For the second individual exercise I took a bit of a facetious approach to the interview, because I have already done a similar assignment to this and I did it like a sit down serious interview, and I think I learnt all that I had to learn with that approach. I’ve got to admit, editing a piece like this is much easier because you know the sort of answers you’re going to get with someone acting as someone who knows the project and the time limit, whereas with the other approach you kind of have to sift through a lot of their answers and cut and edit it to make it comprehendible (or not). I kind of knew the outcome of this assignment before I even shot it. I had a few questions I’d ask Monaliza, I’d get a pretty basic answer, and I’d cut in some external footage and that’s about it. I kind of wanted to focus of aesthetics for this project, but I guess if I were to do this again, I’d take it more seriously and actually put more preparation and time into it. Although, I did think my idea and final piece went well. I think it’s kind of weird and awkward but that is what I was going for so I guess that is a success.

I always feel guilty when I see someone who is seemingly homeless or in some way affected by drugs or alcohol, I tend to grab my bag a little tighter and pick myself up a bit so I’m ready to make a quick escape. This isn’t fair. There is no real reason I should fear people like this. Like today I was standing at the platform about to catch the train when a man who was wearing dirty sweats crouched down near me and takes out the contents of his bag. At a quick glance I saw a pipe and a lighter, and an empty Gatorade bottle, which from my angle I couldn’t tell if it was just an average bottle or a homemade bong. See? Why do I assume that he has a fucking bong just because of the way he was dressed. He didn’t even look at me but I was already afraid of him. When the train pulled up to the platform, I walked down a little further so I wouldn’t be on the same carriage as him. As it were, he ended up being at the opposite end of my carriage, and he caught my gaze and kept it for a few seconds. I felt offended within myself that I would assume so much from someone I know so little about. It’s not like I’ve ever had an exchange with someone in public that would leave me to be so afraid. Maybe I just feel vulnerable when I’m by myself. Maybe. Maybe I’m just afraid in general. Maybe.

I think one thing that I’ve really noticed in my own processes of making things is that I tend to try and fast track everything. Like when making a film, I’ll try and get through everything in pre-production as fast as I can and just tick the boxes of things. But with this course I’m starting to notice the smaller details in the storytelling process. This “revelation” was kind of realised when we went for a walk during class to sort of clear our heads. There was no real task set but I noticed myself kind of watching people and seeing what they are doing, and kind of trying to rush a moment I would then write as an observation and then write a script based off my initial observation and then make a short film. When I really just need to chill. Things take time, and they take care. I also feel like I stress myself out when I can’t come up with an idea when I sit down and try for an hour. I think storytelling needs to be something I think about 24/7 and not just when the time comes to come up with an idea and write up a script. I think if I want to achieve anything in this course it would be to learn the whole process of coming up with an idea and taking things in a slower approach and I guess it’s lame, but enjoying the whole thing.

Yesterday I was driving on a busy main road with a friend in the passenger seat and I was turning into the left lane to turn the corner and as I was about to change lanes, I saw an old Asian man wheeling a double mattress on a trolley. He taking up the whole lane. It was almost surreal because I had never seen such a weird thing happen, especially in the middle of a busy intersection. After we stopped to let him pass us, we turned around and saw him crossing the road between all these moving cars. There was this really weird moment in the middle of it all where I just looked at him with my mouth unknowingly wide open, as he just stared straight back at me in such a “what are you looking at” sort of way, like somehow I’m the weird one in the scenario.

When I was leaving ALDI the day and I noticed the guy in front of me holding a few bottles of wine and a six pack of glass beer bottles. His phone started to ring and as he started to reach for his phone in his back packet, he dropped the beer and the glass smashed almost in slow motion. The area around him instantly reeked of beer. As the damage was already done, the only thing I could offer were the words, “we’ve all been there” as he just stood there, disappointingly answering his phone.

It’s like she’d lost something. Once calm, now manically looking through her bag. She sat at the bus stop, in one of those glass undercover ones that faced the houses and not the road. I’ve never understood them. I always imagine that I’ll be sitting in one, facing a tall white fence, and my bus will speed past and I’ll be left completely unaware. I’d complain to my friends how PTV is always so unreliable and how annoying it is when buses don’t even turn up. She sat next to me, obviously frustrated that she’d lost something important. She groaned and breathed a heavy sigh and she got up and grabbed her unzipped bag and walked back in the direction in which she came.

There have been countless times during this course where I’ve been instructed to take the camera and a tripod out and film something. This task never really appeals to me because I end up shooting the typical symmetrical building shot on campus somewhere, but when Monaliza and I went out, we really took the time to watch people and not just a “nice” shot, which we are used to doing.

We found ourselves watching these two (assuming) homeless men. We were too far to hear what they were saying, but one of the men was yelling and was creating large movements with his arms as he was pacing around another man sitting who looked as though he was in another world.

This class has really changed the way I view this specific task, and I ended up really enjoying it. Neither Monaliza nor I are very confident with the camera, but I took the daunting task of control of it and the results are below.

It was the middle of winter, and when it is, the train is usually freezing cold, and I always wish I wore more layers. I get on the train on the first stop so I almost always get a seat, even in peak hour. A few stops into the journey, a man ran onto the train just before the doors closed and once he was on, he stood squashed next to everyone else standing. He was breathing very heavily, clearly out of the breath and sweat dripping from his forehead and all down his face into the collar of his white work shirt. The juxtaposition was interesting between him sweating profusely, clearly in a lot of discomfort, and with the rest of the passengers shivering and in multiple layers.

The other day I was walking to a cafe in my area to meet a friend and on the wall of a shop next to an alley way, I saw a KONY 2012 sticker. It was almost a surreal moment, filled with confusion. I’d hardly thought about this massive yet short-lived movement since it happened. But the sticker looked new, as though it had just stuck there but I don’t know if they would even make them anymore.

About a year ago I went to a dog park with my mum and my two dogs. In a usually empty car park at this hour, it seemed strange seeing two cars right next to each other with all of its lights off. Even though the interior lights of the car were not on, the car park itself is dimly lit, but just enough to see two figures in the back seat of the car furthest away from the entrance of the car park. The car was moving slightly, indicating that they were moving around a lot inside. It seemed like quite a weird occurrence on a weeknight in the car park of a suburban park, but as I thought about the situation more, I realized that the fact that there were two cars there means that they came separately, with this possibly pointing to an affair. Or maybe it could be a married couple trying to mix things up and do something different, with the possibility of getting caught. We did a lap of the park and came back and both the cars had left.