Overview
The studio aimed to research and conduct experiments on a chosen online video platform or genre/type of video. Students are supposed to start from a case study chosen by themselves in Project One and then work in groups to move on to the next projects experimenting from the case studies.
The outcomes of my 4 projects, however, were very different. I started working individually and had gone on many wrong paths from the start. I finally got myself on the right path at Project Four but it was too late and it did not meet a satisfied outcome to me.
Case Study Analysis
Project 1 – GTAV Multiplayer Gameplay Video
This is the start of my semester and it might be the start of going on the wrong way in understanding what the studio was aimed for. I looked at how the video was recorded, target audiences but did not look into it as an online video practice.
Project 3 – ‘Hurricane’ Music video by Thirty Seconds of Mars
Again I focused on the content too much rather than “music video” itself. I missed the fact that music video is not an absolute online video practice – it can be for TV as well: music videos shown on MTV; an opening sequence which that is actually a music video (i.e. ‘Skyfall’ by Adele).
Project 4 – Instagram celebrity videos (not discussed in any blog entries) and profiles that have creative layouts
By researching on celebrity profiles and their activities, creative interface layout design, references to “Instagram Is…” by Paul Tellefsen and Bill Nicole’s theory in modes of documentaries, I decided to produce an Instagram documentary about buskers around Melbourne CBD.
Sketching
Project 2
In this project I’m analysing interactive activities in GTA Online multiplayer gameplay on PS4, showing activities between players to players and broadcasting players to audiences, and audiences to audiences. Sketches I made for this project focused on the interactive activities between different parties rather than the online video subject itself, which was under a mislead of how the studio aim was to be comprehended.
Sketch 1 Sketch 2 Sketch 3 Sketch 4
Project 3
Inspired by ‘Hurricane’, which tells 3 stories about dark and mysterious dreams, and since I do have lots of dreams myself, I plan to take the narratives of the sketches on higher levels. I felt personal in this case that I put too much attention on the theme and I seemed to forgot I was in an online video experiment studio but not film production or anything in broadcast media. Again, rather than experimenting on online video practice, I focused on the narration on the videos too much.
Sketch 2 Sketch 3 Sketch 4 Sketch 5 Sketch 6 Sketch 7
Project 4
After failures in all previous projects, in this one I focused on Instagram videos. Sketches are all uploaded on an Instagram profile set up for the course, with a specific content based on the theories of documentaries.
Stage 1 Stage 2 Final
Presenting
I didn’t do as much as presenting as required in the studio guide. I have to admit I am not good at doing a public speech (even though I don’t have to be standing so seriously and being very formal) and I always wanted to avoid it. Worst thing I have done was hiding myself outside the classroom for the Project 3 presentation.
However, for Project 4, I did not prepare a presentation document but I was planning to just go up there (as in the last one in class), show my Instagram and talk about what I have done (by then I had filmed 2 artists but have not yet received their signed personal release, while a friend of mine, another artist had responded about his confirming participation in this project just 5 minutes before when I thought I was going to present), why it hadn’t been going well and what would be my next move (which was making it more like a celerity profile rather than a collection of multiple buskers). Then it was not enough time and I just bailed out instead of saying “I was going to just give an at least a bad presentation…”
Research and Experiments
Research for Projects 2 and 3 are not conducted to meet the learning outcome requirements for Media 5 students therefor experiment sketches were away from the online video practice subject.
Research and experiments for Project 4 were based on “Instagram Is…”, Bill Nicole’s theory in modes of documentaries, as well as many celebrity profiles and profiles that are for a particular “collection” (cafes, breakfast, black and white images, Melbourne City, etc).
Reflection
What did you learn from the sketching process?
Nothing when I was at the totally wrong place making sketches I was not confident about them at all. Then I started learning when I was doing Project 4 (which was definitely too late). Social media is meant to be sharing to the majority of the public. What if a profile is not only for sharing but also to communicate with its audience? I learnt to use Instagram as a form of an interactive design medium when I was making sketches for the Instagram documentary. The layout of an account interface alone has given me so much space to use my creativities that I could have made much more than what I had done by the end of week 14 if I had enough time.
Did you like it? Was it useful?
I didn’t like it, when I didn’t know what I was doing.
I liked it, when I finally know what I wanted and when I was trying to meet my expectation.
Was it useful – yes it was.
How would you do it differently next time?
Plan ahead, I would say. Make maps and a draft layout design for each 3×4 session. Consider images and footage with texts, GIF images and silent moving images.
