Reflection
For the first part of assignment one, I worked in a group with Val and Ji Na. This essay film was inspired by a large advertisement in the guardian newspaper for a 13-night culinary cruise with D-list celebrity chef Gabriel Gate, along the Seine in France. The spoken element of the film (Val) examines the experience of embarking on such a trip, the voice has a tone of dullness and sarcasm to its delivery. I edited the film, overlaying a slideshow of thematic images chosen by the group that at times justify, contradict or provoke a surreal interpretation of the audible information.
We wanted to capture the absurd, sometimes culturally shallow experience of taking a 13-night river cruise – led in this case by a seemingly cartoonish daytime television chef. We assumed the ad was targeted at retirees happy to pay big dollars for a spoon-fed travel experience. It was Val’s idea to deliver a monologue documenting the not-so-chic elements of travel, particularly getting to France, in a less than excited tone. This attempts to emulate the drone of being jaded by cultural experiences but was also partially influenced by Val’s own experiences of living between Australia and France. As it is a culinary river cruise we chose appropriate imagery of seafood, oysters and sardines for example that have a grotesque nature to them. This further promoted a feeling of discomfort. When these images are re-appropriated in a surreal sense, such as sardines to depict the idea of a mass-grave site, the unease grows.
Though it took some time initially to agree on an idea and position as a group, eventually we settled on such. Everyone contributed the expected amount to the project given different commitments. Val wrote and recorded the voiceover; I edited the footage and Ji Na helped to collect imagery and research. This made for a neat final package. Had I been granted more time and leeway with the project I would have tried harder to abstract the idea of and experience of travel and fantasy further outwards.