I'm a free spirited girl who's just arrived in the amazing city of Melbourne! A media student by day and crazy explorer by night, to conquer it all is what I dream.. Hop onto to this fun ride called my life!
I’ve always wanted to produce a media work based on eco tourism and thought I’d pursue that in my Individual Project of this course. I also stated in my Learning Contract, that I would use my experience in Fiji as a starting point for my web documentary on eco tourism, as I was under the impression that I would definitely experience the touristic aspect of Fiji.
However, after engaging with the local life of Fiji, I believed that it would be better to highlight my experience with the farmers in Nadarivatu through a web documentary that would help Partners in Community Development Fiji (PCDF) and me, for my future endeavours. This subject matter has never been covered by any filmmaker prior to my During my progress presentation, I did propose this idea, however it lacked planning and execution. Learning from this feedback, I focused on preparing a proposal for my web documentary – ‘Sowing dreams : soul stories of Viti Levu’s farmers’
‘Sowing dreams : soul stories of Viti Levu’s farmers’ – Proposal
Format: A web documentary comprising of interviews, primarily created to be uploaded to the PCDF website to garner aid for the NGO.
Length: The documentary film shall have a duration of approximately 6-7 minutes in length and comprise of 5 distinct interviews of women and men farmers.
Intended audience: The primary audience for this documentary film shall be funding bodies that provide aid and support to non – profit organisations in the South Pacific Islands.
The film is also aimed at those engaged in research associated with the South Pacific Islanders, people who are interested in and engaged in community development.
Goal or intended purpose: A lot exists beyond the touristic islands and shores of Fiji. At the heart of Viti Levu, lies the highest and coldest places yielding food for the rest of the island. Through this documentary film, I intent to raise an awareness about the existence of these farmers in Nadarivatu who carry out their occupation in inaccessible lands. I also want to highlight the work done by PCDF in this region for the upliftment and well being of these farmers through the PHVA scheme.
Significance: The main reason for me tap into this resource was because there hasn’t been a documentary film or any other media work for that matter been ever produced on the farmers in Nadarivatu. The highlights of this documentary is undoubtedly the interesting mix of farmers that are practicing their occupation in the high mountains. A youth farmer who wants to send her siblings to school and if funds and time permits would like to complete her schooling too; women farmers who are the sole breadwinners for their family as their husbands aren’t physically capable of doing so, a young business oriented farmer who aims at making large profits with his produce.
Storytelling shall be delivered in an engaging manner cashing on the emotional quotient of running through each of the individual farmer stories. Style: I’ve already recorded the interviews and supporting cutaway shots for the documentary, while I was on location for my internship with PCDF, Fiji. The film has been shot in an interview, conversational style wherein the subject has been interviewed by me. Using this existing footage, I plan on collating all the interviews together and present it in a Reflexive Documentary styled film where the audience engages with the documentary as it happens portraying the constructive nature of the documentary.
The audio shall be a true reflection of the local spirit, an underlay with Fijian Bula tunes. It won’t be too overpowering as I do not want to bring about the relaxing spirit of the island.
Putting this proposal into execution, I shall work on the post production of the documentary and share it with PCDF to be uploaded on their website.
This has undoubtedly been the most exciting module of this course for me!
At the start of the semester, I was lucky to land myself with a Work Integrated Learning at RMIT Property Services as a Media and Communications Assistant. While I was enthusiastic about pursuing this, I had kept my windows open to more opportunities. While Patrick sent out an email to the entire class regarding a media internship in Suva, Fiji I sent in my application without having second thoughts. No sooner did I learn that I had been selected to take up this brilliant opportunity and jumped at it! Even though I accepted the offer, I was in a dilemma about how to turn down the WIL at RMIT Property Services as I did not want to burn bridges at the beginning of my career.
After much thinking, I informed my would be Supervisor at the WIL about my Fiji adventure and asked if i could join their team post my internship. She was more than happy for me to join their team and was delighted about my achievement. With a major load off my head, the other thing that worried me was that I would be able to deliver the responsibilities that the internship needed.
I packed my bags and took off to pursue my dream of filming in a foreign locale! Suva welcomed me with the warmest ‘Bula!’ I was lucky to work with the most hospitable people at Partners In Community Development Fiji (PCDF) a Non Profit Organisation that engaged in community development projects such as Education and Capacity Enhancement, Natural Resource Management, Health Improvement (HI), Institutional Development (ID). The NGO was in great need of a media producer who would help them showcase their work on the website. The existing website has photographs to showcase their community work but when it comes to approaching funding bodies, they didn’t have visual proof that would support their claims.
After working for the Indian television industry for two years, I realized that media doesn’t essentially have to take on a commercial aspect, one can apply their media skills for community development. It made me question the ‘reality’ in the reality shows that I had worked for.
In my two weeks of volunteering, I was assigned the task of interviewing and filming farmers benefitting from the Partnership in High Value Agriculture (PHVA) Project in the interiors of the Viti Levu island. Excited by this challenge, camera and tripod in tow, I set off for Nadarivatu, to experience and capture the ‘reality’. I boarded with a family of five, up in the mountains, with the closest town an hour away. I visited around 6 villages and settlements, some that were accessible only by horseback or foot. I interviewed farmers and asked them about their produce and the ways in which the PHVA scheme had benefited them. I was moved to meet a few women farmers who were the sole breadwinners of their family. Simple people with simple means of living, I had the most enriching experience interacting with them. They were happy to have been visited and spoken to, as none had even known about their existence. I was worried that I’d have issues in understanding their language, but Willie was a great support and translator who helped us engage in a fruitful conversation.
I returned to the PCDF office in Suva, enriched and happy with the footage and content filmed with the farmers in Nadarivatu. However, I had almost reached the end of my internship, and therefore didn’t have the appropriate time to create a video with the shot footage. However, I promised them that I would work on it during my holidays and help them upload the video on the world wide web.
When we think of Fiji, we think of crystal clear waters, sandy beaches and sun n tan. During my internship, I engaged with the soulful Fiji. I felt like a local, lived in a hostel with another girl Mary from Masters of Communications at RMIT who was also undertaking an internship but with a different organisation. The Indo – Fijians were delighted to meet a ‘real’ Indian from Mumbai and were curious about knowing about their native country. As I reached the end of my endeavour, I realised that I had grown too fond of the people I worked with, and the delicious food.
After accomplishing this media internship with PCDF, I indulged in retrospection about the fact of pursuing a career in media production for the purpose of community development or climate change. But the question of money arises when it comes to making these long term decisions. The satisfaction of work would be tremendous but that wouldn’t reflect in the money that I would earn.
And thus arises the question again – Why can’t we have it all?
Back in Melbourne, I re connected with my Supervisor, Alison at RMIT Property Services for the Work Integrated Learning and joined the team as a Media and Communications Assistant. I visit the office twice a week, and assist Alison in the formulation and delivery of the communications plan for RMIT Property Services. I have contributed my writing skills towards the e news bulletin and have contributed ideas towards sustainability projects that RMIT Property Services engages with.
I have also been assigned a project as my main area of focus for the rest of my WIL. I will have to come up with a communications plan for delivering an initiative on free tagging and testing electrical equipment i.e portable devices for student on campus during the Orientation Week coming up at the beginning of next semester. This is an interesting task as I will be coming with a concept, layout and deliverables plan for the initiative. Social media is going to play a significant role in promoting this project.
I’ve learnt quite an interesting mix of things from these two internships. While the Fiji internship gave me a hands on experience of working on field with video equipment, my WIL experience at RMIT has given me the chance to engage with a corporate setting and help me hone my writing and social media skills. These work placements have added to my pool of professional contacts.
I’d like to consider myself lucky, not forgetting the fact that I have been proactive in reaching to the opportunities offered to me and I’m thankful to RMIT to give me these chances of working towards being a media professional.
Every job application calls for a tailored CV as per the job requirements. While my Resume enlists every job undertaken the media field, after moving to Melbourne I have worked as Promotions Staff for RMIT’ Career Development and Employment, an Admin Assistant at Alfred Health. Though these aren’t relevant to the industry that I want to pursue my career in, they count as work experience in Melbourne, but I haven’t mentioned them on my professional CV.
In the earlier stages of this semester in the Media Career Development course, I focused primarily on refining my CV, I revamped my existing LinkedIn account with a new profile picture, a summary, a volunteering experience with Partners In Community Development Fiji (PCDF), and added other interests and social causes that I supported, leading to an ‘All Star’ profile.
I also jumped at the opportunity to offer my Indian wedding footage for a SBS television show – Indian Wedding Race, that Meg was working on as an intern at 360 Degree Films production house. I approached the production house in person with my hard disk drive as I wanted to establish a professional relationship with the Producer (Andrea) that I was in contact with via email. I believed that if meet her and hand over the footage to her personally, it would create a good impression and would set the ball rolling for me to develop a professional connection that could help in the future, post graduation.
Unfortunately, while I did make it to the production house to hand over the footage, I didn’t meet Andrea as she wasn’t present in the office and hence handed the hard disk to the editor who was working on the project.
Post the feedback received during the progress presentation, my focus was to improve my elevator pitch and LinkedIn connections as most jobs are procured through active networking. The elevator pitch delivered during the progress presentation, in my opinion was too text bookish, it lacked a personal touch and I felt like a robot who was ranting a programme that I didn’t understand, even though my intention of writing it was that it could be used as a LinkedIn summary too. I realised that I had to re write my elevator pitch with a more personal touch; one that would convey my career aspirations, highlight my achievements and help me position myself appropriately in the media industry. I also realised that I was underestimating myself when it came to networking. As Kanthi, my professor highlighted that I was engaging in passive networking, wherein I was reaching out to the opportunities offered to me by my classmates, uni connections etc. While I thought social media was a very powerful marketing tool, I understood the point made by Patrick that YouTube would be a better space to promote my video content, rather than a Facebook page and have acted upon that. I’ve also created a (work in progress) page on Wix, that showcases my creative portfolio.
Moving forward :-
I want to collate my filming and video editing experience in a showreel.
Connect with industry experts and join relevant industry and skill groups on LinkedIn
Constantly update my LinkedIn profile and continue making connections
The never ending journey from Melbourne to Barcelona seemed to be worth the long wait and restlessness, as I woke up to the sight of turquoise blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. A faint view of La Sagrada Familia added up to the sleep killing. Barcelona from a bird’s eye view was enticing to me. I couldn’t wait to set foot on land to explore and live the myriad visuals of this lively city. The warm, Catalonian summer sun welcomed me with a warm Hola!
When I learnt about the study tour to Barcelona, I started painting vivid images of sangria and siesta in my mind. I’ve always seen these visuals on television when I was growing up in Mumbai, India. I was looking forward to seeing it for myself, to experiencing it, living it. It was always my dream to travel to various places of the world and document those experiences. And here I was at the El Prat Airport in Barcelona, baggage and camera in tow, a step closer to living it, but surprisingly nervous to the core! My Catalan was as good as nothing. Hola! and Gracias were the only words that would be my lifesavers. But would I survive all alone with these 2 phrases? That was something I was about to discover in the next two weeks of my Catalan adventure.
I grew up with a strong belief that if I could survive the madness of Mumbai, I could make it anywhere. This belief began to fade away once I boarded the taxi to my venue of accommodation – Residencia Onix. The taxi driver started speaking to me in Spanish/Catalan – I was clueless. He was asking me for the precise address of the location. I had no working internet connection on my phone and hence could’t trace it. I felt helpless and flustered. The taxi driver caught my nervousness and tried to calm me down with his not – so – bad English and welcomed me to his city. He was delighted to learn about India. We exchanged a few cultural talks about our countries, and before I knew it I was home!
We spent our first day in Barcelona, in getting to know the place and more importantly each other, as we were going to explore the place, it’s people and the culture as a group for our documentary films. Even after moving to Melbourne from Mumbai, I was still within my comfort zone as my friend circle included students from India, predominantly. A bit apprehensive at first, I wondered if my trip mates would get along with me, let alone understand me, as I had a distinct accent. My preconceived notions slowly got tossed out of the window as the trip progressed. Bonding over tapas and sangria were a great ice breaker, as we got to know each other better.
Bonding over tapas and sangria!
After the fun and frolic, it was time for serious business. Jonathan and myself had researched about our project theme – “smart city” prior to our arrival in Barcelona. On Day 1 of our arrival, we had a new member in our group – Cici. We welcomed her in our group, as I was under the impression ‘the more the merrier.’ Our journey had just begun.
The Hidden City Tour guided by Jose, an enterprising, former homeless person; was an eye opener to me as a researcher. While Jose took us to various pockets of la Barri Gothic, le Reval he explained to us about the prevailing homelessness and unemployment and the government’s meagre involvement to change the situation. I asked him about the ‘smart city’ project of the former Barcelona city council and was amazed by the prompt reply of ‘Barcelona is a ‘stupid city.’ This statement made me take a closer look at the situation in Barcelona. Where was the smart city that I had read up and seen on the internet? Did it even exist? These questions boggled my mind.
Hidden City Tour with Jose
I was delighted to meet Cecelia, our prime support person who had arranged and scheduled interviews with key persons pertaining to our project themes. Another learning for me was that local contacts and networks always yield results. After arriving in Barcelona, I did try writing to a few organizations whom we desired to interview, however, expecting a reply from them was like spotting a shooting star on a cloudy night! Cecelia was a lifesaver for our smart city project group because even though we had done our ground research, we were unsuccessful in lining up interviews for our documentary. Either it was too late that I had tried to get in touch with the organizations or maybe because I communicated in English, I didn’t receive a reply. The Spanish appreciate outsiders who speak their language, even if it’s just the basics. My English writing skills were of no importance in this country at least to contact officials or people who were associated with the Smart City project.
Panic attack struck me when I learnt that the Smart City project has been suspended by the new Mayor Ada Colao, as she wanted to focus more on serious issues such as the high unemployment rate and homelessness. We were afraid that our project is going to fall flat. The various articles that we had read up on before coming to Barcelona, did not reveal the slightest of hints that the ‘smart city’ was an alien concept to the citizens of Barcelona.
Two days down, and I felt like a local. Barcelona reminded me a lot of Goa, a seaside holiday destination in India that emanated the same laid back energy in the way of life. While my trip mates felt that they’d love to live in Barcelona, I was of the opposite opinion that I wouldn’t survive this slow pace of life. Quite a few locals in public places mistook me as a member of their society and would often break into Catalan while i would stand there puzzled and speechless. Again, I’m not too sure if it was the Spanish colour of my skin or since there a lot of immigrants who can now speak the local language, I was categorised as one of them. It was interesting to observe that even though the locals are unemployed, every supermarket was owned and run by immigrants. It was fun to be recognised by the Pakistanis/Indians as their own when they would break into a word or two in Hindi, at the same time it was fun but embarrassing to not be able to reply to a local in Catalan when spoken to.
The Smart City Tour on the Passeig de Gracia was an interesting venture where we saw the jazzy side of Barcelona. Cristina from the Smart City project explained and showed us the various hi tech innovations incorporated to promote smart living. The interesting part was that it was just her who knew about these smart city features. Being our first interview, we were nervous and excited at the same time. While I interviewed Cristina asking her about the various innovations, Jonathan took to the lens to film the conversation. I did find it a bit difficult to follow the strong Spanish accent while she spoke in English, but then I realised that she could be facing the same with me. The best part was that the longer we were into the conversation, the more she kept revealing about the current council’s decision to suspend the Smart City project. One of the great learnings as a reality television producer in India, was to get your subject comfortable so that he/she opens up to reveal the real story. An and Cici swapped places at intervals on the second camera where they focused on close up shots. We decided to maintain this order/ distribution of roles within the group. While we were amazed to finally see the ‘smart city’ projects, our next interviewee was going to draw us the real picture.
Barcelona Smart City Tour
Professor Ramon explained to us that the smart city image was a facade built by the government to portray to the outside world, in order to attract foreign investors, as Spain’s economy was going through a rough patch during the financial crisis. He brought to light that the citizens weren’t against the smart city project, they just didn’t understand the need or meaning of the project. They believed that technology wasn’t the answer to their problems of unemployment and homelessness. This gave us a better understanding of the current scenario in Barcelona.
Drawing an inference from this learning, I’d like to put forth the socio – economic realities of Spain by referring to Professor Geert Hofstede’s Model of National Culture which is indicated by 6 dimensions and corresponding scores to note the value in each of the dimensions:-
1) Power Development Index (PDI) – 57
This dimension expresses the attitude of the culture towards the inequalities amongst societies. Spain is a hierarchical society wherein people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place. This was observed in the change in government period that we were in where the mayor – Ada Colao was the face of change and people were accepting of it.
2) Individualism (IDV) – 51
This dimension is the degree of interdependence a society maintains among its members.Spain is a collectivist society when compared to the rest of European society. However, when compared to other countries of the world, it is individualistic. Teamwork is considered as natural ordeal. This observation was made when we interviewed Horacio – a vital member of the Neighbours movement who gave us a view into the collective movement against the house evictions and noise caused by tourists in Barcelona.
3) Masculinity (MAS) – 42
This dimension expresses what motivates people, wanting to be the best (Masculine) or liking what you do (Feminine). Spain is a consensus favouring country. Dissipation is not well considered neither is cut throat competitiveness appreciated. Managers like to consult their subordinates to know their opinions in order to make decisions pertaining to the growth of the company. The Cronnections team – a start up company dealing in bartering of goods sported this team play. Spain is the complete opposite of ‘the winner takes it all.’
4) Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) – 86
This dimension expresses the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known. Spain is the second noisiest country in the world in terms of having rules for everything. Confrontation is avoided.
5) Long Term Orientation (LTO) – 48
This dimension expresses how every society has to maintain some links with its own past while dealing with the challenges of the present and future. Spain is a normative country. People like to live in the moment without great concern for the future. This is clearly reflected in their laid back, siesta, take it easy lifestyle and approach to things and situations in everyday life. They desire quick results without delay.
6) Indulgence – 44
This dimension expresses the extent to which people try to control their desires and impulses. Spain is not an indulgent society. They have a perception that their actions are restrained by social norms and feel that indulging themselves is wrong.
All work and no play, would’ve made us dull. And so, living up to the Barcelona spirit, we set off every night to explore the exciting flavours of Barcelona. Researchers by day and locals by night, we sampled tapas, sangria, cerveza and paella.
As the days progressed, I realised that the sharing economy group required a videographer to film their videos, as they weren’t too comfortable operating the equipment and trusted us, media students to do a better job. I volunteered to help them out as I took it as a learning opportunity and believed that I would be doing something that I am passionate about. I wouldn’t get the chance in my group to film interviews as each of us possessed camera skills, I jumped onto their team too to help them.While my priority was the Smart City project, I made sure that interviews for both the teams did not clash.
One of the most memorable experiences for me in Barcelona was the ‘Eat With’ dinner organized by Zoe. I was looking forward to this ‘shared dining’ experience wherein a budding chef serves restaurant style meals at a fixed pricing per person in their house. Prior to the dinner, I wanted to know more about this entity and hence visited the ‘Eat With’ website to learn more about the platform and it’s offering. The website didn’t explain much apart from the menu on offer and a brief introduction to the hosts who were having us over for dinner. I enjoyed the experience and realized that a lot of us do not know about such an amazing platform that promotes budding chefs to start an entity or for foodies who are interested in meeting new people over great food.
Picking up from this experience; I chalked down a plan to re-invent the existing EatWith website for my project in the Digital Narratives course, in order to garner more interest and familiarity with the shared dining concept. The proposal included an introductory video for shared dining and an overall engaging website with video interaction and sharing plug-ins. I wish to pitch this proposal someday to EatWith and if they reject it, I shall turn to it’s competitors.
FILMING INTERNATIONALLY :-
Some of the few things that I learnt on ground while filming internationally were –
Be infinitely flexible – Interviewees may schedule an appointment, cancel it when you reach the location after travelling with the not so light filming equipment on public transport, and reschedule it after you reach back home!
Be respectful of local cultures – you can mix work with leisure! A picnic in the park with an interview in progress. Could it get any better? Respect their rules and customs – you cannot look away/feel shy when you meet your interviewees for the first and probably last time but are greeted with kisses on your cheeks. Be on time – even though your interviewee may take his/ her own sweet time to show up, you have to respect their time and show up before the scheduled time. Have an in – country insider who can help you navigate – Cecelia was our lifesaver when it came to taking the metro/ walking around Barcelona. Become a local – Greet everyone with a Hola and Gracias, ask for agua, bebida, cafe con leche when at the cafe Do your homework – Read up on the place, the people you are going to interview, the organisation they work for. Beware of pickpockets! – Keep an eye, ear, nose out for them. They can strike anywhere, at any time!
With the filming done, the next task was to weave the footage together so that it formed a narrative. While An and Cici weren’t too proactive on location, it was decided that they would lend their skills to the post production of the documentary film.
Back in Melbourne, we scheduled a meeting, so that everyone had a job assigned to them to make the editing process easy. While we all agreed that Jonathan would take on the prime role of editing the footage, we decided to contribute in the tasks that would make his life easier. Cici took on the responsibility to create the graphics for the project; while An and myself were to transcribe the interviews with time codes for editing purposes.
When I was in Fiji for another learning stint, I completed my work and touched base with the team as the deadline for the first cut was approaching. Since I had taken on the role of Producer, it was my responsibility that the team was working as a unit.
After receiving constructive feedback on the first cut, we provided the finishing touches to the documentary such as adding subtitles (which was a very painful task), adding slates with facts and trivia. While the rest of the team worked, it was disappointing that one of our team mates An, didn’t contribute towards the post production of the documentary film. I thought she could lend her editing skills to the post production of the sharing economy documentary; only to be turned down.
I extended my support to the sharing economy team to help them in whatever way I could, though I am no ace at editing. I helped in rearranging the interviews and added a few finishing touches to their first cut. The moral of the story is – where there is a will, there is a way!
The Barcelona Study Tour has been an experience that shall never fade from my mind. Four months down the line, and I still remember each day vividly. I played good cop, bad cop, researcher, co ordinator, camera operator and editor (for the sharing economy team)
and many other roles that have made me a better media producer.
Hasta la vista Barcelona!
¡Con mucho amor!
1. CV & Networking
At the beginning of this course, there were a lot of things that I was very apprehensive about. Networking and finding a work placement in something that I’d like to pursue in the future; seemed like a humongous task. However, now that I’m half way through, I’ve ticked off a few segments.
Beginning with the Networking and CV module, I’ve updated my CV with recent projects that were undertaken and accomplished. An interview shoot with the RMIT Alumni for the online Melbourne Careers Fair 2015 and media production for Partners in Community Development Fiji are the latest additions to the Work Experience segment of my CV. I’ve also included a few of my relevant Master of Media projects that portray my skill set adequately.
I’ve also revamped my existing LinkedIn profile, wherein LinkedIn signals that my profile has reached an ‘Expert’ level. I’ve added a Summary that describes my career goals and the skill set that I possess. In addition to this, I’ve included a Volunteer role with PCDF which reflects social responsibility.
When it comes to Networking, I’ve set the ball rolling thanks to Meg who encouraged me to share my Indian wedding footage that was filmed for my Collaborative Media Project last semester, with the production house (360 degree films) that she is currently working with. The production house required footage of Indian weddings for a show – Indian Wedding Race being produced for SBS set to go on air next year. I was thrilled to find out that the footage that was primarily shot for my project, could be possible aired on television!
Having progressed through these, I’d like to work on a few more aspects of my online professional presence. In today’s social media frenzied world, where even pets have pages dedicated to them, I find it important to have a Facebook page dedicated to my work. A Facebook page that encompasses a wide array of my media projects, is a to – do on the list. I have worked on quite a few video projects, where I have been the camera operator. Developing a showreel, with prime shots from my portfolio will showcase my camera abilities to prospective employers.
2. Work placement
Thanks to RMIT, I am fortunate to have worked with the South Pacific community in Fiji. As a media production intern at Partners in Community Development Fiji (PCDF), I interviewed a few farmers benefitting from the PHVA agricultural program of PCDF in the rural area of Nadarivatu for the PCDF website. We’ve always pictured Fiji as a holiday getaway. However, beyond the warmth of the sun and the sand, Fiji among the other South Pacific islands is a prey to climate change which affects the livelihood of the island people. A thoroughly enriching 2 weeks, made me engage with the local culture and it’s work environment. Traveling to the remotest of villages, made me realize the luxuries and comforts we’ve been bestowed upon.
PCDF has been guiding farmers by providing them adequate training with respect to cultivation and distribution of farm produce. They are also instrumental in facilitating a loan scheme for the farmers in the Nadarivatu area, as multiple banks had refused to grant loans to these farmers because of uncertainty of repayment. During my tenure I felt welcome and realized the social good that we as media practitioners can do.
3. Individual Career Project
In my Learning Contract, i had stated that I aspire to produce an interactive web documentary on eco tourism. However, during my stay in Fiji, I was informed by my colleagues at PCDF that inadequate information was available about the South Pacific people on the internet. I was also the first person to interview the farmers on camera, in the Nadarivatu area. I’ve garnered a good amount of footage to create a short film on the ‘other side of the island.’ Set in the midst of the island, in the highest mountains, lies this province which houses 7 villages and 3 settlements. My project could foster aid for the farmers in Fiji.
Collaboration. A fancy sounding word; but is it as fancy as it sounds? Yes, indeed; for me.
A zap back into time and I picture myself sitting in a morning session of an intensive for a course called Collaborative Media Project. Excited at the thought that we’ll be working with each other on a variety of projects, I looked forward to the experience. However, the one thing that troubled me was to think of a concept that I’d like to be the main driver of. While others approached me with their concepts, to receive suggestions and feedback, I couldn’t think of a concept that was strong enough; strong enough to convince people to get them on board with me.
After a great thinking process and consumption of nearly 4 coffees, I felt I had finally hit jackpot with an idea! As an international student in Melbourne, I have always wanted to bring forth student experiences and stories through a video blog format. I found this to be the best opportunity to set the ball rolling. Titled ‘Happyness’, I aspired to produce a video blog styled documentary which followed the lives of international students residing in Melbourne and their idea of happiness; in search of answers to the main issue being – How does one measure happiness – Is it by fulfilling your aspirations? Or is it by being content with what you have? I bounced this idea with Meg and Florence initially, and they found it be an interesting topic. However, I still wasn’t too convinced about the idea since this was just a thought and executing it was a far fetched desire.
I put forth this idea in my Learning Contract. Little did I know, that this would exist just in text!
A month into the course, everyone around me seemed to have taken off with their individual projects while I just sat and pondered instead of acting upon the execution of my idea.
One fine autumn morning, one coffee down, I was hit by yet another idea! I was about a week away from going back home to India to attend my cousin’s wedding. While the excitement of being part of the grand celebrations was seeping in, I had this desire to capture the myriad colours of an Indian wedding. After bouncing off the idea with Patrick and Michael, I felt determined and excited to pull it off. While the initial idea was to cover the story of the bride and groom about their pre wedding jitters and the distinct cultures that they belong to; once I landed in the wedding house, I knew this was never going to happen thanks to the chaos and madness involved in the wedding preparations.
Armed with my Canon 550D, I was present at every ritual, every ceremony ready to capture every single moment. While B roll shots weren’t the problem, the real challenge was to find interesting people who would say interesting things about an Indian wedding. I began to take bytes from family and friends about the couple but eventually started covering opinions on the marriage of distinct cultures and the predominance of rituals and traditions in the Indian society. While I got a mixture of outlooks on the same, I looked forward to compiling this into one amazing video. One of the major setbacks however while filming on location, was the poor audio quality. I prayed that it would be rectified in post production.
Back in Melbourne with some 4 hours of footage, the next step was to pull out rushes that could actually be used. After segregating my rushes into B rolls and bytes, I roped in our class’ Batman – Alex; to help me out with the postproduction. What happened next was the best cultural collaboration ever! As I acquainted Alex with the various Indian rituals and Bollywood songs, we came up with a structure for the movie and titled it ‘A Knotty Affair’ which was most wonderfully designed by Angela Cho Hee Kim. While we had our post production in full swing, Maria popped into the edit suite and made an amazing suggestion of plugging in ‘A Knotty Affair’ on the Humblebeings Facebook page. She wanted to promote the story of the married couple belonging from distinct cultures, who stood by each other and convinced their families; thus uniting one and all by the power of love. The suggestion was brilliant and the result was a cross collaboration. By the end of the production, we had Alex humming Bollywood songs and speaking in an Indian accent!
Moving on from A Knotty Affair, one of the earliest projects on which I was taken on board was Women Go Surfing. I was excited to be a part of this project right from the time Meg had proposed the idea of sharing stories of women surfers in countries where surfing is still a not so popular sport. ‘The Goa Hippy Tribe’ was a point of reference, on the grounds of which we aimed to build an online community of women surfers from across the globe. While I was primarily assigned to be the camera operator for interviews, I did try to involve myself with the social media activity too. While I found it really difficult to touch base with women surfers in India; I did manage to rope in my friend Bhagyashree, an international student from India who was a newbie on the waves. She was delighted at the thought of sharing her surfing experience with me, which I’ve recorded and shared on the Facebook page. While the initial idea was to prepare a doco of all the interviews we’d get on board, we realised that by the end of the semester, the page was a doco in itself. Through this page,we have built an ever growing online community of novice women surfers who promote not just surfing as a sport but also women’s liberation. Working on this all girl team, has been by far the cleanest all girl collaboration ever! No catty fights, no dramas, only girl power!
In Alex’s directorial venture – Inscription, I carried out the role of Production Designer. Propping up the gaming zone of a uni cafetaria and transforming it into a hipster restaurant is no easy task especially when you have to make do with available resources and a zero budget. Alex, the sorted man that he is, briefed me about the look and feel that he desired with the help a graphical diagram, making life easy. I brought in colourful tumblers and cutlery from home, stole my roommate’s fake diamond ring (with her permission ofcourse) and added a plant here and a light there to get the desired set layout. While my work was done pre shoot, I stuck around to lend a helping hand to Alex, keeping a tab on continuity and the actors lines.
When it came it lending a hand in filming Maria’s and Sakshi’s conversation for Humblebeings, I was more than happy to do so. I had now begun to love the camera, exploring it’s capabilities. While I took to the camera with utmost ease, I had to calm the ladies down each time they moved out of the frame while engaged in candid conversation. I took off from the conventional style of keeping a set frame for interviews and focused on capturing the facial expressions and gestures by zooming in and out on the two chicas. Maria gave me the freedom to experiment with this shoot style, helping me build my confidence in recording informal interviews.
Just In Case has been one of my favourite projects that I’ve worked on during my entire Master’s course. As the camera operator, I learnt a lot from Yuri who tripled up as the Actor, Director and Directory of Photography on set. Since it was my first shot at filming a fiction film, Yuri explained his desired shots with utmost patience. The greatest challenge for me while filming, was to control my laughter. We had to retake a shot nearly ten times because each time Yuri burst into his comical actions, I would burst into laughter. The scene in which Yuri is dressed as the old flower lady was the most memorable part of the movie for me, as I just couldn’t stand still or stop myself from laughing.
I was roped in initially as the actress for The Coin. However due to date issues,(yes, now I’m talking like a star);-p I couldn’t make it to the screen. Jokes apart, since I wasn’t going to be in Melbourne during the scheduled shoot dates, CiCi took on the actor’s role. YoYo was kind enough to offer me the role of procuring sound effects and background scores for the film. Sound plays an integral part in every horror film and hitting the right note was of utmost importance. I jumped at the opportunity and most willingly agreed to help out in the sound design of The Coin. Shakun and myself, skimmed through almost every free sound website on the world wide web and shared our discoveries with Yoyo and her team of editors. The most eminent trait of a good director is to be sure and firm about what he wants and that reflected in Yoyo’s choices. She knew what she wanted and hence wouldn’t settle for just any random sound. I loved this dedication that she had towards her creative baby.
One of the earliest projects that I worked on was the Urban Eco Symposium 2015. Though I joined the duo of Alex and Lucille pretty late as they were done with pre production and a had already shot the B rolls, they were very kind enough to take me on their team and most willingly took my help for sound recording for the interview shoot. While I had never operated a boom mic before, I realised that sound recording is no easy task, especially since you have to be still making sure that no ruffling of wires or movement is recorded in the audio. It looks easy, but it’s no child’s play.
In a nutshell, collaboration has been a great experience for me. Through this process, I’ve learnt to accept others suggestions and incorporate it in order to achieve the best results. A major reason for me to choose to study in Melbourne, is the cultural diversity it offers. I’ve always wanted to work in a multi cultural environment and my classroom has provided me the best learning ground to do so. Diverse ideas, working styles, attitudes and opinions have definitely contributed towards making me industry ready once I’m out of uni, out in the open. Thanks to the numerous opportunities offered to me by classmates to operate the camera for their projects, I’ve begun to love videography and shall continue experimenting with the medium. This course has helped me come out of my comfort zone, out of my shell and has helped me develop the necessary technical skills and people skills for the media world. I’ve loved every role undertaken in the projects I’ve worked on and feel blessed to have great, understanding colleagues. This course has made this semester a fruitful and enjoyable one that has created lifelong memories!
They say ‘Do not judge a book by it’s cover.’ I found this saying absolutely spot on for describing my experience during the Post Industrial Media course. Since this course required us to produce videos on a mobile/smartphone I knew that it would be a cakewalk because of the pre conceived knowledge and experience of creating content on a mobile phone. I assumed that since it’s a smartphone generated video, the aesthetics or technical specifications like colour, sound, visual effects, transitions etc won’t be much of a focus. However, that bubble was going to burst. Come the intensives and there I was sitting in the most anxious state of mind, wondering if I were in the right class!
The world of mobile videography is much deeper than you can perceive. It’s evolving every second, bringing forth a plethora of ideas, visuals and content created by not just qualified filmmakers but by anyone ranging from a toddler to a ninety (or even more) year old! The intensives were a window to the expanse of the new media world.
After skimming through a wide range of MINA films in our first intensive, Yuri and myself settled on Lisbon. Live to be our case study. After penning down several affordances that we observed from watching the case study; we mutually agreed upon ‘companion’ to be our affordance. In our understanding we observed that in the travelogue Lisbon.Live, though the traveller is exploring Lisbon by himself; he isn’t alone. His phone, through which he captures the visuals and sounds of Lisbon serves as his companion. With the first task done, the challenge had just begun! Now that we had an affordance in place, the thought of developing 3 sketches on the same, sent me into a frenzy.
With a meagre timeframe of 24 hours, I found it quite challenging to think of concepts for my sketches. With the aim of meeting the deadline, I did not focus on the visual quality or aesthetics of the sketches. I just picked up my phone and shot my first sketch of me holding my friend’s hand as we walked. This being my first sketch, was highly literal in every context to our affordance of companion. The following two sketches were not so literal but weren’t ‘wow’ either. ‘You’ll never walk alone’ is Liverpool Football Club’s anthem. Drawing a relation to this slogan and companionship, I produced my second sketch. The final sketch for Project 2 was based on Siri suggesting me places to eat. When it came to presenting our sketches in the studio, I was highly nervous because it had been ages since I had given a presentation. However, Yuri’s comic timing and witty humour, sailed us through the presentation. Delighted with the fact that we were done with Project 2, little did I know that this was just the beginning.
In the studio that followed the week after, we were introduced to the practice of writing reflections on the issues that we faced in the studio. At first, I didn’t really understand as to how this practice would be beneficial to us, but as I started documenting the issues I faced in the studio and outlining a plan to tackle them and overcome them, I realised that these reflections serve as a diary for myself, helping me gauge my progress through the course. The 4 R’s of Reporting, Relating, Reasoning and Reconstructing were instrumental in structuring my weekly reflections.
The next challenge in line was the execution of the Project 3 tasks. While it was a group assessment, each of us (Yuri, Cho Hee Kim Angela and me) had to produce 5 sketches each based on the criteria outlined in the Project 3 brief. This assessment focused on exploring experimental techniques offered by plugging in video and sound enhancing features offered by smartphone applications and desktop editing softwares. As we divided the tasks amongst the three of us, based on our personal interests, I ended up with the most challenging tasks in my kitty – produce two sketches using a new, unexplored technique. I am no pro at using the features offered by smartphone applications, I therefore found this a difficult hurdle to overcome. I got myself familiarised with Vine only after enrolling in this course which speaks enough about my knowledge about new media.
While this assessment required us to use mobile phone video editing apps, it was my first attempt at downloading such an application on my phone and experimenting with it. The Useful Tools list in the Mobile Videography blog, helped me look at different apps enlisted there, thereafter which I settled for Splice. I found myself liking the usability of the Splice app. It was easy to operate and provided great results. When it came to producing sketches with new, unexplored techniques, I did a bit of research on the internet, looking for ideas that were still evolving in the new media domain. While skimming through the App store on my iPhone, I came across an interesting app called JamCam. I hadn’t come across any other app that offered the feature of recording not just video but also the song you are currently listening to on your phone, into the video. Another exciting app called Hyperlapse from Instagram, hooked me onto the fast moving imagery it created. I looked forward to creating my sketches with the help of these two nouveau apps. I found myself enjoying this process, excited at the achievement of amazing visuals. Never had I dreamt that my iPhone 4 could produce such spectacular results.
When it came to explaining the concept of these sketches, by making a reference to my affordance of companion, I fell short of words and thought that the game is over for me and that I’d have to re do my sketches all over again. However, the fourth R of Reconstructing, learnt while documenting my reflections in this course, gave me the cue to put my act together. All wasn’t lost yet. I jotted down pointers on how my phone is a companion to me and made those references while explaining the concepts of the sketches in my blog posts. With every passing studio, I began to develop a deeper fascination for the medium. I began to understand my chosen affordance of companion better and believed that the ‘Selfie’ sketch explained and supported my affordance most appropriately.
Building on the front camera feature of the ‘Selfie’ concept, I felt positive about producing a video work on the same lines. I was clear in my head that I wanted to experiment with this aspect offered by a smartphone, however I found it challenging to think of an idea that would support this shoot style. Since I would be present in the visuals throughout, I felt that I could incorporate another character’s point of view towards me, which would be served by the front camera on my phone. Since almost every girl has a soft corner for soft toys, I imagined my phone to be a teddy bear that I find on the street. I shot random visuals as I walked on the street. I love Melbourne by night, and hence tried to bring in the various lights that fascinated me. Though I had my visuals ready to be presented for iteration 2, I still didn’t have a soundscape in place since I was still unsure if I wanted the teddy bear to talk out loud about his emotions or if I wanted to display his myriad moods by plugging in the JamCam feature of changing songs with changing moods.
The most constructive feedback that I received in the final studio session, helped me develop my final video work. Moving on from the fiction based plot and linear sequence of events, I replaced the Teddy with my own phone which would complement my frontal camera shoot style. Once I decided to incorporate that inclusion, I restructured the entire video work and titled it ‘You Complete Me’. The visuals shot entirely on the front camera of my iPhone 4, I added drop of water to create the outstanding blurry, out of focus effect. I love writing poems, and so plugged in a few lines that speak about how my phone completes me.
This course has helped me develop not just my mobile video producing skills but has also contributed towards developing my thinking process. Coming from a television background, I’ve always thought that mobile videography is no rocket science. It is only after delving deep into the actualities and functionality of the smartphone, have I actually understood the importance of this ever evolving medium. Pitching an idea through sketches was an absolute winner for me. Documenting my learnings through reflections was another helpful practice. Above all, I started appreciating my iPhone 4. People prefer high end camera phones that offer sharp clarity in pictures. Myself, on the other hand, explored the simplicity of the iPhone 4.
Thus, do not judge a smartphone by it’s cover. Within it lies a treasure trove of opportunities and challenges that has the potential to create something magical!
You Complete Me is a heartfelt dedication to my iPhone 4. It is only during the Post Industrial Media course did I make the most optimum use of my phone and realise it’s true value and importance in my life.
Post the feedback received during the last studio session on my Iteration of the final video work, I was determined to produce a video work that would be more than a work of art, I wanted it to be something that I could relate to, something that I could call ‘myself’. Moving on from the initial idea of showcasing the interior state of a teddy bear, I plugged in the suggestion of using my own phone instead of a teddybear.
As I happen to drop my phone on a busy street, the joy of finding it again gives me a feeling that I’ve found myself. As I walk through Melbourne’s bustling colorful streets at night, I’ve captured the dazzle on my front camera. Lending a blurry, artistic effect is a drop of water and the mist of a rainy day. While my emotions towards my phone are conveyed through the poem I’ve penned down, the tone of the video is set with the acoustic track procured on freesound.org. Working on the lines of my affordance of ‘companion’, I’ve made sure that I’ve shot the entire video on my front camera, emphasizing on the fact that the front camera feature of a smartphone backs up as your companion to record yourself. Hyperlapse from Instagram, paces up the visuals adding to the buzzing city effect. The compilation of visuals, addition of transitions, voiceover recoding, music plug ins, credit titles were executed on Adobe Premier Pro.
To sum it up, You Complete Me is a true reflection on how dependant I am on my phone, just as I am on my companion. I’ve tried to reflect this in the overall packaging and delivery of the videowork – right from the shoot style, to the voiceover, to the soothing soundtrack.
Here’s a link to my Report, illustrating my ideas behind this videowork.
Moving on from the sketches developed in the initial stages of the Post Industrial Media course, I had to literally scratch my brain to think about what I’d want to produce as my final MINA film.
I was sure that I wanted to propel my ideas based on the ‘front camera’ feature of a mobile phone that would reflect in the shoot style of my production. The most eminent functionality of the front camera is the self shoot experience that it offers. Based on this, I tried to think of various concepts for the video that would complement this shoot style. The front camera feature of a mobile phone functions as a companion, helping you shoot yourself without the help of another person.
As I sat in my room, amidst my family of soft toys, I began to think about their point of view towards the world; towards me. Who knew if they felt the same way as we did, thought as we did, but kept things to themselves, like we do? I wanted to convey this ‘interior state’ of a soft toy through a ‘point of view’ styled video. I imagined the video to have a story line starting with me finding a teddy bear abandoned on the street. I pick it up and walk on. However, I hadn’t thought about the structure of the soundscape of the video. The initial idea, was to plug in a ‘voiceover’ of the teddy bear’s mental state – his happiness of being accepted by someone. After a further contemplation, I scrapped the idea thinking of it to be a very ‘done to death’ deal. The idea that followed suit, was to incorporate the functionality of the ‘JamCam’ app which embeds the music you are listening to, into the video you are capturing. Probably, the songs that I keep listening to could reflect the fluctuating moods of the teddy bear. I’m still not convinced enough to execute this, and hence haven’t incorporated any sound in my video.
The iPhone 4 does surprise me sometimes with its ability to create magic even without fancy video enhancing features. A drop of rain on the front camera gave me an amazing ‘foggy’ effect. The Hyperlapse from Instagram app gave me the fast moving effect. I compiled all the visuals captured but couldn’t flesh out a soundscape. At this stage, it’s just an initial attempt to achieving a better, much refined production.
It’s the final studio session and I’m feeling much more confident and positive. After presenting my video work, I’ve realised I have lot more to do. Though this was just an initial step and you can’t really call it an iteration; it’s a great feeling to know that atleast I’m headed on the right track.
Taking it forward from Seth’s feedback, I will restructure my video work in terms of the concept but will stick to the shoot style and treatment. The fictitious plot of trying to portray the mental state of a teddy bear shall be out; and a non fiction, abstract approach to the video work shall be incorporated. I shall replace the ted’s head with my phone.
The freedom that mobile videography offers, should be exploited to the fullest. The blurry water paint effect that I created in my iteration was made possible without using any smartphone applications or desktop editing softwares. A mere drop of rain and misty air created an effect that no digital device/software could create.I shall delve further into this experimental technique of mobile videography.
lalowe11 