#jackmonro

http://youtu.be/jE2F-A_xI5U

  About a day after I submitted my digital media project proposal I spoke to my sister in England – a young girl rather sad about a pretty common affliction. Pimples, the ugly remnants of adolescence, could still be seen on her face. Ironically, she had been given the task of addressing a class about adolescence and her experience with high school etc. She was a bit worried about it, so I decided to change my mind on the project and do an informational, educational, yet humorous video for her. This is what I came up with.

  (NB: She never actually played the video, as I couldn’t finish editing it in time. Probably a good thing, considering the advice contained within could easily be misinterpreted by anyone under the age…. Actually, anyone really.)

  My role in the production was pretty overarching. I came up with the concept and then used an old video camera and tripod my housemate had stashed away in a cupboard over the summer to film it. I did the script, most of the camerawork, the directing, and also provided all post-shoot beers for the cast.

  I then used iMovie ’11 to edit and share the video via Youtube.

  I’ve only had a small amount of film experience, and I think there were several elements I could have handled a lot better. Many camera shots were shaky and illegible, and because I did not use a wind buffer on the camera, some of the spoken audio is distorted. I was able to fix this to some intent during the editing, but unfortunately some of the audio was too far-gone to repair. And, as usual, I feel that if I had given myself some more time editing, I would have been able to really tighten up a few cuts and shots, and make the entire thing just a little smoother.

  One thing that surprised and slightly impressed me was the way the narrative ended up working in the end. Although I think I could have melded the two parts of the film more clearly and amusingly together, each works for its separate intents. The initial part of the film intends to entertain, following the amusing antics of the paper bag boy; the second aims to inform, with a silly digression on ways of getting rid of pimples.

  In the future, I think I would allow myself more time at each stage of production. This would have allowed me to sharpen up the script and connect the separate narratives, ensure all shots were composed well, and to allow for an audio experience that doesn’t jolt the listener too often. That being said, I had a lot of fun doing it, and am overall glad at the final results.   

  I learnt about a number of things doing this project. For one, I saw firsthand how easy it is to literally lose the plot whilst directing and producing a short film. As aforementioned, I’m quite glad this never got shown to children, because I opted for entertainment over education. It really makes me appreciate the hard work and extreme creative drain real producers of educational content go through, trying to find the balance between engagement and information objectives. If you think this is beginning to sound like marketing speak, you’re right.

HI all,

Elliot and I created this in class time. We didn't intend to discover his dark side, it was something that just happened while I was filming him walk.

Credits go to Elliot and myself, the iMovie sound library - and Primal Scream (for the intro to their track "Loaded" which I edited in Garageband). We didn't actually slow down the footage using iMovie, it was just something that Elliot's dark energy made happen, totally unintentional and very creepy. 

I've had a little bit of experience putting together films, as it was one of those childhood fascinations that came along with acquiring a family video camera. For many years I considered myself a junior Scorsese, filming and producing hours of faux-World Wrestling Federation fights and many strange attempts at horror. In those days I didn't have editing software, so was relying on first takes.  I got over it pretty quick, and it wasn't until senior high school drama that I picked up a camera again. This time I learned iMovie, and found it was rather enjoyable and very easy. The accessibility of modern video editing software means that everyone who can hold a mouse, vets included, can create film magic with the press of a button.  I'm not going to comment on how much, or whether or not, this ease of use has affected TV or feature film production schedules / processes. Also, I don't have any examples of films that are made on low budgets, using below industry standard production equipment. I'm certain these are around and interesting, but I'd prefer if you would just look below

Let’s Party 

Loaded by Primal Scream has the best intro to any song I have ever heard. It would fit well into the start of any modern day rave anthem, but I decided I would try and make it sound rather dark using Apple Macintosh’s GarageBand program. The final cut is bizarre and quite creepy, fitting perhaps for the character of a man deranged, staggering through the mists of a B-grade Horror movie.

I would like to make a humorous video using small toy figurines for my digital media project. Lately, from the confines of a red couch in my living room, I’ve overheard and participated in a lot of conversations surrounding the upcoming election. These in turn lead to conversations about what makes a good leader, the best policy for a range of national issues and concerns, and eventually what makes a good, functional society. However it’s not the content of these conversations that has interested me. Rather, it is the underlying themes in my housemate’s responses, and how much these themes and subtle inferences reveal stereotypical Gen Y perspectives.

I would post the final project on YouTube, embedding it in my Tumblr blog. 

By recording conversations that sound authentic, regarding several characteristics and properties of our generation, I reckon I could make quite a light-hearted humorous commentary. I would take a number of videos or photos (haven’t quite decided yet) and digitally super-impose the audio onto the film. I already have a voice recorder, and easy access to a range of digital hardware, acquired from friends and neighbours. I have made several short, casual films before, and have a good handle on the kind of software that is used. I also know how to work a camera.

If I choose to go down the route of stop motion, I would have to investigate to see whether or not free software is out there. This could be taxing on time.

If I had to give the proposed film a genre, it would most closely be a comedy – of the satire variety. It would be set in my living room, a smorgasbord of discarded pizza boxes, sweet wrappers, half-finished meals, ashtrays and late night debris. Scenes would be reminiscent of typical living room times, yet with tiny figurines instead of actors. They could interact with the rubbish as if it the rubbish was actually very normal, usual pieces of living room furniture. They could discuss grand issues, or very small issues, all whilst doing normal, living room activities.  There are a lot of creative possibilities.    

Some of the Gen Y themes and properties I could potentially explore include: 

      A sense of self-entitlement

      The need for instant gratification

      A very technological lifestyle orientation

      More common and prevalent drug use

      Image obsession

      Confidence / arrogance

      The bastardisation of language

Image Source: Robert Mailer, http://blogs.abc.net.au/wa/2013/06/why-wasabi-and-soccer-are-exactly-the-same.html?site=kimberley&program=kimberley_breakfast

After deciding Wabi Sabi was not the phonetical Japanese spelling for the green creamy substance given with Sushi, the aroma of which burns and erodes the septum at an equivalent of around 10 years of a heavy cocaine addiction, after just a whiff. Indeed, it is actually a "comprehensive worldview or aesthetic centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection." (thanks Wikipedia) How Western I am. 

My interpretation of Wabi Sabi is that it is about embracing the incomplete and finding beauty in the imperfect

Adopting this mentality completely would probably involve a leaning towards the perspective that photo editing of any description is wrong, and dishonest. Being a student of advertising, a notoriously perfection-seeking form of communication (and industry), I adhere to it in a contextually dependent way. In the context of producing all kinds of media with an intention to advertise, this kind of worship is silently forbidden. However, unfinished or late homework is an excellent example of when this maxim should apply, and company executives should also consider allowing " the beauty of imperfection" to be instilled in the dress code at work. Maybe this is overly opportunistic, and perhaps even self-serving. Whatever. 

Take the last word there as an indication of our generation's low rate of Japanese (and generally any other theoretical) perspectives/worldview uptake. "Like, it's a cool idea, but when am I going to be able to, like practise it?" 

Us young'ns  have a lot thrown at us from lots of different directions. It's hard enough knowing there is so much information on one subject alone that it would take several lifetimes to read through it all, than to have to consider adopting theoretical approaches to life. We just want to do it. Also it sounds too much like religion, the most unfashionable belief of the day.  

Of course, I'm speaking generally, we also all have a "thing", and someone's may very well be adopting theoretical perspectives to their day's minutiae. 

But I digress. A lot of the greats (Einstein, Van Gogh, etc) were very unorganised and imperfect. Yet, they had great ideas which changed society, and were revered for these (although not always in their lifetime). I firmly believe this is the case for all genius and great thought, that it doesn't reside in a neatly labelled, alphabetically organised, blue filing cabinet, but amongst the mess on the desk of a chaotic and unorganised mind. 

Image Source: Tumblr user moodboardnyc, http://moodboardnyc.tumblr.com/post/36170431845/the-voracity-by-anna-williams 

This is an image I created using photoshop, as a header for my resume. 

All I had to do was the use the background eraser and Polygonal Lasso tool to get rid of the environment ('cept for the brick wall) and cigarette that I was holding. I simply replaced it with some text.