For the Week 2 Expertise exercise I was only present for the second phase on Thursday, which required us to shoot footage motivated by audio and incorporate sound bites previously recorded on Tuesday.
We divided into groups and I was immediately reminded of the dynamics when collaborating with new people. My group was very welcoming and kind enough to discuss the purpose of the exercise and what was covered on Tuesday, however they were unsure of what the expertise video was trying to achieve. For me the exercise became my icebreaker to acclimatise to the studio’s environment and learn the nature of our weekly exercises.
As we set off to shoot, I began to grasp the intentions of the exercise – how can we find new approaches to filmmaking? Capturing something motivated by audio provided a fresh set of eyes when looking at the world around. We planned to film the juxtaposition between someone walking in bare foot and the distinct sound of walking in shoes.
Although I began to appreciate the purpose of the Expertise video, the real ‘aha’ moment was a personal one and not necessarily one to be proud of. As I entered post and began reviewing the rushes, I quickly became frustrated with what was shot and creatively hit a wall. I have noticed this pattern in my work practices and struggle to move forward when I fail to meet my high expectations (of myself). I often seize up and have to fight the urge to walk away and consequently lack productivity.
Last year this became a personal hurdle during my yearlong cinematography classes and my lecturer, Andrew Harrison, helped breakdown the issue. It felt like for several weeks the work I produced was useless shit and self-doubt and lack of inspiration consumed me. Andrew suggested I aim to focus on perfecting only one or two areas in my work and recommended to although push myself, not aim so high my goals are unattainable. Above all, be conscious through my failings as in the long run would become a better cinematographer… I am still trying to learn how to manage this response and unproductive self-criticism.
So, to push on and complete the exercise I edited a short 7 second abstract piece that establishes its subject and context quickly but not in a literal form. Upon reflection the idea is too underdeveloped. So, in hopes of being able to flesh out the original experiment I have attempted to shoot another piece in my own time.
VIEW THE IN-CLASS RESULTS.
The aim was to find spaces or subjects where the viewer would expect or not expect to find audio. However when I returned to edit I was surprised how dominating the in-camera audio recording was and became inspired to explore the sound quality unique to each environment. This time, my ‘aha’ moment came when I realised how effective the audio was in helping form part of the scene’s identity and therefore our interpretation of it.