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Drafts and Ducks

A friend of mine introduced me to this challenge a few years ago. Build a duck from these 6 pieces of Lego in 30 seconds. I tried, but crumbled under the time pressure, and the result was a very poor looking duck. But he suggested I try again, gave me a helpful tip, and I spent another few minutes re-working my duck until it finally had a pleasing ‘duckness’ to it. So, I had the chance to re-draft my duck, to respond to comments (a bit like feed-forward), and re-submit my work. My first duck was a draft, not a final version. I could make it better.

This is a hugely helpful way to think about the work you do at Futureworks. Every first try is a draft; be it an essay, a mix, an edit. A draft is not as precious, or as ‘fixed’ in the way that a final version is, so call it that. Be very clear in your head that it is a draft. Your are not trying to nail it on the first try because, in truth, nobody ever does. So everything is a draft to start with, and drafts need some external input and comment to help refine them. It is a small change in thinking, but it makes a big difference to how you approach the work. Now you are actively seeking input to refine the draft, working towards a final version rather than trying to get there on the first try (remember my duck). This might take a little more time (iterating on a piece of work always does) but with a draft mindset from the start, you can plan interim deadlines for yourself to get input and revise the work. I have yet to see a piece of work which didn’t benefit from this process. So, next time you start a piece of work, think duck! 

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It’s a ‘Vs’ thing

This screenshot comes from a video essay by Shane Denson (check it out, it’s great). It’s a question I’ve been asking myself more and more recently as my research looks at film sound as an archive of varying release formats and standards. But it’s also a really useful question to keep in mind when thinking about topics for Research Projects and Dissertations, particularly where ‘Vs’ comes up. We can claim some great Vs arguments in Audio Engineering; from old chestnuts like ‘Tape Vs Digital’ to more niche affairs like ‘Silver AKG 414 Vs Black AKG 414′. They’re fertile ground for research. But if you’re considering embarking on a Vs quest, keep the above question in mind. Tape Vs Digital for instance, sure there’s a difference. There are actually stacks of differences. But which of them make a material difference? A significant difference? Can you really characterise it as positive? Negative? Or just different? I like this questions so much I’ve written it out and stuck it on the wall above my desk. Have fun mulling on difference... 

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Feedback/Forward

Sometimes the last thing you want is someone else’s opinion on your work. Whether you’ve slaved over it for ages, or rushed it at the last minute, you hope that you’ve nailed it this time. The thought of opening yourself up to the possibility that you haven’t....well, why would you? For my money there is enough value in constructive feedforward to mitigate any annoyance I might feel at having my work critically analysed and (possibly) taken apart. Another set of eyes/ears offer a fresh perspective, a chance to assess if your intentions are fully realised in the work. And if they aren’t, then hopefully the feedforward offers some suggestions about how you might revise the work, to get closer to those intentions. 

My best advice is to approach every piece of work as something that will need revision (don’t think about it as optional). Build feedforward into your creative process and consider the work as always in ‘draft’ form until you’ve given yourself the chance to review and revise through the feedforward process. And take solace in the fact that we will never be as blunt (or as unhelpful) as these test audience members were with David Cronenberg’s 1983 film ‘Videodrome’. I quite like it!

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Finding Larry Plasteric

I tend to be drawn to research which crosses over with Production Studies. I like to know how things are done (in Music, Film, Television) so I can then ask ‘Why?’ and hopefully have some chance of getting to an answer. A few years ago I presented a conference paper on the 1979 trailer for ‘Alien’. I managed to track down some people who had worked on it and other trailers at the time (Linkedin is your friend here!) and during one conversation the name ‘Larry Plasteric’ came up, a New York editor who had a small company that worked on trailers. 

I couldn’t find any reference anywhere to Larry (and believe me, I looked). Only later did I stumble across something entirely unrelated that mentioned a ‘Larry Plastrick’ and of course I found quite a bit about him. So, a simple spelling error derailed me. 

And now I’m aware of it, I see it a lot. At another conference I was presenting in the 2nd half of the programme. In the 1st half another speaker mentioned the same portable camera system that I was going to discuss, ‘The Pogo Cam’, a lightweight camera stabiliser system which used a tiny 35mm film camera first manufactured in 1925. As I listened I realised that their info about it’s design and use was really different from mine. When my turn came I was pretty nervous, convinced that my paper was now full of inaccuracies. It turned out that spelling was once again the bad guy, 

This is the Bell & Howell Eyemo (Not the Imo)

The camera used in the Pogo Cam system had been misspelled ‘Imo’ in one reputable source and that had led to a cascade of failure which included articles, book chapters (and the other guys conference paper), all misspelling the camera’s name. Not so drastic perhaps until you find that this mistake has then led to the design of ‘The Pogo Cam’ system being misattributed by a bunch of academics for quite a few years. 

So, the takeaway from this. Everyone makes mistakes? True, but we can mitigate these by backing up our findings with more research, seeking confirmation, and always questioning what we find. And finally, here’s to Fred Waugh, who did invent the Pogo Cam (and also an early helmet camera used on the Spider Man TV show in 1977). 

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TV Sound 2.0

Not just an excuse to post the theme to (probably) my favourite TV show. Rather a legitimate new angle for my TV research. Last week a CFP (Call For Papers) turned up for a new volume about The X-Files. Essentially they are looking for chapter proposals, a couple of hundred words to start off. Which is a real challenge! I need to not only nail down a topic/title but also do a significant chunk of research to be able to sell the idea to a point where they might consider including it. Luckily the TV research I’ve already gotten into will help. I’ve themed out the topic pretty broadly to get me started so;

90′s TV Production (technicalities), TV sound (already working on this), the Paranormal on Television, Network television (US focus), Fox (the Network), Basements (tied in from the idea I had about Mindhunter maybe?) 

These are directing my thinking as far as research so far. And then there are the 218 episodes and 2 films which I’ll need to look at (or at least some of them). Deadline is end January. More updates to come...

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The Theme’s the thing

Running (sort of) parallel with my PhD research I’ve started some work on television sound, in particular the sound of a brand of ‘tech’ based television series’ released in the early 80′s (thus the shameless inclusion of the Knight Rider theme).

To get my research moving I’ve identified some key themes toy start off with;

Television production (in the context of the early 80′s)

Television sound (likewise, 80′s focus)

Repetition (a key part of any television series)

1980′s America (I need some context to better understand the social and cultural context in which these TV shows were produced)

Television series narrative structures (may end up being a sub category of television production)

Representations of technology on television (see FUI)

Some of these themes (like Television Production) are very broad but I need to keep it that way until I’ve done an initial round of research. Some of this is new learning so only when I have some critical analysis and understanding under my belt can I review how I might narrow these themes. 

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Passages to Darwin

Though I claimed progress on my Cary Grant video in the last post, in truth I was still a ways off. This is the final video essay and it’s very different from my original plan (or any that came between). The written piece that lives in the Vimeo description is part of a voice over I planned then dropped (then re-instated again briefly). I also spent an evening reading some papers written by the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory about submarine working conditions. In the end none of this made it into the final video but it all served to inform me on directions I could take with the project. 

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Cary Grant progress

Finally a breakthrough with this video essay project for the Cary Comes Home Festival. My initial foray into researching Grant turned up a couple of interesting ideas; his friendship with Howard Hughes (he of the Spruce Goose), his travels home to see his mother, and his 2 submarine films, Destination Tokyo and Operation Petticoat. 

Having watched both I toyed with the idea of contrasting/comparing them and then using them to talk about his journey as an actor over the 16 years between the films. I worked up some new Keywords for this as well as looking into the production of both films;

propaganda, war film, submarine, Japan, appeasement, acting style

Some interesting ideas came out of this, particularly about his acting style, but nothing coherent. So I went back to the films (I’m a sucker for a submarine film so wasn’t willing to give up on them just yet) and on second viewing I found my way in. 

My takeaway; have confidence in the process. Work through it. Each step offers some new revelation which will inform your thinking about your topic even if it doesn’t materially contribute to the final output. 

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Synthesis

Synthesis popped up briefly last week as part of your module introductions for Research Project and Dissertation. The kind of synthesis we discussed might be less involved with cables and LFO’s than some of you might like, but we are still essentially talking about bringing together (potentially) disparate or seemingly disconnected content to reveal something new or novel. 

I’ve been re-watching Mindhunter (disturbing but excellent) and in one episode they align the idea of being given an office in the basement with demotion, a change in status (not for the better). I started thinking about how often basements turn up in films and TV and why they’re used this way and just as I’m mulling on this I happened to hear a Radio 4 discussion about bunkers. Now I’ve got a new tangent for my thinking, and a potential synthesis of ideas. It might not prove relevant in the long run but it opens up some interesting avenues; architecture, purpose, defence & safety (maybe panic rooms fit in here as well?) 

And for those of you who’ve made it this far, here’s the other kind of synthesis for you to enjoy.

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Research - The Journeys of Cary Grant

This is a fun one. As part of my PhD I’ve been making video essays (have a look here) and this call for submissions came from the ‘Cary Comes Home’ Festival being held in Bristol this year. They’re after 5 minute videos which in some way link to Cary and his journey’s. Great. 

Question What do I already know about Cary Grant?

Answer His real name was Archibald Leach. He worked quite a bit with Hitchcock. And that’s about the sum total of my existing knowledge.

So a bit of work required to get into this one and a pretty swift turnaround (October 16th deadline) so I’ve started working up a list of keywords for searches.

Cary Grant, Archibald Leach, journey, film, Hitchcock, Bristol (his hometown), travel, flight, boat, plane, car, train.

And even though I have my topic I’m still hunting about for a question, angle or argument. I’m thinking I might be able to shortcut that process a bit by digging into a biography on Cary and searching it for some of my keywords. 

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Location, Location, Location

Where you do your work is so fundamental to the process that it is often overlooked but in my experience a settled workspace is key to getting anything done. Designating a specific location for your work helps you organise your time and focus on specific tasks, when you go there, you get work done. It might sound simple but it can be a very powerful motivator. 

For research it can be particularly handy to have a wall nearby where you can blu-tack up helpful quotes, work lists and your topic title or questions to keep you on track. 

For Next Week - have a think about where you’re going to be working this year. What do you need to have at hand to help you get your work done? What do you definitely not want nearby?