Initiative | Michael Firus

Large Noises

I have always thought that the shooting of free music videos for upcoming artist is a damn good idea. On the face of it, it may seem lacking in benefit. The ol’ argument comes up: ‘what’s in it for moi?’. But in reality, the benefits are huge. You get to have an amazing subject to…

Tram Surfing

A few weeks ago I participated in a rather interesting shoot. Tram Sessions is an organisation that takes upcoming artists and puts them on Melbourne’s trams to perform their latest tunes. Oh, did I mention they made such occasions into music videos? As a videographer on one such project, I found the un-officious and warm…

(False) Perceptions

The first term of our course has nearly drawn to a close. Now, I must at this point discuss something that is rarely outwardly expressed. Within certain university courses, there exists an expectation that a student must, on their own initiative become an active and vibrant member of the course’s corresponding real-world discipline. Such an…

Institutions Close to Home

Mowing one’s grandmother’s lawn on a warm Autumn’s afternoon is not generally the situation that evokes an analysis of an institution’s impact on a culture’s development. However, as my gaze lowered I began to realise that the piece of equipment I was using formed a prominent pillar in Australian culture: the Victa lawnmower. The Victa…

The Internet of Things

We have the internet, social media, the break from broadcast systems and many other contemporary catchphrases. But what’s next? Imagine a world where your air conditioner talks to your phone which talks to your fridge which talks to your laptop which talks to your underwear? Whether such a conversion is necessary is immaterial; it’s going…

5G

For clarification, the ‘G’ simply stands for ‘Generation.’ Currently only in the 18th year of my existence, I can only remember the transition to 2G indistinctly – in fact it was our family’s first foray into mobile phones. Officially 2G was first introduced in the 80s, however, remained elitist until the early 2000s. It the…

On Cars and Screens

Driving shotgun in my brother’s car, I couldn’t help but notice the display hub on the dashboard. The 8-inch touch LCD screen was the most prominent element. The screen was essentially the UI for an onboard computer; the functions of which were access to Spotify, maps and tethering to a mobile phone for a slew…

DSLR Underwater Cinematography

In my experience, the technical difficulties of shooting underwater are far outweighed by the amazing perspectives one can capture. The first issue one must contend with is that of equipment. For my clip I used a Canon 70D and this underwater case. Since I do not shoot underwater very often, this case was fine for…

Truffles – an Exercise in Cinematography and Taste-buds

The adage goes that practice makes perfect, and a soon as I heard that my little sister was making truffles, it was out with the whole set of gear. Not too many shoots taste this good… Truffles – A Michael Firus video from Michael Firus on Vimeo. My intention was simply to make a short…

Print Media vs Audio/Visuals

Physical Print is a medium which I am aiming to become more acquainted with, though modesty forbids I have some competency now. Ever since my stint as editor of my high-school magazine SCOBE, I have grown to like the idea of two-dimensional creation. Front and back cover (laid flat) of SCOBE. (Cover design by me)…