Beyond Healing focuses on Norma Salvador’s journey of being a nurse for over twenty-seven years. In reference to the lectorial on Monday, Project Brief Three did become a bitter-sweet task. From the beginning, my mum Norma was the subject I wanted to interview, however collating and realistically filming her as a nurse in practice was the ultimate challenge. My sole focus was on nursing and upon pre-production and producing open-ended questions, I realised that this “sole” focus was an extensively broad one.

To narrow it down, I asked myself; what prompted me to interview her in the first place? It was ultimately the curiosity of how nurses can be the subject of prejudice and misconceptions. My mum’s own experience was vital in providing a personal connection with the audience. Re-watching the film, my questions could’ve been a bit more specific and more of my mum expanding her answer from those questions.

Through the use of voice-over, Norma was comfortable and more fluent in her responses, and became beneficial towards the pacing of the narrative. The phrase “I didn’t want to be a nurse at first” became the bookending of the interview. It juxtaposed the photographs of her graduation at the beginning and, likewise, as insert shots of the Thank You cards concluded the film. I never actually realised this many aspects in creating a portrait.

Essentially, Beyond Healing is broken in sections. Firstly, the photographs of her graduation serve to the cement the foundation of her career and the interview itself. I then move onto recognising the common misconceptions that nurse face on a regular basis.

I purposely used vintage found footage as a means of representing how primitive and ignorant these ideas are and how they’re unnecessary judgements in this day and age. It also shows how the nursing industry has progressed overtime; from the 1950s to the 1970s.

The next section extends on the matter of witnessing life and death, and how to deal with this heavy subject on an emotional perspective. Visually, I decided to highlight the physical affects it could have; the apparent eye bags on her eyes and the wrinkles on her hands.

The next section, contrasts the previous by asking why she continues to pursue this occupation and establishes the personal tone again. Concluding with her reading through her Thank You cards serves to provide the audience with the message that it’s not the title of your occupation but what you do in life that determines your happiness and could end up being a rewarding experience. As the title suggests, nursing is more than taking care of a patient.

Insert shots and close-ups were extensive throughout the film in order to create an intimate and emotional connection with the audience. In conjunction to this, is the use of cross dissolves for reflective and nostalgic purposes.

The bitter sweetness I experienced throughout this project brief broadened my development as a media practitioner. It’s crucial to have a focal point in an interview and then expand on that idea or else you’ll lose control, discovering the power in the relationship between sound and visual, and the benefits of planning ahead.

How can I condense my holiday video within a short amount of time?

The first few weeks of 2016 involved soaking in the Europe and Dubai winter breeze. Other than enjoying the holiday itself, I wanted to find a way to reminisce on the trip through a short length video, rather than procrastinating on flicking through over a thousand photos once I returned to reality (for my own sanity). Ultimately, this burst of motivation originated through my acceptance into the RMIT Media course, and partially because I wanted to also reignite my creativity and refresh my post-production skills.

So I ponder on how can I actually condense my holiday video within a short amount of time? That’s when I realised that my main focus was the visual aspect itself. A lot of thoughts can occur during a sixteen-plus hour flight. One of those happen to be having the subject doing a simple movement while everything else in the background changes. I drag my brother to be the subject and basically having a static shot of him walking forwards.

Through post-production I realised the importance of a tripod and lighting. It became a tedious task in which I would use the “motion” setting in the effects control section to give the illusion of him walking in a consistent straight line. Like a photograph, I would analyse each frame to ensure that flows well with the next through the use of symmetry (ensuring he was the centre for each frame). As I replay the video, I recognised how the lighting differs in certain frames that even colour grading wouldn’t fix it, and how the position of his backpack changes. These factors contribute to not getting that full illusion. Next time, I wish to recreate this video with improving these factors. Maybe across a different continent this time?