Writer’s Room | Weekly Reflections

Week 7

This week we briefly discussed some potential routes for the series concept. We discussed a satirised approach to the mob movie genre set in a ski lodge/resort. I’m not super sure where exactly it will go or how it will turn out but I know it’s certainly looking like a frenemies to lovers scenario that would fit into buddy love or trapped together. We also discussed a potential answer for “why now?” and found that there may be some allegory to the current goings-on in the US, particularly their take on public national park services. Otherwise, I don’t particularly like making executive decisions without all the group member’s agreement so it’s just an idea for now and we may come up with something else over the mid-semester break.

Week 8

We essentially continued on from the previous week though expanded on certain aspects of the show. I believe we have a good foundation for the characters and world to stand on. We have character names and a decent start and end point for our protagonist. I don’t think I particularly like the group setting of writing. I prefer to let ideas stew on my own time without the need to get a green light from others. I am, however, happy to work as a group considering we seem to be like-minded on at least the majority of things and are working at a steady pace. I also liked the direction our “why now?” was heading. We discussed how our main character’s dad could be a metaphor for corporate greed and the current state of US politics. This came about through more discussion of his motivations—his “why now?”. Overall, I’m glad I chose to stick with the group as I’m enjoying the show’s direction and what’s been coming out through discussion, even the disagreements.

Week 9

This week was, in my opinion, the best in terms of story development so far. The feedback from our pitch was very helpful for recognising certain issues and holes within our show. While I do think the “episodic breakdown” could have been explained with more clarity, I also think the feedback allowed us to see those holes and empower us to change course. One thing that came up a few times was if our characters were in love or had some sort of romantic interest. However, their platonic relationship could be a source of a comedic storyline. I feel like storyline is currently our weakest point while our characters and world/hub are the strongest. I’m not sure exactly what’s next but it will probably involve figuring out story beats, arcs, and plots, and some fine tuning of the characters and world.

Week 10

This week was among the best weeks in terms of “series progression”. We began discussing and implementing certain feedback such as making Luca’s goal clearer, leaning into the buddy love aspect, and making our protagonists have equal weight. We continued by working out how each episode will progress and create some sort of seasonal arc. We’ve mostly solidified our pilot and final episodes, having a clear moment of change for Luca (seeing his dad doesn’t care about him and rebelling to help the village) in the pilot, incorporating a falling out between our protagonists (currently, Jodi discovering Luca’s identity), and Luca choosing the village over the mob. Essentially this week was working out where we want each character to be at certain places in the show and then figuring out how we can get our characters there. There has been some disagreement along the way which is a good thing as they have mostly spawned similar ideas which we’ve run with. Ultimately I think we’re on a decent pace but may get consumed by certain ideas which may hold up progress.

Week 11

This week I had a look at the prompts for this task and figured it may be good to talk about how I feel about the collaborative process. In this group, the collaboration has gone quite well in my opinion, however, I also think that it has really solidified how I like to work. I typically like to work decently fast with clear plans of action (what’s happening in class and in between classes). I also particularly like letting ideas “stew” and slowly building them up. Thus, I like to work alone. There is great benefit from working in a group however, as it gives you more opportunity to be able to realise that your idea just might not be great. I’ve had several moments in this group where I’ve thought of something and then realised that it simply doesn’t work within the rest of the show. That ability to accept an idea doesn’t work is difficult to come across when working alone, as frankly you get caught up in your own mind and don’t have others to pull you out. Overall, while I prefer to work alone, it is in many ways beneficial to work with others.

Week 12

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend class in person due to a COVID exposure and sickness (I ended up getting COVID). I was however, online during class and was able to sit in on a rehearsal/finalisation of the presentation and bible. It was quite confusing as we were working on both the presentation and the bible at the same time and had to keep oscillating between them. Would I watch the finished product? Probably not. I do think it’s a good premise with potential but would need to watch at least two episodes to get hooked in—and the second episode is quite absurd. I think there was a difference in the tone that some of us were going for: some, in my opinion, were thinking the show leaned more into absurdity while some thought it was a drama-comedy poking fun at the mob genre or were trying to blend the two. I ultimately liked the collaborative process but as previously mentioned, confirmed that I like working in smaller groups or solo. The Pitch Presentation and Bible is linked below:

Lodged Bible PDF

Lodged Pitch Presentation PDF

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The Writer’s Room | Assignment #2

A) Show Concept

Camp Cool (a riff off camp movies, sets up satirical tone)

Following an alcohol-induced incident, David is court-ordered to be a camp councillor where he grapples with responsibility and upholding his status of class clown.

The show would be a satirical comedy mostly, poking fun at my generation of (American) teenagers and have elements of drama. It would mostly cater to younger adults but could also appeal to older people through nostalgia. That is the nostalgia of high school camp shenanigans and camp movies. The show would follow a coming-of-age and family matters story world but would touch on office/9–5 elements. The story engine would be trapped together (for campers and David) and fool vs. the world (as David is the “fish out of water” character).

Belonging is the overall theme. I think the overall question of the show—what David needs to realise—is what belonging actually looks like. David’s in a rut and he needs to realise this to feel actual belonging instead of fake friendships.

David’s flaw is he is that he is stuck in this loop of self-destructive behaviour in the name of social status. He grew up in a more sheltered (religious) environment and began to rebel, even going to college to escape his parents’ control. Though, he doesn’t really know how to act around other people and turns to this self-destructive behaviour for a sense of belonging. He wants this belonging and to be this status symbol but needs to realise the façade he lives and what true community looks like. David would mostly come up against episodic conflicts that span an episode or two. One idea I have is that David would encounter campers with drugs and/or alcohol and would have to try to coerce them to hand it over. It wouldn’t be easy as the campers would force him to take some of them in return. Alternatively, he could easily confiscate the items and have a secret binge. David is meant to stay sober and is subject to random drug tests. In the following episode, David would learn that there’s a drug test coming up and faces his next hurdle: avoiding the drug test. Another less developed idea is that the camp has financial strain which David feels he needs to step up and take charge of.

The transformational map for David is:

David learns what true belonging and community looks like through his court-ordered role as a camp councillor for high schoolers as he attempts to gain cool points among them, by feigning responsibility and vying to be liked—even if it means risking his court-ordered sobriety or freedom. Through his journey of episodic conflicts, David transforms into a sober, more responsible adult though is still self-centred and selfish.

I feel this show speaks to me through its satirical tone. David represents the high school class clown archetype, which I feel everyone knows. The class clown has potential, they just might not know it yet. I’ve seen this in my own high school (class clown grows up into an actual human) and think it’s a fairly common phenomenon. I believe, post-COVID, everyone kind of became versions of the same people. That is, people have similar goals or mindsets and try to keep up appearances to fit in. David is one of those people who feels the need to put on a front to be cool, but simply needs to move out of this mindset. He does somewhat through the series.

B) Reflection

I don’t think I can accurately judge whether I would watch the show or not. I think if I had actual story beats (episodic or seasonal) and plotlines written out, I would have an easier time coming up with an answer. In its current form, I would probably watch it at least to try it out. I couldn’t actually determine if I would without a fully formed pilot. I do however think this show may be better as a 90-minute comedy movie as opposed to a series spanning one or more seasons.

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The Writer’s Room | Assignment #1

A) Story Engine & Story World

The show explores three world types. First and foremost, the show explores the typical 9–5 adventures of an American camp councillor in the 2010s, from the ups and downs of ratty teenagers and justifying substandard food to cleaning humid outhouses and vying to be liked through humour and relatability. The show does so through David as a classic fish out of water. Secondly, the show explores David’s coming of age story, which is enabled by his wound and flaw. David’s wound is that he grew up in a religious household and, as he got older, began to rebel and even used college as a means to escape. Finally experiencing ‘life’, David is stuck but isn’t aware nor wants to be unstuck. He feels he belongs, fits in, and has community but is too disillusioned by his destructive behaviours (alcoholism, partying too hard) and the attention it gets to realise his being stuck. Finally (and less apparently), the show explores the idea that family matters. While the other camp councillors mock David’s performative, cocky, egotistical, and nonchalance entering the job, it will soon become apparent to David that these peers are exactly what he’s been looking for—community and true belonging.

The show involves a few story engines. For one, there is no escaping the campgrounds for both David and the campers. Neither want to be there but are trapped together, forced to interact. Being the fish out of water, David is the fool vs. the world and doesn’t know what’s coming. Thinking he has it all figured out, David causes conflict among campers and peers, and ultimately with himself. Initially, David has a plan to become the chill councillor, but ultimately fails after recognising that his tactics won’t gain either respect or cool points. Hence, he has a season-long problem, hurdling the balance between being liked and an authority figure. Over the course of the show, David recognises his real problem, that he simply isn’t likable and needs to change his ways.

B) Episodic Analysis: Suits (2011–2019)

Suits is set in the 2010’s, primarily in a New York City law firm, Pearson Hardman. The show focuses on the 9–5/office setting, following the hours of work suffered by lawyers, while also expressing the notion that family matters. This is through the harbouring of Mike’s secret which becomes an issue for every higher-up as they oscillate between upholding their status as one of New York’s best law firms and keeping Mike’s secret to ensure he stays a productive worker, and their internal dialogue which tells them that doing so is not only unethical but illegal. The target audience for Suits is young adults and adults. Especially those with a legal background or enjoy romantic workspace comedy/drama.

Initially Suits begins as a ‘new “blank” of the week’ or whodunnit storyline, featuring a new legal proceeding to be taken care of. As the show progresses it becomes more and more a buddy love story in the form Mike and Harvey’s mentor-mentee relationship. The show also transforms into a fool vs. world narrative, as Mike’s secret slowly spreads around the office, causing inner conflict with the ever-ethical Louis Litt and buzzing former named partner, Daniel Hardman. These conflicts grow and eventually become detrimental to the firm and its staff. With Mike’s secret, the show is ultimately forms a ‘dude with a season long problem’ tale as he not only has to keep the secret within the confines of the firm but also within his relationships at the risk of his job, love life, reputation, and freedom.

After being expelled from law school for selling the college Dean’s daughter test answers, Mike Ross, a 20-something-year-old bike messenger works for his drug-dealing best friend Trevor and runs a side gig where people pay him a fee to pose as them in their LSATs which he can do utilising his photographic memory. This is his flaw: while everyone else is progressing in life, Mike feels stuck and unsatisfied by his life, but that’s soon to change. On the way to a drug-drop, Mike recognises a potential setup and runs to another floor of the building to escape his pursuers and happens to run straight into a group of law firm interviewees and poses as one of the candidates. Digging his hole deeper, top lawyer, Harvey Specter takes initiates a mentor-mentee relationship with Mike despite not having taken the bar exam, let alone graduated from law school. This lack of certification is later revealed to Harvey who covers up the ordeal, thus becoming ‘Mike’s secret’. This becomes the flaw throughout the series as Mike is forced to lie about his education and qualifications and yet later feels stuck again. Mike’s wound is that his parents were killed in a car accident caused by a drunk driver when he was young and wasn’t fully able to actualise his grief. So, he began acting out at school despite having the ability and desire to go further. He studied to become a lawyer (only to be expelled) for the chance to give others what he didn’t have, justice for his parents’ deaths, which is what he feels (his ‘want’) will get him out of the rut he’s in. So, what does Mike need to learn? For one, he holds onto the past and isn’t mentally or emotionally available and begins to push his peers and love interest away. This is only exacerbated by his ego which inhibits his progress romantically and in life, feeling stuck with his secret. He ultimately needs to realise that his focus on being the perfect lawyer (for justice) is detrimental to his mental health and sanity.

I personally love this show because of its characters’ depth. Each character has their own series-long arc and often ensemble cast members are brought back for larger story beats to keep the drama going. I also that the characters balance each other out. Donna for instance is the comedic relief to Harvey’s dramatic pessimism, while Jessica and Rachel keep Louis and Mike grounded, or how Harvey’s ego humbles Mike. I also just like workplace drama.

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Memory Screen | Assignment #5 | Exhibition, Publication, & Reflection

Hope For Audience

My hope for our sculpture—Mix-tape—is that it highlights the obscured meaning or meanings of otherwise inconsequential objects such as a cassette tape. This retro media is today considered rather unnecessary in everyday life much like CDs, VHS tapes, and ever more, DVDs. That is why I had a particular fascination with crafting some sort of interpersonally meaningful sculpture. The construction of Mix-tape emphasises the need to create meaning; it provokes the viewer to ask what is being displayed and why. As Christian Ulrik Andersen, Søren Bro Pold & Morten Suder Riis (2014) discuss, it could be perceived as about memories or the way in which so-called ‘Jurassic technologies’ (158) can be transformed into something beyond itself. Furthermore, as Margaret Iverson (2014) describes, the mere act of looking at found objects of the past can import some meaning onto that object with little artist interaction.

Studio Relevance

I think the latter of those perceptions (i.e. the idea that meaning can be created through a material or the act of seeing), exemplifies a key concern of the studio: “[to] create new media works that have well-rounded and historically grounded origins”. The idea of using an obsolete media/medium (cassette tapes) to create a new, interpretable media work, much like the work of Christian Marclay (Feliz 2013). Moreover, I think Mix-tape illustrates the legacy of cassette tapes within media.

Successful Aspects

I think the single most successful element of the sculpture was how it was exhibited. The way in which we adapted to the space itself ultimately made the exhibited product far better than it otherwise would have been. I think it exemplified the tactile nature of the tapes in a way that was interesting and though-provoking. I also particularly liked how the tape pooled at the floor and interacted with itself, and perfectly hid the static-playing speaker and extra cassette tapes.

Problematic Aspects

The most problematic aspect of the project for me, was the depth at which we looked at certain unnecessary elements. Early on we would continue to discuss the concept and ways in which we could include components. We knew we wanted to encourage interaction, and we wanted to include something about Clive Garner, the original owner of the tapes in order to acquire another layer of legacy. These ideas were very hard to accomplish, however. Clive Garner was either too much or too little within the sculpture and so we scraped it—the only reminisce is on the tapes themselves. The interactivity was there, it just wasn’t really advertised and would have been difficult to actually achieve without breaking some viewer perception.

On Further Development

If we were to work on it further or expand it in some way, it would be interesting to make it bigger. Although the cassette cubes to cassette tape ratio was good and demonstrates the concept and meaning(s), I think if it was even larger these aspects would be clearer or even evolve. Then again, I think at a certain scale it would be too big and become redundant, which could be interesting.

Studio Takeaways

I have a few takeaways from my studio experience. My first takeaway from Memory Screen is my perception of “media art”. At the start of the semester, I didn’t really have an idea of what would be discussed or produced but by the end, I’ve come to better understand art forms that I likely would’ve neglected otherwise. My second takeaway is the importance to actually reflect on your work. I guess I had more time to reflect on my work this semester than the previous as I think I actually got something out of it: something to work on for the next time. My third takeaway is the need to just get on with it. I found that throughout the semester from the earlier assignments and even this final project, I would get caught on something and would spend way too much time working on it. This ties back to the problematic aspect of the sculpture in that we spent a lot of time thinking about ways we could incorporate Clive Garner and interactivity, which were ultimately a waste of time and made me realise that sometimes we need to just move on instead of dwelling on an idea.

On Working Collaboratively

I think there were two layers of collaboration during the latter half of the semester. Within groups, especially small groups like our own (with just the two of us), it is crucial we’re both working and both communicating. Every session, we would update each other on ideas we’ve had over a couple days and would contact each other if there was anything needed or if we weren’t able to make it to class or if there was any other problem. It was also crucial to work together to fix any problems that occurred. These were other successful aspects of the sculpture—being on the same page, understanding, and actively contributing. More broadly, exhibition-wise, I found it interesting to see how everyone adapted to the space and was actively engaged with each other’s work. For our group, it was the idea to hang the cassette cubes from the horizontal beams of the media portal while also making sure our sculpture didn’t affect anyone else’s. Ultimately, everyone needed to work together, not only to make sure their work was done but also to interact and not interfere with other works around the exhibition space.

References

Andersen, C.U., Pold, S.B. and Riis, M.S. (2014) ‘A dialogue on cassette tapes and their memories’, A Peer-Reviewed Journal About, 3(1), pp. 156–167. doi:10.7146/aprja.v3i1.116095.

Feliz, M. C. (2013). Resonant Space, Sonorous Time: The Varieties of Acoustic Phenomena in the Art of Christian Marclay (Order No. 3644741). Available from ProQuest One Academic. (1629828743).

Iversen, M. (2014) ‘Readymade, Found Object, Photograph’, Art Journal, 63(2), pp. 44–57. doi: 10.1080/00043249.2004.10791125.

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Memory Screen | Assignment #2

Media Sculpture

For this sketch, I focused primarily on concept and sacrificed compositional proficiency. I found this task among the most difficult, not just due to doing it solo, but also due to my access to multiple media forms/formats (and its potential to become a copyright-trap). I knew that I wanted to do something about consumerism; I initially thought about crafting a “post-apocalyptic” vibe—the apocalypse being without a phone or device over a (short) period of time, the protagonist growing in frustration without their precious device. Upon developing the concept, however, I realised that it wasn’t necessarily fitting with the task. This meant I lost quite a bit of potential production time exacerbated by development in my desktop performance. Despite this (and lack of production quality) I think the final product is at least within the bounds of the task and is interesting. Perhaps the initial plans could be utilised within the major project.

The technical side of this task was simple. I searched for ad compilations on YouTube on a few devices. After finding one I liked (referenced below) I set up my devices in a way that would produce a forced perspective feel and therefore an overwhelming sense of consumption. At first, I was going to film a video of a video of someone (me) flipping through magazine pages, though it didn’t produce a desired effect. Though I did try to implement some of this by adding an end “credit” scene written on an alcohol ad from an Aldi catalogue—a metaphor for addiction—but the marker used wasn’t showing up well on camera. Other than that, I simply put it into a vertical sequence as if it were a TikTok or Instagram reel, to emphasise the consumerism concept.

I think that considering I had a limited amount of time and materials with which to create this “sculpture” it turned out fine. I think if I had of had group the composition would’ve been far more professional-looking. I feel the concept had legs to stand on, despite a lack of execution. That in mind, I believe there’s potential to explore and expand on the concept more with the major project if that is the direction I (or rather the group I’m in) goes.

References

Arwuns (2 February 2020) ‘One Hour of 1980s TV Commercials – 80s Commercial Compilation #1’, Arwuns, YouTube website, accessed 27 August 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgoUa2wWvAQ

Desktop Performance

Similar to my media sculpture, I focused predominantly on concept/theme and audio as opposed to actual composition. Initially, I constructed a chaotic and unhinged performance, which would focus on the distractions of everyday life. This was far more in the vein of Xanthe Dobbie’s work, namely, Club Blue (2020), which implemented the colour blue, the word “blue” and other blue elements in an unhinged array of window-layering, sound design, and Mac OS competency. I wasn’t able to gain such competency in such a short time and decided to a bit smaller. Descent (2017) by Peter Burr, Mark Fingerhut, and Forma was of particular intrigued in my smaller thinking; the work retold the story of the Black Death through the desktop, with rats multiplying, environments changing, and 8-bit overlays. This basis is what I worked off of. I saw a post on Instagram about the Wizard of Oz (1939), and I began thinking of telling the story of Oz through the desktop. Upon recording several elements, I realised that this particular story was too difficult to tell within 60 seconds. So, I thought about some scenes that could be better told in the timeframe and decided on the poppy field scene, wherein Elphaba sabotages Dorothy and Co.’s journey. It’s a rather infamous scene since they used asbestos to produce a “snowy” effect.

On the technical side, I recorded my screen with OBS. I found two gifs in order to establish the scene, a flashing rainbow circle and a smoke effect. I played these on the same window and changed my Chrome theme to green to show some resemblance of Elphaba’s lurking, to unknown success. I then closed out of the tabs to show a “poppy field”, using images of poppies, like Descent did with rats, I put images of the main cohort within the field, and left a folder titled “Home” and “Elphaba”. The wallpaper was also changed to a minimalist green field and yellow brick road. I opened the “Elphaba” folder which had a danger sign icon utilising Windows’ built-in folder-icon customiser, which produced a glitching screen and noise (sourced from freesound.org) as if the folder had been purposely obscured. In my first recording, I attempted to create folders for each character which would’ve allowed me to explore each character (i.e. enter the “Tin Man” folder and see his heart alongside other objects). This failed however as the icons wouldn’t stay in their custom state, so I opted for images instead. Using a snow overlay, I was able to mimic the film’s asbestos effect. I then moved my mouse jank-ily towards the start menu to click sleep as to reenact the scene. In Premiere Pro, I added some sound effects (see references below), to enhance the effect.

I think this sketch was ultimately limited by my own incompetencies. There are certainly some elements that could be worked on. For instance, the iris zoom at the end (to imply sleep) was cut-short when I cut off the recording, while other elements of composition were simply very jank.

References

Florianreichelt (2019) ‘Soft Wind’ [sound], Freesound website, accessed 27 August 2024. https://freesound.org/people/florianreichelt/sounds/459977/

GIPHY (n.d.) ‘Rainbow Color Gradient Ball GIF‘, Gifdb website, accessed 27 August 2024. https://gifdb.com/gif/rainbow-color-gradient-ball-acpoz3vq9ji0i3ev.html

GIPHY (n.d.) ‘smoke GIF – Find & Share on GIPHY’ [Pinterest post], Pinterest, accessed 27 August 2024. https://au.pinterest.com/pin/773211829745819673/

Jace (2006) ‘boiling bubbles 4 washing.wav’ [sound], Freesound website, accessed 27 August 2024. https://freesound.org/people/Jace/sounds/19844/

TiesWijnen (2021) ‘Glitch 2’ [sound], Freesound website, accessed 27 August 2024. https://freesound.org/people/TiesWijnen/sounds/592337/

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Memory Screen | Assignment #1

Essay Film

The concept of this Essay Film is the relationship between the cost-of-living crisis and the record-breaking profits of big banks and mining conglomerates. Silas and I searched through the newspaper, stumbling across the ASX 200. The idea expanded as we made the link between this table of companies, their numbers, and ultimately the housing and cost-of-living crisis.

Technically, the sketch consists of one newspaper scan, some pictures of houses, and an audio track. The latter was played over a black screen, melancholic (if not accusatorily) in tone, it reads profit statistics over the last year or two, acting to expose the profits of several leading banks and mining corporations. The first half utilises only the initial newspaper scan, zoomed in to obscure the table’s structure and encourages the viewer to inspect the image for more information. The mid-point-change begins with a short pause before the speech continues to read out statistics, this time, about house and rental prices, homelessness rates, and wage increases; this was spliced in between images of several houses (which were placed according to the speech). The editing allows viewers to make certain deductions about what is being said. From a newspaper slapping sound, to a small highlighter effect, the images between the black screen create a sense of urgency and transforms the sketch into an exposé of sorts, exposing the disparities between corporate profits and salary rises. I do think that the final sketch is slightly more complex than a “proof of concept” but isn’t massively hindered by this fact.

Socially, the sketch went well. Silas and I collaborated to develop the concept. I edited the sketch while Silas did the voiceover on a better microphone for production quality. I did struggle slightly with the editing as I wasn’t too confident in making a decision without prior communication. Typically, with group work, there’s several frontiers to get through in order to make a decision though, despite this lack, I think it will better enable viewers to create certain connections.

Live Action

The theme of my live action media sketch was regimentation, routine, and schedule. Initially, I intended to use visual performance to complement the audio elements. However, this approach didn’t fully meet the task’s requirements and was too time-consuming to execute. I instead decided to think beyond my idea of “performance art” and explore a more abstract representation of “regimentation.”

I started by contemplating different ways to convey routine, patterns, and memory, which eventually led me to the concept of a puzzle—a metaphor for how we, as humans, fit into predetermined spaces. To build this puzzle, I repurposed an old film theory reading about writing on film, specifically about the process of evaluation (much like what I’m doing here). I flipped the paper over and drew rough lines to cut into puzzle pieces. After cutting them out, I set up a small tripod for my phone to record the assembly. Despite not being parallel with my surface, the setup captured the entire process. I recorded myself completing the puzzle, which took about two minutes. As I reviewed the footage, I considered when to cut the start and finish. The original clip fit with the theme of regimentation, but I wanted to introduce a more cynical tone. To achieve this, I spliced in an image of a “the power of positive affirmations” printout throughout the video, creating an overbearing presence that reflects how external forces impose regimes on us. The final sketch, titled One Mighty Puzzle, became a metaphor for the task itself, challenging the conventional definitions of “performance”.

Although there were minimal social engagements beyond in-class discussions, the sketch did make a broader social statement. It suggested that, whether through societal norms or psychological conditioning, we are often forced into specific “boxes” that create pressure. These boxes could represent the rigid boundaries of what is considered performance art or broader societal expectations. Ultimately, the concept highlighted how our minds are regimented, and how society evaluates and categorizes everything—often in ways that may not always align with the true nature of human experience.

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Beyond a Joke, Beyond a Genre | Assignment #5.2 | Studio Review

The studio prompt for Beyond a Joke, Beyond a Genre was “How can we creatively think of comedy as a mode within (and beyond) a genre, form, and media?”. To answer this question, we worked week-by-week to explore the nuanced range of comedy through theories of humour and comedy modes. Individually and in small groups we produced media artefacts utilising these theories and modes to exemplify the diverse nature of comedy. As for my individual work I find that comedy is varied and personal. I especially enjoyed the first two weeks wherein we explored incongruity and relief/benign violation. This is because I feel as these particular artefacts highlight the simplicity of comedy as a genre–comedy within a genre. This is as opposed to the latter (smaller) group work, which explored parody, satire, and hybridisation, and ultimately the broad nature of comedy beyond its own genre. In combining the elements explored in weeks 1-6, I think Rogue became a well-rounded example of comedy as both a standalone and transcending genre. Through its use of incongruity, benign violation, parody, satire, and hybridisation, I think the project illustrates the studio prompt and key concerns of the anatomy of comedy. Aside from that I hope the artefact is funny to at least some extent.

As I said in my reflective essay, I would focus on amplifying its use of the theories of humour. I think a lot of the comedy in our artefact is subtle and may only be seen by an audience who has engaged with this studio. I don’t think the elements of comedy’s subtly is a bad thing for a broader audience but could have helped them understand certain creative choices.

When looking at other studio members’ work, I think the diverse nature of comedy is only strengthened. Looking at the film Trip Up, for instance, it’s very obvious from the beginning that the film is absurd. Their use of incongruity and benign violation is apparent and does nothing but add to the film’s humour. The film’s editing enforces this, as it quickly becomes clear that the story is evoked by paranoia. From a search of someone who isn’t missing to the murder of a delivery driver to a random beach pirate, Trip Up applies several modes of comedy with which the creators highlight the nuances within comedy as a gerne. Similarly, Milk Run runs on absurdity which alternatively kicks off a pretty grim story. For me, anyway, Milk Run, while absurd and funny is a very dark in nature. It explores the simplicity if not cultural shock of an interstate university student and does so with the backing of a self-aware sense of absurdity. I think the modes of comedy are subtle here and ultimately allows for a darker tone to be set while not sending people into existential crisis. Overall, these two short films highlight both comedy as a genre and comedy beyond its self-contained genre. Essentially, with an undercurrent of absurdity, incongruity, and benign violation, the films explore different themes, one more comedy-driven, the other more dramatic and cerebral, producing examples of comedy within and beyond its own genre.

In terms of another studio, I found A Case of Scrambled Eggs from the ‘Reimagining Crime Club’ of particular intrigued. The ‘Reimagining Crime Club’ studio asked students, “How can the Crawfords Collection at the AFI Research Collection be creatively reimagined for contemporary audiences?”. This question, alongside the studio’s concerns are answered and illustrated by A Case of Scrambled Eggs. Not only is the title engaging, so is the content of the media artefact. It reads very satirical of the true crime genre through its use of sound and cinematography and therein lies the studio prompt. I for one, am more likely to follow a comedy as opposed to really any other genre, so the creators’ didactic retelling and unironic reenactments of the events, and use of editing makes the artefact digestible and engaging. Ultimately, I think their artefact acknowledges and answers the studio prompt and its key concerns.

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Beyond a Joke, Beyond a Genre | Reflective Essay + Video

Reflective Essay

How can we creatively think of comedy as a mode within (and beyond) genre, form, and media? Well, one thing that I for one have learned in this studio is that comedy is versatile and dynamic, having the ability to transcend genres and infiltrate other forms and media. I suppose my hope for our major media artefact, Rogue, is that others find it funny–as, despite not having a role in the editing process, I think the others in the group did some fantastic work with the editing. I think it highlights how comedy, as a genre, can be hybridised with others to form more nuanced genres, ‘creating hybrid forms which combine comedy with other dramatic or generic elements’ (Mundy and White 2012:132). In this instance, the dramatic element is borrowed from the action-having spy movie such as Spy (2015) starring Jason Statham and Melissa McCarthy among others. The comedy, meanwhile, comes through a few elements. Incongruity, ‘the clash between such odd elements and normality (Audissino 2023:6), serves as one form. Since our character is from the past, what is normal for us isn’t normal for her which clash in order to create incongruity. Another is parody, which Joe Toplyn suggests ‘is considered to be a funny imitation of an artistic work that typically wasn’t intended to be funny’ (2014:239). Again, the spy film is typically very serious. Jason Statham’s filmography elucidates this. We also made parodies of 21st-century human tropes including our reliance on technology. Overall, I think our artefact addresses the key concerns of the studio; the comedy is a stand-alone product of our artefact that is enhanced by hybridisation and other elements of comedy.

If I were to continue or add onto our artefact, I would focus on amplifying the theories of humour within it. While our artefact did include incongruity, I feel like the incongruous aspect of the film could be enhanced by introducing more theories of humour. Relief, for example, involves some sort of tension to be released (Audissino 2023), which I think, while subtly present, could’ve been emphasised to add some more moments of drama. Benign violation, the idea that comedy can be produced by harmless subversions of norms (Audissino 2023), could have been more present in order to create more of a Mr. Bean archetype. I wouldn’t change the campy/b-film vibe we have in the final film, as I feel like these films have an inherent comedic nature.

In terms of the collaborative nature of this studio, I feel oddly neutral about it. Of course, I preferred working alone, not only because there is more control involved, but also because I can work on my time and look ahead to schedule a time that works for me to dedicate to working on a media artefact. In the first three weeks of this studio, I often utilised my mostly empty Fridays to filming, editing, and uploading my media artefacts. I would attend class Mondays and Wednesdays to gather ideas and write something that I thought would fulfill the requirements of the task. I would then null it over to consolidate my idea, which I would then dedicate Friday to film. Some weeks I had less time than others and so even if I wanted to, I simply couldn’t make a grander or technically advanced artefact. Despite this, I think even my underthought artefacts fit the requirements of the given week. Moving into group work was actually easier than I’d thought. I actually didn’t mind working with mostly different people each week. Working alongside others allowed for a diverse range of perspectives and ideas, but I feel that overall, we were mostly on the same page and if not went with the flow. I also feel like these weeks were the best in terms of media production; the groups weren’t too big nor small, and neither were the artefacts themselves. Moving into the group for the major media artefact was also rather easy. I liked the idea of the “fish out of water” character and believe we achieved it in a creative way within and beyond the comedy genre. The brainstorming and ideas phase was particularly fun as it involved simply bouncing off others’ ideas, interests, and wants. I do feel however that some roles were breached slightly leaving some group members to do more work than others, which I think could’ve been less apparent with better communication and actually remaining true to the designated roles. It simply felt like there were too many cooks in the kitchen at times which ultimately hindered the group’s ability to actually get things done without getting jaded. The hardest part really, was scheduling. Especially in the latter half of the semester, I for one, had far less time to actually engage fully with certain things, both due to having other assignments as well as a life to attend to; hence my struggle to make it to a few shoots. Overall, while I certainly preferred working alone, the group work was nowhere near awful, so I feel a bit on the fence in terms of this studio’s collaborative nature.

Conclusively, the studio has broadened my understanding of comedy, revealing its versatility as a mode and form. Our artefact, Rogue, showcases how comedic elements like incongruity and parody can enhance and transform traditional genres like spy films, and, while collaboration presented challenges, it also enriched the creative process, leading to a more nuanced final product. If we had continued working on the film, I’d focus on refining the theories of humour within our artefact that could amplify its impact.

References

Mundy, J. & White, G. (2012), “Comedy and Genre Boundaries.” in Laughing Matters: Understanding Film, Television and Radio Comedy, Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 130–148.

Audissino, E. (2023), “From Dionysia to Hollywood: An Introduction to Comedy’s Long (and Bumpy) Road” in Audissino, E. & Wennekes, E. (eds), The Palgrave Handbook of Music in Comedy Cinema, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3–23.

Toplyn, J. (2014), “Parody Sketches” in Comedy Writing for Late-Night TV, New York: Twenty Lane Media, pp. 239–261.

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Beyond a Joke, Beyond a Genre | Major Media Artefact | Blog Post #4

Week 10 went pretty well, and we got a lot done. Monday’s class was dedicated to our Work-in-Progress presentations in class. I think my group did well, taking each member of the panel’s feedback and working about how we could add to, fix, or remove certain things. For instance, there was discussion on how we were going to depict the ‘60s in our artefact. We decided to make this element very ‘theatre-y’ which leaned into the comedy more. We didn’t show up to class on Wednesday as we were out filming our first scene. I wasn’t there for the entire shoot due to having another class but did show up a couple hours later and took control of the clapperboard (very fun). Meanwhile, two members of the group were directing as per their role and responsibility, while another two were on camera. We all shared responsibility when setting up cameras, lighting, and audio. We also did some impromptu location scouting. I did have to leave a little bit earlier to catch my train, but I ultimately think this whole process ran as smoothly as possible all things considered. Some things have also come up within my own schedule and won’t be able to join my group for filming on Sunday. We’ve also been talking about making some changes in order to make the filming go even smoother. Overall, week 10 was very productive, and may give us enough time to finish at least a rough-cut by the end of week 11/start of week 12.

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