https://vimeo.com/123602356

The driving force behind my self-portrait is the conviction that a person’s interiority can be articulated visually through what surrounds them. The ideas I had for this video started as a “living collage” in my head, which in turn became my working reference. I wanted to bring disparate images together to form a new and cohesive whole – an intersection of environment and identity, capturing my life which recently feels like a fresh start…new city, new home, new friends, new university and ultimately ‘new beginnings’.

Making this video made me realise I have a lot to learn about how to effectively communicate my ideas. I believe that someone’s surrounding environment can, conversely, point to or even reveal what might otherwise be invisible in his or her personality. I love entering a house of a person whom I know little about and slowly get a sense of who they are through what I see. So in terms of editing I tried to cut as much elements as possible (furniture, music, food) to serve and enhance the representation of me. I have noticed now that this is possibly a bit overwhelming and perhaps having a more simplistic approach would be more effective.

Having a particular rhythm to the video I felt was essential. I enjoy editing to an audio track and feel it furthers the constructive engagement of interpretation and meaning.

I tried to edit together shots that symbolise the things that I have strangely missed whilst being overseas for so long (cooking, hanging clothes on the line, bike) and the fact that I am slowly re-adjusting to having these things back in my life.

I also chose to shoot myself building my bed out of crates to symbolise my financial situation, my need to rebuild and to re-examine my priorities. It demonstrates that with this change in lifestyle I need to be driven, devoted and the most productive version of myself.

I found that although this video may seem to some extent be scattered and difficult to interpret, the meaning and theme still comes across effectively. I believe I showed my ability to integrate all of the four elements of media I created into a smooth and consistent edit, illustrating a small part of my story.