Ode to Media Sluts

2006-11-17T22:32:00.000+11:00

Freedom! (?)

Prima Facie is finally complete! Check out the trailer and website here!

After weeks of sleepless nights spent on slogging over other assignments, editing and editing and editing, it's finally over and I can rest. I actually crashed and slept for almost 30 hours straight because I was sleeping only 2 or 3 hours a night.

The website took a while because the new blogger interface is riddled with problems. The site's up but some people still have not emailed me their details and photos so some links aren't up yet. I also created a DVD menu for Prima Facie, which took up a lot of time. I managed to finish all the editing on time, but rendering and exporting the Prima Facie, together with rendering and burning the DVD menu took very long, so it was handed in a day late on Thursday. And to think I got an extension (till the 15th) as well. Phew.

For my showreel, I also created my own DVD Menu with DVD Studio Pro. I drew my own background and fiddled around with Photoshop for a quite a bit to get the resolution right. It's terrible that what look good on your computer screen doesn't look good on the television. I don't understand why it looks SO DIFFERENT.

Nevertheless, I'm glad it's all over. It's a bittersweet sort of feeling; on the one hand I'm relieved that I can sleep in for as long as I want, on the other, I'm done with school (if I graduate) and that means I'll have to work.

Which means no more sleeping in.

I find that an extremely frightening prospect. But starving to death is even scarier, so work I must. The song "We dig dig dig dig dig dig dig dig..." by the 7 Dwarves in Snow White comes to mind. It is the end of the golden era, and it's time to grow up.

A moment of silence for the death of my student days please. Amen.

2006-10-12T14:19:00.000+10:00

PNR/Editing

I discussed PNR with Rachel last week. I was initially going to compare the short film "industry" in Singapore and Australia, but Rachel thought it would be better for me to concentrate just on Singapore.

That makes sense, cos I'll be working back in sg anyway. Being a media student who's only been here for 1 and a half years, getting PR is like, impossible. But that's alright. I need to move around and explore the world. Haha...

Right, back to PNR, I've gotten in touch with CheeK, Singaporean director of Chicken Rice Wars and Vin, a Singaporean DOP and creative director as my interview sources. I've been fortunate enough to have worked with both of them before I came to Australia, so they readily agreed to my interview.

I've also started devising questions for the interviews and the surveys. I'm conducting an online survey for Singaporeans to determine their attitude towards local filmmakers and locally produced films. It's strange cos local talents don't get much support. Even in the music scene, local musicians don't get that much support. But all that's slowly changing, and I believe that this is the case for Singaporean filmmakers as well.

In case anyone's interested, some good Singaporean films are Eric Khoo's Be With Me and 12 Storeys, Royston Tan's 15: The Movie and Jack Neo's Homerun is pretty good. I can't stand Jack Neo, but Homerun's an adapted version of the Iranian film, Children of Heaven, so it was pretty good. His shows usually incorporate dumb slapstick humour with the most stereotypical characters, but I guess that's why people can identify with the characters. There's no danger of "not getting" the movie cos it's so trite. But who am I to judge. haha..

Anyway, here's a link to Cut, a musical that satirizes censorship in Singapore and taking the piss out of this woman in charge at the Board of Censors. It's filled with with "Singlish" slangs and colloquials, so if you're not Singaporean, you might not be able to follow it. It's still pretty funny though. :)

And here's a link to 576, a pointless/artistic but aesthetic short film about shoes by CheeK. I worked on this with him and this was probably one of the first formal shoots I was involved in (outside of school work, that is), and though I wasn't part of the crew, I learnt a lot from it. Acting sucks, I'd rather direct anytime... It was so gruelling but loads of fun. Enjoy!

Been watching other short films for inspiration for my editing. Will put some links up one day. And now, back to work. Bleargh...

2006-10-06T16:12:00.000+10:00

Media Industries 2
Seminar Self Assessment

Media Industries Day went really well, but unfortunately I was not there to see it. There was, however, an impressive line up of speakers and considering how little time we had to put everything together, I’d say everyone deserves a pat on the back for a job well done. It was an interesting experience having to work together with everyone via internet groups and emails because everyone was so busy it was virtually impossible to decide upon a meeting time outside of class. Most of the times, we just met after classes to discuss certain issues and update others of our progress, but the internet was fundamental in keeping everyone in the loop.

Contribution & Collaboration

I was involved in design with Mel for the poster and gave her several suggestions such as the use of puzzle pieces. Mel did a great job in designing the poster so I found other areas to help out at. I looked at some catering businesses but there were a few people who had just joined the group who took over that aspect instead. I checked out the wine lists and prices for the speakers’ gifts but Shayne got a better deal so that was shelved as well. In the end, I helped Stephanie out in printing and collecting the posters for the event. I helped the boys put up some posters around school as well. As part of the website, I had to clean up the report I worked on with Daniel and Merryn on cross-platform advertising and hand it in, but I was really stressed because neither of them were in Media Industries 2 so it feel upon me to get it done. I managed to get it ready in time but without proper references as the other parts written by my ex-group mates were not referenced and they were unable to give me any proper sources.

Proactive Learning

I dare say I have learnt quite a bit from this experience even though it does not seem that I was greatly involved. I learnt a little bit more about printing and its limitations when I went to check out the printers with Stephanie. I also found out more about wine from checking out the prices; not bad for someone who previously did not know the difference between a Shiraz and a Merlot.
I also learnt that sometimes, one has to be more aggressive to let their opinions be heard. Having so many people plan one event, it was easy to just skive off and not do much. I proactively sought out things to do and help out with, but there just weren’t that many things to do. I suppose I was not aggressive enough, but I tried my best. There were some people who were overloaded with things to do, so I tried to help them out. However, most of them were able to handle the workload and declined my offers.

Helping to plan Media Industries Day also reinforced what I’ve learnt about working in groups before. Communication is essential in keeping everyone informed of each others’ progress to see how things were getting along. The amount of work that was achieved in such a limited time is quite impressive, especially since every little thing was done by the students and lecturers.

I also learnt how to better manage my time. This semester’s increasing workload has put a lot of pressure on me and I feel really stressed out most of the time, unable to sleep well or stay healthy. However, I’m learning to work around all this and get things done. It has not been easy but things are starting to look up.

Participation

On hindsight, I could have tried to be more actively involved in the planning and post-prodcution work, but to be realistic and completely honest, I do have enough time or resources to commit fully in helping out in post-production. I was away for the entire one week break so I was unable to contribute to anything then. Currently, I am struggling on my Production Project 2 post-production by myself as I do not have a group this semester as well. I helped out in various ways in the planning of the seminar, but there were too many people doing the same things so I just got shunted out of the way into something else most of the times. However, I feel that I did make an effort in participating, speaking up to make suggestions at the meetings after the Media Industries 2 classes. While I did not have a fixed and central role in this, I helped out in every other way that I could without jeopardizing the overall project by not delivering or neglecting my other subjects.

Connections & Intersections

The main thing I learnt from this was to not let myself feel or be useless. Over the years, I’ve mellowed out. I no longer am much of a go-getter and more often than not, I blend into the background when there is someone aggressive taking charge of the situation. Back in Singapore where everything was so competitive, I could stand up and make myself heard. However, this spark I had somehow just died out along the way. People here in Australia are much more outspoken and articulate than the students back home and I find this intimidating sometimes, so I took on a more passive stance without even noticing it. This passivity has led to me taking on a diminished role in the entire project.

However, seeing that it went well anyway, it taught me that I need to be more aggressive and proactive to be noticed and get things done. While I did try to be more proactive, I think I could have done more. When I graduate, I need to prove to my potential employers that I can offer something more, that I have an edge over the other graduates so that they will hire me. If all I can do is run around doing odd jobs and errands, why would they even want to hire me? It really got me thinking. I need to work on getting over my fears of voicing my opinions and claiming responsibilities. I do not like being invisible, I do not like being useless, and I do not like not having anything to do.

I do feel that the due credit should be given to those who did get things done because they did a great job. While I did not do that much, I did try my best and I have learnt from this experience. I won’t let setbacks put me down, and I will strive to achieve more from now on.

Overall mark: Distinction

2006-09-22T23:46:00.000+10:00

Prima Facie Pics

Production schedules are impossible to adhere to! We overran that by a bit and the budget by a lot. I'm so broke now. =( The Krispy Kreme fundraiser fell through because they've opened an outlet in the city, so it'd be pretty pointless selling Krispy Kremes if its easily available anyway.

And needless to say, I've been unbelievably busy. Assignments have a tendency to be due all at the same time, I swear. Plus, I'm headed back to good ol' sg for the one week break, so that oughta be fun. :)

Anyway here are some pics taken during the shoot. Not much to offer, but enjoy. :)

Torquay is bloody far. My actors looked like cult members frolicking on the beach. Great weather, good fun and lots of great footage though. :)

More pictures of all us fatigued people.

Editing is turning out to be pretty tough. All the stuff I've edited before are 3 to 5 min short films, so editing the 15min Prima Facie is a daunting task. My FCP skills were a bit rusty, but it all came back to me after half an hour of fiddling around with it. I actually quite enjoy editing, but it's so much work... Rushes look good though, so I'm happy. :) Can't wait to see the final product!

Had some trouble with the FCP files as I was editing on a friend's laptop with ver. 5.1.1 but RMIT labs use ver. 5.04. so Franziska didn't get to see my footage. Luckily Paul Ritchard helped me out. In case anyone has the same problem, you need to export your sequences as XMLs with master clips on the com with the higher version, then reimport them in the com with the lower version. You can export batch list as well, but it doesnt always work. And I still don't know what EDLs do.

Well, at least I learnt something new. Hah...

2006-09-19T06:36:00.000+10:00

MI2: CV Skills

Last week's MI2 class was centered around... writing CVs. I think it's kinda strange that a writing a CV and making a showreel is part of our assignment. It's stuff we're gonna have to do anyway, so why make it a graded assignment?

Nevertheless, it was a very informative class indeed. I learnt quite a bit about CV writing. I'm just gonna regurgitate it all here for my perusal, and anyone else who may be interested in knowing.

What you don't need:
- DOB/Age
- Religion
- Race
- Marital Status/Number of Kids
- High School qualifications
- Nationality (optional, depending on circumstances)

*Don't use sentences
*Be careful of acronyms
*Not more than 2,3 pages
*Avoid cliches

Ask yourself, what is relevant? what does it show? what are they after? Use ACTION WORDS to demonstrate.

Include:
- Personal details
- Education
- Short Course/Certificates
- Volunteer Work
- Employment
- Other skills
- Other languages
- Referees: ensure they are informed and prepped
- Optional extras: interests, professional membership, licenses/accreditations, publications, awards

Cover letters should only be 1 page, about 4 paragraphs long. Make a reference to the ad you saw for the position in first para. WATCH your spelling and grammar.

Well that's it! I think CVs are so self-indulgent. Self-promotion is like self-praise isn't it? And we all know self-praise is no praise.

2006-09-01T18:13:00.000+10:00

MI Day, PP2

I've not been feeling well of late; my health is failing me and it's really annoying. It's funny how you take for granted the ease of good health and working joints. :( Anyway, I missed Media Industries Day, but I wasn't really in charge of anything, so I don't think anyone was inconvenienced. It would have been nice to listen to the guest speakers, but I don't think anyone would appreciate a sneezing, mucous-spraying sick girl anyway.

On to Prima Facie. Settled on all the paperwork and rehearsals have been going well. My locations are more or less finalized as well. Art department has started working on props and other miscellaneous stuff already, but we're still a little behind on the production schedule. I hope everything goes well. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Pictures for the set. :)

Other locations.

Lup and I are planning to hold a fundraising to fund our films. I was thinking of selling Krispy Kremes on school campus. More paperwork to do, oh joy...

2006-08-19T21:33:00.000+10:00

MI2 & PP2

Man, why's there so much work to do?

This seminar we all hafta plan seems really rushed. At least the meeting yesterdy was somewhat productive. I'll be helping out with the poster design and gift packs. There's a lot to do, but there are so many of us, so hopefully, it won't be a problem.

Now, to settle my Media Industries 1 project for the website. The stupidest thing is this: I'm the only one left in the course from my group! Both Daniel and merryn aren't taking Media Industries 2! So naturally I have to do all the cleaning up and I just discovered that none of their work is properly cited!

I could die. *sigh*

I also met Franziska and showed her all the preproduction I've completed for PP2. The storyboard is looking really good, perhaps I will scan them in and put them online. Still working on the safety report and production schedule, but it's all looking pretty good. I never knew pre-production was so much work and involved so much safety procedures!

Casting sure was fun. I got to meet so many weird people in the process, but most of them were nice. I've confirmed most of my cast members already, but there are very few middle-aged actors. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong places.

Everyone, meet Top Row (L-R): Julia and Chad, 2nd Row (L-R): Sarah and Cassandra. I'm really happy with the actors and actresses I got so far, they're really talented and dedicated. Rehearsals!

Settled on one location as well, a friend's place out in the suburbs. She was nice enough to give me permission to shoot at her place. Thanks Jamie, Johanna and Rie! :) Behold, suburbian life!

Right, time to work on that overdue MI1 cross-platform marketing whatnot bleargghhh... Zzz...

2006-06-11T04:22:00.000+10:00

Reflection

This makes me look like a self-important egomaniac blowing my own trumpet. Oh well. I happen to believe in giving due credit to people and yourself for what you have done or achieved, so there. And honestly, I'm not an egomaniac. I'm just a peace-and-rainbow-loving chocolate eater. :)

Role: HD

Initially, my role in the group was to provide information on the case studies. I brought to attention most of our case studies’ ads – the Carlton Draught “This Is A Big Ad” ad, Budweiser “Whassup” ads, the BMW “The Hire” Film Series, The M&Ms “Ms Green” Campaign. I also did some basic research on the advertising and marketing strategies and practices, and how it related to brand awareness and image.

Upon doing more research, I realized that many companies using cross-platform promotions also included viral marketing and branded entertainment. I was to do more research on this trend and we narrowed down our case studies to 3 that we felt aptly demonstrated how integrated cross-platform campaigns were the most effective in achieving their goals.

Towards the later part of our project, the information on case studies was delegated to Merryn, while Daniel focused on 3G technology. I borrowed books, found journals, articles and websites regarding viral marketing and branded entertainment. Over the course of conducting research, I also found many useful examples pertaining to our case studies, which I then passed on to Merryn.

Our biggest problem was arranging a time to meet regularly as both Daniel and Merryn have work commitments. We tried to organize a convenient time for all of us and conducted phone conferences when we could not meet up.

Progress: D

I feel that I have learnt a lot more from this project. My strengths are that I am very resourceful and can obtain a large amount of information quickly. I put in extra effort in sourcing for information, visiting other university libraries, and even checking out online forums to find out people’s thoughts on the topic. I also have an eye for detail, so I find out everything there is to know about the topics that were delegated to me by running advanced searches. I spotted the trend of viral marketing and branded entertainment as alternatives to traditional advertising and expanded on it by searching with different keywords. I did my work consistently, so I did not have to contend with sloppy, last minute work.

My weaknesses are that I sometimes get carried away by one topic and spend too much time on it. I also tended to deviate into the case studies and wasted some time on them. I did not have to do so as it was Merryn’s task, but it aided her in her share of the report. I also tend to amass too much information which wasted time because there was so much for me to go through.

Strategies: C

I started out with internet searches on related topics and narrowed the field down from there. I visited libraries and found relevant books and journals. I also located many websites and video clips that illustrated the points of our research, all of them can be seen on my blog. However, because viral marketing is a relatively new phenomenon, most of the more useful information came from the internet.

I found that merely running searches on search engines gave me a lot of irrelevant material. I had to use specific keywords and made use of advanced searches to fine tune them. My tenacity was also rewarded when I went through the countless search results and paid attention to the details to make sure I got the important points. While it is time consuming, I feel that I got a lot more out of it rather than just skimming through what I found.

In collaborating with my group members, we split up the work so that we would have less to worry about. However I felt that this did not really work as our research kept overlapping, which meant that we were wasting our time and resources. I think it would have been more useful if the guidelines we gave each other were clearer and more precise.

However, I found it beneficial discussing my research material with my group mates. In explaining to them what I found, I understood it better. At the same time, they could tell me if I was digressing or keeping irrelevant information that would only clutter up our project.

I also conducted a little survey amongst students to demonstrate the efficacy and reach of viral marketing. Not a single person said that they had not received a forwarded message, or had never forwarded something interesting they found to their friends.

Lastly, I found that by articulating myself on my blog helped gather my thoughts and made my research more streamlined. Because I was writing blog entries and not proper, formal reports, I could adopt an irreverent and tongue-in-cheek tone which made it so much more fun and engaging. In keeping tabs on it also allowed me to reflect on my progress and methods. I think that by making us keep a blog on our progress, I found a fun and effective way of keeping track of the work I had done, so I knew when I had to put in more effort.

Problems: D

As I mentioned earlier, the biggest problem was finding time to meet up and do work together. We tried to resolve it by planning in advance a day that was most convenient for everyone. Because Daniel and Merryn worked and I did not, my schedule was more flexible, so I let them decide most of the time. We met at Daniel’s place in Prahran even though it was more convenient for me to meet them in the city, but I made an effort to make it to meetings on time because it was more convenient for them.

I remember our first group meeting – I was the only one who had done any research at all. Neither Daniel nor Merryn had done much for our first class presentation, so I was very nervous that they would not be prepared for it. Nevertheless, they managed to get some work done in time and I woke up early that morning to compile everything for the class presentation.

Contacting Daniel was not much of a problem, but Merryn often disappeared for days. There was a period of time when Daniel and I were not able to contact Merryn as her phone was faulty. I feel she should have made the effort to inform us even though she was busy with work. I think getting our priorities right is very important. She also missed some meetings and constantly turned up late. I also feel that she did not put in much effort in finding out what she had missed.

The one time I could not make it for a group meeting, I made the effort to call them up and find out more. Daniel and I had to email or call Merryn to make sure she knew what was going on because she did not call us.

That being said, I feel that Merryn did put in effort in her work and did try to participate despite her hectic schedule. I just think she needs to reprioritize and focus on what needs to be done.

Connections and Intersections: HD

In undertaking this project, I found out how tenacious I could be, persevering in my search for more information. I was not discouraged by irrelevant information as I felt that even if it was not relevant, it was still very interesting and useful to know about these things. I have learnt about the postmodern culture and fragmenting markets because if globalization, something I probably would not have known about if not for this project. I think I have developed a very positive attitude that can help me not just in work, but in life as well.

I have also learnt to let go and not be so affected by my group mates’ lack of participation. In the past, I used to be a perfectionist, which meant I hated working in teams. I ended up doing way much more than what I needed to do, and that made me very stressed and the relationships between my group mates and I very strained. This time, I trusted that Daniel and Merryn would do their work properly and did not impose on their methods. In the end, everything turned out alright as well, and I am not as stressed out or highly strung.

In terms of future career development and work, I feel that the research has benefited me greatly. Viral marketing and branded entertainment often work in conjunction with one another, making it an effective method to counter all the ad skipping and blocking technology one other group (The Spice Girls) talked about. In conducting my research for this project, I have learnt a lot more about the consumer culture and how the advertising/marketing sector works. This is very useful as I am planning to set up my own business in the years to come and I will be able to apply what I have learnt in that aspect.

Most importantly, I also see how I can make such research experiences enjoyable and educational. By focusing on things that I was already interested led me to learn so much more about the workings of the consumers’ minds and the ingenious creativity advertisers are capable of.

Overall Grade: HD

I honestly feel that I deserve this grade as I have taken a lot of initiative and put in a lot of effort in this project. I did majority of the preliminary research and provided my group mates with many ideas and examples, especially on the case studies. I worked consistently on the project and did not resort to last minute work. All this can be seen from my constant updates on the project.

In terms of personal growth, I feel that my attitude towards research has evolved to a more positive and productive one. This has impacted on the strategies and styles I have chosen to take on. I now find research not so much of a chore, but a kind of multidimensional “reading” that can teach me unexpected skills and knowledge.

2006-06-07T23:32:00.000+10:00

MI1 Final Presentation

I'm so relieved that it's finally over! Well, not quite, as we still have the final report and self-assessment, but my share of the report is more or less done already. It just needs a little tweaking and proper referencing.

I hate bibliographies. There's this awesome program called EndNote that helps you organize it, but being the computer illiterate fool I am, I don't know how to make it work. Well, to be fair, I have not really given it a chance. But I will! Especially if it means that I will save time and not have to worry about it anymore. haha....

Anyway, we were the last group presenting for Media Industries 1. I think we overran a little but it stll turned out alright in the end. It's a good thing we were last. I found out after meeting Daniel and Merryn that the stuff I had prepared for the presentation was a little out of point, so I ran into the labs to rewrite it before our presentation.

I was presenting on viral marketing and branded entertainment. However, I had included examples and our case studies in my share of presentation, which Merryn was supposed to present on. Because I was sick (food poisoning from nasty fish - DON'T EAT LEATHER JACKETS), I did not attend the lsat group meeting. One of them was supposed to send me more information but I think they forgot, so I prepared my presentation without knowing the structure of it.

I didn't need to change much though. I gave Merryn the information on the examples I had researched on and she included it in her presentation. I just added more information to what I had prepared earlier and took out the case studies.

Communication is very important in the group. I'm not upset that there was a lack of communication within our group as I understand that Daniel and Merryn are very busy working on top of studying. On my part, I make an effort to call, sms or email them for details and just to make sure we're all on the right track.

Merryn has been the hardest to keep in touch with. There was a period of time when the entire week went by without word from her. Daniel and I were calling and messaging her but she just disappeared. We later found out that she got chocolate in her phone, so it was faulty.

She should have informed us earlier, but she was busy with work and other assignments. Because Daniel & I had done most of the research and writing for 3G, viral marketing and branded entertainment, Merryn's in charge of the case studies and compiling the data into our final report.

I hope she manages to get everything done on time. The poor girl seems to be so busy all the time. As for me, I've got 3 other assignments to go before I am liberated. I can't wait. Haha..

No more presentations for this semester. No more scary public speaking. I really need to get over it. I get so nervous beforehand that I hyperventilate and get erratic heart palpitations. Sweaty palms and teeth grinding too. But I think I have improved. I actually make the effort practice so I remember to take deep breaths and slow down so I don't rush through it like a freight train. Baby steps, baby steps. :)

2006-06-02T19:39:00.000+10:00

Amazing Ads

These are two ads that were shot without special effects or green screen. None of that nonsense. Just the camera and the crew (and props of course). Really amazing stuff. This is a kind of viral marketing that attracts people - a buzz is created and people TALK about it, and then it gains momentum and soon enough, EVERYONE knows about it.

Honda Accord
Cog Ad: Makes use of a cog that sets of an amazing chain reaction. Shot in 606 takes. Phwoar!

Sony Bravia
Colour Like No Other Ad: A million colourful balls raining down on the streets. I can't imagine how they cleaned up after that.

Here's the making of the Bravia advertisement if you're interested.

Is it possible to drown in books?

2006-05-26T17:49:00.000+10:00

Dominate Me

"Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?"
"The same thing we do every night, Pinky: Try to take over the world!"

The Future of Media is in artificial intelligence and convergence. The ficitious Googlezon shall reign supreme by monopolizing the media. Can I hear you say "GOD"? In a way, it's similar to the whole concept of free will, isn't it? We think we have a choice, but really, we don't!

Here's an interesting little clip on the fictitious EPIC (Evolving Personalized Information Construct), predicting how Google and Amazon could combine powers and take over the world. And all this in approximately a decade.

You can run, but you can't hide. The boogeyman will still get you.

We should boycott Google, but how are we gonna do that when their services are SOOOOO attractive? I blog on Google-owned blogger, I love my gmail account and Picasa rocks. It's like Photoshop for Dummies, only easier. And sharing pictures has never been easier with Hello. They're all free by the way. We all love free stuff.

Apparently, they own TiVo too. My God, what have we done? We have created a monster! It has gained an unstoppable momentum (like Juggernaut. I just watched X3. Hated the story, but loved the effects. And Jean's beautiful red hair.) and a life of its own. *gasp*

We're doomed I say, DOOMED! I wish I were a mutant. Or God. Life as a puny human is oh-so-boring now.

2006-05-23T16:32:00.000+10:00

iTalk?

There's this GORGEOUS concept of an iPod phone going around, yet another form of viral marketing that can increase brand awareness for Apple even if it isn't a product by them. Very nicely shot too. I want one!

Time to get back to assignments. Whoop-de-doo.

2006-05-19T03:26:00.000+10:00

Democracy

With the recent elections back home in Singapore that I am totally not interested in just cos I know what's gonna happen anyway, I decided to share this just for fun. Enjoy it while burning in your own hell of assignments and deadlines as I am now.

You prolly won't get the Singapore bit unless you're Singaporean I suppose, but let me try to explain. "Cow Peh Cow Bu" literally translated means "Cry Father Cry Mother". It implies that you are making alot of noise as if your parents just died. How delightfully crude Hokkien is. :)

What a joke, what a joke.

DEMOCRACY (in theory)
You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

DEMOCRACY (in practice)
You have two cows. You vote in someone to decide who gets the milk.

DEMOCRACY (AMERICAN)
You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cows drop dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up. Meanwhile, you invade another country for their cows.

DEMOCRACY (BRITISH)
You have two cows. They are both mad.

DEMOCRACY (AUSTRALIAN)
You have two cows. They both take a sicky to enjoy a few Toohey's. After a few too many, the cows attend a barbie. Barbies are generally not a good thing to attend if you're made of beef.

DEMOCRACY (RUSSIAN)
You have two cows. You have some vodka. You count your cows and discover you really have seven cows! You have more vodka. You count them again and discover you have eleventy five cows! You realize there's no such number as eleventy five, and stop drinking to recount the cows. You realize you only have two cows. Then the Russian mafia comes in and takes them both away. You open another bottle of vodka.

DEMOCRACY (FRENCH)
You have two cows. The Government subsidizes all your milking and farming costs. McDonald's buys your produce at market rates, and you make easy money. But you still throw rocks at the nearest McDonald's whenever you get the chance.

DEMOCRACY (AFRICAN)
You have two cows. A militia comes and takes them away from you at gunpoint and ships them to another country where their leader can enjoy them.

DEMOCRACY (NIGERIAN)
We have two cows, which were formerly owned by a deposed politician. If you give us your bank details, we will deposit the cows in your account and cut you in on the profits.

DEMOCRACY (JAPANESE)
You have two cows. A large dairy conglomerate buys them and sells the milk below production cost overseas, but at a huge markup locally. One day, the cows die but no one in the company takes responsibility. But it's okay because the Government will subsidize all losses anyway.

DEMOCRACY (SOUTH KOREAN)
You have two cows. One gets kidnapped by North Korean agents. You dream of their reunification someday.

DEMOCRACY (HONG KONG)
You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt / equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax deduction for keeping five cows. The milk rights of six cows are transferred via a Panamanian intermediary to a Cayman Islands company secretly owned by the majority shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows' milk back to the listed company. The annual report says that the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Meanwhile, you kill the two cows because their feng shui is bad.

DEMOCRACY (CHINESE)
You have two cows. You take care of them. Your local town official takes all the milk from you and makes big bucks for himself by entering a supply venture with an American milk company.

DEMOCRACY (MALAYSIAN)
You have two cows. The religious police separate them for being too close together. You get your milk imported from your neighbour.

DEMOCRACY (THAI)
You have two cows. You sell one of them to Singapore.

DEMOCRACY (FILIPINO)
You have two cows. Unfortunately, milking them is less profitable than sending them to Singapore to work as maids.

DEMOCRACY (IRAQI)
You have two cows. They kidnap their farmer and send video tapes threatening to behead him.

DEMOCRACY (SINGAPOREAN)
You have two cows – 'cow peh' and 'cow bu'. The Government fines you for keeping unlicensed livestock in a flat. Both are then acquired at a significant discount by a Government-linked corporation.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Long live ANARCHY!

2006-05-14T00:03:00.000+10:00

Webcam

This is the Logitech Quickcam Orbit MP. Totally awesome features. I want one!

How clever. :)

2006-05-10T23:53:00.000+10:00

Production Pitch

It went surprisingly well! I'm so glad that's over though. I've never been much of a public speaker though I never seem to have problems talking and talking and talking when it's about nothing.

I just have to work on the SELLING I guess. One of the comments I had was that I didn't push it enough. I have to make them want to BUY my idea. But 10 minutes isn't very long and it's hard to convince anyone of anything in that short span, methinks.

And now I have to write the script and make it convincing enough. How am I gonna show her despair and desperation? How am I supposed to show how much she hates living, how much she hates her existence that she desperately wants to leave it? How can I make people empathize with my protagonist, make them feel how she feels?

And all that within the short span on 15 minutes! Killer.

It's a good excuse to stock up on those dvds to watch for inspiration. Haha.. I love watching movies. It's such a great form of escapism. I get so involved and so sucked in I don't do anything else but breathe and snack on chocolate and popcorn.

It really isn't easy, the kind of work that goes into production. You gotta worry about the lines not sounding too cheesy, you gotta worry about production design and framing, you gotta worry about the audio level & the acting, you gotta worry about so many things! And on top of that, you gotta convince the audience and make a connection with them.

I really need to meditate on this. Auuuum....

2006-05-08T17:32:00.000+10:00

Practice Maketh Perfect

I had a trial pitch with David Carlin today and got some constructive comments to improve on my presentation slides and skills. I'm no longer working with Paul cos of some differences. It's so last minute, but I did the whole powerpoint slide by myself anyway. It's my baby anyway - I came up with the concept and storyline all by myself - so I think it's fair.

Working in a team can make things so seamlessly perfect or a real pain the ass. I don't like to give ultimatums and get upset over little things, but if things are already going wrong from the start, there's no way I will jeopardize my work and results by working with someone who isn't even interested or dedicated in doing his job. I can be harsh when I have to, and this is one of those times I can't just turn a blind eye.

I'm glad that's settled. All I need to do is get some people who are willing to help me in this venture. I'm dreadfully optimistic right now, which is killing me cos I hate people who are too optimistic and enthusiastic. Eager beavers. Like those starry-eyed interns who leap up at a chance to buy coffee. Ugh.

Overall, the trial run was good. I just need to keep to the 10 minute time limit which is difficult. I think the concepts of reincarnation and souls need to be elaborated on or I won't be able to get my point across. Practice! I shall gather some friends and tie them to stakes in my living room. Make them watch me practice and force them to give me useful comments instead of stupid baseless ones.

Yes, I shall do that. Make it a living hell so that my presentation would look so good in comparison. I shall tape their eyes open and force them to watch endless reruns of lousy Singaporean tv drama series.

*evil laugh*

2006-05-05T20:20:00.000+10:00

MI 1 Meeting

No not Mission Impossible, though it does feel like it. Daniel & I met without Merryn for our research project. Merryn's license plate was stolen, so she had to go down to the police station. Haha.. That's a first..

Anyway, we delegated some work and it looks do-able, except that we're all mired in the quicksand of schoolwork and work. There's just so much to do it's crazy!

We decided to drop podcasting because there's very little information on it. It's better to just focus on 3G stuff and viral marketing/branded entertainment. We also decided on the different case studies that we were going to use to illustrate our theory and how they make use of new media technology for cross-platform marketing.

Daniel is focusing on the 3G stuff while I'll be working on viral marketing/branded entertainment. Merryn will be in charge of researching and gathering more information to flesh out and back up our findings.

We shall meet again next week my comrades, and forge a new path to the bright future of new media! Until then, persevere and plod along until we reach our final desination of enlightenment!

2006-05-02T17:24:00.000+10:00

Apple iPod Mini

This ad was created by school teacher George Masters. I like it, it's very psychedelic; a kaleidescope of colours and swirls. It really ties in with the whole viral marketing aspect of our reasearch project. This is the next step in marketing's evolutionary process.

"The ad has caught the attention of marketers, who praise its professional production values and say it's one of the first "pure" advertisements seen on the internet. Though homemade ads are nothing new, most are parodies, protests or political commentaries.

It shows great advertising principles," Stein said. "He's computer-literate, but he's also literate in the language of advertising.... You could take this thing and put it on MTV this afternoon. It's not only good, it's good advertising. People go to college to learn this. He just gets it."
Stein said Masters' ad is the first "straight-up" consumer-produced spot he's aware of.

Stein said he's seen spec ads from agencies made to attract clients, and viral ads created by pros disguised to look grass-roots, but he has not seen a TV spot created by a fan.

Masters said he's quite aware the ad is nothing like Apple's campaigns.
"It's off-brand but that's the point," he said. "That's the fun of being one guy. You're not limited by a style guide or a creative director. You can branch out and think different."
Steve Rubel, a vice president at New York PR agency CooperKatz and author of the Micro Persuasion web log, said evangelistic customers like Masters will increasingly play a role in marketing.

"It's a sign that consumers want to have a role in promoting a product they love," he said. "There's a real trend toward consumer-generated media. People are creating news, they're blogging. People will create marketing as well. This guy is a great example."

Rubel cited the ongoing Spread Firefox campaign, a collective promotion of Mozilla's web browser that includes raising money to buy ad space in The New York Times.
Stories about customer evangelism abound, and word-of-mouth or "buzz" marketing is seen as a big and growing part of advertising. But TV spots are new.

"It's the first one I've seen," Rubel said. "It doesn't mean they're not out there."

"It's customer evangelism," he added. "It's not going to happen for every company, only those with a passion. The Mac platform, and the iPod, have created a core following, a customer passion. People want to spread the love."

He added, "The question is, what will the marketers do? Some will embrace it but some will shun it.... I hope (Masters) gets a job in Apple's marketing department. He certainly deserves it. But I'm surprised Apple hasn't shut it down. They can be very persnickety about their brand and trademarks."

Click here for the full article. Many thanks to Ali for bringing this to our attention. :)

2006-04-28T18:53:00.000+10:00

Presentation
Media Industries 1

The presentation today went surprisingly well, especially since I was so sleep-deprived. I hate presenting. I always end up sounding like an idiotic 5 year old. I don't actually remember much of what I said, but nothing too bad could've happened. Or so I hope. Hah... Oh, but Merryn's report got cut off. I'm sorry! I don't know why that happened!

Bloody internet.

Well, at least we know we're headed in the right direction. Everyone looks like they're doing ok. The next 2 weeks are critical, so good luck everyone! Enjoy the weekend for now, we all deserve this much at the very least.

Anyway, cos the reports take up so much space, I've taken them off and put them on another page. Here are the links to my groupmates' reports in case you're interested.

Daniel's Report
Merryn's Report

Yeah, that's about it. Mine's the entry below this one, and the links to vids are further below in case anyone's interested. Well then, time to get those brain cells working. And dying. Whee.

2006-04-20T20:18:00.000+10:00

Assessment Task 2
Media Industries 1 Individual Progress Report

Research Question
How are new media technologies changing the direction of cross-platform advertising campaigns?

Role in Research Group

Currently, my role in my research group is the same as the other members’ – to conduct fieldwork research and gather existing information on our research question and topics related to it. We had decided to focus our study on several case studies that illustrate how new media technologies have played a part in cross-platform advertising campaigns earlier on. Due to time constraints, we decided to first split up to find and research on the different big budget ad campaigns. After which we would pool our resources together before deciding on which specific ad campaigns to focus and expand on.

After the initial research is completed, the group will meet up to analyze the collected data, discuss what can be done with it, and decide how to proceed with the project. We will then conduct the necessary interviews and surveys as a group or in twos.

Progress

For me, getting started was not as difficult as I had believed it would be. I started my research on what I already knew and was interested in: the Carlton beer “This is a big ad” advertisement, the Budweiser “Whassup!” advertisements, and BMW’s “The Hire Film Series”. I had discussed these examples with my group mates in earlier meetings, and I thought it was a good place to start.

I borrowed books on marketing strategies and how the audience receives advertisements to gain insight on consumer trends and behaviours. The social roles of advertisements gave me a different angle on advertising trends and strategies. I also researched on the means by which these forms of advertising increased their audience reach. The key points that kept popping up were viral advertising and branded entertainment.

As a result of globalization and the commodification of culture, large companies have adopted global marketing strategies that can effectively increase their brand awareness. Viral advertising and branded entertainment have proved to be efficient and more cost-effective than television ads. Instead of seeking out the target audiences, the audiences seek them out on their own accord.

It has become such a popular and widespread phenomenon that there have been recent formations of groups such as the Viral Advertising Association (VAA) and the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA). Many other companies have recognized the efficacy of these techniques and jumped on the viral advertising bandwagon.

Viral advertising is a marketing tactic that exploits pre-existing social networks to increase brand awareness and reaches a large number of interested people at a relatively lower cost – the electronic equivalent of “word of mouth”. It exists in many different forms, such as funny clips, flash animations, interactive games, rewarding referrals that are informative and entertaining enough to compel people to “pass it on” to their friends.

There are several ways this can happen. The main ones are:
• Word of Web
• Word of Email
• Word of Mouth
• Word of IM
• Rewards for referrals
• Communication protocol

The shift away from “grabbing eyeballs” to generating a buzz or hype has inspired many creative new ways of advertising. Some examples are:
• the new M&M “Ms Green” campaign that involves movie trailers, magazine advertisement spoofs, faux interviews with “Ms Green”, websites dedicated to Ms Green
• “Nothing is Impossible” Adidas sporting events for extreme athletes
• Mitsubishi’s advertisement cliffhangers that encourage audiences to find out the ending on the website
• Ford “Ka’s Evil Twin” that shows the car decapitating a cat
• Burger King’s interactive website “The Subservient Chicken” that inspired many other similar websites
• Microsoft’s Halo 2 promotional website to promote the new game
• American Express long format commercials or “Wepisodes” that are never seen on television

I managed to obtain most of the advertisements we could including in the final version of our report. This proves how popular, accessible and readily available these advertisements are. They can be downloaded from websites such as YouTube or Kontraband that allows video sharing or hosting.

These sites can work in conjunction with blogs and are a popular means by which viral advertisements can be spread. It is easy to locate and watch a video on these sites by using a search engine that locates keywords in the video clip descriptions. It can be shared with other people through referrals, or downloaded and sent via email. Peer-to-peer network programmes such as Kazaa or Limewire are also very popular and accessible.

It is interesting to note that many of the popular viral advertisements generated many “spoofs”, or parodies that contribute to increased publicity and public awareness of the brands. For example, the Budweiser “Whassup” series led to many spoofs being made of it with grandmas, animals, and even cartoon heroes the Superfriends.

Those ad campaigns also inspired similar styles or strategies for other brands. For example, the Toohey’s “Beer Rain” ad was a riposte to Carlton’s “Big Ad” success.

Branded entertainment is another phenomenon I was interested in. There have been many large companies who have sponsored televisions shows and movies to position their brands. Many movies feature products by showing the cars the actors drive, the gadgets they use PDAs, the food and drinks they consume or even the clothes they wear. Some examples are Nike sales pitch in the movie “What Women Want”, the sunglasses and mobile phone in “The Matrix” trilogy, the Mini Coopers used in “The Italian Job”, Converse sneakers in “i Robot”.

The BMW film series consists of 8 different short films involving critically acclaimed directors and actors. Every film features the adventures of Clive Owen, a driver for hire who owns a BMW.

First launched in 2001, it was made available online for free until 2005. BMW generated a buzz by releasing the first season for free on DVD with Vanity Fair magazine, and then the entire collection was unveiled during the 2003 Cannes Film Festival. BMW also worked with TIVO to create their own cable TV channel for “The Hire”.

The series was further made interactive by tying each episode together with a series of “sub-stores” that incorporates offline elements. Some episodes feature clues such as telephone numbers that viewers can call to hear voice messages that relate to the plot.

BMW then introduced “The Hire” comic series of six issues that pick up where the series left off. They have also recently commissioned authors to write for the new BMW audio books that can be downloaded off their website. They are designed to last the length of an average car journey.

Strategies

Having already narrowed down the scope of our research project and knowing what I wanted in mind, I found numerous books, articles and statistics on the abovementioned examples and topics that I felt was relevant. There were websites that gave me more information on other examples of cross-platform advertising that I followed up on. The information and theories I obtained helped contribute to what I knew about the subject.

At this stage, the Internet was my main source of research. By rephrasing what I wanted in search engines, I was able to narrow down the search fields and find more relevant information. The links and examples some websites included were beneficial in expanding on what I already knew. It was also easy to find out more about the advertising agencies that handled these large campaigns and see the other works they did.

There is a lot of published material in the libraries – I read up on the many case studies in marketing books to see how I could apply it to my case studies. However, we have not selected the case studies we want to concentrate on just yet, so I did not want to waste time delving in too much into each one. We need to carefully weigh and decide which ones show how they fully utilize new media technologies and make use of cross-platform advertising.

I also looked up e-journal university databases to find the latest information on revolutionary digital marketing and read newspapers as well. There were useful articles on related topics such as YouTube.

Problems Encountered

One of the problems I encountered was information overload. There was so much information out there that it was easy to get sidetracked and go off tangent from my topic. It was also very easy to get drawn into a particular area of the topic and neglect the other, equally important aspects of the research.

While the books I borrowed were rich in information, only selective parts are relevant to my topic. I had to sieve out a lot if useless information, and it was time-consuming to read through everything.

Being a relatively new phenomenon, I found that a lot of the up-to-date information about my topics is mostly from websites and e-journals. While e-journals are usually reliable, the credibility and validity of internet sources will always been questioned.

One other problem I encountered was constantly maintaining contact and communicating with my group members. Everyone was busy with their own work and assignments, so we hardly had time to meet up and discuss our findings.

The strategy of splitting up to conduct research backfired on us as well. What was supposed to help us save time wasted some of our time and resources in the end, as some of us conducted the same research on similar topics. Thus, what we covered as a group was somewhat less if we had all concentrated on different things.

Problem Resolution

I found that I could avoid information overload by being more specific in my searches in library catalogues by narrowing down the fields I search in. I sorted the results by dates in an attempt to sieve out the old material that would have been too outdated and unconcerned with new media technologies. I also read the content pages of books to get an idea of what each chapter was about to save time.

Digression from the topic was avoided by keeping close to my guidelines and referring to the primary and secondary research questions my group came up with earlier. I could also balance out my research material by checking in with my group mates and obtaining feedback from them.

The authenticity of an internet article can always be verified by checking the author’s credentials and reviewing his other publications, if any. A simple online search can establish his credentials.

Maintaining contact and communicating with group members is not hard with the technology we have these days. Emails, phone calls and smses are convenient and quite instant. However, It is finding the time to do so that is the trouble. Better time management to get our priorities right should be implemented. Our group can be more communicative and focused by not letting other subject matters or personal affairs get in the way of work.

Communicating with group members will also allow us to better understand the topic by listening to each other and explaining what we have found as well. Wasting resources can be avoided by being more specific in allocating tasks to each member.

Project Connections & Intersections

Much of the initial interest in this topic was spurred on by personal experience and my interest in film production. I first came across the Budweiser “Whassup!” ads in my early teens when friends first introduced the original ad to me. I started downloading and forwarding the parodies to other people because I thought they were funny.

I thought it was interesting how the audience goes to the ads instead of the ad agencies working so hard to find their target audience. It is also apparent in how many comedians have reached audiences all over the world when their shows are propagated by enthusiasts. Some examples would be Pablo Francisco and Russell Peters. Everyone knew about them, everyone had seen their shows, and everyone knew the jokes.

When I started film production in my tertiary education, I came to know of many short film competitions and festivals that further fueled by interest in short films and production. Eventually, a fellow film student introduced the BMW “The Hire” film series to me and I was impressed by the star-studded line-up for this elaborate ad campaign.

I also conducted more research and downloaded the series for my Production Project 1 class, in which I am supposed to come up with my own short film. I was looking to it for inspiration and ideas. Being a film student, it was also obvious to me when brands position their products on movies and television shows, be it just name dropping or blatant advertising.

In my other class Popular Music & Society, we also learnt about how new technologies are affecting the music industry, namely piracy in peer-to-peer file sharing programmes. This also applies to our topic as many of these viral advertisements are downloaded via these programmes.

Another intersection with this project is my blog. Being a blogger, I understand first hand how effective this electronic “word of mouth” technique is. I put up a link to a site I find particularly interesting, and my friends view it. If a fellow blogger with similar tastes as mine does the same, I will usually take the time to view the link as well.

I feel that all this relevant because it applies to everyone and plays such a large part in our lives. The globalization of companies and the convergence of technologies provide new platforms and opportunities for everyone everywhere. The possibilities are limitless with the new infrastructure being developed for new media technologies. We are offered anonymity, and at the same time we are offered virtual fame. Whatever you want, the world is at your fingertips. This is the future of advertising, the future of media, the future of the world.

2006-04-17T19:41:00.000+10:00

Budweiser

Pure genius. Budweiser has had a number of really creative, memorable ads. Like the Wassup! ads that generated so much publicity that teenagers were running around screaming "Wassuuuuup!" with their tongues hanging out of their mouths like dehydrated dogs. Even back in Singapore where Budweiser wasn't on the shelves or a popular brand of beer, my friends were driving me up the wall with their imitations.

And the spoofs it has generated. Let's not even go there. Some of them are so ridiculously bad, but they sure have raised brand awareness (if some kids managed to convince grandmas to spoof the ad). I will include a few here for your viewing pleasure if you're bored enough.

Superfriends Spoof

Baby Spoof

Grandma Spoof

We're slaves, SLAVES I SAY! Brainwashed by this inane propaganda, shackled to this banality, subjected to this torrent of visual projectile vomit! I have a headache. I need a beer. A bud would really hit the spot. Wassuuuuup.

2006-04-14T00:38:00.000+10:00

BMW The Hire

Here is one of my favourites from the BMW The Hire Series, Beat the Devil directed by Tony Scott. Delightfully amusing, with Clive Owen starring as The Driver, with appearances from James Brown and Marilyn Manson. I might put up the other 7, or I might not. What fickle creatures we humans are.

2006-04-11T02:43:00.000+10:00

Beer Ads

Carlton Draught's This is A Big Ad is a great example of viral marketing. Now how many of you have recieved it in emails, watched it off someone's blog, or downloaded it yourself? I got it through email and sent it to other friends cos I thought it was so retardedly funny. And the scale of productionis just so HUGE it's mind boggling. Toohey's Raining Beer ad is a riposte to this ad.

I've also noticed many similarities in beer ads after all the research I've done. They either inlude slapstick humour, scantily clad women, or both. I don't know, but perhaps this is the extent of how much the male brain can take. Haha... Women are undeniably the more highly evolved species of the two.

2006-04-07T03:58:00.000+10:00

Memory
Thinking Outside The Box

At long last, it is up and ready. I hope you enjoy the fruit of my loins, I mean, labour. You have no idea how much trouble I had to go through for all this. Haha.. Thanks for the helping hand Lup!

You can watch it here or on YouTube.

2006-04-05T23:31:00.000+10:00

The Joys of Editing

I have just spent the last 4 hours re-editing the TOTB Project on Final Cut Pro. My eyes hurt and my neck aches. Four hours of editing sure is gruelling, but I really enjoyed it. I can't explain it, it's like the pieces of a puzzle falling into place everytime you get a sequence right. Or cooking; a bit of trial and error, a dash of this and that to see what looks best.

This time the video really shaped up and we put on the finishing touches for the audio. It was challenging having to work only with the sound effects. I practically had to glue everything together from scratch, working on 6 tracks simultaneously to achieve the right mood. It didn't help that some of the effects were labelled wrongly, or so we believe, because some of them sounded nothing like their descriptions.

I think I used about 10 different types of sound effects. They sounded pretty lame by themselves, but together, it worked out pretty well. Paul, who wasn't present for the shooting and initial editing helped out with the audio and some of the fine tuning editing.

Because of the way it was shot, namely with nothing above the waist, I took a lot more creative liberties and edited it in a style quite different from my usual one. It's a refreshing change of course, and has given me a wider perspective on editing. I used to edit in a more structured, conventional way, but this time I played around with colours and rearranged some sequences that would have looked more boring and predictable. I used repeated frames of walking feet from a low angle shot coloured red to emphasize the danger Georgette was in. I also added in white flashes to complement Georgette's black ones.

In an otherwise boring scene of me following Georgette, I adhered to the original edit of jump cuts but fine tuned it with precise placements and a sort of rythmn. The image of Georgette (or rather, her legs) just walking past the brick wall was replaced one of mine, so that she would be walking out of frame the next second. I kept intercutting both of us so that we replaced each other a few times in that one scene. It's a bit hard to describe, but you might understand it better after watching the video. Even though it was edited in a nonlinear fashion, viewers can still tell that Georgette is being stalked.

I managed to fine tune the chase sequence a little more by speeding up the clip of me swinging a wooden block. It had originally been excluded because I had no strength to lift and swing the block without setting myself spinning like a top or falling down, so it looked really tacky. By trimming and speeding it up a little, as well as zooming in on the clip to tighten the shot, it looked more convincing. It's amazing how much difference it made.

I'm exhausted but pretty satisfied with what we've achieved, considering we didn't have really good footage in the beginning. I will try to put the video up soon. The operative word being TRY.

2006-04-02T22:40:00.000+10:00

ProJack Breef & ConTrack

After presenting our brief in the Media Industries class on Friday, Merryn & I wandered about looking at posters. Haha... And then we sat down to discuss the questions we had included in our prject brief and somehow cancelled a whole bunch of them out. Definitive or "to do" questions were rearranged under Research Design and we managed to streamline the remaining questions by grouping them together.

I guess asking questions is easy, but asking the right ones isn't. Some of our questions were repetitive or irrelevant. In the end we decided to concentrate on the creative aspects, so we had to deal away with the financial direction and distribution questions. We also decided to concentrate on big international brands running cross-platform campaigns to narrow our scope a little more. We also ended up with 3 segragated and streamlined questions each for the Primary and Secondary Questions.

We held a three-way phone conference on Sunday to discussand agree on things before finalizing our parts. I like how we distribute work and conduct phone conferences. It's so adult, even though Merryn and I eventually started talking about clothes! Haha..

Voila, here is the final submited draft of our Project Brief and Collaborative Contract.

How are new media technologies changing the direction of cross-platform advertising campaigns?

Part 1

Background

The group arrived at this preliminary question, through exploring a few different ideas. Advertising was our primary shared interest, and we toyed with questions around advertising and blogging, advertising techniques and media contexts / placements. Another common interest was in new technologies such as 3rd generation mobile phone, the expanding potential of the Internet and pod casting. This led us to question whether advertisers are thinking differently about campaign structures and the changes to this industry that new media potentially brings.

Aims

Explore if campaign strategies or approaches within the advertising industry have changed as a result of new technologies.
Highlight new media technologies and some of the ways in which they are currently used by advertisers.
Explore some of the benefits and limitations new technologies can offer to the advertising industry.
Understand the drivers behind big-budget campaigns and advertising expenditure.
Look at the factors forcing development of new media technologies and observe how they are better than traditional forms of media.
Make recommendations as to how now new media technology can be effectively utilized.

Scope

This research will involve creative members of the advertising and telecommunications industry as well as brand / product managers, academics and audiences / users. We will use a number of different case studies and examples of 3rd generation mobile phone, the Internet and pod casting being used within the advertising industry, focusing on international, cross platform, big budget campaigns. Through speaking to audiences, academics and industry representatives as well as examining various international case studies, trends and articles we will build a body of research around the topic. The essay will be written in Hyper-text format to incorporate video and audio clips, and to highlight case study diversity with the aim for the finished work to be published in an online media journal.

Research Questions

Primary
-Does the development of new media technologies influence the strategies of Advertising Companies? If so how? Explore the pros and cons of this development (the potential for consumers to screen ads etc).
-What is the demographic / audience for new media technology advertising and how does this influence campaigns?
-What are the audience’s reactions to such advertising campaigns – do they buy the product or merely remember the ad for its uniqueness? What is the campaign’s aim; sales or image, and how is the success measured?

Secondary
- What types of brands have the best advertising success through the use of new media technologies?
- In the case studies examined how much motivation do advertising awards / industry recognition provide?
- Are the campaigns moving faster than their audiences (in their ability to navigate the technology)? Or are they simply more selective in their target demographic? Is audience media literacy increasing as a result of this rise in exposure?

Research Design

Research different advertising firms to find the ones that would be most relevant to our topic. Also which representatives from the firms would be most suitable interview subjects.
Current courses lecture notes and relevant lecturer’s writings (particularly important if they are potential interview subjects).
Technology manufacturers to understand the full potential of the features of the new media items we choose to examine, and also potential development directions. They would also be a good resource to find out about different user methods of thwarting ad campaigns.
Interviews – representatives advertising and telecommunications industry as well as brand / product managers, academics, lecturers and audiences / users.
Electronic journals and articles
Historical examples of previous new media forms and their impacts (i.e. TV)
Examining case studies, via brand web sites and examples of new media advertising.
Newspaper ‘new media’ sections.

Outcomes

The desired project outcome is a Hypertext document outlining the overall direction of the project, samples of our research data and results, video and audio grabs to support case studies and highlight points made by our interviewees. The hypertext format will also enable the user to delve more deeply into certain areas of the project that particularly interest them (they may wish to view the entire interview that we quoted a small part of) without us weighing down the structure project and forcing every viewer to view every item. This document will carry our analysis of all the information gathered and any conclusions generated from that analysis. We will also seek to explore any possible recommendations with regard to the interaction of new media and advertising.

Time-line

Week 6 General research (individual)
Week 7 General research, then specific a work allocation
Week 8 Specialized research, arranging interviews, Fri: Individual Progress Report
Week 9 Specialized research, arranging interviews
Week 10 Conducting interviews, editing, post production work
Week 11 Conducting interviews, analysis of information. Fri: Collaborative Work in Progress report.
Week 12 Construct project
Week 13 Construct project
Week 14 Finish Project, prepare for final presentation
Week 15 Wed: Final Presentation, Fri: Submission of Final Project & final blog/journal entry

Part 2

Group Goals

Adhere to project timeline through regular meetings and clear accountabilities.
We aim to meet at least once a week and conduct telephone conferences in the unlikely event that members do not have the opportunity to meet up face to face.
Create a cohesive and logical structure for the presentation of research materials.
Provide thorough exploration of chosen subject matter.
Formulate feasible suggestions and recommendations for interested parties.

Responsibilities

Turn up to group meetings on time.
Evenly distribute the work.
Obtain research material through legitimate and reliable means.
Complete actions by agreed deadlines.
Respect the needs and opinions of each other.
Keep other members of the group informed of your progress / challenges
Share information / resources
Thoroughly analyse findings to generate conclusions and present them together.

Dispute Resolution Procedure

Conflict intervention is our preferred method of dispute resolution. Group members who cannot agree will refer to mediator within or outside the group if required. Group members will raise issues as they arise and not allow resentment build up over time. Group members will respect each other at all times and attempt to sort out differences calmly and openly.

2006-03-29T21:47:00.000+11:00

Shaping Up + 1

I'm pleased. The editing is coming along nicely. I'm surprised I can remember anything at all, but all those shortcuts came to me as easily as they did a year or two ago. I impress me sometimes. Haha..

We have a new member, Paul. He wasn't in class for the first couple of week so he's going to help with the editing even though he wasn't part of the filming. I wish he was though, it would've been easier to have someone handle the cam and concentrate on filming rather than my seizures that made our footage look remarkably similar to Blair Witch.

I got a headache when I watched that by the way.

Anyway while editing, I found that I could get rid of some of the continuity problems by adjusting the size of the clips. By making the subject look bigger, it would look like the stalker was advancing on her. This salvaged some of the previously un-usable clips.

Georgette had a distinct style in her initial edit of the footage, with black flashes and a choppy flow. I kept to it and made it a stylistic feature of the clip by adding timed black and white flashes. I feel it makes the clip more intense and the feelings of panic and fear more tangible. All we need is the right music now.

She also did a great job with the fading blurriness of the victim's POV when she wakes and finds herself bound. I just had to fade up or down from black at some points where she just cut off; I felt they were too abrupt and jarring.

There is a marked improvement from the last time we saw the clip. I see something taking shape - we're not hopeless after all! And despite knowing that we won't really be graded for the videoclip itself, I'd still rather put in my whatever I can and make the best of it.

Here are some silly pics of my roomie and I, only cos they're so funny and I don't want my blog to be any more BOOORING than it already is. Whee!

I really should pick up a hobby instead.

2006-03-28T00:51:00.000+11:00

Ménage à Trois

I've been in Melbourne for about ten months now (gosh, how time flies!) but I am still terrified of taking public transport. That's why I live in the city. I walk everywhere, and only take trams with friends who know the way.

So when we decided to meet at Daniel's place aaaaaall the way in PRAHRAN, I was so sure I'd get lost and end up in New Zealand or something. The last time I tried to take a train to Camberwell, I ended up on the West side of Melbourne.

Yeah, I have an extremely bad sense of direction. Luckily a friend offered to send me there, and Merryn gave me a lift home, so it's alright, I'm still here. Haha..

The meeting was relaxed and rather productive. We discussed all the areas that had to be covered. Daniel was the official scribe. We went home after deciding on the aims and the other background information, but we had to come up with our research questions on our own time and email them to each other.

The good thing about the way we work is that we save time and the work is pretty evenly distributed. We slowly flesh out the skeleton by throwing in suggestions and ideas. However this can only work if all of us adhere to the deadlines we've set and do our assigned tasks properly. It would be impossible to achieve anything substantial if we didn't work as a team.

Initially when we were told in class that we had to work in teams, I wasn't very keen on it. I've had pretty bad experiences with irresponsible freeloaders who did minimal, slipshod work that caused me many sleepless nights and extra work. It also doesn't help that I'm quite a perfectionist. I felt that I worked better alone, without having to deal with other people.

However, once I started working on the project with Daniel and Merryn, it felt really different because my work load was so much lighter having shared it with them. We accomplished much more because we all did our share of work responsibly. They're also easy to get along with and not too serious or boring. I'm very glad to be working with them. It's so much easier when we all work together. :)

Go Team Go!

2006-03-23T23:38:00.000+11:00

Postsecret is perhaps, one of my favourite blogs. One that I actually visit on a regular basis, more religiously than any newspaper or book. It is a fine example of a blog that gained popularity and a huge following of readers (or bloggees?), me included. Exactly what is the appeal of this humble blog?

Postsecret features postcards with secrets sent in anonymously by, well anonymous people. Who have a great need to be heard or something. I suppose that so many people all over the world like it because everyone has a secret, a burden they can't share. And in reading these secret-bearing postcards, some identify with these anonymous secret-keepers and feel less alone in this big bad world.

I dare say that some of these postcards are works of ART borne of strong emotions. Some of them are hilarious, others just stupid. But I've seen some touching ones and a few rare poignant ones that are heartwrenching raw and real. The above is a montage of some postcards from the past few weeks that I like.

I keep following this site because they update every Sunday, but they don't have an archive. Check it out if you please.

2006-03-22T20:11:00.000+11:00

Article from MX, 21st March 2006, Pg 9.

Looks like Australia is finally catching up with the rest of the world! Haha.. Personally, I don't make use of this service, but I can imagine the growing number of corporate slaves who need to check their emails every 5 minutes and be on the go because their whole fucking lives revolve around work work work work work work work.

I think I made a point.

But yes, communication is but a thumb away! The best thing about it is that it's so portable, so mobile, because its on your mobile phone (duh). This would mean higher efficacy and lower costs at least in the near future. And lower costs are always good, especially if you're a poor foreign student. Ahem.

This See Me TV sounds promising. However I am disappointed that women have chosen to use it amateur porn service. But it's their choice, not mine, and isn't that what it's all about now? Choice.

2006-03-21T22:28:00.000+11:00

A Worthy Challenge

When the raw footage for TOTB was dubbed out, we were less than happy with the results. Because the sun was shining so brightly that day, it reflected off the LCD screen so I couldn't see what I was filming clearly. I remember trying to use the viewfinder at one time but my hair just kept getting in the way.

We did not stop to playback any of the footage while shooting because we did not want to mess up the timecodes. It is now apparent that this is a mistake that has cost us quite a bit.

Is is really frustrating, especially since we took several safety shots. But our material isn't really decent enough. Georgette roughly put together our first "draft" that's very choppy with some continuity problems, but it's still work in progress. We accidentally captured people above the waist despite our best attempts.

It's definitely harder than it looks. I could have sworn we were really careful. Sometimes it couldn't be helped because of the angle, and the further you walked from the camera, the "smaller" you get and the upper half of our bodies inevitably got into view. I had to angle the camera downards by putting a book under the back of its base. It was so tedious.

Plus, it was really difficult having only 2 of us on the job. We had to take turns with the camera and in scenes that required both of us to be in shot, I had to look for strange nooks and crannies in which to place the camera. That made it very hard for me to check if the camera had been set right.

I was feeling rather grouchy, especially about the chase sequence. While I was running after Georgette with the camera, I thought it looked alright. But on the big screen, my mistakes were glaringly obvious. I was somewhat disappointed with myself.

But I always love a good challenge. I'm going to try to fix it up good. Final Cut Pro is always good fun, though its been quite a while since I last fiddled with it.

Well at least it has reminded me that if I want to make a good film production, I'll need a good solid team who knows what they're doing. So if you are someone who fits the bill and/or is interested in my script on reincarnation and souls and all that newage mumbo jambo, drop me an email or something. I promise I won't make you join a cult. Thanks.

2006-03-20T20:39:00.000+11:00

Prima Facie
- at first glance -

Inspiration has just reached over and slapped me in the face with a big tuna fish. I'm so psyched! It's been a while since I had an idea as good as this one - great ideas tend to avoid me like the plague and I often get cheated into thinking a stupid idea is a great one. Like when I thought it was a great idea to not sleep for 4 days cos it gave me more time.

This idea sort of pounced on me out of the blue. I'm sure it had been lurking around for a while but I was just too thick to sense it till quite recently. I'm quite keen on it for now, so let me know if anyone would be interested in working with me in sem 2, because I need a really solid crew to realize my vision. Haha... I'm very nice. And I hardly ever bite. *big smile*

I can be quite the perfectionist though. Virgo. You were warned.

Anyway, I plan to explore and visually articulate the supernatural realm of life after death, hinting on the connections we make with people even before we are born. It will probaby come in the form of a short film or documentary-drama. I have obtained the contact number of a past-life regression therapist, but I am still working up then nerve and charm to convince her into an interview.

The idea for my story concept came from religious and philosophical books I read about past life memories and past-life regressions. It's not even a religious thing for me; I'm fascinated by these intriguing possibilities. Psychotherapist Dr. Brian Weiss wrote many books on the subject matter after his patients were successfully treated with hypnotherapy that helped them regress into their past lives and understand some of their fears and issues that they had apparently brought over into their current lives.

His results probably aren't scientifically empirical, but they are undoubtedly interesting. He suggests that we are reborn time and again with the same group of “soulmates” who could be your lover, best friend, parent or child in your life. It uses that theory to explain how some people feel an affinity for, or get along extremely well with people they have just met or do not really know.

I've come up with a plot of sorts already and character development is already underway. It's nature is quite dark, but the message is one of hope and optimism. (HAH, the irony) However, I'm still trying to work out the logistics and how do-able it actually is, especially since we're filming in WINTER. I'm still undecided as to whether it will be in the format of a short film or a documentary-drama. Suggestions anyone? I'd be glad to discuss ideas over hot chocolate or get into a debate about the nature of life and death.

A lot of things are still very if-fy right now, but I do know one thing: I will definitely see this through, cos it's my baby... and I love babies. Oh, and no copying too, cos plagiarism is bad and you don't wanna know how much you'll suffer if you take my baby away.

But if that doesn't work out, I've got a few other ideas on Dreams, Original Sin, Racism and Homogenous Humans.

2006-03-19T10:53:00.000+11:00

Possible Research ?s

Trying to narrow down a research field or question wasn't as easy as I had hoped it would be. Honestly, there are too many factors to consider. Plus, I don't even know that much about the topics at hand. Still I found that in trying to narrow my focus and concentrating on just one aspect produced many different results. Thus I have come up with too many research questions, most of which I am interested in pursuing.

But I can only choose one. I know, I know. Let's not get too ambitious here. I will be meeting with Daniel and Merryn to settle on one before our meeting with Rachel Wilson on 24th Mar Friday, 2pm.

I shall use colours because I like colours and I'm starting to get boring.

How is the increasing popularity of blogging affecting traditional forms of advertising?

How is blogging profitable for bloggers?

How is cross-platform advertising affecting the film industry?

How are new media technologies changing the direction of cross-platform advertising strategies?

How do the technological advances in the telecommunication industry affect internet-based activities?

How is blogging affected by new mobile content delivery systems offered by the telecommunications industry?

How does competition within the Australian telecommunication industry affect the technology and way in which mobile content is delivered?

How does competition within the Australian telecommunication industry change the way mobile phones are used?

I am also interested in another question as well. How are the new media technologies affecting the way Australian youths communicate today? Or something along those lines. I mean, I'm sure it would've had some kind of sociological impact, with all the time spent on MSN and whatnot these days, no?

But I digress. I LOVE COLOURS! And on this happy note, I shall end. :)

2006-03-16T21:30:00.000+11:00

Week 2 Task (wheeee.)

Common Threads

Legal implications of Blogging
- Australian free speech in new media – Defamation?
- How big are blogging audiences – weekly monthly readership
- What market segment reads the blogs?
- Who sponsers bloggers?
- How much revenue is generated by the individual bloggers?

Cross Platform advertising and new media
- How technology is reducing advertising costs and increasing viewership (e.g Carlton Beer)
- Free distribution (e.g. email, peer-to-peer file sharing) is encouraging companies to invest more in creative advertising. For example, funny or clever ads will be forwarded to other people or linked to their personal sites.
- Advertising on Blogs
- Impact this has on traditional advertising strategy / revenue
- What are the implications of selling traditional television programs via new media on traditional advertising?

How new mobile content technologies impact on traditional media
- What are new mobile technologies
- Mobile blog technologies – Camera, video, moblogs
- How television stations plan to work with these changes

Differences

Legal implications of Blogging
- Defamation and laws – what are the rights of independent bloggers?
- Are bloggers subject to the same laws as journalists?

Cross Platform advertising and new media
- None

How new mobile content technologies impact on traditional media
- What is the impact on cross-media ownership laws in Australia?
- Telecommunication drivers for delivering new services
- Mobile content impact on the Music industry

Possible Research Questions

How does the popularity of Blog advertising impact traditional forms of media advertising such newspaper, television and radio?

How are new media advertising technologies changing the creative and financial direction of cross-platform advertising campaigns in Australia?

How is competition within the Australian telecommunication industry driving
new technology content to mobile users?
How is competition within the Australian telecommunication industry changing the content we receive on our mobile phones?
How does competition within the Australian telecommunication industry changing the way we use mobile phones?
How does competition within the Australian telecommunication industry affecting the technology and way in which mobile content is delivered?

Daniel and I are still trying to restructure the last question. I got one that was impossible long and convoluted. Tangled sentences are such good fun.

2006-03-16T11:44:00.000+11:00

Article from The Epoch Times, 63rd Edition, 16th March 2006, Pg 1.

Well well, what have we here? First and foremostly, methinks its a bad idea. As it is, large media companies already exert a huge amount of influence over the media spheres of the world and small local media companies are just getting by, if not struggling to stay afloat in this huge sea of competition.

With these changes, smaller and/or nonprofitable companies stand no chance against the far-reaching crushing hand of monopoly. Armed with truckloads of resources, MONEY and the indisputable legalised government policies, large media companies will force their way into new markets previously unavailable and slaughter all competition, save a few stray nonthreatening ones.

What will happen to variety? To CHOICE? Are the future generations doomed to one-sided synthesized pop fabrications of the world as the media moguls choose to portray? And for what? Their intentions are indubitably to boost the profits of their money-making enterprises, and dare I say it, brainwash the masses?

I dare not even begin to speak of politics. In this era where politics are just another grandscale PR game, it's hard to comprehend how it will affect democracy since opinion polls are strongly influenced by the media's portrayal of running candidates. Moreover, politics are constantly pressured to meet media deadlines and schedules should they want to attempt a decent representation of themselves in the eyes of the public.

If you really think about it, this all seems like a parody of a tennis game where the media giants and politicians are playing, and we are reduced to nothing but vulnerable spectators who have no say in the outcome of this game.

Thank God for internet.

2006-03-14T03:02:00.000+11:00

Journalism

I have only one thing to say about it. No matter how much they scream about freedom of speech and objective reporting, I don't buy it. There are always influences, prejudice, and some big brother up there who's making sure that everyone stays in line.

2006-03-10T02:05:00.000+11:00

Through the Lens

Having missed the first week of school due to my travel agent's incompetence and what looks like a sudden increase of International students flying to Melbourne, I was somewhat apprehensive of not being able to catch up with the class. Morever, it had been quite a while since my last production project, and I was not sure what Australian production was like.

My fears proved unfounded and I was pleasantly surprised to find people more creative and open to ideas. We discussed our ideas and inspirations for the first half of the class.

I don't have a definite idea of what I want to do yet, but I've been toying with the idea of a film that would allow me to be more expressive, creative and radical. An abstract film, perhaps without dialogue, or is shot in a nonlinear fashion. I am very big on details - showing the nuances of feelings people experience. I love exploring secret relationships and subtle body language; unexpressed longing, suppressed rage.

There is nothing more magical than weaving common themes around seemingly different characters in a story that mirrors real life, dealing with real issues.The most fulfilling part of it is when people can actually relate to and connect with my work on more than one level.

David, our tutor, then divided us into groups for the Thinking Outside The Box Project (hereinafter known as TOTB) that had been handed out last week. The theme was Memory, which seemed easy enough, but we had a constraint:

We couldn't shoot above the waist, no matter how gorgeous the people were.

How could we convey the theme of Memory to our audience without shooting above the waist? Together with Georgette, my new partner in crime, we spent about 5, 10 minutes brainstorming before shooting. And then I learned something else - you never really forget what you've learnt, especially if you're passionate about it.

I really enjoy production work, all aspects of it. I actually interned at MTV Asia for half a year doing anything and everything before coming over to Melbourne. It was good exposure and a great experience for me.

Anyway while shooting for TOTB, I was glad I could still remember most of what I learnt. It was hard not having a storyboard and shooting sequence though. We managed to group all the scenes at the same place together so that we didn't have to waste time walking about. We were worried about continuity but didn't want to risk messing the timecodes, so we did not playback to check.

It was a very sunny day and poor Georgette, playing my hapless victim, had to fall down on gravel innumerable times. It's interesting how one contraint could limit us so much, and yet show us so many other ways in which it could be filmed. Resourcefulness is a trait that always brings benefits - we had to find different way of shooting different angles. It was difficult with just the two of us.

I feel that the TOTB Project is a very good concept as it allows us to better understand what we're working with. At the same time, it teaches us new ways in which we could capture scenes to convey emotions in less conventional ways. I probably would not have thought of using some of the techniques we used if we had just been shooting something ordinary.

I hope it turns out well. We'll have to transfer the raw footage for edit soon. I can't wait. :)