As the last actual week of the semester came to an end I somewhat felt a weight off my shoulders, knowing that all I had left to do was finish (or in some cases start and then finish) work that is due in the coming weeks. As I sat in a pub after the MS Fun Walk I was surrounded by my parents and my Auntie and work colleagues.  My Auntie then went to tell them that I was studying at RMIT, when one of them responses, “Are you doing Science?” due to all of their work revolving somewhat around its many practices. I looked at her and laughed, stating “No, no nothing to do with science at all! I’m studying media, no… definitely not science.” She then smiled at me, and continued to speak to her two children. I felt a bit out of place with all of these adults sat at this table who all posses an interest in science in some way or another, besides my own mother which is why I suppose I can say that the apple does not fall far from the tree. I continued to sit there and think about it, how important media is, especially to me as someone who has been trained for the past few years to deeply understand all things media. I think you have to understand the world of media to fully appreciate it, which brings me to what was spoken in the lecture this past week. This quote “Media materialism is, of course, a way of thinking about media, but it can also be a way of thinking about the world, history, the economy, even sunsets” was one I grabbed from the Media One Media factory page, and is a statement that I think is extremely vital to anyone studying media. As that is what we have to do constantly; think about media and anything else in the world that links to it – which is basically everything. Understanding media is just as complex as understanding a science, it is a science, however of a different means.

On Thursday evening, I attended the Opening Night of the St Kilda Film Festival. I had never experienced this festival before and was eager to see what all the hype was about, especially since it is the focus of our latest project brief. I have to say however, I do not think I was completely satisfied. After making our way in, and the showing finally beginning, I feel as though the audience spent more time listening to speeches made than enjoying the glorious art that is short film. Understandably, as it was opening night there needed to be many individuals and bodies acknowledged and yes I was interested to hear about the funding from the government, but the only speech I was somewhat interested in was Festival Director of over 15 years Paul Harris. Perhaps this was because I just wanted to hear about film and cinema, and who better to listen to that the individual who choses what the audience sees throughout the duration of the festival.

Once the speeches were finally over, the shorts were screened. I was impressed by what was chosen, they were a great quality of film and commented on a range of things through the forms of documentary, drama, and a beautiful animation that I believe really stood out from the rest. Although it was brilliant to see this Australian talent and skill, I wasn’t completely satisfied. I don’t believe that I saw enough. I know that is an active choice that was made to entice audiences into returning to see more, but as the nights aim was to give insight into the entire festival, I feel like I wasn’t given a big enough taste. Maybe my taste has been broadened from being exposed to a larger range of cinema since starting my degree, and that’s why I wanted to see more, due to my vast interest in foreign cinema, however this festival obviously isn’t about that but the embracing of Australian talent – which it achieved successfully. Overall it was a lovely night, it just ended too quickly. It will help immensely in the formation of our project brief 4 artefact as I can now give more of an insight into how programming is used to entice audiences.

Celebrity endorsements are a popular way for brands to achieve meaning, however, the success of any endorsement may be dependant on the correlation between celebrity and brand, which is known as the “matchup” effect, coined by McCracken in 1989. This has seen individuals such as McCracken, Amos, Holmes, Strutton, Kahle and Homer approaching their research in a similar manner, their school of thought outlining that the effectiveness of an endorsement is tied to how well the image and / or personality of the celebrity fits the product and the selling idea. The consumer – seen as the “fan” in a certain aspect needs to see the correlation between celebrity and the product.

Kahle, Homer and Kamins believe that in most cases, it is the attractiveness of the celebrity that strengthens the intentions of the consumer to purchase the advertised product. However, Zwilling and Fruchter believe that there are many contradictions and findings that can strain the task of creating a match between celebrity and product. For example, Shimp’s research outlines that “trustworthiness and attractiveness are emphasied over a celebrity’s popularity”, however his past studies have found that repeatedly pairing pleasant images with brands can result in favourable brand attitudes by viewers of those advertisements. Kahle, Homer and Kamins each agree that effective endorsements are not necessarily based on the “attractiveness” of a celebrity, although it assists in curving the attitudes of consumers. Kamins implies that celebrity endorsement influences consumers positively, with this influence somewhat partially due to the desire of a consumer to identify with the endorser.

Advertising, as an institution, is used on many occasions to sell the product they wish to. Young consumers may somewhat “borrow” from a celebrity they admire in the construction of their identity, by purchasing and using the product endorsed, constructing a self satisfying self-concept. Advertisers target their audiences perfectly, and use celebrities to do exactly so. Such a sweet deal for usually, a large price.

Recently I’ve been thinking about how much artists cater to their audiences. As the audience is everything, everyone really plays on that idea, uses it to their advantage, use it to make money – it’s all business. TV uses their audiences, obviously. My sister and my mum are watching TV as I write this and the former, in a thirteen year old fashion is squealing about how she has waited three seasons for these two characters to get together. She then proceeded by watching their much awaited steamy get together, and when I asked her if it was up to her expectations she looked at me, grinned, then looked back at the screen grimacing every so often. She has literally grown into an eighteen year old in front of my eyes. Coming back to my main point, it goes to show how active audiences are these days while watching TV shows. These producers, directors, everyone involved know what they’re doing. They deliberately don’t let two characters get together so this happens to viewers across the country. Yes, the audience controls ratings, but the producers control the audience’s emotions and that is television. This is what I love about it, being able to produce something that thrusts such a plethora of emotions onto a vulnerable and antagonised mind. This is television. This is media.

After the extremely entertaining and informative lecture this week about “narrative” given by Dan, it has prompted me to reflect on what is better – having a narrative or not? It was a topic that everyone had their own formed opinion on this week, whether or not the like having a narrative to follow. I think that when it comes down to it, it is down to personal preference. Not needing a narrative is similar to going into an art gallery and being comfortable and seeking solace in interpreting one piece of work in whichever way you want – creating a narrative for it. However, some do not need a narrative, individuals who would prefer to have an explicit meaning behind something,  with a structure to follow, especially when watching a film. I think that it is so interesting to think about the variety of ways someone can interpret something, and how some individuals dislike not having a narrative to follow, which is understandable as some prefer to watch a sequence of events that progresses with a climax at the end and a resolution. Narrative is such a tricky topic, there are various thematic concerns that need to be present in order to classify something as a narrative, but I also believe that an individual’s own take on a piece of work can assist in declaring something a narrative or not.

“You know how everyone’s always saying seize the moment? I don’t know, I’m kind of thinking it’s the other way around, you know, like the moment seizes us.”

Although the project briefs of representing a person have now come to an end, I thought it would be good to see how the professionals do it. Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” is the epitome of a portrait. Filmed over the course of 12 years, Linklater delves into the adolescence of Mason Evans Jr (portrayed by Ellar Coltrane) as he matures between the ages of 2002 – 2013 growing up in Texas. Experiencing the ups and downs of divorce, drug use and graduation, audiences literally see Mason growing up in front of their very eyes. With a soundtrack true to its era, it really is a nostalgic journey for anyone watching. It is truly amazing to see such a work of art that has been created over such a vast period of time by individuals with such an obvious investment in the project. It is simply extraordinary to experience the film first handedly, as a representation of a specific individual and their triumphs and downfalls.
Nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards and rated 8.1 on IMDB, this film is one of beautiful moments, with concept rich with emotion and naturalism, as Linklater uses its duration to remind everyone that life is about the little moments.

The creative process of project brief 3 was both a challenging and interesting one. Personally I am happy with how the product turned out overall, with the edits being mostly quick, sharp cuts to create a clean and polished finish. I enjoyed syncing voiceovers with footage, as I feel like it is effective in communicating the dialogue through another visual means, rather than only concentrating on images of the subject for the film’s entirety. Although I am pleased with these aspects, I am not as satisfied with the diversity of the portrait. This comes down to the footage I shot myself, which as a whole did not provide enough to work with, causing challenges with cutting and editing. However, if I had accumulated more footage, I feel as though I would have had much more breathing space in which I could have more comfortably cut as I pleased without the restrictions of inadequate content.

            Creating a portrait of another individual is a task that needs to be thoroughly prepared. It was tough to pinpoint one specific topic to ask about, then to draw up questions or starting sentences to stimulate answers. Although you may have envisioned the product you wish to create, you need to realise that the individual you are interviewing may not necessarily be in your mind space, and therefore may not follow the script you have imagined. This is where I have learnt that it is crucial to simply go where the conversation takes you, which may lead to candid and rich footage that you did not anticipate prior to shooting.

            I have come to see the advantages and disadvantages of the constraint of including “found footage” within the project. If suitable footage is found, it is an excellent way of adding something that you didn’t realise you needed, which can definitely enhance the overall product. This said, it was difficult for me to find relevant footage that had the potential to tie in with the nature of the portrait. As a media practitioner, it is beneficial in having sources that allow you to use footage provided by others, along with allowing you to be exposed to others’ works that could influence you own.

After spending my Friday night babysitting, I realised many things, like how annoying children can be, how cute children can be and how hard it can be to put them to bed when all they want to do is make chit chat. As soon as I walked through the door, I was greeted by a 10 year old blonde girl tugging at my bag asking me where I bought it from, along with an 8 year old even cuter blonde asking me if I had dyed my hair since the last time I saw her. I was then asked by the 10 year old how I applied my makeup that morning because the girls in the tutorials she had been watching on YouTube use both sponges and brushes to apply their foundation. At this, I literally sat there shocked for at least a minute – momentarily wondering what I was doing when I was 10 years old – making those scoobie things and putting them on my school bag? I then went into a 20 minute discussion about my makeup routine, which was briefly interrupted every so often by the distraction of the television.

I thought back on this conversation after I had put them to bed – half an hour after their bedtime because I love chatting with them, its refreshing, (something I would never tell their mum). These girls at such a young age are already being enticed by the world of makeup and beauty. I can’t believe that it’s already grabbed them at such a young age, leading to statements such as “of course I need makeup, so and so wears it. I’m just not pretty without it…”  You need to be aware as you read this that this 10 year old is one of the most beautiful little girls you will ever see. What is happening with girls’ self esteem?? If body image issues really are becoming an issue at the age of 8 and 10, how young will it become in the coming years and who do we have to blame for it? This is such a huge topic that really needs to be somehow fixed, because I will not sit and watch 10 year olds criticising their own appearances. Is the media really to blame? Celebrities in magazines? The barriers that restrain gender appearance need to be broken, we really won’t get anywhere unless they are.

Meanwhile, here’s a message from Beyonce:

In light of searching for found footage this week to include in project brief 3, there have been a variety of clips that have either been extremely relevant and useful, or simply the most irrelevant thing one has ever seen. However, whilst I have been on my search, I have come to realise that the found footage that I include in my video doesn’t have to completely link, it just needs to be somewhat relevant enough to see the the relationship present between that and the footage that I have created. That’s what is so brilliant about more abstract art, you can place pieces of footage together in order to create a completely different meaning or image that can resonate with audiences. I may use this ideal whilst searching for my found footage and how to include it within my project brief.

I have tried to express myself in a more deeper fashion compared to my final product of project brief one. Overall, my aim was to convey a sense of nostalgia. This sentimentality was aided through editing ( through iMovie), specifically via transitions between shots – generally using a cross dissolve or a cross blur in order to create the feeling that memories become a blur when looking at them in retrospective, also that life becomes a blur when you are moving too rapidly. For other shots, straight cuts were used to reinforce the sometimes impending “black and white” feeling of growing up – the thin line between right and wrong, or expectations of others, something I believe profusely reflects myself and my own inner workings. The colour palate and filters I have used I believe create a sense of wistfulness, creating a romanticised outlook of myself, as majority of the shots could be interpreted as point of view shots.

I believe that the most successful part of my self-portrait is the way in which the narration throughout the middle section of the clip intertwines with the images and footage in order to create an insight into what I reflect on, and think of myself. I do not know how easy it will be to interpret the footage I have linked together, along with the audio. As it is my own self – portrait, I see relevance and meaning in everything, however others may find it irrelevant or strange to decipher. This is what I deem simultaneously a successful and unsuccessful feat, as there are moments of explicit reflection, accompanied by abstract and vague portrayals of myself. Although saying this, I believe it creates an effective juxtaposition in the construction of my own self – portrait in the eyes of others. One thing I think may have been unsuccessful is the narrative framework as such. It is an somewhat abstract piece, however I think after reflecting on it, I would have liked it to have had a slightly more structured outline, where the footage may have linked together in a more successful and smoother fashion.