Diggin’ W/ Sam La Marca is short film that focuses on my friend’s record collection. I chose this as my idea as it is purely something I would be interested in watching; I spend much of my time watching YouTube videos of record collections. This film is about obsession. My subject’s obsession is vinyl, but in a more general sense, it is about how he developed this attachment, and what has come of it.

While the fact that my subject isn’t ‘well-known’ may alienate some viewers, I love the idea that there is a worldwide record collecting community who show equal interest in each other’s collection, regardless of who they are. They are one group who are brought together purely by their love and devotion to records.

I decided to shoot with my Canon 600D, and borrow the H2N Zoom from the tech office. This was because I’m quite comfortable with my camera; shooting handheld and adjusting the focus can be quite problematic if you aren’t familiar with how the camera operates. The Zoom served its purpose, and I was able to edit out some of the background noise through editing.

I thought it was most appropriate to film the actual ‘interview’ on a tripod, and the B-footage and record presentation handheld. My personal taste prohibits me from filming an interview handheld, it’s just not right. As a whole, I am delighted with how everything turned out; my camera skills have developed to a point where I think this was my most accomplished piece of filming.

As my computer doesn’t allow me use Premiere, I had to book many sessions in the University’s editing rooms. The experience was both positive and negative. I found the experience quite therapeutic; I could fully focus on the project in a quiet and secluded environment, which allowed me to develop my skills on Premiere. However, the hassle of constantly booking and making trips to editing suites, and the inconvenience of not being able to work on the project when I wanted to was not ideal.

I structured my interview in a way that I feel delivers some kind of progression. I felt that it was important that Sam introduces himself and provides context about his history and setup before he presents his records. That way, the audience can gain an understanding of what he is about.

I shot a few different endings, but I wanted something that wasn’t so final, such as a farewell message. I decided on a more open ending; while it may be abrupt, what I’m trying to communicate is that record collecting is a never-ending process. Obsessive collectors, such as Sam, are constantly adding to their collection. If the ending were more final, to me, it would feel like his collection only exists inside the duration of the video, rather than outside of it.

The searching for the ‘Found Footage’ was quite difficult. I wanted to use videos for all the artists, but could not find anything that useful (besides the Miles Davis one). I decided to use the many album covers/notes available, and I’m pleased with how I experimented with each one differently.

Overall, I am quite happy with how everything turned out. This can be attributed to the early planning stages; here I was able to work out how practical it would be to meet my vision. My planning, camera and editing skills are developing with each project, and I’m pleased I’m gaining comfort in different areas of media.

Project Brief 3 – Diggin’ W/ Sam La Marca from Ryan Rosenberg on Vimeo.