Media affordances; the term affordance was first used in 1977 by Psychologist JJ Gibson. “When applied in media production context it refers to the specific and unique attributes (or functions) that a medium may have.” That’s what the first part of this week’s lecture and readings focused on, sound in relation to media affordances. I’m one of those people who like to write down the definition where ever I can so that I know I’ll be able to remember it and what it means for future reference.
Example 1: Listening vs Hearing ‘A distinctive attitude or approach that can be brought to bear on a listening experience’.
Hearing – is perceiving sound innately
Listening – is actively/consciously choosing to interpret something, it requires concentration.
So this week’s lectorial delved deep into what sound what the components that made it up as well as how we interpret and process it (to hear it to experience air pressure changing). There were new terms I learnt that I hadn’t really come across very regularly such as ‘Psychoacoustics’ (a complex interaction of psychics, physiology, sensation, perception and cognition).
John Cage (1912-1992) “American composer, music theorist, writer, and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments.” And that’s just a starting quote to lift us off. So why Cage was mentioned in the lectorial is due to his piece 4’33”. This is a composition that was created in 1952 and is it the absence of deliberate sound, the idea is to be present in fact musicians state it is not four minutes and thirty three seconds of silence but rather focusing in on atmos in the environment heard by the audience during the performance. The piece was seen as controversial as it challenged the boarders of art and performance.
In this weeks workshop we started talking about the personalization of our blogs and the structure/style conveyed in their presentation. I’m really trying to aim my blog to be more personal, although it is currently very structural I think that- that’s purely a reflection on my personality. I’m generally a very organised person sometimes at points to organised, always arriving early. It’s actually kind of humor to think lately I’ve been trying to be more ‘on time’ to things rather than early as I end up waiting around for quite a bit when I overcompensate for travel time. Besides that I really want to talk about aspect in this blog that generally interest me and link them in with my learning. We’re focusing a lot on our self portrait (short films) at the moment and I’m hoping to create mine in a way that will really reflect my personality. I’ve very interested in film, media of course and changing technology, art, music, spirituality and psychedelics. I take inspiration from the films Ex Machina, Into the Void, Whiplash, and many other new contemporary flicks which apart more as an art rather than a narrative (although all mentioned have complex story lines in themselves the cinematography is what I find more alluring). I’ll probably be focusing a lot on my cinematography so hopefully it goes well, I’ll check in on here later.
This weeks tutorials theme focused upon aspects involved in media making, and although the content watched as apart of the readings delved into the technical side- we as media makers need to learn both technical and practical in order to succeed in modern day society where competition is at an all time high (and probably will continue to grow as the population itself increases).
Now in this post I wanted to talk about something that coincides with increasing technology and also something that interests me, below I’ve shared with you a ‘TED Talks’ that discusses that the issues involving drug addiction are not caused by drugs alone, the main factor that causes addiction is issues such as Isolation, alienation and loneliness.
So in a society where we seem to appear always connected there is a darker side and a stronger disconnection in certain areas. This talk gives examples of how Heroin was used commonly during the Vietnam war but once soldiers returned home and were embraced by family the usage stopped, so how come people with addiction in modern society it isn’t that easy, a simple fact could be we think people are fine when there not, it is the illusion of connection due to social media.
It’s so easy to create a facade, a false front that sometimes we forget what people are exactly like in real life especially if we don’t see them as often as we should. There’s a saying I know that kind of relates to this image representation, “The saddest people smile the brightest.’-Anonymous.
Basically if you want to know if someones okay see them in person and ask them don’t send them a facebook message, It makes me really angry that this has become the social norm, especially around people in my age group. I once had a friend who wasn’t able to ring me up on the phone because she said she wasn’t use to it and it gave her anxiety. I didn’t understand this, go back a decade ago and it would have been one of the only ways to communicate. So social media has literally created a platform of disconnection and ‘depersonalization’ (I can’t stress the latter enough). A facebook profile isn’t necessarily personal in fact it can be the opposite a shop front for what you want people to see you as.
So as you think about why people feel so isolated in a world where we are meant to be so connected make sure you think about what connection means.
Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong | Johann Hari | TED Talks
Hold up, hold up, what? Lets talk about religion and media mingling together to forum this new modern contemporary age where even conservative and traditional icons are getting into the funkiness of social media.
So this might not be a major surprise considering Pope Francis has a way of linking the catholic church with younger generations as well as modern society by being not only more charismatic but also more understanding of what people now want and need. It’s interesting to see how the broader communities observe changes in the media and know what’s trendy, It’s kind of humorous to think that the Pope probably now has someone hired to help him create, edit and publish posts. Can’t wait to see what comes up next on his account.
As there was no lectorial this week due to labour day the first post of this week is dedicated purely to this week’s reading and video, both are discussions by David Gauntlett as he talks about aspects around ‘Making Media Studies’ (also the name of his published book).
In the video ‘Remaking how we think about the Media’ David really talks about “learning with media rather than learning about media”. His views state that generally we move forward rather than looking backward, to make media and move forward rather than describe when looking backward. He wants to refresh people’s views and values on the media by adding a creative aspect. It highlights how things work and knowing how to make a difference and you need to know how things work in order to make a difference in the first place, tying in with the learning with media rather than about it.
The blog post focused on very similar themes but also and focused on Gauntlett answering What kinds of knowledge do we need now? (A question asked by Graham Meikle who is also his colleague).
There were three main points he displayed into dot points that reflected the main areas of knowledge.
How things work (technical and economic knowledge) “You need to know what technological and/or economic systems make possible, what you can and can’t potentially do with them, if you’re going to develop any kind of really informed critique of how things are currently done and the ways in which they should be done.”
How things feel and fit (emotional and embodied knowledge) “The need to build knowledge about the relationship between physical and material things, and digital items (content and software), and human ideas and feelings.”
How to make a difference (creative and political knowledge) “Come up with brilliant ideas and implement them effectively in the actual world that we live in.”
Reflecting on Daivd’s words we would prefer immerse ourselves in new things compared to learning about them, to go out and do something compared to studying about how it is done. He really talks about the creative homage to media and again the idea of moving forward and not reflecting back to papers in an ever-growing industry.
This weeks Tutorial focused on Haiku making and editing together as a whole, so in this post I wanted to talk about a music video that I not only love the editing to but the whole feel that the video represents including the song itself the music and lyrics.
Oh Wonder – Without You
There is something about this song that makes it easily play on my emotions, It’s interesting how each individual person has a mechanically wired taste in music and cinematography weather it be influenced by upbringing, diversity, or maybe it’s something that is even innate. Regardless I love the de-saturated fluro colors that linger in this video and the imagery of the duo ‘starcrossed’ sitting so close yet so far apart, this is imagery that matches the lyrics so tenderly “Without You” and although it is almost generically cliche the retro aspect that the director and duo have chosen to take creates and individual style that makes them so fascinating in society that is so ridden by sexualization and saturation as well as anything that sustains to the current hyper attentive audience. I would prefer a laid back placid video to an action fest any day.
Week 2 tutorial focused on editing and as an activity to help the class get started we were asked to create short and endearing Haiku’s, I thought this was a very enjoyable task and was nice to set the mood for future editing.
LEFT (Health and Lifestyle) – I think this image represents not only one of my favorite foods but the healthy and active lifestyle I enjoy and try to incorporate in to my life. Mangos are amazing to have as a breakfast item and always seem to keep me fuller for longer, fresh fruit is so important in my life as well as keeping up good habits and enough exercise.
RIGHT (Bedroom Design) – My bedroom says a lot about me, on my main wall behind the bedrest I have presented all the tickets and trinkets from places I’ve traveled (including plane tickets) as well as concert tickets and other souvenirs I’ve picked up along the way. It represents my desire to travel and to see the world as well as a reflection of everywhere I have already been.
LEFT (Garden and Home) –I grew up in a very lush suburban area around Doncastor and I’ve always loved being able to have a garden to go out and play in as well as just sit and read, I think I’ve always loved the bush and greenery more than the city life although both play a major role in my life of course going to a University which is city based has changed how I view the city as I’ve been given time to explore it more.
RIGHT (Music Production) – As presented in my audio files music has become such an important aspect of my life, I believe this image represents my dedication to my art form and the passion I have in creating. It also demonstrates the instrument I compose on and the types of techniques you can use it for.
LEFT (Chiaroscuro Lighting and Photography) – I am a conceptual thinker and what comes out of this is my love for lighting in photography a well as trying to represent something in an image that people may not necessarily see straight away, I believe life is all about interpretation and I think this image represents my way of viewing things.
RIGHT (Art) – Again similar to photography art is a way of self-expression and for me swirling colours together is a major form of stress relief and expressing inner thoughts. This is a picture I recently painted just a few days ago that shows my love for colors as well as sunsets and rises as they present the end of one day and the start of another.
AUDIO
A song which incorporates my singing and I think represents my personality especially the Jazz, soul and blues incorporated into my music which was due to my fathers influence in mo-town.
A secondary beat takes a delve into a different genre of my music making, using more blocked chords and less of the electropop area I truly love, yet it also represents my love for melody and my technical musical background.
A synthetic pop beat is my favorite musical genre, after spending a majority of my saving on a Roland Jupiter 50 I’ve been producing music ever since, this reflects my growing stills on productions.
VIDEO (all combined/unedited below)
Video 1: Again one of my favorite leisurely thing to do, play an instrument to relieve stress and anxiety before any event, finding ways and hobbies to help my headspace is very important I think this media piece communicates emotions in the lyrics as well as my love for my instrument and passion for creativity. Video 2: My everyday bus on the way to work and uni, I’ve traveled this route for years, I think looking out the bus window at such a familiar environment really challenges me as when I listen to music and observe I always try to find new things to inspire me. Video 3: A segment of me playing a different instrument, I think this piece conveys myself in a personal space in my house feeling comfortable whilst doing something I love I also think It represents my fashion style and lifestyle as a whole.
50 WORDS
Art, music, creativity
Living fully with festivity,
Always thinking of a new activity,
Something to increase productivity.
There’s a lot of aspects I could tell,
Life for me is a rapid but swell,
I think making words collide,
Is a great way for creativity to divide.
I choose to write a poem as reflection on how innovation and creativity run my life and how I aspire to think outside the box and create ideas that haven’t been thought of before, It also is a testament to my youth as during my upbringing drama and poetry were a big influence in my life and still are they gave me confidence and self-assurance in all that I do.
The second tutorial brought together more activities for the class to interact with this included listening, watching and giving feed back to the images, video, audio and written component of people’s self-portraits. We did this by having post-it notes with different words, each word was allocated to the person giving different feedback to the sharer for example having the note with the word ‘Black’ meant I had to give constructive feedback on what I didn’t like in the self-portrait. The second main activity was learning what a Haiku was and creating one in order to practice editing for the week four project. This for me was quite fun and easy, it took barley any time to edit together but it was awesome making something abstract and artistic. In regards to the reading the class was allowed to have a short discussion on their thoughts, I thought it was an interesting read, there was a lot of terminology that I decided to look up and now understand better due to further investigation, it was also obviously another introduction into what makes up a story in regards to scenes and again editing choosing what to put in and leave out.
The activity the class was presented with was to go to a specific location and observe the different forms of Media within society. The purpose of this task I believe was to make students aware of what it is to be an active media consumer, always challenging the views and values within the media and they’re purpose. The location that I examined was Melbourne Central below is a list of media observations that were made with a few selected images as evidence.
Up High: Electronic advertisements including a massive projected one next to the elevator stairs, Melbourne central clockwork.
On the Ground: Receipts and other pieces of rubbish from products.
Mid Ground: Salesperson promoting products, volunteers handing out information pamphlets,
Background: Mirrors that reflect the surrounding media.
Foreground: People on there mobile phones whilst walking, giant lighted electronic brand names on stores,
In Your Hand: Mobile phone, applications (receiving Facebook messengers), the sound of receiving a message.
In an overall reflection the combustion and the constant movement inside Melbourne Central made it extremely hard to focus on one aspect and to be specific one media aspect. As a place of commercialism and sales, Melbourne central makes good of this by having an increase in brand advertisements relating to fashion/clothing which is what is sold most in Melbourne central.
An example of the giant advertisement as you walk into Melbourne Central
The giant electronically lit brand name which attracts many to the store.
A representation of how many people are walking around on their phones and the volunteers promoting a cause in the background.
