‘A5 pt2 Studio Review’

Since submitting our final short film, I’ve been excited to reflect, not only on my own film but the film of the other groups that I’ve spent the last six weeks with. Two short films that stood out to me, from looking at the synopsis and from the memory I can attain from the presentations were ‘Spiral’ and ‘Lost in Melbourne’, hence I was eager to watch these pieces of work and express my thoughts on what they produced. 

The first film I watched and am excited to unpack is ‘Lost in Melbourne’. I looked everywhere and could not find who this piece was created by, nor any reflection from their work. Hence, I went into this with a blind eye, which I was actually glad I did. I really enjoyed this piece, it was obviously a music video, hence the genre is much more broad, seeing as it isn’t technically a film genre. Regardless, aspects of the genre were still implicated within the music video. It did seem like it was intended to be experimental, through the use of zoom effects and slow-motion throughout. I thought the tracking shots of the character walking, from the side, were very clever and well-made shots that suited the mood that was intended. The film/music video gave a sense of the drama genre, through the characters neutral facial expressions in accordance with the dramatic song that was utilised. 

The second film I watched was ‘Spiral’, an experimental horror film by Annabel Cohen, Sarah Menegon and Courtney Joyce. Right off the bat, this film had all of the right tools within its film to make it a great short film when comparing it to the experimental horror genre and meeting my expectations as a viewer. I felt that this film took all the elements of our classes and learnings and applied them in such a careful and selective approach that it was clear they wanted the horror and experimental genre to be applied. The film was anxiety-inducing as a viewer and the tension was rising even in its short 3-minute runtime. The most noticeable film elements as a viewer were the use of lighting and sound. The harsh, bright lighting used throughout the film switched from blue to red/orange, all exposing a bright light on the subject. This, accompanied with the eerie, ominous music utilised created a frightening ambience that helped drive the horror narrative to be much more impactful than if these elements were left out. The use of foley, with the TV audio and news music, along with the loud kettle steaming, all created a terrifying atmosphere that assisted the acting and shot choices in assembling an amazing short film. 

The short film I chose to reflect on outside of our class was from the ‘POETIC VIDEO’ workshop, named ‘To Verb” by Jason, Ziyi and Charlotte. I was excited to reflect on this work as this is a workshop I did back when I completed Media 5, in 2020. Upon watching and reflecting, I enjoyed the experimental film and what they created. As part of their poetic piece, they stated their intention was to “let audiences be the participants in creating their own meaning”. This was definitely a good structure to take, as this piece certainly had many perspectives and angles it could take. Personally, the film represented a transition from structure to chaos. The first half expressed the poetic definitions with clear, white font, with clear, symmetrical footage. It expressed the structure of routine. Whilst chapters 2 and 3 transitioned to audio describing the verb, with more erratic and shaky footage, with the sounds expressing more chaos to the way the film was shown. It represents an imbalance meant and how things can be created differently and we all have different approaches and ways of going about things, albeit if the scenario is the same. 

This was also evident in the short film ‘Hurt’, by Elsa and Kaitong. The ideology is that “emotions can’t be seen” but can be embodied through the use of symbols. ‘Hurt” does this to great effect through its use of creating symbolism within its short film. The opening scene of an egg being cracked, before ‘healed’ with a bandaid before the yolk begins to ooze out. The egg is then seen to be put back together, with the shell pieces put back into their original places. This symbolism resonated with me, with the concept that we can always heal after we are broken, but we are never the same. No matter how much we attempt to heal ourselves, we are different through our experiences and the emotions that we possess.

I greatly enjoyed watching these four pieces and reflecting on their meaning, gaining a better understanding of genre and symbolism in the process. All pieces were created to an exceptionally high standard and all members should be proud of what they created in such a small time period.

Vimeo Short Film Link: https://vimeo.com/655197539?fbclid=IwAR0gH-aOmab7v-XfTUG5OhiAQEXstkC1uB-x2D2v1TSzvpL5pv5IXhhe3J8

Assignment 4 Reflection:

Upon the completion of our Assignment 4 short film, there are multiple things I wish to dissect, unpack and discuss what has inspired, disappointed and impacted me across this experience with my group mates. Upon reflecting on our finished film, despite it clearly showcasing technical ability in regards to camera and editing work, I feel we left a core amount of our genre knowledge and understanding on the table. Whilst I will be giving a harsh reflection, the majority of the limitations, constraints and frustrations I have with this assignment were out of our control and we worked within the parameters of what we were able to. 

When unpacking genre and the expectations of our creation, there are aspects of the genre that I still think we were able to replicate. Our premise was to create a short film that surrounded the mystery/thriller genre, with this being well established with the instrumental music and foley we used. The uncertain melancholic instrumental accompanied by the selectively implemented foley, gave an eerie and uncomfortable feel to the film that we are satisfied with upon reflection. More of the critical genre analysis comes through our camera and editing choices. Due to Jack Holland and I deciding to be the actors in the film, we left Jonothan to film a small number of shots. Whilst a lot of it can be put on our directing skills, something Jack and I admitted we probably could have done better, a lot of the shots were not how we wanted them to be shot, whilst due to a very small timeframe to film the short film, we weren’t able to go back and reshoot upon looking at the footage. I believe we didn’t attempt to be as creative and push the boundaries of our abilities and hence resulted in too many bland, medium shots that will not be thought-provoking or exciting for audiences to watch. 

The challenges that we faced, unfortunately, in brutal honesty, were around the lack of skills one of our group members showcased. Jack Holland and I worked together on Assignment 2 and have enjoyed working together. We were both on the same page in terms of our camera and editing skills as well as our media knowledge. Jonathan expressed his good editing ability, so we agreed to give him the editing role, as Jack and I were capable and comfortable with creating the entire pre-production as well as the production process. However it came to our attention from the first and second rough cut we received from Jonothan, that his editing ability was not up to a standard that Jack and myself felt comfortable submitting. He wasn’t able to create anything that we thought would receive an acceptable or satisfactory mark, hence, Jack and I had to share the workload for additionally completing the editing process. This was frustrating and ultimately the two of us contributed 95% of this assignment and felt we would have created something of a higher standard with a group member who showcased a greater level of editing or camera ability. I do not like to criticise group members to this degree and do not take solace in it, however when it occurs to this level of frustration it is something that must be reflected upon when expressing why I am slightly disappointed in our short film. The only other challenge we faced was due to heavy time constraints, both Jack and I were both away from the presentation until December 3rd, whilst both working throughout the week, hence only being a 3 hour period where we could all find a suitable time. Obviously due to the accelerated subject this is not anyone’s fault, more just a challenge that we faced, as I imagine most groups did. 

Regarding improvements for next time, I would ensure each and every individual has a profound understanding of what is expected of them, ensuring the roles and expectations align with their capabilities that are required within that given role. A more thorough understanding of each individual’s strengths and weaknesses would allow us to assign roles more appropriately and hence would have given us a smoother and easier ability to create a high-quality short film. Improving this would be better for our ability for everyone to feel they have contributed, whilst, unfortunately, this was not a success in this assignment.

Throughout this assignment, I learnt that I enjoy the directing and higher responsibilities that some roles entail, as delegating and utilising my assertive personality are strengths I possess. I will definitely continue to take on this role in further group assignments, as I feel far more engaged and enthusiastic about my work when I take on a role such as a producer, director or any other role that requires the brunt of the responsibility. I have also learnt I may have high expectations of my peers to produce work to a standard I am proud of, however, this can either inspire my group members to produce their best, or it may result in them being anxious, stressed or frustrated in my standards, so I will be mindful of the reactions it can cause.

In conclusion, I am dissatisfied with how this assignment turned out, as I have high expectations to produce something excited and new, however, due to limited time and a rushed editing process due to the reasons above, the work isn’t to a standard I am incredibly proud of. Regardless, I am self-aware in my ability to strive for perfection, hence realising it is by no means a poor piece of work. Most of my disappointment comes from the inability to express an abundance of the genre like we had initially planned. Nevertheless, I am grateful for the experience and the ability to reflect in order to be well equipped to deal with these issues should they arise in the future.

My 1-minute Film: https://vimeo.com/647557689

My Written Script: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XApZbjJJUKWT5Jjl1S2qzqq6namGMlk0VUyIdxWrcB8/edit

Bus Stop Script (One I had chosen): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LhrFLWRP7jTAMTW_juj5ZUfG-lOnTefaSsmEaYNB4u8/edit

Script Reflection:

Upon reading over 2o scripts and comparing people’s one minute script ideas, I enjoy mine and the creative opportunity it possesses. However, throughout my 3 years at RMIT completing this course, I have encountered what my strengths are, whilst potentially more importantly, what my weaknesses are. I have never been strong at the written and verbal aspects of film and media, as it has also been an issue for me to express my thoughts in well-articulated language. Nonetheless, from the scripts I read, they were all unique in their own way. It shows the disparity of thoughts and ideas that come from a group of creative individuals that allows lots of exciting and interesting ideas to be showcased. The only thing I didn’t enjoy was a few of them were created with difficult sets, costumes or characters for something that had to be filmed and created within roughly 72 hours. I had to find a script that perhaps was not my favourite creatively, but the most accessible for me to create. That was the most frustrating aspect.

Reflecting on my script, I think mine is a good quality 1-minute script due to the fact that it is creative, unique and exciting for someone who shoots it, but also realistic in the sense that it can be created without any crazy locations, props or costume designs. The script is more focused on the ability of the filmmaker to create tension, whether that be through the acting, sound, cinematography or any other means they are able to incorporate tension. Although my script isn’t anything incredibly unique, it definitely allows the opportunity for creativity which I felt was by far the most important aspect of the script for us to be able to create exciting work.

Reflection and Practise:

When reflecting on the pre-production stage of the assignment, it was definitely a lot more time-restricted than other pieces of work I have created, mainly because all the work I have created in the past, at least the ones that yielded a high-quality outcome, were not rushed into a 72 hour period from draft to completion. I haven’t done a large amount of 1-minute films in my degree nor in my high school media studies, so even after years of Media work this is a newfound skill for me, so a new challenge is definitely exciting and welcomed. As mentioned, the time restraint on this film was 3-4 days, which is a short amount of time, with only a couple of hours to shoot due to having to meet with classmates in order to make the film. Due to this, the pre-production was also limited, with storyboarding, scriptwriting, shot-lists and film schedules all tools that can take a long time to create for the most part. Due to this, a lot of the filming was following off the script and being spontaneous and creative in terms of visualising what shots to make and how they would look in post-production. It does take a particular brain to know how your film will look before you have shot it, but luckily over the course of a few short films created I was able to visualise what I was going to create in a spontaneous matter.

The most important part of the pre-production process was the film schedule, as we only had groups assigned on Monday, with the only day we were all available being Wednesday. Hence we had to film all 3 scripts on Wednesday, meaning the process was a bit rushed when compared to other pieces of work, but it has given us an insight into how to work on a tight schedule, a skill that is important in many businesses. Once we had assigned times for each person to shoot on Wednesday, allocated 1 hour for each individual to shoot their film, the only other piece of work that I used to help guide me was the shot list I created, linked above. This helped me to remember what I had visualised for my film and how it was going to take place, seeing as 60 seconds is not a long time for a film, it was important to make use of every second that was filmed. It was a challenging assignment upon reflection.

Film Reflection:

Upon reflecting on my 60-second film, there are aspects I can dissect both from a positive perspective and one that is largely critical of my own work. Whilst everyone is usually never perfectly happy with their work, as I am a perfectionist, it is important to remember the short period of time we had to complete this task and was more a representation of how well we could work under a tight deadline. I am totally aware that no means of work within a 72-96 period is meant to be a piece of art or the piece content anyone has ever created, it did still pose a challenge to see how well we could work creatively due to the nature of the assignment.

Starting off with the positives, I felt I created something incredibly experimental to what I usually create. I usually tend to create content that aligns with my passions and what I like to create, being travel and music videos. Those two things are pieces of work I like to create so I am susceptible to staying in my content ‘comfort zone’ and not shying away from my strengths as much as I probably should. However, this assignment definitely challenged me and my group members to create content we probably wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for this assignment, so that was definitely a positive experience within itself. I tried to create something a bit avant-garde by removing the dialogue and just using subtitles for a dramatic effect. I’m not sure it works but I did try something new and that was a positive regardless.

I think my understanding of genre is pretty well versed due to watching a lot of films, especially during the pandemic, gaining a newfound interest in psychological thriller and horror films, with a love for films that use horror as a vehicle for storytelling rather than a way of frightening audiences. ‘Black Swan’ (2010) and ‘Get Out’ (2017) are films that do this exceptionally and I want to try and replicate that form of thriller in the short film that we create during this course. This assignment was definitely a great way to practise this exercise and get me thinking about how I can create something that expresses what genre of film I am passionate about.

Regarding what I didn’t think I did well, I think I definitely need to improve on my ability to create tension through my cinematography skills. I have a thorough understanding of how to create the thriller/horror genre tension through sound, lighting and colour grading however I do struggle to create this tension through the actual shots and content that I create. This is something that I will attempt to rectify in my Assignment 4 project, as I want my short film to be a well-rounded representation of the genre, showcasing my ability to utilise the genre’s reception in all facets that occur when watching full-length feature films. Nevertheless, this was an interesting assignment that definitely provoked thought and challenges that I am glad I was apart of.

• Practical Video: https://vimeo.com/644631225
• Research Photos/Videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zGuDhqYhgy033DsZEuFZRiE_iV81qLTu?usp=sharing

Research:

For this part of the assignment, the research and analysis of our phone’s camera to act as a Digital SLR and compare how well it holds up in contrast to the many features a high-grade camera possesses. My phone, an iPhone 12 Pro, one of the newest phones, will be tried and tested to see how much I can get out of it and its ability to showcase multiple features when exploring and experimenting with different types of photography. 

The first thing I decided to dissect was the framerate of the iPhone 12 Pro. When compared to my DSLR, a Canon 80D, which can shoot in 24, 25 and 60fps, my iPhone 12 was surprisingly more impressive in its versatility. As shown in the videos above, my iPhone 12 could shoot 4k video in 24, 30 and 60fps, whilst also being capable of 120fps at 1080p, twice the frame rate my DSLR was able to produce. This was something I had not previously experimented with on my iPhone’s camera and was impressed with the diversity of options that are now presented on the newest iPhone’s camera. 

The next sequence of tests I recorded was the zoom and focus ability of my iPhone. Obviously, the DSLR zoom is dependent on what sort of lens you acquire, so the comparison is a bit difficult in that regard. However, comparing the iPhone’s zoom photos, attached above, I experimented with a 0.5x, 1x (regular photo), 2x and 5x (maximum zoom). Whilst there is some grain to some of the zoomed-in photographs, once again I was quite impressed with the quality, given it be a typical phone camera. The quality of photographs able to be taken on a regular phone in 2021 is quite extraordinary, with both high-quality photos and videos being able to be captured. Focus is also incredibly simple through the touch screen of the iPhone, making it easy to focus on the subject.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with this experiment of my iPhone 12 and gives me more reason to utilise these features in the future. We often overlook the ability of our phones, especially, like myself, if you have access to a Digital SLR. I will most definitely be further exploring and experimenting with my phone camera to see how creative I am with it.

Reading and Reflection

When reading the ‘Film Genre and Genre Theory’ text, there was a plethora of statements and information that was interesting and thought-provoking that are worth noting and discussing in detail. The first is the relation to film genre and how loose the protocol for certain genres should be. The text states the “theories of genre do not stress just one part… but clearly indicate that genres are unstable and fuzzy categories.” This is something I strongly agree with when it comes to the film genre. One of the reasons genre is so important, for me personally, is it helps guide expectations of a film’s style prior to commencing a viewing. Many genres are so vastly different, comedy and horror for one, with many genres being tailored to a certain mood, environment, atmosphere, etc. Film should be transparent in the sense that if it is classified under one genre it possesses a certain expectation, however, films are able to have the handle of multiple genres, such as drama, thriller, horror all fitting into the way a film is received. This diversity of multiple genres showcases how genres are indeed unstable, fuzzy categories that are continually evolving and adapting as film continues to do the same. 

Additionally, an argument can be made for the opposing view that these stereotypes and expectations help to drive cinematic choices and viewings for audiences, hence it being integral that they abide by them to help reach accurate expectations for film-goers. This is showcased within the text, with Neale stating that “a genre is, simultaneously, a coherent and systematic body of film texts, and a coherent and systematic set of expectations” (Neale,1980). This is an interesting take of what is compared to the above text that genre is unstable and fuzzy. Personally, I agree with both statements to a certain degree. Whilst genre is an ever-evolving concept, it is also important to stay within the realms of audience expectation for the argument of personal film preference. If, for example, a group of friends go to an ‘action’ film with the expectation of a fast-paced, exciting action film, only to be unexpectedly surprised with a dark, gory horror film, most people would walk away with a negative experience. Tailoring genres to fit the expectation of cinephiles and casual film-goers provides a better film experience for everyone involved. 

Practical Reflection:

When I reflect on this exercise, my honest take is one that more explores my weaknesses rather than my strengths. I have always created content from behind a DSLR, so when being tasked with creating content from a phone, it rattled my brain to an extent. The planning stage was not the issue, as I reflected on some of my favourite opening film scenes, with ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’ instantly springing to mind, with ‘No Country for Old Men’, undoubtedly the more realistic of the two to take inspiration from. I love this introduction in how it sets up the movie in its slow, dark, mysterious tone. Obviously my own voice isn’t close to the dramatic nature of the one that Tommy Lee Jones expresses, as you can sense the concern and weakness in his voice from the experiences he has faced. I chose this scene due to how well I felt this set up the film for my personal viewing, hence why I planned to create my own take of introducing a film concept. 

Once I had decided I wanted to take inspiration from this scene, I had to plan the 1-minute voiceover script that would accompany the footage. Due to my age, I decided that in order to make something realistic it would have to be based on a young man, so I wrote a script that tailored that style. I think this was the best way to make something fun and true to what I wanted to achieve in a ‘dramatic’ sense, which I think I did to the best of my limited voiceover ability. Overall this exercise was thought-provoking and intriguing and despite not testing our film or photography ability to the highest ability, it gives insight into how creative we can be over a short period of time. 

Hi Cat,

Below are the links to the requirements of Assignment 2a. Please see on Google docs the last edit is before the due date. If you have any issues opening the documents please contact me ASAP so I can try to fix it if there is an issue.

Thanks, Jack!

Please Note: Domain name for Online Portfolio is currently using username, once job search post-graduation commences, will purchase a professional domain name.

Online Portfolio: https://beanyboy945.wixsite.com/mysite

Media CV: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pNB4Fj7zaR0QY8lffrrmt79qqTgcxkHrt-p4p4Horzs/edit

Letter of Introduction: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JarC-HZCl-ScKr-hMTbNzRebuHMfeYPgNFrHOgtNArA/edit?usp=sharing

Work Attachment Report: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WsQvDAbp8CE_P6a_JaoZIWXUtaaDGRwNNaH0wPnPIfU/edit?usp=sharing

For my final blog post, I will be briefly reflecting upon our final media artefact. As you would be aware, my home was without wifi for over a week, which frustratingly caused me to miss my group’s feedback for our rough cut. I did, however, hear the news was ironical, ‘overwhelmingly’ positive. In regards to our most successful aspect, personally I believe the Youtube video was our most sound and dense piece of material. It created all the layers of being overwhelmed that we wanted to express within just a short 2-minute video. It presented the negative connotations through the dark brown paint colour and audio noises, as well as the positive connotations through the bright and emotive colour palette at the start, alongside the water-absorbing into the scenes in the final shot. What we received feedback wise for the least successful aspect was the Instagram feed should not be condensed into one post.

The feedback was that the feeling of ‘being in awe’ or overwhelmed in beauty needed to be expressed across the entire page layout, not just the photographs themselves. This means creating a page layout that represents this feeling. Hence, we adjusted this by taking the feedback and posting the 21 photographs individually, so when one enters the Instagram page, the positive connotations were shown across the entire front layout shows all 21 images for the viewer to explore.

Overall, this semester has been extremely satisfying and beneficial for me and I feel far more educated in not just lists and how to create them within the media realm, but my knowledge of filmmaking has developed in a way I had not expected. I feel, through the blogs specifically, I can expand and think more intellectually about emotions and how they affect myself and others, and how you can control how your audience feels, which is a vital skill to have in the media industry.

Media Artefact Final Rough Cut :

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZTcDMdYsuc&autoplay=1&mute=0

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/overwhelmedjourney/overwhelmed

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/overwhelmement/

Throughout this week, we put together the video aspect of our media artefact. Upon completing the rough cut of our SoundCloud file last week, and will continue to make minor adjustments to it before the final submission, we focused on how we could demonstrate our feelings of being overwhelmed through video. Once, as discussed in last week’s blog, I could get over the idea of creative aesthetical content and instead something more tailored to the emotions we wanted to convey, we were able to brainstorm ideas.

When reading over Hannah’s weekly reading, what I found interesting was she states the word ‘meanwhile’ can be used to explode “a moment into the almost infinite number of things taking place and existing at a particular time “. This can be seen through the overlapping of audio and video within our piece. Although the loud outside wind and sink filling up in our media piece do not occur at the same time, we can give this sense of multiple things happening simultaneously, increasing this emotional uncertainty.

Despite already creating a sound file, we wanted to include a different portrayal of sounds to accompany our Youtube piece. We believed colours play one of the most integral elements in the ability to provoke an emotion, both negatively and positively. This was our major focus and is specifically evident in the first 30 seconds. We wanted to make our intentions and ideas as clear and easy to comprehend, whilst also implemented layers of sophistication. Reflecting on our idea to film a paintbrush and the blending on the colours, I am pleased with the message it portrays. The colours, green, blue, purple, yellow and red are positive colours and often represent positive connotations when individuals see or are exposed to them. However, when overlapped, they blend into a dark, horrific, brown coloured mix, far less appealing to the eye and the portrayal the colour represents. This represents how multiple experiences and emotions may be able to be responded to effectively on their own, but when subjected to multiple at a time, the feeling of being overwhelmed becomes prevalent.

In terms of improving our piece before the final assessment, I think we are overall pretty pleased with how it has turned out and its portrayal of being ‘overwhelmed’.

Creative Test – https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MaO1XuqeWdKVBUcegMd0Vpu_3pspa-6L

References: 

Brasier, H., 2018. List, in: Attunings: Multilinear Ways of Thinking About, Making With and Sensing the World (Links to an external site.). RMIT University, Melbourne, pp. 52–67.

For our assignment, we decided to work on questioning the mood and emotions we wanted to provoke and express within our infinite list. We wanted to encapsulate this emotion through a variety of various platforms, showcasing a full range of our skills and that we are multidimensional in the way we can convey our question,  ‘How can we utilise new media to explode different expressions of an emotion?’. In terms of analysing the most successful aspect of our assignment, it definitely aligns with what I have stated above. Our aim for the entire project was to convey the ability to explode multiple expressions of emotion, specifically through a various array of media channels. Upon reflecting on our final project, I believe we were ultimately successful in doing so. Our four media platforms that we used throughout this experiment was a Soundcloud, Tumblr, Youtube and Instagram. All 4 ‘profiles’ implemented a different approach and way of conveying our emotion, ‘overwhelmed’, allowing us to explore all facets of not only lists and media, but the emotion itself. Youtube gave us the filmmaking ability to bring what we used in Soundcloud for being overwhelmed through sounds, in an ‘overwhelmed journey’. The ideas were inspired by reading ‘Sei Shonagon’s List’, giving insight into any situation an individual could be confronted with throughout the day that is seen as stressful or in our case, overwhelming. One of his lists of  ‘infuriating things’ includes a “baby who cries when you are trying to hear something” (Perkovic, 2013). These ideas of somewhat ‘everyday sounds’, when overlapped, condensing an entire day into 2 minutes of audio, gives the audience the idea of the build-up of being overwhelmed and the toll it can have on an individual, even if nothing significant has occurred. 

In terms of reflecting on what we found challenging or ultimately failed in, I personally found the emotion we chose a complex and mysterious emotion. Being overwhelmed is a concept is one that has multiple layers and textures to the main, as it is a loaded word that expresses strong connotations, both positively and negatively. For our Soundcloud and Youtube artefacts, we attempted to create and explore the negative connotations associated with being ‘overwhelmed’. This can include but is evidently not limited to running late for work, having to prepare dinner for family and attempting to multitask. Whether we were able to successfully convey what we set out to achieve, I am still unsure of. It is however clear through the disparity between the negative connotations of being overwhelmed and the meaning of the emotion on the Instagram page.

We decided to ask 7-8 friends to send photos of places they have travelled to that made them feel overwhelmed in either the beauty of their environment or the overwhelming nature of the situation. One friend sent in photos of his time in North Korea, stating that “being in a country that we know very little about due to its representation within the media was an incredibly surreal and overwhelming sensation”. These feelings of being completing immersed in the environment and your own being were ideas we discovered, with Bogost (2012) suggesting “lists offer an antidote to the obsession”. These moments of awe and beauty throughout the Instagram page suggestion this obsession to be overwhelmed and how we long for it as humans.

Overall, this semester has taught me much more about lists and their specifics that I ever thought I would need to know. This dates back to the first week, with the reading ‘There and Lists and Lists’ initially exploring the difference between “pragmatic and poetic lists” despite the differences between these two being foundational now, in hindsight, these original ideas built a platform for our skills and what we were able to create. We are pleased with how our entire artefact turned out and considering that I, personally, had no intention of creating lists and the value that presented in Week 1, I believe when looking back at our pieces of work, my knowledge in this field of thinking and type of filmmaking has changed my outlet on lists in a far more sophisticated manner, which I am appreciate of.

Final Media Artefact – https://linktr.ee/overwhelmed?fbclid=IwAR1ODaCTVKt9DYn7GgAk_cs10BLKUhT18gS_G_y0_3HN1dYJOcmCQnWPdxA

References:

Perkovic, J., 2013. Sei Shonagon’s Lists [WWW Document]. Guerrilla Semiotics. URL https://guerrillasemiotics.com/2013/05/sei-shonagons-lists/ (Links to an external site.) (accessed 2.26.20).

Bogost, I., 2012. ‘Ontography’ in Alien Phenomenology. Or What It’s Like to be a Thing. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. pp. 35-50.

Eco, U., 2009. ‘There are Lists and Lists,’ in: The Infinity of Lists. Rizzoli, New York, pp. 112–129.

This week we focused on getting a rough cut of one creative piece in continue to build on our idea of being ‘overwhelmed’. Rachel, Joseph and myself, recorded various noises around the house that we felt were ‘overwhelming’ in nature, despite not necessarily seeming that way to the naked eye, or ear. They were noises that are heard but the majority of individuals in a working day, from turning the stove on for dinner, alarm clocks, turning the shower on, car engine, etc. Many we had to source externally as it was out of our physical means to gather them, however, all noises contributed to the piece that we believe expresses the emotion in the sense we aimed to do so in. My own research lead me to a scholarly article titled ‘The Living Experience of Feeling Overwhelmed’ by Barbara Condon. In the extremely short article, it states that although in healthcare, being overwhelmed in an incredibly relevant issue, no means of “studies related to its meaning have never been published” (Condon, 2014). This exemplified the lack of research into the area of being overwhelmed and evidently how the physical emotion and idea surrounding it is widely neglected and overlooked. Personally, this has made me intrigued to delve deeper into the idea of the emotion past what the average human can think of when asked about what they think being overwhelmed means.

Regarding our final media piece, we looked at this week’s reading for inspiration and ideas. The ideas from the chapter ‘For a New Aesthetic’, Treske (2015) explores that “video goes beyond TV and Cinema” and if we can’t see this we will miss out on the “potential and multiple transformations of such an entity, form and experience”. This altered my mindset on what needed to be achieved. My personal style is to naturally want to create things that are cinematic and stylistically aesthetic, by this reading helped me realised that this, was not always necessary. Now, my mindset stands that in order to achieve a successful media artefact, looking for objects, experiences and sounds are what are important in encapsulating our feeling of being overwhelmed, and the video is just the means of expressing it.

References:

New media – Treske, A., 2015. Static-Ocean Blue, in: Video Theory: Online Video Aesthetics or the Afterlife of Video (Links to an external site.), Media Studies. Transcript-Verl, Bielefeld, pp. 11–24.

Condon, B., 2014. Sage Journals in: The Living Experience of Feeling Overwhelmed: A Parse Research Study, [Accessed 16 May 2020].

Creative Work – https://drive.google.com/open?id=1hn8Or0X6ee6VBmDZKIBWnYpmrQtw5YmJ

In terms of initial ideas for Assignment 4, our main focus is surrounding the notion of emotion and moods, and how we can tailor a specific mood to explode across multiple platforms of the social media platform. In order to do this effectively, we aim to focus on the strengths of each platform to create an array of media artefacts that possess multiple forms of media. Soundcloud will be used for its intended purpose of audio, Instagram will create a portfolio of photographs, Youtube will be used for a ‘short film’, whilst Twitter or Tumblr will be used in order to write a ‘poetic list’ blog.

Currently, our inspiration has come from the Overwhelmed emotion, one that we have narrowed down to be a very specific mood, but also one that can be expressed amongst many facets. An Overwhelmed emotion can have a negative or a positive connotation, while currently, we aim to explore both sides of this emotion. It is powerful in that regard, as an emotion such as being ‘cheerful’ or ‘angry’ are definite in their expressions and cannot be explored at both ends of the spectrum. An overwhelmed emotion can be explored as overwhelmed in stress, tension, emotion, joy, beauty, etc. There are many angles of this emotion giving us a large route of creative freedom to explore.

One of the readings that sourced as an inspiration for our initial ideas and research is the gathering list reading, which gave us an original foundation to build from, whilst also creating some external thoughts for us to think about stylistically. ‘Ontography: Revealing the Rich Variety of Being’ is a reading that stood out to me, with the author bringing up ideas of ontography and this idea of ‘natural responses by the environment. This has lead to us potentially having a greater focus on external noises and creating pieces based on our environment, rather than creating a story through a human being.

Reading:

Bogost, I., 2012. ‘Ontography’ in Alien Phenomenology. Or What It’s Like to be a Thing. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. pp. 35-50.