I have been focusing lately on the relationship between memory and the mobile
phone. This has culminated in co-writing a paper with Marsha Berry which will be
presented at ISEA 2009 in Belfast, an article ‘The Portable Shrine’ in
AJC Vol 36 (1) 2009 and a forthcoming presentation at the 2nd Arts Health
Conference in Newcastle.

I have not stopped using the mobile phone to take photos and record the
everyday and it’s nice to know that I am not the only one out there who is
intrigued by the manner in which this portable communication device
continues to penetrate our lives, as well as contour our communications
and capture our future memories.

Sometimes it’s just the flotsam and Jetsam that floats around our environment
that ends up trapped within the heart of our mobiles. Images of burning public
ashtrays, a piece of street art, or a self portrait sent to a friend bearing the
invisible tag “Hey, look what I’m doing right now”.

Recently,  I went to see Harry Potter and the teenage girl sitting in front of me
kept texting throughout the film. Her friends were all engrossed in the film,
but her experience was very much one of being focused on the world outside
of Hogwarts and the cinema. Of course much has been written about the notion
of co-presence, but I am wondering if having to communicate all the time is
some kind of Claustrophobia, a fear of being disconnected to a world of
‘push-button friends’.

If you get a chance, take a look at the latest edition of the Australian
Journal of Communication (AJC) Vol 36 (1) 2009, it looks at Mobile Phone
research in Australia and New Zealand. Under the heading of ‘Placing Mobile
Communications’, this latest issue has 9 essays on mobile phone culture
written by established and emerging researchers.

Enjoy,

Dean.

Pictured above: My SL alter ego Tick Choche.

Students recently studying Intergrated Media 2 at RMIT University were required
to produce machinimas for the mobile phone using the Second Life game engine.
The students were given the theme My Street, which coincided with the
ABC’s “My Street” online competition. Entrants could upload their projects to
the “Pool” for others to watch.

Designed for the small screen of the mobile phone, the animations created by the RMIT
students explore notions of place and space, both virtual and physical. Stories range
from the personal, political, comical and thought provoking, but all are well worth a look.

Mobile media and Social Software applications are providing students with innovative
ways to learn, share and produce media content for contemporary audiences.
I believe that the limitations imposed upon students working within the parameters
of these online technologies promotes innovative methods of storytelling, placing a
strong emphasis on organizational and problem solving skills, as well as team
building strategies.

To take a look at some of the projects, simply click on the link below.

http://www.pool.org.au/users/my_virtual_street

I just discovered that the mobile films from the Kamilya digital mini-fest (DMF)
2007 are now online. I was fortunate enough to be invited to work with VCAL
students on the “Turning Point “project developed by Sally Drummond from
William Angliss Institute of Tafe.

This groundbreaking project, funded by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework,
promoted the use of mobile media to facilitate interactive and enhanced learning in
the classroom.

Students used mobile phones to shoot short films that were later edited on computers,
then entered into the Kamilya digital mini-fest. The selected films were viewed
on the ihub touchscreens dotted throughout the Melbourne CBD. Films could
also be downloaded from ihubs to a bluetooth enabled mobile phone using a
bluetooth technology developed by Aura Interactive called“BlueZones”.

The mobile films and an overview of the project can be found at
http://turningpoint.flexiblelearning.net.au/tp/html/kamilya_festival.html

Click on the films tab to view the mobile films or watch the 2 mini docos
that provide an overview of the project.

Over the past 4 years I have been looking at the potential
of the mobile phone as a tool for the production and display
of various forms of storytelling.

In my Masters exegesis”Storytelling and Mobile Media:
Narratives for the Mobile Phone” I have investigated the
role played by media convergence and narrative theory, in
particular Mieke Bal, in shaping our understanding of mobile
narratives. To support the 22,000 word document, I have
produced 8 digital works that explore the parameters of the
mobile phone.

Rather than focus on the network capabilities of the mobile,
for that is the next step, the focus of these projects lies in
the construction of the narrative itself. My aim was to create
stories that take advantage of the intimate nature of mobile
media. The stories range from deeply personal, fictional,
and social documents; and use the mediums of video and
photography.

In the following month I will upload an online version
with links to all the projects, but some of these projects
are currently dotted throughout this blog.

To download a copy just click on the link below. (25MB)

Storytelling for Mobile Media PDF

Images and video captured on the mobile phone have an aesthetic
that differs greatly from traditional image capturing devices.
The mobile phone’s poor memory capability and cheap plastic
lens may be seen as restrictive, but I view these technological
shortfalls as an opportunity to promote a dialogue with the
viewer that challenges conventional modes of imaging
and storytelling.

Visual mediums such as painting, photography and cinema are all
capable of presenting narratives, yet these three mediums invite
different levels of engagement and interpretation.
A painting may depict a concept, yet it is difficult for the reader to
ignore the brush strokes on the surface, or not be influenced by
paintings “high art” status within the visual art hierarchy.
Preconceived notions and associations of media forms arguably
contribute to the reading of a particular work, and this has
proven to be an interesting area of investigation when producing
mobile phone narratives.

As noted by Hodge & Tripp (1986, p.17) “fundamental to all semiotic
analysis is the fact that any system of signs (semiotic code) is carried
by a material medium which has its own principles of structure”. Therefore,
it is highly possible that a readers’ interpretation of a sign may be influenced
by the associations, or preconceived notions that the reader may attach to a
particular medium that is being used to convey a concept or idea.

Although mobile narratives may borrow conventions such as frame composition
and sequential montage from cinema and photography, the mobile phone is not
restricted by the conventions associated with either of these two media formats.
Images and video captured on the mobile phone are generally not afforded the
same status attributed to visual mediums such as photography and cinema,
but this may also be viewed as an advantage, as it frees both the artist and the
viewer from the intellectual baggage associated with more traditional visual
media forms.

An unforseen use of for the mobile phone came about when I decided to
document the recovery period after my heart operation. I made a decision
to use the mobile phone take a self-portrait each day to document the
changes in my appearance as my health improved over a one-year period.
The mobile phone does not share the same association with conventional
cameras and is therefore less confronting when capturing personal images.
The small screen was like a portable mirror reflecting my image and providing
positive reinforcement along the road to wellbeing. The mobile phone was ever
close to hand and was a convenient and simple method of capturing the
collection of over 300 self-portraits.

Due to the personal nature of the communications and images that live
within the digital heart of the mobile phone, it is difficult to not imbue the
device with a degree of intimacy. The “get well” text messages I received in
hospital also contributed to my sense of feeling connected to a bigger world
that lay outside of my solitary room in the hospital. Mobile media had played
a role in my recovery process through the act of positive self-imaging, and
assisted in the reduction of isolation by providing a means of maintaining a
healthy connection to friends, family and colleagues.

Personal communications may still be the highest priority of the mobile phone
user, but it is no longer the sole purpose of the device. Mobile phone narratives
may take the form of user generated content created by using the mobile as a
production tool, or content produced specifically for publication on screen of
the mobile phone and/or other mobile media devices such as
PDA’s, iPod’s, Mp3 Players, PSP (Play Station Portable).

The term “mobile phone” now appears to be an outmoded description for a
portable media device that shares commonalities with the camera and personal
computer. A convergence of digital technologies has instigated a radical
transformation of the mobile phone, and this can be witnessed in the mobile
phone’s evolution from a simple communication tool to that of a sophisticated
multimedia device. Advancements in mobile phone technology provide
opportunities to create, view and share a wide variety of digital media content.

If you are more interested in compressing other video sources for the mobile
screen, then I suggest you check out Style Guide for Mobile Narratives on
Mobile Muse

Hodge, R & Tripp, D 1986, Children and Television: A Semiotic Approach,
Cambridge: Polity Press.

The Poetics of Mobile Media

I have been writing my blog for a few years now and I
am pleased to say that I have finally submitted my MA.
The title of my Masters degree is Storytelling and Mobile Media:
Narratives for the Mobile Phone. The exegesis looks at the factors
that influence the production of mobile media narratives, and the
creative process behind my mobile phone photography and video art.

I plan to keep this blog going, but I will expand the nature of the blog to
include emergent media forms such as social software, virtual spaces, and
user generated content. These new technologies impact on the way we create,
socialise and express our creativity and identity. My blog will continue to be
a space to share ideas and publish my thoughts on new media and digital
narratives.

I just thought it would be good to point out some of the outstanding
mobile media sites that are out there.

A brilliant resource is Universe creation 101 which has an enormous archive
of new media, narrative and mobile information. A highlight of the site is
a list of mobile dramas and extensive info on emergent narrative forms.

Mobile Muse is a must see blog for those interested
in all aspects of mobile media. It even has a section for
mobile newbies.

Another great blog is Mobile Experience.
Plenty of mobile info presented in an easy to read
format. Social trends, mobile business, video and
technology. Always a good read.

A must see blog is Snurblog: A comprehensive research blog on
mobile media, social software, USG, and new media theory.
Snurblog showcases current and innovative media
research from around the world.

Mo:life: An informative blog with an emphasis
on mobile media and business.

The mobile phone presents visual artists with opportunities to
explore the photographic medium in new ways. The ubiquitous
mobile phone is always at hand and ready to capture the moment.
But what makes mobile phone photography any different from
using an everyday digital or analogue camera?

I believe what makes the mobile phone unique is our relationship
with the device. Even though many mobile phones have a camera,
they are not bound by the conventions of traditional photography.
Images taken on the mobile phone may often be less considered,
but perhaps this is the key advantage of mobile phone photography.
The nuances of the everyday experience are captured within the
intimate confines of the small screen. The Importance of the aesthetic
has been replaced by the importance of the subject matter.
Mobile phone images are signposts that document the nuances of the
the day-to-day. The content of these images often reflects
the banal events of our daily life, but I would argue that it is this very
banality that enables these images to often transcend their humble
origins and enable viewers to connect with the everyday experience.

Mobile phone photography and mobile video present us with images that
range from the mundane to the profound. Who can forget those grainy
green videos of the London Tube bombings in 2005. The aesthetic of
the mobile video of that time is unmistakable, yet it is that very fact
that the footage is recognizably mobile footage that we are able to imbue
the content with a sense of immediacy and authenticity.

So what kind of content is suited to mobile phone photography? Well,
I would suggest that the best content reflects the portability and proximity
of the mobile phone. The decisive moment is everywhere when you have a
mobile camera in your pocket.

I have compiled some of my mobile phone images on Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/31487136@N08/sets/72157608038330881/show/

So please take a look and if you would like to leave a link to your mobile images or leave feedback
please feel free to leave a comment.

Dean.

The social software application Second Life provides its users with a quick and easy method of producing machinima for the small screen of the mobile phone.

A Machinima is basically an animation that is made using a game engine to capture content within a game world. If would like to know more about what a machinima is, then check out the following link. http://www.machinima.com/

So why make a machinima for the mobile phone? When it’s so easy to produce a machinima, why not make animations that you can share with friends via bluetooth to the mobile phone. The beauty of SL (Second Life) is that you can create your own virtual sets and characters, and tailor them all to suit the needs of your script without the need to hire a cherry picker or call a casting agent. This is filmmaking on the cheap, that is if you have access to high speed broadband at a reasonable cost. After building a set and rehearsing with your cast of avatars you are ready to make an SL machinima. To see video tutorials on how to film, capture and output your machinima simply take a trip to Youtube, boxxet or http://secondlife.com/showcase/machinima/

Once you have captured your Sl content you can edit it in a movie editing software such as iMovie or Final Cut Pro. Add sounds, effects and export as a 3gp file to be played on your mobile phone. Of course you don’t have to just use SL to create a machinima, you can use Sims, WOW, Halo 3, or any number of game engines that enable you to record game content. If you want to explore the world of machinima I suggest you check out the following projects.

Machinima Beauty (American Beauty as a Machinima)

Anna by Katherine Anna Kang (A favorite of mine)

Red vs Blue episode 1 (probably the most sucessful machinima)

Repuffs, a political satire machinima ( The U.S. election 2008)

What is Machinima ( An instructional machinima)

A Second Life holiday ( A nice place to visit)

Enjoy!

cheers,
Dean.

The mobile phone has profoundly altered our perceptions of
telecommunications and personal computing, but it is also
changing our notions of narrative as it evolves into a multimedia
production tool, entertainment portal and communication device.
In order to create content for this revolutionary media device,
it is essential that producers understand how social practices
surrounding the mobile phone may influence the creation and
production of mobile content. Designers of content for the mobile
phone must also acknowledge the role of user patterns as a factor
that may shape the look and feel of mobile content.

The mobile phone has become the primary tool for the management
of communications and the sharing of media content. It has successfully
embedded itself into our daily lives, thus promoting a greater
relationship between human and computer. The mobile phone may
have emancipated its users from the confines of the fixed line telephone,
but this very mobility has transformed the manner and method in which
we communicate, create and share information.

The mobile phone provides a portable connection to people and
places outside of our immediate experience, thus enabling an
almost constant connectivity to the people and places that form
the basis of our social networks. In her essay “On the Mobile”,
Plant (2002) observes that:

The mobile requires its users to manage the intersection of the
real present and the conversational present in a manner that is
mindful of both. Many mobile users have become adept at
operating as though in two worlds in these psychological senses,
and in more physical ways as well: in a way the mobile has
created a new mode in which the human mind can operate,
a kind of bi-psyche. (Plant, 2002:51)

The portability of the mobile phone allows the user to access
content in non site-specific locations. Each mobile phone user
forms part of a greater network of users who are sharing
communications and media content in an ever-growing network.
Advancements in mobile technology have provided mobile user’s
with the necessary tools (still & video camera, audio recorder,
internet, etc) to capture, edit and publish content for both easy
storage and syndication across the mobile network. Mobile
phone users often become content pushers, using the mobile
networks and bluetooth application to disseminate a wide
variety of media to other users who then push back with
more content.

The miniature or micro screen invites the viewer to enter
into an intimate relationship with the data that filters
through the mobile device. Unlike the shared viewing
experience associated with the viewing of content in
a cinema or on a television screen, the small screen
of the mobile phone invites notions of intimacy, as
the screen content is generally only viewed by the
owner of the phone and often cupped within the
palm of the hand.

The intimate nature of the user relationship with the
mobile device suggests a heightened personal relationship
with the narrative and the content, and this is further
evidenced by the growing trend towards user-generated
content. The mobile phone has enabled the transition to
a mediated self; constantly absorbing, constructing and
generating narrative forms. The mobile device becomes
an integrated part of the self, influencing both our
identity and social behaviour.

The objective of the Recovery project was to adopt the mobile phone camera
as a device to record a series of narrative images that document my recovery
after a heart operation in 2005. Van Alphern (1998, p.24) observes that the:
“vision of the individual subject who had the experience becomes the bedrock of
evidence”. In the case of the Recovery project, such evidence is born from my
personal experience. These digital images provide a visual record of the changes
in my appearance as my health slowly improved over a twelve-month period, but
they also played a vital role in aiding my recovery by providing evidence of my
journey to wellness.

The portability of the mobile phone meant I was able to review these images at
anytime. On days when I was feeling unwell, I would scroll through the images
looking for evidence of my improvement in health. The mobile phone presents a
convenient method of capturing and storing a series of self-portraits that can
easily be reviewed on the screen of the mobile phone at the point of capture.
Each day that I captured a self-portrait, I looked to the small screen of the mobile
phone for evidence of any improvement in my health. Like a looking glass, the s
mall screen of the mobile phone reflected back my face, and over a long period of
time I watched and searched for any physical signs of the face of the person I was
before the onset of the illness.

My decision to create a small booklet to house a selection of my self-portraits was
based on a need to recreate the intimate nature of the viewing process on the mobile
phone. I also wanted to give the viewer an opportunity to view and compare these tiny
images in similar fashion to how I had interacted with these mobile phone self-portraits.

Images captured on a mobile phone camera are not afforded the same prestige as images
created by photographers using conventional stills cameras. Sturken and Cartwright
(2003, p.13) observe that: “a photograph is perceived to be an unmediated copy of
the real world, a trace of reality skimmed off the very surface of life”. But in a
post-photoshop era that has arguably eroded the truth-value and the social status
of the photograph, the digital image stands as a malleable visual document, rather
than a fixed media object. Instead of the truth belonging to the image, it is now the
maker of the image who must be trusted by the viewer.

Employing the conventions of the documentary photograph to convey the story
behind this collection of mobile phone images, these illness narratives are presented
as a linear photo essay that recalls the key turning points associated with the various
stages of my recovery period. Rather than adopt a highly stylised aesthetic for the
self-portraits, I have opted for a less formal process. Each image is presented as a
frontal portrait and is captured in a manner where no particular time, place or
lighting conditions were imposed upon the production process. I believe that the
frontal portrait can be adopted as a narrative device to reveal the subject of an image
in a similar way that a reader would open a book and reveal the words for all to see.
The frontal portrait opens up the subject to public scrutiny; the sitter has no place
to hide and nowhere to run as s/he is forced to confront what cannot be hidden from
the viewer. The images include a wide variety of background information and varied frame
compositions. Each image was taken at a time which was considered convenient, rather
than adopting a systematic approach to the overall aesthetic and production phase.
Brison (1999, p.39) observes that: “survivors of trauma frequently remark that they
are not the same people they were before they were traumatized”. The changes in my
physical appearance provide the viewer with a series of visual and narrative cues
surrounding a theme of transition. The intent for this series was not to pre-empt
or drive the narrative in a set direction. This collection of self-portraits is best
approached as an exploration of a personal narrative that has been captured as
it unfolds before the subject.

Challenges associated with this project include the limitations resulting from
the cheap plastic lens and poor image quality of the 2.0 mega pixel camera
embedded in the Nokia 6680 mobile phone. These technical limitations place
restrictions on the print size of mobile phone images. In order to convey a
temporal shift in the narrative, I have selected images that I believe best illustrate
a continual change in my appearance over an extended period of time.
Van Alphern (1998, p.1) notes: “experience is something that people have,
rather than do: experiences are direct, unmediated, subjectively lived accounts of reality.
They are not traces of reality, but rather part of life itself”. The photographic self-portrait
is a mirror, its reflection transforming its subject from self to the other.
The sitter becomes the object of investigation, as he/she is both the viewer and the viewed.
The captured moment stares back in silence waiting for a voice to fill the void, for the
subject can no longer be heard and is now reliant on the witness to decipher the narrative
codes and give voice to the story.

The self-portraits by photographer Nan Goldin provided much inspiration
for the Recovery project. As a photographer myself, I have always admired
Goldin’s ability to disengage from her ego as she turns the camera lens onto
herself, capturing pivotal moments in her life. Goldin presents the viewer with
a series of turning points, as seen in her self-portrait Nan one month after
being battered, that punctuate a narrative that sees Goldin playing the role of
both artist and subject.

In her essay ‘In / Of Her Time: Nan Goldin’s Photographs’, Sussman (1996, p.37)
observes that: “what is striking about these photos is her brutal self-examination.”
Goldin uses the camera as a tool for the production of narrative images that build
a bridge between herself and the viewer. The subject becomes story, and the story
the subject. Goldin achieves this by creating narrative images that use limited picture
elements to construct an intimate study of the human form. Her images enable the
viewer to see under the veneer of the photograph and catch a glimpse of the fragility
that is the human experience.

Brison (1997, p.21) notes: “In order to construct self-narratives we need not only
the words with which to tell our stories, but also an audience able and willing to
hear us and to understand our words as we intend them”. It is hoped that the viewer
of this work will gain some insight into the journey I have undertaken, and a greater
understanding of the narrative potential of the mobile phone and the self-portrait.

The mobile phone was both a tool to document the recovery process, and its images
a means of confirming and aiding my recovery. But the mobile phone is also a portable
shrine of remembrance, a device capable of storing personal narratives in the form of
images, video, audio and text messages that can shape our understanding of the past,
present and future.

References

Brison, S J 1997, ‘Trauma Narratives and the Remaking of the Self’ in Acts of Memory: Cultural Recall in the Present, Ed. Bal, M, Crewe, J, & Spitzer, L, Dartmouth College Press, University Press of New England, U.K.

Sturken, M & Cartwright, L 2003, Practices of looking: an introduction to visual culture. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Sussman, E 1996, ‘In / Of Her Time: Nan Goldin’s Photographs’ in Goldin, Nan Goldin: I’LL BE YOUR MIRROR, N, Armstrong, D, & Holzwarth, H (eds), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Van Alphern, E 1998, “Symptoms of Discursivity: Experience, Memory and Trauma”, in Acts of Memory: Cultural Recall in the Present, Ed. Bal, M, Crewe, J, & Spitzer, L, Dartmouth College Press, University Press of New England, U.K.