Archive for April, 2012
brainstorm on “We Are…”
Sunday, April 29th, 2012MI1- research challenges
Friday, April 20th, 2012Today in class we presented a brief recap on where our group is at and what we are researching, then we each presented individual challenges/problems we have encountered in researching our topics.
“If you don’t understand the rules of the game, you cannot admire the beauty of the movement.”
Thursday, April 19th, 2012“If you don’t understand the rules of the game, you cannot admire the beauty of the movement.” – Adrian Miles
This is something Adrian said today in our tute that i really like and got me thinking…
It applies to so many things on so many levels.
Thanks Adrian!
Media Industries 1: “Dead Air” ~ individual progress report!
Thursday, April 19th, 2012Hello blog readers and followers: please feel free to take a read of my short essay which describes what i am getting up to in Media Industries 1 in terms of research and individual progress for this mammoth 3rd year report write up to come! Lucky i have chosen some interesting topics to explore!
The overall aim of my research group is to critically analyze the more profound shifts radio culture has made over the last 30 years, and how the recent acceleration of innovation in delivery technology will see equally as influential shifts in only 10 years. In this research group I will be responsible for exploring two separate subtopics. Firstly, I will be exploring the history of radio as a platform for entertainment, focussing on past radio plays such as the renowned, 1938 Orson Welles satire. Secondly, I will be conducting research on Australian radio personalities and their influence and contribution to radio.
To begin research on Orson Welles and his “War of the Worlds” parody I searched for information online, visiting sites such as Wikipedia, as well as watching relevant YouTube documentaries. In addition to this, I have visited my VCE media textbook and old school notes, which proved to be very beneficial, informative and assisted in again establishing a basic understanding of this event in radio history. I now plan to progress to the next stage in my research through looking for further, more comprehensive and thorough information through various library resources.
Regarding my subtopic of radio personalities, I have so far conducted research online via Wikipedia, various official radio personality websites, and multiple social media platforms. In recent weeks, Melbourne based radio personality Hamish Blake, commonly recognized for his radio show on Fox FM “Hamish and Andy,” was interviewed on ABC’s popular television program “Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight”, which I currently work on. This proved to be a very beneficial asset to my project’s research as I was able to watch Hamish’s full interview live, as opposed to the shortened version that went to air. Through this experience I was able to gather yet more information and learn about various aspects of his career that I had not sourced in my online research.
In addition to this, I recently attended a live broadcast radio event run by Hamish and Andy through Fox FM, and present at the event was many other well-known radio personalities. Regardless of this being a social event, I believe that the experience has given me further insight to radio and it’s nature today, as well as how the involvement of these radio personalities have such a huge influence on the shape of the audio shows.
I believe that through the research of radio personalities I will also have the option to include a case study in my report. This may prove to be very beneficial as it would ad content to my report, as well as supporting the messages and information being conveyed throughout.
In addition to the progress I have made through my research of topics, I have also made significant progress within this project through attending and contributing to team meetings with my other group members. Here we discuss, plan, and give feedback to one another’s ideas, and actively work on the group assessment aspects of the assignment.
I have established an online presence through the creation of my blog, which I regularly update with information from various media-based courses that I am currently studying. On this blog is a section purely created for information from Media Industries 1, which is where I post information regarding my research project and the progress I have made thus far.
A main strategy that I have utilised within my research has been firstly exploring a broad range of information through multiple resources, then highlighting and selecting what I believe to be important, useful and relevant aspects of the information. I keep an ongoing bibliography throughout my research so that I am able to reference where information was drawn from. Another strategy I find useful is creating a visual representation of my research and ideas regarding how to construct my report through mediums such as brainstorming and mind mapping.
A problem I have encountered during my stage of research has been establishing exactly how the research of radio personalities can best support the overall discussion for this group essay. In this I have had to give great thought into deciding whether or not to focus on just one or two radio personalities, or discuss many, as a broader topic. I am currently looking into how an interview could effectively support this and add informative and engaging content to the website where our group report will be published and released to the public, and if I do choose to conduct an interview, I will then need to make an educated decision on who to interview, and how best to approach them in an effective yet professional manor.
Another challenge I have encountered during the research period of this project is time management. I feel that in order to complete this report to the best standard possible I need to focus on organisation, and effective use of time during my research, interviewing, and essay writing stages.
A strategic effort to resolve these problems may be through creating a visual representation of the intentions of my essay. I need to yet again establish exactly how my research is supporting the main aim for my group, and I need to stay focussed on this throughout my research. I have found that once a large amount of research has been conducted, it is not difficult to get lost amongst it all and lose sight of your initial plans and ideas.
I feel that another effective way to solve one of my problems would be by conducting thorough research in a wide range of radio personalities, decide on a select few, then approach them and see if I can get an interview with at least one. This way I am keeping my options open, and not restricting the content that could come of the interview. If it so happened that I could conduct interviews with more than one radio personality, I would potentially be in an even better position, particularly if both interviewees have opposing opinions or vastly different experiences in the radio industry, as through this our audience can gain a strong sense of perspective and a more knowledgeable understanding of the content we are delivering.
In order to resolve my challenge of time management I plan to map out goals and deadlines for various segments of the project. This way I will be working on achieving small segments at a time, by it’s designated date, as opposed to attempting to tackle the entire report without breaking it down.
I believe that one of the many ways my report and exploration may intersect and relate with future research projects conducted independently or within university studies could be a research project potentially focussing on how to enter the industry of radio and approach a job opportunities in a professional yet passionate manor.
… & more War of the Worlds Research…
Thursday, April 19th, 2012check it HERE
Orson Welles ~ War of the Worlds ~ research for MI1
Thursday, April 19th, 2012Listen to snippet of the live broadcast here!
Stay tuned folks
Thursday, April 19th, 2012That’s right. More content is coming! I am looking forward to having the opportunity to further integrate various media related subjects and be able to discuss them all here in the one place. Stuff from my Media Industries 1 subject will be here soon!
Also, i am learning more and more through speaking to people in the industry how important it is to have a wide skill set, if you work in arts department, you may as well also know how to develop web pages and a presence via social media platforms because you may be employed to do very different things! It is definitely no longer a one skill one job world. We are multi tasked people! Bring it on yeah!
Individual Korsakow Assessment Task ~ “A Glimpse”
Saturday, April 14th, 2012Individual Korsakow Assessment Task
“A Glimpse”
My Korsakow project is entitled “A Glimpse.” It is a self-portrait, a multi-linear video sketch of me. I wanted the audience to get a glimpse into my world. It displays a compilation of my sketch videos to date, all which have been completed for Integrated Media 1.
I chose to present the user with various snippets into different aspects of my life. I feel that through the music, still imagery, and poetic use of video footage they can get a sense of my personality, interests, family, environment, and the way I operate creatively.
I chose to link and create meaning between the videos by following recurring themes that would appear in each 30-second film. Some of the videos are linked by their theme of shape, or colour, such as repetitive reds, blues, and yellows. Others are linked through their environmental surroundings, such as trees, the sun, or whether it is night or day. Videos that feature people will be linked to other videos showing people. If a girl is featured, you may find you are linked to another video featuring that same girl, if you are watching a video about a family, you may find the next suggested viewing will have some relation to family, and so on. I chose to use basic keywords that reflected the content of the videos such as babushka, blue, red, yellow, boy, girl, child, family, tree, in, out, sun, wheels, me, toy, round, square etc. Most links are fairly basic and self explanatory, however I do believe there will be some cases where the user may have to stop and really watch a video closely in order to make the connection between that video and the following. Just as I was made to think creatively in producing this interactive video piece, there will moments where my videos and the connections between them encourage the audience to also think creatively in order to gain understanding and link connections.
Whilst producing this Korsakow project, I found it a wonderful realisation that somehow a link can nearly always be created through each one of the videos, not simply the ones that have been intentionally created under the same theme. For example, I discovered that videos created in week one share similarities in themes to videos that were created in week five, even though they still stand as entirely different films created under entirely different themes and guidelines. It is a creative task in itself to find these links and connections, but one that I have found rewarding as it teaches you to further your ability and understanding to connect with an audience; with the users of this interactive video piece. It is a practice that integrates creativity, technological understanding, and a desire to connect with and speak to your audience.
I came across little technical errors whilst working in Korsakow. I conducted prior research about the software to enable me to have a better understanding of the program I would be working with, and to gain knowledge of technical errors that may arise. At first glance Korsakow seemed a bit daunting, to me it looked very complex, but once I was able to understand the Korsakow jargon and follow simple instructions found in my research of the program, as well as the assistance given to us during class, I could make my way around the program easily.
I believe that messages in film can be supported and often come across stronger when assisted by subtitles or text. Through the use of text tracks I have given the footage context, the audience can have a better understanding of how to receive the videos through me setting the context for them. Through the text tracks I have simply given them a little guidance and direction and steered them down the path of how I would like them to receive the video. It can sometimes be a challenge knowing what text to include in each video, however it is an important task to learn as it insists you to think more creatively. What I have noticed is that through the use of text I am giving a little less authority and power to the audience, as they have less ability to interpret what they see for themselves. This isn’t necessarily a positive or negative thing, purely an observation. I do, however, believe that the subtitles become a part of the film itself, therefore the audience may receive the same message or follow the same story or idea that I was aiming to deliver, or they may still think of something completely different. It can go either way depending on the user.
From a technical standpoint, the most valuable lesson I learnt whilst creating this Korsakow project was how to insert a text track. From a creative standpoint, the most valuable lesson I learnt was how to create creative links between the videos. I feel like a struggle a lot less when attempting to do this now. It is important to think simplistically, you don’t need complex connections, these can be great and can add a lot to your piece, but you can often find many connections through videos by just looking at the big picture and thinking basically.
I feel successful in what I embarked to achieve in this interactive Korsakow video piece. I feel that the audience will get a glimpse into my life; my world. I realised that everything we have learnt in Integrated Media has had some positive influence on our creation of this video task, we have been equipped with the knowledge and ability to produce this, whether we realised this beforehand or not.
Korsakow, complete!
Friday, April 13th, 2012Series 06 sketch videos~ My thoughts after completion
Thursday, April 12th, 2012Before i began filming, the “Red Bull quickening my heart” video seemed like it would turn out more successfully. However, it did not turn out exactly like i had envisioned it (as many would agree, this is often the case) and although it was a successful film in that it kept within the theme given, i would have to say i am much more pleased with the results of my second video of series 06, “Small things worth noticing.”
This video was simple, it was emotive, and i was able to have the chance to experiment with lighting in a way i haven’t done so before. I feel like the music chosen really suits the film well and adds to the emotion given through the image.