“Breaching borders: the parallels between place and person.”
Synopsis: How does the community in which you live – as well as those who live within it – espouse the values and ideals that you align yourself with? ‘Breaching borders: the parallels between place and person’ asks these questions of Kris, seeking to understand what it is that makes a person relocate cities and how this can help them to find happiness within themselves.
Written reflection
i) What do I consider to be the most successful and problematic aspects of my work?;
In essence, the portrait is striving to underscore an understanding of the parallel between place and person and how one effects the other. We need to ask ourselves questions such as, “how does the community in which I live – as well as those that live within it – espouse the values and ideals that I align myself with?”
The texture of the piece (as achieved by the layering of multiple mediums atop and in juxtaposition with one another), I feel, is a strong point. The integration of these various mediums justifies my ability to think poetically in creating a narrative (in this being why Kris values living in Melbourne as opposed to elsewhere). Every editing decision I made was strategic rather than random. For instance the fade that I put as an effect over each frame was chosen deliberately to correspond with Kris’ gregarious and quirky personality. Thus I wanted to add texture to the construction that emphasises this aspect of his personality as well as the second subject, Melbourne (which is generally considered a “quirky” place in its own right.
I am confident in my composition skills working with a particular frame, however, a greater variety of camera shots could have given a more intimate and interpersonal “feel”. In terms of the content being discussed verbally, I can certainly identify areas for improvement. I was improvising in my interview and, next time, will approach the task in a more structured manner to avoid receiving repetitive responses as I did. There are benefits to a more relaxed style of asking questions like this, such as creating a more authentic flow of conversation and better capturing the subject’s story from the most genuine perspective possible. Having said this, however, in taking this approach it was difficult to know exactly what I was wanting from the subject (as responses that would best contribute to the narrative that I was trying to convey). Had I had a more defined understanding before shooting, I could have influenced the content produced to a greater degree to avoid repetition and produce greater clarity and logic.
ii) The key learning discoveries that I made in terms of the possibilities of producing portraits;
Broadly speaking I am very happy with how I applied my newfound skills in orientating Premier Pro in articulating a cohesive, yet textured and engaging, media portrait as per an interview-style format. I am confident in how I have produced an authentic and creative representation of Kris because of the media’s ability to add multiple layers of mediums atop one another. While trying to not saturate the construction too much with a mix of unnecessary influences, I realised how the fusing in with one another of various strands of content can enhance a more sophisticated and intriguing construction.
iii) What I learnt in the making process that might be relevant to my border development as a media practitioner.
Listening to the footage in retrospect, my voice doesn’t sounds nearly as confident on camera as what I know it needs to be. As someone who would love to enter the industry to work presenting some mode of media (either in documentary, television or on radio), this is something that I do need to work on over time and to build better skills in.
Interview Questions.
For this particular interview I did follow an impromptu style of asking questions because I felt, given that Kris and I are friends, it allowed for a more authentic and genuine flow of conversation. In having said this, however, I can appreciate retrospectively that some of the content was repetitive and lacking in as much direction as what I would have had preferred. Some of the questions I did ask were as follows (however could have been elaborated on or re-defined to nail down a more succinct and directed answer):
- Kris you recently moved to Melbourne, why was that?;
- Do you feel as though it’s a more open-minded place than what Melbourne is?;
- What are the ideals with which you align yourself?;
- As someone who identifies as being gay do you feel discriminated against in anyway?; and
- Do you feel more at ease and at home in Melbourne – a liberal and open-minded city – as a gay person as opposed to in Brisbane?
