It has been a month since coming back to SBHS. Thankfully, teachers and students who love Jesus have started gathering for their faith and prayers in the school. Also, working and teaching are getting easier and easier. All is good except that I was asked to do step up and take some opposing role for a critical situation of Theatre and Film Studies in SBHS. Theatre and Film Studies have a lot have common with Media Studies of British secondary schools. But the school, which is included in the vocational education sector of SMOE, is demanded to educate more primarily industrialised labour rather than Theatre and Film Studies which seems futile in vocational high schools. The thing is that the constant demand is now being accepted by the controllers of the school.
My Home, Contents Dept.
I am back in SBHS in Korea this week. It has been a year I left the school for my MA course. However, it is hard to believe that it has been a year since the teachers and the kids are nearly same as before. Students in Contents Dept, who turned into 3rd (the final) year of the school, made a brilliant video looking back on their school years. It doesn’t have English subtitle tho, this will be amusing to see their weird taste.
I am so happy to see the kids back again.
Noel Gallager on their fans in South Korea
I am currently reading on subversive youth culture and British Punk culture. I haven’t organised what to say or write about what I’ve read but fan culture is amazing thing. Amazing in every aspect.
Noel loves his Korean fan because he is the person who doesn’t say what he doesn’t feel or agree. This clip could be an evidence of how fan culture or pop culture integrates every humane factors.
#StarringJohnCho
This is spine-chilling.
Choreography in memorial of Sewol disaster
Yesterday, it have been 2 yrs passed since Sewol ferry sank. 304 passengers and crew members died. Most of the passengers were students of a high school They were on their way for a field trip. By the incapacity of the governemt, few people were rescued. What is worse than the accident was the irresponsibility of the government. Their reaction were a huge assembly of absurdity. Throughout the week, I have been stuck in human being’s forgivableness. Can the families forgive what they have been suffered by?
My students of SBHS made a beautiful video in memory of the students who died in the cold water. They are the students who knows what they use their talents for.
Moving image production in school environment
This is a following of the previous post.
- Production of amateurs
It is crucial to note that education is not aimed at professionals but amateur groups (Burn and Durran, 2006). If the focus is on media literacy as an essential skill for everyday life rather than vocational training, it is not necessary to put much effort towards teaching technology. However, nowadays, it is easy to encounter groups of students making and posting their own video clips on YouTube, even though they have not received formal education on video techniques. Over the past decade, it has become comparably easier to acquire cameras suitable for moving images, not to mention high-end cameras on mobile phones. Personal computers, on which editing application can easily be equipped, are present in almost every household. Such easy access to filming and editing tools has led to its widespread use, even in the field of education. Due to the low barriers to the technology of moving image production, we now have a chance to provide moving image education to all students. Burn and Durran (2006) argued that the level of education should be somewhere within the beginners’ level, so that the course would encourage students to follow their interest, rather than extending simply to a small group of passionate students.
In addition, media literacy, i.e. the way people listen, think, draw, talk, design, produce, present and write, should be the focus of media education rather than media techniques. This is because technology is not stagnant; it has changed constantly and will continue to change in the future. Current education places more emphasis on production than analysis (Burn and Parker, 2003). Burn and Durran (2006) maintain that the movie making process in schools can assist media literacy and improve children’s media interpretation skills. They argue that “this experience gives them a more explicit understanding of media technologies, the grammars they use, and the contexts in which they are deployed” (Burn and Durran, 2006). Indeed, production, which is creative and authentic, helps students to comprehend and undertake analysis, which may by comparison seem dry and less exciting. By composing a short film, students can briefly deconstruct existing works and get an enhanced understanding of the components that lie behind moving images.
- Collective knowledge – ZPD
From planning to finalisation, this whole film making process requires teamwork.. Gauntlett (2011) stated that “making is connecting with other people”, because the performance engages with social aspects and enables people to learn and share with each other. The film making process inevitably involves no less than two people: at least one cameraman/camerawoman and one actor/actress (Burn and Durran, 2006). As stated by Burn and Durran (2006), Vygotsky considered that social interaction, which in a class translates to various group work, promotes impromptu ideas. Brabazon (2013) also states that “Vygotsky believed that the hub of ‘development’, in the many meaning of that word, requires consideration of the relationship between humans and their environment.” In addition, the notion of “community of practice” (Lave and Wenger, 1991) suggests that people learn by engaging in situated learning. Whether through a small or big role, participation involves situated learning in a community of collective knowledge.
Indeed, as this was a team project, not everyone in our team had to be an expert in cinematography. As I had prior experience I took the role of cinematographer, while others were in charge of acting, scriptwriting, and hunting background music respectively; we shared skills as well as ideas during the process. As such, when students work on a project together, the outcome will not be that of one individual because the students would have shared their ideas and skills they have mastered. (Jenkins, 2008) indicates that in a participatory culture, in which the entire community assumes responsibility for helping beginners find their ways, people can collectively develop their own skills. Thus, group work, as a learning environment, is an optimal method through which children can enhance media literacy.
- Conclusion
While experiencing the moving image production process during the day, our team analysed and applied film language as well as film techniques that we had prior knowledge of, such as conventional film language gleaned from films, advertisement and TV. Creating a short film requires thorough consideration and determination of the film language which the filmmaker would have already achieved, whether intentionally or not. Even though the creators had not been taught the specific cinematic expression, they would have spontaneously attained knowledge, though not necessarily by intention. As Burn and Parker (2003) indicated, no matter how formal or informal it may be, the process offers chances to re-compose elements from other previous processes. As we did in this practice, students would carefully consider and analyse their experience with and impressions from other moving images because the work had a precise goal – a short and coherent film – and had to be done in limited time.
Movie making in schools should be an activity for casual participants. Compare to decades ago, media devices and opportunities to make video clips have become more common. This shift suggests that media is no longer only for the few students who are dedicated or professionally interested. In addition, another essential part of this exercise is teamwork. Practicing in a community is an opportunity to learn through a process of situated learning. The common endeavour to make a coherent and convincible movie will lead to the team sharing their prior knowledge and knowledge gained through their respective roles.
- References
Bordwell, D., Thompson, K., 2010a. The relation of shot to shot: Editing, in: Film Art: An Introduction. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, pp. 294–346.
Bordwell, D., Thompson, K., 2010b. Sound in the cinema, in: Film Art: An Introduction. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Brabazon, T., 2013. Digital dieting: from information obesity to Intellectual fitness. Ashgate, Farnham.
British Film Institute, 1985. Film Narrative and the Structuralist Controversy, in: Cook, P. (Ed.), The Cinema Book. British Film Institute, London.
Burn, A., Durran, J., 2007. Animation, Moving Image Literacy and Creativity, in: Media Literacy in Schools: Practice, Production and Progression. SAGE, pp. 110–128.
Burn, A., Durran, J., 2006. Digital Anatomies: Analysis as Production in Media Education, in: Digital Generations: Children, Young People and New Media. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ, pp. 273–293.
Burn, A.N., Parker, D., 2003. Analysing media texts, (Continuum research methods series). Continuum, London.
Gauntlett, D., 2011. Making is connecting : the social meaning of creativity, from DIY and knitting to YouTube and Web 2.0. Polity Press, Cambridge.
Jenkins, H., 2008. Why Heather Can Write: Media Literacy and the Harry Potter Wars, in: Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide. New York University Press, New York ; London, pp. 169–205.
Lave, J., Wenger, E., 1991. Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation. Cambridge University Press.
Potter, J., 2012. Digital media and learner identity : the new curatorship, Palgrave Macmillan’s digital education and learning series. Palgrave Macmillan, New York ; Basingstoke.
Sefton‐Green, J., 2005. Timelines, Timeframes and Special Effects: software and creative media production. Educ. Commun. Inf. 5, 99–110.
On techinques: A reflective commentary on moving image production
This is extracted from my module essay on moving image production. I decided to share this to get feedback from colleagues and people for re-evaluation. Production details are removed as the video contains my friends’ appearance. 🙂
In practice, the most important and challenging part for tutors and students would be the operation of equipment. I have used shooting and editing devices for years but other students that lacked experience seemed apprehensive from the start.
- Camera
It is widely acknowledged that technology allows for a range of expression. On the other hand, the features and capacity of the device also constrain creativity. Thus, cinematographic skill is considered to be the most important in image making. The assigned camera, SONY PD-170, has auto features which helps people without much knowledge on camera operation. It also has several user-customized features such as a manual iris, focus, XLR audio inputs and simple mixing controls. However, those with better knowledge of video making would prefer cameras with higher resolution (HD), the 16:9 ratio and 24P, which PD-170 doesn’t support. Video makers with less experience tend to choose a camera which saves images directly to the memory card rather than PD-170, as it records the footage on 6mm DV tape, which needs to be converted additionally to data. However, in some occasions (such as in-camera editing), a DV format may be preferred due to its linear way of recording. As such, each device has its pros and cons; it is important to know the capabilities and limits of the device as it directly influences the boundaries of representation.
- Editing
In terms of post-production, a number of additional ways of expression exist apart from shooting. A few shots of our film were adjusted for brightness, magnified and modified during post-production. For example, in the final shot, we added remarkable zoom-in, which we didn’t have on the raw footage, to strengthen the message by implying a hidden intention through the stare and the facial expression of the second figure. The resizing feature of Adobe Premiere Pro made this possible, and helped us retrospectively remedy the footage.
Indeed, digital software such as Premiere Pro allows cropping and modification of the original shots, which broadens the scope of editing from what was traditionally considered as simply combining of a series of different shots or disposing unnecessary footage such as NG cuts (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010a). The constant development of higher resolutions (e.g. 4K) will allow the cropping process to become more and more common, without raising concerns over reducing the image resolution.
- Sound
As explained above, continuous diegetic sound is important for continuity. Sound shapes our perception and affects our concentration as it occupies our auditory senses, which makes it one of the most influential film making tools (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010b). Though the clip we made does not contain verbal dialogue, sound (such as score or ambient noise) was required for the smooth integration of different shots (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010b). However, as the given devices and the environment were not appropriate for locale recording, we overlapped three different music clips afterwards, which were gathered free-of-charge from online sources. The various musical tracks allowed us to apply different sounds that were appropriate for each part of the storyline. Indeed, according to Bordwell and Thompson, music is the most common type of non-diegetic sound (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010b), which can enhance the mood by, for example, constructing tension.
After completing the group work, I re-edited the clip with sound effects and diegetic sound to match the visual action. This clearly changed the mood, making it seem more genuine and relevant to the image. Some films aim to blur the distinction between diegetic and non-diegetic sound by mixing up the sound effects and the musical effects. This is another way of cinematic experience, as expressed in several Hollywood films (Bordwell and Thompson, 2010b). During the film making process, by combining different type of sound tracks, students can appreciate how sound effects can enhance the impact of the filmed footage.
Tastemakers, communities of participation and unexpectedness
Giggles and chuckles.
Let’s design social media that drives real change.
This TED lectures given by Wael Ghonim, who helped touch off the the Arab Spring through Facebook, makes me speechless. He used to insist to be equipped with the Interent to liberate the sciety, but now his oppinion differes.
The king (of gif and Tumblr) has come!
I am writing about fan culture and Internet culture, so it is my academic interest, not so personal, not irrational fever.
Here is an article, Why Tom Hiddleston is Tumblr fandom’s perfect celebrity.
This article investigates:
how his manner differs with other celebrities on media conference, which TV shows he selected to promote films rather than general interviews and why all these are prefect for Tumblr.
To quote, he is PR genius.
Okay, I admit I am belated. I mean to be in the most influential fandom on the Internet space currently, called Hiddlestoners.
After watching the movie High Rise, of which I really got bored with the storyline to be honest, I got to know he is a real gem. Sorry, l know it is too late to be one of them. I haven’t seen Thor series, which he got initial international fame and, except Avengers. Shame. To confess, I just had known Hiddleston as a famed Hollywood star who occasionally appears on art movies such as Woody Allen’s and Jim Jarmusch’s. I hadn’t been interested in even when so many Koreans seemed crazy about him, the time after he visited the country and appeared on Korean Saturday Night Live.
I am not to say about his background including the high-class education, his class acts, his pronunciation, his physical apprearance, his wit, his glittering eyes and else. (Nevertheless, I admit I beared watching BBC’s incomprehensible Shakespearean movies to the end, Henry 4 and Henry 5, in which Hiddleston stars. And also I have read over an academic journal titled “Adopting Coriolanus: Tom Hiddleston’s Body and Action Cinema”.)
For this type of inappropriate and non-academic issues, I have a separate personal blog (and yes, it is on Tumblr), but I am telling you, his is really really related to my study.
In addition, here is another evidence that he is an Internet gem.: Tom Hiddleston’s 20 Best Tweets.
And lastly, this. 
mojowaejo 