It was interesting learning about the experimental composer John Cage and his famous composition ‘Sounds of Silence’ or 4’33” (1952). Which involved instructing the performer to sit at a piano and sit in silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds to an unknowing audience. A feeling of disbelief and curiosity overwhelmed the viewers as they watched a still performer. This ‘experiment’ proving that there is no such thing as true silence, as even in the muted score sounds of whispering, shuffling around and outside noises were amplified. In our modern tech culture, we could conclusively say the same thing, with mobile phones, portable music, announcements and a faced paced technological culture, how can true silence ever be achieved. For me to say that now in 2015, John Cage’s experiment seems quite obvious, may be very naive as we live in such a electronic based society. However even in 1952, silence was a difficulty to obtain. Media in all forms, creates a message and has something to say, and as humans we always have something we must be talking about. Silence becomes an almost awkward experience, creating a nervous and overwhelming energy. We are born wanting to speak and communicate and tell others our experiences, so this silence comes unnaturally to us. Cage identifies the inability for us to naturally take in silence and actually listen. Listening is an important act, as we noticed in the media lectorial. When we listen we are able to take notice of the things around us more intently and observe in an alternate way. As John Mason states “we may think we are widely aware of what is going on around us, but in fact attention is highly selective (Mason, J, 2002, pg 31) and with the distraction of noises and devices around us we don’t actively take in everything around us. I found this whole concept very interesting and i suppose knowing this I will aim to more actively ‘listen’ to my surroundings, not only in terms of media or mediated information but in all aspects of my life.

Mason, J, 2002, Researching your own practice: The Discipline of Noticing, Routledge, London

The lectorial this week focused us on the process of noticing. Noticing in the form of being aware of the different types of media that surrounds us in on environment. The process of training our thoughts and focusing on how to more vividly attend to the things around us. To be able to intentionally notice the mediated information and to record these things. On visiting Melbourne Central, my group was able to consciously notice mediated information around us, we came across things us as:

• store vouchers
• menus
• lighting
• shop promotions
• Melbourne central clock sounds
• phones
• exit signs
• school uniforms
• newspapers
• wall art
• train announcements
• train timetables
• bibles
• labeled rubbish
• warning signs
• literally labels
• security cameras
• promotional bags
• branded water bottles
• branded  t-shirts
• laptops
• headphones
• directional signage

The ‘excursion’ enabled us to be more aware and alert. The process of recording this information, made lasting remembrances and forced us to consciously memorise what media was around us. When sitting in silence and listening, we were able to be a lot more responsive to the abundance of noises, sounds, texts, images and devices that maybe we were unaware of as forms of media.

It was difficult to anticipate what the practical class of Media 1 would involve. Beginning the exploration of how to formulate and navigate out blogs as well as what we may decide to put on this space was the main interest of the class. An almost public diary is the concept that was most interesting to me, as my thoughts and ideas are to be trained to control this space; this is a foreign concept to me. Any thought and idea that I generally have is a private and intimate thought, it will be difficult to have my honest opinions and ideas published so publically. The class made me more aware of my online self and how I am perceived. I am very open on some forms of social media, why is it that it is any different for me here? What makes this blog so different to me? Interestingly so, Project brief one, that entails producing and gathering pieces to make up my own self portrait, is some what stimulating. The idea of creating an abstract representation of myself through different forms of media is exciting.

Communications (Media)

I want to learn…

• To understand and produce media for a certain type of audience
• To use editing techniques in a innovative and skilled way
• To develop and write scripts
• To source a network
• To use sound equipment and other voice recording equipment
• To critique work and understand what i like/dislike about different forms of media
• To study Film as a piece of art and literature
• To work with groups of people to produce something on a larger scale
• To develop my career
• What area of Media interests me most

Hyper and Deep Attention was the main exploration of the lectorial in Media 1. The idea that “we are in the midst of a generational shift in cognitive styles that poses challenges to education at all levels” as mentioned on pg 187 of Hyper and Deep Attention: the Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes. This was an interesting start to Media 1 as it related to the learning approaches we have become used to in University and Schooling situations. The question being, which produces a better understanding from individuals? With the aim to engage an audience and prompt an individuals learning . This is an important part of what media is, and I found it interesting to link cognitive modes and media together. Much like what film and tv aim to do when creating concepts for scripts and characters, to engage an audience one would need to understand the audience. As I mentioned previously, this was an interesting start to Media, and something I’ve never thought of in such specifics.