For Project Brief 4, my group, consisting of Sasha and Zac, were given the topic of ‘texts’ – one that quite honestly had us stumped at first. How does one begin to cover ‘media texts?’ Well, we have indeed come far from that dubious starting point and produced something that we are honestly quite proud of. This assignment enabled us to use our likemindedness in order to explore aspects of social media and how it influences self-identity. Since our trio has an inclination towards pop-culture and alternative ways of thought, I would like to think that our assembled book complimented this.

Personally, I feel that the most successful aspects of our own text – Exploring Texts in the Digital Age – were the ways in which our group combined our initial investigations to forge a piece that clearly flows. From our brainstorming session in our first research class, we discovered that we wanted to somehow discuss youth culture and how the internet has somewhat warped creativity and representations of self. This was implemented in our book by way of presenting three chapters of sorts – The Id, The Ego and The Super-Ego, which were all partnered with a pictorial collage that ran in line with the thoughts being expressed. For example, the face, a mixture of young and new participants, commented on the progression of social media artefacts. This is why our book begins with the examples of a handwritten love letter and email as they were some of the first modes of communication. This progresses to contemporary technology with the collage of the pelvis/chest area and then the academic points of communication with the pictures of a hand. To tie this altogether, ‘The Artists’ have written reflective pieces that also feature. These focus on the invention of Web 2.0, psychoanalytical criticisms and social implications, which is really where the voices of my partners and myself shine through.

It admittedly took a while for our group to find our feet and the path we wanted to take in creatively responding to the task. One of the least successful elements of this project was the fact that we were constantly changing our minds and in doing so, jeopardised the content that we aimed to bring forth. Furthermore, our far-fetched ideas, whilst a necessity for media practitioners, meant that a lot of our time was not used wisely since we were worried about the general aesthetic (very very very crucial to us.) I also feel that because the topic of ‘texts’ is so broad, our concepts never had any foundation and were generally all over the place until the last minute when we finally found a way to hone them in.

Overall, this collaboration process hasn’t exactly been ‘eye-opening’ for me, which is not to say that it hasn’t been something special. It’s been interesting to watch this project evolve and morph shape with each week and I’m so glad for having been put into a group with Sasha and Zac, who understand my mind, body and spirit. For future reference, I aim to have more of a solid structure in terms of understanding and interpreting the topic so as to not stray… But, perhaps straying is a good thing.

I consider the most successful aspect of my work to be the way that it conveys my subject’s flamboyancy and passion. This is best exemplified in the montage where Richard states, “There’s a bit of a danger, the experimentation…” The bursts of colour that encompass the screen are derivative of The Dante Quartet and when interwoven with the images of the two girls kissing, reiterate Richard’s desire in exploring the human form in a sexualised and unashamed way. The audience receives glimpses of the human body – a torso, set of breasts, lips – and before they have time to fully grasp each portion, the clips cut to the average speed of the lovers or the unveiling nun so that one’s mind can draw the connection and observe the inspiration for Richard’s work. I do however feel that the least successful aspect of this film is the opening and the closing. Originally, the montage sequence was placed at the beginning, with Richard’s dialogue about his painted hearts used as narration, but it was not working as it seemed like too much cluttered information to process. I then opted to just have the corresponding clip play, which to me, is too much of a simple way to begin a piece. As for the closing sequence, perhaps using one more section of archive footage would have been more effective than three shots of his paintings.

Despite not being entirely content with this work, I am glad that we were given this project because it taught me to get out of my comfort zone. Kyla Brittle said, “Experience the uncomfortable,” and so I chose to step away from creating a convenient portrait of members of my family though they have some captivating stories. Having to contact Richard who I have only met once as a child was a daunting task for me since there was the possibility of rejection (luckily he is in love with the camera) and then there was the meeting him to consider and the inadequacy I might feel with regards to my own skill set. Nonetheless, it all proved to be a positive and interesting day.

I have come to realise that when creating portraits, it’s the ‘small’ aspects of the interview that shape the overall piece. This is so as most of the questions that I wrote, which I thought were just going to be nice links became significant to my telling of Richard. In the future, I need to keep this sense of effortless simplicity in mind.

In my second media artefact, I attempted to further convey the themes of ‘exploration’ and ‘youth’ that I focused on in Project Brief One.

The editing process assisted in this endeavour as I experimented with the speeds of each clip, creating what I feel to be my streams of consciousness – highlighting the notion that I seem to be thinking and feeling a multitude of things at a time. The commentary used features my two intoxicated best friends and is a result of asking them the question, “If you had to describe me in one word, what would it be?” Using such narration was a way to truthfully represent myself as these two girls (who also appear in physical form in the video) know me almost better than I know myself. Their dialogue has been deliberately spliced and overlapped because often when recalling a conversation, one only remembers the ‘best bits.’ The fact that they had also consumed alcohol signifies that they unashamedly spoke the first words that came to mind about me.

Personally, I find that the least successful aspect of this piece can be exhibited through certain clips that I’ve selected. I’m not entirely satisfied with all of them, particularly the last shots of my sister and her friends playing around with the sparklers – to a degree it’s a very cliched symbolisation of youth. In stating that however, I feel as though one of the artefact’s strongest elements is segment ‘II,’ whereupon the images of my friend’s mouths and eyes blend with the flashing lights to provide a somewhat grimy feel. I all too often idealise the adolescent years and I wanted to evoke a sense of rawness – this is how it really is. For this motive alone, none of the clips themselves have been ‘touched up’ so that all the colours, blemishes and shadows reflect the accuracy of reality.