Enter Stage Left

Bachelor of Media and Communications with a major in Screen Practice and Production and a minor in The Performing Arts and Entertainment Industries.

Screen production teaches the practical aspects of filmmaking. From learning to use the equipment and software required in the industry, to skills such as teamwork and networking to allow us to succeed across disciplines.

Since I was about 15, I knew that I wanted to go into entertainment, the only question was what sector. Growing up in a rural town, gaining experience in any sector was difficult and involved a lot of travelling. During high school, I spent a lot of time travelling to and from Sydney to develop my skills in live theatre production, but when it came time to choose what to do at university, I chose to go into film.

Whether it was from an overexposure to MythBusters, or a love for old sci-fi, I have always wanted to learn the inner workings of film sets. The way that filmmakers achieve affects without CGI, how they solve problems and how they overcome limitations of technology. My love for production and passion for storytelling led me to pursuing film production.

While the common myth will tell you that ‘left brained’ people are better at maths and ‘right brained’ people are better at arts, scientists say that the left brain is focused on language  and the right brain works with art and patterns. Media has taught me the importance of both visual and written storytelling in order to convey ideas

Studying media goes beyond the written word, forcing me to adapt as a student. Learning to use the adobe creative cloud was something I had to learn fairly early on as a media student. While we mostly use Premier Pro for video editing, I have also learnt the basics of Photoshop, After Effects, and InDesign. I’ve worked on these skills both in and outside the classroom, doing online courses to learn skills such as colour grading and sound mixing on Premier.

My first ever uni presentation was a debate for Media Representations.

Not only did I have to navigate the pressures of doing a presentation for the first time, but it was also the first group project I did that wasn’t with people I knew. After weeks of very little communication from my group, I showed up to our presentation as prepared as I could be, I had my video complete and submitted, I had notes on what to talk about during the discussion, and I had a few questions prepared to ask the other team.

What followed my careful preparation was something that can only be described as a ‘worst case scenario’. My fears of talking over my teammates was quickly extinguished, as my own teammate wouldn’t let me get a word in, even in reply to questions asked to me, and even as the teacher tried to step in.

From this experience I learned that sometimes no matter how hard I prepare, the worst-case scenario can still happen. Working with unknowns is inevitable and dealing with it is often what defines people. I learnt how to stay collected during chaotic scenarios and to bounce back at the end, falling back on my research and preparation as well as my attitude in order to succeed.

MMCC2016 Sex, Death and Politics: Media Representations - Excerpt from Team Debate Transcript by Alice Haire (2022)

Both academics and journalists alike also refuse to acknowledge that perhaps the children they are trying to protect are the experts on topics regarding the ever-evolving online and social media landscape. To acknowledge that children may have a greater knowledge on a topic would be to collapse the delicate social hierarchy that separates children from their parents and other adults.

I would also like to draw your attention to the way that children’s online activity is often discussed in the media. Children are described as “Stumb(ling) across inappropriate material” as if children are merely passive consumers of media, rather than individuals with the power to curate their own online experience. These articles portray children as people who do not search, they merely stumble. A child is only ever “one click away from an internet predator,” as if children lack the ability to put conscious and deliberate thought into what they’re clicking.

Psychogeography

Even during my two years at uni, my ideas for what I’ve wanted to do after graduation have changed. My passions and expectations have shifted and my goals have realigned, but my love for music and stories has always remained.

Sound Design

As well as my love for film, I’ve had a passion for music for as long as I can remember. I’m drawn to the unique way that image and sound speak to one another on screen and how sound can be used to say what images and dialogue cannot. Sound design embodies this by using and manipulating the diegetic and non-diegetic sound, rather than dialogue or music, in film to help tell the story.

Writing

While there are many different people who inspire me in many different sectors of the entertainment industry, one of my biggest inspirations as a creator is the English fantasy author Neil Gaiman.

After decades in the spotlight through his works as both an author and comic writer, he still maintains a down-to-earth persona to the public, answer questions and giving great advice to anyone who asks. He has deep respect for both himself, his works, and the people he works with are clear to see, especially as many of his works have recently been adapted for television.

But the thing that most inspires me about him is his philosophy towards writing, that all books are written the same way, one word after the other, that stories are important, sometimes more than we realise, and that sometimes if you want the job done right, you have to do it yourself.