CONTENT
1. What is the community that you will make your documentary about? Players of the Wizard101 RolePlayer/multiplayer online game.
2. Why do you think it is a community? Because successful 'mastery' of the game depends upon a player's ability to interact harmoniously with other players, whether it be in joint quests, single-player games where you require additional help, or weeding out those who 'steal' items and exhibit anti-competitive behaviour. Having read 'Remote Communication, face-to-face and the nature of community' and 'Social Networking in Massively Multiplayer Online Games', I will also be addressing the viability of online roleplayer games targeted at the adolescent demographic, and attempting to examine whether this simulated, fantasy environment impacts positively upon a child's developmental sense of community and duty in the material realm.
3. What theory about community have you read that is relevant to issues in this community? Summarise the relevant ideas. The two key theories that I have mentioned above are those put forth by Kevin Harris (2003) and Mikael Jakobsson (2003), respectively. The former argues that remote interaction and encounters are equally as fundamental to a contemporary sense of community development as those which are face-to-face; the latter posits four key concepts (Grouping, Networking, Formal Organisation and Responsibility) and argues how these can be applied in an equal manner between roleplayer games and more archaic, fundamentally ingrained kinds of community structures (in this case, the Sicilian mafia).
4. Are you in agreement or disagreement with these ideas? I am in agreement with Harris' theory to a certain extent, although in the context of Wizard101, I shall be questioning the level of appropriateness for an environment as thus being pitched at an adolescent market. I will be addressing (and thereby implicitly endorsing Jakobsson's four key criterion as part of my structure, and drawing like comparisons between the medieval practice of white wizardry, and the contemporary, young male game player (a seemingly marked contrast to traditional notions of this icon).
5. How can you use these ideas in your documentary? As above - I will be shaping the nature of the content in response to the main issues raised by each theory, often overlapping each other as the structure unfolds. Both theories provide excellent models by which to critique the on and offline behaviour of those exhibited within the Wizard101 online gaming sphere (namely, my cousin).
6. What is the structure of the documentary? (this could be a short treatment of the way you see your documentary unfolding) I basically intend to emulate the traditional/linear style of documentary narrative; that is, to begin with an introduction to the Wizard101 community, and the issue of whether it promotes social participation vs isolation, then to move henceforth into the body of the work. This second chapter will comprise of a brief historical contextualisation, an exploration of the theses that have emerged, establishing the location both in real and virtual terms, moving on to the specifics of the story (as it personally relates to my cousin, but also modelled against myself as I attempt to assimilate a character of my own into the game), the conflicts I grapple with, and the inclusion of other characters and interviewees (my uncle and aunty at this stage). This will then flow into the denoument (an assessment of the success of the attitudes that the community postulates), and finally the conclusion (how well these bode for future thinking and practice about community development).
7. What is the style of the documentary? (you can refer to documentary theory if you know it; if you don't, discuss how you see the relationship between you the documentary maker and your subject, and how that will influence the work you produce. Examples of other documentaries will be relevant) I will be filming this in the style of what Bill Nichols has coined 'Participatory Mode' documentary filmmaking, which is all too apt, considering the very title of the subject it is being created for!!! As with the films of Michael Moore, I plan to become a character within the content itself, as I trace my own voyage into the Wizard101 community - at the guidance of my cousin - so as to illuminate (and document) its true nature.
TECHNICAL
8. What type of media will your documentary consist of (eg audio files, text, stills, video, animation etc) Video will comprise the majority of the format, however some still images & voice-overs will be used (albeit, they will be minimal by comparison).
9. Given that your documentary will be published online, how will you tailor production and post-production to be appropriate (eg image size, frame rate, design issues, copyright)? The documentary will be presented in a typical embedded structure, with the video content being automatically converted for web distribution as far as file size etc is concerned.
10. What are your skills in making this style of media? For second year Prof Comm, I wrote, directed and produced (almost single-handedly) an entire 7 minute documentary, and also had fairly involved roles in all the TV production content for that production major. Post production is where my forte lies, and although I am a little rusty, I should be fine once I'm in the zone.
11. Are you enlisting the help of any crew during the production phase of your documentary? Not on this occasion.
12. Will you need to borrow technical equipment from the Applied Communication techs? If yes, what do you want to borrow? When do you want to borrow it? (You must get the borrowing form signed by your tutor in order to borrow gear, and your tutor must be convinced that you already have sufficient technical skills to use it.) Yes - I'll be borrowing a Mini-DV recorder and microphone, and probably a redhead kit or two.
PERMISSIONS
13. What talent do you need to get release forms signed for? My cousin, aunty and uncle.
14. Are you going to interview any minors? (if yes, you must get their release form signed by their parent / guardian) Yes - my cousin is only 12 years old, but his parents have already given the verbal go-ahead (so I can only assume, will be happy enough to sign).
15. Do you need permission to shoot on location? No special permissions required - the perks of being family I guess.
POST-PRODUCTION
16. What software do you need to edit your documentary? I'll be sticking with good old Final Cut Pro this time 'round, I imagine pretty much the entire documentary will be edited with it, although I may be required to record some voice-over material via ProTools in the later stages of production.
17. Do you have sufficient skills with that software? Yes - although it has been about 2.5 years since I've worked on a production, I tend to pick these things up easily once I'm left to my devices.
18. Do you have sufficient access to that software? Yes - at the university of course, and via the Honours lab (which has 24-hour access).
PUBLICATION
19. What social software environment will you publish your documentary to? The Wizard101 user forums, and possibly YouTube (there are already a number of Wizard101 submissions on the site, but these are mainly how-to type files). I'll probably also publish it to facebook (so that my friends can give me feedback on the work).
20. Is the media you are creating appropriate for that environment? Yes - it is relevant to the readership, and the fact that they are presently appealing for contributions of this sort makes it all the more timely.
21. Have you become a member of that environment? Yes - I've created a character (but have yet to begin playing), my cousin is a subscriber to the forums so he has full access under his privileges.
22. Have you done a test publication? Not yet, but I have published other publications on most of the platforms with past success.
23. Does the environment stipulate any limits (eg file size, dimensions, file types, copyright, legal issues) that you will need to meet? There is no fine print that we can come across on the forums - YouTube files are accepted in the standard MPEG format (and facebook can cross-embed links made directly from there).
24. Are there any competitions or other deadlines that the environment imposes? Thankfully not.
LEGAL
25. Have you got copyright permission for all the content you use? This will be taken care of. Although I have no plans to include any material that is not original (such as pre-existing videos), I will ensure that I have permission to republish them should they become necessary for my documentary.
26. Do you have an appropriate credit list that attributes every work and everyone involved? A list will no doubt eventuate, however given the nature of the content, the majority of the credit will be attributed to my cousin, aunty and uncle.
27. There is no defamation or slander? No risk of either that I can foresee.
28. Any other legal issues? None that are apparent at this stage.
RISK ASSESSMENT
29. What are the most likely things that could go wrong with your project? Given that this is a highly ambitious endeavour (i.e. to cover such a deeply complex theoretical issue), I run the risk of failing to penetrate the heart of the matter if the content is not as engaging as planned.
30. What is your back-up plan if these things occur? Most likely to re-shoot to get the kind of footage that I need, in order to address what is lacking. It becomes apparent fairly quickly in Post whether certain things work or not - so if there are key issues that have not been adequately covered or do not gel with the rest of the piece, I will have the chance to identify these inconsistencies and go about rectifying them.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
31. What is the date of your rough-cut showing? Friday 21st May.
32. What is the final due date? Friday 28th May.
33. When do you intend to start post-production? During the week beginning 3rd May.
34. When do you intend to start production? Filming and interviews will start in the week commencing the 12th of April (just after I’ve had enough time to acquaint myself with the game and prepare a detailed shot list!)
35. Given your production start date, have you already booked any technical equipment you need? Not yet - I have a fortnight to organise this, so I shall be submitting booking forms in the middle of next week (April 7th).
36. How do these dates work in with assessment deadlines from other courses? The dates are spaced apart suitably, so that I can continue my independent research for my Honours thesis alongside my completion of the project (as well as regular blogging committments).
37. If you are using talent, does their availability suit your production schedule? Yes - fortunately my cousin and his family live two streets from where I do, both his parents frequently work from home and he has no weekend commitments in the upcoming months outside of our family get-togethers.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Friday, March 12, 2010
Week 2: Delineating community in binary terms
This morning's lecture discussion centered upon the concept of binary thinking - a method widely employed among communications discourse - and how different theorists have applied this paradigm to their analyses of 'community'.
The first, 'Community v Society', is easily demonstrated by the events of the Victorian Bushfires - whereby authorities initially denied members of the affected communities access to their main road, while a special media convoy had been given permission to enter. In this case, while the individual members of Kinglake and the surrounding towns were at odds with the television news & current affairs' networks, whose desire to 'be the first' to report on location actually superceded their regard for the locals who had suffered most dramatically.
Fortunately, the plans for the convoy's priority entry were foiled, but the relationship between community and broader society had been clearly demarcated - quite ostensibly at the expense of the former. However, the residents' ability to stand united under even the most devastating of circumstances, demonstrates the underlying ethos of strength and unity that pervades classical expressions of a tightly-knit community.
Similarly, the second binary, Country v city, establishes a conceptual polarity between those living within rural and urban spaces. This notion is most famously explored in the work of Tonnies, whose essay on 'Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft' essentially treats the two geographic local as individual kinds of societies, whose mentality and values are more or less diametrically opposed. His extreme views serve to romanticise the authentic, ageless ideal of communal interaction that is not corrupted by the superficial modus operandi that takes places within cities (which appear to be more concerned with the proliferation of the self). The contrast between the two is made distinct by the attitudes towards space: that is, sharing the space with others in a meaningful way, as opposed to merely co-habiting it alongside a myriad of strangers - which creates tension.
The third, lastly, which I began to discuss in one of my ealier posts - is the binary between face-to-face and virtual communities. Though this is a much more recent phenomenon, it argues that the absence of chance or haphazard encounters (when one is continually communicating with those already in their social sphere) results in a sense of loss in terms of communal development. Rather than treating technology such as mobile telephony and the internet as being complimentary to already meaningful social relations, the theory argues that such modes of communication are devoid of the emotional and physical gestures that are essential to maintaining positive community ties.
The reading by Harris elaborates on these absences in far more detail, something which I will come back to in one of my next entries (it is lengthy enough to warrant a separate reflection!).
The first, 'Community v Society', is easily demonstrated by the events of the Victorian Bushfires - whereby authorities initially denied members of the affected communities access to their main road, while a special media convoy had been given permission to enter. In this case, while the individual members of Kinglake and the surrounding towns were at odds with the television news & current affairs' networks, whose desire to 'be the first' to report on location actually superceded their regard for the locals who had suffered most dramatically.
Fortunately, the plans for the convoy's priority entry were foiled, but the relationship between community and broader society had been clearly demarcated - quite ostensibly at the expense of the former. However, the residents' ability to stand united under even the most devastating of circumstances, demonstrates the underlying ethos of strength and unity that pervades classical expressions of a tightly-knit community.
Similarly, the second binary, Country v city, establishes a conceptual polarity between those living within rural and urban spaces. This notion is most famously explored in the work of Tonnies, whose essay on 'Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft' essentially treats the two geographic local as individual kinds of societies, whose mentality and values are more or less diametrically opposed. His extreme views serve to romanticise the authentic, ageless ideal of communal interaction that is not corrupted by the superficial modus operandi that takes places within cities (which appear to be more concerned with the proliferation of the self). The contrast between the two is made distinct by the attitudes towards space: that is, sharing the space with others in a meaningful way, as opposed to merely co-habiting it alongside a myriad of strangers - which creates tension.
The third, lastly, which I began to discuss in one of my ealier posts - is the binary between face-to-face and virtual communities. Though this is a much more recent phenomenon, it argues that the absence of chance or haphazard encounters (when one is continually communicating with those already in their social sphere) results in a sense of loss in terms of communal development. Rather than treating technology such as mobile telephony and the internet as being complimentary to already meaningful social relations, the theory argues that such modes of communication are devoid of the emotional and physical gestures that are essential to maintaining positive community ties.
The reading by Harris elaborates on these absences in far more detail, something which I will come back to in one of my next entries (it is lengthy enough to warrant a separate reflection!).
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Ideology: restrictive or expansive?
Some of the questions raised in reference to the Week 1 reading, included:
1. Can you have community in the city?
2. How vulnerable is it?
3. Is it 'organic' & anti-structure?
4. Can it be thought of as a safe-haven where individuals are nutured, or an ideal wherein individualism is diminished?
5. Does it subsume the individual? (i.e. in saying "united we stand")
Delanty notes that many of the popular theoretical frameworks surrounding community recognise that it can be defined as a term that sets and identifies clear boundaries between its members and other groups within society. While the late 19th century saw the term being defined as a cultural product rather than a political ideal, the twentieth century focused upon a more moral, rigid, traditional understanding of community, being at odds with the rogue-like influences of technology (and what we have come to understand as user-generated content).
[note: I have the rest of this & other posts saved to my work computer - to be retrieved and updated 20/3/2010]
1. Can you have community in the city?
2. How vulnerable is it?
3. Is it 'organic' & anti-structure?
4. Can it be thought of as a safe-haven where individuals are nutured, or an ideal wherein individualism is diminished?
5. Does it subsume the individual? (i.e. in saying "united we stand")
Delanty notes that many of the popular theoretical frameworks surrounding community recognise that it can be defined as a term that sets and identifies clear boundaries between its members and other groups within society. While the late 19th century saw the term being defined as a cultural product rather than a political ideal, the twentieth century focused upon a more moral, rigid, traditional understanding of community, being at odds with the rogue-like influences of technology (and what we have come to understand as user-generated content).
[note: I have the rest of this & other posts saved to my work computer - to be retrieved and updated 20/3/2010]
Monday, March 8, 2010
Getting the ball rolling
....but, the question is, in which direction??
In going over the requisite learning syllabus last Friday, our first piece of assessment (in the creation of a Community theme-based documentary) shall be a Learning Contract (to be published in yep, you guessed it, none other than this very blog!). After we had introduced ourselves, me being the Honours black sheep, we discussed some of the specific communities we belonged to, and also how/why we considered ourselves to be part of them.
The first one that sprung to mind was obvious: The RMIT Community. In the institution of Higher Learning, we - both students and staff - are distinct from our tertiary counterparts at Melbourne Uni, Monash, La Trobe, Deakin or Vic Uni. Though we have a separate TAFE division, much of our cultural heritage is rooted in the slogan 'The working man's college' - which I believe still carries forth throughout many of our degree programs, at least in the Media & Communications stream (as compared with other universities, our emphasis on the practical as well as the theoretical aspects of learning is thought to be significantly greater). Our cultural makeup is diverse and rich, with many of our students (and indeed, a number of the students enrolled in the Masters stream) here to study from abroad.
Several other communities were also brought up: shires, regions of Melbourne (i.e. North, South, East, West or inner/CBD), sporting club memberships, religious groups, mothers clubs, work groups, gym memberships, charities, volunteer groups, ethnic congregations - etc.
The ones I could come up with for myself were:
The Cinema Nova members' community
The Palace Cinemas members' community
The Aussie Farmers Direct staff community
The Jonathan Cainer Internet members' community
The astro.com subscribers' community (and forum)
and to some extent, the live music/hospitality community (I have my security licence - have worked at numerous live venues such as The Espy, The Hifi, The Corner and The Palace).
I have included some of my online memberships because I consider them to be pretty integral to my developed sense of community. I've been a member of several music and band forums in my time, as well as many Australian discussion forums. My interactions with other members on these sites have been nothing but valuable, as it is not always in real life that we can have all the sorts of discussions we'd like with other like-minded individuals! For the more specialised areas of interest, the internet is a very good vehicle for generating discussion and debate among individuals who are not confined to the same space - but rather, are scattered across the globe. And there is nothing more stimulating in the context of intellectual conversation, than the poly-sided views of other people, whose living arrangements and upbringings are at times radically different from my own.
In discussing the purpose of documentary last week, Jenny identified the genre as one that addresses the world in which we live. That is, it offers a tangible representation of the aspects of the world we inhabit and share, in a distinctive sort of way. The fascinating thing about the increased number of cyber and game-based communities is that they are a) increasingly prevalent among the younger generation, and b) experienced in an increasingly subjective manner. Still, sufficient attention must be paid to their many manifestations, as their proliferation can only offer some extraordinarily valuable insight on present-day appropriations of notional 'communities'. In preparation for this week's class, I'll be doing some more thought in regards to this and what possible avenues I could take to explore these ideas.
In going over the requisite learning syllabus last Friday, our first piece of assessment (in the creation of a Community theme-based documentary) shall be a Learning Contract (to be published in yep, you guessed it, none other than this very blog!). After we had introduced ourselves, me being the Honours black sheep, we discussed some of the specific communities we belonged to, and also how/why we considered ourselves to be part of them.
The first one that sprung to mind was obvious: The RMIT Community. In the institution of Higher Learning, we - both students and staff - are distinct from our tertiary counterparts at Melbourne Uni, Monash, La Trobe, Deakin or Vic Uni. Though we have a separate TAFE division, much of our cultural heritage is rooted in the slogan 'The working man's college' - which I believe still carries forth throughout many of our degree programs, at least in the Media & Communications stream (as compared with other universities, our emphasis on the practical as well as the theoretical aspects of learning is thought to be significantly greater). Our cultural makeup is diverse and rich, with many of our students (and indeed, a number of the students enrolled in the Masters stream) here to study from abroad.
Several other communities were also brought up: shires, regions of Melbourne (i.e. North, South, East, West or inner/CBD), sporting club memberships, religious groups, mothers clubs, work groups, gym memberships, charities, volunteer groups, ethnic congregations - etc.
The ones I could come up with for myself were:
The Cinema Nova members' community
The Palace Cinemas members' community
The Aussie Farmers Direct staff community
The Jonathan Cainer Internet members' community
The astro.com subscribers' community (and forum)
and to some extent, the live music/hospitality community (I have my security licence - have worked at numerous live venues such as The Espy, The Hifi, The Corner and The Palace).
I have included some of my online memberships because I consider them to be pretty integral to my developed sense of community. I've been a member of several music and band forums in my time, as well as many Australian discussion forums. My interactions with other members on these sites have been nothing but valuable, as it is not always in real life that we can have all the sorts of discussions we'd like with other like-minded individuals! For the more specialised areas of interest, the internet is a very good vehicle for generating discussion and debate among individuals who are not confined to the same space - but rather, are scattered across the globe. And there is nothing more stimulating in the context of intellectual conversation, than the poly-sided views of other people, whose living arrangements and upbringings are at times radically different from my own.
In discussing the purpose of documentary last week, Jenny identified the genre as one that addresses the world in which we live. That is, it offers a tangible representation of the aspects of the world we inhabit and share, in a distinctive sort of way. The fascinating thing about the increased number of cyber and game-based communities is that they are a) increasingly prevalent among the younger generation, and b) experienced in an increasingly subjective manner. Still, sufficient attention must be paid to their many manifestations, as their proliferation can only offer some extraordinarily valuable insight on present-day appropriations of notional 'communities'. In preparation for this week's class, I'll be doing some more thought in regards to this and what possible avenues I could take to explore these ideas.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
In the beginning...
So, yesterday marked the first week of classes for 2010; in fact, the only face-to-face contact time I have for this entire semester. Lucky me!
After a rather traumatic experience with an elective subject last year, I have to say that even though taking this was basically my only option (being semester one), I am actually really glad that I have! For the simple reason being that after four long (albeit, non-consecutive) years as an undergrad student, everything I have learnt so far has finally come together! to form a glorious whole. In other words, all of the material we covered today made perfect sense to me - and I have been able to form easy linkages with some of the key theoretical ideas, to the frameworks and concepts hammered into my skull over the years.
So much for my belief that my head was a total sieve!!
To me, the interpretation of the term 'transient spaces' can be thought of as somewhat of an open-ended void; wherein the user/consumer brings forth their own subjective experiences and beliefs to synthesise meanings from various forms of media content. These 'spaces' are essentially in a constant state of change, much like society is forever evolving, shifting... and not to mention the complex human mind, which - via its interaction with the mediated realm - is also in a state of flux. It therefore is to be expected that at any given time (such as in the event of a national crisis), that the media and its inextricable communities could easily adapt and co-operate with one-another in a way that engendered clear and concise communication.
Though unfortunate in its devastatingly annihilating effects, The 2009 Victorian Bushfires did illustrate arguably the most effective interaction between Community and Media in recent times. It is also particularly fascinating and pertinent to examine, because of the proximity factor between country and city, and how these two geographic locales can be likened to traditional and emerging views about the nature of community itself.
Following the overwhelming response of human generosity that ensued from last year's events, one thing, we know, is certain: the inextinguishable spirit of 'community' itself has yet proven to withstand the ire of mother nature.
After a rather traumatic experience with an elective subject last year, I have to say that even though taking this was basically my only option (being semester one), I am actually really glad that I have! For the simple reason being that after four long (albeit, non-consecutive) years as an undergrad student, everything I have learnt so far has finally come together! to form a glorious whole. In other words, all of the material we covered today made perfect sense to me - and I have been able to form easy linkages with some of the key theoretical ideas, to the frameworks and concepts hammered into my skull over the years.
So much for my belief that my head was a total sieve!!
To me, the interpretation of the term 'transient spaces' can be thought of as somewhat of an open-ended void; wherein the user/consumer brings forth their own subjective experiences and beliefs to synthesise meanings from various forms of media content. These 'spaces' are essentially in a constant state of change, much like society is forever evolving, shifting... and not to mention the complex human mind, which - via its interaction with the mediated realm - is also in a state of flux. It therefore is to be expected that at any given time (such as in the event of a national crisis), that the media and its inextricable communities could easily adapt and co-operate with one-another in a way that engendered clear and concise communication.
Though unfortunate in its devastatingly annihilating effects, The 2009 Victorian Bushfires did illustrate arguably the most effective interaction between Community and Media in recent times. It is also particularly fascinating and pertinent to examine, because of the proximity factor between country and city, and how these two geographic locales can be likened to traditional and emerging views about the nature of community itself.
Following the overwhelming response of human generosity that ensued from last year's events, one thing, we know, is certain: the inextinguishable spirit of 'community' itself has yet proven to withstand the ire of mother nature.
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