UNSW and Latin America?
May 7th 2008 22:42
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So here's the deal I made with my dad: If I do uni (UNSW) part-time, I am allowed to travel on a budget whenever I have time off. This means that if I pass whatever course(s) I take next semester, I can spend up to three months getting acquainted with Latin America, for instance.
After experiencing various degrees of revulsion to the many courses on offer for first year undergraduates, I have finally found a film course which doesn't make me angry (yet) - here's the short description available of "MEFT1201: Working with Image and Sound":
Explores the creative and communicative possibilities of film, video and other audio-visual technologies. Presents a wide range of examples, from classics of experimental film to the latest music videos and television advertisements: preparing outlines and storyboards, capturing and generating images and sounds, experimenting with existing images and sounds - the editing process. Explores the creative potential of audio-visual media and deals with the practical problems.
The classics of experimental film? Isn't the whole point of experimental film to subvert the tradition of the classical, canonical body of work? Would experimental filmmakers really want to be referred to as 'classic'? Music videos sounds promising, as I'm a bit of an MTV aficionado, as you might remember from this post. I also love analysing ads, so these short texts (with hopefully montage and quick cuts) should appeal to me... though I take nothing for granted because I have come across many annoying short filmic texts too.
It's not made clear whether 'dealing with the practical problems' and 'experimenting with the editing process' will mean that we create our own video/film, which would be lovely. I have emailed Dr Dolgopolov to inquire about the specific texts we'll be examining, but he appears to be out of office until July so it looks like I'll have to wait.
I'm not, in general, enthusiastic about returning to UNSW. I have a lot of memories of extreme frustration with its system, and the student populace leaves a lot to be desired. However the prospect of travelling for 3 months - whether it be in Latin America, Asia, or elsewhere - is too irresistable, so I'll do my best to put up with the unsatisfactory conditions.
After experiencing various degrees of revulsion to the many courses on offer for first year undergraduates, I have finally found a film course which doesn't make me angry (yet) - here's the short description available of "MEFT1201: Working with Image and Sound":
Explores the creative and communicative possibilities of film, video and other audio-visual technologies. Presents a wide range of examples, from classics of experimental film to the latest music videos and television advertisements: preparing outlines and storyboards, capturing and generating images and sounds, experimenting with existing images and sounds - the editing process. Explores the creative potential of audio-visual media and deals with the practical problems.
The classics of experimental film? Isn't the whole point of experimental film to subvert the tradition of the classical, canonical body of work? Would experimental filmmakers really want to be referred to as 'classic'? Music videos sounds promising, as I'm a bit of an MTV aficionado, as you might remember from this post. I also love analysing ads, so these short texts (with hopefully montage and quick cuts) should appeal to me... though I take nothing for granted because I have come across many annoying short filmic texts too.
It's not made clear whether 'dealing with the practical problems' and 'experimenting with the editing process' will mean that we create our own video/film, which would be lovely. I have emailed Dr Dolgopolov to inquire about the specific texts we'll be examining, but he appears to be out of office until July so it looks like I'll have to wait.
Bonding with the fauna in Peru - awww
I'm not, in general, enthusiastic about returning to UNSW. I have a lot of memories of extreme frustration with its system, and the student populace leaves a lot to be desired. However the prospect of travelling for 3 months - whether it be in Latin America, Asia, or elsewhere - is too irresistable, so I'll do my best to put up with the unsatisfactory conditions.
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Comment by RubySoho
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Hooray for doting Dads!
Comment by postmoderncritic
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Yeah, my dad tries to make all my dreams come true, which is one of the reasons I love him, despite our many disagreements...
You lucky girl, where have you been to in South America already?
Comment by AmyHuang
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And South America - Wow. I loved it there. I want to move there LOL
Comment by postmoderncritic
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I will definitely apply for a student exchange when and if I am eligible... I think you have to have spent three semesters there to apply. I would go to the US... but then, my family might be moving to the US anyway, before I become eligible, so we'll see what happens...
Where in South America do you want to move to?
(Just to make it clear, I referred to 'Latin America' because, in addition to South America, I was also thinking about Costa Rica and Mexico... and even possibly Cuba.)
Comment by Jayne Kearney
Writers In Writing (and other writing)
The film unit sounds interesting and it does read as if there is a practical component. I did Video Production back in my day and loooved editing with a passion. I also love analysing ads and remember standing up in a tutorial and saying that I viewed them as some of the best short films made. All the very cool first years looked at me as if I had just spat up half my lunch on them but my tutor agreed - it wasn't at all acceptable back then to talk about commercial stuff.
I also remember doing a unit on Film and Music and wrote an essay comparing Saturday Night Fever to Wayne's World from a feminist perspective! Oh, the memories.
I say do it.
And if any of the content makes you angry then just scream it to the hilltops and give an oppositional reading of the text! That's what Uni is for, after all.
Sweet studies (and travel) to you.
Jayne
Comment by RubySoho
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White Christmas in Colombia, 1999.
Comment by postmoderncritic
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Your poor friend, that course sounds like it would be quite painful... not because the Bible shouldn't be studied, but because the people who are teaching/studying aren't very likely to offer radical readings of the text. But yes, the idea of travelling for three months (I have only ever done two at a time) compells me to suffer through whatever non-postmodern impulses the lecturer and students put forth. UNSW is one of the more conservative out of the main universities in Sydney, with strong links to the corporate world and is full of priviliged students who care less about learning than graduating with their piece of paper. I survived for one semester back in 2002 then refused to continue. I did a semester at the University of Sydney last year, and found the environment a bit more encouraging, but UNSW is much closer to me, so if I intend to take more than one subject it's best for me to transfer back... Oh well, I have an arrangement in mind!
I hope you're right and there is a practical component. You were clearly the coolest student in your class! I completely agree, short texts can be more appealing to me than longer ones as the creator has less time to convey their message, and this can often lead to marvellously creative films where every second is made dynamic use of. If more longer texts employed the same techniques as ads and music videos I'd be very happy!
Right now I'm working on an analysis which compares Fight Club to Moulin Rouge - in terms of cinematography and use of colour and lighting in particular, mainly. I'm also analysing the episode 'Normal Again' from Buffy the Vampire Slayer from an autobiographical perspective, which is great as the text totally deconstructs the idea of the rational scientific world as an authority. If I'm feeling really ambitious one day, I will do a comparison of Buffy to If on a winter's night a traveller, by Italo Calvino! They are both postmodern mutli-layered texts with many stops and starts.
I strive to be as subversive as possible, but sometimes I'm so sure that no-one wll respond to my opinion in an encouraging way that I hold it back... I disagree with my own stance on this, so we'll see what happens when I start uni again.
Can I ask you when you were studying?
Have a great day,
Epiphanie
Comment by postmoderncritic
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Comment by AmyHuang
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A friend of mine have been to Costa Rice and it's been my goal to go there also
Comment by RubySoho
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enjoy it when you get there.
Comment by Jayne Kearney
Writers In Writing (and other writing)
When did I study...hmmm, I've made myself sound ancient haven't I? I started my communications degree out at Charles Sturt -Mitchell in Bathurst in 1989 (first year HECS was introduced lucky me!) and completed it at Newcastle Uni in 1994 or 95 I think. It wasn't like in the 50's or anything. I just felt a little different to the other students because I was not fresh out of school - having lived in UK for a couple of years first. I quite liked both Unis, but then I tend to be oblivious to a lot of stuff. I didn't realise the student make-up at UNSW was like that - it sounds a bit crap.
I love the sound of your Fight Club stuff - I love that movie. And one of my students has just been doing stuff on Buffy and I got into a whole postmodern discussion with him. He was analysing it in reference to Bram Stoker's Dracula - book and film. He's only in Year 10 but quite brilliant and I loved our discussions.
Good luck with the course, you'll be great!
Jayne
Comment by postmoderncritic
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Where in the UK did you live? I'm heading up there for the first time next month and I can't wait! I plan to see London, Oxford and Stratford-upon-Avon - at least!
Fight Club is probably my favourite movie, though it's very hard to pick just one!
Did you know that there is a yahoogroup for academics who study Buffy? It's called Buffyology. I've met a lot of cool people on it.
Most students I talk to seem to enjoy university more than me... I get really passionate about deconstructing everything in the academic world, and most students just stare at me blankly... luckily I have a friend or two still at UNSW that I can meet up with and complain about the stifling levels of conformity with.