The first week of our studio saw us running over what we could expect from this class over the course of the semester. From this we gathered that we would be making short documentaries about a topic of our choice, but that topic has to be something that fits in with the brief of the studio; which is “to go out into the world and do great things”. I had absolutely zero ideas of what I wanted my documentary to be about.

We were also shown a bunch of clips to spark ideas about the sort of work we can produce ourselves this semester. One video that stuck with me was a clip about the legend of shoes hanging over the telephone wires. The video compiled a bunch of audio recordings, stock footage, pictures and more to collect answers as to what the legend of these flying kicks meant to different people. The overall result was really interesting to watch and hear and everyone seemed to have a different interpretation of what it meant to them.

We also spent a bit of time using the zoom recorders and other equipment to practise our vox pop skills. Kim sent us out to go and interview pedestrians and passerbys with the aim of starting a surface level conversation and by asking a series of questions, have the conversation take a deeper turn. I think I failed at this because nerves got the better of me and I ended up just asking people what they ate for lunch and that was it. So this is probably something I need to work on if I’m going to deliver a quality documentary.