Assignment 3 – What is Hidden?

In contemporary media there are many television shows that portray the conventional life of a prisoner. Series such as Prison Break, Orange is the New Black, and Oz are all popular shows lacking the perspective of prison life from the guard. Stereotypically portrayed as the cruel, intimidating, ruthless guard, the lack of background story behind the officer creates a faceless being misunderstood and looked down upon in society.

To dive into the life of this forgotten worker it’s important to note that walls are subconsciously put up in order for them to survive in their workplace mentally. Chris Olson, a guard with an Air Force background, believes that jail is an incredibly challenging environment to work in “These guys push our buttons everyday in regards to our professionalism and integrity… You really need to know your boundaries because they will manipulate and work on you day in, day out until they turn you.” He believes that prison officers must wear “multiple hats” when dealing with inmates. The officers have a duty of care for the inmates, like raising a child, some days you can be compassionate, but other days you need to be very black and white. The constant brutality shown in the media is a false representation of prison guards “These TV shows don’t really show what a correctional officer is,” as inmates are often seen as the protagonist the audience empathises with.

Majority of the inmates have had a hard life “They’ve grown up on welfare, or with their parents in jail, this is just a natural progression for them.” This is why the officers struggle daily to control and contain the troubled individuals ranging from extreme drug addicts, to rapists and murderers who have both violent tendencies toward themselves and others.

Lisa Pirie, a female officer, struggles with added pressures “There’s lots of sexual innuendos and wolf whistles… you just need to be very careful not to give any inkling that you enjoy this,” This hidden occupation is one that spills over to the officers’ personal lives “I’ve had plenty of threats made in anger and of course these guys have plenty of money and plenty of contacts outside, and I do care for my family.” Showing that once the officers go home they still cannot escape the workplace.

Through this audiovisual piece one will be shown the “forgotten” occupation the media so frequently hides from the public.

Additional resources for further research on what is hidden in prison life:

The Stanford Prison Experiment – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=760lwYmpXbc

A study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. This video was especially helpful to me as it shows how people change depending on the role they’re playing or the character they’re assuming. This is reflected in my assignment as my Dad not only has to put on a mask at work but he is also mentally affected by the horrors he sees each and every day at work. This experiment shows that people change depending on their occupation or status, showing that my Dad’s job has inevitably changed him as a person as he works behind these forgotten walls.

Nelson Mandela’s quote “It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” also inspired my assignment approach. Lisa (my second talent) outlined that as prison officers they have a duty of care for the inmates, showing that the ruthless image of guards is one that is false, as these officers treat their lowest citizens with consideration.

Another interesting further resource I’d encourage you to look at is “How Prisons work” http://people.howstuffworks.com/prison.htm This link gives both information and images of what a day in the life of a guard or an inmate looks like. Giving you some extra knowledge about jail when viewing my assignment.

Week 10 module

The first journalist that I followed specifically for this assignment was @Bronwynmccahon. She inspires me, as she is the editor for Cosmopolitan Australia, which is not only my favourite magazine, but also my dream career. Bronwyn’s twitter history shows she uses twitter to advertise aspects of her editorial role such as ‘behind the scenes’ footage from photoshoots, she uploads pictures of the cover of the magazine, which is inevitably advertising the release of the latest magazine and she posts her luxurious lifestyle hanging out with celebrities from interviews. Although Bronwyn doesn’t collect information and find sources on her personal account, the magazines account @cosmoaustralia encourages votes, opinions, personal experiences and competitions through its account. Assuming this account is run by Bronwyn as well, or the information is accessed by her, it shows that social media is a large part of this journalists professional practice. The twitter account promotes stories published in the latest magazine, directed at a young audience who they understand to be highly involved in social media and to be technologically savvy. This also allows for the increase in viewers and fans of the magazine as the stories are easily shared by users.

The second journalist I followed was @AngelaBishop, as I admire her work as an entertainment journalist, as this is a career I too would aspire to achieve. Angela does a lot of retweeting stories, and advertising channel ten news segments rather than trying to collect original information and find sources. It seems as though Angela doesn’t use social media as a large part of her professional practise, just as a leisure activity as she is sharing things to her fans she’d like them to see.

The third is Natarsha Belling, a channel ten presenter, who I met during my work experience at channel ten @NatarshaBelling. Similarly to Angela Bishop, Natarsha seems to use twitter as more of a leisure activity as she is retweeting stories by channel ten and other things that interest her. She makes note that she is an ambassador and an activist and uses her status and fame to advertise: “Happy Friday! Make a promise to kiss and tell on Bright Pink Lipstick Day.” She too doesn’t appear to seek information or sources from twitter.

Mid session task 1

When comparing my favourite projects based on the list provided I have decided I prefer Highrise over Malboro Marine. I’ll begin my analysis with discussion as to why I like Highrise.

Highrise is multi-award winning interactive produced by Canada’s National Film Board, or NFB. It was a landmark production and it continues to be a reference for digital storytelling in contemporary journalism. It is a multi-year, many-media, collaborative documentary experiment that explores vertical living around the world. Whilst watching the documentary audiences have the option to click below the film at any time to pause and explore the interactive features that provide more information in conjunction with what you’re viewing. I believe this allows better enhancement with the story being told as we are then allowed to grasp more information about what we are being told and shown and gives a better sense of inclusion rather than assuming the role of a passive audience member excluded from the film.

Due to the film being made with New York Times’ archives they display images of folders that collapse as we zoom deeper into the stories setting and context. As the narrator talks about things the documentary highlights them, or they pop up catching the eye of the audience member, for example as they said “the land beside new york, a building sprung” the building literally does spring up from the ground, bounce and settle. I believe this was done to attract further engagement into the story, just like in a children’s storybook the images/graphics are there to simplify things for us and allow us further understanding and a greater ability to picture what the words are saying. The narrator speaks about the story in rhymes “People of one language high into the clouds the tower they built, but God disapproved so people broke it into many languages across the earth he split” whilst we watch a cartoon reenactment giving it a storybook feel – again to create engagement.

The project is able to find or create an audience as you have the ability to share the documentary on Facebook, twitter, through email, permalink, reddit, pinterest, tumblr, google+ and linkedin. On a mobile advice it still works well, the interactivity and effects on the homepage is limited and it isn’t as visually appealing to the eye but the videos still play and work.

Over all I thought it was an outstanding and visually stunning presentation. It was both neat and well executed as the timing really allowed you to absorb what you were seeing and hearing before moving onto the next – plus you also had the opportunity to pause, get deeper facts or references, and look up things as well if you preferred.

Malboro Marine depicts the tale of the US marine, Blake Miller, and his life with the military and how it affected him then and still continues to haunt his thoughts today. His story was presented by photojournalist Luis Sinco’s images in a 16 minute video. The video consisted of pictures and voice over narration by Miller, rather than actual video footage, yet I think the images worked just as well as it still told the story effectively.

The ability to share is also on this video so it’s able to grasp an audience through social networking. Interactivity is quite limited in my opinion, which is why I prefer Highrise in comparison. The engagement was definitely there as audiences are captured through their compassion and empathy for his struggles post-war. It really showed life post-battle in a new way, rather than the glamourous, hero status it showed the painful nightmares and post traumatic stress that they had to live with on a day to day basis. A particular focus in this film was Blake’s contemplation of suicide.

I felt Malboro Marine was a lot less fancy and new age than Highrise. It didn’t have graphics or interaction, just the images taken by Luis Sinco, background music and narration where audiences were forced to just remain passive listeners and absorb the sixteen minutes of footage.

All in all I think it was an effective piece but when comparing them it is clear to see why Highrise is an award winning project.

Assignment 3 pitch

Dad pictured bottom right

In contemporary media many television shows are successful in portraying the stereotypical life of prisoners. Examples such as Prison Break, Orange is the New Black, Prisoner and Oz were all popular series’ but the one thing they all lack is the perspective of prison life from the prison guard. Stereotypically portrayed as the mean, scary, ruthless guard, the lack of background story behind who works at the prison has made me decide to focus on this hidden aspect of jail life by focussing on my Dad who works at South Coast correctional facility. He has also worked at LongBay maximum security and Silverwater jail. I aim to show the life of a prison guard, including the struggles post work where the mask of brutality is taken off and deep contemplation occurs and day-to-day duties inside this hidden facility.

The ambient sounds I hope to collect and include in my assignment include:

• Alarms sounding
• Cell doors slamming
• Footsteps
• Dog barking (drug dog)
• Commotion & yelling
• Judge slamming hammer
• Kids laughing (family side of my Dad outside of work)
• Sounds of the ocean (if we use the beach near his home in Nowra to take some images)

I also want to investigate further into my music choice for background music. I will hopefully have a few tracks to differ between as we explore different aspects of his life surrounding work.

I’m planning on taking images that represent Dad and his role at work, without physically being in his workplace. Due to privacy laws I’m unable to take photos within the jail, as directed by management, so I want to take images of my Dad in his uniform. I will have some photos of Dad wearing his uniform with Nowra beach as a setting and some images with him holding his drug dog by the harness. In a less serious atmosphere I’ll take some family shots of Dad with his fiancé and his children in a casual setting.

I’m going to include on my blog, when I post the multimedia video, extra resources about jail life, prison guards and the prison Dad currently works at.

The key characters will be my Dad, Chris Olson and his fiancé Lisa Pirie. As Lisa is my second talent, and she too is a prison guard, I’ll ask her some similar questions about being a prison guard in regards to being a female in a masculine, tough workplace, as well as the wife of a prison guard. I hope to show a contrast as well as similarities in their roles.

The kitchen is the heart of the home.

As one’s life journey continues it is inevitable that we gain strong connections to various people along the way. The same concept exists for places: areas and spaces where we find sanctity, or perhaps an environment where our happiness is truly encouraged and expressed. For 71-year-old Beverley Fullerton, the kitchen was her place of belonging where a strong relationship was formed from the early age of 13. The responsibility of cooking for her sick Mother, as well as her younger brother, was thrust upon her, taking her childhood in return. Yet from this situation, her passion for cooking and taking care of others through the kitchen has stayed with her for life.

Music: Skinny Love (Cover) – Claayt

 

Critique of Emotional History by Elliot Cameron

Elliot Cameron’s audio piece, “Emotional History”, explores the heartfelt reminiscence of a marriage lost, due to a husbands addiction to alcohol. The music creates quite a sombre atmosphere and the way it’s placed between blocks of speech by the interviewee is clever, as it allows the audience to let what the female said to sink in before moving onto an additional point. In my opinion, the narration at the beginning was appealing as the initial question “At what stage at your marriage did you realise it was definitely not going to work out” got straight to the point, alerting the audience as to what the audio piece was about. I did although think that the initial interviewer intervention was enough because at 1.22 when he asks “What was the most difficult part of making that decision?” it seems unnecessary as her statement alone could have easily implied what she was asked. The ambient sounds were great as the picking up of the keys, footsteps, slamming of the door and zipping up of the bag implies her journey and her actions. The only critique I have was the ambient sound of the pouring of what I assume is supposed to be alcohol; it sounded more like a tap running which was a little distracting. I would have suggested clinking of glasses instead. The narrative arc was easily visible as the story was appealing and evoked empathy in the audience.

Week 4 Reflection – what & how I’d like to communicate the chosen place & person

When deciding on what person I was going to use for my assignment one I had to ensure I knew exactly what I wanted to communicate and how I was going to go about doing that. I made the decision to use my Grandmother, as her story of how she came to know great comfort and belonging in the kitchen is one of great inspiration.

Her story has its own tone and timbre as through her words she communicates to the blind audience, her fighting spirit and brave heart to overcome the position she was placed in at such a young age. I aim to ensure the rhythm of my audio piece is smooth and in a casual tone as she speaks in a conversational tone toward the microphone in an attempt to create a close connection with the audience.

I hope to successfully draw the audience in, via empathy, as they listen to the heartfelt background story, and capture their hearts via admiration as they feel inspired to see how her traumatic past has shaped her positive connection to a place: the kitchen. I hope to communicate the space via ambient sounds recorded in the kitchen of actions taken there such as cooking and preparing food.

Reflection

The place I’m focussing on for my assignment is the kitchen. Having to ensure no one else was home, other than the talent and I, was a difficulty that I faced whilst having a teenage sister who always has friends over, is blaring music or watching television on the highest level in the living room.

Choosing specific sounds to record was a challenge as there are so many choices; I had to ultimately decide which were the most important ambient sounds to include and which would be easily recognised by the audience listening to my multimedia piece to convey the place. A few sounds I recorded were a little hard to recognise such as the vegetables sizzling in the frying pan, which sounded more like a deep fryer and conveyed a fast food restaurant rather than a small family kitchen.

Another sound I planned to record was the kettle. I ran into an obstacle there as the kettle we own is very quiet, and doesn’t have the traditional whistling sound when the water is boiled. It was therefore hard to record the desired sound and communicate my idea.

Overall I feel that at the end I recorded and chose quality sound clips, and merged them together using Hindenburg successfully with even transitions.

Ambient sounds of the kitchen.

For 71-year-old Beverley Fullerton, the kitchen was her place of belonging where a strong relationship was formed from the early age of 13. The responsibility of cooking for her sick Mother, as well as her younger brother, was thrust upon her, taking her childhood in return. Yet from this situation, her passion for cooking and taking care of others through the kitchen has stayed with her for life.

One of the approaches to journalism

https://storify.com/Jessicaleaxo/multiple-approaches-to-journalism