Deconstructing Narrative

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The film has so far been shared by 16 people (that we know of) so who's to say how many people have now seen it. Using the site itself to share the film (oh, the great irony). 

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Reflection on Deconstructing Narrative (& 'The Facebook Generation')

This module has been a steep learning curve for the whole of our group. As our first film using DSLRs there were a number of technical issues that we needed to work through and I feel we now all are much more DSLR-savvy and know most of the things that can (and will) go wrong during the process. Considering our naivety going into the first scheduled interview with nothing but the on-camera mics and a phone to record audio (which now seems obscene) the finished product plays surprisingly smoothly. In this respect we owe a lot to the genre, as the format of our film leant toward generally quiet and level environments. If we had tried to use a phone mic to record in a windy street or a nightclub the outcome would have definitely been un-usable. But due to two separate audio issues (both of which we will never make again) we were forced to use a few bits of dodgy sound so as not to sacrifice some very interesting content.

We have also learned a great deal about which editing software is better suited to working with the large digital files that DSLRs produce. Deciding to edit our film in FinalCut also allowed a greater degree of freedom around when and where we could work together. Half of our group work part-time and  there were a few trips home around Easter that made meeting up within avid suite opening hours difficult. Being able to get together at weekends and in the evening gave us the extra time needed to get the editing done.

This being said, our structure could use a lot of work. We ran out of time, in short, and what with the screen grabs and other visuals (plus matching up the audio/video tracks from claudia's problem interviews) the editing process was a lot more rushed than we had planned. Fortunately, this is something we can always come back to and edit further now we have the footage. There has already been talk of an extended cut with a much clearer structure that we may work on separately over summer, but we'll see. In retrospect however it may have been a good idea to play with ideas of online/oncamera persona and the differences between people\s profiles on facebook and how they really act. We did use some of these themes to introduce each character but this would have worked to a greater effect later on in the film's timeline.

Generally though, the film went well and I am pleased with the finished product. It may not be as slick as it could be, but the point of the film to me was to make people think about how and why they use social networking sites. The discussions and actions that have come as a result of our film have already surprised me with their intensity. There is so much to say on the subject that I feel half of the battle was whittling the footage down to some kind of coherent statement. The group worked well together and shared the workload as equally as possible. It was once again amazing to note the number of responses from volunteers willing to be involved for no fee. A very valuable project in terms of learning from experiences and from each other, and a film that I will continue to share with as many people as possible in order to make 'the facebook generation' think.

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A late still from Tony's interview. Had to crop the media player bar out of the bottom so it looks wider than it should be. The only interview I did not personally attend, no recorded problems!

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Some Facebook posts from a 15 year old girl i used to babysit. Post like these are frequent along with many ‘selfies’ (pictures of herself in various poses) posted daily. Her updates concern me that  the younger generation on Facebook are using it as a popularity system to rate each other which brings the cruelty of the playground to the internet accessible at home and on mobile devices. Her facebook page helped with my research into how the site is affecting the younger generation. I think it is a danger to easily influenced or insecure  girls in high school that readily believe they must participate in ‘polls’ such as the ones above to fit in or make friends.

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One of the younger generation facebook users we discussed during the earlier stages of research.

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Quoted from caption: 'You're meant to be hanging out with me, having a pint. Now you're all checking your phones and taking photos of your coffee. Granted that is very nice latte art, but I can't bloody stand this. We're all socialising but not with each other.' Again from 'Oh Comely' magazine.

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From the magazine 'Oh Comely'. Seen so much about tthe Internet age in social media recently (ironically, a great deal online)

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A still from our shoot with Sebb, Wednesday 20th March.

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Another still (uploaded a bit late this time) from the shoot with Phil March 12th.

We decided to shoot this interview in a quiet room at JKCC for two reasons: Phil is a Napier student in first year film (so will be spending some frantic essay hours in here) and also because it struck us all how much time in the kilby is spent procrastinating online.

('Spotted in the kilby' is even a facebook page which becomes particularly popular during exam period)

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A couple of stills from our shoot with the lovely Eoghann yesterday.

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Still from our first shoot yesterday: the lovely Claudia!

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Question planning and rough shot list before our first shoot (completed tuesday 5th, shot saturday 9th)

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My 13 year old cousin Daniel, commenting on social networking back in January of this year.

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I asked a friend of mine who is studying to be a psychologist if he fancied writing something about his view on Facebook and how it has influenced us over the years. Here is what he thinks…

The development of a personal sense of identity is a long and slow process, which occurs at different...

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I asked a friend of mine who is studying to be a psychologist if he fancied writing something about his view on Facebook and how it has influenced us over the years. Here is what he thinks…

The development of a personal sense of identity is a long and slow process, which occurs at different...