The end of an Era.

Not really. But it certainly seems like it.

Next week marks the final week of my year-long adventure as a Diploma-level student of media and communications. It's insane. I feel as though I've been here for a lifetime and have gotten so used to my environment at school: my teachers, classmates, our 'chill' table during lunch. It seems impossible to let it all go. Despite my day-to-day raging on how I don't ever want to look at another camera again or touch anything that has the word 'Adobe' in it - I feel like I'm leaving home.

My experience at TAFE has been an interesting one. I've evolved in so many ways and what I value most is how the course has changed my outlook on not just the media, but life as a whole. I was lucky enough to have a teacher who not only put all of her effort into shaping us to be the best that we possibly can in our chosen industry, but moulded us to be better people. Better humans. Through everything that I have learnt to do with communications, I also learnt about world issues - about governments, politics, laws and ethics. About things that are wrong with our world today, and things that we have the power to change. Things that matter, reaching far beyond the glorified piece of paper I will be getting in the mail in a couple of weeks as a gratis to my hard work.

On top of everything, I've made life-long friends. And no matter where my path leads me next, whether that be sound design, directing, photography, journalism or some 9-5 PR office job, I'll be glad that I can always look to these individuals who have gone through this journey with me, and call them my buddies.

It is the end of an Era for me, but it is also the beginning of many things to come. For one, the only reason I started this blog is for an assignment. But it's somewhat turned me into a word-hog. I bloody love blogging and I will keep doing it. A prime example of how education can leave you with something invaluable. Stay in school, kids!

I truly have enjoyed my year as a media student, and I hope to keep updating you guys on the direction which my life takes me next.

Adios, TAFE!

-Dahlia

EB Games Expo 2012

The circus of gaming is coming to town. And up to 30,000 people are expected.

The EB Games Expo is making its second return to the public this year as Australia's biggest gaming event. If you're like me and love anything to do with gaming, sci-fi or technology then you should strongly consider making an appearance. Or you'll most probably be kicking yourself for a long time afterwards. A really, really long time.

The Expo started off as an industry only retailers event and last year, its gates opened to the public for the first time on sunny Gold Coast where it was welcomed with huge success.

This year, EB Games Expo will be migrating down south to us Sydney-ers, where it will be held at the Sydney Olympic Park - usually the home to a number of music festivals such as Big Day Out and Stereosonic. I've been to both festivals several times, and let me tell you - that area is huge. 

The Expo will host an impressive array of exhibitors - with last year's lineup featuring representatives from Activision, Bethesda, EA, Konami, Logitech, Nintendo and Ubisoft to name a few. According to the official website, the exhibition floor will be the life of the event and feature a euphoric atmosphere. Dark lighting, DJs and games. Sexy.

If you're not chilling at Kez and Sergio's Gamepad, excreting all of your energy and adrenaline at the Arena Spectacular or taking advantage of your Express Gamers Pass to head all of the queues - then I certainly hope you're cosplaying. And glomping someone. Or something.

Whatever you chose to do on the day, it's definitely a day that you do not want to miss. I hope to see you there. 

EB Expo Exhibition!!!

-Dahlia

How 'News Feed' feeds on us.

Ads have always been around. But lately - gradually - they've taken over the World Wide Web. I remember a time when I glorified Facebook due to it's simplistic, ad-free, almost painfully clean layout.

Luckily, it remained like that for a while. But lately - discreet as it may be - Facebook has dedicated the right side of its site to other brands. Okay - sponsored ads I'm used to. The vast majority of the social media world are bloody used to them. What choice do we have? We can't watch a 10 second YouTube clip these days without being forced to watch a 30 second pre-video ad for Libra Pads or something.

But what really makes my pet peeve growl is how specific these ads are becoming, especially on Facebook. I log on, as I do every day, and notice that these ads are freakishly appealing to me. 'Pledge to Quit!' - well okay, Facebook seems to somehow know that I'm trying. 'Sacred Witch's Heart Den'. Well, that seems interesting. Especially because my religious status on Facebook is listed as 'Wiccan'. And then I get an ad from Commonwealth - 'Can your bank keep your savings flexible? CommBank can.' Hang on a minute. Just the other day I left a comment on my friend's wall. Something about being broke, and constantly having to dip into my savings account.

Call me paranoid, but I'm seeing a pattern here. Facebook appears to be tracking people's individual details - whether it be from page likes, status updates, photos or general profile information.

Lately I've read a number of articles on the topic of how social media giants, such as Facebook, are exploiting their power within the industry to produce marketing material for their clients. This year, we are seeing more and more advertising content and commercials appear on many of these sites as companies move more and more into the world of advertising and marketing through social media. Sites such as Twitter are actually revamping their website in order to suit the needs of advertisers. Twitter is making deals with big names such as Pepsi and offering them promotions such as self-serve ads and banners which will display across the entire Twittersphere. Oh, and they're also offering our right to privacy  by seemingly exploiting a very specific demographic about their users. Well done, guys. I'm sure the big guys must really love you now.

So continue liking things, Tweeting away and posting interesting photographs of your cereals onto Instagram or whatever cool social media website you're using. Just keep in mind that it's not necessarily your own status that's being updated, but an entire army of advertisers who are burning to feed on your news - literally. Ah, you gotta love the puns.

-Dahlia

Tron: Evolution review.

I do love my games. If this was not a general blog dedicated (mostly) to media vent, then I would be doing full-time game reviews.

I picked up Tron: Evolution just a few days ago, and I have been playing it non-stop. Despite the fact that I have about gazillion things due in...err...about a day.

Let me just tell you, this game is highly addictive. I am a huge leather and neon fan, and therefore I am a massive Tron fan - I love both the 1982 and 2010 films. Tron: Evolution is based on the latest movie: it features characters modelled after their true actors, voices and all, and an environment that is as digitally immersing as that of the movie. But, most importantly, it features the full Daft Punk official score from the film. Need I say more?

Upon settling into my couch, powering up my Xbox, starting Tron: Evolution and playing for about five minutes - the first thought I had about game was 'parkour'. Space parkour, with disks. My mind was blown!

The game was a little hard to figure out, but after much jumping around and mashing buttons together (and falling into an abyss of nothingness - death), I finally started getting the hang of it. 

You play Anon, a completely mute (his name is not Gordon, nor does he wear a HEV suit) but resilient system monitor designed by Flynn - the creator-God of this computer world. You are smooth, propelling yourself through risky chasms, leaping from wall to wall and running across vertical surfaces. Gravity is your worst enemy, so you defy it.

Basically, your mission as Anon is to run through this collapsing computer world, slicing baddies with your light disk in hopes of destroying the villain Abraxas - who purposefully introduced a virus into the system. What an asshole.

The controls, though a little difficult to understand at first, are pretty compelling once you get the touch. As Anon, you are basically an acrobat - and you control his every move. Everything has to be timed. If you're doing a dangerous wall run above a bottomless chasm, and fall to your true death, you will feel like a fool. Every move is tied in with the controls. When you master this, you will know how to achieve every jump - every roll, backflip and airflip humanly - err, robotically - possible. The fighting possibilities are endless, with dozens of combos dictating how your disk will be thrown and what it will do. When you're slicing people up with your disk, it genuinely feels like you're doing ballet. There are also levels where your race on your light cycle, and blow things to bits with your light tank.

Overall, I rate this game a hefty 8/10. Its somewhat repetitiveness is justified by the general nature of most beat-em-ups. If you like that sort of stuff, set in the visually stunning world of Tron, then you'll probably like this game. And if you've ever played either Spiderman or Prince of Persia games and loved them, then Tron: Evolution might just ring home to you.


-Dahlia

Be a Hero - GoPro HD Hero 2 review.

Last week, I came across something life-changing. Oh yes, and I am referring to my professional career as a film/video maker.

I came across the GoPro Hero. And no, that's not some superhero from a movie. It's actually better.

It's a camera. And the dudes that created this thing refer to it as 'the world's most versatile HD camera.'

It is fully wearable, mountable action camera. Wearable, waterproof, shockproof. It is targeted at adventure. And I'm talking MotoGP and V8 type adventure. If you've ever watched any type of sports championship or race on television, you'll know what I'm talking about. Those sweet, sweet camera angles. Top of the helmet, side of the helmet, from the cockpit, rear facing. And have you ever actually stopped and wondered how they get these angles?

Well, the GoPro Hero (and now in its second edition - the Hero 2) is capable of providing these angles. And more. Really, it is limited by your imagination (and by gravity, of course).

The GoPro Hero works by being mounted on different, well, mounts. There is tripod, helmet, head, handlebar and chest mounts, among others. Perhaps the most interesting of these is the suction cup mount, which features an industrial strength suction cup. I've heard that professionals have done tests with this, attaching it to the wing of a Boeing, and the camera remained firmly attached through the entire flight. In fact, I don't think they managed to pull it off for a while after the plane landed.  

So you can see how the GoPro Hero is intended for outdoorsy shots. It is used by base jumpers, skiers, surfers and many, many action-seekers. The Hero gives outstanding HD shots that would otherwise be impossible to get. It is the daredevil's camera.

Internally and externally, The GoPro Hero looks good. Hero 2 features full 1080p High Definition video on up to 120FPS.The lens is extremely wide-angle, with a full 170 degree field of view. The camera also features time-lapse options, fish-eye lens view and 10-shot-per-second bursts. Users have the option of integrating a full-colour LCD screen when they buy the cam to view their daredevil shots on the go. All of this, and the camera is so tiny that it can fit within your palm.

This camera might be a little pricey - especially if you're a poor student, much like myself. It sells between $300 and $400, and that's without all the mounts and accessories. But let me tell you, it is damn worth it. If you're a budding film-maker, amateur YouTube vlogger, insane daredevil or just like keeping a visual record of your life's adventures, then check out the Go Pro. No matter your religious background, the daredevil is present in everybody. It's just a matter of unleashing him.

-Dahlia

Thou shalt not...not draw.

It seems that there has been an influx of young artistes all over the world in the past month or so.

Yes folks, there has been an art revolution all around the world. It seems that people have started to live in the spirit of Da Vinci and Picasso once again.

And to think that I was predicting the 'death' of art - a result of the disinterest and rejection of art culture by our newer generations.

Strangely enough, it is the new generation which have created the latest fad craze over an app called 'Draw Something' - making it into a social media sensation. 

Draw Something is a social drawing and guessing game and currently holds the places of #1 free app, #1 Paid App and #1 Word Game. It is the fastest growing app of all time. 

Sorry little green piggies of Angry Birds, it seems that your 'true death' has finally arrived. 

Draw Something functions on a player-to-player basis. Basically, anyone can start a game with anyone. Because the game is linked to Facebook, you can specifically play with people you have on your friends list. 

One person will be given three words worth either 1, 2 and 3 coins - 1 being the easiest to draw and 3 being hardest. The person will pick one of these three to draw - and draw they will. When they're done playing Dali, they send the masterpiece off to the other player who will then have to guess what the drawing is. Rinse and repeat. 

In all its simplicity, and perhaps because of its simplicity, the world has taken an absolutely massive interest in the game.

Perhaps it's in the nature of people to draw. After all, our earliest ancestors communicated primarily through drawings and paintings. And can you really blame anyone for wanting to release their inner artist and create absolutely...err...

bautiful things?

-Dahlia

Are you the same age your entire life?

According to my senior year advanced English teacher, you certainly are. One afternoon in class, he said just that to me. I do not remember for what purpose, or if it had anything to do with that week's analysis of Act I, Scene III of Julius Caesar. The fact was that, I was around 16 or 17 when he said it - and it has stuck with me ever since.

"You are the same age your entire life."

Philosophy has always been a major part of what defines me as an individual. And when someone says something to me of a philosophical nature, I will analyse it to the core. It's just the way I have always found meaning for myself, and was able to understand certain things.

Now, when you analyse age scientifically, it is a process (or a series of processes) based on the effects of time on a person and is defined by chronological psychological, physical and social change.

And of course, these are facts. They are true, and there is no denying facts in their scientific nature. We see ageing every day. We see lives being born, and lives dying. We see baby's first teeth appear, and grandma's face disappear within a bed of wrinkles. This is only the natural, factual cycle of life.

But then - you also see peculiar things. Peculiar things which are brushed off by science as psychology or behavioural patterns.

I'm talking abut a child of five talking with an air about him of an eighty-five year old, for example. Or an eighty-five year old playing some childlike game such as hide-and-seek as if he had seen the world for the first time - a face full of young, youthful joy beyond the crinkles.

Scientific factors aside, I can see how the quote "You are the same age your whole life" comes into play.

That genius child who sees the world with the eyes of an analytical adult will most likely keep this characteristic through his whole life. In fact, it will probably be a major defining aspect of his personality. On the other hand, the eighty-five year old was probably youthful through the entirety of his life. Though he obviously would have had to mature, I am willing to bet that he enjoyed the childish things in life all the way through adulthood.

And perhaps science is accurate. Maybe these are just psychological factors, and people adapting to their environment, etc.

But to me, it goes a little deeper than that. These are examples which define human characteristics - human personality. And, in my opinion, they are what define age. Not an age based on physical numbers - but an age that is deeper than that.

I'm not trying to prove anything, or go against science. All I'm saying here is that everyone should consider what 'age' really means to them and define it for themselves. Though science is fact, it is not always meaningful for everybody. True meaning can only be created by you FOR you, and I definitely encourage all of you to take on the role of creator.

-Dahlia