Speaking of “experiencing the uncomfortable” as a documentarian, Kyla Brittle made me think of this specific Vice video. I’ve seen it countless times and I completely admire the way that Natalia and Alex put themselves directly out of their safety zones for a story.

Whether it’s staged or not is another question but nonetheless, I’m intrigued by the grimy rawness of the piece.

“Media texts do not simply ‘picture’ or ‘reflect’ a reality where meaning resides.”

It’s a frightening thought to think that we can’t separate ourselves from the media texts that we consume day in and out. We’re consciously and subconsciously overwhelmed by sensory perceptions, which is what the ‘excursion’ during the lecture reiterated. Heading out to Swanston street, I wasn’t entirely sure what to focus on first – my relentlessly ‘dinging’ messenger, the snapchat I sent, the signs on the buildings, the music blaring from stores or the Tibetan protest taking place on the steps of the State Library?

It’s worthwhile to think about the fact that we can never take a break from information or media outputs – even as I sleep the hum of my dvd player or the light from my laptop consumes the space and remains at the back of my mind. Just then I checked my phone twice as the quiet tapping of fingers on keyboards is therapeutically breaking the ice in the room.

Perhaps we should all be trying to find some form of ‘silence,’ even if it’s just for a little while each day.

Channeling the creative spirits of Lena Dunham and the Coppolas, I attended my first media lecture…

And contrary to the Russian dictatorial style that was expected, I was quite relieved to find that it was casual – a room full of likeminded people. Someone mentioned that we should think of university as being connected to our lives and not as a separate body of education, which is quite a beautiful notion to take into account – we are “media practitioners today” and not merely at the end of our degree. Those simple words really struck a chord and prompted me to shed a different light on this course and my ways of tackling it. In the timeless words of Mr. Keating, “Carpe diem boys, seize the day.”

The required reading, ‘Hyper and Deep Attention: The Generational Divide in Cognitive Modes,’ Proved just how much I succumb to the generational shift amongst the youth of today…yes, I inhabit a very short attention span. Though aspects of the reading intrigued me (i.e.: the findings of Generation M’s media usage,) I found myself having to resist the urge to check Instagram and abuse the free wifi, which was the general concord of those surrounding me – “slaves to technology” as a new peer pinned it.

Anyhow, I suppose that by the end of this course, I’d like to have a firmer grasp of technology so that I’m fully able to explore my craft and express my art with an audience. I feel that the technical side of filmmaking is restricting my creative processes, purely because I don’t have much of an understanding of software and whatnot. I learn best by listening and mimicking the actions of others so I’m eager to see what everyone has to offer… Who knows, perhaps the next generation of Jean-Luc Godard’s are amongst us.

Can’t wait to meet you all, M.