I enjoyed the challenge of this assignment, and once we started discussing topics in class I realised I had much to share!
CONTENT
As you may gather from the video, I’m not so trusting of many institutions regarding surveillance. Following a brief twitter chat with Adam Brown regarding surveillance of students online, I feel I should clarify that context is everything. When studying online I expect my engagement to be monitored, and willingly signed up for that.
In the greater domain of both public and private life though, I am increasingly wary of what’s shared and recorded. A friend said years ago, having your movements, interactions and transactions recorded may appear innocent enough now, but what happens to that data in five, or 10 years, and how could it be weaponised is another story!
PLANNING
Regarding this video, my biggest issue was narrowing endless exploratory paths down to one cohesive conversation. I remember Emily Wade’s helpful comment on a prior podcast that just one of the points I made could have been developed, rather than skipping over too many areas. So I took note of that, though I could easily have made a 2 hour documentary on this!
I tried focusing on types of surveillance technology and how they are used, but I kept getting drawn back to a big fat WHY. So that became my focus; why we actually need surveillance in the first place. After writing a lot, piecing bits together and setting ideas aside for later, the bulk of my time was spent trimming the fat.
Recording as always is my biggest challenge, as I’m often too fatigued to do it. This week has been challenging in that regard. I recorded the voice on my phone and uploaded it, so I could arrange and edit all the footage, images, titles and music while I waited for a new wave of energy to film. I shot it with a green screen so I could drop myself over the other footage easily.
CHALLENGES
The other interesting hurdle is the constant thunder from demolition and roadworks we’ve been surrounded by since March. I generally manage to squeeze in a sentence or two in between trucks, so I find I’m often distracted and the conversation can feel disjointed. Hopefully it’s clear enough, but I so look forward to heading to the bush and creating a soundproof recording haven!
My main challenge though was a sudden and extremely painful sensitivity to radiation from my computer, and severe RSI that followed. I experimented with everything from external keyboards, different mice, rubber gloves, earthing mats… I even sat with my feet in a bucket of magnesium water while working to try and reduce the effects! But I can’t touch the keyboard or mouse for more than a few seconds without burning pain. After a week I bought a couple of styluses to try on the smart pad, and they function reasonably well. I’ll explore other technologies to try and make my way around this issue so I can continue work and study.
SUMMARY
Overall I really enjoyed the process of creating this piece, and am inspired to produce other short videos exploring contemporary issues. Most of my information pieces are based on interviews and can be one to two hours long, so I like switching gear and creating short snappy pieces to make people think. And as it turns out I think about technology and its implications a lot!
VIDEO CREDITS
In-Spiral Outloud
‘To see or not to see’
Written and Produced
by Tjoni Johansen
at
In-Spiral Media
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MUSIC
“Dreamcatcher” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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IMAGES
All images public domain
Thanks to Pixabay
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VIDEO
Man Overlooking River Ganges
Stock footage provided by Videvo,
downloaded from www.videvo.net
(CC_BY_3.0)
‘Plane Overhead’
Stock footage provided by Pilots Flying,
downloaded from www.videvo.net
(CC_BY_3.0)
Eye Moving
Stock footage provided by Pilots Flying,
downloaded from www.videvo.net
(CC_BY_3.0)
DMZ – surveillance camera
Stock footage provided by Videvo,
downloaded from www.videvo.net
(CC_BY_3.0)
Namdaumun Market
Stock footage provided by Videvo,
downloaded from www.videvo.net
(CC_BY_3.0)
NYC Traffic Timelapse
Stock footage provided by Beachfront,
downloaded from www.videvo.net
(CC_BY_3.0)
Cat Eye
Stock footage provided by Beachfront,
downloaded from www.videvo.net
(CC_BY_3.0)
All other videos public domain
Thanks to Pixabay
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REFERENCE
Cabestan, JP 2020, ‘The State and Digital Society in China: Big Brother Xi is Watching You!’, Issues & Studies: A Social Science Quarterly on China, Taiwan, and East Asian Affairs, vol 56, No 1, viewed 19 August 2020, <https://ezproxy.deakin.edu.au/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=poh&AN=142744067&authtype=sso&custid=deakin&site=eds-live&scope=site>
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