Month: May 2016

Exemplary Posts
(As you can imagine most are from the later weeks when I really got a hold of the blogging and understood more in depth of what a critical analysis was, I still have quite a way to go but it is only Media 1)

Week 11 – The Walking Ads & Project Update

Week 10 – Self Expression (The Medias Influence)

Week 9 – Readings ‘Audiences’

Week 8 – Initiative ‘Royalty Free Music’

Week 7 – Readings ‘Non-Narrative Documentary’

As I reflect on my process of writing and competing blog posts I notice it is quite hard to pick out ‘exemplary’ posts. I believe each one of my posts is different and all are written with a particular thought in mind. I’ve chosen the ones that relate to either the courses structure or give some demonstration in using the terminologies learnt throughout the course into analysis.

I’ve enjoyed writing on this blog, especially the initiative posts- I find they have taught me to look deeper into the media I am consuming and to analysis it so that I am able to have knowledge about the techniques used. For me personally this has included looking deeper into artists choosing to make their tracks royalty free as well as film remakes and why different cultural media industries differ from our own. This includes differences between the American film industry, Bollywood and other European countries. I find these posts have made me develop a love for research especially due to the fact I know I am able to share my knowledge to others who will find it equally interesting.

My earlier posts are less critical analysis and more reflection, it’s interesting to look back at the writing techniques used and how they have changed due to feedback and development. The audiences reading and lecture has really helped influenced the way I am writing now, I have an in depth knowledge on the target audience who these posts will reach and that means I understand the style I must write in to reach and respect that audience.

The most challenging aspects in the course was originally writing critical analysis in regards to the readings, I found again as previously stated I was mainly writing in a reflective manner rather than argumentative.  My professional learning process including my work ethic and collaborative learning has improved due to being able to put theory into practice. I have found I have found it quite easy to have the creativity and inspiration to keep my blog consistent and up to date the only challenge would be a couple of weeks falling a few posts behind (which I caught up with during the weekend) as this was due to focusing on particular projects. Improvement

I have found I learn mostly through tutorials and practical settings; discussion is what makes me really focus. I love to input and really have a ‘full’ conversation, unfortunately although the ‘lectorials’ try to be as involved they aren’t able to reach the same collaboration as the tutorials are. My creative practice has definitely tapped into my passion within this course and media making. I have found the course suits me much better than the previous studies I have completed (Diploma in Screen in Media). It gives me an opportunity to really discover new theories and ways of thinking- time to think creatively and learn theoretically before putting work ethics and learning into practice.

Once an individual opens their eyes to each and every single aspect of media they are consuming (a consistent active audience) they can start to question biases. After set readings about audiences and media institutions I can see that a perfect example would be the use of newspapers.
I look at conglomerates that produce ‘The Age’ and ‘The Herald Sun’ and It’s important to note whilst consuming these pieces of media to think about who created them and if they have a set agenda. I dedicated a blog post to my thoughts on this and I still find it very interesting how blunt some advertisements and media propaganda can be.

My most challenging moment came about in the course with the audio essay, not because the content was hard or tedious but mostly because I love presenting and creating visual media especially my own media. Of course as a media student you cannot always do this and part of the learning process is to use material already available and to turn it into something new. I believe project brief four really changed my views and values as a media student as a lot of it was about taking media from different formats and places (either online or archived) and turning it into something else.

Overall throughout this course my professionalism has grown I felt as though it was something that had a constant flow. My technical skills have also grown although there were a few bumps in the road, during project brief three I needed to remember to choose my candidates carefully to make sure I contained clear narratives within stories I choose to convey. Again my conceptual thinking has always been growing I feel as though in general all the aspects pointed out as consistently heading upwards, there is no failing in learning only setbacks and this blog helped me realize that for even when there were days I fell behind I could always catch up, it was all opinionated and all down to me. Everything was able to be personalized and that’s what I loved about it.

Before I sign off for Media 1 2016 I’d like to thank my tutor (Brian Morris) for always being enthusiastic and making everyone in the class feel welcome as well as the lecturers who made my learning experience worthwhile and finally to the students in my tute for reading a few posts and encouraging me to actively keep writing a blog filled with passion, for me this became more than an assessment it was a fun and engaging project and I hope to do more blogging in the future.

Intouchables (2011) “After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.”

The French foreign film ‘The Intouchables (2011)’ is one of my most beloved films; it makes me feel a range of emotions and the imagery and narrative are suburb. As I re-watched this film the other day with a friend who had not seen it before both of us picked up visual metaphors ‘motifs’ within the piece that I had not realized before. An example can be seen when Driss ‘Philippes’ caregiver (who throughout the film does not ‘see’ Philippes quadriplegic disability when being with him as many others do) leaves him only to later return stating that he is much more than a caregiver but a close friend. Within the time Driss leaves, Philippes character begins to grow a beard which represents neglect to himself and from others. When Driss returns and shaves it off it represents return of Philippes happiness and the need for a true friend. This film has so many beautifully set mise-en-scenes that represents, isolation, alienation and displacement the use of classical music Driss listens to within the projects represents his displacement within his previous gang related lifestyle.

The frame (and scene) below is one of my favorite mise-en-scenes/shots of all time, the isolation in this picture can be felt as a dim street light shines on Driss as classical music plays whilst the camera pans across all of the projects apartment buildings, This is a powerful shot also due to the fact the ones proceeding it involve a vast amount of wealth. The contrast is also represented with mood lighting, the blue hues bring out the loneliness within Driss’s life whilst walking into the light represents the friendship that has yet to come.

To my surprise when wanting to research this film more (as I found out the American film industry may be making a re-make which I am highly against- as remaking a film purely due to language barriers only builds segregation) I found out that there is a Bollywood version, in fact when researching many films I found out there is a Bollywood version for most famous films, this includes Pride and Prejudice which becomes Bride and Prejudice.
The styles of the film are so different and there is such an over saturation in Bollywood films that I believe in this case deter from the films narrative. The Intouchables deliberately uses a specific colour pallet to create moods and melancholy atmospheres. I believe the difference represent the film industries values. Bollywood centers much more around colour, laughter and ‘cliches’ or hero’s. This can mean that the true meaning of the story can become warped into a film for entertainment. Although I am saying this one of my favorite films is filmed within Mumbai, this is was only half created within Bollywood industry whilst the other half of the film is English, this means the characters speak both Hindu and English and it’s a beautiful mixture. The film is named ‘The Lunchbox’ and it has a very similar mise-en-scene and feel as the Intouchables has.

Feedback on our audio essay; Michael and I who were present exhibited our group collaborative work to Brian for feedback. We knew that the material we had put together would be over the five minute limit mark but myself and Michael weren’t too sure where to cut at present we wanted a little more time to discuss and think about the structure. I gave him some ideas although by Thursday we hadn’t fully applied all of them to the project.

A decision to cut out some of our research was made and our tutor (Brian) gave extra feedback in cutting out more ‘excess’ information that lead the narrative in a different direction which may make the audiences a little less engaged (this included talking about Facebook login security) whereas we just kept to security and location proximity settings in general.

We also needed to equalize the audio (another factor which was just not done in the draft due to lack of time) as well as re-record the narrative material Michael and I speak about as they were in different tones which didn’t quite meld together as neatly as we’d like. We needed to speak less conservative and more as though we were reaching out to a larger audience that were seated in front of us.

The background audio would also be changed again another factor which wasn’t set in stone during the draft- the current audio was too repetitive (another feature our tutor pointed out as well), thus we decided to change the music and make it sound more technological during the second half as the piece really shifts into the development of technology. We will possibly also include some electronic device sound effects to add extra pace to the piece (the sound of typing on an iphone or the buzzing hum of a device left by itself). All in all the feedback really helped us note what we needed to change and also made us plan out next meeting (minutes).

Another conceptual approach to advertising could come in the form of students, as Gloria, Michael and I traveled to Federation Square with film gear in hand. Many individuals asked what we were recording, this caused us to answer with a statement involving that we were university students from RMIT studying a Bachelor of Media and Communications and has to fulfil a certain assignment.

One gentlemen stated he use to teach physics within the city campus, whilst another student from Swinburne told us she wished to transfer to RMIT and asked about details within the course. This got me thinking are student themselves advertisements? Or even further as Michael my group collaborative partner pointed out to me “Aren’t we all walking advertisements”. The clothes we wear, the makeup, the technology (smartphones), hairstyle, every material aspect we display is a possible form of advertising. Specific brands use branding which especially help consumers identity a products background. An example would be ‘Stussy ©’, a worldwide brand which is now recognized for its contemporary designs and youthful consumers.

As an update on our project the interviewing process went well, at first we assumed it would be harder than imagined. There were a hefty amount of rejections but a surprising amount of applicants wanting to be involved, some who were even quite charismatic about the topic. I was the camera operator, Gloria on sound and Michael was the interviewer as well as the individual handing out the release forms.

Overall it was interesting to hear about this topic, one Irish individual even included he knew that there were potential risks involving wearable devices but didn’t  care change his lifestyle, I believe this says a lot about the society we live in.

Exploring Korea’s Illegal Tattooing Scene

Hosted by Grace Neutral

“Grace Neutral explores how younger generations are challenging traditional views around
beauty and body image across the world. In the first four episodes of Beyond Beauty, we follow Grace to South Korea as she investigates the ways in which Seoul’s youth conform and challenge mainstream beauty ideals. Although it’s socially acceptable for teenagers to have cosmetic surgery within its six billion dollar domestic beauty industry, it is illegal to be a tattoo artist. From underground tattoo studios to specialist club nights, Grace meets the young South Koreans embracing alternative ideas of beauty and discovers the impact it has on their lives.” – (Youtube i-D)

As an individual in a first world (Australian) society self expression has become relevant through visual aesthetics and ones choice to choose most importantly what they decide to do with their body. It is interesting to watch this short ten minute documentary based around a country where tattoos are seen not only as taboo but degrading and criminally related. I believe this relates back to present day society where our image of beauty is still so distorted around what the media releases and chooses us to view. It should also be noted that the country ‘Grace Neutral’ narrated this documentary in (South Korea) is also the number one leading country for cosmetic surgery in fact “50% of 20-year-old women in South Korea are reported having undergone plastic surgery”. 

It baffles me how out of these two body modifications one is seen as ‘dirty’ and the other has become normalized.
A women Neutral interviews in the documentary states that if she wasn’t allowed to continue receiving plastic surgery she “([I]) would die”. This documentary really got me into what would influence a whole generation to change their physical identity- the answer Neutral found was ‘Kpop’. In South Korea K pop is more than just a form of popular music it is an industry which has immense influence on it’s consumers, and this can visually be seen to the extent of physical transformation.
I also want to note that this documentary has given me an insight into my visual and audio essay, the presentation, the visuals and overall the dramatic and lasting feel it left on me once it had finished. It was definitely a feeling of wanting more, luckily i-D (the youtube channel which uploads Neutrals content) had a few other visually stunning documentaries based around the fixation on perfection (created by the South Korean media), This makes me question how one whole country can be influenced vastly more than another- this is a subject I will want to look into further and hopefully find some results.

Media institutions; the topic for week 10’s lectorial. A media institution is an overarching company that has ownership over numerous companies within the mass media, these can include television, radio, publishing, film as well as online (the internet).

It is important that a company’s values runs across through all of its businesses, including the employees and other individuals associated with the company.

A prime example of a media institution with prominent values is Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg continues to stream his views on connectivity throughout the social media website. It was built as a platform for connection, sharing and to build social relations of course this also comes back to being their core values.

I can’t help comparing this platform to Rupert Murdoch in which he has major influence and owns a large part of the Australian media. His biased (extreme right winged) political views and values can be seen running through ‘The Herald Sun’ which is one of the many companies he has ownership over. Of course the views and values of this company would reflect a right-winged political stance as Murdoch does. Is is a reflection and example of a media institution mainly owned by a single individual with influence.
These two images below from the Herald Sun are all that needs to be shown to represent the strong biased political pull.

A project brief four update; of course as this project is our final statement piece for the semester this tutorial was spent giving notes and feedback about our topics the way we will be going about the essay. The idea we have on forming our essay is to take brief summary notes from our annotated bibliography and turn it into a dialectic script. This would mean we won’t have to spend time researching beyond the information we have already collected thus we can spend more time on the construction of the Audio essay (which will eventually lead to the construction of the film essay). The three topics we will be focusing on is smart wearable devices and the pros and cons they bring to modern society as well as security from Location Bases Services (LBS) and applications proximity settings (including dating apps and facebook) as well as possible radio frequencies and long term danger these devices could possibly have.

As project brief four consists of multiple tasks (including a developmental process) more time was given during this week’s tutorial to focus on our topics. Group discussions and feedback was formed in order for our tutor and fellow peers to evaluate and remark on any aspects they think we were able to improve on. It is interesting to see how our personal intrigues into the subject material (mediums and technology; wearable devices) reflects on what we choose for our annotated bibliography. Michael had chosen items that reflected developing technology (google glasses, smart bra) were as I had chosen articles focusing more on the privacy of this developing technology (social media applications such as tinder, happn and grindr). I believe we have quite a good work ethic and collaboration happening, as even if a team member is sick we schedule regular meetings around times which would be easiest for everyone to attend as well as keeping our facebook group page updated and consistently connected through its messenger.

The audio essay is our first tackle and as discussed we will be including interviews from people involved within the technology industry based around wearable devices, we are looking more on items that exclude the smartphone (such as a fitbit or smartwatch) but are also taking smartphones into account to discusses Geolocators and proximity settings as well as privacy. It is good to work with peers who are willing to put in the effort to help each other which can be a Russian roulette in the real media industry where you will not always get paired with the right people.

Audio Essay ‘Gravitational Anarchy’

“A mysterious case of the topsy turvies and a return to the question of what felines feel when they fall.”

In order to gain more of an insight into the world of audio essays I had a deeper delved into the site ‘radio lab’ (http://www.radiolab.org/) which was discussed in a recent weeks tutorial.
In particular I looked in to the essay of ‘Gravitational Anarchy’ which involved guests David Quammen and Neil deGrasse Tyson, I choose this particular example because I am quite a fan of Neil DeGrasse Tyson and the topic does relate to growing technology, in this case for astronomical reasons (where as our essay will be conducted on technology in regards to wearable devices). The piece begins with a story excerpted from an essay by Berton Roueché. This is an excellent example of referencing and using other sources for the audio aspect within the essay.
The mixture and choice of music within the intro dialogue (Rouechés except) is quite interesting a church organ is used to build suspense as the character almost overlaps her own voice in order to delay the level of silence in the piece creating a very fast paced narrative which keeps listeners on edge. The use of other voices to play separate characters within the story adds in extra excitement and helps personalize each individual. As the story is set in another era slow jazz music is used, the music is also deliberately warped as the character explains her imbalance. This connection between the music and the narrative helps the audience picture what the characters balance would be like visually although conveyed purely with audio.
Finally there is also aspects of discussion between two guests as they reference back to the narrative piece excepted into the essay and refer back to how Rouches story conveys meaning towards the term gravitational anarchy. Of course there is so much more detail used within this essay and all the essays posted onto Radio Lab but listening to each one allows a user to note down certain prominent characteristics and they can choose if those characteristics would work well within their own essay in this case linking soundtrack to the narrative is very important especially when describing a scene or a dramatic reading.

 David Morley’s piece of writing discuss the difference views and values of modern audiences as well as the values they have held historically. The platforms on which audiences have been based across was discussed and it was intriguing to see the difference between an audience of a novel (spread across space and time) compared to that of other instant platforms. Inventions through history which include the newspaper, radio and television also allowed for individuals to retrieve information from difference locations within the same time frame making a shared sense of “life in common” or connected-ness. The article discusses the progression of the television platform and how it has evolved into many channels in which its users can actively change and select what they want to watch. Morley uses different categories of audiences as examples including the mass audience, mediated audience and active audience. This particular note reminded me of other main theories in media involving audiences.

The ‘Active Audience Theory “media audiences do not just receive information passively but are actively involved, often unconsciously, in making sense of the message within their personal and social contexts”. The ‘Uses and Gratifications Theory “This theory created by Blumler and Katz’s suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using the media. “There also was the ‘Hypodermic Needle Theory’ which isn’t used anymore in modern society but originally the “hypodermic needle theory implied mass media had a direct, immediate and powerful effect on its audiences overall the theory played with the idea that media messages are injected straight into a passive audience”. Of course this was mainly used during a political time of propaganda (i.e WW2) but it is a good reflection on how the views and values of audiences have changed and how we have come to understand that active audiences are needed in order to contain media bias. In Morley’s article he discusses these ideas; weather an audience is passive or active. Are individuals controlled by the power of the media or are they actively choosing and arguing the content they intake. In an overall reflection Morley continues to note that it is those two groups (passive or active) that are in debate to see who makes up most of today’s audiences.

David Morley (2005), Entry on ‘Audience’ in New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Ed. T.Bennett, L. Grossberg & M. Morris (Wiley-Blackwell), pp.8-10.