MY REFLECTION FOR PROJECT BRIEF THREE

I decided challenge myself with Project Brief Three, and picked a subject who pulled me away from the traditional stylistic approach I usually adopt. I choose Jeff Carson not because he holds something specifically appealing for me to explore, but to see if I could make a portrait of someone ordinary.

Using found footage is not something I am unaccustomed to, and the aspect of finding relevant material was challenging. Jeff said in our original interview that one of his main hobbies is gaming and I when I see him he is usually behind a screen of some sort. I was stepping out of my comfort zone already, so I decided to further by using 70% found material. I found a lot of footage and stock photographs of old arcade games and I thought these could be used to represent Jeff well. They are all simple, yet extremely fun – challenging, yet engaging. The materials all hold a nineties colorful vibe which I contrasted with the pragmatism of Jeff’s thoughts.

I tried to incorporate the feedback I received from both the class and Brian regarding Project Brief Two, specifically with the issues I found with the time constraints and the film being rushed towards the end. The required credits obviously helped me in achieving this, as well as bookmarking the footage of the arcade games between the footage of my subject. I tried to follow more of a linear path to create a consistency throughout Jeff (The Game).

I think this project has taught me an important lesson of self-portraits and general media producing in understanding the key fundamentals of a successful interview. I usually am quite silent as a director when I film footage, shooting inanimate objects or myself. Here I had to work collaboration with my subject, which required scheduling and preparation. As a practice, media largely relies upon pre-production, which is usually my worst stage. Working with other people forced me into proactively engage with the activities of pre-production in planning for Jeff’s interview.