In this episode, Helya, Taylor, and Kida explore the idea of having an identity shaped by media. From turning into a cartoon character to being a YouTuber and finally a Chinese rock band manager – these stories revolve around how our personalities and careers are influenced by growing up with media.
Helya continuously bases her personality on fictional characters and realities throughout her life. This is her coming to terms with her obsessive hyperfocus and recognising the faults in her way of thinking.
Throughout the course I came to understand how to build a feeling or environment rather than relaying it directly to the audience. An example that comes to mind is in the short assignment we did throughout weeks 7-8, where I had used sound and editing to convey a comfortable environment in making a cup of tea while watching a movie. Using the same skills from that assignment, I carried it over into this final assessment, where I built tension in a glitchy, electronic heartbeat and rising static to convey a mental breakdown and finally the relieving tension afterwards in it’s silence. I feel like if I wasn’t influenced by the readings and listenings throughout the course (like McHugh and Radio Atlas examples) I would not have thought to convey emotion/environment in a metaphorical way like I feel I have learned to do over the course of the semester.
Taylor shares his journey growing up with a substantial following online, and how being a YouTube star shaped his identity leading into adulthood.
This course and assignment helped me learn about structuring stories. Especially in a journey-driven narrative that crosses various years like my own, it was vital for my story to be told in a way that was clear and concise, and didn’t feel like ‘info-dumping’. I was able to use capture different ages, such as my young, innocent tween years with comic, jovial music, and the complexities of my older teen years with sentimental tracks. This project enabled me to extend my creativity beyond what I’m used to with screen-based media, and tap into the intimacy and gradual nature of audio features.
Kida, who comes from a household of strict ideals, immerses herself in her life experience in deciding against getting the degree her mother desired in favour of a career and degree she found herself to be more interested in.