Karans Blog

Self-assessment Reflection

Contribution and collaboration

It’s the end of the semester and throughout the Media Industries 2 course, I have been active in organizing the media industries day and also helping out with the Showcase. I was part of the publicity group for the media industries day. My main role in that group was to find out printing costs and distribution. I scouted for locations with Abbas and Loretta and we put up posters all over the city to advertise for the event. I also distributed the poster online through Facebook.com and Friendster.com; I feel that I did a lot on my part to advertise the event and as a group member I regularly attended meetings to get up to date with the happenings. During the actual media industries day, I helped out my classmates with small jobs such as fixing up unconnected wires etc. There were not many issues with the posters and I felt that my groups’ planning was very smooth.

With regard to the showcase screening I am working with the yearbook team. My role in the yearbook team is very small and I feel that my group has not made the best use of me. I have advertised the event online and also sent out emails to classmates to log onto the yearbook website to update their profiles. There is a lack of communication between my group and I, I contacted Jo (a member from my group) several times but I never got a reply or feedback from her. Based on the lack of response, I branched out on my own and did my own promotion for the yearbook.

I feel that the yearbook idea is a nice way to say farewell and it can also be used a departing gift. All in all I feel my roles have balanced out because I put in more effort into the media industries day and my showcase role is not that demanding. I have fulfilled all my goals in both groups and I have been a 100% dedicated.

Proactive Learning

I told myself that I would want to learn as much and share as much as I could for both the events. I worked on my team working skills by communicating with group members regularly and also by putting in a lot of hard work to get the word out for both the events. In my opinion, because I was involved in poster distribution for MI day and online distribution for the yearbook, I did not really learn a lot because the tasks are very basic. The only skills that I felt that improved were working in groups and getting work done on time.

Participation

My participation for Media Industries was decent. I attended 60% of my classes and around 80% of my group meetings. I stayed for 70% of the Media Industry day (had to leave because of work commitments) In the time I was in class and my group meetings, I contributed ideas and comments to my group members to benefit the interest of the group and in class I was not as active as I would have liked but I still made various efforts to put my ideas across and give feedback. I think the groups were too packed and that’s why jobs were limited and this hindered my participation to a certain level. Overall I think my participation target was achieved.

Connections & intersections

I feel that I have learnt a lot from the media industries day about making connections and branching out to my own field of interest. I feel that I was able to interact in various groups and make new connections by networking. This course has really helped me to discover my goal for the future which is in radio and also to get a head start in terms of networking. I realized that I need to look at areas in the radio industry that need specialization, like try to apply for jobs in an Indian radio station because it is specific to me as a person and also to my skills. I also learnt that as a graduate, when I apply for jobs in the radio field, I will be to be confident, creative, charming, imaginative, flair, a hard worker and a massive passion for the work I am doing.

I would also need to take advantages of the diversity in radio. Since digital radio will open up a lot of doors, I will need to start applying for jobs in digital radio because it is still relatively new and I could be a baby boomer in that field. The skills that I have received from RMIT are adequate but being in the radio industry, I will need to continually upgrade myself because my skills are transferable and generic, which suits the field I am applying for. I will need to use my personalizing and combine it with my language skills together with my skills in the radio field and be specific in the radio station I choose to work in. This will be a good stepping stone for me in terms of getting my career on the road.

I worked very hard for the Media Industries course and completed every task that was required of me. I give myself a Distinction (76%)

It’s the end of week 14 now and everything is over. I have finished my TNA portfolio as well as my Primary project and there is a massive feeling of relief and achievement. The last week and a half have been hell because the rush to finish up both assignments was intense but I did manage to get it done in time.

 Last Monday I met up with John Jacob from the ABC and he gave me a lot of good pointers for my primary project. The main problem I was facing was that in my Tsunami interview, there was a hissing sound from the interviewee, so john suggested using a Desser plug-in but that failed because there were some complications with that, so we just equalized the vocals and it turned out nicely. He also suggested to make a few changed to my introduction and also to back announce the show. He really liked the concept I was working with and he also suggested something for the future and that was to mix both my tsunami and prison stories together to make a dialogue between both interviewees, but that’s an idea for another time.

 I have learnt so much this semester, I can safely say that I have learnt more in 1 semester that I have in my entire university life. I began this semester being a bit lost and also a solo player who did not like suggestions and always worked his own way. I have grown up a lot in terms of audio production; I now like to work in teams and also am very open to suggestions. If it takes me 5 tries to get a piece of work done, I will do it because I know it will stand out. I have learnt a lot of new tricks on Pro tools and have developed a good ear for sound. The Night Air certainly helped me a lot. It taught me how to work in groups, give and receive feedback and work in an extremely tight schedule. It also gave me a chance to experiment and play with sounds and I’ve discovered I love the remixing aspect of The Night Air. I realized I spent over 60% of my weekly time on the PP2 module and I put in a lot of time and effort into the course.

 I feel that I have even earned the respect of my classmates which I feel I did not really have before. They seem to really love the work I produce and have a high regard for me. It’s a euphoric feeling. By opening up my mind to new ideas and new concepts, I have changed for the better and have learnt so much about audio production.

My primary project was dogged with problems from the start of semester 1 this year, because of conceptual problems etc, but I managed to fix all of the problems conceptually and decided to put the human interest feel to it, which I feel has worked out really well. The Night Air for me started off at a high but at the end of the project, I was bored of the repetition of hearing the same work over and over again, and this did put me off mentally, but now that I reflect on the project, I realized that it was a long journey with its ups and downs but at the end it was worth the effort because the final output was something I was very happy with.

Self Assessment

Below are my criteria for a High Distinction for my primary project assessment and also for my TNA assessment:

Primary Project Assessment Criteria for Final Product

HD: Submitted on time, competent technical skills, Able to clearly express idea, Well Organized, Good delivery, Able to solve issues that arouse in the past. Improvement of skills and show signs of learning.

TNA Assessment Criteria

HD: Submitted on time, competent technical skills, Able to clearly express idea, Well Organized, Good delivery, Able to solve issues that arouse in the past. Improvement of skills and show signs of learning. Good participation during TNA meetings. Show professionalism while working with other team members. Shows that work has been done throughout the semester by completing TNA assignments. (Sound collage etc).

TNA Tasks

1) Sound Collage 1 (Dream Time)

2) Sound Collage 2 (Defy Time)

I feel that I performed my individual tasks very well, based on my TNA assessment criteria, I submitted all of my work on time, I clearly expressed my ideas and I feel my delivery was good and my technical abilities were also quite refined. I also learnt from my classmates and improved my collages. I have also turned out for every TNA meeting so that I can be active in the participation and I have been quite professional with my work.

3) Group Collage 1 (Defy Time Remix)

4) Group Collage 2

I worked very hard for my group task and I was a reliable source for my group mates and I helped out my group mates with any difficulties they encountered. I worked well in the technical aspect and my ideas were clearly expressed based on the group montage. I was quite reliable, responsible and always consistent. When the second collage went bad, I did step up and fixed the problems with the help of my group mates. I was always contactable and I had a good attitude towards my group members and also with you. I feel that the overall piece was quite professional and technical.

As for my primary project, I submitted everything on time, My technical skills are competent, I feel I was able to clearly express idea, I was well organized and I felt I had a good delivery of my end project. I was able to solve issues that arouse in the past and I feel I have an improvement of skills and I have shown signs of learning.

Overall Self Assessment Grade PP2

HD 80% – Week 13

HD 80% or higher – October 26

Overall Self Assessment Grade TNA

35/40 – Individual Task

17/20 – Collaborative Task

35/40 – Assessment Criteria Task

Ps. check of my Journeys of the Mind MySpace page.

The semester the officially ended and the pressure is easing now for me. My production project 2 has entered its fine cut stages and is 90% completed. The past couple of weeks were really full on. The Night Air project has also been completed and I can honestly say I feel really happy with my outcomes of TNA.

Since my previous snapshot, I stop concentrating most of my time and effort into TNA and over the past weeks have been working hard with my PP2 Project. I was neglecting my Primary project for a while and right now Im happy at the stage I am at. Next tuesday I will be meeting with John jacob from the ABC and he will be helping me fine tune my project. This week we had out fine cut presentation and I was really happy with the outcome of it, My class mates really liked my piece and that is a real boost for me.

I have become a new person in terms of being a radio producer and I have learnt alot from everyone around me and I must say, I have excelled in my production skills. So at this stage, all conceptual problems with my TNA and PP2 have been fixed and my focus is clear on both projects.

The Night Air was an interesting project to work in and I have been working in my group for the past 2-3 weeks and we managed to merge our work into a successive 1/2 hour piece and working in my group was quite hard because I did not feel alot of dedication for some of my classmates but I guess eventually we all put in alot of time and effort and I am quite satisfied with the TNA 2b Piece.

My Learning goal still has not changed since my last post. This course has helped me gain new production skills and also improve my other editing skills and production skills. I can now say that I am ready and confident to find work in my radio field because I have gained alot of knowledge from this course.

Once again, it is hard to get inspiration from blogs, because all of us seem to update our blog only when a snapshot is needed. Kylas emails have been very helpful in terms of feedback and amount of work needed to be done. It keeps me keeping on.

Well that’s it for now. The end is near

It’s the end of week 9 now and the pressure is really intense. Production project 2 is taking up 70% of my time and its really full on. Recently I have worked very hard on my TNA project ( completed montage 1 and 2) and finished my recordings for my primary project, Now all I need to do is spend a few hours editing my project for the rough cut on week 10.

The past couple of weeks, I have been concentrating on TNA because a lot of production stuff was due and the urgency for the TNA project has been a rush but right now I have been working very hard of my primary project. I finished recording my 2 interviewees and my third interviewee has backed out on me so now I need to find someone new and I have to try and work it out.

Since my previous snapshot a lot has changed, the human interest angle on my primary project piece seems to be working out nicely but I still need to work out how mix the entire piece, Right now I am planning to use a lot of sound effect which back the interviews and overlay it the music that I produced in June.

Well in my last post I said I was very stubborn and liked doing things my way and I have changed my ways quite a bit. I have been working closely with Kyla for my TNA project and I have used all of her advice to modify my work and it has been really cool because my production has become much better and smooth. The encouragement from my classmates and Kyla has helped me in my work and now I really appreciate their ideas and suggestions.

I have managed to fix the conceptual problems with my primary project and managed to get a good focus because the human interest angle really opened up a lot of areas for me. The 2 interviews that I recorded were 70% about their story, their problems and how they came out of it. 30% of it is of them talking about the way they relax.

The Night Air for me has been a real personal success to me. I made both of my montages with a theme and also gave it a good flow and structure to my pieces. After my first montage about dream time, I was told by Kyla to change the topic a bit, so I had to re-research sound effects and quotes and made a new piece called Defy time and after the last meeting, everyone seemed to like it, so I guess I am on the right path. I decided to only use material from the web and not to record anything new because I want to stay true to the program which Is mainly about remixing.

My Learning goal still has not changed since week 2 and week 5. I still want this course to help me to re access the skills that I have acquired over the media course and to listen to feedback to improve myself as a radio person. I now have started appreciating the art of radio much more now and am more in tune with the needs of a project.

I have tried to look at blogs of various classmates, but it seems that no one seems to blog unless there is a snapshot due, well I have been doing the same as well, so I can’t really complain. I always keep myself up to date by reading the emails that Kyla sends us and I always read the meeting analysis to see what is happening in the Production project group. It keeps me alert.

I have been searching sound snap.com and youtube.com a lot to research for material for TNA and also for SFX for my primary project. Those sites have really helped my cause in the PP2 course.

Well that’s a rap, I’m out. Chillin like a Villain

Post Production (14th Feb – 20th Feb 2007)

Initially during Pre production, I was told that we would be hiring a video editor but as it turned out, in a bid to save money, another intern and I were given the job to be the main editors of the video. I spent a couple of days cutting up archival footage of the air force and also editing the interviews that we had done during the production stage. I had to contact the client and call them down to the studio a couple of times to show them if we were on the right track and the clients really helped me out with their vision. After I had cut up the interviews and selected the archival footage, the director called in a video editor to finish up the project.

I learnt from the post production stage about what is involved in a corporate video production and how the local media industry works and its work practices.

Personal Reflection

I brought in my skills of working in an audio field but I left with knowing a bit more about video production and the skills needed in that field. I went in to the work attachment with a positive mindset but I was disappointed because I expected to learn more as I felt that I only learnt the minimal. The director was not a positive influence on me and I felt that he made use of me because I did a lot to help out the project and when the video presentation was completed, I was not even credited for my efforts in the project. I was very let down by this experience.

My knowledge about the media industry has increase a lot and I know now what is needed for a production company when they are hiring. I did network a fair bit during my work attachment and made a lot of friends who are working in the industry. This networking could possibly help me out once I finally graduate. I feel that my strengths are learning fast, making contacts and also working hard. I managed to do a variety of jobs, some I was not so familiar with and I did my best and I feel I did quite a good job. My weaknesses that I have discovered from the work attachment are that I lacked a bit of sincerity because the director really frustrated me while I was trying to fulfill my work requirements. I also realized that the video production field is not for me and that I should stick to audio production because I am much more experienced at it and even during the project, I was better at audio monitoring at the production stage and I excelled at audio editing during the post production stage.

This work attachment has been an eye opener for me in terms of how the industry works and also the harsh realities of the outside world but I also understand that constant upgrading of a person’s skills, working hard, being creative and constant networking will help me achieve my goal in landing a good career job. I was initially told by the director that I would only be involved in pre production and production and my proposed objectives were overshadowed by demanded menial tasks which interfered with ability to fulfill the vision I set out for my work attachment. All in all I have realized that the various needs and constant changes are part and parcel of working for a production company.

Total Word Count for Work Attachment Pt 1, 2 & 3 = 1510

Production (11th Feb 2007 – 14th Feb 2007)

My roles kept changing during the project as we went into different areas of production. I was given the role of junior grip for the production stages. I really hated this role because all I mainly did was carry equipment from the transport vehicles to the actual location and as I was the only grip, it became very physically demanding for me. After carrying the stands, lightings, camera, light reflectors, tents and other equipment, I had to set it up. This was quite difficult for me because I had no practice in setting up cameras/lighting and no one taught me. The director of the company Saravanan gave me a very hard time, because he was very harsh on me and also
insulted me in front of the crew because I didn’t have the knowledge of lighting and operation and setting up a camera on the first day of production. This really demoralized me because instead of coaching me, I was left out to dry. After the first day of production, I learnt a fair bit about lighting and setting up, because I paid close attention as to how it was done. I did lack sincerity when it came to my job as a grip, because I felt that I had more to offer than to just carry equipment. On the other hand, I worked with the other interns to help interview the pilots and learnt a few techniques in getting the right responses from an interviewee. The easy part for me during the production stage was the location sound principles.

I was in charge of checking sound levels and because we did our interviews in an airbase, the levels would go mad because planes would constantly be taking off and landing. We had to pause a lot of the interviews and take a break because we couldn’t achieve the sound we needed. This was long but eventually we got the material that we needed. I did much better at pre production than I did at production, but I eventually learnt from my mistakes of not knowing and manages to learn as much as I could during that process.

Basically during the production phase, I learnt about setting up equipment, learnt the difficulties in being the only grip in a production, basic outdoor lighting, interviewing techniques and location sound principles.

Karan Grewal Work Attachment Report

My work attachment started on the 6th and went on until the 20th of Feb 2007. I worked a total of 85 hrs and I did it in Singapore for a company called Cinecam. I found out about this company through a job seek website called www.mandy.com in Singapore. Cinecam is a company that does video presentations for the Singapore Air force, Military and also small video recording jobs for Media Corp in Singapore. The company is run by Mr. Saravanan. I have been working on radio production at RMIT as my major so I decided to check out a different field of video production, this was to help me decide which field I was more comfortable working in. It was a massive jump for me because I had hardly any experience in the TV field and it took me some time to get into the groove of working.
The project that I was hired for was the video presentation for the Armed Forces Career Experience 2007 in Singapore. I was involved in the pre production, production and also the post production stages of the project and I was the production assistant, grip and basic editor for the project.

Pre Production (6th Feb 2007 – 11th Feb 2007)

I worked with 2 other interns (1. Animator 2. Directors assistant) during the pre production and I was asked to come up with a concept for the video shoot. I came up with the concept of having a montage of various interviews with Air force personnel such as fighter pilots, helicopter pilots and also ground crew such as engineers. I also storyboarded some of the visuals that I thought would be interesting such as fighter planes taking off and landing, helicopters landing and also of engineers in the control station. After I helped conceptualize the idea, I worked on the timeline and scheduling for the shoot. I contacted the pilots and engineers to book an interview date and time; I also went to the equipment studios with Saravanan to book the equipments and helped to book the vans for transport.

After the initial storyboard was completed, I attended a meeting with the client and I was told to make a few changes with the concept. This put me back by a couple of days, so I had to re schedule a few of the interviews and once the final concept was accepted and finalized, I had to hold a meeting with the other staff working on the project and inform them about the production stages of the project and also had to pitch the concept of the video shoot so that everyone was on board and understood what was happening.

I was very active during the pre production stage and I helped to mould the concept of the video. In the process I learnt about conceptualizations, timelines, scheduling and about presenting ideas to clients. This part of the project was a bit troublesome because I have to continuously make changes to satisfy my employer and also the client, getting the right balance was a bit tedious but eventually I managed to achieve it.

The production team that I am working with is the Publicity group and the leader of the group is Beth

After the first meeting a number of things to do were establish.

Firstly we are launching Publicity campaign, Promotion and Advertising for the MI day. We need to Invite university students- RMIT, other universities, communication, year 12’s, broader student groups, Target everyone.

Below are some of the checklist items that are needed :

Distribution- posters, flyers, chalk signs on the street.
Contact RRR radio and Channel 31.
Distinguish the day as an EVENT not a SEMINAR.
After Party- drinks @ One on Lygon
Fundraising for after party and printing costs- BBQ, sausages, bread, sauce, serviettes ($2 charge).
Catalyst- have a press release and ad for the event printed.
Sponsorship deals- posters
Poster runs, announcing the event in lectures, email lists, advertise online.
Pre poster run then reminder posters week9/10.
Costs to be found for: printing, meat for BBQ, bread, serviettes..

I have opted to work on the fundraiser and the poster printing and distribution with Abbas and a few other of our group members. I will need to scout for locations to put up the posters (some places do not allow bills to be put up). I will also need to look out for cheap printing. The best way is to find out the cost of bulk printing and try to strike up a deal to get it cheaper. Once the printing is done, I will need to work with my group members and paste up the posters wherever we can to get the message out.

I will also need to work with my group mates to organize a fundraising for the costs that we will incur while organizing the MI day. Right now we are trying to organize the fundraiser on the 3^rd of September 07 which is well before the actual MI Day. This will give us ample time to get the posters done and also with the after party costs. Another area where I will be helping out with writing out chalk signs on the street. That’s a relatively simple job. All in all my job tasks are Distribution of posters, Printing, Chalk Signs on street and helping out at the Fundraiser.

With regard to the showcase screening I want to work in the yearbook area. It is a nice way to say farewell and it can also be used a departing gift. Since I have not joined a showcase screening group yet, I would like to be in the group that works on the year book. This role will be more challenging and heavier than my publicity group. All in all it would balance out. Right now I need to start contributing to each respective department to help the cause of the event. I will fulfill all my goals in both groups and I am a 100% dedicated.

What I have done so far

I have gone to the Swanston Library to find out the printing costs, just to get an estimate. Its

$2.20/A4 (Color), $0.11/A4 (black and white) and $0.80 for transparency photocopies. I have also gone to a shop called Dinkums on Swanston St and found out printing costs in bulk. Every 100 copies of Black and White printing will cost $0.13 and its $0.97 for a color A4 print. So far it’s cheaper to print black and white at RMIT library and its much cheaper to print in color at Dinkums. I will scout for more locations to get the best possible bulk printing costs.

Its week 5 now and personally I feel that production project 2 can sometimes be a bit of a rush. To date I have completed the Project report, TNA analysis, TNA CD compile and 2 blog Snapshots.

Initially I wanted to concentrate more on my personal project (Journeys of the mind) but after these past couple of weeks, I realized the TNA is more urgent and equally just as important. After reviewing The Night Air and meeting the producers, I have this new found urge to get into it as much as I can.

A lot has changed since week 2, my primary project will be receiving many changes to it because I got a lot of feedback after the week 4 presentations and I have decided to take the Human Interest angle on the piece that I will be producing.

I normally am very stubborn and like to do things my way, but since PP2 is very group orientated, there are times I have to go with the flow and give in but this has helped developed my thinking and encouraged me to absorb from my class mates and be more open to ideas and suggestions

There has been a lot of conceptual problems with my primary project because the focus can sometimes be a bit blurry. At this stage, I am going to mix it up a bit more, concentrate more on the issues and problems that my speakers went through and then add in bits and pieces of their methods of self relaxation. The human interest angle will definitely open up more areas for me in terms of radio stations and programs that might want to broadcast it.

TNA has been coming along really good, I have been busy researching sounds and thinking of concepts that might be interesting for the show. The idea that I have is of the actual Philosophy of time, whether it really exists and what it does to our race. If the group likes the angle then I can interview Robert Miller (RMIT Philosophy tutor) and get some interesting material out of him.

My Learning goal still has not changed since week 2. I still want this course to help me to re access the skills that I have acquired over the media course and also to create a piece of work that means something to me on a personal level and to create a piece of work that I will be proud of.

I listened to a few episodes for The Night Air and I came to the conclusion about its structure. The show has no defined boundaries and structure. To me the feel of the show is like a progressive trance song. It starts of being simple and is mixed to its limit but the overall feel of the theme still remains.

I have not really interacted with other radio blogs but I have scanned around and taken a look at what my peers have been up to, this way I keep myself up to date so that I won’t feel so lost. It has also inspired me to come up with ideas for TNA because my peers like Dewani and Harriet have been quite full on with their TNA ideas. I really liked what Dewani wrote in her blog about time.

She mentioned “Memory is, therefore, neither Perception nor Conception, but a state or affection of one of these, conditioned by lapse of time. As already observed, there is no such thing as memory of the present while present, for the present is object only of perception, and the future, of expectation, but the object of memory is the past. All memory, therefore, implies a time elapsed; consequently only those animals which perceive time remember, and the organ whereby they perceive time is also that whereby they remember.” It really gives a good sense of the areas of time we can look at

While I was compiling my Sound CD for TNA, I checked out Sound Snap and it is one of the best sound sites I have come across ever. The site is FREE, very well structured and easy to use. Each category is carefully tagged and labeled and the site uses flash, so checking out the sound samples is very easy and their database is massive. It took me a few hours to go through the content on the site. It is really useful for radio production and TNA as well.

Well thats it for my Snapshot 2 ranting. More to come in the weeks ahead.

This is my first blog snapshot for PP2. The questions that I need to answer are the following : outline your personal learning goals for the semester. What do you want to learn?  What do you want to be thinking about in doing your projects? In what areas do you want to take risks and extend yourself? What conceptual, creative and collaborative skills do you want to develop?  What key questions do you want to explore with your project?

Journeys of the Mind  (Main Project)

This course will help me to re access the skills that I have acquired over the media course. My main goal in PP2 is to create a piece of work that means something to me on a personal level. I want to make a new and fresh sounding media piece that has the ability to relax individuals and at the same time is easy to follow and  makes use of new technology; I want to create a piece of work that I will be proud of.

During the duration of my project, I want to consistently upgrade my researching ability, work on my team based skills such as communication, problem solving and from time to time work on my leadership abilities. As I working on this project alone, I will need to source for people who can help me out and that’s where my leadership and team based skills will come in handy. An important personal goal that I want to achieve is to better myself at my production ability. I want to improve my editing skills on pro tools, become better at recording and absorb the knowledge about production.

In terms of creativity, I want to break out of my own personal mould and learn about different aspects creativity such as how to be creative when working with various people. I also want to test my creative skills by taking the concept of how people relax and remixing it with today’s youth and culture. All in all I after this project and course have been completed, I want to come out of this experience by being a more creative person, better at production, a person who has good researching abilities and is able to work well in a media industry

TNA (Side Project)

The Night Air on Radio National is a project that I am really eager to dive into. The theme is TIME and a lot of the people involved are brainstorming ideas already but I am taking a different approach. I want to start recording some music for the show with the concept of the theme in my mind. I feel I can creatively record some material that will play along well with what the other students will come up with.

I have already written some musical ideas for the show, so I’m quite excited for TNA to hit the road.

Roger, Charlie, Over and Out.