Media

VCE Media 2021

The media is ubiquitous in today’s world. Working on a personal, local, national and global level, media is deeply embedded within life and culture. It entertains, teaches, informs, and shapes audiences’ perception of their lives and the worlds in which they live.

Stories in all their forms are at the heart of the media and its relationship with audiences. Through stories narratives are constructed that engage, and are read, by audiences. Representations of ideas, realities and imagination are constructed and deconstructed, remixed and reimagined with ever increasing technological sophistication, ease and speed to engage audiences. Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority VCE Media Study Design

Note: All work is covered by copyright and cannot be used or reproduced by any third parties.

AADITYA

My short film parodies slasher movies that were successful during the 1980s and 90s such Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street and Scary Movie. It's purpose is to entertain and make people laugh.  My audience are those who have watched horror movies and understand the tropes and cliches of the genre. I aim to parody these tropes and cliches in my own film. I hope my audience will enjoy my use of horror conventions in a comedic way. The narrative focuses on the Grim Reaper who tries to kill the nameless main character, slasher style. Instead he gets knocked out and from there many misunderstandings and wacky shenanigans occur. In a sense it is like (the cartoon characters) Tom and Jerry but instead of a smart mouse and a cunning cat there is a “clever” survivalist with a “dangerous” maniac.

ALLA

A dancer lost in her grief turns to performance to heal her aching sole. Through her dance, she remembers parts of her life, the happy moments she spent with the person she misses with her whole heart. She dances for them and the life that they shared that has now been ripped away from her. I hope my music video draws emotion from the audience. I want them to be surprised with the ending and share in the ballerina’s sadness. I also wanted to create something that sticks with the audience long after they have seen it.

DILLON

My intention was to create a short thriller/action film that focuses on the themes of disappearance and mystery. I was inspired by the suspenseful cinematic style of R&B from The Weeknd’s debut album Kiss Land (2013), and films such as Scream (1996). The narrative of my film follows a girl who disappears from a virtual game night with her friends, who will then attempt to find her. Unfortunately for them, they will also slowly disappear one by one while looking for her, creating an undercurrent of suspense and tension as the threat is unknown. My goal was to have a hidden entity who kidnaps the actors off screen, with no explanation to the audience about how and why they are disappearing. I feel as though having an antagonist that cannot be seen is more interesting, especially for a shorter narrative where there is limited time to establish different characters in detail. Overall, my purpose is to give my target audience something they will enjoy and make them question the narrative, long after watching the film.

LIAM

My film is a sketch comedy, inspired by the YouTube creator Joel Haver, who creates many similar short films, all incorporating improvisation. It is constructed around a mix of both scripted material and improvised scenes and follows a story of a man being called to an odd location for a job interview, where he is asked some funny questions with some other visual comedy elements added to the film. I tried to experiment with a variety of camera techniques and editing styles to make my film as unique as possible and engage the audience. I also wanted to make fun of a generally stressful situation, to help alleviate tension for people with an interview coming up.

LOGAN

My short film is a collection of skits, with each separate skit following a different story with seemingly no connection. All is ultimately summed up in the narrative at the end. My aim was to have similar comedic element to films such as Shaun of the Dead, Life of Brian and Limmy’s Show. I wanted to make my audience laugh and work out how certain skits fit together. The narrative is non-linear in structure, with multiple settings. All these different settings have different characters, but they are the same actors. I use different names and costumes to distinguish the characters from each other. 

NATHANAEL

The narrative of my film follows the main character who suddenly finds themselves in a world devoid of all life as everyone has disappeared. After a while he stumbles into a being known as The Virus who informs him that he is part of a simulation. The Virus also explains that the beings that set up the simulation have suddenly become extinct and because of this he will live forever. The main character struggles to choose between living out a practically infinite life alone or leaving the simulation not knowing what will happen to his consciousness when he does. My aim was to make the audience rethink how their universe could work and include the themes of isolation and existentialism.

TRINITY

My short film gives off horror vibes with a softer feel, not relying on jump scares or dark lighting but rather an unsettling narrative. I wanted the film to centre on a pair of hands passing a gift box back and forth, in a battle where they try to prank each other. Some of these pranks are dark like covering a bottle of poison with a label to cover it up, but the reaction is comedic with the characters acting as though it is only a joke. This creates a horror narrative with a soft aesthetic. I relied heavily on props and setting and used different came angles for transitions to maintain the audience's attention. 

TAYLA

This series of photos is inspired by the Romantic Era, a time in history in which people put their faith in nature and relied on the deep connection between themselves and the natural world in order to produce their happiness. My photography narrative relates to this idea - the young girl devotes herself to the natural world to become a woman and the images revolve around independence, coming of age and freedom. The young girl discovers the wonders of the world and the many things she is capable of by breaking societies boundaries and freeing herself. 

JAYLEN

My photo narrative draws on the horror/thriller genre to create a sense of eeriness, shock, and to entertain. It is about a child who goes to bed, eager to wake up for Easter the next day, only to encounter a demonic Easter Bunny in their dreams, from who they must escape and try to stay alive. The style elements in each photograph represent the nightmare portion of my narrative and are dark in colour. Low lighting is used for an eerie effect as well as some distorted imagery achieved through editing. By using a holiday generally seen as joyful and associated with pastel and bright colours, I created a horror alternative to shock and entertain my audience.

EMMANUEL

My photography series tells a story of two people who are addicted to the digital world. I want to inform my audience about how the overbearing reliance on digital technology is taking away from all the real experiences they could have. The male and female characters, called Man and Woman, don’t have a particular identity but are used to express a familiar scenario. The initial images are set in darkness to establish the characters and create a sense of entrapment or isolation. I want the audience to come to a realisation that they themselves might be in that position. The series gradually becomes more colourful until the characters reach the garden where they are confronted by the Entity, a giant red sphere. They are astonished and amazed at what they see yet unsure of what happened. The Entity is a supernatural being that has come to release the Man and Woman from the trap of their diminishing lives and show them the beauty of the world which they have forgotten.