Research Question: Observations of the natural world.

From the very beginning of the semester, I had a very clear idea of what I was interested in investigating, and a very vague idea of how I would ultimately approach it.

I’m very fortunate to have Darebin Parklands within close proximity to me. Its remoteness, diverse features and peaceful nature are all qualities I welcome. It is a place where I can (temporarily) escape from my work life and gain clarity on ideas that need considered thought. It was here that I shot my early experiments; ducks gliding on water, trees gently moving from the wind, the rhythmic motions of a creek; anything that grabbed my attention. There was a time when I was intent on shooting a narrative-based film for no other reason than to have something to show. My early experiments weren’t anything great but provided me with fulfilment and purpose.

Over the course of the first half of the semester, I continued shooting my experiments in natural settings. At the same time, I was making a lot of ambient music that came from the same place of desire and impulse. I would often Voice Record the places I would visit and use the sample in the tracks I was creating. I would use the music in the films I was making as I felt they accompanied it well thematically and stylistically. This overall approach was something I kept coming back to and ultimately informed my thinking as to how I would approach the rest of the semester.

My original plan was to shoot footage in different natural settings; waterfalls, forests, parklands, etc. and create a montage/collage of each place. I would also use my music over each collage. The purpose of the project was to explore my relationship with nature. I did some experiments but something didn’t feel right. It wasn’t until I read Paul’s abstract from The River Project: A poetics of Eco-Critical Film-Making that I came to the realisation that the approach of my project: shooting, editing, using music; manipulation was actually imposing on a natural setting that I ultimately wanted to present in its most primitive form. It was this passage that was responsible for changing my approach:

As we try to make meaning of the connections of our lives and world through film, Rust and Monani (2013) note that, ‘cinema is a form of negotiation, a mediation that is itself ecologically placed as it consumes the entangled world around it, and in turn, is itself consumed.’ This influence is evident in complex, poetic ways, and appears to revolve around the manner in which the films listen to the landscape, rather than seeking to impose themselves upon it – exhibiting a certain kind of humility.
– Passage from The River Project: A poetics of Eco-Critical Film-Making, Paul Ritchard, LAND DIALOGUES: Interdisciplinary research in dialogue with land, FUSION JOURNAL ISSUE 10

How could I use cinema to frame to natural world, without imposing upon it but still work in a way that was honest and personal? I decided that I would shoot the natural world in roughly 30 second shots, collate them and present them as brief episodic observations. No editing or correcting, just the shots taken as they were.

What I would shoot was dependant on one rule: if it captures my attention, it is, at the very least, worth documenting. I decided my way of further personalising this idea, and the broader project, was by shooting on an iPhone 7. Shooting on an iPhone places the observations within a D.I.Y context; our phones are always with us and they are now the most common accessory used to document everyday life. Instead of borrowing an EX3, planning where I was to shoot, where from, what focal length to use, etc, simply taking out my iPhone to shoot something gives the work an element of spontaneity and removes any contrivances that could possibly distract from the project’s purpose.

Camera movement was dependant on the setting. For most of my shots, the camera was static to allow the viewer to fully absorb the content in the frame. I wanted to eliminate any distractions that camera movement usually creates. There were, however, a few shots that used camera movement, though it was in the project’s spirit of acting upon instinct.

I shot about 40 or so observations on my iPhone 7. These included Parklands, clouds, rivers, trees, ducks, creeks, trains, waterfalls, mountains, fire, and the bush. After a while, I felt that I had done my idea of ‘if it captures my attention, it’s worth documenting’ justice. I could keep going with my current approach, though to me the work would become diluted. I wanted to try something new.

Throughout the semester, I toyed with the idea of changing my aesthetic. I respond to lo-fi media, especially the VHS aesthetic; I find it more personal and interesting than getting a clean, crisp shot from an expensive camera (not suggesting that’s bad, nor that it can’t excite me, rather my preference). I also thought about shooting on a Go Pro, but it felt too gimicky and contrived. Instead of focussing on what I would shoot and build around that, I decided that I would shoot on a Camcorder and think deeply about what I could record. I was also still making music and collecting field recordings, and thought about how I could involve this in my work. After much deliberation, I adjusted my approach to work around a planned idea. I would shoot multiple shots of a setting on a Camcorder, impose my vision through camera movement and editing, and use my music to accompany the vision.

I spent a few days at my friend’s shack in Colac. I walked around the bush and filmed it, though it was too similar to my old approach of working on impulse and not planning what to shoot. I knew The Otways had a plethora of waterfalls to choose from, and I decided that would be the subject of my shoot. I went to Hopetoun Falls (Beech Forest) and shot with my editing ideas dictating what choices I made with the camera. Despite the forced nature of the idea, I enjoyed working from this approach as it made me think deeper about assembling footage. I created a song that sampled the sound of the waterfall, and I feel it fits in with the aesthetic I was working with.

I had many voice recordings of all the places I shot. I wanted to use them for something, and felt it was appropriate to incorporate them into my project as they reflected the core theme of observation. I decided to create an audio album of 30 second cuts, each of a natural setting I shot footage at.

The idea of collaboration never entered my mind. This was a deeply personal project; it was about investigating and understanding why I’m drawn to nature. The shots, the music and the ideas were all developed by my own aesthetic choices. I am very pleased that I was able to create a body of work that felt like a true representation of myself, and more importantly, one that provided me with great fulfilment and meaning.