I undertook my mandatory internship at Dreampool Productions in late 2014 – a small, private TV and video production company operating out of a building at 22 Wellington Street, St. Kilda. Dreampool productions was established as ‘the merged vision’ of Bob Grieve and Michael Dickinson, two of Australia’s most renowned and experienced television producers, specialising in producing content for major Australian TV networks. Dreampool has a long history producing content for ‘Crimestoppers’, ‘Huey’s Cooking Adventures’, the ‘Feast’ series and to this day, Paul Worsteling’s ‘iFish’ lifestyle program. Dreampool is made up of a dedicated team of producers, full time editors and business operations managers too. 

I actually completed my year 10 high school work experience and several other weeks between 2011 and 2014 at Dreampool, always learning new things and having a great experience, so I saw fit to undertake my official uni internship there too. Previously, I had mainly been asked to cut together some videos using AVID editing software, but these videos were never for clients or actually being broadcast, etc. they were solely for my own learning. I also sat in on a bunch of edits and sound mixing sessions, getting an idea of the processes that Dreampool undertook on a daily basis. Up to this point, my time had mostly been spent as a true ‘work experience kid’ – getting a feel for the place and the work, as opposed to doing things that needed to be done. However, returning to Dreampool this time for my internship, I was asked to undertake a number of tasks that were for Dreampool and clients, as much as for me. Tasks that I completed were things like:

• Shot-listing raw footage from iFish shoots
• Ingesting shot-listed footage into the AVID servers
• Archiving AVHD Tapes from iFish shoots into Dreampool’s physical library room
• Finding old footage from previous shoots to be used in promo videos for clients (Nissan/Tackleworld)
• Cutting together birthday messages from Paul Worsteling for Bindi and Bob Irwin for Australia Zoo
• Laying out a compile of footage from the Tasmania Trout Fishing and Dhipirri, WA Barramundi fishing shoots
• Rough cut for Tasmania/Dhipirri episodes
• Completing music cue-sheets for iFish and the APRA, as well as their ‘International airing’ versions, without advertising and competition material
• Updating season-long run-sheets for iFish as each episode was completed
• Making copies of episodes as they aired and posting to sponsors/guests on iFish
• Cutting together contractual YouTube promo videos from Paul Worsteling (iFish Host) to some of iFish’s sponsors – including Tackleworld and Club Marine.

My work experience at Dreampool has been greatly successful in meeting the goals that I established when I first lodged my work experience. Over my multitude of time spent in-house, I’ve learned more than I could’ve hoped to in a classroom – by contributing to the actual running of the business, my time at Dreampool has been nothing short of the most involving and educational media experience I’ve had to date. What I wanted most of all from Dreampool was to gain an understanding of what it really means to be involved in TV production – whether it was from the perspective of a full-time editor or a producer – I definitely have a lot more sight and understanding from these positions now, as I was required to complete work from a variety of roles relating to iFish. Not only did I feel welcomed during my time at Dreampool, but I felt appreciated, as I could see the work that I was doing, directly helping the cause. 

My time at Dreampool also gave me a great sense of responsibility, as I was often asked to complete a number of tasks and left to my own work for the entire day, unsupervised and wholly responsible for the work I was completing, which I took in stride, as a challenge. Very occasionally I had to ask for help or advice, but was mostly independent during the day, which definitely helped me to initiate some problem solving skills and really figure things out for myself – something that I feel is a quintessential part of operating in a real work place – especially one like the media industry, where you mostly have to learn the specifics on the job. 

The continuation of this sense of responsibility was also achieved when Bob gave me the code to the alarm system, my own key to get in and out of the building and also let me stay after hours on my own if I had more work to complete – if I so desired, which I often did, locking up and arming the alarm as I left. Even though these aren’t necessarily aspects of work that one might associate with a media internship, they went a long was to making me feel like part of the team and that I was trusted – a trust that I’m still thankful for, it made me want to work harder for Bob and Dreampool, whilst giving invaluable real-world experience in a work place, with responsibility. 

I guess the only aspect of the time I spent at Dreampool that didn’t exactly meet my expectations was the duration of my stay – it has exceeded my expectations… Since I completed my pro-bono 80 hours in late 2014, Bob, Noni and the rest of the team at Dreampool have invited me back, to work for them when they need a helping hand in busy periods and to get through some of the more time-consuming jobs around the place. More recently, I’ve been working an average of about 10 hours a week there, and am officially on the company books, getting paid to do increasingly more important and helpful tasks for Dreampool. So glad, I am, that I’ve been able to secure some proper work in my target industry, get paid for it and also be contributing to a company that is exceptionally pleasing to work for, with what I feel are real prospects for me in the future. 

Dreampool provided me a with a great example of effective communication within a team environment. Through the phone system in the building, emails and simply dropping past one another’s workspaces, Noni and I in particular, were  able to develop quite a productive little system whereby we were able to get a lot done. 

Nothing other than actual industry experience can prepare you for joining the workforce at the end of your degree. I feel that what we learn at uni is knowledge without an application or use, but after my time at Dreampool, I found that a lot of what we learn at uni merely gives us the mentality and skills needed to learn how to function in a professional environment – that it’s up to the individual to take control of their work and learn how to most effectively contribute in their organisation. 

Another aspect of my time at Dreampool that I’m very grateful for is the fact that I’ve received quite a well-rounded knowledge of the operations. From editing short 3min promo clips for clients, to making and posting DVD copies to clients and finally filling and cross checking music copyright paperwork associated with content that is broadcast within Australia, Dreampool has been a wonderful opportunity for me to gain invaluable experience as not only an editor, but some of the less-creative and more structured roles within television production in Australia. 

Although I was only at Dreampool 2 or 3 days a week over my 7 week break from Uni, I feel that it helped me develop my professional skills, knowledge, networking and overall workability tenfold as I now have a more practical understanding of the industry and how it functions on a day to day basis, as well as what it’s like to have responsibilities in a professional setting and how to report to superiors etc. Since my official internship ‘finished’ and I’ve begun actual work for Dreampool, I’ve only learned more. Ultimately, this has been one of the richest experiences for me as a media student and I cannot be thankful enough for the opportunity, but also where it has led me.

Since writing this report in early 2015, my work at Dreampool has continued and I’ve become an even more involved member of the Dreampool team. I now have my own permanent workspace set up in the building and have been entrusted with some more duties including buying supplies for the every day functioning of Dreampool, consolidating and transcoding footage in preparation for Dan (full-time) editor to come in and edit iFish episodes, as well as operating on a much more independent level. I’m now sent emails by Noni when there’s work to be done and I make time within my own schedule to come in and complete the work, rather than being told when to come in. 

Dreampool is now my primary source of income and I can sometimes work 35-40 hours a week when there’s lots to be done. Informal talks between myself, Noni and Bob have revealed that there will most likely be a position for me at Dreampool when I graduate – a truly exciting prospect for me. 

As I’m going on a working holiday for <7months once uni is over, I’ve actually taken the initiative to get someone to help cover my work whilst I’m away, much to the satisfaction of Noni – and will resume my work for them when I return, mid-2016.

Question 1: Colour Grading

This (below) is the original footage that was captured. The weather on the day left us with a pretty grey looking sky as well as lower levels of detail in our already dark and washed out wall.

To fix this, we applied a 3-way colour correction and brought in the input levels so that there would be a lesser disparity between the highs and lows in the shot. The effects of this can be seen in the wall, where there is now much more detail and the colour appears closer to what we saw in reality. However, this application resulted in the sky becoming unnatural looking, as well as being too bright for the aesthetic we were trying to bring to our film.

Finally, we played around with the three wheels on the colour corrector and reached this (below) outcome. We felt that the shot still maintained a relatively dark feel, but more appropriately represented the sky and colours that we saw on the day. We also liked the level of detail in the wall that we achieved with this grade.

Question 2:

Overall, Film/TV 2 has greatly surpassed my expectations. Whilst I knew that we would all be more confident and competent with equipment/editing/etc. I was really impressed by the ability of the group to work in smaller groups. Quite often we’d be missing one or two people for a shoot and it was reassuring to know that we’d still be able to get the job done. It also meant that shoots were less stressful than last semester, which really allowed us to focus, correct and get the best content possible.

Working in the new group was great fun and I was lucky to end up with such a committed, honest and enthusiastic group – I was truly glad to be a part of Bluestone. We were definitely afforded a lot more freedom this semester with the structure of the film. Whilst I felt out of my depth at first, this actually ended up being one of the more helpful aspects of the semester, as it allowed us to let the film take its own shape and guide us towards the final product.

Being a more experienced group also helped, as we avoided any major technical issues over the duration of our shooting period – a lot of stress saved.

Abstract Editing Exercise from Miguel Camacho on Vimeo.

Q6: Consider Sandra’s lecture “Directing Actors” and describe at least a couple of points that you took away from it (even if you’re not the director).

I thought Sandra’s lecture was hugely useful. Being the DOP I still managed to take a lot from the lecture, mostly about being confident and professional when working with seasoned actors. We found that this went a long way on our shoot as the open relationship with the actors allowed us to approach them if we were after something different, but also to take suggestions from the actors as it came to them and to consider that.

Another point raised by Sandra was about being as efficient as possible whilst on such a tight schedule. She made a case for b-roll footage and being prepared to cut certain shots if time was tight. Whilst we managed to get all that we planned and more, Sandra’s advice was considered and we did prioritise certain shots over others when we filmed.

Q7: In this clip screened in the lecture from the Coen brothers’ ‘Blood Simple‘ describe what is happening in terms of the edits specifically in terms of the audio and video. Also name the different kinds of audio you can hear.

This clip from ‘Blood Simple’ is an example of how a simple conversation between two characters can be edited together in a way to build suspense and create drama, by selectively showing visuals other than who is speaking at the time. For example, by showing the reactions of the man when the Hitman delivers certain lines, tension builds and insight into the character’s motivations and understanding are brought to the audiences’ attention. The fact that the Hitman is playing Julian Marty’s character slowly becomes apparent to the audience and ultimately to Marty when he hears the gun being cocked under the table.

The use of sound, or lack thereof in this sequence is interesting as the Coen brothers are still able to create a hugely tense and uncomfortable scene without the addition of non-diegetic music. Through the obvious diegetic sounds of the fish slapping the table, the lighter being put down, the cigarette being put out and the sounds of Marty’s character being sick, the Coen brothers build towards a climactic moment when the Hitman cocks his weapon. The use of ‘background’ noise such as the crickets outside and occasional sirens also cue the audience and create meaning within the scene and its use of diegetic sound.

Q8: Keyboard shortcuts. 
Most applications reserve keyboard shortcuts for the functions that use most often. It is really good to learn all of these as it will speed up your editing and additionally alert you to functions that the software developers and other users find important. (You can learn much about the software by looking at keyboard shortcuts). 
Find the keyboard shortcuts for Adobe Premiere and note two or more functions that you’ve never used before that may be invaluable to editing.

• New Title: CMD+T – right at the end of editing our rough cut, CMD+T became hugely helpful and saved us a lot of time as we edited in our closing credits and a number of timestamps in the film.
• Render Effects in Work Area: Return/Enter – as we begun to insert fades and dissolves in certain parts of the film, this shortcut saved us a bunch of time and allowed us to render then quickly playback the edits as we implemented each one.

From the beginning, Rose and Dovey set out to establish that there is a new wave of interactive media continually evolving and being developed. Their abstract states that the ‘new affordances’ in digitally interactive media present the opportunity for media makers to develop and entirely new ‘visual and informational grammar’.

They frighteningly reference O’Reilly (‘Strata: Making Data Work Conference’) and state that new capabilities ‘will unseat and launch entire industries, hold governments accountable, and empower society’ – a scary prospect to consider. They include that data power will change the world in the same way that steam power did.

The article talks about data as a ‘sea’. Which is an interesting metaphor as the sea is: large, deep, scary, unexplored, partially inhospitable and did I mention scary?…

As I didn’t completely grasp the Shields reading, I went out into the sea of data in order to find someone who could show me the light.

I landed on Mia Campion-Curtis’ blog and came across her summary of Shield’s spiel.

In summary:

• Shields’ writings are a non-sequential collection linked by key ideas
• Shields sees traditional narrative perhaps becoming extinct as it is ‘tired’ and ‘purposeless’, which will be lost to forms of narrative such as mosaic and collage which are an ‘evolution’ of traditional narrative.
• Shields proposes that a traditional narrative could be re-arranged (through something like Korsakow) and then told in the form of an interactive documentary.

This interactive web-based reading was interesting as it summarised and provided me with a lot of information about networks and interactive documentary-making – which I’m not entirely convinced about.

Main points I took from the reading were:

• how he begins the journey of ‘plotting the database’ with a reference to some words said by Jerome McGanne. McGanne states that interfaces are critical to the functional operation of databases and promotes the importance of ‘free play’ when interacting with an interface, for the purposes of audience occupation.
• Luers then continues to reflect on ‘how plot and interface perform similar roles of providing interaction and cohesion in their respective domains (time and space)’.
• Luers talks about the importance of entry points. Mostly how ‘entry points can establish narrative frames, metaphors for navigation , genre motifs, present views of data sets, describe elements of plot, character, setting or theme – or withhold any and all of these.’
• This leads to the desire for interaction, therefore it is important to encapsulate your audience from the beginning, that’s what will keep them clicking their way though your work
• A number of previous interactive documentaries made by all sorts of creators: Whale Hunt, Constellations, More on these to come in a later post.

Soar, Matt. “Making (with) the Korsakow System: Database Documentaries as Articulation and Assemblage.” New Documentary Ecologies Emerging Platforms, Practices and Discourses. Ed. Kate Nash, Craig Hight, and Catherine Summerhayes. Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. 154–73. 

Just from the title of this chapter, I had a reasonable idea of what would be discussed. Having had done Studio Art in year 11 and researching assemblage, I understood that a bunch of possibly unrelated materials (such as the videos used in k-films) could be put together, combined and presented in a particular manner to create meaning and carry a message. I proved this myself when I made a bionic baby in school using an old baby born, spray paint, a disassembled lighter  and a bit of random creativity.

Using my prior knowledge of assemblage, it was natural for me to assume that the nature of this reading was relating to the seemingly accidental or coincidental relations found within k-films that rely on audience articulation and understanding to succeed.

It was interesting to read about the Canadian teacher that asked why he would use Korsakow when he could in fact program something similar on his own. If it came to me, I would have absolutely no clue how to produce online content similar to what I was able to achieve with Korsakow. Then I understood and appreciated that Korsakow is an extremely simple and usable way to create online content that might not be possible to those without much knowledge of online coding and the like. Then is also came to mind that because Korsakow is so straight forward, it is a pioneering bit of software that enables people that aren’t particularly tech-savvy to create and contribute to the online sphere in ways other than YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram and Vine, etc. etc.

The paragraph reflecting on the likelihood of Korsakow remaining relevant in the future was also interesting to read as Soar concedes that online documentaries aren’t perfect (can’t be played on iPads) and may go the way of the CD-ROM (new, Retina-display and ‘Air’ MacBooks don’t have a disc drive at all). Soar also raises the idea that many classical films from the early 1900s are currently/becoming viewable in other forms of media that weren’t their original medium (e.g. digital versions of classic super-8/35mm/etc. films) and contemplates that no such future is in sight for many of the current digital, interactive narratives.

The understanding that Korsakow ‘constitutes a form of “argument” (as writing does for a scholar)’ was a fascinating point. Now that the structure of Korsakow projects has been recognised as creating meaning in itself, it seems appropriate to reflect on the structure of ‘Nostalgia’ (2010). ‘Nostaligia’ was a k-film created by an RMIT student in 2010 (found here: http://vogmae.net.au/classworks/media/2010/kfilms/nostalgia/) which can be recognised as purposely using its’ structural features to create meaning. The layout of ‘Nostalgia’ is primarily framed by and focused on the background design, which reflects the meaning of the film later discovered by the audience of the film to be nostalgia and the disassembling effect it can have on a person.

Discussing the authorial decisions that must be made by a Korsakow filmmaker, Soar quotes Manovich, who understands that a logical decision must be made to determine how different film clips must be matched/related to one another to cause a relationship between the two. It is easy to see how this will directly relate and be imperative to us, as Interactive Media students creating our own k-films.

Ultimately, it was helpful to read about the intended/possible uses of Korsakow from the actual creator of the program and we’ll likely incorporate some ideas/consider points raised in this reading as we progress through interactive media and into our final k-films.

Rascaroli, Laura. “The Essay Film: Problems, Definitions, Textual Commitments.” Framework: The Journal of Cinema and Media 49.2 (2008): 24–47.

From the beginning, Rascaroli recognises that the essay film is an emerging style that is ‘encountered with ever-increasing frequency’ due to the rise of unorthodox, personal, reflexive, ‘new’ documentaries. Despite the fact that the essay film is also ‘immensely popular for both artistic and intellectual innovation’, Rascaroli states that it is a genre/form that is under-theorised – perhaps because of its’ explosion into the world of non-fiction film.

The author then continues to discuss how it can be argued that essay films may not even belong to a genre. I believe this point is completely contradictory because the whole article is about defining the essay film, which is essentially categorising and assigning the ‘traits’ of a genre to essay films.

It’s strange that people talk about categorising the film essay but then Rascaroli goes on to raise all the conflicting definitions of film essays and what they are from other theorists before her. It almost challenges the credibility of her journal because her ideas of what a film essay is is constantly being challenged by what others have said before her. Which also raises the question as to what others will say in the future, challenging her arguments.

Ultimately, it still remains relatively unclear what an essay film is, how it can be distinctly characterised and whose theory will be proven correct.

s3429368 Miguel Camacho – Integrated Media – Assessment Task: K. Film Essay

Chosen Film: ‘Nostalgia’ (2010) – Clare Anderson, Laura Stephens and Wichaya Kim Jensen

Pattern:
‘Nostalgia’ is a film that is hugely dependent on its patterns and their recurring nature to create meaning. The bank of footage that is available to the audience feels sad, reminiscent, disconnected and longing for something that seemed that was only real in the past. Through their nature, the videos combine to fittingly create a sense of nostalgia. They are sometimes grey – the colour of sadness, unfocused – effected by nostalgia and deeply meaningful in the subject matter that they present.

The music that was used to support the visuals also had huge amounts of power in adding meaning to the entire k-film. Like the visuals, the musical selection by Clare, Laura and Wichaya was superb, each video being intentionally matched to a unique track to emphasise its purpose.

Also remarkably important to the audience’s understanding of this k-film was the thematic pattern that ran throughout the text that was included with each different video clip. Seemingly written for each individual visual, the words that grace this k-film are what truly make the piece into something that effectively communicates some form of narrative to its audience.

‘Nostalgia’ relies on the recurring themes presented by the visuals, audio and text elements in order to convey meaning to its audience.

Interface:

The layout chosen by the makers of ‘Nostalgia’ is hugely effective. In the middle of the screen is the player for the visual tracks that make up the k-film. The fact that the visuals are centred immediately draw attention and the majority of focus to them whilst implying that they are the most important piece of the film. Underneath the player is four thumbnails that link to other video clips. Finally, on either side of the main visual playing area are two symmetrical borders that recede down the page, fittingly representing something that is falling apart or becoming disconnected.

The text that is situated between the main video area and the four thumbnails, as mentioned earlier – is hugely important in adding meaning and depth to the k-film. Without the well-chosen words that accompany each video, it might be difficult for the viewer to ascertain a profound meaning in ‘Nostalgia’. Snippets of text like ‘I try to grasp details, but my memories are fading’, ‘Everywhere I am, I’m at a distance’ and ‘Too many tears’ are what make ‘Nostalgia’ a truly emotive experience for the audience, who is able to draw meaning from the combination of video, music and text.

Belonging to an interactive medium, ‘Nostalgia’ is a k-film that basically presents its audience with a choice of four videos from its library at a time. As the audience clicks on any particular visual thumbnail, the accompanying text and audio are brought up as the video plays out. After each video, the audience is instinctually inclined to chose another and further uncover the narrative of ‘Nostalgia’. Because all of the visuals, audio tracks and textual inclusions share common themes, their repetition is the pattern of the film and makes for a strongly emotive viewing experience for the audience.

Content:
Ultimately, it is the sublimely selected content within ‘Nostalgia’ that is its biggest success. The video footage is of a very high definition and makes the viewing experience pleasurable. There has obviously been a great deal of effort put into the capture of these visuals, as they maintain and remind the audience of the themes of the past, sadness, being disconnected and longing. The colour tones and the general aesthetic of the clips are what help the audience understand these themes.

The music chosen by the makers of ‘Nostalgia’, in combination with the visual – is the most powerful combination of content. Due to the automatic nature of a person’s sensory inputs – particularly sight and hearing – the creators of this k-film are able to evoke a huge amount of understanding without the audience even making an effort to comprehend what they’re seeing. This makes ‘Nostalgia’ hugely successful in achieving the communication of a narrative revolving around the theme of nostalgia.

Lastly, through the reflective, saddening and thought provoking text that is found throughout the film, ‘Nostalgia’ is able to really punch another dimension of significance into the minds of its audience. Whilst relatively simple in its approach, the film achieves a lot because of the carefully constructed and chosen content that is found within the piece.