The progress I have made with my final media artefact over this past week has been somewhat slow, but ultimately more productive. After our last class, I checked in with Elaine to clarify what materials constituted as news footage. This was a particularly useful process as Elaine noted that conventional news footage which follows the visual, narrative and political biases of news journalism is what the constraint urges us to stray away from. Hence, I discussed my intentions with Elaine on using content that news outlets create for platforms like YouTube which are more informational/educational rather than conventionally investigative. Elaine was able to give highly useful guidance on ensuring that I use those materials in a way that prioritises my voice and message over relying on the actual content of the footage itself.
This has given ideas on how to use editing and sound effects in conjunction with such materials in order to convey the weight to elements like the sheer scale of iPhones as a hyperobject, their environmental impact, the global supply and production chains etc… Moreover, this conversation helped me recognise how I might use such footage to explore how ecological debt plays a role in the function of iPhones as hyperobjects. Apple’s outsourcing of manufacturing to China where production and labour costs are significantly lower, presents Warlenius’ notions of how the power imbalance between countries leads to an exploitation of resources (2018). While China may not necessarily be a developing country, conversations on how Apple uses the resources of the nation, and the ecological debt accrued to manufacture iPhones is certainly relevant. Apple’s amassed ecological debt is potentially then viewed as irrelevant given the financial benefit this manufacturing process provides – as China makes a mere $8 per iPhone (Dedrick & Linden & Kraemer, 2018). What’s more, this concept is also applicable to the disposal of iPhones as e-waste in third world countries such as Ghana, where once again, the environmental damage caused by the iPhone at all stages may link back to Apple’s ecological debt.
I also undertook quite a bit of planning this week in order to avoid the convoluted and messy process of stitching my ideas together that I’ve subjected myself to in the past. I brainstormed the general structure I want to my video to take, from the beginning to the end. Not only did this help me clearly lay out my thoughts, it enabled me to recognise and visualise the distinct segments I want my video to include – which incorporated the feedback from the week nine panellists with my own ideas. This plan also helped me to break down what kinds of footage I wanted to use for different sections, what sound effects might be relevant and impactful, and what editing I can use for poetic effect. It was also useful as I was able to see where I could incorporate things like the glitching component which I have previously discussed I want to include in order to generate meaning. All this planning also made the process of collecting footage, sound effects, and visual effects much easier and more efficient.
Brainstorm PDF: A4 structure brainstorming prompt 11
While I have yet to begin editing my media artefact at this stage (early week 11), I plan to begin immediately and I think that the processes I have undergone thus far will help make the editing and post-production stages more effective.
References:
Dedrick J, Linden G & Kraemer K.L, 2018, We estimate China only makes $8.46 from an iPhone – and that’s why Trump’s trade war is futile, The Conversation, viewed 19th May 2020, < https://theconversation.com/we-estimate-china-only-makes-8-46-from-an-iphone-and-thats-why-trumps-trade-war-is-futile-99258>
Warlenius, R 2018, ‘Decolonizing the Atmosphere: The Climate Justice Movement on Climate Debt’, Journal of Environment & Development, vol. 27, no. 2, p.131-155.