Day: September 5, 2017

Noticing in an Introspective Manor
“What do I notice when I turn my attention to myself, what habits can I reflect upon, do I understand my own behavior?”

For my third portfolio post I want to examine myself, habits and routines in an introspective manor.

I want to question if I am able to notice habits good and bad about myself. I think a lot of the time we don’t view ourselves in an in-depth manner, we don’t question our actions enough and when life becomes busy and day to day becomes routine we forget to nourish our self and work on habits that bring mindfulness into our everyday lives. For the past few months I have been working on doing just that- noticing my habits through meditation and mindfulness, through this final portfolio task I want to include a visual montage of habits that I have become aware of when re-examining my routine, they aren’t necessarily bad or good but they will give insight into my behavior and why we do certain things, at the end of this post I will give an overview of my thoughts when reflecting on the actions that I have recorded. I want to see what habits I can observe within myself, how these habits affect me and If I am able to change them once I have understood them through noticing. My main question will be If I am able to change my behavior through noticing and working on the parts of myself that need work. I can already imagine attention when working on university projects as a main issue as generally sitting down for long periods of time can make me feel unsettled and uncomfortable but I haven’t truly viewed my habits and some related behavior in a way that really looks deep and introspective.

Recipe: The recipe for this task is simple, for a few hours or a day become very aware at noticing habits (good and bad). Record these habits with a camera, edit it into a single video and reflect upon the actions that have been recorded.

Method:

1. Carry a camera around during a day that isn’t too busy so that becoming aware and noticing can be the main focus
2. Record data and any habits that arise when you notice them
3. Upload the data into a montage and comment on the results.
   

Ingredients: A camera (Panasonic LUMIX GH4), myself, a single day with spare hours and awareness.

Results: Most of my shots were close ups, I realized it was more obvious to see habits I do with my own body  rather than those that I do with other objects. I believe this is because I can notice behaviors when they’re more in front of me rather than around or surrounding me. For example it was easier to notice and be in tune with the fact that I chew gum but it was harder to notice changes I do to my environment- like closing the curtains in the evening. I believe this is because it’s less of a direct habit.

I also want to state that the way I view myself has a bias, as the habits and behaviors I notice are from my own perspective and may not be the same as what other individuals may see. This is really important because the relationship between myself and the camera differs from other individuals, studying a media subject and using the camera regularly creates a dynamic between myself and the camera that is different to other individuals. This means that when the camera is present my behavior can shift into a more ‘presentable’ manner that differs from the raw forms that I’m trying to capture. It means that I think for my final project I will want to record others rather than myself to get rid of this bias and to use media to my advantage rather than disadvantage.

Intentional Noticing & The of Bias Recording with Technology

“What do I notice when I am intentionally recording and what do I notice when I am not, does technology make a difference in the way I record data?”

I also have questions if the way I record can create a bias, focusing in on one particular aspect and not recording others that other individuals might record. Do I notice differently to others?

Recipe: Record data with camera, write up the results of what you noticed in two separate environments, sit in the environments for a specific amount of time that allows you to capture the elements and aspects within it. Record the data then write up the results.
Method:

1. Enter a quite space and record the space using a camera whilst describing what you notice about the space whilst looking through the cameras lens. Record what you notice without recording and see how they differ.
2. Complete this experiment twice with a second location that differs to the first. Understand how media changes the way we notice and record data.

Ingredients: Myself, Panasonic LUMIX GH4 and a laptop

Noticing Through a Camera Lens Media1

Noticing Without A Camera – Taking Notes With Pen & Paper, Media1
I definitely feel like I have a ‘wider’ perspective without the lens in front of me, there is a certain feeling when you can sense your peripheral vision compared to when you can’t and that adds to how you describe a space.The space is quite dark due to the heavy concrete walls that seal in most natural light, The only natural light emits from the electric doors further up the buildings main foyer. The lights hanging in the new building are bright and direct. The light gives off a very ‘clinical’ feeling. I feel quite cold due to the heat being absorbed by the concrete bricks whilst there isn’t much furniture to bring a sense of homeliness. The walls have geometric patterns whilst the floor is plain and clean. The chairs down the foyer are multicolored, the space feels very empty. The space is calm and would be an area I can study in but after spending more time writing I realize how cold the area feels and notice the cold more when writing compared to filming.

Noticing Through a Camera Lens Media2

Noticing Without A Camera – Taking Notes With Pen & Paper, Media2
Droplets of rain from the tree above me keep falling onto my head and the piece of paper in front of me, I was lucky enough to not have to deal with this when recording but now that i’m trying to find a place to sit I’ve become aware to how wet it is. Again it’s cold but this time I don’t feel it as much, I definitely find it harder to write, I find when i’m noticing with pen and paper I don’t want to pick out aspects that are obvious. I still notice how dull the day is and how there is a massive lack of color in the environment i’m currently in but it’s not something that I feel the need to present like I did when filming.

Results: Without a camera I am able to describe more aspects related to how I feel. As I use film as a way to record and view a space ‘through the lens’ I start to focus more the visuals and audio elements within my environment-  leaving the other senses to become weaker. Despite this I think using media has a longer lasting effect because you can go back and revisit the location without physically being in the space, each time you go back you can set yourself to notice something different but in saying that again It has a very strong visual element. With media you can only go back and re-notice both audio and a visual image you can’t record and return to the way the space made you feel, it’s temperature, the atmosphere as well as other senses including touch.

It would be interesting to see if this differs when recording ourselves, showing senses like touch may become easier to record when we visually represent a description of a feeling most have felt before and can recall (like rubbing hands together with soap, a sense most of us have felt before so we are able to recall how it might feel). I think taking from this experiment I would like to focus the attention on myself and the way i’m able to record and notice aspects about myself. I would like to see how recording makes me feel and if I notice anything different and become more aware due to recording. I believe this experiment has opened up the way I think about media and it’s influence over our senses and how it’s a very visual dominant format in our current society. I also enjoyed with this experiment using first person perspective whilst filming as I think it adds an element of intimacy which could be interesting and a potentially concept for my final project piece.