Dear Diary - 'It's Been A Pleasure'.

Dear Diary,

It's been a pleasure getting all my thoughts on this academic year out onto a blog and showcasing the work I've done. I've enjoyed the year, especially the final project. The final project gave me my proudest moment in the module showcasing our work, but also my biggest disappointment with the video's technical difficulties, restricting us from exhibiting it to others outside of the classroom, as it is a piece of work I thoroughly enjoyed making. The whole year has been enjoyable and, although a big jump from my media class in GCSE and A-Level, the work issued throughout the module has been difficult but undoubtedly interesting. 

I hope you enjoyed my blog!

Alex Georgiades. 

Dear Diary - 'Campaign Project'

The last project we have been set to do for this academic year has easily been the most enjoyable. Reuniting with the 'De Montfort Spartans' for another project, we finished this piece even prouder than the last. This was a 'Campaign Project' which gave us complete creative freedom and direction to develop and idea for a video that will inform a large audience and raise awareness for a particular cause.

“Everybody seems to be rallying an audience with all this social media, so why not rally an audience, have that directed attention, but then tell stories that are actually going to make a difference in peoples lives.” - Amanda Koster, SalaamGarage: Imagine What You Could Do.

We were shown different ideas from previous classes, some of which were created by media and sociology scholar's and enthusiasts, all of which truly fascinating. Immediately the group began to think "How are we going to come up with an idea this good?" We really wanted to generate an idea that could make a difference, that could evoke emotion and that could stand out. This plan failed. Unfortunately, we failed and failed and failed to come up with a moving idea we were enthusiastic enough. So we confided in our tutor, who ensured us that the idea for a campaign didn't have to be realistic and didn't have to be serious for it to be appropriate and commendable. So we turned down a contrasting avenue - humour. Some farfetched idea's sprung out of each of us, however, we finalised with an idea that all four of us were happy with. An idea that we could really make entertaining. An idea in which I think we did justice.

Our Banner/Header on our webpage.

Although wacky and unrealistic, our idea was definitely one which we could have fun with and excite our audience with. We call it 'How To Survive a Zombie Invasion at your University Accommodation'. Despite being a rather long title, the creative process was pretty quick. Once we had our idea locked and loaded, ideas came shooting out of everyone. We decided what kind of video we wanted to make, and each watched previous zombie related movies together, such as Zombieland and Shaun Of The Dead, to get a feel of what stereotypical zombie should look like. From Zombieland, we especially enjoyed the 'rule making' scenes of the film and were sure it would fit in well into our short video. We also found an extremely attractive typography online which further motivated this idea.

I created the banner for our webpage on Adobe Photoshop CS5, beginning with a plain background and splattering darker stains of red onto it in order to create a blood splatter background. I then created alternating fonts, one set looking very neat, bright and fancy, the other looking the complete opposite; dark, rough and grim. This created the atmosphere of the website and embodied the humour and daftness of the theme, however also looking professional rather than amateur. 

We decided thereafter to create a completely fictional and absurd storyline within our University halls, and film as if we were students pleading for help, teaching others, and also sending warning. We created a website to aid the storyline and video, which you can visit by clicking here. We planned on making the website as eye-catching and gripping as possible, maintaining a colour theme and style. The next step in our project was to hire a student and turn them into a zombie. This person would go on to become our main subject and character for our fictional plot. A big thanks to Callum Bergin for his help with our project, he was extremely reliable and helped a great deal in terms of making our ideas come to light. 

Callum Bergin as our Zombie, along side our storyline.

Another Feature on our Website.

When we presented our work to the class, we were extremely proud of it's reception and our feedback. We put a lot of hard work into making our idea's come to light and really putting our all into our assignment. Especially due to the fact our idea wasn't serious and had many comical elements to it, we had to really spice it up and ensure the website looked convincing and appealing and the video was edited exactly how we wanted it, as the idea would not sell itself.

Furthermore, when it came to presentation day we were all extremely nervous. Unfortunately, our video which was extremely enjoyable to make, and actually very entertaining to watch would not upload to youtube. And when finally uploaded to Vimeo, still was extremely glitchy, and wouldn't let viewers experience it properly. The only way of exhibiting it properly was through a USB. Thus, on the day of presentation we made sure we had the file on a USB as a quicktime file and VLC file, just in case. We began our presentation with the site, talking through the process of making it and introducing our plot, trying to sound as convincing as possible. We continued onto the video which got a great round of applause and left us feeling very proud. At this moment, I'd like to thank my class for showing so much respect during the viewing, despite the technical glitches, and also a big thank you to Simon Mills for mentoring us.

Here is our final video...

Dear Diary - 'Psychogeography'

Week 9 of the academic year began with a new project set for our class. This was the first time I had been a set a project in University wherein I was asked to work in a group, but soon enough the 'De Montfort Spartans' had formed. Please visit our site on Yolasite - PsychogeographyDMU

The Team - De Montfort Spartans. Left to Right: Chris, Alex, Ben and Chike

The project centred around a topic called 'Psychogeography' which really excited me because firstly, we were given creative freedom with a practical project, and secondly, the topic sounded extremely interesting. So, what is Psychogeography? Psychogeography is a situationist theory, and is the investigation into the effect of the built environment on the human mind. The question psychogeography poses is "How does the geographical features and environmental aspects of the cityscape influence our emotions and sensations?" 

How To Make Your Own Fortune Teller!

After brainstorming a few idea's which failed to spark a real excitement or energy in the four of us, we took a break from ideas and just discussed the project concept. Suddenly, an idea had arisen out of nowhere. We called it 'A Day In The Life of a Childs Game'. Our idea revolved around a child's game commonly known as a 'Fortune Teller'. It's popularity comes from it's random predictions and tellings, it's simplicity and ease to make and finally, it's spontaneity. We decided that we were gonna film ourselves; the direction in which we were going, as well as the emotions presented wherever the game took us. We began at a hotspot, at the clock tower in the city centre, and left the rest up to the game! Stereotypically, on each flap or edge of the handheld fortune teller either a number, word or colour is present. Within our game, we simply wrote the words 'Left', 'Right', 'Straight On', 'Backwards', and followed the instructions it gave us.  As we walked we all agreed that our lack of target lead to us noticing a lot more about the city that we hadn't before. We found ourselves commenting more on the features of the environment such as architecture and decorations. It really showed how little we pay attention to things as we travel around the same places, day-to-day. The process of learning or noticing things never noticed before, within familiar surroundings felt rather spectacular to us. We also realised watching our recordings back how the level of discussion between the group outside of the centre dropped drastically the further we got. This exemplified the effect the darker and more unfamiliar surroundings had on all four of us. 

In regards to our guide - the Paper Fortune Teller - the idea worked well, creating an exceptionally random journey to new places and old, familiar and unfamiliar. It might not be the best way to travel, as it gets increasingly frustrating having to turn back on yourselves several times! However, turning the idea into reality was very exciting and certainly interesting. We recorded our direction by writing down each direction from road to road as we travelled, for instance, 'Left onto Westwood Road, Right onto Highcross Lane'. Moreover, we documented these directions through Google Maps. 

Dear Diary - 'Web 2.0 and Pecha Kucha!'

Our next workshop was named 'Pecha Kucha'. As I found out, entering the Mac Lab room later that day for my lesson, I wasn't the only student completely flabbergasted by this title. First thing I needed to know was 'What is Pecha Kucha?'. I was soon assured it wasn't as scary as it sounded. It was a presentation.

Before we got into the presentation side of things, we were informed we would need to learn about Web 2.0, another thing I'd never previously heard of. Furthermore, we were given this website as a starting point to our learning: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html. One of the first things that caught my eye once I was redirected to this page was a picture which identified the improvements or 'changes' from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0. And after investigating the site further, I learnt about the ways in which Web 2.0 is a vast improvement from it's predecessor.

But what does this have to do with Pecha Kucha? To help us with this next obstacle we were given a link to a powerpoint labelled 'Pecha Kucha: Get to the Powerpoint in 20 Seconds" which you can watch for yourselves by clicking here. The powerpoint presented some golden rules involving the development of Pecha Kucha Presentations: 1. You can use on 20 Slides. 2. Each slide must last 20 seconds long. However, in our particular brief we were told to use only 15 slides, with 20 seconds for each frame.

Pecha kucha - Cloud Computing  

Dear Diary - 'Eight Traits of The New Media Landscape'

One of our earliest workshops involved us reading into the specific work of Henry Jenkins which is titled 'Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape'. To read Jenkins article yourself, please click here. The 'Eight Traits' that Jenkins discusses are as follows; Innovative, Convergence, Everyday, Appropriative, Networked, Global, Generational and finally, Unequal. The article is an interesting account wherein Jenkins sums up what he believes to be the most identifiable and effectual changes within media, which have shaped a 'New Media Landscape'. The eight traits he discusses are all extremely significant to the media which surrounds us today, in very different ways.

Our first assignment for MEDS1101 was a written report on this article and it's subject of the new media landscape. In 'Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape' Jenkins writes:

'Most often, when people are asked to describe the current media landscape, they respond by making an inventory of tools and technologies. Our focus should be not on emerging technologies but on emerging cultural practices.' 

I found this particular quote (which had been highlighted in our module handbooks by our tutor) very useful, as it explains how the new media landscape works - through it's users. The media has become some a necessity to many generations of the 21st Century. It has evolved greatly from being a brief source of news, or entertainment. Nowadays, the media is constantly surrounding us wherever our heads turn, thus, Jenkins is right that emerging cultural practices are the real focus.

We were asked to choose one of the eight traits and write a report on our own personal media use in relation to that particular trait, with reference to the article. I chose the trait Everyday as I felt an immediate  link when reading it's paragraph. I believe this is due to the fact that I am part of a generation who are extremely connected with the new media and use many different types of media, everyday and in very different ways. I began to think about the kinds of media I use daily, and made a spider diagram to illustrate my thoughts.

After acknowledging the types of media I know that I use daily, I began to structure my report. I began by discussing Jenkins work, then in the second half of the report I compared it to my own usage. One of the thoughts that Jenkins presented within his work that intrigued me was the short section which discussed the way in which media connects and disconnects people on the new platform. 

He writes that 'young people often deploy media to cut themselves off from the people around them.' Although this seems almost like a generalisation, when relating to my own experiences of media use in relation to the quote it is easy to identify Jenkins meaning. In many ways I can specifically relate my media use (from time to time) as being my most reliable source and form of escape, which I am sure many young people would agree with. One of my most commonly used sources of escape through media is the social networking site 'Tumblr'. Tumblr is a microblogging platform, wherein users post multimedia onto their personalised pages in the form of pictures (most commonly), videos, links, quotes and text. The social networking site also allows registered users to follow other blogs, allowing all of their followed blogs pictures to appear on what is known as a 'dashboard'. Personally, I use this social networking and microblogging website for escape and enjoyment. In many scenarios I have found myself procrastinating on it, or trying to forget my current problems by skimming through pictures of happiness and glee from other countries and time periods. Additionally, I enjoy the creative side of Tumblr, as I can stumble upon animations, illustrations or edited pictures which I find fascinating. You can explore my tumblr by clicking on this link: www.alexgeorgiades.tumblr.com. 

Jenkins also discusses how "New technologies have enabled a greater connection to more dispersed family members". This quote is in contrast to the previous, however, is equally true. In my report I discussed how the quote is equally as relevant with friends as well as family. For instance, when at University, social networking websites such as 'Facebook' and 'Twitter' allow me to browse through recently tagged pictures to see what family and friends have been getting up too, as well as keeping my updated on their wellbeing. I additionally discuss the use of the hashtag (#) on twitter, which is used to group people who are discussing the same subject. For instance, in my report I discuss how during nights where X-Factor would be on television, friends and family would all be grouped by the same hashtag, (#xfactor) allowing me to see all of their views and furthermore open discussion to compare their thoughts with mine.

The next subtopic I decided to discuss, moving past the media experienced in a home environment, was the smartphone, which I quickly related to the sections from Jenkins work wherein he quotes science fiction writer Bruce Sterling. 

Reading Sterling's description of contemporary media usage, I realised how reliant my generation seems on modern technology, most especially, their phones. In my estimate, 80% of young people at University have a smart phone. In my initial mind map, the things I associated with my iPhone were internet use, social networking, camera, iPod and finally, texting and phoning. Through the quote 'Contemporary technology "sticks to the skin, responds to the touch...pervasive, utterly intimate" I realised that my phone is more or less with me at my side for as long as I am awake. This realisation, in my head, is what immediately allows me to understand Jenkins work, and most especially, the third trait of New Media Landscape, Everyday.

Dear Diary - 'Networked Media Assignments'

On my first days of each media subject we were introduced to our lecturers and modules. Importantly, all of the lecturers I met on this day seemed very enthusiastic and charismatic teaching the subject. For MEDS 1101 and 1102 we were given a Module Handbook which would last us the whole academic year.

Assignement 1: Written Report

Leaving my first Networked Media Lecture I felt slightly overwhelmed. The course definitely interested me but part of me thought "Can I keep up?" The syllabus for Media in University far differed from the kind of thing I had experienced at GCSE and A-Level. I suppose this was mainly due to the decrease in imagination and creativity and the increase in theory and understanding of media. Then again, as a university degree, what else did I expect from the subject! My confidence began to grow, however, once I went home and began to read into the assignments I'd be having to do throughout the course. First of all we'd have to do a report on an article by media scholar Henry Jenkins, which concerns 'Eight Traits of the New Media Landscape'. Although sighing in discouragement at the title of the piece, I read on and found "...as it relates to your own media use" within the assignment outline, which was an immediately appealing aspect of the assignment. This was due to the fact I wouldn't be simply struggling to make sense of Jenkins work in my writing, but I could relate it to my day-to-day use of all the media around me. 

8 Essay questions for
Assignment 2.

Assignment 2: Essay

Secondly, we were assigned a 2000 word essay, worth 40% of our final module mark. Dissimilarly to A-Level and GCSE essays that had been set for me in the past, we were given an option of 8 questions, rather than 1. This interested me as not only did i feel as though i'd been provided with more freedom than before, but I had been given the opportunity to either completely challenge myself, or decide on something comfortable. More so, it allowed the student to choose what they would prefer to research and develop their knowledge in, rather than it be chosen for them.

Assignment 3:
Reflective Journal

Our third and last assignment was one which excited me most. 'A Reflective Journal' was written at the top of page 11 in the Module Handbook for MEDS1101. The reason that this assignment in particular interested me is because of the creativity and freedom it held. The 'Journal' would be exhibited on a blog through the popular website www.blogger.com, which I had used in A-Level to present all of my work for my A2 Music Video Project, wherein we had to create our own music video for a song of our choice. You can visit my blog at by clicking here. I hope you enjoy it. From my this previous assignment I knew how much creativity could be used within this assignment in terms of the presentation of my work and the multimedia capabilities through links, pictures and videos. Furthermore, I was eager to really make this blog attractive, formal, but still reflective of my personality.

After reading about my assignments I was ready to get started on my course and excited to see what I'd learn in the weeks to come. Stick around and you'll find out! 

Dear Diary - 'Introduction'

My BTTF Poster

   Since this diary holds retrospective approach, we may as well start at the beginning - my first day at Uni. No doubt I was a big ball of nerves this first day, wondering if the people I was anonymously thrown into a flat with were going to like me and if I was going to like them. It turned out my flatmates were a very relaxed bunch, easy to talk to, all as nervous as each other. I think the first moment I felt my first day nerves finally disappear is when a new flatmate walked into his room with all of his suitcases and boxes, and among his possessions was a stylish Back To The Future poster from the first film. The exact same one that I had already stuck up on my wall earlier that day!

In the next few weeks I had settled into my new home, with freshers being a fantastic introduction to this new lifestyle. Next up - my first lectures. Good luck, me.

My Networked Media Handbook

My University Timetable

Dear Diary.

Welcome to my Reflective Journal!
I have documented my work over the course of the year onto a word file, wherein I have, I suppose, given short diary accounts as to how I felt my assignments and projects have gone. Although we have been told we should write on this blog as often as possible, I knew it would be a better option for me to document my own opinions separately and apply them into my blog at the end of the year, where I can accompany them with edited pictures, final videos and a retrospective opinion. So, never mind the dates!

The first task we were given early in the year was to create our basic layout and design for our blog. We were advised on how to make an attractive banner for the top of our blog through pictures and imagery. All of my attempts seemed disappointing within the first week. However, I then decided (seeing that this is supposedly a journal) that maybe it should look like one! So with no more hesitation, I created my journal cover from scratch on Adobe Photoshop CS5!

I wanted to get a real 'diary' feel to the image. So I started by creating a new A4 sized (International Paper) background and filling it with a deep red using the 'Bucket' tool, and used the 'Burn' tool to create the dark blotchy effect, to give it an almost leathery appearance. I then went to Filter > Texture > Texturizer to create the pattern overlay. Subsequently, I wrote my title and added the bevel and emboss effect to give it a 3D feel...and VIOLA! Here it is - my first diary.

Now, for my first entry...