This week’s lectorial focused on the collaborative efforts of media making.
FOUND FOOTAGE
We discussed the idea of incorporating found footage into our own original works and looked at film makers who had used this technique in their own works. Found footage was defined as using Pre-existing film footage that is appropriated and used in a way not originally intended by the original author.
We also considered the ethical boundaries of using footage constructed by others as well as keeping in mind copyright regulations and restrictions we went over in last week’s lectorial.
ACADEMIC ARTICLES
Brian also gave us some handy tips for working through dense academic articles. I found this to particularly useful having recently discovered how tricky it can be to precisely extract meaning from some of out previous “essay type” readings.
Some advice included:
1.Look for argument and structure.
2.Download and print the article.
3.Write notes and highlight as you go.
4.Read key sections (abstract, intro , conclusion).
Skimming (scanning the page while reading) is okay ✅ (thank goodness ! I felt I was cheating by doing this)
I think I will apply this method to future blog posts dedicated to the weekly readings and will in turn improve my analysis and expression, rather than just summarising the articles.
Brian also suggested blog posts consist of:
– a brief summary of main ideas in text.
– Consider an evaluation of the text (strengths and limitations)
– provide commentary on its relevance for your purpose (eg background research on an essay topic OR creative inspiration for a technical/creative skill you are developing.
When reading the introductory para …
look for key argument and purpose of this writing.
Consider structure (look at headings, can be shorthand version of argument)
And when reading the Concluding paragraph …
-Decide what was the most useful aspect of the chapter.
-Discuss how does it informs practice and thinking.
THIRD PROJECT BRIEF INSPIRATION
I have chosen to profile one of my good friends for this assignment. I am looking forward to presenting aspects of another person in a creative way and it is of welcome relief that it does not have to reveal so much about myself as with the first two projects!
We also spent some time watching short creative documentaries that others had created on significant people. I found these to be particularly moving and at the same time a bit saddening, especially with a girl’s dedication to her grandmother. I appreciated the effort she had taken in gathering hundreds of personal items and photographs and artefacts (as we had done on a smaller scale in project brief 1) in order to represent a loved one’s life. I was reminded the importance of documentary in, literally “documenting” or saving the memories of people’s lives and experiences. This was emphasised to me when one mini documentary maker showed his mother’s life through photos and home videos that contrasted with her speech. Distant and unable to recall everything he was saying.
To conlude, and in a change of pace we enjoyed a humorous man’s recount of him dancing and how it makes him feel “free”. It all progressed very quickly as he discussed eating a tortilla chip to dancing and moving freely, all supported by a kick-ass percussion soundtrack ! Very much enjoyed this. Looking forward to constructing my third project for media one over the Easter Break.