Enter a world that falls somewhere between a dream state and the curtain folds of a cinema, where imagination somehow manifests itself into surreality. It’s all happening down at Fed Square, as ACMI hosts Tim Burton: The Exhibition, a tribute to the mastermind artist and filmmaker which invites you to follow his career from its beginnings to the box office today.

The exhibition takes you through Burton’s early work as a student, where you get a taste of his creativity and humour, expressed through drawings, limericks and cartoons. It is evident, from his early work, that he was destined to make some of the most progressive animated features and films of our time.

To see the collection of unpublished drawings and non-theatrical releases of short films was like stumbling upon a naughty treasure trove of new and exciting material.

His trademark of creating creature-based characters and out-of-this-world human beings is a consistent theme throughout his work. Burton’s unconventional storytelling style appeals to a wide audience but particularly to those who have an appreciation for his slightly dark and quirky sense of humour. The artwork on show is visually stunning.

The exhibition showcases his unique take on Hansel and Gretel, one of his first unreleased films. You can also examine the details of Johnny Depp’s Edward Scissorhands costume up close, and marvel at the skin-tight Catwoman outfit Michelle Pfeiffer had to squeeze into in Batman. Several film props and models from his blockbuster films adorn the gallery, transforming the space into a scene reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Vincent, Burton’s first short animated film, is a real highlight. I found myself giggling at the Dr Seussian flavour of the piece. It combines the eeriness of Edgar Allan Poe with the sophistication of Vincent Price – an unlikely but rich combination.

Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of Burton’s creations is the light-hearted, never-offensive humour and wit behind the dark, ghoulish and often misunderstood characters. The human element ever-present in Tim Burton’s work is what makes it so appealing to anyone wanting to indulge in a bit of nightmaring.

I was completely lost in another world for almost two hours, and there is no doubt in my mind, after seeing this exhibition, that Tim Burton is a creative genius.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Assistant Director x 1 (able to assist in the whole production, best to have a lot of contact and ability to arrange personnel such as actor / actress)
Editor/Visual Effect Artist x 2 (must have proficiency in dealing with Adobe Premiere/Final Cut Pro and After Effects)
Scriptwriter x 1
Storyboard artist x 1 (Able to sketch and outline the script)
Let Lisa know if you can help!

This would make a suitable Media Project for those of you studying HALM317

The work will range from simple data entry for content creation and
website development, to managing syndicated content, to helping
research and pitch articles, stories and photographs, to editors and
publishers, and possibly even write articles or sections, for various
publications and magazines, including The Age newspaper. Some of it
will be very basic work, compiling editorial lists and data entry for example. But a fair bit will be directly related to publishing,distribution, journalism and media and I am happy to teach what I know as we work.

I worked at the Age till 1992 as a journalist and have freelanced pretty regularly since. I now run a small publishing business with many projects underway.

I will place an ad on Swinburne’s employment site, but thought this might be a more direct way of finding the right person.”

Please email a 6 – 10 paragraph bio outlining you interests and experience (in prose) to Lisa if you are interested lgye@swin.edu.au

TheBigTip (TBT) is a sports channel driven entirely by public contribution; they say that they represent the ‘real voice’ of public opinion leaders and sports enthusiasts.

If you participate in a sports forum, enjoy writing or simply would like to have your opinion heard then register here and begin writing today.

You will have transparent reporting on all your articles written including views, comments, popularity.

They will aggressively promote your work through all available social media channels, forums and media.

You get paid! Feature writers who receive over 500 unique views are entitled to be paid – As soon as your article hits a minimum of 500 unique views you will be awarded a payment.

What are you waiting for?

Curated in direct collaboration with Burton, the exhibition brings together over 700 works, including paintings, drawings, puppets, costumes, storyboards and film. Discover the elements of gothic fantasy, dark humour and motifs that characterise Burton’s work as director, concept artist, illustrator and photographer.

If you visit the retrospective at ACMI, why not write a review for MOTIF? Send them to lgye@swin.edu.au

Click here to view the embedded video.

Commissioned as part of City of Melbourne’s Public Art Program this four screen graphic animation was conceived as the inaugural screen based Signal artwork. Active at night, the work marks and transforms the site by presenting a poetic and elegiac panorama of youth portraiture. The effect is in stark contrast to the city’s mediascape saturated with images of youth as portrayed through corporate marketing.

Signal is an exciting new endeavour that provides an arts facility to Melbourne’s youth. Coinciding with the Festival are its inaugural screen and sound public art commissions. This commission evidences Brophy’s conceptual concerns with contemporary media expressed through a sharp pop sensibility.

Find out more at http://www.melbournefestival.com.au/program/production?id=3661

The National Ethnic and Multicultural Broadcasters’ Council (NEMBC), Australia’s not for profit peak body for multicultural community broadcasters, is looking for a project assistant who is highly competent, exceptionally organised, proactive, has excellent written and oral communication skills and has experience working with migrant, refugee and/or Indigenous communities. A knowledge or experience of the media sector is desirable. This position would suit students in their 3rd year or above.
This role will be two days a week for 8 weeks to assist with organising the National Radioactive Multicultural and Indigenous Youth Media Conference to be held in Canberra from 14th- 15th August. The role will involve liaising with multicultural and Indigenous organisations, media outlets and educational institutions to help publicise the conference. The role will also provide administrative assistance to the project manager and main organiser of the conference.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with a dynamic national organisation and get experience working in the multicultural and community broadcasting sectors.
The hours are flexible to fit in with study or work commitments. You will be mentored by the project manager and there is opportunity for an extended internship to work on other projects within the organisation.
This is an unpaid position based in the NEMBC office in Fitzroy.

Please send a CV and cover letter to Rachael Bongiorno at rbongiorno@nembc.org.au

***Applications close: 15 June 2010***
Preferred start date: 21 June 2010

It’s a bit hard to say how my initial idea to create an audio report on hoon drivers evolved into the desire to create an animation, but I’m glad it did. After my initial struggle to work out an appropriate structure for the original project I began to realise that I wasn’t really passionate about the subject I was covering. I also started thinking about the importance of expert opinion, that is, that I didn’t really want to produce a product that relied on expert opinion to seem relevant.

So when I started thinking about other ways of approaching the project, my own issues with consumption kept coming to mind. My initial intention was to use audio vox-pops and a more personal, verbal account on consumption, and incorporate animation as a way to better engage with the audience.

But again I kept having trouble deciding on how to structure the piece, especially if I was keeping it as a report style. It seemed important that I should limit how much personal opinion I put into it if it was to remain a formal report. As the idea moved further away from a report style I begun to think about how much more important an accompanying animation would be and eventually realised that I could use lego, as I had copious amounts at my disposal.

In it’s final form the animation is intended to introduce some opinions about consumption in an entertaining and ironic way (ironic for the pure fact that it features Lego talking about toys and how much they’re needed). I should also mention, at this point, that a lot of the ideas that are expressed in the animation were loosely based around the writings of Alain De Botton, namely his book: Status Anxiety. By putting the animation online and trying to gain more exposure for the film, I’m hoping that some discussion about the topic will be generated.

In terms of putting together the animation, it all happened quite quickly, so it almost feels as though it was providence.

The script came very easily and I think that had to do with how much I enjoy discussing the topic in everyday conversation. The first draft deviated slightly off topic and covered issues like religion and video games, and at over seven minutes long it didn’t have any real structure to it. I decided to focus the script on the toy aspect of consumption that I had written about within the script and edit it down to around 2.30 minutes in an attempt to ensure that the audience wouldn’t get too bored with it.

In trying to get all the equipment I needed, I found myself in quite an ironic situation. I didn’t initially have access to a video camera that would be compatible with the program I needed to use for the animation. While there’s a few digital cameras lying around my house there wasn’t any that would connect properly with the program I wanted to use (iStop Motion, a very use friendly piece of software).

And in trying to acquire the right technology I kept finding myself wanting to buy something new and top of the range. I was convinced that nothing else would work as well and almost spent a month’s wages on something I would probably never use again. Then my boyfriend pointed out how funny the situation and my behaviour was, considering the content of the film I was about to make. I took a step back and conceded that I didn’t really need to buy any new equipment. So at least I’ve learnt a lesson about consumption through the animation process. As such it already feels like a win.

I loved filming. While I had the initial problem of locating equipment, the whole thing came together very quickly once I had my mind set on the animation. I wanted to see how much I could challenge myself with a technology I had never used before, and I think that the end product turned out extremely well. Although, I must admit that it probably has more to do with the software I was using more than anything else. The whole experience has re-affirmed my love for my Mac computer (again, quite ironically).

But in terms of creating certain shots and problem solving through some of the more tricky scenes (Batman flying, and Indiana Jones using his whip), I found it very satisfying to be able to work through the issue and immediately view the results.

If I could pin point any set backs I had, they would probably revolve around the amount of preparation time I gave myself in the end. If I’d decided on what I really wanted to focus my project on, earlier in the semester, I would have had more time to locate and organise everything that I needed. It all came good in the end but I did have a couple of anxiety filled weekends pretty late in the game. The experience has re-affirmed something I was already very aware of. I need to prepare and organise my time much better than I do at the moment. I found myself dragging my feet at every corner that I could, and it’s an problem that I’ve had throughout my studies. Sometimes, I rely too much on what I perceive to be natural talent and not enough on hard work, and I know that praise is more deserved with the latter.

The experience has also taught me that perhaps I’m more visually minded than I used to think. I found the whole experience a lot more satisfying than when I have edited audio on its own. Of course, some audio editing was required to create the dialogue and the background noise, but the final product seems so much more complete with a visual element. It has me re-evaluating which direction I would like to go in my career. Whilst I still love radio, I’m now keen to broaden my horizons and delve into some more visual stuff.