This project was challenging but also really constructive because it pushed me to form an opinion and think about what exactly it is I’m exploring in this exercise that will ultimately be some form of documentary piece. I’m aware that I don’t want to go into this with a preconceived idea of what I want, or an agenda to get material that supports some preconceived idea I have about my subject matter. I would much rather head into the process with an open mind and allow for space for fluidity and participant engagement. That being said, this doesn’t mean I go in without knowing what I’m doing. I will be going in with a very clear set of questions in case I need to guide or direct the participant, if they get lost or a little camera shy. I have activities for us to do together in front of the camera (me and the participant). I also have some activities I would like them to do as well. I know my subjects, what time they want to see me, what they want to talk about (roughly), what they are worried about. I have met each of them twice now so hopefully by this Sunday, I will have developed a certain level of familiarity. I have also been in contact with them via phone and email as some of them requested I send a list of questions I was going to ask so they had some idea of what the content was going to be about.

For this essay film project, I had all this material gathered from my visits to the market over the last two weeks (minus the actual footage I’ll be getting this Sunday with the interviews – permission was needed). But I wasn’t quite sure what my position was going to be heading into the conversations with the participants this Sunday. I knew what I wanted to talk about, but I realised that I wasn’t sure how the end piece was going to look AT ALL. The participants, ideally, would lead the way. In a perfect world where I had loads of time. But it’s okay, I’ve been given some great pointers from Kim about what my technique can be heading into these conversations.

My interest No,1 Is With The People

Who are you?

What is your background? Where are you from?

What major experiences have you had?

What has your family life been like or what is it like?

How many years have you been coming here and why do you chose the Camberwell Markets over other markets?

Are you local?

What do you love about the markets?

Do you love what you do?

What are your interests and hobbies? Is it this?

What do you love about engaging with the community in this way?

What major experiences have you had that have led you to this point in your life?

What is life like for you as a creative and an artist?

What’s important to you?

What are you passionate about?

The other great thing that came out of this particular essay film project, was that I really wasn’t clear on a few things (hopefully most of which Ill be clear on after this Sunday’s interviews).

• How to have forethought into composing and editing together materials to explore and represent an idea in an experimental but meaningful way
• how do put images and text together to create another meaning
• how to enhance meaning consciously with image and text

It has been great exploring some of these things. I really look forward to maybe adding an essayist element into my final piece. Wish me luck this Sunday!

 

Fabs x