project brief 3 from Ellie Jamonts on Vimeo.

I’m happy with how my editing has developed since the last project brief. Simple techniques such as dissolves and slip editing have made a big difference to the smoothness of my piece. However, I think I failed in making Jen feel comfortable. A different set-up — with me sitting out of frame and talking to her conversationally – would have made a big difference.

 

I’m learning that portrait-making seems, like everything, a lot easier than it is. My piece is relatively straightforward, an interview edited down, but I found I had to make lots of choices to keep the integrity of the piece. I’d decided to let Jen speak for herself and then edit that rather than making an abstract piece, but the opportunities presented by found footage in particular were very tempting. In the future, I’d like to explore the abstract potential of portraits.

 

Before I began editing I watched a tutorial on Lynda. Watching a tutorial sounds like an obvious step but I went into my second brief without doing it and the difference it made this time was enormous. Since I watched it pre-production, I had new ideas about what to film based on the editing techniques I’d learnt. Although I think I’m still far away from realising my potential as an editor – and I don’t believe that editing will ever be a key skill of mine, I don’t have the attention to detail – I’ll continue to learn from the experts rather than trying to figure it out as I go along.

 

Having the actual experience of setting up a camera, negotiating filming etc has given me a lot to think about. I’m glad I was familiar with the camera, although I did have trouble with the tripod. I understand now, through practical experience, that it’s essential to go in with a plan. I wasn’t dissatisfied with the questions and plan I’d scribbled down but as I go on to develop larger and more complex media artefacts it’s clear I’m going to need to implement a system. As far as I can tell, the best way to develop this beyond getting advice is through trial and error.

My submitted reflection was included with my video but after seeing other self-portraits and the comments I received in workshop I wanted to write a little more.

 

What worked?
I really liked my videos, even though the quality was low. I’d really like to reuse them somehow (and definitely retake them on a better camera). I was surprised to hear that my photos were my strongest element since I wasn’t particularly happy with the way that section came out. I think my problem with it was the way it worked into the overall piece but it did feel a bit forced. Still, if it’s something that works I need to take that on board. My own, hidden intentions and feelings don’t really matter if the audience perceives them differently.

 

What didn’t?
All the talking! I think in my move away from my abstract first project brief I went too far in the other direction. Narrowing in on one element of my personality and then narrating it didn’t give nearly the scope I saw in other projects. Obviously I don’t want to imitate what they did or take a broader approach because it was the more popular thing to do, but seeing how much they achieved in a minute made me reconsider if such an intense focus was a good idea. I think I could have shown a lot more about myself if I’d taken a different approach.

 

Thoughts on editing
I have so far to go! Although I was pleased to see I’d picked up a few techniques by accident, like sound bridges. I think I’ll focus on my transitions in particular for project brief no. 3 and make them smoother, better timed and varied. 

 

I knew project brief no. 1 was going to be valuable but going into no. 2 with the knowledge I’ve gained from it is really beneficial. As I mentioned in my reflection, I still like the idea of painting a picture of myself from the world that I live in rather than detailing myself – but I decided to focus on the world I surround myself with, rather than the world that surrounds me. It’s a slight distinction but a major one I think. People choose to catch the train or drive, for example, but it’s still about them getting to the same place. But if someone chooses to take a plane to a holiday their destination is up to them.

 

For the first few days I was stuck, which really scared me because I usually have ideas pretty quickly – crummy, unsustainable ideas, but things I can use as a springboard. Eventually I managed to develop my vague understanding of these two different ‘worlds’ into something tangible. I wanted to talk about mountains. For someone who’s been born and mostly lived by the sea, I have a strong connection to the mountains. It’s all about that choice I mentioned: I am surrounded by the sea but I choose, when I can, to be by mountains instead.

 

In the end it seemed a little two-dimensional to talk about nothing but “hey I really like this geographical feature” for an entire minute, but out of that grew the idea to talk about the things in my room (the poster of the Wildschönau Valley is a remnant from that original idea) and then onto reflection and deliberate noticing in general. I thought about the way I think, the things I like to look at, and realised I was usually thinking about these things when I should have been focusing on something else.

 

From there, it was a process of almost interviewing myself and trying to figure out which phrases really expressed how I felt and which were boring or idiotic. I wasn’t overly concerned with the video component so long as I took from my beautiful things in daily life. I love nighttime much more than the day so that was an obvious choice. The lights at North Melbourne Station are something I go out of my way to see, even after a long day, and I always cross the road to walk on the Town Hall/Cathedral side of Swanson str, even if I know I’ll have to cross back again. It’s these little choices that shape my day which is ultimately what I wanted my project to be about: how my personality affects my choices and my life.

project brief no. 2 from Ellie Jamonts on Vimeo.

 

Overall, I found this second project brief to be equally satisfying and frustrating.

 

I’ve had very limited experience with editing and seeing my project come together was very rewarding. I didn’t go in with a particular aim – I knew I wanted to talk about my ridiculous attention span and I knew I wanted to take videos in the city at night, but wasn’t sure how those would work with the project brief. I’m happy with the result, though I can see acres for improvement, and believe I’ve met the criteria.

 

My main concern, which is a strange thing to admit on a self-portrait, is that this is too much about me. I chose to record myself speaking because I didn’t want to be too abstract – particularly since the video largely is – but I worry the sections I chose present me in the wrong light. It wasn’t my intention to come across with a sort of ‘special snowflake’ complex. My aim was to describe the world I’ve constructed for myself – I believe everyone has their own interpretation, shaped by their beliefs, temperament and memories. It might just be me trying to please everyone but it does concern me that my project might be interpreted as overly narcissistic.

 

The decision to leave the section with the tram journey without a voice-over is one I’m glad I made. There was so much I wanted to say (much more than I could in a minute) but I think forcing myself to leave this space empty, in a sense, gives my piece breathing room. Leaving in my original audio choice would have given a more cluttered effect overall and, even if it had remained, wouldn’t have said everything I wanted to anyway.

 

I felt that my inexperience with my editing program (iMovie) and editing in general led to most of my frustration. There are moments in my piece that can only be described as ‘clunky’ and I didn’t have the skills to smooth them out. I think this can only be solved through practice and familiarisation.

After watching my presentation, my table made a really good point, a sort of ‘it’s obvious once you see it’ point: ‘How is this about you?’

 

As I mentioned in my process post, I wanted to detail the world I live in and use that in an abstract way to fill in the blanks of what I actually am. It’s something I’d like to expand on in the future but for now it does beg the question: is inverting a self-portrait to make it a portrait of everything but you being too abstract and sneaky? And does it even fulfill the brief?

 

I think some of my more abstract moments just came off as generic, particularly the audio. Yes, public transport is central to my life… just like most every university student and a great deal of the rest of the population. While it might mean x, y & z to me, when you listen to it without my personal preconceptions all you get is a girl that catches the train. It’s the audio equivalent of drawing a stick figure for a self-portrait.

 

I mean, yeah, technically 

 

That said, I’m very happy with how the video and images came out. While I won’t be going further with the concept, I think my photoset demonstrated exactly what I wanted it to and held a sense of continuity without being too similar. I’ll be adapting the video for project brief no. 2 but I think it was a good representation of how I choose to see the world rather than how it is presented to me.

 

It’s given me a great deal to think about for my second project brief, which I know is going to be a lot more personal. Next time, I’m going to talk about the world I’ve created for myself rather than the world I happen to exist in.

I admit it started out as a pretty bleak project. I’d had a long day and my weak ankle had given up, along with my contact lenses, and I was tired and hungry and dehydrated. I decided I’d focus on all my flaws. I could record myself apologising or saying please and thank you ad nauseam, or I could get mum to say that I’m a lousy admin assistant (which is true, unfortunately). My images, which have remained mostly the same, would revolve around the way I see the world, which isn’t too clearly. As I said, it wasn’t a happy start.

 

Flaws evolved into quirks, thank god, as my mood and blood sugar improved. I realised quirks make up a large portion of my day. The way I see the world is defined by my strange little habits and my bad eyesight along with all my other so-called flaws. This was the second stage of my project, which morphed into my eventual focus on my perception of the world.

 

Ultimately, only the pictures summarising my eyesight and one video of looking up at city buildings lasted out. I eventually came to a theme of existing in the world; a self-portrait with the scenery vividly displayed and the subject left blank.

 

Audio: I catch the train every day and wanted to parallel going out and coming home (which ties into my day-in-the-life text component). I don’t drive so public transport is a huge part of my daily experience and has certainly shaped me into a person who can easily adapt to getting around an unfamiliar city. It’s also a lot of down-time to stare out the window and think about just about everything.

Images: My poor eyesight and low depth perception are huge in shaping the way I exist in the world. I’m grateful that most of my problems can be (mostly) rectified by a visit to the optometrist Without a visual aid I’d be (literally) lost. Even with them, having terrible depth perception means I’m constantly bumping into things and tripping over. This constant stream of little embarrassments is incredibly annoying but it’s given me a higher tolerance for humiliation, which is great for karaoke nights.

Video: There’s nothing better than getting your script updated and being able to appreciate every leaf on every tree as something sharp and distinct and beautiful. Not always being able to see the world has given me a deep appreciation of how beautiful it is. I think Melbourne is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and I’m always reminding myself to look up and look out.

Text: There’s a very small part of me that wouldn’t mind staying in bed all day. Getting up and out and really existing in the world is often a challenge — I’m shy, I’m introverted, I’m lazy, whatever label you like. But I’m always glad when I do get out. I wanted to parallel that daily challenge of forcing myself to have a full life, to demonstrate that there’s always a little voice in my head saying, “Nah Ellie, let’s go home and take a nap”. Sometimes I get all the way down the list, some days I get part-way and some days I don’t even start it.

Get up or don’t.

Get dressed or don’t.

Have breakfast or don’t.

Catch the train or don’t.

Get coffee or don’t.

Study or don’t.

Work or don’t.

Eat lunch or don’t.

Walk round or don’t.

See a movie or don’t.

Meet friends or don’t.

Go home or don’t.

Sleep in.

project brief 1 video & audio from Ellie Jamonts on Vimeo.