Hopefully in this written reflection I can not only highlight what I’ve learnt within my first semester at RMIT, but also define learning curves to myself as I write. It’s been a significant change to the learning method I’ve previously experienced in school and university. These often did not stress the importance of consistency and even loyalty to a creative method. I feel through being assessed on our weekly blog posts we are learning to make creativity a habit. Blogging becomes a nagging thought we would feel guilty not to answer. I believe I need this learning strategy to be consistent with my creativity. Hopefully, this practice teaches us to take our creative methods and make them a part of our routine.
The form of my posts has had a transformation too. My earlier posts were almost short essays. I believed my blog to be a strict scholarly writing outlet, where posts were curated on their basis of empirical evidence. Not ultimately a bad thing, just too time consuming for a casual learning blog. As I kept practicing blogging, posts became snappier and strayed from the standard format I’d laid down. I had a Q&A with myself, psychoanalysing my ability to work in a group. I even posted a draft for a poem I’d written. My tone became casual, but sharp enough to clearly argue my point, with the coursework giving way for various discussion points.
A post that stands out to me in this area was spurred by class discussion in a tute. We had turned to the topic of trigger warnings, with some classmates arguing that they enforced censorship and were an unnecessary filter for people with sensitivity issues. I argued that they were a coping mechanism for trauma survivors and allowed their friends and classmates to practice self preservation. I detailed my thoughts in a blog post titled CW: Ignorance; Why do so many people misinterpret trigger warnings?
This post is fairly emotional, and written with a slight undertone of contempt. However, it’s the post that gained the most views on my blog, inside and outside this course. I wished the graphic comic I included had come through clearer. I am still learning the in’s and outs of wordpress.
This semester I’ve had various degrees of hands on experience with media technology. This is an aspect of the course that I’ve enjoyed the most. Camera exercises in class were a favourite. These tasks were also a great way to get to know classmates, including the way they work technically. I realised this when working on this Camera Exercise with classmates earlier this year.
I found that I actively engage better with creative processes when I’m working in a group. For so long I was apprehensive to work in group scenarios due to their bad rap, but as you mature as a practitioner I think it’s important to brand group activities as ‘collaborations’ (if that’s what you need to tell yourself to get through it!) It’s a chance to work with people outside your social circle. It’s a chance to to learn from people who might have a completely opposite creative direction. The PB4 is an obvious example of this. I had this ‘aha’ moment as we delved into our first task together. I chronicled this in a post titled Collabs; rate or hate?
As we know, all learning can’t be from positive experiences. The biggest challenge I faced so far would be during PB3. It was the act of putting myself out there to interview people I knew. I had a huge obstacle to get past which was anxiety of being a pest, or annoying the interviewee. People seem to shut down as soon as a camera is involved. This happened to me a week before PB3 was due. As hard as I tried to make the situation light and comfortable the interviewee wouldn’t participate and I had to scratch the project. I wrote a post about this experience on my blog, when I thought I wouldn’t rebound. Luckily I managed to pull it together.
Finally, my last learning practice I’ve undertaken would be volunteering at Melbourne Queer Film Festival. I wanted to open myself up for experience before applying for work attachments. I know they aren’t the same level of engagement, but it might look good on my resume and I know they offer intern positions next year. I usually don’t put myself out there in the industry, but I had a blast talking to other like minded volunteers and patrons. Plus I was given free tickets to some shows which my friends and I thoroughly enjoyed. Here’s a post about the experience, along with a very dorky instagram.
I’ve attached a picture of my learning graph, hopefully giving this post the visual element it needs.
i don’t have access to a scanner forgive me
I have been frothing some of the shots in this video, plus the tune is depressing and surf rock which follows my beach goth aesthetic. This video has got dicks drawn on faces, gross spaghetti, black eyes, darts. What more could a girl want. Czech it out below:
