The feedback given to our group by the assigned panel was succinct and thought-provoking. Generally, they agreed that the high-spirited descriptions of Coburg (specifically our comments on the car wash, coffee factory and ‘old man’ café) were far more intriguing than our actual focus on the repurposed spaces. I understood their point of view, due to our obvious connection to the suburb and its idiosyncrasies, a further exploration of them could be fascinating. Yet, these described idiosyncrasies have the potential to be superficial and uninteresting as we don’t have the time to properly flesh out these concepts. Their feedback strayed from our original idea and whilst the film they described sounds heart-warming as a local, there isn’t enough time to create it and do it justice. Moreover, Paul was interested in the environment, the community and our connection to it. I believe this has the potential to create a certain sentimentality that I hadn’t considered investigating before. Although it is not the main point of interest, I believe that we could subtly integrate our personal connection and the subjects’ connection to place into the story, making the setting a character too. This way, we make Coburg apart of the story, rather than merely examine two spaces that happen to be in Coburg. In this way we will be able to highlight those little eccentricities we described in small but beneficial ways, giving our story further layers.
Furthermore, I would have preferred more feedback in relation to our actual contention, in order to move forward with professional criticism in mind. Yet the process of pitching to a panel in a professional setting was extremely beneficial. It taught me that being succinct and clear with my ideas makes the execution of the explanation easier to understand and more likely to connect with those I am explaining it to. The environment was familiar which made it less stressful, but the formality of it was extremely educational.
Moving forward, the following day I conducted pre-interviews with the proprietors of Mesma Studios and Noir Darkroom. I had conversations with both Camryn and Jessica in an informal setting, getting to know their character through casual conversation. We discussed in depth our intention to explore the space in the context of their repurposing and the setting of Coburg. We will also be delving into the nature of their business and how it relates to the positives and negatives of gentrification. They were both more than happy to be interviewed and were extremely enthusiastic and interesting subjects.
