Reflection:

Thinking back now to when we were first assigned groups and had that initial brainstorm of location possibilities and general ideas, I can’t help but realise how much we’ve all learnt from each other. If this was to be an individual task, I feel as though the strength and depth of each of the three questions wouldn’t have been explored or delivered to the extent that we did, and my project would have been so narrow minded. Working with both Nikki and Indri was awesome because we each had such strong ideas and creative visions so were easily able to bounce off each other, and we were able to get each other where we wanted to be with our individual ideas.

I had never been to Edinburgh Gardens before, however Nikki had and said it would be interesting as there were many places within it as a whole. This really fascinated me as we were fully exploring place as a communal area, and placeness within such a public area, but also placelessness as there is potential for place to get lost in such a large park such as these particular gardens. So I was really excited to explore this space.

Initially, my first idea surrounded the visual observation of perspective, and having different perspectives on the one objects. Throughout this semester so far I have learnt to be more open minded in my observations, both visually and sonically, so I wanted to express that through someway within this assignment. I wanted to dive into the aspect of looking past what we initially observe a certain space or object to be, and looking at it’s beauty, structure, materials and wider purpose, past just what it’s actual purpose is. At first, the question we had to explore this aspect was ‘how does one person’s perspective and interpretation change from another’s when viewing the same space from a different position?’. This was an interesting question, and we thought we’d explore it through setting up three cameras all capturing different perspectives. However, it was more focused on the way we were seeing the object (being the swing set) rather than what we were actually observing through the three different lenses. So, we re-tweaked the question to ‘What is the importance of looking at a certain space past the basis of what we initially observe it to be?’. Perfect. Immediately shifts the main focus to finding the detail in an everyday structure, and looking past what we know it is. It requires deeper observation and not just our current understanding of it’s structure and purpose. The photos we took for this were really interesting and worked really cohesively in bringing our idea to life, as we really emphasised the deeper observation by closely zooming on the imperfections. For example, observing the cracks in the paint and thinking about it’s use, age, trace, sacredness.

I also loved Nikki’s idea of incorporating child’s laughter into the video over the top of the swing set shots. It suggests physical presence of children without there actually being it, and because we are capturing what we would classify as a child’s sacred space.

Throughout this investigative journey, I have continued to broaden my understanding of what makes a place ‘sacred and who it might be sacred to. I enjoyed observing such a public place and every day individuals within it, using it for their own purpose and in their own element. Very much looking forward to the next assignment, to follow one particular direction and conduct more research and develop a greater understanding of what place and space means to different people.

 

Blog Posts:

Place, Placeness, Placelessness

Reading

Group Meeting Catchup

Readings for Inspiration

Footage Day

Editing

Group catch up

First Day of Presentations

Our Presentation in Class

Assignment 3 POWERPOINT

Assignment 3 VIDEO

 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zA7T9pVXNqAMOR339IWUtmeA3TNGyu8L

Nikki Indri and I thought our presentation went really well! It’s a lot easier to explain the reasoning behind our ideas and decisions so a powerpoint format was perfect for our delivery and so the class can fully understand and follow.

FEEDBACK

• Great use of capturing people in their element within the chosen environment
• Idea of physical presence not needed to fill a space
• Robbie thought it would be interesting to capture the environment at night time – see how it differs, different animals, activities, people using the space differently
• Everyone really liked the idea of the intersection. However, Robbie thought it created a rushed atmosphere rather than the cruisey pace people would go through it with. It worked for the bikes as they are rushed.

We are still decided our direction for assignment 4. But still interested in looking at how people use a certain space differently and make it sacred in their own way. More interested in the ‘everyday’ rather than staged use of space. Fully capturing people in their element.

Other people’s presentations.

• Loved the use of light
• Interesting to see everyone’s interpretations of the criteria, and the different sites they used

 

Going through our final powerpoint today we realised that the photos for the first question did not relate at all as they didn’t include an intersection. So, to broader the question so focus it more on a communal area in general rather than the particular intersection, we changed it to ‘common space’ rather than ‘intersection.’ The intersection works as part of this ‘common space’ we explore. And it will be easier to explain this in our presentation. Explaining our thought process to the class and our final result choices.

Editing in suits

Starting mixing our sounds with our visuals

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Our video is quite basic and plain however it works. It works because it stays true to the environment, in that it’s the sort of sounds you hear at the park, and the same sort of things you see.

The children laughing and talking (“Look at me daddy”) are raw and genuine. These are genuine sounds from children you’d hear at the park, on the playground and running around. We caught them in their sacred element – exactly our aim.

I also love the use of footsteps in our video. We use the same footstep footage in each of the four ‘cross over’ shots (below)

however each time they are used differently. The first one is just the original footage without any editing. The second there are three of the same footage, one sped up to 200% and each staggered at different times. Same with the next two.

EDITING DAY

In the editing suites. Working on our video, photographs and powerpoint.

It’s so funny because after looking at our footage all together, we realised that our questions didn’t really match up in terms of what we were aiming to express/convey through our footage. So we decided to retweak the questions.

Tweaking the questions based on our footage:

Question 1

Before: How does time of day play a part in how people interact with their sacred place?

After: Does an intersection create a sense of community?

• No it doesn’t. even though the park is meant to be a communal space, we didn’t observe any physical interaction.
• We found no different in time of day in what people were doing. The footage over the three hours was essentially the same. So we decided to re-word our question.

Question 2

Before: How does one person’s perspective and interpretation change from another’s when viewing the same space from a different position?

After: What is the importance of looking at a certain space past the basis of what we initially observe it to be?

• Taking away interpretation. It’s more about how we observe space and our level of selfishness in what we observe and notice.
• Through different angles, looking at it’s purpose (children’s sacred space) and the finer detail (photos, up close of structure)

Question 3

Before: How does physical interaction with a place impact its emotional connection and level of sacredness?

After: How do people use a shared space and make it sacred in their own way?

• Observing people in their natural environment
• Seeing how people use space differently
• Works better with the footage of the skate park and people reading/sitting in their natural environment.

Today’s filming day went really well. We were meant to have our meeting with Robbie but have changed it to Thursday because we needed class time to go to Edinburgh Gardens and retrieve all our footage.

Because planning went really well on Thursday last week, the process of getting the right footage went smoothly as we each knew our aim and therefore exactly what to capture. I had never been to the gardens before, however eventually worked my way around it and found so many interesting things to capture.

 

Question 1: How does time of day play a part in how people interact with their sacred place?

For this question we set up the camera on a tripod capturing an intersection where the footpaths crossed over. We let the camera run for about 15 minutes, capturing all sorts of movement. From people riding their bikes, walking dogs, running, individually or in groups, it was really great to capture how people use the every day space. We did this three times, over three hours. Setting up the camera in the exact same spot to capture the same shot, just different times of the day. The first shot was at around 11.30am, and it was very cloudy and gloomy. A greyish dark light setting the scene. The weather didn’t look promising, looking like it would stay the same for the entire day. However, the by the time we got next shots, at 12.30 and 1.30, the sun had started to come out. It was still cloudy, however this time incorporated the occasional visibility of blue sky and sun. The same action occurred throughout the three hours. Bikes, dogs and walkers. It was interesting to note there was probably the most action at 11.30, the last two shots not being as frequently used.

Question 2: How does one person’s perspective and interpretation change from another’s when viewing the same space from a different position?

For this one we decided to use the swing set at the playground within the park as our specific object to focus on. We set up three different cameras in three different spots around the swings, each capturing different angles and views. Here, we aimed to explore looking at the same thing from three different point of views, and how that same object then has the potential to be interpreted differently by different viewers. We created movement with the swings by pushing them, then did some shots with them still. For post we are thinking of layering children’s laughing over the top, to suggest the presents of children and how the swing set/playground is their own space, and sacred to them. Luckily enough there was a group of school children playing footy in the park so we were able to record some of that sounds to use. For photography, we took different and interesting shots of the swing set, some super extreme close ups, some of angles where it’s hard to tell exactly what is it. Here suggesting how a space can be transformed by the perspective it’s captured in.

Question 3: How does physical interaction with a place impact its emotional connection and level of sacredness?

For this one we explored how people use the park as a space of their own, and how they use them differently. Possibly to clear their mind, participate in different activities, to have their own space where they can be who they want and do what they want.

 

One of my favourite footage’s we captured was the skate park. Its purpose is clearly a skate park for people to ride along, however it’s fully covered in colourful graffiti. I love the idea of this space, being the skate park, being used for a completely different purpose to that of what it’s purpose is /why it’s there in the first place – a space where arty people have expressed themselves and their artwork on as well. A space for them to be visually creative. So it’s their sacred space in that it’s covered in their artwork, but it’s also sacred for boarders/bike riders who are able to use the space as a skate park. Interesting. Same idea with the bathrooms – covered in graffiti.

Before we start the assignment, we decided to look on the internet at different readings that have interesting points about space and place, to gather inspiration for our project.

Here are the main points we gathered for each of the selected readings:

 

• http://western.edu/sites/default/files/documents/cross_headwatersXII.pdf

“It seemed to me that sense of place was actually composed of two quite different aspects. The first aspect, relationship to place, consists of the ways that people relate to places, or the types of bonds we have with places. The second aspect, community attachment, consists of the depth and types of attachments to one particular place.”

• https://www.be.unsw.edu.au/sites/default/files/upload/pdf/schools_and_engagement/resources/_notes/5A2_1.pdf

“Human behaviour, experiences and social interactions in public spaces are believed to be the result of the processes of the mind that are influenced by the different features of these spaces. These features may be physical, social, cultural or sensory but what they share in common is the power to affect people’s behaviour in, and experience of the public realm.”

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5788094/

“A space can be sacred, providing those who inhabit a particular space with sense of transcendence—being connected to something greater than oneself. The sacredness may be inherent in the space, as for a religious institution or a serene place outdoors. Alternatively, a space may be made sacred by the people within it and events that occur there. As medical providers, we have the opportunity to create sacred space in our examination rooms and with our patient interactions. This sacred space can be healing to our patients and can bring us providers opportunities for increased connection, joy, and gratitude in our daily work.”

 

https://workplacepsychology.net/2012/06/21/does-time-of-the-day-impact-moods-at-work/

This was a brief but concise accurate generalisation on how the time of day and its relation to mood is overall very relatable. The masses tended to be in a worse mood in the morning and evenings, and have a general peak in the middle of the day. This would be interesting to see the correlation between mood and how time is spent alone or in a sacred place.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-37444982

This article focused on time alone and rest, and how many people think they need more of it. They found reading, spending time in a natural environment, and being alone were the biggest forms of relaxation (in that order), and how 68.4% of people crave more alone time in their sacred place. Being alone, according to this study, is when people most emotionally reflect, and that we actually have busier minds during this time than time spent focusing on a specific task.

 

My thoughts…..

• The reference to community is really important as in the gardens we will be able to explore this sense of community as it is entirely a communal space. Even better, the whole space has smaller spaces within it, such as a skate park, tennis courts and playgrounds. It will be perfect in exploring how the community interacts, and how different people with the same interests can come together in these public spaces. And also, observing how people use the public space and make it private, using it in their own individual way.
• Love the idea of time of day – definitely want to explore this in our project. Setting up a camera in the same spot for a few hours to capture different activity is one of our ideas.

Decided on a location: Edinbrough Gardens in Fitzroy.

Came up with three questions for our assignment:

How does time of day play a part in how people interact with their sacred place?

• Timelapse (post production, in editing)
• One camera perspective
• Reverse audio?

How does one person’s perspective and interpretation change from another’s when viewing the same space from a different position? (multi-camera, different interpretations)

• Three specific locations
• Three camera perspectives for each location

How does physical interaction with a place impact its emotional connection and level of sacredness?

• Snapshots, people in their elements within the park (e.g. reading under a tree)
• Looking at how people use the environment differently, how they physically connect with the environment
• Sacred to them on an emotional level