Month: June 2017

A tv series created by the well respected Working Dog Productions in 1994 “Frontline” depicts the comical manipulation of news to an audience well uninformed in media literacy. The series follows a fictional group of journalists working for a Current Affair style news show and how they create and report on current stories. The video below was an early example of how the interviewer “Mike Moore’s” delivery of questions to his interviewees completely alters the audience’s perception of them, and creating opinions about them that is incorrect and untrue.

Other episodes of the series included the use of seeking out the more dramatic of stories and adding certain elements of interview television such as the very specific editing of big statements the interviewer makes (usually out of context), the inclusion of a narrator with a very low, concerned voice and many others too. Although it can be argued that there is more of an integrity to the new reporting when conveying the honest facts, it is also arguable that many prefer a more colourful, interesting tale of events as this can be more satisfying to take in.

Personally I think there can sometimes be room for both as, if you eliminate one you take its audience with it. But for the most part it is important to have more education on how news and information can be altered, the signs of this and the implication on vulnerable audiences. This could potentially make news watching more popular, as people are better informed on how to process what they see and hear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwfne1aYA3g

For this weeks tutorial, we were put into our groups of three and began to look properly at the Project Brief four. The project asks us to create a 7-8 minutes long audio piece based around the theme of the semester being “Attention”. We can choose a topic to tie attention into, which may help us to break down how attention works and can be moulded or captured in some way.

As a group we began to brainstorm and thought that a lot of our attention is often consumed by social media. It has a naturally fast pace in terms of updating our feeds, it is remarkable in maintaining our attention due to the curated material we are sent and for the most part the social action of uploading photographs or videos/ tagging other people is very enticing. As we began to look more at Facebook, we realised it would be a better idea to look at one aspect, considering it can be pretty vast in its content and discussion. Eventually, we came to the idea of how Facebook news reporting has changed and how we understand news events through the people that report on them, which can have a tendency to differ depending on who you read. This felt like a really interesting idea as it has become a quite prevalent topic in today’s society and for the new generation’s this is the norm of how they receive and learn about the news.

From an assessment point of view, we felt that it would be fairly easy to find academic material on Facebook, as well as the digital change in news reporting and news marketing. There was also some opportunity to find examples of news marketing or click bait through Politics in the US. Trump’s presidency has caused much media attention, creating a build up of not particularly important news, but rather social commentary, and this remains acceptable due to the shift in priority from communicating events to an almost gossip like format.

With our ideas in mind we created our contract and decided on what our strength’s weaknesses and threats were.

The second half of the tutorial was dedicated to looking at the equipment we would be using (The H2n recorder) and how to make sure we got the most out of it during the recording phase of our audio. Please see my very messy notes 🙂

For this project brief I felt that some of the most successful parts of the piece included the use of sound FX. I think utilising different sounds other than voices was effective as it gave another layer to the piece ultimately engaging the listener and gaining their attention. Other successful parts of the work I think were the use of our three voices in a conversational structure. This allowed for the information to be delivered in a more natural sounding way and possibly encouraged the listener to keep listening as the information they are presented with doesn’t sound like the monotone teacher from Ferris Bueller’s day off. Some of the problematic aspects of the submitted work were the decision as to when breaks were included in-between each segment. We tried to make sure that each one was placed there for a reason and as a means to smoothly transition to another voice or concept that we were talking about in regards to attention.

I think that our audio piece plugs into a few concepts raised in the course. In the first reading which looked at Hyper attention and Deep attention, the example that we used in Facebook I think is a great example of a source that creates that Hyper attentive thinking with its construction; e.g the ability to scroll from one piece of information to the next, video’s that play automatically and the use of clickbait in news reporting. Another aspect of the audio piece that related to what we have been learning about in media one included the importance of media literacy. Our piece talks about the concept of fake news and how Facebook shapes our understanding of news event, sometimes warping it a little. As a potential way of managing this, including media literacy within schools and workplaces, may help readers, listeners and audiences gain a more accurate and objective depiction of current events. The other argument to this is that many young people tend to gravitate towards more opinion based, subjectively written news as it is better at communicating how the reader connects to the event and if it will affect them in anyway.

I’ve learned that audio based media has many qualities that make it very unique from visual based media. In all obviousness it is reliant on listening, I think this can make you more appreciative of the one sense you are relying on and arguably can make you more focused on the medium itself. From the lectures I attended where we listened to podcasts or individual sounds such as Nancy Swartz from ages 0-12, I realised that the medium has more of an emotional power over us as listener’s due to the fact that it can sometimes be harder to disassociate oneself from a familiar sound than watching a screen. I’ve learned that there is more potential to break rules within audio. In a film the audience have certain expectations about opening shots, and Mise en scene, acting styles as well as story arcs. Whilst this is similar for an audio piece, I think it feels easier to create something that embodies a range of genre’s, or is simply experimental. Audio is also a medium that can be distinguished very quickly in terms of quality by its sound. In terms of a film, the visuals of a film, acting or the music can often help mask the slightly below average audio quality.

I learnt a lot of things about collaboration in the project. That it is something that relies heavily on communication and reliability between each person. Also in order for everyone to feel involved it is important to be honest with one another about how you are feeling about it, as this can help maintain its momentum and your progress as a group. As a media practitioner being involved in a group assignment I think taught me to be prepared to face unknowns, both in terms of the group I was working with as well as the evolution of ideas into the final concept. Something that stuck with me from Rachel’s lecture about team work and group projects was the importance of being ok with adapting if the idea moves or moulds into something different than what you had originally thought it would be. Often this can be tough as you can be really passionate about an idea you have or can feel more comfortable with having a set plan in place. However due to time constraints or a realisation of what can really be achieved, it is sometimes easier to take a minute pause, and reassess what could be a better and more effective idea that meets the brief, yet allows for creativity within your artistic choices. Overall, I learnt to embrace uncertainty and to go with a flow within reason.

It’s amazing to think that this semester has come to a close. I have absolutely loved every minute in media one; I’ve learned so much about the world of a media practitioner, and the history of media, but most of all I’ve learned how important and fun it is to use your creative muscle. Leading me onto this very short video…..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6unnLOsXHxM

Being in the city and studying for some reason has taught me that whilst it is very useful to learn about trams and the cheapest places to buy tea, it is even more important to pay attention to things and people because this can really enhance your creativity. Looking at someone new for the first time, automatically plants ideas in your head. It gives you stories to tell and ways in which to tell them. The more I would go out and explore the city during breaks the more a discovered new places that I could reference in some of my media one projects or simply in my blog posts.

During one of the first project briefs I included the Melbourne Central clock in a video after walking past it, as it began to play waltzing Matilda on the hour. From watching an ex student create a shot of a kettle boiling I decided to shoot a similar concept myself as I felt it best represented me and my routines. I have the resources now to find royalty free music for projects due to reading a top screen portfolio from a high school media student who used the same website. And there are many other things I have learned but if I were to list them I would be here all day…

Above all, creativity is about challenging yourself to simply have a go at something; a technique, an idea, or a planned thought in the back of your mind that you do not have all the puzzle pieces to yet. Because this can educate you; on what you did well, what could have been better, what surprised you and what inspired you to try again and do differently. Hence the cycle repeats itself. Sometimes you just have to go through the motions until you make the next viral cat video or develop the theory of relativity. Also, don’t be afraid of trying something, just because you can’t fully picture it yet. In the words of Albert himself,

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination”

To my fellow students, lecturers and very patient tutor,

Thanks for an awesome first semester!

For our last tute this week we were visited by two media professional who came in to listen to our rough cuts and provide us with feedback. For our group, Jon the digital manager at the Wheeler Centre and audio professional listened to our project and spoke to us about what he thought could be improved upon which included:

-To break up certain parts a little more as the piece is dialogue based. It is ok that the dialogue is fast but having more breaks will alleviate this more effectively and give the listener a chance to pause.

-Fading out certain moments such as the sound effects would work a little better as it can sound more natural this way. Often a common mistake is to fade something out too quickly which unless it is a fast paced piece in general can be quite noticeable to the listener.

-Also in general using a studio mic as well as recording most of your work in a studio enables the best quality sound, as well as a much lower chance of any annoying background noises being picked up.

Hearing this feedback was a great opportunity as it was really constructive and tips that could be worked on. Jon seemed really happy with what we had created which was a very encouraging sign that we were on the right track and that it was a good approach to the assignment. We had recorder earlier that week and so to have the chance to get feedback was great as it confirmed to us what me might not have thought of and what we had, which built the project. There was still a little bit more to record for the next week, however the majority of the audio was completed, so we as a group decided to meet the next Wednesday to record the last parts and add any final things for the piece.

For this weeks Lectorial, we were invited to reflect. Both on our progress throughout this semester, as well as things we have learnt that we need to improve upon. This graph I think represents my journey. Many of my lightbulb moments came when I was often in a Tute, as the discussion about the lecture often reconfirmed information for me or added another level of understanding as to certain ideas and concepts. audio was probably the biggest challenge technically and knowledge wise. I was a novice to that form of media as well as found the assignment to be slightly more challenging to understand in how it could be created. The practical side to the interview week was a real lightbulb moment as well; the whole experience from learning skills in the lecture to understanding how to use the equipment to how resourceful and organised I felt I had become during the filming was a build of confidence for me.

Over this semester I have learned a really great balance of practical and academic knowledge that I feel has been really helpful; from work ethic, to learning to use a camera, microphone, adobe premiere pro and Audition. To book equipment and plan ahead, the importance of being on the same page in collaboration and the importance of self discipline. I can’t really name one as the most important because learning such a creative field that can extent to a number of jobs, I’ve really appreciated how the course thus far has catered towards that factor. I feel really confident in the fact that I can test the waters with different jobs and can have a strong knowledge from each, whether that includes being a writer, editor, producer or crew person.

In terms of what was possibly the most challenging of the course, breaking down the readings in some weeks was difficult at times, often I would not always be able to follow what they were trying to get across or how it related to media and being a media practitioner. Learning to manage my time correctly and to set aside a few hours within the week to finish blog posts on time instead of in a mad rush to the end (still an ongoing goal…). Another thing which I discovered was the importance of being ok with whatever role you find yourself doing in a group project. I think a strength in a media practitioner is to sometimes sacrifice what your own idea of things, and to prioritise what is best and most effective for the group. At the end of the day you will usually have a deadline and that is the decider as to what type of worker and contributer you will be.

As far as my own creative practise as a media practitioner, I am someone who likes to have a creative touch on something, and can be very guided by my emotions when creating it. I realised that when I like to work on my own slightly more than a group as there is more creative opportunity and you have the novelty of bouncing ideas off someone outside of the project, yet you have the final say. You also have a better understanding on what you feel most strongly about including in the project so I think there is more satisfaction at the end that you went out and created your original vision, so to speak. I’ve come to learn that I can be quite lethargic in a project if I’m tired, or have a lot of other things happening and won’t always think as productively or creatively as I possibly could. I’ve learned that I love to write an idea that I have and plan out the shots I will use and that I’m probably better at communicating my feelings through writing that speaking. Which in terms of this blog, has been a blessing in disguise…

http://www.hamishandandy.com/listen/

A podcast that I have listened to for a very long time is The Hamish and Andy Show. Originally as a radio listener I spent the majority of after school car rides listening to these guys and once podcasts became something I realised existed the rest was history. Although the structure of their podcasts was is quite radio based with mini segments as well as the odd listener call in’s, Having to do a Monday to Friday 4-6p slot is a tough thing to have done for so many years.

Something I’ve come to learn from listening to Hamish & Andy is their talent and attention to detail through hard work. Having to come up funny ideas, questions for their viewers and even the art of telling an entertaining anecdote from the week that was, it is not an easy thing to simply phone in those jobs (pardon the pun). Natural talent and instincts to play a part in this, however there is an immense amount of brain power that must go into their material. Being on mainstream radio, the duo also hold much power over their audience. An example that comes to mind when the boys decided with “Smiths” to create a new flavour of chips, they enlisted their audience to vote on which flavour they believed would be the best. After much deliberation, it was decided that Gravy be the flavouring of chip.

Naturally this initiative gained a highly positive response from listeners, including crowds of hundreds forming around convenience stores within the Melbourne CBD in the hope of purchasing this limited product. Without intentionally meaning to, media creates an impact within our lives due to the emotional impact it has on us. In the case of Hamish & Andy, they are a very well loved everyday pair. They celebrate the little things in life and get behind stupid, yet entertaining ideas, giving everything a go, inviting their viewers to invest their time within them and trust their recommendations. Plus, the invention of Pants off Friday, during their live Friday broadcast 😏

For this weeks tutorial, we listened to an audio piece that was broken up into scenes. It followed the stories of several people in a Hotel in Hong Kong. As a whole, it was an experimental piece using things like repetition and metaphor, yet after analysing it as a class, I found it to be very creative in conveying certain characters or events. The first few scenes suggest someone checking into the hotel, someone who is transgender or as a man who prefers to be a transvestite, as well as a group of Agatha Christie fans coming together for some kind of convention. For this particular scene I found myself to be so impressed with the use of a metaphor along the lines of, “Agatha Christie is loose in the hotel”. Without giving very much context as to what is truly going on, as a listener in the present day we gather that Christie is not actually in a hotel room in Hong Kong, due to the fact that she passed away in 1976, but rather what remains of her work and ideas; Her fans.

Something else that stuck with me was the line “Somewhere, something else it going on”. Although a very simple and perhaps very obvious piece of dialogue, thinking about the different scenes that occurred, I felt that this connected them perfectly. The man who shaves himself and dresses as a women was raised as a man, however on the inside, there is another truth. Whilst that occurs, Agatha Christie is loose in the hotel! and so on and so forth….

This piece communicated the importance of not treating your audience as though they need everything simplified and obvious for them, due to the fact that they do not have any visual cues of metaphors when listening to an audio piece. Dialogue can be very important here and as Kyla mentioned in a previous lecture, this medium is great for things or moments that you cannot see, e.g a realisation or feeling.

For the remainder of the tutorial, we went back into our groups and looked at the audio program adobe audition. Liam taught us some basics about editing audio, which I was surprised to find were quite similar to premiere pro in the cutting tool, import/export settings and several others. We also had a look at the mic’s that we were going to be using and got started on a technical audio exercise. Looking at the prompt “Can I have your attention” our piece was based on a mixture of sound effects, narration, dialogue atmosphere, spot sounds and music (non copyrighted).

We asked people how often they are on their phones, as well as what social media they used, due to this being something that we as young people will tend to focus our attention on. Other sounds were recorded, including a text message “ding” as well as a notification sound etc. This was a really useful exercise as it gave us some practise with using our equipment as well as editing for the final assessment.

Although I was absent this week, from the notes Brian provided about guest speaker Dr Ramon Lobato sounded quite interesting. He looked at the changing status of television, with a focus on Netflix.

As someone who amazingly has not jumped on the Netflix bandwagon, I have become very aware of how invested so many others are in it. A great point that was made in this weeks notes is how with features such as “suggested for you” where after looking at what you have watched, Netflix gives you a list of others shows with similar traits in the hope you will also watch them. The point talking about the analogy of the mirror where, what you consume can become just a reflection of your likes and interests is perhaps one of the reason’s why people are preferring Netflix to more traditionally broadcasted television.

Apart from the more diverse set of shows, it is something that feels more personal and even trustworthy. You can almost feel that the streaming site has your best interests at heart and is giving you the power to choose what you would like to watch in a slightly different way.

There is certainly an element of surveillance to this part of tv watching, however at the same time it can be argued that if it appears to be at a safe distance and ultimately results in finding more good shows to watch then most people will be ok with having their viewing habits analysed.

The reading for this week looked at the semester theme “Attention” in particular the concept of attention merchants, or harvesters of human attention (the google definition). Tim Wu highlights the influence these merchants have over our decision making and also potentially the course of our lives. Thinking about some of his points as a Generation Z kid, it really hit me how spot on he was. The majority of our Media intake has evolved into a safe window into the world. It engages our attention so much because it so powerfully captures human experience in the digital space. Arguably an experience that we should not necessarily see through our phones, yet that we enjoy to observe because it is an efficient dose of humanity, entertainment, uplift and information; when in our day to day lives we are sometimes too busy, or nervous to go out there and experience those moments… in the moment.

I think going forward as a media maker, as much as I wish to convey moments and beautiful parts of life, I also want to have this underlying message about going outside and experiencing things. From experience I know that this is better; learning to navigate my way around the city, getting lost several times in it, learning about new hideaway coffee houses, and simply meeting new people whom I could never have dreamed would like the same things that I do were all moments that were not prompted by a Facebook or Instagram post. They simply happened and drew my attention because I actively decided they would. They gave me experience and stories to tell, because I went through them. It kind of confirms Wu’s point about why we should take back our attention; it is too important and fragile to be concentrating on overly manufactures things.

“You take sound for granted, but if it wasn’t there you’d miss it”.

A video I watched this week titled “The Magic of Making Sound” explored a vert traditional practise within film making, when certain sounds are not as easy to capture live when filming. Foley sounds. These are added to the project in post production. The video interviews Foley artists from Warner Brothers Studio’s recreating certain everyday sounds and explaining the materials and ways they use to re- enact these sounds. For example the sound of stomping through snow can be created through cornstarch for the crunching and regular sand to be stepping on in recording. Pinecones can be used for cracking ice, and horse hooves clomping through two plungers that are taped over and stuffed with cloth.

When recording these noises there are usually a team of three present; a mixer and two foley artists of the people in charge of physically recreating everything. The mixer listens to the artists performing (trying not to look at them as they makes sure to concentrate if the sound is effective). They will change and alter the quality, volume and dynamics, all whilst trying to maintain a level of objectivity to make sure that the audience will be able to associate the sounds they hear with the visuals they see.

The foley artists themselves compared their studio to a prop house and in all honesty, it kind of was. There were tubs of toys and tools, fake layers of carpet, grass, tubs of water, and many more objects all sharing the fact that they can be used to make commons sounds. Overall the process the artists go through looked quite fun to work with, but it made me appreciate how hard people in the field of sound work to make a project sound flawless and the creativity in which they achieve sounds in a much more effective way than trying to capture the natural sound.. which depending on what it is, can be very rare to get right with each take.