MEDIA MEET P
Issue 6
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AUGUST 14, 2015
For internal circulation only
THE GRAND OPENING MEDIA MEET 2015 The inaugural ceremony of Media Meet 2015 – “Power of Visuals” started on a high note with the presence of dignitaries such as Padmashree Shovana Narayan, a renowned Kathak dancer and Harshavardhan Kadam, a noted multi disciplinary visual artist. >> Pg 3
EBEN MOGLEN ON NET NEUTRALITY Prof. Eben Moglen, Chairman of SFLC, USA, graced us with his talk on ‘Network Neutrality’ on day 2. Accompanying him was Mishi Choudhary, Legal Director of SFLC, New York. He started his speech by tracing the concept of equality from the time of Civil war to the present modern world. >> Pg 14
“Do not believe in your stars, believe in the reality. Predicted to die at 37, kicking it at 69,” says Justice Markandey Katju at Media Meet 2015, Christ University Bengaluru. Photo by Jeffery Dev
SHOCK TREATMENT FOR THE “EDUCATED”
DANCE, MY LIFE AND MY BREATH Infectious charm coupled with deep sensibility, Padmashree Shovana Narayan is undoubtedly an epitome of grace. Here is an interview with this enthralling personality. >> Pg 7
The final day of Media Meet 2015 was graced by the presence of Justice Markandey Katju, former Supreme Court Judge and former Chairman of the Press Council of India. Katju had also served as the Chief Justice for Delhi, Allahabad and Madras High Courts. As the keynote speaker for the event, he addressed to large audience comprising of the School of Law and the Media Studies Department, in the Main Auditorium at Christ University. >>Pg 15
“Everyone is accountable to the public in a democracy.”
- Justice Markandey Katju
Newsletter | Media Meet 2015
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PRODUCTS MEET CREATIVITY An ad mad competition was organized as part of the events of Media Meet 2015 in the DVK Research Centre. The ad-mad competition was arranged for the students to showcase their creativity in marketing products. Its objective was to acquaint the students about promotional strategies in marketing through advertisements. The competition had participants from various colleges from across the country. The participants were expected to come out with humorous and conceptual advertisements. The students came in groups of 5-6 members and were required to
enact an advertisement for that particular product. After the products were given, each group got ten minutes to prepare for their acts and two minutes time to present it in front of the audience. The products were varied ranging from an umbrella, iron, hanger to a toilet cleaner and school bag. Given the time limits, it can be said that the students came up with really brilliant ideas. The competition was judged by Ms. Revathy Menon, who is the Creative Planning Manager for Brand Comm in Bengaluru. She has worked with leading brands like Puma, Nike, HP, Microsoft, Adidas,
Participants enacting an advertisement. Photo by Mitul
etc. Revathy Menon is also an ex-Christite who did MS in communication. The room bubbled with energy and beaming faces. - Chetna Sethia
CARTOONING A MODERN SOCIETY
MY CHOICE!
The afternoon session of the first day of Media Meet started with the Cartooning competition. The events saw participants from various colleges ready to give their best. The topic was ‘Modern Society’ and contestants had to make use of a canvas sheet and black sketch pen to draw. In thirty minutes participants tried to show different aspects to the given topic. From global issues to different communicating medi-
Rupa Peter is a professor from Oxford School of Arts in Department of Mass Communication. Her paper presentation on ‘My Choice’ campaign was an eye opener for the audience in understanding different types and phases of feminism theories. Talking about the campaign, she gave an insight into the elements in the video. She said that people in today’s society are extremely stereotypical. The class difference that exists in the society, differences between gender in a feministic perspective were her research findings. The use of two research methodologies gave her a scope for a deeper research on the subject of her research. - Raygalla Kalyan Srinivas
A contestant showcasing his idea of a modern society. Photo by Alosious
ums, there was a wide variety of cartoon sketches. Saurabh Suresan of Christ University said, “Though the topic was general, everybody had their own view and opinion on it so it was interesting.” Kesavan Namboothiry, another student of Christ University exclaimed, “My cartoon involved a globe and the various medium that we use to communicate and to remain in touch.” Karthika Namboothiri of Mount Carmel College, the winner of cartooning workshop, who attended the event last year, attended it this year as well. “The topic was interesting and since it didn’t have many restrictions we could experiment and come up with unique concepts”, Karthika said. - Srilaxmi
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THE GRAND OPENING OF MEDIA MEET 2015
‘VISUAL MEDIA’
The inaugural ceremony of Media Meet 2015 – “Power of Visuals” started on a high note with the presence of dignitaries such as Padmashree Shovana Narayan, a renowned Kathak dancer and Harshvardhan Kadam, a noted multidisciplinary visual artist. The Dean John Joseph Kennedy, Course Coordinator Fr. Biju. K. Chacko and the Head of the Department Prof. Naresh Rao along with the faculty members graced the event with their presence. The lighting of the lamp by dignitaries was followed by singing and dance performances by the cultural team of Media Meet 2015. John Sekar, Student Coordinator for this year’s Media Meet delivered a note about the purpose and the importance of hosting an event such as this. The Dean, John Joseph Kennedy took over the stage and addressed the gathering. He commented on the power of visuals and said that non-verbal communication is also very impactful and equally important as that of verbal communication. He also stated that, “human beings have an innate fondness for visuals and that we are genetically wired to respond to visuals and images”. The HOD, Department of Media Studies added that images and visuals are indeed so powerful that they stay in our minds for a really long time.
The invocation dance by students of MAMCS. Photo by Jeffery Dev
He conveyed his best wishes to the team for the success of this endeavor. The former student coordinator, Shivani Jagan emphasized on the importance of team spirit and team work towards such a grand event. She appreciated the eye donation campaign which was held weeks before the main event of Media Meet which proved the event’s commitment towards a social cause as well. She said that the true purpose of hosting such an event is to bring about a change in the society. The Book of Abstracts containing the abstracts of the paper presenters this year was released during the inaugural ceremony. The inaugural address was delivered by Padmashree Shovana Narayan. She appreciated the aesthetic beauty of the college campus in turn inferring that visuals are so appealing that they are the first things that capture one’s
attention. “The power of visuals is immense and it uplifts the cultural importance of a place”, she said. She stated that the portrayal of facts can be done in the most effective manner through the medium of visuals. She opined that, dance is not just entertainment but it brings out along with it geographical and philosophical importance. She also spoke about how films have portrayed different dance forms in the past few years by taking the examples of Kathak and Tawaifs performing dance numbers in movies. She explained that a visual art medium such as dance changes the perceptions, sanitizes and makes itself acceptable to all hierarchies prevalent in the society. She concluded by saying, “Visual media has created various ‘isms’ and has changed the equations regarding the restructuring of mindsets.” - Sharada H A
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REVIVING THE ART OF POTTERY Clay station Bangalore was invited to conduct the pottery workshop for Media Meet 2015. It is a Bangalore-based clay studio for the experienced, aspiring and recreational potter. Afroz Ulla who addressed the gathering and conducted the workshop, has been a part of Claystation since its inception. 24 vibrant undergraduate students from various departments of Christ University participated in the workshop. The workshop began with an enthusiastic bunch of students who molded their ideas into creating a piece of art with their bare hands and ended with smiling faces taking away a part of themselves
shaped in clay. Since the beginning of human history, potters have used raw earth to create priceless vessels that have withstood the test of time. Pottery from ancient civilizations such as the Indus valley civilization, have survived ages to tell stories of where they are from and what the people there used to do. In modern times, pottery has been replaced with newer forms of art, and to keep intact this skill which still appeals to our aesthetic senses, the Media Studies Department of Christ University had come up with the idea of the pottery workshop. - Philip Yeldhos
THE QUIZ HOUR WITH VINAY MUDALIAR Keeping the momentum going at Media Meet 2015, a quiz competition was conducted in the latter half of the first day. There were 44 participants including students from Mount Carmel College, CMS Jain, Madras Chrsitian College and Christ University. During the preliminary round the participants were allotted 15 minutes to finish the quiz and submit their answers. The exciting final round of the
Participants seen busy racking their brains out. Photo by Mitul
Media Meet 2015 Quiz was held at Pastor Kringe Memorial Auditorium on the final day of the meet, and was conducted by Vinay Mudaliar who is a national level quizmaster and founder of Mindcogs India. He conducted a very engaging quiz competition. The six teams that got selected through the preliminary for the final stage that was a five-round entirely visual quiz were Arjun Panchadar & Aditya Singh, Amogh Charavarti & Nikhil Chandra R, Akshay Balan, & Praise Nimmy Iype, Rohit Ramesh & William Matthews, B.Sriram & Sumas G Pai, Sharadindu Jana & Mudit Mundkur. The audiences were loud with answers and kept scoring a lot of points whenever they were asked to answer. - Shashank
Pottery art work by the participants. Photo by Philip Yeldhos
Afroz Ulla with the participants. Photo by Philip Yeldhos
THE ANCHOR
Photo by Nikhil V
Anand Narasimhan delivered a guest speech on the final day of the Media Meet 2015. Narasimhan is a sports journalist and a senior anchor at the Times Now. He addressed the gathering at the main auditorium of Christ University and spoke about the news coverage patterns of Media houses. He also talked about the Sports Camp, VVIP culture and about the organisation he is working for in general. - Team Documentation
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CREATIVITY: A FUEL FOR TODAY’S INDUSTRIES
Padmavathi Rao and Aditya Raja during the pannel discussion. Photo by Mithul
The session began with an introduction to the eminent panel member by Prakash Belawdi, the moderator. The discussion mainly revolved around the application of creative thoughts and process in their respective field of work. The session kick started with Sneha Iype, the founding partner of Nirvana Films. She spoke from an advertiser’s point of view. She was under the impression that creative process involves coming out with ideas. It’s essential to capture the moment of vital communication. Visual medium has immense power and
reach, but the same needs to be managed with authority. Jackson Johnson who is currently working in Times of India as a photojournalist took the discussion further by stating the possibilities of being one. He also spoke about the ethics and values of a social being as a media professional. Shyamaprasad, who is a renowned director, emphasized on the importance of concepts under storytelling and script writing. According to him, the vast variety of media modes does not matter, but the representation of truth is important in a film-
Prakash Belwadi
maker’s work. Aditya Raja, a Client Services Director with Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, reflected on how our perception of things creates a mindset. Padmavati Rao, a theatre practitioner and an educationist spoke about how the market oriented world is turning out to be a tough path for the artist. It’s important to believe in oneself and follow your passion. The panel concluded the session with an interactive involvement with the audience, who posed questions relating to the topic of discussion. – Aditya Mittal
THE ART OF NEWSPAPER LAYOUT A workshop on Newspaper Layout and Design took place as a part of Media Meet 2015 in the DVK Research Centre, Christ University. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Pradeep Nair, who works as a Senior Journalist for The Hindu Newspaper. The presentation was done in a structured format, with a lot of ancient newspaper samples. The samples not only
helped the students to identify the changing trend in print media but also highlighted how the change has affected the readership statistics. The reason for this was to introduce the need to focus on the visual aspect while designing a newspaper and how it has become an important part of today’s print journalism media. The feedback collected at the
end of session indicated that the workshop was a success. One of the participants said, “It was a very interesting session. I learned a lot about layout. It was a very interactive session. He was very clear about the information, which made it very interesting. Overall, it was a really good session”. On the whole, the session was very informative and insightful. - Shashank
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Insightful discourse on visual media Every year Media Meet provides a platform for keen researchers to present their research papers on varied topics. This year also, the event witnessed ample participants from various fields. All research papers revolved around this year’s main theme - Visual Media. The first session of Paper Presentations for Media Meet had nine presenters from various institutions. The panel witnessed a series of interesting topics that the presenters researched on. ‘The Moment of the Fashion Film’ by Abhijan Gupta from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, and ‘Sighting Dalits in ‘Madras’- A critical reading of Dalit representation in P. Ranjith’s ‘Madras’ by Gaana J, faculty, Christ University were some of the noteworthy topics of this session. The first session was moderated by Dr. Andrew Kennedy. The second panel of paper presentations was moderated by Professor Omprakash, fac-
A researcher presenting his paper. Photo by Team Documentation.
ulty, Department of Sociology at Christ University. The presenters presented papers on topics like ‘A study of Media’s Reportage and People’s Response to Environment in Bangalore’ by Amulya M.S and Viraj K of Acharya Institute of Graduate Studies, Bengaluru. The third panel had a wonderful session moderated by Anupama Nair, Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre Studies, Christ University. The presentations saw active participation not only from the presenters’ side, but also from the audience as well as moderators. The afternoon session for paper presentations had a total of five presenters with moderator Dr. Andrew Kennedy, Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Education beyond Curriculum. The question and answer session was an interactive one with both audience and presenters participating in it. The moderator gave off the certificates to the presenters. The third session of Paper Presentation as was held at Chavara Hall, with a total of four presenters who comprised of two students and two professors from Lucknow and Bangalore. The presentations spanned across various interesting topics like ‘Semiotics: Influence of colours on Food Chains’ by Soniya Kanchan,. ‘Understanding the uses and gratifications of online news portals in India’ by Vidisha Madonna D’Souza, ‘A critical analysis of Contrarian
A researcher presenting her paper. Photo by Team Documentation.
behavior of Facebook-active population on caste-based reservation Visuals’ by Neha Bhushan, and ‘Freedom of press and media ethics: A comparative study’ by Dr. Ritesh Chaudary. Dr. B.M Changappa, the Assistant Professor of Political Science, was the moderator for this particular session. The paper presentations concluded at the DVK Auditorium with a final slot comprising of five presenters. The coordinator for the event was Ms. Anuradha. The people who had presented their papers had covered a wide range of topics with substantial amount of research involved in their studies. It was observed that few of the papers also dealt with controversial aspects of the subjects. One of the most interesting research papers covered was ‘The conflict between Coca Cola and Pepsi’. It spoke about how over the years these American MNCs built a strong establishment in India. Overall the papers were well researched and gave excellent presentations to the audience. Chetna Sethia| Nikhil | Philip Yeldhos
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DANCE, MY LIFE AND MY BREATH: SHOVANA
have evolved. It depends on the geography and the culture of the area- one dance form is so different from the other. The seeds are sown in the culture of the area which blossom into a beautiful form. In Indian philosophy we have never taken dance as an entertainment. We‘ve taken dance as a path to ‘Yog’. Therefore lord Shiva has been portrayed as ‘Natraj’, lord Krishna has been portrayed as a dancer, Saraswati has been portrayed with a ‘veena’.
Infectious charm coupled with deep sensibility, Shovana Narayan is undoubtedly an epitome of grace. As I hesitantly approached her to make a request for a personal interview, her prompt amicable smile and a thumbs-up gave me the confidence to go ahead with it. Here is what was revealed in a brief conversation with her. Q. What inspired you to take up dance as a career? I was introduced to the world of dance by my parents when I was 2 and half years old. Let me add here that I don’t come from a traditional dancing family. I come from a background of zamindars, barristers and freedom fighters. It was a very different and forward looking background and very much into women’s emancipation…so obviously in our house the importance of schooling every child in performing arts along with Indian literature and philosophy was paramount. Dance for me became my life and my breath.
Q. With the increasing dilution that has been taking place in every kind of media, to what extent do you think do you think it’s possible to keep the roots of a dance form intact? It is the people that make up the media; it is each member of the society. So I will carry my ethos into my profession. Everybody likes to make profit and there is nothing wrong with that. But the question is the means.
Q. You were involved in various issues relating to women and also families affected by the Kargil War. Do you think the media assists in pushing the cause further? I think the media is a very powerful medium. It assists in these kinds of causes because it brings to focus the issues involved. Althsough the print media is powerful, the visual media is all the more powerful. It is so potent; it is always like a knife. It depends on how you use it. The knife can be used to cut vegetables and serve mankind, but if used carelessly, it can kill. Media itself and the society at large has to understand its Q. Your speech at the inauguration cer- responsibility. emony made it quite clear that you do not look at dance to be serving as only an Q. Your views on Media Meet aesthetic pleasure, but you see it commu- I loved your event. I love the fact that all the nicating something much beyond that… students are looking at the various genres of What is your dance philosophy? What media from different perspectives and that is so do you like to/have been communicating beautiful because all of you will go out and will be in this field. I wish you all the best and I am through your dance? Dance does not grwow in a vacuum, nor does very impressed! - Nimisha Medhi an individual. Look at how different dance forms
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A PEEK INTO THE ARTIST’S WORLD
As part of Media Meet 2015, Harshvardhan Kadam, an eminent personality in the field of Graphic Design, addressed the gathering in PKM Auditorium at Christ University on Wednesday. He focused on designing comic books. While addressing the gather-
ing, Kadam spoke about the power of visuals and the sense of identity becoming essential in the society, especially in India. He said that the visual content is completely bombarded in the present day advertisements, and more of it is noise, which is not really important. . Be it a closed studio or an open-air art space, what matters to artists is the artwork. Adding to that he also spoke about his observations, which he made while observing hoardings and billboards. It is a shear manipulation in the name of betterment of society. Communicating to the bigger audience is becoming a major problem and is quite challenging. Visual art is no longer about designing something for meeting people’s needs, but it is a process of communicating a story by not losing the orig-
HOW THEY SELL CHOCOLATES
Sponsors of Media Meet 2015
Harshvadhan Kadam interacting with students. Photo by Mitul
Dr Ramya K Prasad, Head of the Department, Public Relation Studies, Stella Maris College, Chennai, presented a paper on chocolate advertising in India. She analyzed the advertisements which drew the attention of the audience from the times of early Doordarshan. She focused on factors which help the advertisers trigger the minds of the audience. “Implying family aspects and perspectives of love makes an advertisement more appealing and has a wider reach.”she said. - Raygalla Kalyan Srinivas
The “Media Meet 2015” event organized by Christ University (Department of Media and Communication Studies) commenced in full swing. The whole event received an amazing feedback from many colleges across Bangalore. The companies that sponsored for this event were Devi Cakes and Bakes, LA Express, Fosters Grant, Blue Star, Ramya Printers, Raymond, Indian Coffee House, My Copies, Essilor and Digisol. A few of the companieshad set up stalls and had some of their products on display for sale. Devi Cakes and Bakes and My Copies had the
inal thought and perspective. His digital art works depict the mythological narrative and he says that, he spent most of his time in designing mythological characters and a few also relate to Nirvana and the stage of meditation. “Re-working on the same mythological characters excites me and chaos gives me joy”, says Kadam. In addition to that, he also said that, there are different levels and phases of using chaos and giving an artistic curve to the same. Street and mural art is the area of art that Kadam focuses on. His paintings focus on empowering masses by creating awareness on various social issues. He concludes reciting ‘aum’ to make the audience understand and feel the power of vibrations. - Raygalla Kalyan Srinivas
best sales. Both the managers of the stalls were extremely happy with that kind of feedback. Even the Rider App stall fared well as many people downloaded the App. The students of the university had an opportunity to get some of the products at discounted prices. The most sought-after stall, however, was Devi Cakes and Bakes with their freshly baked cup-cakes, doughnuts and pastries. Many students had given amazing reviews about the stall. One of the students commented that, “After a long time I am finally having such cream and freshly baked.
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“VISUALS SPARKS MEMORIES IN OUR MINDS” A guest speech was rendered by Dr. Ivory Lyons at a packed PKM Auditorium. Dr. Ivory is a professor from University of Mount Union, USA. He has completed his Ph.D in Religious Studies. He is currently serving as a faculty at Christ University. During his speech he introduced the term ‘Visualscape’, which he had derived from the term ‘Soundscape.’ He believes that all of us have at least one visual that sparks memories in our minds. He went on to give us examples of visuals which had an impact on him and the world alike. The examples includ-
ed ‘The Son’s Salute’, ‘The Protest of the Atheletes: The Black Power Salute’ and ‘Malcolm X: The Man’. All of them had one thing in common- simple images with a striking message. He provided personal anecdotes on these images which related to his life and experiences. He stated that these images evoked emotions of pride that he felt in being a black-American. He ended his speech by emphasizing on how images stimulate your mind to think and how it instigates you to investigate what emotions are invoked in you. - Chetna Sethia
IN CONVERSATION WITH HARSHAVARDHAN KADAM... Harshavardhan Kadam, a noted multidisciplinary visual artist was interviewed during Media Meet and the following are the excerpts from the interview conducted. He shared a few of his views about various aspects related to street art. When asked about the Freedom of Expression for an artist he says, “We are able to do a lot of things without any restrictions and we do it in a responsible way that doesn’t hurt people’s sentiments and at the same time makes a powerful statement is something that I would call as an identity of freedom”. Harshavardhan Kadam has a knack of painting on various surfaces and experiments on a lot of urban landscapes and about the legalities and risks involved in choosing his surfaces, he said, “It depends on where we are
painting primarily. Legalities do come into picture but we are not doing anything that is outrightly illegal, we are not showing somebody in a disrespectful manner. How street art is looked at is basically for beautification because there are so many walls that we’ve painted without permission but we got the confidence of the authorities involved in it”. About the strategies in creation of art he says, “Many a times its strategy and many a times its free flowing so whichever method contextualizes the approach, I follow it but it is mostly dominated by
free flowing structure”. When asked about the role of platforms such as Media Meet to uplift such art forms like street art, he opined saying, “Every creative form has got a voice and the voice needs to be held on and made accessible to a larger audience. Be it radio or Media Meet or youtube, all these things have to work together in order to support each other and there is a mutual exchange of support. There is an understanding between all communities which is how I see Media Meet and street art”. - Sharada H A
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WHAT IS ‘MIDDLE CINEMA’?
NEWS THROUGH LENS
Most of us are familiar with the terms ‘parallel cinema’ and ‘commercial cinema’ while ‘middle’ cinema is comparatively a new term. As pointed out by Arya Aiyappan in her research paper titled, ‘Symbiotic relationships in Padmarajan’s Select Films’, middle cinema, whose foundation is often associated with Malayalam films, deals with the daily toils of a human life, giving it a more realistic portrayal when compared to parallel cinema. Middle cinemas depict dark realities of life, instead of focusing on the positives of any situation. It derives its name from the middle class. - G L Nikitha
A Photojournalism Workshop was organized as part of the mega event of Media Meet. The workshop was conducted by K. Gopinath, an expert in the field, venturing his career in a simple City Tab of a weekly, unfurling later in The Indian Express, The Hindu and the Frontline. He is also the founder of Photojournalist Association of Bengaluru. A useful insight was provided to around 40 students, teaching them the basics of photography and providing them with cursory knowledge about the techniques and skills required for good photography. “Like music, you see it everywhere- that’s
Visual Challenge
THE PUNCTUM IN SELFIES AND PHOTOGRAPHS
The video journalism workshop was one of the main highlights of Media Meet as it was one of the most interactive and informative session. The resource person Mr. Mohan Rao, assistant professor at Manipal Institute, Bangalore shared his experience with the participants for the session. Mr Rao talked about the challenges that are faced by the television industry. The students got an insight into all the vital aspects of real time video journalism and the hurdles that come along with this profession. Mr. Rao was extremely delighted to deliver his ideas and thoughts at this session and was happy to be a part of Media Meet. - Nikhil Viswanathan B
Dr. A S Chandramouli
The trend of clicking selfies is worldwide. Each one of us feels the need to click selfies. From family holidays to Oscars, selfies are being captured everywhere. This was exactly what Nancy Karthikeya delved on in her research paper ‘In critical conversation with the Image: Punctum in Selfies and Photographs.’ Now the word selfie, has officially been declared as the word of the year.
news. You just have to tune yourself to it,” cites Gopinath, as he explained how a camera is the ‘new pen’, while sharing his personal experiences as a news reporter. The main theme resonating throughout the workshop was humor and human interest stories, which are his forte. “The story behind pictures was explained elaborately, and his unique approach to different aspects of news was entertaining,” said Nischitha, a student of Mount Carmel College, who had attended the workshop. The students were enthusiastic to learn more and were determined to put his training into practice. - G L Nikitha
Dr. A.S. Chandramouli, the Head of department of Media Studies at the prestigious, Acharya Institute of Graduate Studies, Bengaluru, spoke on the transitions in visual media over the years and its present scenario. The session which was held on 13th August, 2015, was attended by an audience of about 200 people at the PKM Auditorium. Dr. Chandramouli also explained about what it takes to be an efficient media consultant. He further shared with the audience his experience of working in All India Radio and Doordarshan. - Varsha Raja
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Creative Strokes
The theme of Media Meet, 2015, being Power of Visuals, a painting workshop was conducted on 13th August, 2015, in order to delve into one of the most basic forms of visual communications. The workshop aimed at inculcating basic painting skills in the 40 participants and to bring out the creative side in each one of them. The instructor of the workshop was the acclaimed painter Thomas Kallarackal. “There is no uniform world outside you. Your sensory organs are your world. You have to discover the creativity in yourself”, explained Thomas Kallarackal. Thomas Kallarackal emphasized on
bringing out one’s happiness in one’s paintings. He pointed out to students that when one’s mind is calm and clear, it is easy to capture the beauty around oneself. As Thomas Kallarackal produced an acrylic painting in five minutes, while listening to an inspiring song he proved how to reproduce one’s happiness in paintings. The students were taught to prepare vision boards to list out their dreams and visions in order to improve their creativity. “Mr. Thomas Kallarackal was inspiring as a resource person. The whole session was a unique experience”, said a happy Raghav Somann. - Varsha Raja
VISUAL WORKOUT!
A workshop on Visual Communication was organized as part of Media Meet 2015. Anthony Vinil was the resource person, who is currently working at KPMG. While addressing the participants, he said that, “3Vs which means Visual, Vocal and Verbal information plays a major influential role in our daily life. Though there is enough textual information available, putting the same in visual form will ease the understanding as visuals are registered in the human minds easily”. He also spoke about how visuals make a difference in the communication process and how they are easy to understand, to the point, precise and message oriented.
During the workshop, participants were divided into various groups as part of a practical exercise, participants were asked to draw based on the theme given to them, and other set of participants were asked to identify the theme based on the drawing. A total of 20 students from colleges such as St Joseph’s College, Mount Carmel, SH College, Kristhu Jayanthi College took part in the workshop. They were presented with participation certificates at the end of the workshop. A participant at the workshop said, “I now have a better understanding on how to use the visual medium for a better and effective communication”. - Raygalla Kalyan Srinivas
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Thomas Kallarackal
ENACTING STORIES Tableau is a one-act play, which has no voices, but music and actions. A total of 7 groups participated in this event that was held in the Christ University, Bangalore as part of Media Meet 2015. Seven groups enacted different stories based on their chosen theme. Mr Ranjith Kakoria, Professional Theatre Artist was the judge for this event. While addressing the gathering he said, a very few teams only were following the rules of tableau, and the rest did a good job in performing the theme chosen by them. - Raygalla Kalyan Srinivas
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CREATING A NICHE IN ADVERTISING AND BOOKS Anuja Chauhan, coined as ‘the most celebrated fictional author’ in India is not just an author but also a well-known advertiser. She is known for her work on the PEPSI ‘Yeh
Dil Maange More’, ‘Nothing official about it’ and ‘Oye Bubbly’ campaigns, as well as her ‘Darr Ke Aage Jeet hai’ campaign for Mountain Dew. The advertiser-turned author has four books to her credit, ‘The Zoya Factor’, ‘Battle for Bittora’, ‘Those Pricey Thakur Girls’ and her latest ‘The House that BJ built’. She interacted with the audience and spoke about her life in the advertising industry and what it entails. Ms. Chauhan kept the session light and fun and spoke about the peaks in her career with the Pepsi
Campaigns and the ‘Tedha Hai Par Mera hai’ campaign for Kurkure to name a few. As majority of the audience consisted of students who wished to enter the industry, she spoke briefly about how the industry functions and how it is a youth driven one. On the same note, she also covered the controversies that ensue in the advertising field and how ads play a role in resolving them. The session concluded with her signing copies of her latest book and talking to fans. - Natasha George
EBEN MOGLEN ON NET NEUTRALITY
Prof. Eben Moglen | Photo by Alloysius Prof. Eben Moglen, Chairman of SFLC, USA, graced us with his talk on ‘Network Neutrality’ on day 2. Accompanying him was Mishi Choudhary, Legal Director of SFLC, New York. He started his speech by tracing the concept of equality, from the time of Civil war to the pres-
ent modern world. From close-knit groups to a big global world, everything is connected today. Moglen spoke of how internet is the body of human future which is growing and developing each day. Interestingly the physiology of this body is the software that we use- Whatsapp makes a good example of it. He emphasized on the fact that every human being is entitled to equality. But does the network that has been built by us, support human equality, is the question that he posed. It is here that we need to discuss about network equality which says that everybody has a right to read and speak the same way. Human race is now divided into two parts- one that can afford this freedom of thought and one that cannot. Internet either reflects human freedom or destroys it. Moglen spoke briefly about zero rating, Net Neutrality and the Right to privacy. He also gave us an insight into the book that he is currently writing, which deals with how the present generation gets to determine how the internet is going to turn out in the next fifty years. He ended his speech by stating that the power needs to now switch from the politically rich to the common man. - Srilaxmi
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SHOCK TREATMENT FOR THE “EDUCATED”
Markandey Katju began his speech by focusing on media from a historical perspective. Throughout the speech he constantly reiterated his personal belief on how India is caught in the throes of transitional phasefrom the feudal to the modern industry industrial society. The speech largely dealt with the subject of caste disparities, religious conflicts and poverty in India. It further threw light on the corruption taking place in all levels of administration. Also, despite of being from a legal background, Katju did not flinch from talking about the vices and inadequacies
of his own profession. Putting little hope in the functioning of the systems of our country, he repeated the need for a revolution as the only savior- “It is like a building which has totally dilapidated, everything has collapsed. This means that some kind of violent revolution is coming about in this country and the media should be aware of this”. Popular for his strong opinions of the media and in the light of the criticisms he had garnered for the same, Katju explained that his strong comments are not to demean anybody nor is he “blood-thirsty”, but it is because
the people need to be jolted out of their obsolete mindsets, rather in his words, a “shock treatment” for the so-called educated. At one point of time, he also stated that, “I am known as someone who restricts the freedom of speech and expression of the media. But the masses should know that there is a difference between restrictions and control. Everyone is accountable to the public in a democracy”, he stated. The speech was followed by an interactive Q and A session wherein the audience took up the opportunity to optimally extract from his vast knowledge. - Nimisha Medhi
A WALK WITH THE JUSTICE
Photo by Jeffery Dev
Excerpts from the walk and talk interview with Justice Markandey Katju Q. How would you assess the growth of Media in the last decade? Ans. There has been growth but not the kind of growth that I would’ve liked it to be. The media should be addressing
issues that the country faces which are basically economic like poverty, malnutrition, price rise, unemployment, health care and so on but instead the media focuses on lives of film stars and cricket and other things which is diverting the attention from issues to the non issues. So they are not doing a good job. It has developed but the development is not in the right direction. Q. How would you comment on the public looking at journalists more like barking dogs rather than Watchdogs? Ans. There are a few good journalists also like P. Sainath who has done a great job in exposing the issue of farmers suicides. But vast majority of journalists are of poor level and they are not doing a good job. So I don not have a high opinion
on most journalists. Q. Your message to the budding journalists to better the existing state of affairs? Ans. Journalists should help people towards the progress in the direction of a modern society. Media people should serve people so that they get better lives rather than diverting attention towards fashion parades and cricket and so on. So I am very sorry I have a poor opinion on media people. Q. Your views about Media Meet 2015. Ans. I was very happy to interact with the students today and particularly questions which were put to me were very good questions and I think that you all are very bright students here, very intelligent. - Sharada H A
MEDIA MEET 2016: CINEMA This year the Department of Media Studies has been able to execute a great and successful show. Not only has the show inspired the juniors to work harder but it has also set a standard to next year’s fest as well. From a strength of 22 last year, this year has seen participation of more than 30 colleges. Media meet 2016 looks forward to the representation of the world of cinema. Life without visuals is unimaginable. This part of the industry holds the strongest footing in today’s media world. Considering the theme the current 1st year students of the Media studies department have already come up with the promo of the next year’s theme that is Cinema. Hoping to see you all next year.
MEDIA MEET 2015: POWER OF VISUALS Editor Shravana Kumar S Chief Sub Editors Sharada H A Nimisha Medhi Chief Photographer & Videographer Jeffery Dev Faulty Incharge Suparna Naresh Media Meet Coordinator Fr. Biju K Chacko
Reporters Aditya M Bhabana Chetna Kalyan Srinivas Nikitha Siddhanth Shashank Srilakshmi Varsha R Nikhil Philip
Photographers Alosious Mitul Philip Nikhil V
Social Media Content Aditya Mittal
Radio Podcasting Natasha Arjith
Student Coordinator John Sekar Skandashree Bali
Layout and Design Janaranjani Mohan Shravana Kumar S
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