Over the past week in our media classes we have watched the self portraits of our classmates as well as some documentary style portraits from external sources. I really liked the use of voice over to narrate the footage. It created personal touches and a connection between the audience, voice and visual material. I also often found the voiceovers calming, they allowed the viewer to focus directly on what was being said and listen attentively. I liked the use of slow shots and prolonged visuals with minimal accompanying audio. This allowed the audience to accept the quietness and stillness and focus on the visuals, telling the story through pictures. It also helped to create questions for the audience to ponder. We were forced to find our own conclusions as to what relevance the images have to the subject and their identity. Another thing that captured my attention was the use of stop motion, it created a childlike innocence in the piece, it also helped to produce a more personalised effect. The segments of film that documented memories through appealing to human senses were especially endearing. We usually associate things in our past with specific senses. Our memories often flood us as a stream of different sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures. It documented the appreciation of simplicity in everyday life. The videos that paired audio with an associated still image were also engaging. The combination of the stillness of the images and fluidity of the sound was simultaneously disjointing and cohesive. It reminded me of old school video and computer games where the introductions and loading screens contained still shots rather then animated movements. I also found the information about peoples cultural backgrounds intriguing. The richness and diversity of different traditions and heritage was fascinating and personal.

With recent technology advances, everyday items as simple as a watch, wristband, ipod or phone have become our own personal GPs. These devices are able to measure a whole range of health statistics and feed us their results on a daily basis. Without having to calculate things ourselves we are told our daily steps, heart rate, calorie intake and amount of sleep. These devices have the power to help us calculate our behaviour and create a healthy and ideal lifestyle for ourselves. They have had great benefits in assisting doctors to monitor their patience recovery process and gather a constant stream of data, capturing whats going on in a persons body outside of the doctors office. As well as the benefits these devices also have their downfall. They can be inaccurate, although this technology is generally reliable, cheaper devices may be giving people inaccurate results that they are then shaping their life around. Another disadvantage is the paranoia and anxiety that these devices can create. They are constantly with you, infiltration’s your life with no escape. You cant cheat them or lie to them and unfortunately they don`t register your sick days, off days or those days you feel like relaxing or indulging. People can become overly concerned with maintaining standards that it is creating unhealthy obsessions and dependence on reaching that perfect number in every aspect of your health, every day of your life. With constant reminders that we under slept, over-ate or didn’t get to the gym we can be left feeling guilty and in a constant state of dissatisfaction. Do the health benefits of these devices outweigh their adverse affects?