effect and its called the Ken Burns effect.

This effect was named after renowned documentary film maker Ken Burns. Burns has become renowned for using this effect in many of his documentary films. The use of this technique in his films such as The Civil War, drew the attention of Steve Jobs when Apple was creating a new movie platform called iMovie. Steve Jobs contacted Ken Burns, asking for his permission to use the term ‘Ken Burns Effect’ for the Apple Software. Initially reluctant to have his name used for commercial purposes, Ken Burns agreed to having his name associated with this effect. Ever since this decision, his name has become a renowned effect used by film makers of all skill levels through editing programs such as iMovie.

Although Ken Burns was inspired and taught by other professional film makers such as Jerome Liebling on how to use this effect. Burns association with Apple and his decision to heavily use this effect in many of his films, has made him a prominent figure, associated with the creation of this effect.

Without this effect we wouldn’t be able to create our animated slideshows featuring our family, whether thats a good thing… I’m not sure, but i’m thankful that Burns shared his knowledge with world, allowing us to animate our photos in the comfort of our home!

In 1985 Edward de Bono created a system of hats which were intended to prompt critical thinking and group discussion. The six hat system is an effective tool that enables groups to think in a detailed and cohesive way. The premise of this method is that our brains gather information through a number of distinct ways, this system is intended to challenge the brain in six ways in order to prompt conscious thinking. The six hat system is broken down into 6 distinct colours that are used as ‘metaphors’ for each direction.

• BLUE: ‘Managing’ – What are we thinking about? What is the goal?
• WHITE: ‘Information’ – What are the facts?
• RED: ‘Emotions’ – What is your gut instinct? How did you initially react?
• BLACK: ‘Discernment’ – Reasons to be conservative? Criticism?
• YELLOW: ‘Optimism’ – What do you like? What are the benefits? What went well?
• GREEN : ‘Creativity’ – Are there alternatives? New ideas to be investigated?

In my Thursday tutorial we used this method of thinking in order to critical engage with the various interpretations of the self portrait task that each person created. Although we only used the Yellow, Black, Red and Green hats, we were able to effectively discuss as a group, our different reactions to each persons self portrait. This discussion enabled each person to gather feedback from their pieces. We learn’t what improvements could be made, what went well, things that didn’t work and alternatives to what we created. This exercise enabled me to think about my self portrait piece in a different way. I was able to look at my work from more of a subjective point of view, critically analysing what went well and what didn’t.

One thing that I took away from this discussion and feedback was the importance of audio. After listening to various other peoples audio ideas, it gave me inspiration to explore audio in a different way. Initially I didn’t think that audio was that important but after listening to what others had created I realised that it is an integral part of the self portrait task that is is meant to represent who we are. I want to revisit different sounds and create audio pieces that are more relevant to who I am and what I do in my life, rather than my brother at school singing the Australian anthem.

After having this discussion I realised the importance of using these hats in order to generate interesting and productive discussion. Although the discussion can sometimes be unnatural, using these hats provokes thought into what becomes a natural conversation about a certain idea or concept. This discussion was an eye opener into an activity that I thought was reserved for primary school students. Instead, I realised it can be used by anyone in order to gather information in a conscious way that both benefits others, as well as yourself.

One thing I learnt during this exercise is that there are vending machines everywhere in building 80. Ok, maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, but in all seriousness at least I know i’m never going to be hungry if/when I get lost in building 80. Alright, so where was I…

In our second lectorial we were assigned the task of documenting all the mediated interactions/communications that we encountered during our hour trip to an assigned area of Melbourne. Our group got assigned building 80, if you haven’t realised already. As much as this was an interesting experience, it wasn’t exactly riveting. Despite finding a lot of various media related interactions such as: (i’m going to list all of this, bear with me)

• Security Cameras
• Lights
• Vending machine + the advertising that came with all the items inside (e.g. Pepsi, Smiths Chips)
• Photocopier
• Adidas Jacket (Sorry to the guy I was staring at… I’m not a creep!)
• Waste bins
• White board (communicating information between students)
• Projector screens
• Elevators
• Toilet logos
• Cafe sounds
• Tablets/phones
• Maps + Fire escape
• Film/TV shows on phones e.t.c (e.g. Family Guy)

Everything kind of, repeated themselves each level we went onto. Don’t get me wrong, there were was a lot of information, but I felt we could only go so far before we started documenting media interactions that were absurd and abstract.

In spite of that, an interesting thing that I took away from this experience was the way we take for granted the many interactions with media we come across each day. I’m sure if I went out and explored the suburban streets of Melbourne I would be even more overwhelmed. However, despite the vast amount of media I could interact with outside of building 80, I think that there are categories that our interactions on a daily basis could fall into. For example, you could break up the media in terms of your physical senses, such as what you see, hear, smell e.t.c. On the other hand I think you could divide the media into more defined groups such as Advertising, Film/TV or personal interactions (e.g. Talking to friends)

For me, it is interesting that majority of society seems to soak up all these media interactions without much thought or consideration. Until we focus onto a specific thing, such as the various media around us, we never realise how much we have missed, forgotten or taking for granted. Its like skimming over a book, it may feel like you have gotten the main idea or have taken in majority of the information, however when you read back carefully there is always information you may have missed. Once you gather all the details, you are able to see the bigger picture and overall, enhance your understanding of the novel. Just like reading, sometimes we need to slow down, relax and just take in the world for all its got to offer instead of rushing through it.

Like the famous Oscar Wilde once said,

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”