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Reflective Practice Report

For this year’s PP1, I believe that I have managed to engage and think more critically towards certain things, which allow me to benefit from it in many ways. For this year, we were divided into groups and was expected to do an artefact that relates to the term my tribe. My tribe urges the sense of belonging and students have to relate to the specific tribe chosen. For my group, there were 4 other people, which were Melissa, Nick, Shereen and Nary. It was my first time working with three of them as Nick and I worked together as a group last year. After having to discuss a few names for the group, Melissa finally came up with Mshrmtroup. For the mytribe aspect, mshrmtroup is a tribe of creatives that relates to the belonging of a surrealist group by exploring ideas through surrealist artists. As mytribe urges the theme of belonging, we share our creative media about social identity as a group for other people to explore in depth about surrealism. Through artwork of inspirational artists, we as a group decided to apply our creative thoughts into creating the final artefact, which are 2 final photos. This theory informed the artefact that was made because we looked into the world of surrealism, which can be clearly seen, in 2 of our final artefact. We as a group used multi platforms to promote ourselves as a group. Our main aim was to get as many followers in media platforms such as twitter, facebook, flickr and our main platform used to promote ourselves and share our thoughts is tumblr. Our tumblr page is where most of the ideas were put in into deciding what kind of photos that we were going to produce for the final artefact. We had group meetings regularly. At times, it was twice a week but at least once a week to come up with the progress each of us has made so far.  We have come up with weekly tasks for all the group members to do which was blogging at least twice a week in our main page which was tumblr, attending meetings, bringing ideas, concepts and updating the allocated Google doc, where most of our documents are shared because google docs enables the editing and sharing of documents between all of the group members.

We have also broken down the tasks that were to be done from week 6 to week 13. During week 6, we had to do a 1 minute pitch in the seminar which was down by Shereen. In week 7, the ideas were solidified and sketched in order to get a clearer view of how the final artefacts were going to look like. We also had to find inspirations behind the image concept to give it a solid background to how it came about. Week 8 was the week where we had most of the preparations sorted out which was the models, the locations, equipments and all the props required for the our shoot. Week 9 and 10 were the week that we did the photoshoot and had to be completed by then. In week 11, the photos were edited and ready for the presentation online. The final artefact was due in week 12 where Melissa did the presentation in the lecture hall and we had to submit the URL to the tutor.

We, the mushroom troup, have produced two photos, which was based on the idea of surrealism. Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1930s and best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members.  We find this particular theme very intriguing because all of my group members are very interested in dreams or dreamlike images. Dreamlike images have no boundaries because an imaginative mind is limitless. The first image or artefact that we decided to do is of a man dressed in a suit and hanging on a noose by the neck with feathers floating all over. The idea of this came about from William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch and we referenced the great creativity of his and tried to do a better image of it. The second image that we had in mind was a more significant one. The first idea that came about was a picture of a child dragging a road kill, which I believe is very interesting because I personally have not seen such image. The problems we had with this second artefact was that it wasn’t easy to get a child but we got a female model instead. As for the road kill, Melissa had a friend who is a taxidermist and this allow us to be able to create this artefact without any issues. For the location, the first artefact was done in a studio in RMIT University itself as for the second one, we had to drive all the way to Marysville to do our shoot. I believe that the project was successfully created according to how we imagined at the start. We had the idea of self-promoting ourselves in various platforms and to document our journey in making the two artefacts. We had lots of pictures taken not only during the shoot but also pictures of the process into making the artefact. During the shooting day of our project, we had a total of three SLR cameras, one digital camera and also a video camera to document the journey and also posting it up on vimeo, which was where most of our videos that were created were posted up. The issues that were raised while making the project was mostly time. At first, we were supposed to create three final photos for the artefact but due to the lack of time, we had to cut it down to only two. Other than that, the first few weeks into doing the project, there were some misunderstandings between group members and had to be solved as quickly as possible. I guess at times, there are issues and disagreements but I believe it is healthy in order for more and fresh ideas to come up and we can take that to the benefit of the group.

In the beginning of the semester, I was very excited to find out more about what Production Project is all about. In the first lecture of PP1, collaborating is said to be a vital part in order for the project to be successful. I believe throughout the semester, I have managed to collaborate well with my other group members. At first, everything still seemed a little unclear to me, for example the aim of this subject but throughout the weeks of lectures and tutorials, I believe that everything was well explained through the exercises done in the labs. Collaboration is key in any group projects, which is why it is urged thoroughly. Although like what mentioned earlier, there were few issues in terms of collaboration in the group, we as third year media students were matured enough and able to handle the situation and put all negative thoughts aside. As a media practitioner, this particular project helped me developed a more understanding of how the industry works through various platforms of media. Through this project, I have a deeper sense of belonging through my tribe and it is the passion that a certain group of people is sharing and only they would understand it. Blogging regularly also helps me keep up with the work and the progress of tutorials and lectures to enquire a better understanding of what ever that is happening. Other than that, this project also helped me tackle unfamiliar problems. Hard work and thoughts were put into creating this project and I am deeply satisfied with the artefact that was published in the ABC pool website. It is not a project that can be done singlehandedly, but with the teamwork of my other group mates that we managed to successfully create the particular artefact that we wanted. Also, as a media practitioner, the use of various media platforms is very important. Not only one must know how to use them, but also have to master the use of it to prepare and able to handle with all the outcomes in the future especially in the outside world. This course also helps students in preparation to tackle unfamiliar problems.

For the criteria, I believe I have done my part well for the project and I would grade myself a Credit. I also believe that I could have done more than what I have done but nonetheless, I am pretty satisfied of the things that I have done for the project entirely. I am really looking forward to the studio next semester for PP2.

For the self assessment, we are required to grade ourselves according to the criteria and reflecting on the 2 audio piece that was done earlier. For the first criteria, I believe I have identified all the sound that was heard and how it actually affects the listeners to the various sounds from the piece. Sound effects are very important because it allows the piece to be engaging and that, i believe, is vital for an audio excerpt. Other than that, sounds used can also give an emotional impact to listeners, depending on the mood and sounds used. Music also play a major role in an audio excerpt as it allow the listeners to imagine the situation without needing to see visually.

For both pieces, ‘Carmel’s Story’ and ‘Great Expectations’, I have given the appropriate alternative to what I believe can give the pieces a more interesting variation that I can take into account for making my own podcast later on. Both pieces has their own speciality in ways that listeners can actively engage to which is important. I believe both the writing for both pieces are clear and also of academic quality and are written in the appropriate number of words. I would give myself a 7/10 for this part of the assessment.

3.  ABC 360 Documentaries ‘Carmel’s Story’

‘Carmel’s Story’ begins with a brief introduction of her life. Then a music is played while Carmel talking about her problems and how people with the same problems could be helped. This is like an advertisement to give aid to people who needed help with certain problems. Once the advertisement is finished, a sound of transition is heard. After that, listeners can hear the sound of traffic, footsteps and then a door opening. This allow the listeners to picture Carmel walking along a roadside and getting inside her house. While she was talking, the sound of cars in the background could be heard. Soon, a music started to play and she begins talking again. This time, there was an echo effect used on her voice as she speaks. As she is telling the listeners the narrative of her story, there were sounds of children laughing, talking and playing to give a feel of actuality. Background music is also played throughout her speech. Voice-overs can also be heard, explaining the crimes that she did. Other than that, there are also sounds of conversations being held in the background between Carmel and a coordinator. The sound effects of rain are also used to give a deeper feel for listeners. Sound effects play a major role in this excerpt to engage with the audience. There are also sounds of dog barking in the piece.

The music in this excerpt helps the piece to be entertaining because it uses different types of music with different paces. The language figure for ‘Carmel’s Story’ is partly scripted and recorded in the studio but some of the sounds are recorded from the real world. So it has a perfectly balanced of actuality and fictionality. The different sounds heard from the piece, for example the sounds of children laughing, and the sound of traffic in the background are recorded live. Sound effects in this particular piece are very engaging because it gives the listeners a more entertaining feel. Voice over’s can also be heard at times in order to have the real-life sensation to make the piece more believable. Sound effects helps to set a certain emotion for the piece especially the various effects used. In comparison to the piece earlier, which was ‘Great Expectations’ this piece is partly recorded in the studio where as ‘Great Expectations’ are recorded in the real world because it is made up of various interviews. Music also play a major role in an excerpt especially to make a certain piece more engaging to listeners. In ‘Carmel’s Story’ there are four different music used for the whole excerpt and it was all done in the studio but for ‘Great Expectation’ only one music is used and it was recorded live. Music also gives an emotional impact for example in ‘Carmel’s Story’, the music used are all of different variation which is great for listeners to allow the emotions to be felt in greater terms. The use of various sound effects helped the piece to be more enjoyable to listeners. It gives the programme the perfect pace for listeners to be able to keep up from time to time. In ‘Great Expectations’, sound effects were not heard as many times as sounds in ‘Carmel’s Story’ as both the piece are different in nature. One is a narration of the personal life of Carmel, and the other is just pure interviews with people living in a deprived part of the inner city in UK.

For my own personal podcast, I would use sound effects at the appropriate time in order for the piece to be engaging to the listeners and that is what’s important especially for an audio excerpt. The use of silence are also important especially for a more dramatic piece as it gives the listeners a more emotional experience. Panning can also be used to make a piece more realistic and imaginative which is vital from my point of view.

4.  BBC World Service documentary Great Expectations

For the audio piece above, the main sound used is recorded on the site itself. The sound that i am particularly talking about here are the interviews. In this excerpts, there are numerous interviews done and the sound is crystal clear that listeners are able to hear most of the details recorded. The piece opens with the voice of reporter Nina Robinson explaining the reasons of this particular interview. It moves on to an interviewee who complains about the 2012 Olympic Games and before switching back to Nina, the interviewee ends with a ’sigh’ which informs the listeners about the problems she has in her life. Then, there are sounds of interviews with various people played. Nina informs the listeners then that the upcoming Olympic games does not feature in the lives of the people that interviewed because it is not a major concern in their lives. They are more concerned about making some money to live as each one of them are struggling. Before the first interview started, which is Jeff, a 59 year old man, there are sounds of a machines and drills. This gives the listeners a sense of the area near the interview was made. It sounded like a building site and eventually later on, Nina announces that it was the Olympic building site. The sounds heard from the first interview with Jeff are recorded live and from the real world. The first interview fades and moves on to the sounds of children playing. These sounds are also recorded on site. Then Nina interviews Helder, whose brother plays for one of the team and listeners can hear the sounds of children talking on the background sound while the interview is going on. Background sounds are important to give the atmosphere of a certain location and listeners can imagine the situation in a much better and clearer thought.

Nina then closes the interview with Mark with an information about children struggling with poverty. Soon after, listeners can hear the sound of Nina stepping into a doorstep of a house and knocks it a few times. Then the sound of a door opening is heard and Leticia greets Nina warmly. Throughout the interviews, Nina speaks to give the audience a more clearer view of the situation in order for listeners to understand better. For the interviews, there are no particular order as the interviews jump from one to another and back again to the earlier one and so on so forth. For this audio piece, there is only one music used. This particular music comes from one of the interviewee’s partner, who writes his own songs. The editor of this piece then uses the song in the middle of the interview. As the interview with Leticia is going on, the background sound of the apartment can be heard. At times, there were the sound of children, other times, there were sounds of lightly volumed music, coming from Leticia’s partner’s laptop. It is very important to use the effect of different sounds as it makes the piece more genuine or believable. For this piece, the sounds used are very engaging and clear to the listeners and at times, it felt like the listeners are there in presence. There are also voice-overs present in the interview with the Bulgarian lady because there was a translator available. This piece has no particular script because it is made up of interviews and live recording. On the other hand, ‘Carmel’s Story’ is a narrated piece and recorded from the studio. Other than that, there are a lot of music heard in ‘Carmel’s Story’ compared to ‘Great Expectations’ which had only one music.

The aspects that i would take from this piece in making my own audio podcast is the crystal clear details of sound for the interview conversations throughout the excerpt. I would also consider in applying more sound effects to my piece because I personally believe that sound effects has the ability to allow a more engaging relationship with the audience.

the speech that i wrote for the final presentation of our artefact.

For the mytribe aspect, mshrmtroup is a tribe of creatives that relates to the belonging of a surrealist group by exploring ideas through surrealist artists. As mytribe urges the theme of belonging, we share our creative media about social identity as a group for other people to explore in depth about surrealism. Through artwork of inspirational artists, we as a group apply our creative thoughts into creating the final artefact.

Mel did the presentation really well and clear and i give credits to her for doing that. Thanks MEL, youre the best!

So for the second part of our shoot, we had to go all the way to Marysville. it was my first ever time there and from what i heard from Nick, my group member was that it was where the bushfire took place awhile ago. And for me, the place is such a beauty. I have never been out of the city and i was amazed at the scenery that i saw there. Definitely something to remember for the rest of my whole life.

Shereen doing an interview and also taking pictures with Aisha which was our taxidermist for the project.

Credits to her for helping us with the project.

My first ever time witnessing a taxidermist skinning an animal. We were lucky enough on that day for her to show us and she happened to have a dead rabbit before. I wasnt expecting any of this when i went over. I thought we were there to just ask a few questions about the animal that we could borrow for the ‘Road Kill’ project.