*embed final work here*

The most successful part of my multimedia work is the animation. I wanted a clear message that everyone understands and responds to. I had never attempted animation before but because my goal was to create simple coloured lines and triangles, I achieved this at the standard I wanted. This hits the branding ‘anything but square’ outlined in Fed Square’s objectives. It engages the community because everyone can understand colour, shape, and movement. My work explores nostalgia, grief and growing up, so it was important that children be able to engage with and enjoy my work. My use of coloured lines to represent memories, and the extraordinary in the mundane engages people of all ages. These strong aesthetic choices are referenced in Spaces of engagement – critical aesthetic practice, audience experience and the documentary-like work (Frankham, 2022).

The most problematic part of my work was my use of words. I felt very strongly that I wanted narration but had to write using plain English, with the words on-screen long enough to be read by people of all levels. I have a qualification in writing and editing so I have these skills, but I do not write for public consumption often so this was challenging. It was also difficult to choose the right words because I wanted to show the peace and hope in grief. This was difficult to reconcile this with Fed Square’s objectives because I wanted my work to be inviting, and grief is not typically an inviting emotion.

The main thing I want to improve is my final animation, which was a sketch of my father made up of triangles in the same colours used throughout the work. I wanted to create a cartoon in his likeness but settled on tracing a photo because it was achievable. My original plan was to animate this final image in the same style, but this was too challenging at that scale. This is done through practice as outlined in ‘Magic is in the handling’ from Practice as research: Approaches to creative arts enquiry (Barrett & Bolt, 2010).

Another thing I would like to improve on is the script. It told the story I needed, and wanted to, but I had to keep within Fed Square’s specifications. I did not want to alienate a public audience. I may never land on the right words because of how personal this work is, but I could have sat and thought over them some more. The script would have improved with input from my peers, but because I have been  unwell this semester, I had to go with my instincts.

I would have liked to use varied shots but because I can only stand and walk for a few minutes at a time I was limited with what I could film. Most of the nature shots were at my house because I could take breaks as needed. I filmed the suburban shots in Croydon because it is easy to get to by car and is a contained area. The shots in the city were difficult because they required lots of walking and took a long time to film because I took frequent breaks. I am happy with what I achieved given my health.

I have learned to rely on my own experiences to find something that unites everyone. I often reference the whimsy of childhood in my projects because the world seems wide and magical to children. They have a vastly different understanding of the world, and time, to adults and From Fed Square, With Love reflects this by capturing snapshots of, and noticing Melbourne from a nostalgic, childlike perspective. Fed Square is magical because people make it so, memories are magic because we make them so. Juxtaposing excitement with grief and nostalgia is valuable because it shows that life fluctuates. This semester affirmed that spaces hold stories, and it is important to tell these stories in a way that anyone can understand.

Creating for the public is different to other media I have made in this course because there is a universality that needs to be considered in the work. It is difficult to create for the masses because you cannot know every person’s experience. Although every media work has universal themes, they may not be obvious, and so public work needs to be ruled by these themes. This refined approach is reflected in Beyond the expedient: An interview with Isaac Julien (Larsen & Millner, 2022). I would love to attempt a project like this again because creating for the masses is rewarding. Knowing people will view your work and engage with it is exciting and it feels important, like a community service.

Throughout this degree we work collaboratively in every media class. Something interesting I learned working alone was that it is more difficult to commit to a story you make when it is just you making it. I wholeheartedly stand behind my work and am proud of it, but it is scary to share something so intimate with the public. Working to Fed Square’s specifications was challenging because my work was so personal—otherwise we were granted much creative freedom. If I had worked with a group, I would have made something more commercial and accessible—which I would have preferred. I think that this semester working alone was a hindrance because we were tasked with creating something commercial and inviting.

Next time I work collaboratively I will get more input from my peers. I gave myself grace this semester because of my chronic illness and grief but it did hinder my creative process and made me doubt the direction I took with my work. I have learned it is better to make work that is more observational and amorphous that the public can interpret and enjoy on their own terms. When making poetic work to be consumed widely I will step back as the narrator and become the observer, more so than I did with this work—although I think there are universal themes in what I made.

Bibliography

Barrett, E. and Bolt, B. (2010) Practice as research: Approaches to Creative Arts Enquiry. London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.

Larsen, E. and Millner, S. (2022) Beyond the expedient: An interview with Isaac Julien – World Records, World Records – An exploration of what documentary is, and what it might become. World Records Journal.
Available at: https://worldrecordsjournal.org/beyond-the-expedient-an-interview-with-isaac-julien/ (Accessed: October 29, 2022).

Frankham, B. (2022) “Spaces of engagement – critical aesthetic practice, audience experience and the documentary-like work,” Studies in Documentary Film, 16(1), pp. 1–17. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/17503280.2020.1854071.