Study Task 8 - Reflective Writing

 500 word piece of reflective writing - discussing the practical work undertaken - describing how and why - relating these steps directly to theories explored making explicit reference to them..

My practical piece began as a concept of a digital zine - using animation and moving image to create a visual guide for the internet usage of future generations. I was initially planning on drawing up multiple characters to represent different subcultures online, such as digital feminism, but I ended up having to narrow it down a lot more due to time, and how my ideas changed. When exploring cyberculture and digital behaviours, especially when I conducted a survey of other people me age, what struck me was how repetitive a lot of these behaviours are. People regularly visit the same social media pages and conduct the same few tasks online - shopping, messaging, watching videos - despite the vast wealth of possibilities that this digital access offers. I wanted to capture this within my practical piece, and if I were to be looking at future generations (simply based off predictions and research), it wouldn't be reflective of how we behave today, and would primarily be based around speculative ideas. I instead took photographs of my friends using their phones and laptops (based off information I gathered in my survey), as well as one with my friend using a VR headset. I created an initial collage from these photos, but it was very important to me that the images were in motion, to replicate the endless scrolling and constant bombardment of information that comes digitally. The collage, which consisted only of arranged screenshots, was far too static and didn't convey the mad mess of digital media. I switched to photoshop to create hand-made replicas of social media pages, which adds an element of fantasy to the zine, while still staying in the realm of realism. 

I ended up scrapping the last idea for my zine, going down from 6 pages to 4. The VR element didn't seem to fit with the rest of them - it was going to be highly speculative in comparison, and wouldn't have much to do with social media. Rather, it would have focused on the immersion in filmmaking, gaming, and television, and while those areas would have certainly been interesting to explore, it didn't seem the best use of my time and I would rather refine the other pages to make sure they were the best they could be. 

I feel like the practical pieces I created compliment my essay well - they reflect the current climate of internet usage and the overwhelming nature of digital use, as well as touching on how it is mostly the younger generation online, and the kinds of areas this generation spend their time perusing. As I created the piece, I noticed how much "negative space" there is on these social media platforms - mostly white space, with text and images within it - and also now much of it is based around video content. It is certainly interesting to notice how much of a Facebook feed is based around relatable videos, to appeal to a mass audience, while still feeling personalised to the individual. 

Sentient Object

My sentient object is a mobile phone coming on with a notification, with a little happy face. I created this false phone on a real photo to help the juxtaposition of the two - a very fake looking, almost fantastical object against a real background. I created this object because I am exploring our relationships with the internet and social media, and as a mobile phone is the most popular way of accessing the internet nowadays, it serves as a very valuable object to us. Our phones mean the world to us, so by giving it a personality with a little face, the item is brought to life in the same way we may view a friend or a pet - as a sentient being that matters to us.

Zine modifications

I have completed two pages of my zine, and while I originally intended to do three, I feel like the last one I had planned - of a VR environment - doesn't fit with the other two, so I'm just going to do two.

Creating the pages was a fantastic exercise in using After Effects and getting back to grips with keyframes. I created all the assets in Photoshop, which helped create a lovely handmade feel to the assets. Each page reflects the information I gathered from the survey I carried out - what people most use the internet for. This practical reflects the current climate of internet usage, as touched on in my essay, and how it can seem oversaturated and overwhelming - constantly engaging with multiple programs and tasks at once. Using real photos of people in natural environments adds to the realism - rather than being drawn, these individuals are in familiar situations, which contrasts to the fake-looking animations on the right.

Practical - Digital Zine

For the practical element of COP I've begun to create a digital zine. I created a mock up, using elements that I had collected from my survey about what people use their phones and computers for. I used screenshots from my phone and laptop to create the collages. I wanted the collages on the left to be animated though, and I wouldn't be able to do this in Indesign.

I took the photos I took of Christopher, Hattie, and Jane, into After Effects, where I knew I could get some more animation and movement into the pages.

I created the animated elements in Photoshop, using references and tracing screenshots to get accuracy. I wanted to add a handmade feel to the pages to create something that looks like a traditional handmade zine, rather than the cold screenshots in the initial mockup.

These hand-drawn elements do take a long time to create, but I feel like they are worth it, as they certainly look a lot softer and a lot more aesthetically pleasing.