Geomapping Toronto

Watch our Geomapping Toronto, Queen Street West- The Hidden Gems video by clicking here.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think Toronto? Most likely capital city of Ontario, and one of the busiest cities in the world. Toronto is also the home of thousands of artists, undiscovered and unknown to the general public. For our geomapping project we decided to forgo the usual Kensington Market and Royal Ontario Museum idea, for a deeper, darker journey. Instead, our adventure will take you into the hottest spots for graffiti in the downtown area, found on Queen Street West.

Starting beside the comic book store called The Silver Snail, we travelled in back alleyways and enclosed streets that should never be followed after dark. The reason we chose the undiscovered channels? Simply because Toronto isn't all about what you see on the surface. Sure, tourists come downtown to shop in tiny boutiques and gape at gorgeous artwork in the Art Gallery of  Ontario, but there is so much more to downtown. We put together all of the pictures we used within a slide show sort of film, with pictures and a script found within. The script was minimal because we decided that by geomapping art, it is better to let the pictures do the talking. We structured the actual script around an informal tour, with occasional comments about the art, and how we feel about Toronto graffiti. 

The script is as follows:

"Some people come to Toronto for the shopping, or the sights, or the culture.

But what people don't see are the treasures of Toronto, the hidden gems not found on the streets.

This journey will show you what people are missing, and what some people are trying to ignore.

We start our adventure on the west side of Queen Street, downtown Toronto. Painted on the brick wall of a comic book store called The Silver Snail, we find what we're looking for...

This may not seem like the regular graffiti you're used to, but it is.

Graffiti is the term used for images, letters or words painted or written on a piece of property.

Mostly found on the sides of buildings...And graffiti is a huge part of Toronto life. Being the adventurous people we know you are, let's travel behind The Silver Snail, to a different kind of treasure trove.

Colours and shapes cover almost every inch of this back ally, located across the street from Little Nicky's Coffee Shoppe.

Finding our way back to the populated stores, we can see more graffiti on the Queen West and Spadina intersection.

And on the next street over, even more...

Pretty cool, isn't it? That's just the beginning though. Graffiti, whether commissioned or not, is covering the walls of downtown Toronto.

If you're still brave enough, next we're going to take you behind the scenes of The City Dance Corps and the YMCA ally, to a hidden world of street art...

Simply amazing. What's even more amazing is that this four section ally is covered from head to toe, and the artists are all completely unknown.

Mystery seems to be a staple in the world of graffiti. One activist artist named Banksy, who hails across the pond from Britain, is infamous because his identity is a literal mystery. His works can be found all over the world, making him and his graffiti famous. Oh, and a recent novel that can be purchased in Urban Outfitters and Chapters doesn't hurt his fam either.

Next, if you'll just wander across the street to a parking lot located behind Taco Bell and the old shoe store titled "Da' Zone" are more fantastic examples of graffiti.

Those jail birds are cute, don't you think? Graffiti artists have a great sense of humor. Now, if you'll just come over to the next street, we have a great example of graffiti paid for by the city.

Gorgeous work, really. Let's cross the street once more for our final stop of the day.

Nestled between the Oh Boy! Burger Market and The Rock Parlour, take a look at these amazing murals.

These seven stops are not the only places you can find great graffiti in Toronto. Try Yonge Street, for example.

Unfortunately, not everyone thinks that what you've seen today is art. Some people think graffiti is vandalism, which it can be.

What is important to remember though is that Toronto is famous for being a city full of colour and culture, full of life. I'd like to take this time to thank all of you for coming on this tour today because...

You never know when we'll be forced to say goodbye to these gorgeous acts of graffiti...”

As a group, we travelled downtown via the subway to literally find this beautiful type of artwork. Getting off on Queen West, we immediately began prowling the streets for graffiti. After walking for some time looking at shop fronts, we realized we wouldn't be able to find what we were looking for on the beaten path. It was Sam who discovered our first stop. After taking a few pictures of the commissioned art of The Silver Snail, Sam stumbled upon the back alley across from Little Nicky's Coffee Shoppe. Here, amongst the tossed garbage cans and broken boards, we found hundreds of art pieces that were clearly done without permission. We took more pictures than was necessary, but found that after coming across this alley, it was easy to locate more graffiti behind the store fronts of Queen Street West. Together, we slunk through the alleys, feeling slightly rebellious just for being there. By the end of our journey, we knew that there was so much more to Toronto than what was seen in the day time.

After gathering all of our information, we learned that graffiti, while still frowned upon, is an enormous part of Toronto culture. Graffiti is seen as the art of common people, the way the children of the streets express themselves. We also learned that it is more accepted than we realized, and it is even commissioned by the city and some store owners. Document Print and Copy has a graffiti mural outside of it's store specifically to draw attention, and to show how involved they are in Toronto life. We learned that more than not, people like to look at graffiti, and find that it brings a certain life to the bland brick walls of down town. Our intention for this project was to highlight the areas that not all tourists get to see when they come to Toronto. We wanted to explain how although we are known for being nice, caring people, the Toronto night life introduces important aspects of urban culture. We intended to produce something that people could look at and be intrigued by, and want to pursue themselves.

Also, when we were heading back to the subway, we walked passed one of the new city cars emblazoned with "Goodbye Graffiti" on the side of it. Firstly, we laughed. Secondly, we were annoyed. If only the people behind that project would take the time to look around, and see how amazingly beautiful the graffiti in Toronto is. Also, we wanted to point out to them that graffiti is anything painted or written on a piece of property, and the fact that they printed those words on the side of that car could be considered exactly what they were trying to get rid of. 

Conclusively, we would like people to understand that graffiti, when done beautifully, helps bring a city to life, instead of brining it down. 

Blog Video

For our Film/ Video Production Blog Assignment, we chose to research for inspiration on what type of video we could create via the internet on websites such as YouTube (www.youtube.com). We were eventually intrigued by numerous short films entitled ‘Fifty People, One Question’ where fifty individuals would be randomly pulled off the street and asked to be filmed answering a question. The answers these people provided were then edited together, thus creating a video of fifty separate people answering the same question. After being inspired, our group decided to create our own version of these videos with a different question.

You can watch our What Makes You Happy Video on YouTube by clicking here.

Script/ Production Notebook

First, our group had to establish a question we wished to ask people. After much contemplation, we decided upon the seemingly simple, but secretively complicated question of 'What makes you happy?'.

We then had to decide upon a setting and time for filming. We chose areas where there were limited noise distractions, but numerous people walking by to be filmed.  The locations we chose included the front offices at Humber College Residence and on a residence floor. The times we chose to film included 12:00-3:00pm on a Wednesday and Sunday, as well as 6:00-7:00pm on a second Sunday. We chose these times because they would maximize the number of people we could film, as they were times when numerous people would be walking throughout Humber College Residence.

Our group then had to request permission to film in the Humber College Residence building by filling out and submitting a Request to Film form. After we received permission to film in Humber College Residence, we decided to create contracts for the people we would film. These contracts stated that we were only filming for academic purposes, and that we would not be using the footage for mass production. By doing so, we assured the individuals of our intentions and put them at ease, thus allowing them to be more open with their answers.

Next, it was time for our group to film. We asked people who we saw throughout Humber College Residence to answer our question on camera. Those who agreed were asked to sign the contract, then asked our question of "What makes you happy?" as we filmed their response. Because our video was entirely made up of other the individual's spontaneous answers, a script was not required nor possible to be made.

Lastly, after our three filming sessions were complete, our group edited and combined all of the footage. Through this process, we had to choose which aspects of people’s answers we would use, how we would edit them together, and in what sequence we could include them in our film. Through this process, our group worked cooperatively to create our final product, thus completing our project.

Discussion

Through the creation of our film, we intended to prove that a question as seemingly simple as “What makes you happy?” causes a multitude of thought-provoking soul searching. For, although such a question may seem as if it requires a straightforward answer, those we interviewed soon realized the true intimacy and complex nature of the question. This being why we chose this question, as we intended for the people we filmed to truly search deep within themselves, their lives and what makes them happy. As a result of such contemplation, we aimed to receive in-depth responses and produce a video that could broadcast the diversity of what makes Humber College students happy. In addition, we intended to make viewers of our video turn to self-reflection after watching our film. For, as viewers watched our video, we hoped they would also contemplate what makes them happy. Therefore, our group intended to provoke self-reflection and self-realizations through our film.

In addition, we hoped to prove that film is an extremely efficient form of media to broadcast through. Films have both a visual and audio aid that allows the intended message of the film to be broadcasted. In addition, films require the active participation of the audience in order to understand the message. Henceforth, the messages of such films have the capability of being retained by the audience more efficiently. Furthermore, films can be broadcasted to a single individual or an entire stadium of people simultaneously. Therefore, film is an extremely useful form of media to broadcast a message through.

Our group worked extremely interdependently during this video project and relied heavily on each other to do their part in the collaborative process. Together, our group chose the style of video, the question we wanted to ask people, where and when we would film, and how we would edit the final product together. Through such collaboration, our video resulted in being a joint effort on every group member’s part. As well, because we worked together, we were able to persuade more people into being filmed, which was something many individuals were tentative to do. However, by reassuring these individuals together that they would be assisting us in fulfilling our academic obligations, we were able to work as a group toward a united goal.  

Together our group learned how difficult a question such as “What makes you happy?” is. For, although this question appears to be easily answered, it truly requires extensive contemplation. As well, such a question is able to reveal considerable information about an individual to both themselves and other people. Therefore, we learned the implications of a question such as “What makes you happy?” on individuals within society.

In addition, our group learned a lot about the filming and broadcasting process in the media. For instance, we not only learned how to film and use the required equipment in the filming process, but we also learned about the editing software required to achieve the final product. The editing software we used to edit and complete our video included iMovie, iTunes, and uploading software using YouTube. Therefore, through this project we learned how to use the equipment and software necessary to produce a finished and edited film that is capable of broadcasting a message to its intended audience.

The influences which inspired us to create our film includes the ‘Fifty People, One Question’ videos location on YouTube (www.youtube.com). These videos inspired our group to create our own version of these videos with a different question. We were inspired by these videos because they proved the variety of answers a single question can create when asked to numerous people. In addition, these videos proved the diversity of humans in their thought processes likes and dislikes. Therefore, our group wished to elaborate on and investigate whether such diversity is present at Humber College Residence, and if people would be willing to open themselves up when answering such an intimate question on film.

The production values of our film included both the equipment used to film our video and the software used to edit the footage we obtained. Such equipment included the tripod and video camera we used to film the individuals we interviewed, and the laptop we used to upload and eventually edit our footage. The software we used to edit our footage included iMovie, iTunes and YouTube where we experimented and developed an understanding of programs we were unfamiliar with. Although our production value and quality of the video camera was not high, we believe that our end product proved to be a very highly produced video that is successful in broadcasting its intended messages to its audience.

The overall meaning of our video was the realization that a seemingly simple question such as “What Makes You Happy” can in fact be extremely difficult to answer. For, such a question requires considerable self-reflection to answer honestly. Henceforth, we hoped to make the audience realize the diversity of the answers we received while they reflected on their own lives and what makes them happy.

It was also our intention to prove to the audience the meaning and importance of using the media of film to broadcast a message through technology and society. Media, as defined by Marshall McLuhan, is, “…the telegraph, radio, films, telephone, computer and television, all of which have not only extended a single sense or function… but have enhanced and externalized our entire central nervous systems.” Furthermore, McLuhan states that such media are, “…extensions of man that cause deep and lasting changes in him and transform his environment. Such an extension is an intensification, an amplification of an organ, sense or function.”  Specifically, McLuhan states that film is the extension of, “…the sense of touch rather than of sight, and it is the tactile sense that demands the greatest interplay of all the senses.” Therefore, as McLuhan has illustrated, film is a form of media that is able to affectively broadcast an intended message because it, ‘demands the greatest interplay of all the senses’. Furthermore, film is a media form that requires the active participation of the audience members. For, the audience is required to actively participate in both the encoding (the creation of a message) and decoding (interpretation of a message) of the intended message. Typically, media only requires the audience to decode the message it encodes. However, through film, the audiences are required to participate in both the encoding and decoding of the message because the full message is not provided for the audience. Instead, as McLuhan states, “…the video image is one of low intensity or definition and thus… offers no detailed information about specific objects but instead involves the active participation of the viewer.” Therefore, audience participation is required in the encoding and decoding of the intended message, thus enhancing their syntactic (recognition) and pragmatic (realization) responses to the message. Overall, it was our intention to prove to our audience the importance and implications of film to society, media and audiences.

Activist Project

For our activist project, we wanted to raise awareness for prostate cancer by promoting Movember.  Our original plan was to print off a picture of Rob Ford and play “pin the moustache on Rob Ford”.  This all changed last Thursday, November 18^th when Andrew found a video online of a girl throwing small puppies into a river.  At that point, the group decided to change the project to animal cruelty.  We chose to do this topic because we all believed that what some people do to animals is terrible and we wanted to let people know this behavior, whether at home, in the circus or at a pet store are completely unacceptable. 

As a group, we collaborated on what was the appropriate plan of action to raise awareness for animal abuse and cruelty.  We came up with having people sign a petition and if they could, donate a bit of money so that we could send it off to the Humane Society of Canada. By doing this, it shows that the University of Guelph-Humber and Humber College are against animal abuse and want to help. Specifically, we cited the online petition sponsored by Haley & the Southern Ontario Budgerigar Club called 'Get YouTube to Remove Animal Cruelty Videos'.

Through the process of looking up information on the internet to help support our fight against animal cruelty, a multitude of interesting facts appeared that both shocked and disgusted us.  For example, elephants that perform in circuses are often kept in chains for as long as 23 hours a day for the duration of their lives.  

Information and statistics like these are not acceptable and as a group, we wanted to try and find a way to stop animal cruelty through broadcasting our concerns and cause. To do this, we set up a booth in the Humber North Residences cafeteria to help spread the word. It really surprised us how aware and willing to help the residents of Humber were.  We painted posters and provided facts for people to read. In little over an hour, we had more than forty signatures from students willing to join the fight for animal rights. We had students sign a petition (pictured below), and sent them off to the Humane Society of Canada.  By sending our petition off to the Humane Society of Canada, we hope they will realize that Guelph-Humber and Humber College students are against animal cruelty and wish to get involved in stopping such injustice.    

We felt that this issue was very important because animals, like humans, are living beings.  They feel pain no matter how big or small they are, and regardless of their ability to verbalize it.  We do not think it is right for a person to abuse a helpless animal whether it is a dog, cat, elephant or mouse.  It is unacceptable and as a group, we find it disgusting. If anything, we want everyone to know that animal abuse is completely unacceptable and is illegal.

To sign the online petition and learn more about the 'Get YouTube to Remove Animal Cruelty Videos', click here.

Our Petition:

Media Hegemonies

Watch and participate in our interactive presentation of Walt Disney Ownership by clicking here.

Discussion:

Previously to completing this assignment, we believed it to be common knowledge that Walt Disney was a powerful company. However, we never realized the actuality of their power and ownership.  The amount of companies they have under their wing is astounding. In fact, the number of other companies and products they own makes their company frighteningly powerful. For, the wealth and control Walt Disney has over these companies makes the company practically unstoppable.

Although discovering which companies Walt Disney owns was easy enough to find, Walt Disney is in no way entirely open about their company ownership. Perhaps, Walt Disney keeps their ownership unknown and separates themselves from some of the companies it owns because they fear their consumers may lose interest once they realize the cross-ownership of these companies.

When we discovered that Walt Disney owns companies such as ESPN, we were astonished. We did not believe that a company such as ESPN, which is a leader in sports broadcasting, would be associated with the leader of child entertainment. However, such a realization was only the beginning of a number of staggering realizations we made throughout our research of this assignment.

For, by researching the main sections of Walt Disney's ownership we realized they produced media networks, studio entertainment, consumer products, and parks and resorts. Through such realizations,  we created sub categories in which to group the types of products Walt Disney produces such as books, magazines, websites and radio stations. Through this research, we realized that Walt Disney owns and produces every type of media broadcasting. For instance, they produce websites, radio stations, television stations, movies, plays and ice skating shows (such as Disney on Ice). Thus proving their control over broadcasting throughout media and society.

In fact, Walt Disney's power over broadcasting extends beyond such media. This can be proven by the fact that Walt Disney owns 27% of the website Hulu, which broadcasts television shows via the internet. Through their ownership of this website, we realized the power and conflicts of Walt Disney. For, it has long been a debate in society that television is a dying media form. With television shows now available on the internet, both legally and illegally, a decreasing number of people are turning to television for entertainment. Henceforth, many would believe Walt Disney is being hurt by such a fact, as they do own multiple television stations (such as ABC). However, through the realization that Walt Disney owns a website such as Hulu, we realized that Walt Disney is in fact capitalizing on such changes is media and broadcasting. This also proves the conflicts of interest of Walt Disney because as Walt Disney promotes the use of websites such as Hulu, they are hindering the success of their television stations, and vice versa. However, Walt Disney keeps such ownership undisclosed to avoid such debates in society concerning their conflicts of interest and cross-ownership in media.

Specifically within Canada, media ownership is governed by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The entirety of media in Canada is owned by a select few companies or groups including CTV, Astral Media and Rogers to name a few.

Personally, we believe that having a company with multiple owners has both positive and negative 

aspects. For instance, although such cross-ownership could produce conflicts of interest, it also allows for increased security and stability in these companies. For example, if Fox Entertainment were to experience financial trouble and go under as a company, this would not mean the companies they own would also experience such financial difficulty. For, as multiple other companies also own these sub-companies, they could rely on their other owners to remain stable as a company. Therefore, having multiple owners supports companies’ longevity and power.

Image Curation

YouTube: Image Curation Video Link

Discussion:
Together, our group chose our topic and the specific implications we believed this theme to have on society. For our image curation slideshow, we decided to represent the social implications of visual propaganda on society, especially during World War II. To discover such implications, we focused on the tactics propagandists used to effectively portray their intended message to society such as glittering generalities, testimonials, and card stacking. Through these tactics, propagandists ensured their messages were thrust into society, thus causing the affects of the dehumanization of enemies, fear within society, bias concerning the navy or army and desensitization.

Through the creation of our slideshow, we learned that semiotics plays a major role in how we decode messages and symbols portrayed through media, such as propaganda. In addition, we realized that by being aware of the influential tactics media and propaganda use, we are better able to control and think critically of the affects these influential tactics have over us.

We also learned that semiotics play a key role in the affects propaganda has on society. For instance, our group realized that through propaganda, synecdoche was used to represent the entire American army through images of a single glorified soldier in the climax of battle. By doing so, propagandists represented the entire American army by a single part, thus influencing society to believe that all soldiers were envied heroes. Similarly, metonym was often used in propaganda through the image of a dehumanized and cartoonish Adolf Hitler. Through this image, Hitler was used to represent all of America's enemies during World War II. Therefore, a single part was used to represent the whole, thus causing a greater affect on society. Cleanliness was an additional aspect of semiotics used throughout propaganda as it made it appear that the morals and values represented through propaganda were the morals and values shared throughout society. By doing so, society became more likely to accept the propaganda messages, as they believed it was the normal cultural belief. Hegemony was used in similar ways through propaganda as it used the government’s influence over society to broadcast its beliefs. For instance, it was through the demanding and seemingly courageous statements printed among such propaganda that society was lead to believe that enlisting in the army was the courageous and patriotic thing to do. Therefore, the government acted as a sender with the intention of establishing its control over society by sending the message of the beliefs of war. The transmission in such a process would have been propaganda that was then received by society and, depending on the level of decoding the society members used, the destination may have been met. Such decoding was also a major influence on society because this affect was dependent on the ways society members decoded the messages from propaganda. For example, if a society member was to decode propaganda on the level of dominant/ hegemonic, they would be substantially more likely to carry the messages of this propaganda into society, thus increasing its affect. However, if an individual were to decode propaganda on the level of oppositional, they would be more likely to protest this propaganda in society. As a result, the affect of propaganda would be lessened in society.

Overall, it was through the realizations of the relationships media, semiotics, and influential tactics has in society that our group realized how and why we interpret such aspects of media within society.