This week’s topic of being resourceful put some things into perspective for our project moving forward. I’ve been pretty set on using the desktop-documentary style so far, but it might be worthwhile to look at other elements to compliment this. First, since we’re wanting to include a personal element to our story, it would be useful to create footage in our own environments, with what we have access to – our homes, wardrobes, laudries, etc. There was a suggestion in the pitch to show denim being worn – we might be able to show our relation to denim through shots of use interacting with denim (folding, wearing, taking out of the wardrobe, etc.) We could also look at using items we have (our clothing) and use them in interesting ways. Stop-motion using illustration might be another option. Stills that can be annotated or illustrated over.

Victoria and I are finding that a kind of “playful” tone might be what we want to go for, addressing the insanely inadequte fast-fashion system with a bit more cheek and a lighter lens.

I tried experimenting with stop motion this week, using my clothes to create themes of abudance and waste. Stop-motion has been on the cards for a while, and Vic and I have discussed overlaying lots of fabric and things to allude to the idea of mass production and hoarding. I also attempted the idea of perishing jeans for some reason… I’m not sure that fits our narrative though. It did help me figure out that an hour of work creating a stop motion ends up with a 20 second video. My compositions need a bit of work – I think they could be more hyperbolic. However I really like the denim stacking up – I think it sets a standard aesthetic for our film. (Even though it’s pretty minimalist).

https://youtu.be/6R4Xi-3h0_Y

(Copy and paste into browser).

Some useful feedback from the pitch included focusing on the origin story of denim to give some background – how capitalism comes into play, where denim is made, the history of denim and the working-class jean. This is definitely something I’m interested in learning about to begin with, so I’m happy to work on making this an element of our film. I think it’ll provide more insight into how the system has room for improvement.

There was also the suggestion that it our ending could be open-ended, to let people decide for themselves what they take away from the film. Which is something to think about – at the moment I can’t envision how it would finish that way in a formal sense. But maybe the poetic/materialistic visuals we’re creating will give some room to end on a pensive note.