Storytelling and Technology: Books, Libraries, Rhythms and Films

In June this year ABC’s The Drum published Once upon a time loving books was easy, my op ed that explored the social experience of books, literacy development and technology. This week Screen Education ran Cutting With Rhythm, my new profile about Ben Joss (pictured), a film and television editor I’ve worked with on short film productions, and the ‘rhythmic programming’ that shapes the way he cuts footage. I’m pleased with how both stories turned out. Since finishing my Post Doctoral Research Fellowship I’m building on my interest in how people use technology for communication, but in media spaces beyond health promotion.

My short term teaching duties in the Arts Industries unit at Victoria University left me with little time and made writing, blogging and participating in social media more difficult. Now that classes and marking have finished, I’ve been able to reflect on these non-fiction pieces. What stands out for me from a writing and research perspective is that the articles consider the factors shaping how technology is used and applied – including where they limit engagement with storytelling, and where they facilitate creativity. Although they are quite different stories, and I did not plan to write them together, this work continues my exploration of the relationship between people and technology, and the context that influences the production of text and audio+visual content across a range of digital media platforms.

Writing Short Films: Radio Interview on YouTube

Jessica Au wrote a great post about short films at Spike, Meanjin’s blog. It explored some of the implications for short filmmakers who screen their movies at festivals and online. This inspired me to create a short video about writing and producing short films. I used a radio interview broadcast on Triple J featuring Zan Rowe and myself during the 2005 St Kilda Film Festival. I had heaps of fun cutting this together. It was great to revisit the interview and learn how to use iMovie, which I found to be both easy and frustrating at the same time – I’m used to using Premiere on the PC.