Visual Culture Industry - Essay Example

Visual Culture Industry Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction Ever since its establishment in 1952, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) suffices to be the most significant film event in Australia and one of the greatest film festivals in the world (MIFF, 2016). Being an iconic event held on an annual basis in the heart of Melbourne, the festival presents celebratory and industry events as well as an acclaimed screening programme. On the other hand, Museum Victoria has been in existence for over 150 years following its establishment in 1854 (MuseumVictoria, 2015). The operation of the museum reclines on building the collection of the state, entertaining visitors and creating knowledge for its clients. The collection provides a significant record of Victoria’s cultural and environmental record. The paper compares and contrasts the internal structure, role function and aims of the two institutions. The Internal Structure The MIFF Case The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has gained substantial reputation in Australia and the entire world following its ability to present the best in current cinema, retrospectives, discussion programmes and tributes. Showcasing local film has turned out to be the institutions central area of focus since its inception. In fact, the Festival turns out to be Australia’s largest presentation of current and emerging Australian cinema that plays a pivotal role towards establishing the local film talent. The internal structure of the Festival comprises of the MIFF Board. The Board consists of the Chairperson (Claire Dobbin), the Deputy Chair (Andrew Myer), and other members that include Kim McGrath, Tim McGregor, Joel Pearlman, Paul Wiegard and Teresa Zolnierkiewicz (MIFF, 2016). The structure also comprises of the Festival Patron, Geoffrey Rush. The Events Programme also comprises of the MIFF staff in the finance and administration, management, programming, partnerships and marketing, publications and operations departments. The other pertinent areas that are critical to the functionality of the organisation include the MIFF industry comprising of the Accelerator, 37o South and the Premiere Fund. MIFF also makes use of festival publicists. Currently, it uses Asha Holmes Publicity. The other major areas that define the functionality of MIFF include the film submissions presented by the organisation on an annual basis. The organisation also presents news on the Premiere Fund and associated releasing of the Premiere Funds on a global basis. The festival also podcasts from the recent talking picture events thereby covering a diverse spectrum of contemporary film issues with the use of Q&A discussion forums, in-depth focuses on the filmmaking craft and masterclasses (MIFF, 2016). The organisation has also developed an MIFF app that provides online access to its presentations. Most importantly, MIFF also provides the festival archive since its establishment in 1952. Finally, the MIFF structure also comprises of the film awards (MIFF, 2016). Museum Victoria Case It is important to understand that Museum Victoria presents a collection of contemporary and historical issues in the disciplines of science, indigenous cultures, technology and history. As a result, the organisation has aligned its internal structure to enable it to achieve its objectives. One of the operational pillars of the organisation is the Immigration Museum opened in 1988. Currently, the museum holds a global reputation as a leading history museum due to its vast historical presentations. The location of the museum is in the Old customs House situated on Flinders Street. As a cultural centre, the museum engages visitors with the experiences and history of cultural diversity and immigration. Museum Victoria also comprises of the ScienceWorks section opened in 1992. The location of the section is in the grounds of the Spotswood Pumping Station that boats of its popularity with regard to the presentation of museum features associated with science and technology (MuseumVictoria, 2015). It also offers modern exhibition galleries such as the Lighting Room and Melbourne Planetarium. Museum Victoria also comprises of Melbourne Museum opened in 2000 to showcase the Australian social history, science and technology, the human body and mind, the Bunjilaka Aboriginals culture, and the environment. The location of the Museum is in Carlton Gardens adjacent to the Royal Exhibition Building. The IMAX Theatre at the Museum is also part of the Museum Victoria structures. Museum Victoria also comprises of the Royal Exhibition Building that it gained custodianship since 1996 to host exhibitions and other festivals. Moreover, Museum Victoria comprises of Moreland Annexe opened in 1996. The Annexe is an offsite storage facility of the Museum’s collections that complements the collection stores at Scienceworks and Melbourne Museum (MuseumVictoria, 2015). Finally, Museum Victoria also comprises of the Simcock Avenue Store situated adjacent to Scienceworks as a non-collection store that serves several agencies of the creative industry. Role Function The MIFF Case As mentioned earlier, the main role of the festival is to present the best in current media by sourcing the presentations from all over the world. Moreover, the festival also showcases retrospectives, discussion programmes and tributes. In the quest to perform its roles, the presentation of local films is one of the areas of focus and concern to the organisation. Some of the most popular film presentations include $9.99, (S Truth): Metric Time, (The) Taking (of) Place … of Everything, In a Few Words, In Twenty Words or Less among other popular films. Providing Australia’s largest showcase of the current Australian cinema, it is also the role of the festival to champion emerging and already established talent in local filmmaking. The festival also performs the role of hosting celebratory world premieres in the industry of filmmaking. For instance, the online archive showcases 63 presentations that represent the annual presentations of the festival ever since its establishment in 1952 (MIFF, 2016). By so doing, it is proper to note that the festival offers substantial historical knowledge to students, historians, film lovers and festival goers. The available search options include ‘Film Title’, ‘Festival Year’, ‘Country’, and ‘Director’. It is also the role of the MIFF to support feature-length documentaries and theatrical films in Australia. As a result, MIFF has established the Premiere Fund through the Victoria Government to support exceptional quality feature-length projects that hold their international premiere at the institution (MIFF, 2013). With the use of the Fund, MIFF also performs the role of a strategic minority co-financier in a variety of films thereby enabling its development of several films that exhibit high levels of diversity. MIFF is also responsible for the director’s development programme known as the accelerator that provides workshops, seminars, and screenings and networking events on creative film aspects by leading both the international and local film professionals with the objective of changing the feature filmmaking positively (MIFF, 2013). MIFF has also introduced its financial market (37o South) to converge the local and global screening industry to Melbourne thereby converting Melbourne into a centre of the screen business (MIFF, 2016). Museum Victoria case Being a museum, one of the main roles of Museum Victoria is to deepen connections by engaging people in critical issues and ideas with the use of new ways of connecting and communicating (MuseumVictoria, 2015). As a strategy of meeting the role, the museum delivers projects that promote cultural diversity, biodiversity and reconciliation. The museum also uses new communication approaches and systems to enhance the profile of museum professionals. The museum also establishes collaborative partnerships to grow and develop the expertise and knowledge of the museum. The other initiative of the museum is to respond and contribute to the national curriculum content so as to avail inspiring experiences to school students. The museum has also built partnerships with tertiary and adult education institutions as well as introducing the professional development programme for teachers (Goulborn, 2001). As a museum, the institution also has the role of investing in knowledge, collections and expertise. In the quest to achieve the objective, the museum develops expertise and capacity in the leadership of contemporary museums. Museum Victoria also responds to its role of digital transformation by keeping up with the digital environment that change on a continuous basis (Dive, 2015). As a result, the museum has endeavoured to substitute some of its traditional systems with modern roles that support the use of digitised platforms. In the quest to enhance security, convenience and ease-of-use, the museum has developed its electronic transactional systems. As a museum, it is also the role of Museum Victoria to engage, move, inspire and entertain people. The museum ensures that all its volunteers and staffs behave and operate in a manner that enhances organisational resilience. It is also the role of the museum to have an active safety culture. One of the fundamental roles of the organisation is to build Victoria’s cultural capital. As a result, the museum has established an inspiring and strong vision for all its constituent sectors. Aims of the MIFF and Museum Victoria The aim of the MIFF is to present a state of the art screening programme besides celebratory and industry events. As a result, the festival targets to present the best in current cinema both locally and internationally. It also endeavours to showcase discussion programmes and tributes to enhance the learning of Australian culture among other pertinent aspects (MIFF, 2016). On the other hand, the aims of Museum Victoria are in accordance with the vision and strategic directions of the organisation. For instance, the museum targets to lead other museums in connecting, inspiring, enriching and delighting individuals. Moreover, the museum targets to deepen its connections by enhancing the way it interacts with visitors. The other aim of the organisation is to invest in expertise, connections and knowledge. Moreover, the museum intends to introduce new roles that use digital technologies as opposed to the traditional roles. The other objective that bears paramount significance to the museum is its quest to attain organisational resilience. The last fundamental aim of the museum is to build the cultural capital of Victoria (MuseumVictoria, 2015). Comparison between MIFF and Museum Victoria Similarities From the onset, even though MIFF is a festival event organised every year whereas Museum Victoria is a museum, showcasing the Australian culture and history is a common function in both organisations. Moreover, both organisations have gained substantial global reputation. The MIFF showcases the best in current cinema, retrospectives and discussions whereas Museum Victoria showcases a collection of contemporary and historical issues in the discipline of science, indigenous cultures, history and technology. By so doing, it is evident that both institutions contribute towards providing cultural and historical knowledge to students, festival goers, visitors and other individuals that either visit the museum or attend the festivals. Moreover, both organisations have also exhibited similarity in the communication and connecting with individuals. For instance, Museum Victoria has endeavoured to replace the traditional roles with the modern ones with the objective of keeping up with the contemporary digital revolution. MIFF also uses the latest technology in presenting feature-length documentaries and theatrical films. Differences The primary role of MIFF is to showcase the best in current media by sourcing presentations from all over the world. However, Museum Victoria incorporates both current and traditional media with particular reference to culture and history. Besides presenting current media to its audience, MIFF also showcases discussion programmes, tributes and retrospectives. On the other hand, Museum Victoria acts as a cultural and historical centre that showcases different aspects of the past Australian history such as the culture of the indigenous Australians, immigration, among other aspects in social history, science and technology. Conclusion The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) is an Australian film event that has gained global recognition following its ability to showcase high-quality current media, tributes, discussion forums and retrospectives. Museum Victoria presents a collection of both contemporary and historical issues in the disciplines of science, indigenous culture, history and technology. Therefore, rather than dealing with contemporary media only as is the case with MIFF, Museum Australia also showcases past aspects of the Australian culture and history. It is also evident that both organisations have gained global recognition following their ability to showcase high-quality products of filmmaking and media. Both organisations have also acknowledged the significance of using the latest technology in presenting media and communicating and connecting with individuals. As a result, they have replaced the traditional roles with the modern ones to make use of the latest digital technology that guarantee good customer experience and interactivity on the part of Museum Victoria and MIFF respectively. References Dive, H. D. (2015). Victorian Collections: Digital Transformation and Community Collections. Goulborn, B. (2001). Museum learning for adults. R. McRae, & A. Costi (Eds.). Melbourne Museum. Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). (2013). MIFF Accelerator. Retrieved from: http://miffindustry.com/accelerator Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). (2013). MIFF Premiere Fund. Retrieved from: http://miffindustry.com/miff_premiere_fund Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). (2016). About MIFF. Retrieved from: http://miff.com.au/about Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). (2016). Talking Pictures. Retrieved from: http://miff.com.au/about/talking-pictures Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). (2016). The Archive. Retrieved from: http://miff.com.au/festival-archive MuseumVictoria. (2013). Museum Board of Victoria. Annual Report 2012-13. Retrieved from: https://museumvictoria.com.au/pages/2877/2012-2013/museum-victoria-2012-13-annual-report.pdf MuseumVictoria. (2015). Museums Board of Victoria. Annual Report 2014-15. MuseumVictoria. (2015). Strategic Plan 2013-18. Retrieved from: https://museumvictoria.com.au/pages/1711/mv_strategic_plan_2013-18.pdf Read More