Podcasts

The selection of Podcasts here are taken from the numerous public lectures, conference and seminars Mike presents at each year and explore a range of topics related to cinema, digital media and cultural directions.

All works here are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0

COLLAGE, MONTAGE, DECOUPAGE
Compositing and the modern mise en scene

Modernism’s root in a revolt against conservative values and the Realism that embodied them, is alive and well in the processes and techniques of digital compositing. And yet by this we are perhaps prompted to reconsider the construct of the filmmakers Mise en scene and its spatiality. Through the processes of compositing, the generation and manipulation of transparency, the Alpha-Channel has become a central component of image-making in screen-media. This paper will examine the conceptual structures and outcomes of compositing as a cinematic process and consider its relationship to traditional ideas of ‘placing into the scene’ that realist cinema is predicated on. Presented at the Film History conference, University of NSW, December 2010.

Download audio *.mp3

SCIFI: THE RETURN (interview on ABC Radio National Future Tense program)

Science fiction has long been a popular genre - from print to television to film. But how does the Australian science fiction scene compare internationally? And why is it that there’ve been so few Australian scifi films?

Listen to or download the podcast from the ABC

SPACE, GAME CAMERA
The perspective interface, the virtual camera and the simulation of I
This lecture examines the roles of the virtual camera and spatial composition in the construction of game interfaces and modes of interaction. It draws upon a language of the moving camera to make an argument for treating the Player as Cinematographer and defining game genres by the feeling-states their cameras evoke. Delivered as the Leynote lecture at the IADIS Games and Entertainment conference Freiburg, Germany. July 2010
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THE FOUR FEARS OF HORROR
Examining the feeling states of horror cinema
Edited audio recording of lecture given to graduate directing and screenwriting students at the Australian Fim TV and Radio School. Examines the relationship between Terror, Shock, Dread and Anxiety in constructing effective horror cinematics.
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COLLAGE, MONTAGE AND JUXTAPOSITION
The space of transparency - motion graphics, visual fx and compositing
Music videos, TV title sequences, greenscreen shots, digital animation and composited 3D spaces - the language of contemporary cinema has never required such diverse mechanics. And at the heart of all theses processes is Transparency and the construction of seemless visual layers. This presentation, given at the University of NSW May 26th 2009, teases at the unique structures of motion graphics production and the ramifications of multi-layer visual production on traditional notions of montage and collage.
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BAD CINEMA’S VIRTUAL CAMERA: GAMING, CINEMA AESTHETICS AND THE AUDACITY OF IMMATURITY
From Eisenstein and Bazin to the Virtual Camera and the infinite long-take; the impact of gaming as cinema proposes profound implications for our understanding of cinema language and cinematic experience. Presentation at the B for Bad Cinema conference, Monash University Melbourne Australia. April 2009.
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VANISHING POINT: SPATIAL COMPOSITION & THE VIRTUAL CAMERA
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Seminar presentation at the University of NSW school of media theatre and film looking the construction and perception of the virtual camera in gaming and cinema and its impact on cinematic spatiality.

BLOGS, WIKIS AND THE NEW WORLD ORDER
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Lecture addressing a range of issues related to new forms of text and the impact on author, authority and ownership for NSW HSC English teachers. Presented as part of the ScreenSpeak Seminar series at the Powerhouse Museum May 2006.

YOUTH CULTURE & THE LANGUAGE OF CONTEMPORARY MEDIA
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Presented as the keynote address of the NSW English Teachers Association Conference 2005. This lecture takes a broad look at a range of media forms, creative concepts and processes in re-examining literacy, communication and ‘text’ in light of the ‘re-mix culture’ and digital technology.

SOUND AND SPACE: CINEMA SOUND & THE MACRO MISE-EN-SCENE.
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Guest lecture presented at the University of NSW exploring the evolution of sound reproduction and the construction of aural cinematic space.

BEYOND PLAY: GAMING AND THE CINEMATIC LANGUAGE.
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Presentation from the 2006 ATOM national conference at the Queensland University of Technology. This presentation examines the re-mediation of cinematic language in narrative-based computer gaming and the influence of the Virtual Camera on perspective and compositional thinking.

CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATION AND REMIX CULTURE
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Keynote presentation from the Leading Learning Conference, 15 October 2006, that examines a range of issues associated with remix culture and popular media forms; video games, Hip Hop and Machinima, along with associated issues of copyright.