For Project Brief 3, I chose to interview my friend Piri, who is currently studying dance full time. I knew, being a performer, she would appear well on camera and that being so passionate about what she does she would have a lot to talk about. I also knew I’d be able to find plenty of interesting footage to include in my project that work well together and create a sense of a definite style to the work.

I decided to only use found footage that had been shot of physical film, as this allowed me to play with texture in terms of the contrast between the clips I shot myself and the footage I found, as well as different aspect ratios. I’ve used this to create a kind of ‘book end’ effect to the piece, by starting and finishing with clips of the start and end from one of the films that was shot on 8mm film. I really enjoyed working with found footage and attempting to match it with what I had recorded in a meaningful way.

One of the largest difficulties for me on this project was the fact that I only had an hour or so with my subject to record all the audio and video I needed. However, this forced me to match the found footage with the audio I had recorded, as I had far more audio than visuals. This has produced mixed results, as some parts I’m really happy with, such as when Piri is discussing the genuineness of contemporary dance and I’ve used the clips of two dancers performing somewhat intimately, but then I had to put the footage of Piri painting with the audio of her discussing the commitment required in dance, which doesn’t match quite so clearly.

If I were to do a similar project in the future, I would probably do some more planning. I didn’t want to have to much of a plan before I started filming with Piri, as I wanted the finished project to be as an accurate and as uncensored representation of who she is. However, this made editing a little more challenging, as I could easily decide what should go where. Having a clearer idea of what I want the final product to look like might be useful in terms of making better use of my recording time and collecting clips that will be easier to edit to achieve this product.

Overall, I’m happy with how the project has turned out. Piri was a great person to interview, as she gave me plenty of material and made it much easier to create an interesting piece. I think there is a clear style and look throughout and the found footage doesn’t feel too out of place as I feared it might. While it doesn’t show the complexities of who Piri is, it depicts some of her most valuable qualities and gives an insight into her goals in life.