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Heads up: I will be talking about things that others may find triggering below the cut. If you are sensitive to antisemitism, give this blog a skip.
Archive of ‘Week 2’ category
Week Two-torial (A Joke That Will Never Get Old)
I have no clue where these questions came from but they’re apparently important so…
Were you nervous about presenting your work?
Yes, as when I saw other people’s projects I felt as though I had done the task incorrectly (despite there not really being an incorrect way to do this task).
What kind of feedback did you get?
My feedback was generally good. The people I presented to said that is was a very calming set of images, sounds, and videos. However, they didn’t really ‘get’ my concept until I explained it to them.
What is most difficult about the process and why?
The most difficult thing about the process for me was trying to give negative critiques. As this was such a personal project, you could see that it was difficult for people not to take criticism to heart, even though the positive feedback often far outweighed the negative.
How might you get better at this hat system?
I can use the hat system in every day life as practice for when I’m in class. For example, I could watch a television show and give it feedback using the hat system. By developing these skills in an objective manner, it may be easier for me to use them in real life.
What might be a good way to separate moments of receiving feedback and actually evaluating and doing something with it?
Recording the feedback (whether it be writing it down or recording the audio) when receiving it will help to evaluate and use it later on. This is a method that doctors recommend when giving bad news, as often people start thinking about the news (or in this case, feedback) they receive rather than actively listening.
Is it worth reflecting on the feedback both close to the experience and a bit further on?
Yes. Reflecting on feedback that you received at the beginning of a project should be just as important as reflecting on it towards the end. The original feedback usually includes the basics of what the work should be, such as ‘does this make sense’. Towards the end of a project, feedback can become far more specific and finicky, such as ‘does this sound come in a fraction to early’, and we can get wrapped up in these little things and forget to look at the big picture.
We also started working with Premiere Pro. I have experience with video and sound editing, so the Haiku project was pretty easy for me. But I know a lot of the people in this course have very little experience with any editing software, and are confused about why we aren’t learning more of the basics in class, especially given that this semester focus’s on editing.
Anyways, here’s my haiku…
Project Brief 1
What I was going for in this project was to highlight my fears and insecurities (which are highlighted through my photos), and contrast these with my video and audio posts whiich are about comfort, joy, and excitement. The text at the end is where the two ends of my emotions/personality meet, and how they work together.
I’m not sure I like my execution. I had another idea early on which I was very much attached to, however it was too much of a risk and, as my photo pieces show, fear tends to hold me back. This other idea, however, continuously played on my mind while creating this piece, and I think that if I invested more into this idea rather than dwelling on another idea, it would have been executed far better. I was also physically unable to get some of the media I wanted to, and had to use stand ins (such as the shower audio in place of a storm). That being said, I really like my idea and several of the pieces (such as the cat purring audio, the waterfront video, and a majority of my photos).
Lectorial Week 2: What Is Media?
This weeks reading was the Introduction chapter from Making Media Studies by David Gauntlett. I found this reading very challenging, despite agreeing with many of the points the author was making. I felt that it could have been structured differently, or even that some information could have been cut out (such as the ‘Origins of this book’ sub-chapter). But the chapter, and the lecture, brought forward some very interesting ideas about the media, such as the idea of it being a ‘trigger for experience.’
In the past, I have been very vocal about media, especially social media, being a trigger for social and political change. Of course, news outlets are also a major player in this game, but I had never considered the smaller scale experiences that are triggered by the media, such as laughing at a funny film.
After the lecture, we were sent out to find as much media as we could in a selected area. My group was sent to Southbank. There was a surprising lack of digitized media outdoors at Southbank. A majority of the media was printed signage, such as street signs, printed advertising, and even brands printed on fashion. Another major form of media was artwork; specifically sculptures. There were also buskers, an acoustic media. Digital media didn’t really manifest until we were indoors (in a McDonalds, of all things). They used digital screens to advertise their products, but also had a missing persons notice and the weather update, which drew attention immediately. There was music playing over the speakers. The McDonalds also had newspapers, a very traditional news communication media, which was in stark contrast to the rest of the modern, eye-catching media.
Despite the contrast between the outdoor and indoor media, one thing that stayed very much the same was mobile phones. Everyone in our group, and everyone around us, checked their phones often. I only checked my phone twice, but that was more due to not having pockets to keep my phone in than lack of want.