About samanthabeniacbrooks

My name is Samantha Beniac-Brooks but I prefer Sammy. I'm studying BComm Media and am interested in becoming in a Media Presenter. I love theatre, music, celebrities and anything to do with the media. This is my blog for RMIT Media 1.

/ Reflection – Up and Away /

/ Up and Away /

I have created a self portrait which I believe shows my love of travel, singing, sport and celebrities.

I have also included some inspirational text that I have written myself, reflecting perhaps the fact that people always tell me that they live “vicariously through me”. I sort of love this concept as I have many idols myself, and the fact that others perhaps ‘admire’ me, makes me feel incredibly proud of myself at this point in my life.

Sound is one of my favourite elements in film and I have chosen to use sounds that I think show what I love – including singing. Obviously I had to be careful of copyright laws so I decided to record myself doing some humming random notes in the shower (a place where I sing all the time). I have also recorded crowds as I love the idea of fame as well as also being outside, experiencing nightlife but I love meeting others.

The portrait begins with an image of an aircraft landing as if to say that I am landing in order to tell people a little about myself. However over the top of the portrait is an element of metaphoric in terms of the plane being used as a symbol of inspiration (a way of getting in and out of situations). This highlights my love of travel as well as highlighting the fact that I do follow inspirational quotes in order to make the most of all of my experiences. Throughout the film, there are parts where I talk about “hitting turbulence” again reiterating the idea of aircraft and travel. The film ends with an aeroplane taking off which I believe represents my life and the fact that it is only just starting and taking off into full flight.

I have also included images and video that reflect me as a person. For example I am often seen throwing pieces of paper into bins because I love sport and always want to be doing something other than sitting still.

I have experimented with the time lapse app on my iPad. I used it to time lapse a clock ticking to show that life for me goes by quite quickly, so I try and make the most of it.

/ Week 4 – Lectorial Reflection /

wk4  Media integrates theory and practice  [theory + creative practice + disciplinary knowledge]

Both Adrian Miles and Liam Ward came and spoke to us today.

Adrian Miles discussed the idea that media is the integration of theory and practice. He said that stories aren’t everything and that we must act on our thoughts in order to make it something as thinking means nothing in terms of the final product, in the media world. It made me realise that it is important to get off my backside and start making a name for myself in the world in order to provide myself with the best possible future opportunities within broadcasting.

Liam Ward discussed editing: it is not about “fixing problems”. It is about deliberately breaking things (putting gaps in there) – encouraging viewers to have fun with the ideas. If you break it – it creates meaning – Why those parts? What does it mean? Why those edits?

We considered, 2001 Space Odyssey – primates fighting over water (using tools to fight) : cut: history of human species – from using bones to break things, to orbiting the earth with a spaceship.

And the 1920s – the chair is more than just a picture – it has colours/meanings – what the images can mean rather than just what they are.

We must consider the spatial/temporal relations of media.

Media Consumption

On Tuesday the 10th of March, a small group of RMIT Media 1 students went on a walk to the State Library to investigate Media Consumption in every day life. We sampled both inside and outside looking not only at eye level but above, below, under etc. I noticed that the most common forms of media usage were on iPhones, iPads, Macs and iPods which are popular Apple products.

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Above eye-level (up high) Advertisements on trams and shops (e.g. Melbourne Central – a film poster for ‘Focus’ – a film starring Margot Robbie, children’s book festival banners and exhibition signs hanging around the outside/inside the library.

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On the ground People crouching to take photos, flashing “open” signs designed to gage attention, ‘free tram zone’ (allowing Yarra Trams customers to understand that the city is now a free tram zone, giant chess board (promoting face-to-face interaction).

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At eye level iPhones, iPods and iPads being used, branded t-shirts and also a Tibetan demonstration was happening on the steps of the State Library.

In the background Fast Food (McDonalds, Subway), people reading books/magazines (e.g. Who/Woman’s Weekly), people gazing at exhibition signs and statues to read the text, traditional tibetan songs (both in english and tibetan) + signs hanging around the protesters necks to raise awareness and commemorate the lives of tibetans whom have self-immolated and died in protest to China.

In the foreground/ In my hand Pamphlet/Brochure (given to our group by a Tibetan protest leader) and information brochures inside the library.

/ Week 3 – Lectorial Reflection /

wk3  Media is a public practice [that is, an engagement with the world and others requiring a philosophical and practical ‘ethics’]

Media is a public practice [that is, an engagement with the world and others requiring a philosophical and practical ‘ethics’]  (taken from Media One blog lecture notes).

In this lecture, Annie Lennox (not the singer, however I do wish it was) discussed the ethics surrounding copyright and the restrictions.

We discussed rights of ownership – the rules of ownership – creator/author first owner and the exceptions i.e. employer ownership/contract assignment/licence.

Duration of copyright is for 70 years however this can differ throughout the world.

In this lecture I learnt that it is incredibly important to create your own work but if you are wanting to copy/reproduce/publish/adapt something you must respect the rights of the original works and gather licenses where necessary.

/ Week 2 – Lectorial Reflection /

wk2  Media is not a ‘thing’ out there [but rather a place we inhabit]

In this lecture, we were required to get into small groups and head outside into ‘the real world’ and investigate media use all around us. The purpose of this activity was to make us more aware of media and its use within today’s society – something that in my opinion is often overlooked. I found this activity incredibly insightful as it allowed me to become more aware of my surroundings and become aware of the way people interact with ‘the media’ within their every day lives. For example there were advertisements on Melbourne Central for the film ‘Focus’ featuring Margot Robbie and Will Smith but on the other hand there were brochures in the state library advertising up and coming exhibitions. There was a great amount of technology use (mainly dominated by Apple products like iPhones, iPads and Macbooks).

  • “The media are no so much ‘things’ as places which most of us inhabit, which weave in and out of our lives. Their constant messages and pleasures seem to flow around and through us, and they immerse most of our waking lives”.                   Branston and Stafford 2010, The Media Student’s book, 5th, NY: Rout Ledge.

Pre-modern vs. Modern society (also a question of authenticity – debates about mediated vs. unmediated communication)

Pre-modern Society

Social world predominately experienced through:

– Face to fact interactions

– Direct experiences

Modern Society

Predominately through media/texts

– maps, books, newspapers…

/ Reflective Portfolio – Lecture 1 /

wk1  Media is re-learning [how, where and why we learn]

I found this lecture incredibly exciting as it was the first Media 1 lecture I had ever been to and in fact, the first university lecture I had ever been to.

We discussed the idea of learning and why we do it. There were readings about Hyper and Deep attention (deep attention characterised by a long period of focus on one object and hyper attention characterised by switching focus rapidly among different tasks). It was interesting as, as we read on, I found that hyper attention is more adaptive than deep attention in contemporary developed societies due to our overuse of technology enabling us to do more things at once. However there is an argument that questions how much better hyper attention is than deep attention considering there is a lack of focus which in my opinion can be unsafe in certain situations.

In this weeks lecture the topic of learning and how we learn was discussed. We were made to reflect on the ways in which learn as well as touching on the things we wish to learn. When thinking about what I would like to learn, I think it would mostly be learning to be placed more often outside of my comfort zone doing activities that I wouldn’t normally do. I wish to show off more of my creativity as in the past I have not been able to do this. I think when thinking about the career path in which I wish to follow, it is important to be more confident in the work that I do and to make mistakes that I will learn from. The most challenging aspect of this course will be keeping up with the work load as often when I lose track, I find it difficult to get back to where I was. I think also having to do tasks that I may not like may be difficult but I definitely want to learn to step outside of my comfort zone.

I am incredibly excited about this course as I know that it will teach me so many things related to the media presenting career path that I want to follow as well as giving me skills in other areas that may help me in other areas of work or life in general!

 

What’s the difference between a selfie and a self-portrait?

A selfie and a self-portrait are both expressions of oneself created by a person. They both can be completely valid and true to the person but can also be false as it is very simple for one to change an aspect of themselves to please others/make themselves look better.

Having read the article about the rise of selfie-taking – BBC: News Magazine article on ‘Selfies’, it has come to my attention that our generation is becoming more self-confident and perhaps at times, a little narcissistic. But who doesn’t love a bit of self-confidence? After all, isn’t that what we seek? To be proud of the way we look/who we are?

I have always had self-confidence issues. Haven’t we all? It’s hard living in a society where there are many images projected in the media of ‘perfect’ women with ‘perfect’ bodies/hair/personalities… you name it. So I wouldn’t say that selfie-taking is a bad thing. I’m glad people are beginning to appreciate the way they look and have the confidence to take a photo of themselves. Everyone should be happy in their own skin!

Now ever since I found out about what a selfie was, I have been taking them nearly every day. The article mentions that the likes of Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Justin Bieber take selfies proving that it has become a world-wide phenomenon where even the most popular people within a society are following the trend. and  I don’t particularly see myself as very self-confident. I take selfies because I like to share information with my family and friends on apps like ‘Instagram’ of where I am at/who I’m with etc. They “invite us to photograph on the spur of the moment, regardless of location or company” thus proving that they are an easy way of sharing information to friends and family without having to write any text. It is also an incredibly unique way of sharing information as there does not have to be any text involved for others to understand the image “a picture paints a thousand words”.

The article mentions that selfies “tells other people how we want to be seen” however I believe that is completely up to the ‘poster’ of the selfie. I will post any (appropriate) image whether I am smiling or making a funny face. I do not try to differ my ‘online identity’ from my ‘real identity’ as I believe that it is important and healthy to be who you are always as creating false identities can create issues.

The article also mentions ‘sexting’ and how selfies are related to this. Again it depends on the type of selfie that is taken. Obviously if there is nudity then that will create issues, however if an individual takes a ‘selfie’ of oneself smiling (fully clothed) and sends it to a friend, that can be hardly classified as sexting as there is no form of ‘nudity’ within the image.

For me it is perhaps not the photo but the captions/comments that come with the selfie. But that takes me off the topic of the photo itself.

To conclude, I believe that both self-portraits and selfies are the same thing as it is completely up to the individual as to how they wish to be seen in both cases.

Thanks for reading!

Peace xoxo

Follow my yellow brick road

So hello,

My name is Samantha Beniac-Brooks however I prefer to be called Sammy. It’s my first year in BComm Media and I’m feeling very excited to be starting my dream course. I hope to become a Media Presenter!

This blog has been created so that I can submit work on a public forum so feel free to leave any comments on posts or send me a message! I hope I can be teach you some things about the media as I go on my journey to learn more about the media also. I’m so incredibly excited to have a place where I can share my work to the public! I have always wanted a blog but have never had the time to keep up with it. However RMIT shall keep me in line!

Here is a link to a website run by a few of my favourite celebrities. It’s (I quote credit to the website) “a positive online community for women (although men are always welcome!) covering DIY and crafting projects, beauty, friendship, sex & relationships, pop culture, pets, television & movies, nostalgia, fandom, tips on savvy and stylish living meant to inspire a smile – founded by Zooey Deschanel, Molly McAleer and Sophia Rossi.”

Take a peek and let me know what you think. I’m sure you’ll become just as obsessed as I am!

http://hellogiggles.com/

I hope you enjoy my blog as much as I will enjoy creating it and posting!

Happy reading!

Peace xoxo