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MICHELLE CANNON
FINAL
Walter
Murch
highlighted
John
Huston’s
seduc6ve
no6on
that
film
is
“’the
closest
to
thought
process
of
any
art’”
(Murch,
2001:60).
This
may
explain
why
we
feel
a
certain
built-‐in
familiarity
and
trust
with
the
medium,
a
readiness
to
surrender
to
the
screen
as
early
as
infancy.
Our
thought
paNerns
are
con6nually
overlapping
and
renewing
themselves
–
as
much
in
sleep
as
in
wakefulness
–
and
as
such,
Huston
suggests
that
the
physiological
act
of
blinking,
which
unconsciously
punctuates
our
percep6on,
is
analogous
with
the
rhythmic
cuQng
of
film.
If
so,
there
is
much
to
be
learned
in
terms
of
how
we
make
sense
of
the
world
from
an
analysis
of
moving
image
texts
and
the
social
and
cultural
processes
involved
in
their
produc6on.
Advances
in
digital
recording
devices,
edi6ng
soTware
and
methods
of
distribu6on
have
impacted
drama6cally
on
informal
prac6ces,
par6cularly
those
exercised
by
young
people.
Burn
&
Durran
argue
that:
Tradi6onal
curriculum
approaches
to
the
cri6cal
analysis
of
literary
texts
can
be
mirrored
in
the
context
of
media
texts
by
using
produc6on
technologies
as:
“tools
of
anatomy
…
to
undo
the
fabric
of
media
texts,
pulling
them
apart
to
see
what
structures
hold
them
together
…
(not)
just
deconstruc&on…
this
kind
of
anatomical
work
also
involves
re-‐assembly,
re-‐presenta6on,
and
a
kind
of
crea6vity
that
is
about
ideas
as
well
as
the
pleasurable
manipula6on
of
the
material
medium.”(ibid:276)
My
account
of
our
DVP
prac6cal
assignment
is
seen
through
a
pedagogical
lens,
one
that
seeks
to:
unpack
the
film-‐making
process,
its
poten6al
and
its
constraints;
define
the
technical
and
conceptual
learning
outcomes
associated
with
edi6ng
and
speculate
on
the
implica6ons
for
current
media
educa6on
prac6ces.
22
It
didn’t
seem
ambi6ous
during
planning;
the
agreed
storyline
just
seemed
a
good
opportunity
for
us
to
have
equal
input
-‐
three
friends
travelling
separately
to
a
happy
mee6ng
on
a
bridge.
We
went
with
a
fluid,
pick-‐n-‐mix
approach
to
shots,
enjoying
experimen6ng
with
different
camera
angles,
shot
distances,
moving
camera
work
and
cutaways;
this
experience
in
hindsight
was
possibly
at
the
expense
of
a
cohesive
narra6ve
and
clear
character
defini6on
in
the
mind
of
the
viewer.
I
took
measures
to
resolve
this
in
the
edi6ng
phase,
but
generally
the
6me
we
could
spend
taking
varied
shots
of
a
set
up,
as
characteris6c
of
single-‐camera
shoo6ng,
was
limited
as
three
individual
story
strands
needed
weaving
together.
We
worked
well
together
as
a
group,
but
at
6mes
there
were
two
co-‐exis6ng
film
visions.
I
filmed
shots
conceptually
at
odds
with
what
I
thought
we
had
agreed
and
knew
I
would
not
be
using
(mutually
so
I’m
sure)
but
we
filmed
them
anyway
for
posi6ve
group
dynamics.
Conversely,
there
were
moments
of
spontaneity
and
improvisa6on
which
worked
really
well.
For
an
effec6ve
crea6ve
collabora6on,
group
members
should
seek
a
balance
between
open-‐minded
compromise
and
an
awareness
of
the
poten6ally
damaging
effects
of
any
“solitary
monolithic
vision”
(Murch
2001:146).
My
previous
filming
experience
had
largely
been
the
un-‐restructured
recording
of
events
(taking
out
the
bad
bits)
as
well
as
linear
issue-‐based
school
projects,
so
undertaking
the
more
complex
task
of
a
6me-‐based
narra6ve
was
squarely
out
of
my
comfort
zone.
Once
a
few
shots
were
‘in
the
can’
however
I
began
to
relax
and
it
felt
as
if
an
accumula6on
of
implicit
film
knowledge
was
given
the
oxygen
of
an
expressive,
crea6ve
outlet.
This
was
fun!
and
it’s
worth
reflec6ng
on
how
much
this
pleasure
is
founded
on
“the
par6cipatory
promise
…
of
access
to
the
movie
dream”?
(Furstenau
&
Mackenzie,
2009:8,
quo6ng
Acland).
We
were
undoubtedly
reproducing
the
Hollywood
con6nuity
style
and
those
of
a
more
Leavisite
persuasion
might
ques6on
the
validity
of
the
unskilled
simula6on
of
the
popular
arts.
Banaji
et
al
cri6que
Scruton’s
tradi6onal,
eli6st
views
on
innovatory
prac6ces
in
architecture
for
example,
which
he
might
equally
have
applied
to
the
novelty
value
of
amateur
film-‐making:
33
“there
is
a
sense
in
which
‘novelty’
is
viewed
as
a
nega6ve,
almost
dangerous,
aNribute
when
proposed
by
those
who
do
not
possess
the
requisite
skill
and
inspira6on
to
maintain
a
link
with
what
is
seen
to
be
the
best
in
the
past.”
(Banaji
et
al,
2006:8)
Others,
on
the
other
hand,
observe
that
our
percep6on
of
crea6vity
is
some6mes
clouded
by
vague
roman6c
no6ons
of
original
ar6s6c
genius
and
personal
vision
(Burn
&
Durran
2007:13,
Buckingham
2003:127).
T.
Miller
claims
that
in
terms
of
crea6ve
and
cultural
evalua6on
‘the
blank
canvas’
impera6ve
is
overprivileged
and
what
also
must
be
considered
is
the
socio-‐historic
genesis
of
any
media
text
[or
indeed
any
“uNerance”
(Burn
et
al
2001:37)]:
“(it
is)
occasionality
that
structures
the
condi6ons
under
which
a
text
is
made,
circulated,
received,
interpreted
and
cri6cised”
(Furstenau
&
Mackenzie,
2009:11,
quo6ng
Miller,
T
2001)
Furthermore,
Burn
et
al
demys6fy
the
no6on
of
crea6vity,
reassigning
it
as
an
umbrella
term,
“a
loose
label”
covering:
“the
processes
by
which
people
represent
and
thereby
transform
aspects
of
their
world
and
themselves
through
the
representa6onal
resources
the
culture
makes
available.”
(2001:37)
Unlike
the
New
Wave
cinema
d’auteurs,
whose
preferences
were
for
jump
cuts
and
the
disrup6on
of
con6nuous
smooth
percep6on,
ours
was
an
exercise
in
con&nuity
edi&ng
–
the
choreographing
of
a
linear,
seamless,
coherent
and
aesthe6cally
engaging
narra6ve.
First
viewing
of
the
footage
revealed
a
general
movement
from
leT
to
right
and
so
I
tried
to
make
this
a
“stylis6c
signature”
(Burn,
A.
et
al
2001);
prac6cally
speaking,
it
also
made
for
6mely
and
economic
edi6ng
decisions.
I
added
44
text
for
context
and
to
give
more
immediate
meaning
to
what
was
to
follow,
as
well
as
a
has6ly
selected
score
to
help
direct
the
thoughts
and
feelings
of
the
audience.
Cross-‐fade
1
>
2:
boat
going
under
the
bridge
followed
by
panning
shot.
I
flipped
the
laNer
to
echo
the
movement
of
the
boat,
in
line
with
cu6ng
on
ac&on
and
“rhythmic
rela6ons”
(Bordwell
&
Thompson
2009:225);
shot
2
finishes
with
bold
foreground
interest.
The
snow
is
a
pervasive
feature
and
is
seen
here
collected
-‐
s6ll
and
pris6ne
-‐
against
the
ornate
lamp
post
base.
3. Long 4: Long
Cross
fade
2
>
3:
with
a
contras6ng
movement
of
the
camera
from
the
ground
upwards.
Here
the
snow
is
trampled,
but
stark
black
and
white
“graphic
rela6ons”
(ibid)
are
maintained
through
the
parallel
lines
and
the
interes6ng
depth
of
field.
The
bus
features
later.
Cut
3
>
4:
the
narra6ve
begins
with
Wendy
walking
leT
to
right
and
accompanying
text.
The
merry-‐go-‐round
features
later.
55
5:
Close
up
6:
Medium
Cut
4
>
5:
not
the
best
cut,
it
should
have
been
Helen’s
face
in
close
up,
but
it’s
a
nice
detail
con6nuing
the
snow
theme.
Cut
5
>
6:
originally
the
storyline
was
that
I
need
cheering
up,
but
in
the
final
edit
I
removed
most
of
these
unconvincing
references
and
leT
it
open
to
interpreta6on.
Cut
6
>
7:
cut
in
for
over
the
shoulder
eyeline
match
looking
at
my
watch
-‐
moves
the
narra6ve
along.
Cut
7
>
8:
Wendy
passes
the
bus,
recalling
shot
3,
walking
off
screen
(s6ll
no
closeup!)
Cut
8
>
9:
recalls
shot
5.
Her
name
wouldn’t
have
been
legible
here
in
the
chosen
style
and
posi6on
so
appears
later.
Although
pleasing
photographically,
cuts
8-‐15
work
less
well
because
of
a
lack
of
rhythmic
and
graphic
rela6ons.
66
9:
Medium
long
10:
Closeup
Cut
9
>
10:
my
represented
cold/sadness
in
closeup
perhaps
adds
weight
to
the
final
happy
scene.
It
is
hoped
that
the
audience
appreciates
simultaneous
ac6on
throughout
the
friends’
travelling
sequences.
Cut
10
>
11:
Helen’s
cycles
leT
to
right,
contras6ng
with
opposite
taxi
movement
(s6ll
no
closeup!).
Cut
11
>
12:
focussing
more
here
on
aesthe6cs
at
the
expense
of
contextual
help
with
the
narra6ve,
Wendy’s
black
boots
traverse
the
snow.
77
Cut
12
>
13:
Helen
con6nues
on
foot.
We
should
perhaps
have
filmed
the
dismount.
Leaves
on
the
ground
will
feature
later.
Cut
13
>
14:
I
am
also
on
foot
heading
in
the
same
direc6on.
There
were
difficul6es
with
con6nuity
and
whether
my
hood
was
up
or
down
from
now
on.
Cut
14
>
15:
the
merry-‐go-‐round
recalls
shot
4.
Shot
15
-‐
not
sure
about
this
-‐
it
doesn’t
add
anything
new.
Cut
15
>
16:
I
had
been
looking
down
so
it
made
sense
to
film
my
point
of
view
whilst
walking,
(though
it’s
not
clear
they
are
my
feet).
The
snow
and
leaf
mo6f
add
texture
to
the
image.
Cut
16
>
17:
s6ll
shot
of
Wendy
indicates
the
ac6on
is
slowing
down.
Her
turning
round
sets
up
shot
19
of
her
missing
me
walking
past
and
adds
drama
to
the
mee6ng
climax.
88
Cut
17
>
18:
Cross-‐cut
back
to
my
feet
to
indicate
simultaneous
walking.
Cut
18
>
19:
Cut
to
me
walking
past
Wendy,
but
this
layering
of
events
-‐
to
add
depth
to
the
narra6ve
-‐
could
be
lost
on
the
audience
due
to
insufficient
closeups
and
anchoring
of
iden6fica6on.
Cut
19
>
20:
the
bridge
mee6ng
point
is
in
view;
the
seagull
movement
will
have
payoffs
later.
This
cutaway
and
the
following
one
func6on
as
6me-‐lapses
so
that
I
can
reach
the
rendezvous
point,
thus
maintaining
temporal
rela6ons.
Cut
20
>
21:
the
seagull
rests
by
the
lamp
post
featured
in
shot
2.
Contras6ng
light
and
dark
asymmetry
adds
background
interest.
Cut
21
>
22:
from
a
long
shot
of
a
snowy
South
bank
scene
I
liked
the
idea
of
Helen
entering
the
frame
from
below
and
looking
off
screen.
In
my
mind
Helen
is
looking
up
at
me
wai6ng
on
the
bridge
but
this
might
not
be
clear
to
the
audience.
99
23:
Long
24:
Medium
zoom
Cut
22>
23:
spacial
rela6ons
were
a
challenge
here.
Shot
29
will
dictate
that
she
should
have
been
on
the
other
side
of
the
river
looking
to
her
leT
at
this
point
in
order
to
preserve
the
180-‐degree
rule
and
prevent
disrup6ng
the
logic
of
the
viewer’s
perspec6ve.
Murch
proposes
that
if
there
is
a
hierarchy
in
editorial
decision-‐making
then
2-‐dimensional
“planarity”
(2001:18)
is
less
important
than
maintaining
emo6on,
story,
rhythm,
and
eyeline
and
there’s
a
sense
of
expecta6on
in
Helen’s
performance
here
that
I
wanted
to
preserve.
Cut
23
>
24:
the
displaced
chair
reflects
my
melancholic
state,
the
seagull
reappears
in
a
graphically
similar
posi6on
to
shot
21
and
again
I
am
looking
down
on
events.
Cut
24
>
25:
from
passive
watching
something
takes
my
no6ce
and
glancing
leT
could
signal
the
mee6ng
...
but
it
cuts
to
a
flying
seagull.
Cut
25
>
26:
...
My
quiet
contempla6on
affords
Helen
the
6me
to
cross
the
bridge
and
Wendy
to
climb
the
stairs
and
keeps
temporal
rela6ons.
10
10
27:
Long
28:
Medium
Cut
26
>
27:
my
glance
leT
also
happens
to
take
in
Wendy’s
arrival
and
her
serendipitous
slipping.
With
her
happy
gestures
and
performance,
the
mood
now
brightens,
reinforced
by
a
change
in
music
tempo
and
genre.
Cut 27 > 28: cuQng in to my reac6on shot registers my surprise and delight.
Cut
28
>
29:
Helen’s
open-‐armed
dash
from
the
opposite
direc6on
matches
the
tone
and
rhythm
of
Wendy’s
arrival.
Crossfade
29
>
30:
the
elided
moment
of
mee6ng
is
supplanted
by
a
transi6on
to
the
colourful
circling
merry-‐go-‐round,
invoking
childhood
friendship.
This
nod
to
montage
technique
–
the
juxtaposi6on
of
images
as
symbols
with
an
emphasis
on
the
ar6cula6on
of
ideas
or
emo6ons
drawing
on
Eisenstein’s
style
-‐
directs
the
thoughts
and
emo6ons
of
the
audience.
11
11
31:
Medium
32:
Long
Crossfade
30
>
31:
the
merry-‐go-‐round
is
mirrored
by
the
circle
of
friends,
illustra6ng
how
graphic
rela6ons
between
shots
can
convey
a
pleasing
symmetry.
Crossfade
31
>
32:
the
transi6on
illustrates
the
prac6cal
use
of
ellip6cal
edi6ng
and
renders
acceptable
their
progression
along
the
bridge.
Crossfade
32>
33:
by
dissolving
the
penul6mate
image
into
the
merry-‐go-‐round
both
audience
and
receding
friends
are
leT
with
a
final
reminder
of
happy
6mes.
33: Medium
Although
vital
for
guiding
emo6ons
and
enhancing
engagement,
given
the
6me
constraints,
sound
edi6ng
was
secondary.
Circumstances
dictated
that
inclusion
of
diege6c
sound
was
not
possible
and
whilst
simplifying
the
edi6ng
process
to
some
extent,
this
fact
introduced
its
own
constraints.
I
selected
two
“off-‐the-‐shelf”
Garageband
tracks
of
an
appropriate
length
and
joined
them
with
a
cymbal
clash
to
signpost
the
mood
shiT.
Not
perfect,
but
a
neat
and
6mely
improvisa6on.
12
12
Dealing
with
sound
with
something
of
a
supermarket
mentality
recalls
SeTon-‐
Green’s
reflec6ons
on
the
crea6ve
use
of
databases
and
digital
effects.
Claims
on
what
cons6tutes
crea6vity
con6nue
to
be
contested
and,
drawing
on
Lev
Manovich,
SeTon-‐Green
steers
away
from
debates
about
authen6city
and
originality
towards
a
more
salient
interroga6on
of
the
mul6modal
“synaesthe6c
experience”
(2005:109)
afforded
by
converging
produc6on
soTware
and
ques6ons
of:
“how
the
imagina6on
of
users
is
determined
and
how
(libraries
and
menus)
might
influence
output
…
how
the
mind
might
organise
or
apply
an
internalised
taxonomy
of
effects”
(2005:
103)
Adeptness
at
“manipula6ng,
selec6ng
or
combining
blocks
or
‘units’
of
data”
(ibid
2005:108)
has
become
a
key
crea6ve
as
well
as
technical
skill.
SenneN
would
argue
that
these
are
the
skills
of
a
craTsman
and
that
what
is
required
for
progress
in
the
manipula6on
of
raw
materials
is
an
understanding
of
“intui6ve
leaps”
(2008:
207).
The
four
elements
necessary
to
making
these
leaps
could
equally
be
deployed
in
the
context
of
edi6ng
digital
images,
sound
and
text:
b)adjacency
-‐
the
juxtaposi6on
of
“two
unlike
domains
...
the
closer
they
are,
the
more
s6mula6ng
seems
their
twined
presence.”
(2008:210)
Two
or
possibly
three
domains
in
the
case
of
edi6ng.
c) surprise
-‐
“you
begin
dredging
up
tacit
knowledge
into
consciousness
to
do
the
comparing”
and
experience
“wonder”
(2008:211).
Trus6ng
in
the
feeling
of
the
right
edi6ng
decision
begets
confidence
and
pleasure.
d)gravity
-‐
recogni6on
that
leaps
do
not
defy
gravity
and
constraints
are
something
of
a
constant:
“the
technical
import,
like
any
immigrant,
will
bring
with
it
its
own
problems”
(2008:212).
13
13
ideally
developed
through
childhood
role-‐play,
materially
“crystallised”
and
finally
returned
to
society.
What
was
apparent
to
me
during
the
DVP
module
was
the
‘hands
off’
pedagogical
approach
and
from
a
feeling
of
being
‘at
sea’
with
all
the
limitless
possibili6es,
logis6cal
constraints
and
the
weather
condi6ons,
one
took
refuge
in
the
soTware
to
restore
order
and
regain
control.
In
parallel,
SeTon-‐Green
encourages
a
re-‐imagining
of
crea6ve
produc6on
tools
as
a
“scaffold”
(2005:108):
“an
open
structure
that
allows
for
interven6on,
support,
reflec6on
and
experimenta6on
....
an
accessible
social
process
locking
a
kind
of
‘pedagogy’
into
the
rela6onship
between
screen
and
user”
(ibid:
109)
This
reflects
Burn
&
Durran’s
argument
that
in
so
far
as
digital
produc6on
tends
to
“the
expressive
needs
of
the
moment”
(2007:160),
it
is
the
teacher’s
responsibility
to
be
alert
to
students’
improvisatory
skills
and
interests;
to
intuit
the
moment
to
intervene
with
cri6cal
insight
and
to
personally
develop
an
ever-‐widening
and
dynamic
apprecia6on
of
media
texts.
Screens
are
intrinsic
to
everyday
western
living
and
this
fact
‘locks’
most
of
us
into
a
social
impera6ve
to
learn,
almost
indefinitely.
One
of
the
aims
of
media
educa6on
is
to
“[make]
the
familiar
strange”
(Buckingham
2003:71)
and
the
task
of
reflexively
analysing
one’s
own
text
was
a
memorable
challenge
which
did
just
this.
In
terms
of
how
to
proceed,
Burn
&
Durran
helpfully
characterise
it
as
“50%
opportunity
planned
by
us,
and
50%
improvisa6on”
(2007:160).
If
so,
I
aspire
to
become
more
of
an
intui6ve
media
facilitator
embracing
the
limita6ons
and
poten6al
of
soTware
form
and
structure,
whilst
waving
through
students’
imagina6ve
leaps
as
they
nego6ate
the
scaffold
to
their
own
“endlessly
provisional”
(Burn
et
al
2001:35)
unspecified
ends.
________________________________________________________
References:
Banaji
S,
Burn
A,
Buckingham,
D
(2006)
The
Rhetorics
of
Crea&vity:
a
review
of
the
literature
14
14
Burn,
A
&
Durran,
J
(2006)
Digital
Anatomies:
Analysis
as
produc&on
in
Media
Educa&on,
(Digital
Genera6ons,
Ed.
Buckingham
and
Willets)
Burn, A et al (2001) The Rush of Images (English in Educa6on Vol 35:2)
Furstenau,
M
&
Mackenzie,
A
(2009):
The
promise
of
‘makeability’:
digital
edi&ng
so3ware
and
the
structuring
of
everyday
cinema&c
life
(Visual
Communica6on
2009
Vol
8:5)
15
15
Appendix
1
-‐
Shot
list.
During
planning
I
think
we
would
have
benefiNed
from
a
storyboard
approach
to
nail
the
narra6ve
sequence
and
shot
type
rather
than
this
fairly
haphazard
list.
If
only
because
it
was
too
cold
to
keep
referring
to
it
and
I
know
that
images
would
have
stayed
in
my
head
beNer!
16
16