Thomas Hatchman – RMIT University S3381278
Integrated Media: Participation Contract – Week: 3
Review and Reflection:
Name: Thomas Hatchman – Student Number: S3381278
Teacher: Hannah
1. Taking time to do research outside of class time.
Measure – Spend two hours per week conducting research. Looking and responding to various films or essays. Taking time outside of class time to look at other online resources and Korsakow projects, to enhance my creative learning.
MY KORSAKOW FILM REVIEW WEEK 3:
Review & Reflection: Throughout Week 3, I spent a fair amount of time researching films as well as specifically looking at Korsakow films made by students from pervious years. Below you will see that I have chosen to reflect and review three different Korsakow films, which I watched as my research this week. I actually had fun doing this exercise, and I think it has really helped me understand the importance of interactive storytelling/filmmaking.
Korsakow Film 1 – The City through a Window Pane
This was one of the first films that I watched on Korsakow and for those who haven’t had a chance to watch it I suggest taking a look. The film uses one main window interface to give viewers different experiences into the life of the Melbourne City Business District. I thought the film was well choreographed and each shot showed sophistication and thought. The interactive layout of the film was also an element that adds to the complex, creative and unique design that the film portrays.
Visually, the film is impressive. The film uses a variety of different shots to create a complex piece of artwork that is captivating and stimulating. Each interactive interface has it’s own unique theme and genre to give audiences a vast look into the cultures that Melbourne offers. To support this change in interface, sound is also a key component here, and it actually helps to create a dynamic and engaging experience for the viewer.
Overall I really enjoyed this Korsakow film experience. I think the students did a good job. I hope to create something similar, and work on making the best Korsakow film that I can. I think it’s so important to have a strong idea about what message you’re trying to convey to your audience, and be able to express those ideas by allowing your audience to interact with your material on many levels.
See Link: http://vogmae.net.au/classworks/2012/TheCityThroughaWindowPan.html
Korsakow Film 2 – Life is a Musical
Throughout my research, I came across ‘Life is a Musical’. This film uses sound from everyday occurrences and puts it in a frame for observational viewing. This film was both good and bad in some ways. It had an interesting subject matter, but I think there was the potential for further exploration. The framing and visual aesthetics of the film were surprisingly good, but inconsistent at times. This was also a problem with the quality of the videos that were used. Some were better quality than others. The simplicity of each frame is something to appreciate, however I felt that the footage lacked creativity in some areas.
Overall, I’m happy that I took the time to reflect on this film because it had both good and bad parts to it, so it’s a good way to learn about what to do, and what not to do when creating these types of projects. The interface was fairly simple, with one main interface, and smaller less detailed interfaces around it, which could be used for further exploration.
See Link: http://vogmae.net.au/classworks/2012/LifeisaMusical.html
Korsakow Film 3 – Dreamcatcher
One of the last films that I watched which I would like to mention is ‘Dreamcatcher’. I enjoyed watching this film, but it was definitely not as good as some of the others. Visually, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing as some of the other films that I watched. This was a problem for me because I’m a visual person, but for others it might not really be an issue, because the subject matter is left up for interpretation and imagination rather than told using visual stimuli.
The film has a consistent rhythm and overall theme, which is represented through a series of short camera facing interviews from people who tell dream stories as if they were real life events. The students who made this film consider it “an associative narrative that uses the secondary revision of dream telling to generate stories from a variety of people”.
Stylistically, this film uses an interface that contains one main video window, which is then sliced into parts to suggest what the subsequent clips are. I think this interface layout works well and makes you want to continue your video experience, but the spoken material/dialogue is not that interesting, and the stories that are told could easily have been more creative or engaging.
From an editor’s point of view, the way this Korsakow film has been shot, edited and framed certainly shows a lack of maker’s experience. It was a quite a basic film and didn’t really show a level of complexity that I would have liked. Overall not a bad film, but definitely could have been better I think.
See Link: http://vogmae.net.au/classworks/2011/dreamcatcher.html
SCORING 1-10 SCORED MYSELF: 9
I scored myself a 9/10 because I did a lot of research and exploration and put in the time and effort to do more work than was required.
2. Complexity and depth shown through analysis/summarizing of prescribed readings.
Measure – Show evidence of notes taken each week through summarizing set readings. Write and reflect on readings, post views and thoughts via blog.
Review & Reflection: This week’s reading was about Narrative. It provided some very insightful information about the use of the narrative in film. It helped me to understand how the use of narrative is essential, as it plays a fundamental role in helping people make sense of the world around them.
My Brief Summary:
In this week’s reading the term ‘narrative’ can simply be considered a ‘chain of events in a cause-effect-relationship occurring in time and space’. This reading suggests that a narrative usually begins with one situation, a series of changes occur according to a pattern of cause and effect, and finally a new situation arises that brings about the end of the narrative.
According to the reading, filmmakers incorporate the use of narrative into their works, because as an audience, people often have a high expectation that they will be lead along some sort of journey or adventure, in which they play no part. As the audience we often make bold assumptions that there will be characters and some action that will involve them with another. We also often assume that between such characters there will be incidents and obstacles that will connect them in some way. Likewise, we frequently expect that the problems or conflicts arising in the course of the action will achieve some final state, either they will be resolved or, at least, a new light will be cast on them.
SCORING 1-10 SCORED MYSELF 7
I scored myself 7/10 because I did the required reading and actually took notes on parts that were new to me. I’ve actually done this reading before but took the time to read it again and to refresh my memory.
3. Collaboration of creative ideas and ability to use Korsakow Software.
Measure – Throughout the week record 5 x 10second videos for Korsakow, and analyze them. Imbed them into my blog. Show further exploration and develop creative ideas for future projects.
Review & Reflection: This week required me to take more videos for Korsakow experimentation. I tried to brainstorm a variety of new ideas that could contribute to my creative learning. I short-listed a range of polar opposites as a way to narrow the field of what creative path I wanted to follow this week. In doing so I eventually came to the conclusion of selecting fragile and sturdy as my polar opposite experimentation.
I’m not really sure why I chose to do polar opposites this week; I know we could select any type of footage for experimental purposes but I guess it’s because it’s in line with the constraint tasks we’ve been required to do each week. I also think it’s a fun and artistic way to be creative.
SCORING 1-10 SCORED MYSELF: 8
I scored myself an 8/10 because like last week I have continued to experiment and explore my creative side. Overall, I’m very happy with the work I did this week. I find myself constantly learning more as each week goes past. Again, I also feel that I went beyond what I required and did the best I could with the limited resources that I had.
See Blog Post: My Korsakow Experimentation Week 3 for Videos.
4. Contribution to class/group discussions and designated team projects.
Measure – Contribute regularly to class discussions at least once per class and to meet with group members one hour per week to work on designated group activities.
Review & Reflection: This week was thankfully much better than last as I was able to attend class. I made sure that I contributed to class discussions and did the best job I could to elaborate on any questions asked by the teacher. In class this week we reviewed one of the constraint tasks, and were asked to reflect on it, as well as give constructive criticism to other students work using the six hat measuring method. Personally I think I did my best to elaborate and give good feed back to other students. I also took the initiative to ask questions about the course and give feedback on my opinion around this week’s reading.
Furthermore, in continuing my reflection, there have been no set group tasks outlined for this subject. Therefore this part of measure is not necessary yet.
SCORING 1-10 SCORED MYSELF: 8
I scored myself 8/10 because I asked more questions than most other students, and did my best to contribute to class discussion with the knowledge and understanding that I have gained so far in this course.
5. Ability to take notes and list further areas of concern through using class time and personal time effectively and efficiently.
Measure – Have clear evidence of written entries for areas of concern. These entries have either been taken during or outside class time, for sections of the course that I found, interesting, were unfamiliar with, or that required further exploration. Or, write a blog post, which reflects on an idea, brought up in class.
Review & Reflection: This week it was really reinforced to me that narrative is one of the most important elements in film. It provides the basic foundations for an audience, and allows people to understand, interpret and give meaning to visual stimuli/information. Throughout this week I spent a fair amount of time considering how narrative would play apart in my creative thinking process. I had to constantly refer back to this week’s reading to help me make sense of the Korsakow film experience.
It’s certainly something that is new to me and something I’ll have to get use to as the course continues. From what I know, it is reasonably clear that most Korsakow films have an underlying theme or genre to which they convey some type of story, or visual experience.
Overall, I think I have done well this week to read and make sense of the role that narrative plays in film. I have also taken the time to explore and test my creative abilities. I’m happy to say that I am pleased with the efforts I have made.
SCORING 1-10 SCORED MYSELF: 7
I scored myself a 7/10 because I took the time to list areas in the course that I was unfamiliar with and which I struggled to understand. I also applied what I had learnt in the reading and did my best to use that knowledge and showcase it in my work.