Ché Baker - PhD summary

Introduction

Abstract

Throughout recent history, Australia has seen unprecedented change in the social and economic conditions surrounding the creative industries. Given this drastic change, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a disruption to ‘business as usual’ has been felt throughout many sectors, and the creative industries have been particularly impacted. This research asks and investigates how Australian filmmakers have responded.

I have particularly focused on Australian independent film-makers in narrative mediums and the broader Australian film industry. Through interviews, surveys, and practice-led research, including the creation and examination of my own creative works, I have investigated filmmakers’ innovations in technical and thematic approaches to storytelling. I have created a short film, VR Grampa, that implements many of the evolving technologies accelerated by the pandemic's conditions. The execution of this work has then further informed the creation of a full feature film – States of Mind.

In addition, I have written a novel called Blue World Order presented as an enhanced eBook complete with soundscape and imagery. It reflects many of the themes of the pandemic, and illustrates a common finding of the research, where filmmakers have pivoted to new creative mediums. Much of this work is contributing to an ongoing documentary titled Screenspill: Everything is fine to further encapsulate these findings, communicating not just the words of the interviewees but also their emotional content around what is sometimes a charged topic. This is being prepared for post-doctoral presentation.

The results of this research showed that while the COVID-19 pandemic affected everyone in the Australian film industry, those effects were wide and varied, fluctuating upon roles, discipline, and experience levels. This research concluded that workflow and technology adaptations accelerate during times of uncertainty. It found considerations such as budget, were able to be tailored to the restrictions of the pandemic but that additional innovation in both workflow and technology were necessary to adapt to the unique circumstances. Finally, it was found that many of the adaptations increased overall efficiency and can be adopted into a post-pandemic film production world.

What’s the internet got to do with it?

The emergence of careers defined by the desire to tell good stories (on the part of the artist) and engage in those stories through a variety of mediums (on the part of the audience) and indeed the sometime exchangeability of the two roles, (in co-created participatory art works) is echoed by the corporate world and speaks to broader trends.

‘The digital age’ is an expression that seems as clunky as the original computer ‘which weighed thirty ton and took a team of computer scientists to operate’. In the case of the emergence of multimodal storytelling, however, it is clear that this digital age has driven changes, which influences not only how consumers absorb ideas but also increasingly, how artists create. The change is not about computers any longer, it is about the volume of participation in digital technology, and the manifold impacts on how we work.

In corporate Australia, for example, some traditional roles, structures and functions, traditionally seen as necessary cogs in the machinery of profit-making business, have been replaced by modes that are more adaptable to the digital environment.

In some cases, and with varying degrees of success, artificial intelligence has played a part (for example, chat bots which answer online enquiries using sets of predetermined responses). In other cases, new positions are created or others made redundant. Business models are changing because human behaviour is changing.

New age workers are increasingly valued for their ability to be agile, flexible and fluid. These are ‘must have’ traits in a time wherein sudden changes to technological platforms or rapidly spreading trends in consumer behaviour can create instant opportunities or threats. The change to Facebook algorithms in 2018, for example, saw corporations move en masse from vigorously pumping corporate messages from that platform into desperately seeking alternative ways. For example, a Facebook expert can become instantly redundant with a few deft keystrokes from Facebook HQ, changing the algorithm, rendering once relevant expertise ancient history in a matter of hours.

While one can readily understand the role of ‘accountant’ or ‘teacher’, the precise nature of a role with the title ‘experience officer’ or ‘customer success manager’ is less clear, and intentionally so. Job titles for emerging roles in Australia do little to define the requirements of the position, but speak volumes about the need for professionals in those roles do ‘whatever it takes’ to achieve an outcome. Information sharing is fast, technological change is fast, economical change is fast and humans must keep pace.

Artists and artistry in a digital world

Striving for a digital Davinci

As the corporate world shifts and rumbles under a tide of consumers who are used to having what they want when they want it, who exchange information in small bits and pieces, and who want to shape the world rather than act as bystanders, so too, our artists are changing. The same digital and economic forces driving this redefinition of roles driving corporate Australia are influencing how Australian creative industries are evolving. Where traditional social and economic frameworks of the past have encouraged artists to become build a career in a single field, creatives in this new age are responding to digital technology and the opportunities it offers.

This manifests as a stretching of the practice of art across mediums, subjects and methods and broadening of the definition of ‘artist’. Artists can now more easily access creative technology (cameras), information (online tutorials) and communities (social networks) to facilitate their art including multiple modes of attracting funding. They can also connect with their consumers in a more intimate and immediate way than was previously possible, through social media.

Digital trends have also driven changes to the way people consume stories. Rather than needing to attend an event, cinema or gallery, consumers can now scroll into the most renowned art galleries in the world from their home, on their smartphone. They can access written text, watch video, interact with communities and they expect interaction and participation. They can contact artists directly and bid for their name, face or input to be included in works of art. They are, more than ever, part of the art.

The struggling artist is not a myth

In spite of the new methods available through digital technology for income raising, creative careers within Australia remain difficult to maintain from a financial standpoint. ‘The struggling artist’ is a well-known phrase built not from fantasy, but from a culture wherein creative producers of all kinds receive financial compensation on a vastly different scale from other professions, regardless of qualification level, effort exerted or the quality of the final product.

Recently, this has seen an intensified discussion in the media of the emerging wealthy ‘artist classes’ in Australia, painting a picture of a culture wherein access to creative careers is defined and limited by economic status.

Certainly, the kind of paid work available to artists generally does not afford creative practitioners the same benefits as other careers do, because the work available is often casual in nature (often referred to as ‘the gig economy’) and generally offers a lower ‘per hour’ rate than other employment.

There is also a reliance on and acceptance of work done ‘on spec’ as part of the bid process, or as a standard construct in the business of art ‘do the work and then get paid’ (maybe). This economic environment often drives artists to straddle different art forms and professions in order to accumulate sufficient wealth to meet their living requirements. The actor/writer/musician or director/producer/barista professional cluster title, often referred to as a ‘slashie’ career, is a clear indicator of the economic challenge of sustaining an artistic practice.

Artists and storytellers rely largely on grants or philanthropic support to sustain their creative practice but the effort required to apply for and acquit grants, is again, work done on spec, and the time and effort required to apply for support is competing with paid opportunities within or outside the arts.

Specific creative industries are impacted by established economic structures in varied ways. For example, the book industry, fraught by changes to publishing models, importing laws and consumer habits, are rewarding creative works and artists that fit consumer trends first and on an increasingly unbalanced scale.

This means that works produced in particular genres (such as cookbooks) are more likely to be rewarded with publishing support than books that hold less immediate marketplace appeal. Similarly, proven ‘bankable’ authors receive a higher proportion of marketing spend than first time authors, meaning established authors are more likely to receive attention, readership and sales while first-time authors are expected to drive their own sales, using their own resources for free.

Similarly, the environment in which Australian filmmakers work is challenging to enter and remain within. For example, to produce a ‘low budget’ film requires investment of in most cases at least one million dollars in order to access government tax rebates. Almost all Australian films require funding from state or federal funding agencies to reach not only the required budget level, but also to achieve legitimacy which will unlock further support in the form of film festival screenings or market support.

Another barrier to entry for Australian filmmakers is the open competition with US films. Large distributors book multiple screens and screening sessions in Australian exhibitors and that leaves very little room for programming local content. As the Federal Government rebate is directly tied to theatrical distribution, and this provides a very challenge to Australian filmmakers being able to access that rebate, and raise the finance needed to produce their films.

Fillmmakers who have completed projects then face the very challenge of recouping their money in a market that is fraught with piracy, and ever-evolving recoupment models. With the advent of streaming, the DVD market has disappeared, as have several other ancillary markets and opportunities to recoup money. In short, the financial barriers are immense, and often insurmountable, even for the most talented and ambitious filmmakers.

Original works and creative contribution

How the work was produced

I produced the ‘Rule’ stories using various creative methods, initially including a short film script and the Rule of Knowledge novel (published by Hachette). With the story at the fore, I also developed visual segments including visual artworks, cinematic trailers, online bonus chapters, visual art pieces, photographic art works and short films.

Interactive elements in my novel included using in-text clues which linked to online elements including additional text, images and video. Using a multimodal approach to storytelling, I developed a rich and layered story world which encouraged exploration and play as part of the consumption of the narrative.

The Blue World Order segment of the story was created by generating first a short film, then a novel, then a screenplay, film and additional physical content, including the design of a fully realised ‘mutant creature’ Frank. This world was enhanced again by creating an interactive ‘Laser-Tag’ story with accompanying filmed story elements and web-content, which immersed the players in the laser tag world. The story elements enhanced the game and informed the game play. Finally, we created themed ‘Escape Rooms’ which were designed to be physically played in one-hour blocks. These games were themed around the story world of the RULES series and allowed audiences to further participate in the adventure.

The extensive creative elements needed for the production of an original feature film can not be overstated. The undertaking is a mammoth effort which in itself requires a multimodal approach.

In the production of the film, I authored and directed the creation of:

An original story concept
A completed screenplay
Concept art: drawings and paintings
Set design: buildings, art direction, interiors
Music: creation of a wholly original soundtrack working intimately with a composer
Costumes: design and creation of ‘Hero’ costumes, Sci-Fi robots, and civilians
Creatures: original concept design on mutant ‘Frank’
Visual effects: As VFX supervisor I created or concept designed all the film VFX
Vehicles: Design of original ‘Wastelander’ vehicle fleet
Props: original sci-fi props, weapons and science equipment

The financial and logistical elements could each be doctorates unto themselves, but I will save that for another day!

I am a storyteller first, and within that classification, I consider myself a writer, filmmaker, artist and experience developer. Although I studied filmmaking at university, my development as a creative producer was shaped by cultural, environmental, technological and social constructs. Consequently, I now engage professionally across many mediums in order to tell the stories which matter to me.

Continuing development as a multimodal storyteller.

My engagement across varied artistic mediums (film, novels, interactive web and laser-tag) has given me the opportunity to expand my story world through the narrative forms available through different mediums. For example, the novel invited audiences to engage with the story using a traditional narrative structure. They could then investigate scientific elements of the novel through online interactive elements; and the same audience could participate actively in the story world through associated laser tag arenas and escape rooms.

I continue to derive inspiration from the social, cultural and environmental structures that have informed my development as an artist. My creative works have focused on access to information, trust and the perversion of truth, how power is held and shared and the continuum between control, safety, free-will and risk, technology, faith and human rights.

Themes of the story world

A mirrored approach

The themes explored in the story world of the ‘Rules’ series are consistent throughout. The two main ideas explored are those of Free will, and the nature of truth. These are examined through the lens of both existing and speculative technologies.

The theme of free-will is explored within ‘The Rule of Knowledge’ by investigating the cause and effect nature of time travel. The idea that knowledge has a profound effect on the mechanics of time travel mirrors the current thinking around quantum mechanics, where the observer has an effect on the outcome of quantum systems, simply through the act of observation. I created a detailed law called ‘The Rule of Knowledge’, which is a wholly original concept.The theme of free-will is continued in the Blue World Order elements of the story, with a population who have their free will restricted by a software virus that restricts both their movement and their ability to act against authority.

The theme of truth plays out throughout the stories as a major driving force. The Rule of Knowledge looks at the truth of what we know about history and historical events. It also examines ‘how’ we know the ‘truth’, and which technologies we trust over other technologies. For example, the technology of spoken word…someone passing down a story, is generally considered less reliable than the written word. We believe a written history over a spoken one. If there is a photograph of an event, we then take that as even more reliable evidence, and that is trumped now days by video. If there is a video recording of an event, that is considered even more reliable.

These methods of recording ‘truth’ have systematically been eroded with advances technology. Each of these methods; speech, writing, photography and more recently video, can all be fabricated, and yet we take each as stronger evidence of truth. The justification of time travel within ‘The Rule of knowledge’ is to record historical accuracy through video evidence.

In the furthering of the story world through Blue World Order, we see an examination of truth in the idea that ‘truth’ is broadcast directly into the brain through a software virus.Each new technology enhances the reality of a given story to lend validity to it, and the layering of several technologies further enhances any given tale as being richer, fuller and more ‘true’.

The multimodal way in which I have disclosed this story and its world mirrors the themes of the story itself. The examination of technology’s effect on how we tell the stories within society, and what we believe, and how things become more real through the layering of disclosure methods parallels the my efforts as a modern artist within Australia who uses multiple technologies to create a rich and more truthful world.