Women In Media Crew Meeting Minutes Week 4

5:08 – Who are we going to ask for another interview applicant?

Nora Nisari – originally studied architecture and is now studying film.

Corey Chen – first film out on MIFF, RMIT graduate, has done a lot of short films.

Cassie Walker – tv presenter and journalist in the media industry, friends with the BEAT magazine editor. (Maybe have the magazine editor instead?)

Celeste Little – Indigenuous activist/journalist (ask Celeste if Clementine is unable to attend)

Natalie Tran – Youtuber and freelancer / has her own business.

 

5:19 – Kevin interruption.

5:21 – Decisions for guests:

Celeste for understudy of Clementine Ford

Corey for understudy of Natalie Tran

 

We are still waiting for a confirmation from Clementine. Will find out by tonight.

 

ACTIONS:

Mia will email Natalie Tran.

 

5:22 – Poster / Aesthetic Image for Media Campaign for the Seminar

Maddie presented her results of aesthetic research. Mix-media aesthetic.

Sam will send a picture to Maddie of a Creative Commons image of Joan of Arc.

 

ACTIONS:

Poster to be finalised next week by Maddie to submit to Steering Committee.

 

5:25 – Video trailer / Poster

Discussion whether to use video of the group as basis for video?

Decision made to use faces of women group members as basis for seminar advertisement.

Use four images for four weeks? One poster a week up until our seminar.

 

5:28 – Social Media for Seminar / Online participatory community.

How much social media should we utilise.

Facebook group ideas:

– Link to other articles relevant to our seminar.

– Highlight actions in the industry.

– Quotes.

 

Twitter:

– Use to live-tweet the seminar.

– Live-tweet all the seminars?

 

Instagram

 

ACTIONS:

Instagram – Maddie + Elaine wanted to assist.

Facebook – ?

Twitter – Karen

Mollie will post a Facebook post to figure out who wants to do what social media.

 

5:40 – Stage Planning

A Giant table like Q&A TV show.

A double MC set-up? Someone introducing the host and guests and then the show itself goes underway.

Plants around and about the stage as an aesthetic choice.

Definitely need lights. Lighting is in Building 94?

 

ACTIONS:

Matt and Sam collaborating for staging and lighting.

 

5:43 – Wrap-up

A deadline on Natalie Tran? Wait until next Tuesday.

Contact Corey.

Hopefully hear something back from Clementine Ford.

 

ACTIONS:

Media, headshot, bio for Helen Gaynor to be sent by Karen. Karen will draft the email and facebook it to Maddie.

Mia will email Natalie Tran.

Poster to be finalised next week by Maddie to submit to Steering Committee.

Maddie and Elaine responsible for Instagram.

Karen responsible for Twitter

Sam and Matt collaborating for staging and lighting

 

5:48 – MEETING FINISHED

OVE PORTFOLIO ESSAY BLOG ENTRY

 

 

Overview

The studio aimed to research and conduct experiments on a chosen online video platform or genre/type of video. Students are supposed to start from a case study chosen by themselves in Project One and then work in groups to move on to the next projects experimenting from the case studies.

The outcomes of my 4 projects, however, were very different. I started working individually and had gone on many wrong paths from the start. I finally got myself on the right path at Project Four but it was too late and it did not meet a satisfied outcome to me.

Case Study Analysis

 Project 1GTAV Multiplayer Gameplay Video

This is the start of my semester and it might be the start of going on the wrong way in understanding what the studio was aimed for. I looked at how the video was recorded, target audiences but did not look into it as an online video practice.

 Project 3 – ‘Hurricane’ Music video by Thirty Seconds of Mars

Again I focused on the content too much rather than “music video” itself. I missed the fact that music video is not an absolute online video practice – it can be for TV as well: music videos shown on MTV; an opening sequence which that is actually a music video (i.e. ‘Skyfall’ by Adele).

Project 4 – Instagram celebrity videos (not discussed in any blog entries) and profiles that have creative layouts

By researching on celebrity profiles and their activities, creative interface layout design, references to “Instagram Is…” by Paul Tellefsen and Bill Nicole’s theory in modes of documentaries, I decided to produce an Instagram documentary about buskers around Melbourne CBD.

Sketching

Project 2

In this project I’m analysing interactive activities in GTA Online multiplayer gameplay on PS4, showing activities between players to players and broadcasting players to audiences, and audiences to audiences. Sketches I made for this project focused on the interactive activities between different parties rather than the online video subject itself, which was under a mislead of how the studio aim was to be comprehended.

Sketch 1    Sketch 2   Sketch 3   Sketch 4

 

Project 3
Inspired by ‘Hurricane’, which tells 3 stories about dark and mysterious dreams, and since I do have lots of dreams myself, I plan to take the narratives of the sketches on higher levels. I felt personal in this case that I put too much attention on the theme and I seemed to forgot I was in an online video experiment studio but not film production or anything in broadcast media. Again, rather than experimenting on online video practice, I focused on the narration on the videos too much.

 

Sketch 2   Sketch 3   Sketch 4   Sketch 5   Sketch 6   Sketch 7

Project 4

After failures in all previous projects, in this one I focused on Instagram videos. Sketches are all uploaded on an Instagram profile set up for the course, with a specific content based on the theories of documentaries.

Stage 1   Stage 2   Final 

 

 

 

Presenting

I didn’t do as much as presenting as required in the studio guide. I have to admit I am not good at doing a public speech (even though I don’t have to be standing so seriously and being very formal) and I always wanted to avoid it. Worst thing I have done was hiding myself outside the classroom for the Project 3 presentation.

However, for Project 4, I did not prepare a presentation document but I was planning to just go up there (as in the last one in class), show my Instagram and talk about what I have done (by then I had filmed 2 artists but have not yet received their signed personal release, while a friend of mine, another artist had responded about his confirming participation in this project just 5 minutes before when I thought I was going to present), why it hadn’t been going well and what would be my next move (which was making it more like a celerity profile rather than a collection of multiple buskers). Then it was not enough time and I just bailed out instead of saying “I was going to just give an at least a bad presentation…”

Research and Experiments

Research for Projects 2 and 3 are not conducted to meet the learning outcome requirements for Media 5 students therefor experiment sketches were away from the online video practice subject.

Research and experiments for Project 4 were based on “Instagram Is…”, Bill Nicole’s theory in modes of documentaries, as well as many celebrity profiles and profiles that are for a particular “collection” (cafes, breakfast, black and white images, Melbourne City, etc).

 

Reflection

What did you learn from the sketching process?

Nothing when I was at the totally wrong place making sketches I was not confident about them at all. Then I started learning when I was doing Project 4 (which was definitely too late). Social media is meant to be sharing to the majority of the public. What if a profile is not only for sharing but also to communicate with its audience? I learnt to use Instagram as a form of an interactive design medium when I was making sketches for the Instagram documentary. The layout of an account interface alone has given me so much space to use my creativities that I could have made much more than what I had done by the end of week 14 if I had enough time.

Did you like it? Was it useful?

I didn’t like it, when I didn’t know what I was doing.

I liked it, when I finally know what I wanted and when I was trying to meet my expectation.

Was it useful – yes it was.

How would you do it differently next time?

Plan ahead, I would say. Make maps and a draft layout design for each 3×4 session. Consider images and footage with texts, GIF images and silent moving images.

 

Project 4 Report – OVE (S1 2015 Yiling Yang s3300281)

Studio prompt: How far can you go and how far can you reach with an Instagram documentary?

Title of report: Instagram Documentary of Musician Mark Chan

Introduction

In this report we propose that applying the concept of Instagram documentary constructed by multiple 15 seconds videos onto online video practice results in limited audience feedback to the Instagram Documentary of Musician Mark Chan.

This report is about the background, process of prototype and the making of the Instagram video practice. A short evaluation is also included.

Background 

The process of the research/experiment of Project Four was in a few stages. At the beginning I was put into a group with another student and we were thinking of doing car reviews which are frequently seen on YouTube and TV shows, after we were advised that this is not so much of an online video practice we figured that we would choose Instagram as the experiment platform and then we would see what to do. However, the student left the project, leaving myself to proceed on this project alone.

Inspired by the Instagram of a popular Japanese fashion model Roroko RORORUKO, as well as a short video “Instagram is a short documentary of real life”, I decided to use my Instagram account set up for the project to document buskers around Melbourne CBD. I have noticed there are lots and lots of accounts that are particularly set up for sharing cafes, brunch and good food in Melbourne, yet most of them are photos only. While Instagram is designed to be handy, fast spreading with little storage (as in small images and videos that don’t take up lots of space), an account gains high popularity with account interface design and strategically use of hashtags, such as celebrity

Evidence/What? 

Working individually I have chosen Instagram celebrity profiles (videos) within the online video practice that we have named “Instagram Documentary of Musician Mark Chan”.

My understanding of this online video practice is that Instagram an instant and efficient way to promote a specific account with its content either in a narrated or non-narrated structure.

After a number of phases of sketching and reframing of a probe to lead this research inquiry came up with the following probe to guide to prototype process:

  1. A buskers’ collection, a narrated documentary (and on-going documentary that does not necessarily comes to an end). Each sequence is make up with 6 videos and these videos are uploaded in a sorted order. Each video continues the content from the previous videos;
  1. However, the project failed at this stage, as I was not able to get chosen buskers to have copies of Personal Release Form sent to me other than Mark Chan and Castiel Cheng. Then Cheng resigned from the project due to production work timeframe;
  2. Due to the time that I had for the project and artists available, I decided to change the prototype to musician instead of multiple artists.

My idea is to arrange the interface with designed images and videos, each of them are uploaded in a sorted order.

The content of images and videos are mainly about Mark’s performance. Since some of the personal life contents are often seen on celebrity social accounts, videos of Mark practicing at home and other life contents are also planned to be published. However personal content are kept to minimum as Mark has his own personal Instagram account. With the posts that allow me to tag, his account would be tagged on them. He does have a Facebook fan page Mark Chan Sings which specifically remediates his performance, therefore it is link on the Instagram fan profile as well.

Each song Mark performs would be cut into 2-3 of a 15 seconds Instagram video. These videos are published in an order: if a viewer plays it according to the order of time videos are published, highlighted parts of a performance is viewed. A session is distinguished by either the same coulor filter, the thumbnail according to the source video itself. The sequences are bordered with still images.

His photos are cut into 2-3 612x612px Instagram images, editing is done with Photoshop and their sized are adjusted according to the original images and the design of the layout on the interface.

Keywords with hash tags are used under every image and video so all posts will be shown on the “EXPLORE” page on Instagram, this is the way to make sure all posts published are being shown to the user public, receive “likes” and gain more followers.

Evaluation 

In this studio, I worked on an online video narrative form that focuses on the popular social media video practice. My aim was to see how far I can go with promoting an account and get as much popularity as possible making most out of Instagram.

In reference to Paul Tellefsen “Instagram Is…”, I planned to proceed this online video experiment as a supposed-to-be on going documentary of Mark Chan’s journey in busking around Melbourne. It was structured as a whole production that contains videos and images of him practicing, performing and a small amount of records of his personal life in Melbourne, with elements such as voice over and interviews, however due to limited time caused by tenancy and legal issue I was involved in, I was not able to produce the piece as perfect as I wished it to be.

Conclusion 

As restrained by the limitations of this word count and the expectations of this report, I suggest that our ideas raised on the Instagram Documentary of Musician Mark Chan, hybrid online video narrative, has reached a certain level of my expectations but is yet to be result in satisfaction at this point. Beyond the scope of this project we would need to do more research on documentary genres, production methods and online documentary video practices.

Reference List

“Instagram Is…” by Paul Tellefsen, https://vimeo.com/66938184

Roruko’s Instagram profile, https://instagram.com/rororuko/

 

OVE PROJECT 4 – FINAL

After successfully filmed 2 musicians and had videos and images uploaded, I was reminded by Seth that I need to have a release form signed by the musician in order to use their footage on my account. Unfortunately I was not able to get back from them and therefore I changed my prototype again.

A friend of mine, Mark Chan is a musician currently busking around Melbourne city. Since he was the only who got back to me and would like to be filmed and shared on social network, I decided to change the prototype to a documentary of one musician instead of multiple artist. My idea is to arrange the interface with designed images and videos, each of them are uploaded in a sorted order and each song Mark performs would be cut into 2-3 of a 15 second Instagram video.

IMG_0837IMG_0838

Mark has his own personal Instagram account, so with the posts that allows me to tag, his account would be tagged on them. He does have a Facebook fan page Mark Chan Sings which specifically remediates his performance, therefore it is link on the Instagram fan profile as well.

IMG_0795Screen Shot 2015-06-10 at 15.07.12

OVE PROJECT 4 – The Instagram Documentary on Buskers in Melbourne: Starting

The studio on Friday last week ended up with a semi approved prototype and I will be working on it alone. Since I finally got on a right track I think this is a good start of a project that might save my ass from a dangerous position I have been at in the course (laugh).

So I created a profile with my student account and clearly stated that this profile is made for my media project. My first filming took place on Saturday, I filmed the performance of The Elliotts Band performing at Bourke St Mall in front of  H&M GPO. My second filming was on Sunday, about Tash Sultana, a musician from Melbourne who has held numbers of gigs and shows around Melbourne.

Basically I plan to structure the profile page in very clear sections on different artists: each artist has 3 videos and 3 612x612px photos edited from a pano taken on my phone. The profile is planned to be a collection of buskers performing in Melbourne city.

IMG_0477

 

 

The profile has been created for a few days but videos were uploaded just this afternoon. Videos of Tash Sultana has reached 13 likes in less than 20 minutes.

IMG_0475

 

With the use of hashtags, I have gained 3 followers by the time of 16:24.

Screen Shot 2015-05-20 at 16.24.15

 

OVE PROJECT 4 – The Again and Again Brainstorming

So Aref and I talked and decided to make something involves with less filming techniques and closer to everyday life in Melbourne on Instagram as our Online Video Experiment prototype after our idea of racing cars was denied. We talked a bit more during the weekend, failed to have an agreement, then we met up and talked again on Wednesday after non of us were able to attend the studio on Monday. However, our short meeting (Aref didn’t have enough time) didn’t lead us to a conclusion but got us stuck at the neck of a beer bottle — Aref wants to do fitness and I want to produce an on going narrated documentary about buskers in Melbourne on Instagram.

Inspired by the group that is doing coffee review, and had a thought that Melbourne is famous of its coffee culture, I decided to look into something that’s somehow typical in Melbourne as well. I walked around Melbourne city and looked back the videos I took with Instagram before, I think buskers can be something represents Melbourne as well.

Then I started planing for a structure for the Instagram profile that will be documenting buskers with videos using the typical 3×4 layout. Inspired by RORORUKO, a Japanese fashion model Roruko’s Instagram which uses individual Instagram photos to construct bigger images and link them together.

IMG_0352

I used to cut some of my panorama photos into 3 equal sessions make them a whole image rather than only showing a part of it as limited by the squared frame of Instagram.

IMG_0351

After reading an article by Kimber Streams about Instagram as a short documentary of real life, I’m proposing a narrated documentary (and on-going documentary that does not necessarily comes to an end) using the 3×4 profile layout to present stories of buskers. Each sequence are make up with 6 videos and these videos are uploaded in a sorted order. Each videos continues the content from the previous videos. A visitor of this profile may view the whole production if starting from the first video and next ones in produced order.

Buskers are chosen by chance and I will acknowledge them in the texts below each videos and link their Instagram profiles (if any). Copies of videos will be sent to them if required.

NOTE: this is not agreed as a prototype.

OVE PROJECT 3 – The Making

Published sketches: 6 in total. (Sketch 2-7)
All sketches are filmed by myself with a Canon EOS 60D.

IMG_0066

Sketch 2:

You are at the station, tired, unclear about the time of the day, looking at the person waiting for a train that goes to the opposite direction. Is that just one man at the station at for the whole time? Are they different men? Is there a girl standing there looking at you? Or there isn’t anyone at all?

Filmed at Jolimont – MCG Station with my friend Castiel Cheng, Penny Wang and Gary Peng. Castiel and Gary were on the platform opposite to me and Penny, Castiel stayed at under the light as the person in frame and Gary was guarding as well as keeping continuity, Penny was at the same role as Gary while I was filming. Penny took the camera while I stood on the other side to be filmed.

Inspired by the Paris underground scene shown at the opening of ‘Hurricane’.

Sketch 3:

You are walking some where but can’t stay on your feet. You have hallucinations that a girl is walking towards you in the dark. You can’t see her face but it seems like you know who she is. Eventually you collapse.

Shoots of the street was filmed by myself on Lt Latrobe St and the ones showing skyline from a lane way was filmed on Union Ln, accompanied by Angus Ward in 2014.
Shoots of a girl walking in a park was filmed at MCG, staring Penny Wang, Castiel and her stayed on the phone for directions and Gary was guarding during the shoot.
Background music: ‘L490’ by Thirty Seconds to Mars, from album ‘This Is War’.

Inspired by the jump-cuts and flashing shoots during the entire opening sequence of ‘Hurricane’.

Sketch 4:

You are a boxer, or you are trying to be one. You want to be tough but you’ve been lying on the ground. You can’t see who is around you, you don’t hear any sound. You are in a dream.

Filmed at T.U.F. Gym Melbourne with Naz Shah. Staring two boxing trainers Christopher and Mark. Lighting apart from the light in studio was a dido kit hired from RMIT. Sound was taken off at editing.

Sketch 5:

You are travelling in a city, you don’t know where you are and who is leading you. It’s an endless journey.

Filmed in Shanghai and Zhouzhuang in June 2014. Music used is ‘Intro’ by The XX.

Inspired by the genre of music video and the theme ‘dreams’.

Sketch 6:

Is he dropping a book or picking up a book? The “book” can also be considered as a faith or a belief. Are you loosing it or holding on to it?

Filmed at RMIT near the courtyard. Starring Kevin Chan.

Inspired by the scene that a priest, a monk and a pope throwing their bibles and books to the fire at 5:55 in ‘Hurricane’.

Sketch 7:

You know, sometimes the dreams you have dreamt before come back to you. Sometimes one comes to you alone and sometimes they come to you together. Just like stress. They hit your dreams at once and you feel like you it’s too much for you to handle.

Footages are combined of previous sketches, background music: ‘L490’ by Thirty Seconds to Mars, from album ‘This Is War’. Sound effects are from free SFX downloading website.

Inspired by the theme ‘dreams’ and my daily life.

OVE PROJECT 3 Sketch 7

Sketch 7:

You know, sometimes the dreams you have dreamt before come back to you. Sometimes one comes to you alone and sometimes they come to you together. Just like stress. They hit your dreams at once and you feel like you it’s too much for you to handle.

Footages are combined of previous sketches, background music: ‘L490′ by Thirty Seconds to Mars, from album ‘This Is War’. Sound effects are from free SFX downloading website.

Inspired by the theme ‘dreams’ and my daily life.

OVE PROJECT 3 Sketch 6

Sketch 6:

Is he dropping a book or picking up a book? The “book” can also be considered as a faith or a belief. Are you loosing it or holding on to it?

Filmed at RMIT near the courtyard. Starring Kevin Chan.

Inspired by the scene that a priest, a monk and a pope throwing their bibles and books to the fire at 5:55 in ‘Hurricane’.

OVE PROJECT 3 Sketch 5

Sketch 5:

You are travelling in a city, you don’t know where you are and who is leading you. It’s an endless journey.

Filmed in Shanghai and Zhouzhuang in June 2014. Music used is ‘Intro’ by The XX.

Inspired by the genre of music video and the theme ‘dreams’.