Mixed Media Creative Critical Essay

by rachelfisher-white

As a child i watched films on my family owned VHS, films which would need to be rewinded manually back to the start in order for me to watch them again. As I grew older, the DVD came and then the Blu-ray and now everything can be watched online. As a teenager fascinated by films i watched them on every platform or medium they came on. Now as a wannabe filmmaker living in a world dominated by the internet, my options for distribution are far wider and the ability for my work to reach audiences is far greater. “Network Literacy is.. being comfortable with change.. [and] what underlies such change are the principles of distribution content producing and sharing.” Filmmaking does not exist as it did in the past, and it will not exist as it is, in the future.

The VHS made its way into the homes of people during the 1970’s which brought videos into the home environment, then according to the wikipedia page on DVD’s, 1995 saw Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic invent and develop the digital video disc. The DVD allowed almost instantaneous access to any part of the movie, no more having to laboriously wind through the tape to find where you wanted. Then the first Blu-ray Disc titles were released on June 20, 2006 which made home theatre significantly better than it was with DVD, thanks to the far higher video resolution and improved video and audio codecs.

Adrian Miles a subject co-ordinator of Network Media at Melbourne’s RMIT made his first year students question why they had come to University. I’d thought this was ridiculous, why in a first year of University when students are still questioning if this is what they wanna do does he point out that basically they are learning the skills that are going to be irrelevant by the time they get out of their course. Miles brings a good point though, that this world is forever evolving and in learning one particular skill that can be applied to one particular software or system, you will have wasted your time and money, instead you need to learn skills that can be applied to multiple systems, for example student don’t learn how to use Adobe Premiere Pro or Final Cut but instead learn how to cut/trim shots and how to make transitions as these skills can be applied to multiple editing software. Students also attend University and school to gain access to their equipment but what if the $2,299.95 Nikon D750 DSLR is just as good as the latest smartphone? A device people just store in their pocket.

When the first video camera to record a picture with syndicated sound was brought out by Sony in 1984, most people couldn’t make films unless they went to school to get access to the equipment. With the introduction of smart phones, and iPhones in particular, majority of people have the ability to create films, and quality films at that. The term filmmaker no longer applies to a small portion of people who have study to become one, but rather anyone who has a phone with a camera and the editing apps to piece it together. No longer is there the need for a ridiculous amount of settings and options that not many people know how to use anyway, “The Best Camera is the One that’s With You: iPhone Photography” author Chase Jarvis stated that he didn’t want more buttons or settings that “Less is the new black.” The iPhone 6 that was released on October 19th has a camera with 1.5-micron pixels and ƒ/2.2 aperture and a video camera with “added new features like the option to capture 1080p HD at 60 fps, 240-fps slow motion and time-lapse videos” Apple. The everyday person now has the ability to create quality works of art with the technology they have in their hand everyday. Digital Photography Review Connect did a test, SmartPhones versus DSLR’s and the results demonstrate that smartphones have a huge depth of field, which require you to get very close to shoot animals or extreme close ups but can keep lots in focus, while DSLR’s can capture blurry background portraits in the same light, concluding that they are good at different things but even that phones can hold their ground in comparison to a professional camera is insane. Even after the filming is done, the editing process has become something achievable in the home.

Nudgee Sunrise. iPhone 5,1/40s, f/2.4, ISO 64. Smartphones have huge depth of field.

“Nudgee Sunrise. iPhone 5,1/40s, f/2.4, ISO 64. Smartphones have huge depth of field.” from Dean Holland’s “Smartphones versus DSLRs versus film: A look at how far we’ve come”

Adobe Premiere Pro, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, AVS Video Editor and for sound Garage Band, Audacity, Adobe Auditions all these editing software that is so easily accessible for users. Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a film, create and edit the sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer as opposed to manually cutting and sticking film negatives together. Even on my smart phone right now i have iMovie, Video Star and Perfect Video:Video Editor all which can help me in the creative post-production process of filmmaking that is film editing. Another improved part of editing is the Special Effects, as technology has advanced so has the effects, more realistic and therefore more entertaining. With the improvement and accessibility of cameras, editing software and the special effects low budget films can now look high quality.

Most people couldn’t make independent films, much less get them seen, until of course the introduction of the internet. Jakub Baranski stated that “The two things that have been dramatically affected, as a result of the Internet, are the marketing and distribution of films” and that independent filmmaker generally had little money and used the internet to help market and distribute their films.Youtube, a video-sharing website allows for users to share their videos to the rest of the world. In 2012 my Year 11 media class made films that fitted a specific genre, my media teacher decided to upload them to Youtube. My short film “Shadow of a Wife”

a very average at best film, has received 105 views. That may not seem like much, but for my short film who would have only had an audience of 10 (my entire media class) had it not been uploaded to Youtube, this is actually a great deal. Youtube also a great marketing tool because it makes it very easy for film makers to show trailers, or preview clips to a wide audience in seconds. Social networking websites such as Facebook have flourished, and film distribution companies have used this to their advantage. Recent film, The Fault in Our Stars has a page dedicated to the film, from here they can promote their film with trailers, pictures, meet and greet dates, the premier dates and what the starring actors/actresses are up to, to keep their fans obsessed. At this moment the page has 12,191,426 actually 12,191,427 because i just gave it a thumbs up, likes on the page. Through platforms like Youtube and Facebook audience capacities like that are achievable.

Screen Shot 2014-10-23 at 10.50.06 am

Previewing the transformation from the VHS to online videos and manual editing to iPhone editing software has made it clear that change is inevitable, and that change shouldn’t be feared because it has created a platform for everyone to create quality films. The social networking that has come from the internet has allowed for collaboration on a world wide scale, with support coming from websites like kickstarter.com, where people promote their ideas and strangers donate to help their work and with websites like hitrecord.org where people work on projects together. Chris Anderson claims that Google and eBay have created new markets and rejuvenated already existing ones, and have made the rules for new entertainment economy in which one must ‘make everything available, cut the price in half, now lower it and help me find it.’ James Cameron believes that “within the next five to 10 years, nearly every major Hollywood movie will be watched from [his] lap.” George Lucas thinks that seeing a film will become like Broadway, expensive and the film will be screening for a year while Spielberg says the future is putting the viewer inside the experience, getting rid of the proscenium and the screen and making it so that “no matter where you look you’re surrounded by a three-dimensional experience.” As for me and where i think filmmaking is going, i couldn’t say. I do hope however, that experimental pieces and films that don’t fall into the mainstream category find a way to make it to the big screens.

Bibliography

“Network Literacy: The New Path to Knowledge.” Miles, Adrian. Screen Education Autumn.45 (2007)

“The Best Camera is the One That’s With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis” by Chase Jarvis, 2009, books.google.com

“The Changes the Internet is Making on the Motion Picture Industry.” Baranski, Jakub, and G. M. Welsch.

“The Long Tail.” Anderson, Chris. Wired. N.p., Oct. 2004. Web. 23 Aug. 2013.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/james-cameron-says-future-of-movies-will-be-watchi,35935/

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/10-expert-opinions-on-the-future-of-film

http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_89Aj3EZ-g

https://www.facebook.com/faultinourstarsmovie

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu-ray_Disc

http://www.answers.com/Q/When_did_the_first_video_camera_come_out

https://www.apple.com/au/iphone-6/cameras/

http://connect.dpreview.com/post/5533410947/smartphones-versus-dslr-versus-film

No reason needed for a selfie!

by rachelfisher-white

Adrian posted a link to an article a few weeks ago from the Guardian titled ‘When taking selfies in Trinidad, it’s what’s on the outside that matters‘ and it was a great article.

What I got most from this article is that Trinidadian women “generally have a healthier sense of body image” than Australian women.

“I felt like it”

“I was in a good mood.”

“I liked what I was wearing.”

“My make-up looked good.”

Are reason enough to take a selfie, and I think that is so great! If I took a selfie and used that for a caption, my Facebook ‘friends’ would either criticise me to the max for being self-centred or would praise me for being a brave women and seeing the beauty in myself because it’s such a rare thing to see. Is that ridiculous to anyone else?

Recently I’ve been watching HBO’s Girls and lead character Hannah is played by Lena Dunham and she is the most natural female character I’ve seen in a while and while Hannah has some deeply embed issues, Lena Dunham is incredible and is so comfortable with herself, and gee I envy her confidence and gee I wish everyone could share her self love.

Selfies shouldn’t be attacked about showing narcissism, because women and men deal with enough body shaming and beauty issues already… Rejoice in the fact that people find themselves attractive enough to take a photo.

Gotham

by rachelfisher-white

So Jamie made a post about the Pilot episode of Gotham a few weeks ago, AND I KNOW I’M BEHIND but I’ve only just started watching it, and have since seen 3 episodes.
As someone who has minimal knowledge of the comics and mythos, pretty much all I know I’ve got from The Dark Knight and Dark Knight Rises, I actually thought it was pretty good!

I am enjoying the cast, everyone suits their role and I haven’t yet noticed any flaws in their execution.

Ben McKenzie is quiet appealing to the eye, and Robin Lord Taylor is so greatly cast as Penguin.

I’m really enjoying the feel of the TV Show, it’s look and it’s vibe. So dark, and mysterious.

Sad day when even Bob the Builder isn’t good enough.

by rachelfisher-white

image

Recently Bob the Builder himself went under construction, and now has become a CGI version of his old self. According to Twitter and this poll people aren’t happy. I can tell you I definitely voted for old Bob.

image

Even the original Illustrator Curtis Jobling was disappointed, saying the handyman wasn’t broke so why fix him?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/11158285/New-Bob-the-Builder-unveiled-which-do-you-prefer.html

Out of Touch.

by rachelfisher-white

When i was a child the children that lived next door to me and down my street were my best friends. We would play on our bikes all day and our home time would be when the street lights came on.
Nowadays though, i know that the lady at no 3 leaves at 6:30 like me on Tuesday mornings, and that the boy at no 1 has a personalised number plate “Keirun’ but i do not know my neighbours. Perhaps its because i am older, and riding my bike around like a motor vehicle has lost its appeal or perhaps (and more likely) it’s because I’ve replaced physical social interaction with virtual social interaction.
I no longer need to go outside to make friends and communicate because i can do it from my bedroom inside.

From the reading, and the exert that Betty chose for the symposium “A few external links connecting these clusters keep them from being isolated from the rest of the world.” stood out and reminded me of the film Wall-e, and the scene where people are floating around with chairs and laptops and no one is communicating and yet they are passing by each other. They’re so isolated from the world in every physical way, there is no face to face communication, no hand shaking or high fiving, no personal displays of affection- nothing, they’re flying past each other but are too immersed in their screens that the world passes them by.

This reminds me of the train ride i take to and from Uni in which people sit next to each other, huddled and close yet never speak to each other because their noses are stuck in their phones.

Photo by Brandon Long on a San Francisco Powell Street Station

Is this what our world is coming to? Thousands of people close and with the ability to talk and make new friends, communicate with new people but don’t even try.
At least once a week i get a friend request on Facebook from someone I’ve never met, obviously trying to start some type of relationship, yet when we’re so close on a train or walking down the street no one wants or asks to be my friend. Yes social interaction is good for family and friends that are separated by distance but its not a replacement for communication.

Mindless Addiction

by rachelfisher-white

So in my Tute, the discussion of whether we are becoming mindless users of technology came up.

Discussion of how people line up for hours for the latest technology, specifically the latest Apple products like Sam Vieira and his friend Davor who according to The Sunday Morning Herald (http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/sydney-students-first-in-line-for-new-apple-iphone-6-20140909-10eosx.html) have already started lining up for the iPhone six which doesn’t get released until September 19th.. they are literally lining up, wasting over a week of their live, to spend money on something that i’m going to risk a guess at saying they don’t desperately need.

From this Elliot, brought up that people actually lined up in front of Footlocker to purchase the latest pair of nikes.

We’re so obsessed with technology, and the latest things. Who created this want? Did advertisers influence us to think like this?
I don’t think Facebook was intending for users to spend hours on, mindlessly scrolling through a dashboard that isn’t offering us any insight or worthy knowledge but still majority of us do it. An hour easily goes by sometimes before i realise that i’m doing nothing with my time.

This discussion reminded me of a previous conversation that was brought up in class, the evil introduction of the Candy Crush Saga.
Upon researching this, i discovered that on Tuesday 1 April 2014 an estimated 93 million people played Candy Crush everyday, it’s made around $800,000 daily due to people buying lives and help tools, that half a billion people have downloaded the app and finally that King Digital made $568m last year alone! Preeeetty impressive for them but pretty embarrassing for us players, personally i’m on level 140 and i’m seriously stuck.
According to http://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2014/apr/01/candy-crush-saga-app-brain the game exploits our brains and in some way creates an addiction like reaction to users. The structure of mini rewards releases something called neurochemical dopamine which then taps into the same neuro-circuitry involved in addiction, reinforcing our actions and because Candy Crush is more a game of luck, and you can never predict when you will win next you “win just enough to keep you coming back for more.”

How scary!? but does this mean that my addiction to most game app is technically not my fault? and doesn’t make me a sad person? because 2048 is a serious addiction of mine.

Week 7 Reading.

by rachelfisher-white

In Murphie, Andrew, and John Potts work “Culture and Technology.” I found the segment on Knowing the world differently: Poststructualist thought to be the most interesting.

What comes first the chicken or the egg? I think it’s fair to say that technology and change are much like the chicken and the egg, as the writers say “we know the world differently through different technologies, and different technologies themselves are in turn a response to knowing the world differently.” but as they point out may technology dwell closer to the very heart of whatever we call human. Technology changes as we change, with its requirement to match our needs, which in a sense also become their needs?
They bring up Posthuman, and according to wikipedia a posthuman being a hypothetical future being whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer unambiguously human by our current standards, a completely synthetic artificial intelligence like a cyborg.

Most interestingly though, ..

They bring up technology and techniques and that ‘machines imply techniques’, and they question whether we need technique to use things and if techniques come unattached to technologies, with an attempt to answer that i bring in Raymond Williams who claims that a technical invention only becomes an available technology when one possess the knowledge and technique to do so. Therefore if techniques do not come attached to specific technologies then how would we learn the techniques, could you learn to use a pen without using a pen? learn to ride a bike without actually riding a bike? i don’t think so but saying that the ‘Folders’ on a computer stem from our already existent ability to search through folders, therefore giving us the technique without the technology.