Metropolis - MAS110 - Everyday Aesthetics - Public Transportation - Lab 10

By Frank Altamirano (43049141) & Dylan Owen-Taylor (42510546)

We approached this task by first choosing our theme, public transport while delving into city life and travel. We thought this to be a suitable theme as many people commute to and from the city for work via public transport and this routine has become a part of peoples everyday lives. As with most things the more of it you see the more uninteresting it becomes, so our aim was to show public transport from a different perspective and bring modernisation and renewal to the mundaneness of everyday city travel. We chose not to alter our photos much as value can be generated due to their simplicity (Murray 2008). Choosing the right music was important as it sets the mood of the theme and helps to convey and clarify emotional significance (Frith 1984). The strong steady beat of the song reflects the constant drive of life – in particular the repetitive task of travelling to and from work on a daily basis. Photos were taken and chosen based on their interesting nature and perspectives which in combination with the music helped achieve the mood we wanted as well as suiting our theme. We edited the timing of our pictures to fit in with the music. In addition our choice of titles, transitions, and the effects used on the photos were all influenced by the music along with our idea of modernisation and renewal. Overall we wanted our photo essay to reflect an aspect of everyday life and show it in a fresh new light. Combining the simplicity of the photos with the music we feel that this has been achieved. 

References:

Murray, S 2008, ‘Digital Images, Photo-Sharing, and Our Shifting Notions of Everyday Aesthetics’, Journal of Visual Culture, vol. 7, no.2, pp. 147-163.

Frith, S. 1984, ‘Mood Music: An Inquiry into Narrative Film Music’, Screen, Vol 25, no.3, pp. 78–87.

Train on Sydney Harbour Bridge 2008, viewed 11 October 2012, <http://www.transport-impacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/train-on-sydney-harbour-bridge.jpg>.