Week 5 Digital Media

This week lecture was given by PretendTv’s Alex Cannock. He runs two companies the a for mentioned being his most recent project. PretendTv seems to be a showcase for people’s self made videos. Alex made the point that his website aimed to raise viewing figures by featuring certain videos. Established in Manchester in 2011 it is only a rev=cent company but the website seems to have attracted attention and like many other websites of this kind it would seem networking is the key.

His other project was established back in 1999 with a certain Bob Geldoff. The production company is named Tenalp, it refers to itself as a “Multimedia Factual Producer”.  Reading the history of the company some aspects seem pretty unbelievable; founded for £1 and now its turnover is close to 80 million. It is easy to see the concern of the company as Bob Geldoff is hardly quiet about his world views on giving. Education seems to be its primary concern and from the looks of things they are achieving what they set out to do.

During the lecture Alex showed a video that had an interactive angle to it. He then explained how an interactive video receives a greater number of views. Although an obvious concept due to the idea that the viewer once participating may re-do their viewing and arrive at a completely new ending. My own personal view of these interactive videos; they are a novelty much like “DVD games” once they have been completed they are visited no more. In a time concerned with hits on youtube and website visits one can understand the appeal merely through popularity and not real merit. The film he showed was of a house party and one was able to choose different outcomes.  He also made the point that recently producers no longer have to come up with new ideas merely combine to form a hybrid show. This is true, I feel, in some cases but sometimes there are great shows made by doing this. Even the example he gave was a very successful show: Downton Abbey.

Ezra Rushan gave the second part of the lecture. She was involved in the website Creative Times. This seemed to be a journalistic approach to new art forms in and around the U.K. since 2005.  It also put on events for the representations of its different clients. For me personally the website is very useful as I have a graphic design background and thus interest and maybe profession could involve this site. It has the same feel as one of my favourite American art-journals juxstapoze… I am happy to have found a British equivalent. A website similar to this one, I am applying for at the moment, is Huwho that although based heavily in music is looking to branch out into other art forms, I feel this lecture would give me a slight edge. I would also mention that it is a friend’s website but as we have been told constantly networking is key.

Review Sylvia Ji

I thought perhaps the easiest art to review would be the art that I personally love. Sylvia Ji is by far one of my favourite artists. Whether it is subject matter (faces) or the soft change in hues that is captured beautifully by her brush.

Sylvia was born in San Francisco 1982. Her subject matter is consistently woman and of tribal markings. The pieces are often on wooden panels that often give the works a flatter look. That is not to say the pieces lack foreshortening. The modelling also does not de-tract from their realism, although all in all they are conceptual works. I make this point only because of the idealization, if Rodin could paint women.

The paintings up until recently have had a heavy influence of Mexican culture and especially the Dia de los Muertos (picture above). The tribal make up is always heightened with floral decoration that often is different shades of a lustful reds and blues. Her work now, is still heavily influenced by Mexican culture, but more recent work  has seen a shift towards other tribal cultures; Native American and even British.  There has also been a shift from the face to the body of the woman. I would argue that most of her 2011 work retains the celebration of the female yet now it explores a much greater sense of perspective and it is moving from the previous flatter works into a much more realistic angle. Still the celebration is bold and beautiful; floral and feathers. I would say her women are mostly empowered gazing out of the picture straight into her audience.

Sylvia Ji is an artist that is still progressing yet has very much found a unique style. Her work, in my eyes, is alluring, sensual and still mature in its representation.

(here is an interview with the artist from 2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKxF-hHiOa0

Week 4 Sports Journalism

Journalism has never really been something that has appealed to me as my writing style is not one that is read with great ease, or so I’m told. I seem to be similar to Virginia Wolfe in the way that sometimes my audience is lost to my stream of consciousness. I do, however, enjoy sport although it would seem from reading David Anderson’s articles that we may differ in our favourite sport, he seems more football orientated.

He went on to say how sports journalism is a job of awkward hours and due to the small window given for writing it is fast paced. I was unaware that it involved much more than merely writing as one could film or photograph. This then led to the power of Twitter and other internet based news, as we enter further into the digital age. One could argue that these blogs are some form of journalism, all retain critical power. I for one mainly use BBC sport online to obtain the latest results. It would make sense rather than buying a paper the next day. It would seem that all news must be available at an instant.

From this lecture I took away the idea that perhaps if I have started a blog I could possibly use it to review thing that have a personal interest to me.

Week 3 Paul Bason- technology

The lecture began with an insight into C.V. writing that really just summarized some common sense that is sometimes easily forgotten when writing an application. I am still trying to create the top paragraph of the form that explains my passion and want for the job in question. My difficulties are manufactured in the fact that I personally am unable to read what I have written back without detecting arrogance or it is just lacking in a genuine feel (also have this problem with blogging; self involved). Thus I have decided much like a reference to ask for the help of someone else. The reference itself I still have to obtain although this is tricky due to little experience in any media based jobs; this is; if I am looking for a job in the media sphere. And so I begin to search out possible runner jobs or free-lance graphic design with little more than enthusiasm.

The second half of the lecture was very enjoyable; although it did not strictly apply to my own interest in professional pursuit. I found the lecture to be very instructive as to what to expect from the future. The fact that people now will be using outdated programs and computers within 3-5 years. This would surely inform us to keep an open mind and try to learn as much as we can from computer software, though the fact we are writing blogs would probably seem alien to a student of even 5 years ago. The stats relied by the film were of interest to me, the vastness of certain numbers and ratios was incredible, he then added that the film itself was dated by 3 years. The lecture focused on the power of market research and how effectively it can be honed to one individual with the power of search history and facebook “likes”. From this lecture I feel the main deduction was the power of technology and networking.

(I also enjoyed the fact about buying puppy food with a Tesco clubcard and within 18 months the card would then give you vouchers for nappies as the market research is so solid.)

Week 2 Networking Important?

This weeks lecture was on the importance of networking socially and with future gain in mind. Jan Moore began the lecture by discussing what was behind networking. I feel that it may be the most important business skill of all, for rarely is work solitary in this social age. I feel that the idea of networking will become a resounding feature of many lectures to come as it is key, in my eyes, to success. I have personal experience with networking whereby after a lecture was given at my previous art college I was able to contact the lecturer and thus secure job interview for a company called 300Million. (picture) This company is heavily involved in creative media but I found the process to be very one sided.                 It would seem to me, and also from the lecture given, that one must really rouse your own mind into work. It is not simply delivered, be more aggressive and seize opportunity.

Rachel Halligan was next to give her advice which I think helped me in many ways as I’m still unsure as to my own personal career path. She left uni not really knowing what she wanted to do. That is until she found producing and thus began her career. She also works in organizing GrimmFest. She then parted wisdom that I found helpful, about drive and motivation. She also made points towards how easy it is to just contact a person: this I have actually used as I have started to ask questions and hopefully in the Spring I should be able to interview a young producer (responsible for “Gold Rush Alaska” among others). Hopefully by then I will have a career path in mind as I am often afraid of wasting people’s time, although Rachel seemed to ease this fear slightly; just be honest.

Fay Schofield was next to share wisdom, much along the same lines. It doesn’t matter if you don’t what you what to do just try lots of things with enthusiasm.

Week 1 Office environment and C.V.s

The lecture was given by a former Manchester met student. He had repeated the second year and thus it showed, to me, that perhaps the course was not for him. This was true as his degree had not led to a job in media but instead he had found a job in admin. . It was my feeling that he had been brought in to show that the course does not have a linearity straight into a work place. This I imagine is only true of degrees such as law and medicine whereby one has chosen the particular job before ucas applications have begun.
I didn’t find it that useful as, having worked in an office environment, I know this is not the sort of job I want to go into. I do not work well in a repetitive environment that he seemed to enjoy; reading the same C.V.s over and over. I was surprised that people included pictures of themselves in their job applications, I suppose it depends on the type of job. I have had some practice at the interview process though probably no enough although the lecturer seemed to be hired after an awful interview; C.Vs must outweigh the interviews on occasion. From this it is possible to argue that whatever degree you do, doors are not closed due to the specific degree earned.
Points were made about networking that I thought were valid as people often use the cliche “it’s all about who you know…”