Here is the link to my video

For my final assessment, the hyperobject I eventually settled with was Invasive species with a focus on three species; feral cats, cane toads and the crown of thorns starfish. When I originally planned my idea, I wanted to focus on only feral cats—distinguishing between the perceived ‘meme’ like view of cats against the reality feral cats have upon the environment and native species. However, with the feedback I received, I decided to broaden my scope to three species instead. I chose these three because I think they cover the overall spectrum of how far invasive species can reach; Land, riverside and ocean. This helped me in the long run in collecting footage and conveying my message in the harm done to the environment. As Duvall explains it, the goal of films that deal with topics of animals and the environment, the audience needs to be confronted directly with the damage that has been caused by humanity in both the smaller and large scale. (Duvall, 2017) I wanted my video to ask questions about their connection to the issue of invasive species and the impact of introducing these species and wrought on the environment.

My video depicts these three animals in two lights, showing footage of these animals as harmless and not doing anything to prompt concern, as many people can view them. However, I go on to display images and footage of the destruction of the environment and the deaths of the native species as a result of their invasion. As Nurmi’s states, it is essential when creating climate media to engage with people’s emotions and attitudes in regards to the issue to incite change for the better. (Nurmis, 2016) Instead of using split screens like I originally intended, I decided to use overlaying footage, primarily when showing photos and environments so to keep everything related to one another and demonstrate how no matter where you go, these species and their damage are always there and always continuing around us.

My three constraints for my assessment were no music, no voiceover or human voices, and no footage intended for commercial and corporate use. I also wanted to avoid using statistics to convey the issue as it would have been jarring to the tone of my film. Henricks also points out that statics and facts given the wrong way are more likely to distance certain viewers rather than help. (Henricks, 2017) So, to strengthen the contrast between the types of footage, I used text to directly ask the audience if they reckon that these seemingly harmless animals aren’t a danger to the native wildlife across the country. Due to the generally disturbing content of my topic, overall relating to the deaths of animals, I took advice from my studio leader and included a content warning. This also served well to inform the audience of the severe topic being discussed, that this is a topic that needs to be addressed. I’m aware this can isolate some viewers, but it is necessary to address the issue.

I initially struggled with sound as I have always relied on using voiceover or music to help with editing and timing as well as helping to guide the footage I chose. But having to rely on diegetic sounds like nature ambience and the sound of the ocean was a challenge. I used a loud, steady heartbeat throughout the video to emphasise the tension, implying this idea that the land and its creatures are all living and all feeling the impact of these species, how humankind will also handle these effects in the long run.
Overall I am pleased with my piece and believe it conveys the message I wanted well. I look forward to others viewing it and hope it leaves an impact on them as much as it did for me when learning about the topic to create it.

References
Duvall, JA 2017, ‘Chapter 9: Animals and Extinction’, The Environmental Documentary: Cinema Activism in the 21st Century, Bloomsbury Academic & Professional, New York, p. 231-256.
Nurmis, J. (2016). Visual climate change art 2005-2015: discourse and practice. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 7(4), pp.501–516.
Hendricks, R. (2017). Communicating climate change: Focus on the framing, not just the facts. [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/communicating-climate-change-focus-on-the-framing-not-just-the-facts-73028 [Accessed 30 May 2020].

Admittedly I had been struggling with this assessment as the deadline slowly draws closer. My plans have significantly changed from my initial presentation on the subject, and it feels overwhelming when trying to adapt and adjust.

In the end, I decided to focus on three invasive species, in particular, Feral cats, the cane toad, and the crown of thorns starfish. This keeps the footage I need to collect focused and covers the broad range of invasive species and their reach; land, rivers and the ocean.

Challenges
The main struggle came down to footage. When creating a video-based around found footage, the creator is more or less at the mercy of the footage they can collect. This is frustrating when you have ideas for a film but can’t find the correct footage to convey your meaning. I searched many websites for the footage I needed. It, in turn, made me very thankful for deciding to broaden my scope of invasive species from only feral cats. The primary sources I required my footage from were Youtube and various stock footage sites like Pexels and Pixabay. I struggled with Shutterstock frequently offering useful footage but all with a large watermark, something I was adamant about avoiding.

Fortunately, I managed to come across a lot of documentaries that provided useful footage detailing the damage caused by my chosen species. The importance of this is as Wallace explains that the cognitive dissonance created by the public to the various issues of the Anthropocene has created ‘an ambivalence of denial and acceptance, complacency and horror.’ (Wallace 2017, pg 572)

Concerns
A concerning matter that came up was how violent my topic is graphic content. Invasive species are responsible for the eradication of many species and to visually demonstrate this without statistics images of the animals and environment eradicated is the best route. Elaine provided helpful feedback to this that a content warning would be best in the beginning regardless of the footage I use due to the heavy subject I am discussing. I still tried to avoid content too heavy. For instance, I used footage from this Video to gather footage of feral cats in the wild. I had to be careful in cutting footage to avoid showing anything too graphic.
(Please note, I am only including the link and not embedding the video on purpose due to the disturbing content. View at your own discretion as feral cat hunters took the footage.)

Sound
Finding various diegetic sounds was difficult at first. As someone that prefers using music or voiceover to convey a message, it was a challenge to avoid them entirely and rely only on diegetic audio and the visuals on screen to convey my message. I wanted to use a multitude of sounds from the various animals I chose. I took on Ash’s feedback and suggestion of a heartbeat to add suspense. It helped give me focus on the footage and rhythm to work and time myself. I also decided to use only ambience sound from my chosen species environments to keep the overall tone of the video the same.

References
Wallace, M 2017, ‘It’s the End of the Field as We Know It (and I Feel Fine)’, American Literary History, vol. 29, no. 2, p. 565-578.

Listening to the feedback from my presentation was engaging and vital to help me in shaping out my ideas for my project. The central theme I wanted to go for in my plan was the hyperobject of ‘Invasive Species with a primary focus on Feral Cats as an invasive species in Australia. I liked the feedback Ash gave me in terms of ideas of where to go with it and references to draw from as well. Ultimately, I’ve decided to take the advice from the feedback in the presentation and zoom out my idea to not just feral cats, but certain invasive species in Australia. This is mainly due to how they seem to like my idea, but worry I will get lost in the idea of feral cats and lose focus on my hyperobject, missing the point of the assessment entirely. I think my focus will be upon feral cats, rabbits, cane toads and potentially the crown of thorns starfish for variety in visuals and sounds. I still do want to include feral cats as like how Ash explained it in his thoughts on my presentation, ‘it fits in amongst invasive species as a broader topic.’ (Fox, 2020)

However, this doesn’t mean the feedback I received isn’t useful. Ash’s recommendation of looking into the Dingo fence as ‘a great example of pre-industrial control methods’. (Fox, 2020) Providing a link for me about the subject was also really helpful since I didn’t know about it and was able to educate myself on this topic further. This reminded me of other methods taken to prevent the spread of invasive populations like the rabbit-proof fence. I think showing examples of these methods in the footage I find would be a great example of my hyperobject to utilise. I also really like the suggestions of sounds to use that Ash provided. I originally had a focus on feral cats to utilise footage that compared the ‘meme’ like the way they are viewed. Still, as I drift away from that idea to broaden my scope, the idea of a subtle heartbeat throughout the video is an idea I like. I do still want to stay with my constraints and my plan of a split-screen showing differing images. Now that I am broadening my scope on animals, I think this will be an excellent utilisation of footage.

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PROMPT 9