When I watched my partner’s footage there were some unnoticed qualities that stood out; I realised that she picked up on a lot of things I would not have, such as certain areas, furnishings and details of the shopping centre. As I had been so desensitised to the colours, shapes and patterns in my surroundings it was interesting to see the location from an outsiders’ perspective. For example, she noticed the wood grain of a bench and the arrangement of poles in one of the exits, which I would never have paid attention to alone. We also had some shots in common, such as filming floor tiles and the ceiling. These were the most obvious features to notice as they are present throughout both shopping centres and have their own distinct patterns.

We tended to mark and record a lot of our movement (such as going up and down escalators) as well as bright colours (artwork outside and inside of the shopping centres). Additionally, we found that we recorded an almost identical shot in both locations; a pan from a height over the ground below, where people can be seen.  As we followed the same recipe it is likely we both wanted to capture the view we had noticed, and in a way that aligned with our technical needs. It is interesting to see that in an unfamiliar location, our patterns of noticing are similar, as we recorded around the same number of detail oriented shots and shots of the space.

I feel that our edit was quite successful in reflecting the process of the exercise, as we used visual and auditory information to convey our experiences in locations unfamiliar to us. By showing individual shots followed by a comparison of the two, we are able to examine the similarities and differences in how we notice. While neither of us had visited each other’s locations before, we had both experienced the atmosphere of a shopping centre before. We also wanted to demonstrate the manner in which we employed Mason’s ordinary-noticing, marking, and recording framework through our edit, as we recorded footage whenever we picked up on something visually or technically interesting.

Through this task I reinforced my understanding that noticing is something that is unique to each individual. People can notice auditory stimuli as well as visual stimuli, as Michael Gallagher states: “If sound enacts power (…), then so must listening”, which emphasises the listener’s role in applying meaning to sound. I also strengthened my understanding of nonfiction media as work that is based in reality; as we attempted to use all of the footage we had shot, it helped us to present an authentic view of two unfamiliar locations. David Shields’ statement in ‘Reality’ that “what’s important is the way the world looks” reinforces this idea of authenticity in nonfiction.

Two questions which evolve for me about noticing and nonfiction through doing this work are:

-How can I notice more things in locations that are familiar to me?

-What can I do to further develop my knowledge of nonfiction media?

After presenting our working footage and receiving feedback in class, we have decided to go ahead with the idea of using a side by side comparison of the two locations. This will be achieved through compiling and editing the footage in Adobe Premiere Pro. Our peers felt that this layout would fit as both of our environments are similar and this will help to see the disparities between how and what we notice. Adele and I also agree, as the format allows us to play with other elements such as cropping and placement of the images within the frame. The main difference we noticed between the two locations was that Greensborough Shoppinng centre is a lot more green with a lot of old fashioned areas, whereas Highpoint has a more modern layout. We aim to emphasise this contrast through displaying similar subject matter we noticed from each location at the same time on screen.  Each clip will play for approximately 2.5 seconds individually, then simultaneously for 5 seconds to allow for comparison.

The general atmosphere sound clips we recorded will be played over footage of each shopping centre, then combined to create a hybrid of noise from both locations. We chose to do this as it allows the listener to picture each location as well as notice the differences in their atmospheres.  Our approach to sound is also influenced by Michael Gallager in the Week 3 reading, Listening, Meaning and Power. His statement that “meaning is as much something we bring to sound as something sound brings to us” was particularly interesting, as it reinforces the idea that we do not one-sidedly hear audio; we also apply our own meaning to it. We would like to explore this by creating an atmosphere that is familiar and unique. Each sound clip will crossfade into one another to allow for smoother transitions and a general flow to the piece.