Monthly Archives: April 2016

Audiences

Our PB4 topic discusses audiences. From the texts given to us through readings, discussion and research, most discourse surrounding texts discuss the power shift between media makers and the audience. “The People Formerly Known as The Audience” provides metaphors surrounding the accessibility and circulation of DIY media, home production and low budget User Generated Content.

Our group aims to look at interactive relations between tv and audiences, in particular Q&A (I’m not obsessed with Q&A, I know I bring it up a lot). This show operates on two levels of audience interaction; the questions from the audience members to the panel, and the live tweets from the viewers at home. Live interaction with TV is a driving force and one of the last remaining traits that acquires viewership in scheduled free to air television.

Another concept we will explore is audience boycotting of television or movie series. I am a vocal LGBT activist and my interest of media and my interests in activism often blend and I’m constantly arguing for better representation of minorities in film and tv. Too many times have I seen films boycotted due to their lack of representation, their white-washing or total reconstruction of LGBT narratives which has shaped our community. (Notable examples: The Danish Girl, Stonewall, The 1OO etc.)
The audience choice to boycott these texts cut their revenue in half and in turn, destroyed the reputation of all involved. This is the power shift the combined mind of the audience can have over media.

However in equal parts, we want to address media ownership, the power big businesses have over what we consume and the lack of control we have especially in Australia. Media ownership, censorship and coverage are topics we will define and hopefully make a statement on.

Elements of Sound in podcasting.

These are both from the list compiled in my Media 1 tute and from a reading in Cinema studies.

Volume – Loudness, amplitude, breadth. Contrasting volume such as silence with loudness makes a dramatic statement. ie. A gunshot ringing through a silent night.
Music – A great use of music is on Hack for example. As a conversation gains traction they often use a simple drum beat to create rhythm in the convo.
Narration – Have a clear difference between the voice leading the conversation and those contributing or being interviewed. Maybe use a different mic, a different vocal tone and non-diegetic sound to bring us back to “the room”
SFX  – Use these to make your recording visual. Generate an atmosphere around the person you interview, the topic you’re talking to.
Interviews – sometime’s it’s helpful to lessen the quality of the interview, including some background noise to show it’s a contributor.
Conversations – two or more people on the panel are having a casual and converse interaction. Differentiate their voices and avoid overlapping speech unless that is a desired effect.
Archival recordings – for sfx you can’t record yourself. or perhaps iconic podcast/radio noises.
Vox Pop – voice recordings of public answering the same question.
Phonecalls – get your interviewee on the phone if you can’t get them in public.

Begin with a question: Why do we sleep? Are we an audience? Do audiences still exist? the passive kind etc. idk I will update with a question soon.

Collabs; rate or hate?

We have launched into our 4th project brief with the news that it consists primarily on group work, and will be assessed on our ability to collaborate and participate with others in a productive way. This at first elicited a groan from me, but straight away I realised; I genuinely enjoy group work.
Some of the thing’s i’m most proud of were achieved in a group. There’s no way I could have done them alone.

My favourite experience was during a course called Shooting Short Productions. 5 scripts from the class were selected and we chose the script which we would like to collaborate. The hardest part was divvying up the tasks. Everyone wanted to edit. This time round I think it’s a much faster process to allocate one person to lead each task, but everyone has equal input and responsibility.

I ended up shooting for 3 days with the cast and crew,and it was nice. I ate a lot of kebabs. We bonded, and shared our favourite movies and film techniques. There was never any tension. I though the biggest learning curve was after 12 takes, I couldn’t time a shot right and be able to show enough coverage, so I swallowed my pride and handed over the camera to someone else. I was slowing down the momentum trying to be it all.

Anyway, on the last day of shooting, we shot at the house of the director. He had a sick vinyl on the wall from a band I was obsessed with at the time. I said hey sick record and he said thanks that’s my band. He flipped over the sleeve and there he was. (I took the vinyl home and never paid him sorry m8)

Anyway so here’s a successful piece of group work I made last year. EnjOÿ

Not at this Address from rosie pavlovic on Vimeo.

 

Peer feedback for PB3

Riah:
Riah’s short interview with her mum was a touching and sentimental look into their relationship. It showed the pride she has for her mother. The film reads like a recent of the stories and tales a daughter might hear from their mother when they ask about their younger years. To me, Riah has created a poignant retelling of these stories. Creatively, her use of found footage is appropriate and well timed, fitting visual interview moments with relevant imagery. One aspect I would fix however is the sound quality during the interview, as it has a slight echo, however I understand as the lapel mic had limited distance.

Bradley: Eraserhead
I was immediately struck by Bradley’s two camera set up, which was a unique aspect throughout all the screenings. I thought that it was a simple but effective way to bring texture to his work. The closeup’s of the erasers were really effective on the white background. The professionalism was brilliant. However in a minor detail, I believe some shots against the white wall could have been exchanged for a background revealing more about the subject. Other than that I thought the concept was wildly creative and very quirky.

Hannah: 
Hannah’s soundtrack was an immediate standout to me. Her use of imagery paired with title effects and sound fit together so well. She really captured the intensity of his training regime. The subject engaged with the questions well and she chose a subject with an aesthetically pleasing pastime: rowing. The shots on the water and on the bridge provided great texture to the clip and her golden hour timing was beautiful. Hannah pointed out to me that the camera was out of focus during the filming but I wouldn’t have picked up on it otherwise.

 

post aesthetic Q&A: am i too extra???? :(((((((

(This post has been written in a post-cyber aesthetic vernacular which aims to cut ties with retrospective affiliations of the “myspace-era” self expression on the internet.
This is in order to mimicry these outdated expressions, and establish myself on this platform as not a “normie” while also expressing my legitimate concerns about my p e r s o n a l i t y)

Q: Hi Rosie!
u probs know me as an extrovert if u are in class with me which is gross.
but I’m too extra at uni bc I’m having fun he he.
but when I’m working I’m like shy uwu bird smol birb tiny bird bone i wear my sweater sleeves clutched in me sweaty palms like an emo wearing a jay jays elmo jumper.
jks but not really.

img-thing

rawr means i love u in dinosaur

  1. my gf calls me “yep nup yep” which is an impression of me when i get frazzled taking orders at work. I get my y’s and n’s mixed up and i say things like yep, nup yep!.
    another great moment was me clearing a plate and an old man said the fish was great and instead of saying like, “glad to hear it!” or “i’ll let the chef know”, i tried to say AW YEAH ? : )))) (why)
    but instead i said awww REAHHH? which isn’t a word nor a sentence anyone would say ever.
    so yeah, i am a multi-faceted human being with a speech impediment. What are some tips for working in group me?
    – Rosie

    A: Hi Rosie,
    I AM In Class Right Now And Here Are Some Tips On Working With Other People Without Being A Control Freak/Too Weird and Egotistical

  1. Prioritise the group’s goal
  2. Close listening > deep listening
  3. Aim for complete concentration
  4. Be in Control without being a control freak!
  5. Learn to manage blended egos (including ur own)
  6. Allow  and strive for equal participation
  7. someone may be more experienced with a problem, familiarity>problem solving
  8. OPEN communication
  9. moving it forward, make sure you’re being productive
  10. prepare for the potential for failure 🙂

hope these help sweetie! good luck with the group assignment
– Rosie

Project Brief 3

I suppose I should begin my reflection with a critical look at my work.
With no backstory or written explanation of my work, I think it’s somewhat of an average, run of the mill interview. My music choice was definitely cliche. Royalty free music sites should have a search bar exclusively for acoustic guitar meddling.
I’m only saying that my project was standard because I know I don’t have an eye for photography. I was given a beautiful setting to work within but it didn’t show through in my video as planned. This is something I would like to work on.
My subject wasn’t particularly talkative as a person. This is just in his nature.
This proved difficult and in some cases he didn’t want to answer the questions.

I think (and here’s a huge learning curve) that I had an unrealistic perception of my subject. That I would be able to ask questions and be able to solicit a response that would bring the room to tears. I had a perception that my interviewee was “deeper” than he was, and the backstory I knew he had was totally off limits. To give you some context, here is the material I was going to work with.

Another issue was that I didn’t have enough found footage. This is pretty apparent, as I only have 3 clips throughout my video. I guess I can blame this on not throughly reading the brief, seeing it was supposed to be 30/70.

Yet, this is a work i’m really proud of. I am starting to understand the editing software and the process is becoming easy and flexible. I managed well with a devastating blindside by my previous subject, which I detail here. (TL;DR, I was cancelled on a week before due date).
I contradict myself here, but some of the shots weren’t half bad. sure I hold a camera with the stillness of a shake-weight, but I am holding more cameras in this course than I have in a long time.
I’m not totally unhappy with this work. I think my work ethic was exceptional. I put a lot of effort into this project. Even after my setback, I managed my time well; booking in a date with Peter straight after I was knocked back, then completing all of my assignments for other classes in the coming days before the interview. I filmed Friday/Saturday, edited Sunday and Monday, uploaded today, and now i’m completing this post.

 

Escapism to The Country: The togetherness in isolation from rosie pavlovic on Vimeo.

Readings: Week 6, Noticing

(I am trying to submit shorter posts more frequently here)

In John Mason’s reading The Discipline of Noticing, which was assigned this week, he provided us with brief exercises to undertake to increase our perception and ability to record. I believe that recording is the hardest part of noticing.

His suggestions such as notice the moon, or the temperature of the room, say I as you walk through a doorway etc are ideas that I will under take willingly. I believe it is important, especially as media makers to break away from “screen time” or even just media time (including non digital media)  and let the world provide substance. Sometimes I feel as though I am always just waiting for something to entertain and engage me. Music as I walk to the station, my phone on the train, listening and watching a lecture, my laptop and notes, music as I study, textbooks, readings etc.
It might just be me but sometimes I need to break away from taking in media. So to keep engaged and entertained I will be doing these exercises.\

My last observation from this reading was that I am already, unwittingly participating in recording! I keep a list on my phone of locations I think would be nice to shoot/photograph, story ideas that are inspired by things happening to me. Here’s my list of locations around Melbourne:

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A show about nothing.

I think a great example of noticing, marking and recording would be the writing of Larry David. A show like Seinfeld is dubbed “a show about nothing” when it should be a show about noticing. The characters are hyperaware of the most minuscule social conventions, such as a woman with “man hands”, or taking credit for a purchase when handing someone a salad, or even the way a person laughs. It’s qualms we filter out in our day to day life, yet David has capitalised on the sensation of noticing something, and letting it ruin the experience for you.

 

 

it me, experiencing technical difficulties

I had a few bits of tech and techniques that didn’t quite work out for me during this project. but it’s all a learning experience so I’m not that fussed.

The first one I found when I loaded all my footage and watched through it. I noticed that I’d developed a tendency to be quite trigger happy on the record button. My shots were really abrupt and cut way too short. I could see myself getting into position, holding the camera still for 1…2…3 and then a cut. Some really good shots were totally useless because it would just be too much movement.

This combined with my over fidgeting with the settings. There’s a shot of a car window towards the end of my video where I visibly change the exposure while recording and change it back. Very unprofessional.

Another little problem I made was NOT checking what equipment i was given! It was only after I filmed that I found out I was given a lapel mic!
I am suffering through that one, as I have tu use audition to try and cut the low wind frequency. Which isn’t working as shown below. My interviewee’s voice is very low and dips into the wind frequency. When I cut the sound it makes his voice sound poorly recorded.

 

Update on my PB3: farewell, spicy hot son of a mama.

So last Week (Monday the 11th of April, 2016, 11.29am to be specific) my interviewee cancelled on me. I had chosen an ex-workmate who I had worked with in hospitality for 3 years and had built a solid friendship. He was a woodfire pizza maker who has moved from Italy to find work in Australia, so he could send his family money during the recession in Italy. He is a young man who is struggling with assimilation into Australian society, a very different social scene from the lifestyle in Italy.
I wanted to pick his brain on his expectations of Australia, what has surprised him, what has disappointed him. There would be some aesthetically pleasing shots, as he can do impressive tricks with the pizza dough. I had images of flour being thrown in slow motion, Italian opera soundtracks and expressive movements. It was going to be la dolce belvedere! (I dropped Italian in year 9)

I gave him a phone call after we were briefed with the project and brought up the idea. He was very interested and we set up a date to have a run through. I received permission to film from the restaurant owner and arrived on Friday ready to film. As soon as I set up camera, the sight of it hit his eye like a big pizza pie and he backed out completely. I thought it was stage fright. He did not understand that I wanted to film the interview. He thought I was doing a written piece. I soon found out that this individual had been in some low-key crim*nal activ*ty in the past and was very apprehensive to have his image on the internet.

We came to the conclusion that I would be allowed a voiceover but no face, and I agreed. This was going to be pretty difficult to stage but it was better than losing my subject. The pizza man said it might be better to reschedule, and to give him some more time to think it over.
From then, he never returned my calls.

With 1 week until the project was due my interviewee was ghosting me on another level.
However, I would like to dedicate this post to the gracious generosity and understanding of the parents of media students. In 30 minutes after the cancellation I managed to wrangle up another interview with an old, ever faithful subject: my dad.