AquaPura

Available here 

Synopsis:

When Max Bradley decided to drop out of university, he had ambitions that exceeded what a conventional education could offer. Max decided to join Sea Shepherd, an organization whose main focus is sustaining ecological systems and preserving the ocean’s wildlife. Everyday, Max dedicates himself to saving beached whales and untangling animals from abandoned fishing nets. AQUAPURA is a 5 minute documentary that focuses on Max’s relationship with Sea Shepherd Organization and the oceans he has yet to cross 

Production Roles: 

Directed by Oliver Kuschel

Filmed by Karmen Ma

Edited by Norton Chen

 

ASSIGNMENT 3 PT 1-AquaPura

Two seperate edits of a sequence of your work.Embed two different edits of a key sequence in your media work and write a 350 word reflection on the aims, strengths and weaknesses of each.  If you are working in another medium (ie: photo essay, photographs), you might like to explore two different layouts or formats for the work to be presented in.

Final edit:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1cYabMno7nlgfGBB0snMO0TB2-gVlHxkd

Rough edit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqXMWV56Be8&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR36tYvAs-mY8vQbYesIE3CwxqHct4gjCo8haadXErEjfyc5p8N0M6yJkdU

Sequence time:0:00-1:25

The aim for the opening sequence of AquaPura was to really get the audience hooked into what the film is about and to create some suspense. We originally thought that the best way to achieve this was to make it as fast paced as possible. The original sequence is quite in your face in terms of pace and the information being thrown at you. We originally thought that this aggressiveness was a good idea because the audience would be hooked right from the start. However, during our screening, the guest critics suggested we slow it down a bit because it was an information overload. I think the biggest strength of this edit is that the information being shown draws people in due to its fast-paced nature. How ever this also at the same time can be a negative. The information can feel as if it is coming too fast which might deter some people from paying attention because they cannot keep up with the information at hand. After hearing what our guests had to say about the opening sequence, we of course needed to slow it down a bit so that the audience have time to digest what’s being said. We did this by adding some more breathes in between phrases as well as cutting some unnecessary information that Max was talking about when we originally interviewed him. Obviously, the biggest strength of the final sequence is that it feels a lot less aggressive than the original edited sequence, which I think the audience will feel more comfortable with. Another strength of this edit is that I personally think the slower pace works well with the sound track better. The fast ticking in the background becomes more prominent in the final edit because of all the pauses that were added. I think this helps to aid our original aim of the opening sequence which was to hook our audience in.

A 350 word post oncollaboration – Did you have any issues in the making of your work? How did you overcome them? What makes a good collaborator?

The collaborative process this semester was quite a fun but stressful time. Norton and Karmen we’re great and reliable group members but when things that are out of your hands play dividends it can mean that this process can be tiresome. We had our fair few issues throughout this whole semester which created a number of issues for us. I think the biggest problem we had was due to the weather being quite terrible. We kept pushing back filming because every time we planned to film it was raining. It finally got to a point where we couldn’t afford to push it back anymore, so we filmed the interview in a recording studio at RMIT. The footage was terrible but we had already planned to cover it in b-roll anyway, so we were more invested in the audio than actual footage. Another issue that occurred over the collaborative process was the hiring of equipment. We had booked the only video camera available from RMIT thinking it would be the one that we had learned to use in class, but it turned out to be a completely different camera which neither Norton nor Karmen knew how to use. It meant that we we’re quite messy and unorganised in regards to setting the gear up. But luckily, we got the grasp of things after 20 minutes of tinkering with the camera. Another issue we had was sorting out who was going to edit a large chunk of this work, and thankfully Norton offered to ease our work load a bit because he didn’t have as many assignments as Karmen and I. I think a good collaborator is a team player and can get along with everyone in the group. Not having to worry about people arguing about how things should be or what they think is right creates a nice atmosphere which is enjoyable for all.

A 350 word post appraising your final work – What was your intention with this work? Did you achieve it? What aspects of the work are you proud of? What media production skills do you need to improve?.

Our intention for AquaPura was to highlight some interesting and key issues happening in todays world in the oceans. We wanted to try and spread awareness among a younger demographic as it will be us in the future who are going to have to deal with these problems if changes aren’t made. We thought the best way to do this would to be with Max as he fits into the target demographic which I personally believe helps to make it feel more relevant to those who watch. I would say for the most part we achieved what we set out to do, but I think if I were to do it again, I would change a few things. Due to time constraints its hard to develop a character and their personalities or traits. I think the film would’ve been even more dominant if we heard about Max’s story a bit more because the film only really tells us what he does on the surface. I think it would’ve also been good if we focused more on what people who are watching can do, as we include what Max suggests everyday people can do. But because it is only a 5 minute film I think it loses a bit of its attention as we didn’t have enough time to put more emphasis on it. I would say I’m proud over all with what we have achieved this semester. We had many constraints which set us back, but we were able to over come them to deliver our final product. I would say that I’m most proud of how our group worked together. It made for a less stressful time for everyone and just the general working environment has been enjoyable for me. Some media production skills that I would like to work on would certainly be editing. I feel like I can do very basic editing but after seeing other groups work compared to ours it makes me want to try and learn how to edit things in a more professional way. I also think I would like to learn how to use video cameras a bit more because at times I didn’t feel too comfortable with them just due to the fact that my knowledge with video cameras isn’t strong.

A 350 word post reflecting on your semester – Review the Week 1 blog post where you outlined your goals for this unit. Did you meet them? What challenges did you experience? How did you overcome them? What did you learn along the way? 

One of my goals for this semester which I mentioned in my goals was that I wanted to get better with my basic camera skills. I think I can say that I worked on them, but I still feel as if I have more to learn. I enjoyed learning how to use those Sony video cameras in class because prior to using them I thought that it would be pretty straight forward for me because I use a Sony mirrorless camera. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I had no clue how to use these cameras which was fun and exciting. I think some of my most important information that I will use in other classes would have come out of those shooting exercises we did in class because I really enjoy being behind a camera.  I also wanted to go out of my comfort zone this semester because I usually stick more to the photography side of media making. This semester was a great way for me to explore more videography and appreciate the work and effort that goes into film making. I think that this semester I really started to appreciate both the knowledge and fun that I was getting out of the hands-on side of class because it made the whole process a lot more enjoyable. I think one challenge I experienced is my confidence when it came to making decisions. When things start to be beyond your control, I found it sometimes hard to make decisions on what to do. An example of this was when we were behind in filming due to weather and I wasn’t sure if we should just wait or film in another location. This is something that I would like to work on moving forward in my studies.

 

W4: ‘ETHICS CHARTER’

  1. Turn the camera off at the request of the participant (Rachel Boynton, DOC NYC, 2018).
  2. Show the participant the finished film before the public (Rachel Boynton, DOC NYC, 2018).
  3. Love the people that you film. (Rachel Boynton, DOC NYC, 2018).
  4. Comply with what participants ask of you
  5. Don’t do something that you wouldn’t like of if you were in their position
  6. Ensure that the welfare of the subject is the first priority
  7. Give credit where credit is due
  8. Subjects give the right to film them, this needs to be respected

 

References:

DOC NYC PRO: Casting Case Studies 2016, streaming video, DOC NYC, New York, viewed 25 March 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bndwq27kkjc>. 

 

The Initiative Post- The Office

  1. So one of my favourite T.V series that I’ve ever watched is The Office (US version). I watched it a couple years ago and finished it in like a week or something ridiculous like that. The Office was actually so good that I ended up re-watching it multiple times after I had finished it. So why do I think its so good? Well I had never really watched a sitcom before because to be completely honest they had never really appealed to me. I’m not the biggest fan of T.V shows, I’m the sort of person to rather watch a film rather than having to continue watching episodes back to back. The Office changed this for me, once I started watching I couldn’t stop until I finished it. I loved how relatable the show felt, there was no superheroes or crazy characters. It just felt like real people in front of the camera talking about their daily lives and I loved that. Take Michael Scott for example, he is quite possibly my favourite character in the show because I just find him so entertaining from the way he talks to his quintessentially bad jokes. It made for a really enjoyable humorous experience. But one thing that you notice straight away is that a lot of these humorous moments only occur because the characters gel together so well. If its not for one character, there wouldn’t be a joke or it wouldn’t be as funny. Watching The Office felt like I was watching a tight knit group of what on the surface seems like a boring group of people gel together in a way that makes the show just so enjoyable. Another thing that The Office does well is create drama within the narrative. This sounds funny because every narrative has to have some sort of drama right? But my point is that The Office creates drama without losing their comedy genre. I feel as if no matter what happens in the show in terms of drama they always diffuse it with some sort of stupid joke that keeps the audience coming back for more. Something else that I found which always made it hard for me not to watch another episode was the on going gags throughout each season. Michael for example, no matter the time or situation will always make a that’s what she said joke. Its such a stupid joke but the way he times it and the environment that he is in when he says it makes it absolutely hilarious. I also believe another reason as to why I enjoyed the show so much was character relationships. I like most people loved the chemistry between Jim and Dwight. Most of the time we see them get on each other’s nerves through Jim doing childish pranks you cant help but to love them. The way that they react to each other makes for a really enjoyable viewing experience which furthers character development. I also love how this show was shot. It doesn’t use fancy camera techniques, it gives you the impression that this show was just shot as simply as it could be so that the audience can really focus in on narrative. It gives us this feeling that the person who is shooting this is just an amateur film maker interviewing a small paper company from Scranton, and to me that is really imperative.

Real to Reel- An introduction

What I would like to get out of Real to Reel is some more hands on and engaging experience with more of the contemporary applications of non-fiction media making. I would like to be fine tuning my basic camera skills as well as learning new ways of doing things that I may have not experienced before. Real to Reel I feel would be a great way for me to explore different media activities as we dive into different things such as screenings, creative exercises and discussion. I think that theses tasks will help to broaden my knowledge of media techniques in general that can be applied to a day to day basis. In Real to Reel I think that I would like to focus more on the photography side of things more than film making, but with that being said I am also open to trying more videography and film because this is something that I am not as comfortable with. I have always been very close with my camera and photography as I like to take photos in my free time. I love to take portraits as its what gives me the most enjoyment out of my camera, but I am also open to the idea of trying some sort of new genre of photography that can help me work on my strengths and weakness when taking photos. Ideally by the end of semester I would love to look back at what I’ve learnt from this studio and be able to apply this to future applications, whether that is in a job or just my personal creative tasks. One of the aims of the studio is to develop a reflective practice that responds to work you make and work you experience as part of a self-directed research journey. This is something that I am keen to work on this semester because I think its easy for someone to create something that they like, but reflecting on work is just as important and is definitely something that I would like to work on.

W2: A COLLECTION OF LIKE OBJECTS-“BIKES”

 

In this task we decided to go out onto Swanston Street to take photos of push bikes. We decided to choose bikes as our like objects as Melbourne has an enormous amount of cyclists travelling around the busy city. It was clear from the start of the task that bicycles are an important mean of transport for a large majority of people. One step outside RMIT and the amount of bikes locked up and being ridden shows just how significant this means of transport is. So what do these images tell us? We’ll as I said before its a means of transport for a lot of people, but as well as this it also can serve as advertising or even food delivery. Walking down Swanston street gave us a wider view of just how different each bike and their owner are. We saw so many food delivery bikes with bright yellow bags stuck down on the back, which shows just how prominent bikes have become as a way for ordinary people to work for these companies to make a living. We also noticed a black bike which essentially served as a billboard with the text “Jesus died for our sins”. With bikes being all over the city its an interesting way for someone to convey a message across to the general public.

 

This is the image that I personally like the most and I believe that it is not just a photo of a bike but there is other signifiers that widen the picture. What stands out is the text on the basket of the bike. This image sums up Melbourne’s attitude towards cycling as a whole, we are proud to advertise our city on push bikes, and we want people to use them. That is also shown in this image as there is only one single bike in this lock up spot, meaning that this form of transport is a popular way for not only tourists but the general public to explore the streets of Melbourne.

W1 : EVE ARNOLD INSPIRED MINI-ESSAY – “B&W COLLECTIVE”

This first photograph is of Norton’s friend who happened to be outside building 10. I thought the image came out great, as the subject isn’t doing too much in terms of striking a pose. I asked him just to stay where he is and just snapped a photo of his raw emotion. I also took the image at f2.8 to give a shallow depth of field which helps to isolate him from the background. Being a photographer myself I love to take portraits of people and I personally think that a person doesn’t necessarily need to be doing anything special for the photo to turn out great.

The next image I took was of a bright yellow staircase near building 8. This photo to some might seem very simplistic but that is what I like about it. What I was aiming for in this photo was for the viewers eyes to be guided up towards that cone at the top of the image. Being a photographer myself straight lines is something that I always look for when framing a shot. I want your eyes to start in one part of the frame, and move to somewhere else. I also thought that the cone at the top of the stair case made for an interesting subject

The last image I shot was of an RMIT staff member walking towards us as I took the shot. I like this photo as there are clear straight lines that lead us to the subject. As well as this the area that this photo was taken was quite dark and the only real light source was coming from above. I think that this gives a sense of isolation from the busy expectations of RMIT. The only thing that I think could be slightly improved was if the image was exposed so it was slightly brighter, but it is also the darkness of the image that helps to convey the sense of loneliness