Yaqian's Blog

May 15, 2012

The Advanced Skills Workshops

Filed under: PP2 — admin @ 4:34 pm

<Workshop 1 about Lighting>

This workshop introduces a fundamental landscape of the concept of lighting skills. Ultimately, lighting is about controlling and shaping light and shadows, reflections, refractions, and even color-whether you do it on a computer or on a film set. In fact, it was not my first time to learn lighting knowledges, i remember there were Film’s labs about basic lighting which i saw and knew a series of lighting equipments. At that time, i just thought lighting world is a big family, it has a glossary of terms and variety functional lights. Despite the introduction of lighting equipments, i believe that it is more important to open light world with understand the principle and theory of lights. As what the workshop mentioned that this kind of operate requires an understanding of how light works, the aesthetic art of lighting, and techniques for lighting. This knowledge helps you develop your eye so that you can look with understanding at your image, clearly see it, and know what needs to be done. By looking and learning as much as you can about color and lighting, you can decide which information to use to create your lighting design-be it naturalistic or stylized in a myriad of ways. Moreover, i learned a general conception of basic elements and key effects about lighting, such as the shadow ( moving of shadows, composition, day of time), colour( over exposure, colour supplement, warm/cold colour them),and  different light ( key light, absorb light, reflected light, hard/soft light).  I think i will ultilise such therotical konwledge into further practical tasks. Take example, i like to draw storyboard. When I was given my first storyboard job on a documentary, I had no images on my mind, so I turned on my TV and started drawing the images as they went by. I believe excellent lighting and light design skills lighting can help tell a story a lot. At least, my storyboard will be better.

<Workshop 2 about performance>

It is a impressive sentences talked by the teacher. ” Screen film is not the film, it is the map of the film.” I wondering asking,in that way, who is the real story teller, the director or the charaters? As the tutor said ” go through the script first”, it seems like all things are based on the script, no changes, no uncertain will appear anymore. However, performance has the potential to create surprised things. The happening between charatcers is the incredible exciting.Even, some preparation they did not do is the only thing makes its different from the initial script, which will lead out some shocked effects.  In addition, this realisation is benifit to our script writing and documentary ideas exploration. I am thinking about maybe leave some spaces to actors, or leave some distances between script and rehearsal when we shoot a film. Because i exception some fresh things and ideas will happen suddendly without any preparation. It sounds crazy,hahah, but if there are enough time and energy, i would like to try this method by next time.

May 2, 2012

A series of definition

Filed under: Media Industry 1 — admin @ 6:14 pm

i am taking the responsibility of starting the research project with introduction of digital media literacy. First of all, this term is a not a historical concept without a long history story as other issues. Personal speaking, i think DML is based on digital era, it is the production of modern digital technology boom. In terms of profession and acedemic definition, there are some different views to decribe it, i picked up some of them, and i will gather them and summarize out a new paragrph for our research.

1.

what is digital media literacy, and why is it important? According to Laura Gurak, it is “…the ability to locate, organize, understand, evaluate, and analyse information using digital literacy. It involves a working knowledge of current high-technology, and an understanding of how it can be used. Further, digital literacy involves a consciousness of the technological forces that affect culture and human behavior” (Gurak, Laura (2001). Cyberliteracy. New Haven: Yale University Press).

2.

As the internet has become more and more a part of education, civic life, and everyday life, we’ve been forced to rethink what’s important in media literacy education. At Reclaim the Media, we’ve been talking a lot about what we call digital media literacy (and so have other folks). But what is changing in media literacy education? And what does digital media literacy mean exactly?

Media literacy educators typically define media literacy as the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media (or some variation of that). Recently, some have been adding to that list skills related to social media and the increasingly interactive nature of media production and consumption – namely, the ability to collaborate and participate using a variety of media.

Digital media literacy means more than just understanding how to use Facebook or conduct an effective Google search – it means being able to use and create digital media to participate in civic life and collaborate around the issues that matter to us. It also means changing the way we think about accessing, analyzing, and evaluating media, as the web provides us with an increasing number of choices for information, news, and entertainment and complicates our media landscape with new advertising and marketing tactics.

As we talking about digital inclusion, closing the digital divide, and broadband policy, it is important not to leave the issue of literacy out of the conversation. In addition to ensuring that everyone has access to the web, we need to make sure everyone has the skills to use it to its full potential.

3.

Media literacy is the ability to access, enjoy, interpret, analyze, produce, and evaluate messages in all varieties and combinations of print, visual, and digital formats. Media literate individuals can use communications media to solve problems. They have a critical, informed understanding of the way that both individuals and organizations construct media messages. In addition, they recognize the role of the audience in both processing those messages and creating meaning from them. They are aware of the political, social, cultural, economic, and educational role of the mass media in society including knowledge of how media organizations operate. Through these understandings, media literate individuals are able to assess their own relationship to the media, and assign value, worth and meaning to media use and media messages (NCA, 1998).

We do not prepare use too many words on defining the concept, therefore, those material is probably enough for the beginning.


May 1, 2012

The first impression of the studio

Filed under: PP2 — admin @ 8:45 pm

large_hWGb_654d00000af4118dI imagined several times about what this studio looks like on the way to Collingwood. Is it mysterious? Is it has delicate fittings? Is it in a mess with a exactly free style? However, i think the real situation of this studio is not the one created by my mind,because it starts from a cafe bar….not with dazzling brand logo, a normal sense of high class fashion, is a bright place which makes me feel amiabe. Anyway, i love it. Especially when i realized the clothing and accessories were made by reused and recycled materials. The designers here frequently use hand dyeing techniques and all materials used are ethically produced using only reclaimed or up-cycled materials and all collections are the result of collaboration between the designers.  As i know, the Social Studio is a great social initiative with the aim of providing education, work experience and employment opportunities for people from refugee backgrounds. It consists of a retail store, a cafe (The Cutting Table) and a fashion school, moreover, it is supported by RMIT, and it takes part in some charity programs. Even better is that they have a café operating on the same social mission, it is different like other normal cafes. The foods there are all Halal and free-range, guilt-free food, too. Really nice Moroccan ‘burger’ vegetarian, and bunless…and guiltless), and special African herbal teas. Thus, the most impressive impression about the studio is it has a strong sense of natural. Take a glance of the window and the production table, all fabrics and jewelleries are laying on the table and box, they are waiting for the magical hands to recreate them into a fresh new look. I think the atmosphere in there is peaceful, no business profits, everything has the original shape. It reminds me the scenes of running in the Arica grassland, the touch of wide animals, the clean wind and air, a bit hug with the natural world. On the other hand, the style of clothing, i mean the style of design, you can find all works are simple, without complicated decroration parts, and also without any sense of pursue or imitate modern or popular tendency.  I guess, the motivation of such clothes is just they are designing what they want, dropped off other desires. I believe there a group people who are interested in this new method studio, and will donate them to support it achieves there purposes. In addition, i enjoyed the time of visiting the social studio, i hope one day, if i have time, money, stuff, i would like to have one, or just join one as a free time career. By the way, the herbal teas are rally really good, i can forget this special taste and smell. Recommend you guys try it. :P

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