Media 5: Reasons

YAY for retroactive blogging!

All semester I haven’t been able to access this old blog because I forgot the password and I was too lazy to have it reset, so I’ve just been writing down posts on the Notes in my iPhone. But now, with a few hours left till the deadline, I guess it’s about time I finally get the damn things online.

Anyway, here is my first post, from April 10 2015:

The Art of Persuasion: Impressions, Reasons, etc.

It’s been about a month into the semester and this new studio-based system for the media course. So far I”d say it’s going well, at least better than some of my previous courses. I’m not entirely sure why I chose this studio. I was never a big documentary buff, and I’ve never been really that invested in politics or social justice. It may have something to do with me getting only a P for Film TV 2, a course about documentary, and wanting to make up for the mediocre mark. One of the main reasons for that result last year was that I took a back seat in regards to group work. While the rest of my group were great and were totally on top of things, I was content to just sit back and cruise along. The group did fine despite my little input, but I still should’ve made the effort to contribute more. As a result, this year I’ve been trying to take the initiative again and be more organised in terms of collaborative work.

But I think the main reason I took up this studio might run a little deeper. So far throughout the Media program there’s always been a little dilemma at the back of my mind: I don’t think I want to be making fiction films for a living. I love being a part of the creative process, but a life of film making doesn’t seem like it’ll fit me well. I think one thing I’m after is a more clear and direct purpose to work towards for each project. This is one of the reasons I also took up Creative Advertising as an elective as well as choosing this studio on political documentary. There is an overt message and meaning you want to convey every time, whether it be to sell a product orĀ  make a political statement, as opposed to the ambiguity that sometimes comes with fiction film making. This notion sits better with me, and I hope it stays like that.

As for the course itself, so far it’s been interesting, especially as I hadn’t watched much documentary beforehand. Seeing the breadth and variety of the form has definitely opened me up and made me more aware to the possibilities it brings.

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