When I first began ‘Film 3, I was slightly overwhelmed with the technology and protocols of filming Paul had introduced us to. My experience with film making in the past was very limited and quite different in terms of principles, to ‘Film 3’. In particular it was always difficult for me to come up with ideas of what to film. However as we were continually encouraged to be inspired by locations and to think about what intrigued us, my passion was ignited. It was around this time that I had started to learn to surf. I didn’t find surfing to be a particularly easy skill to learn and I was fascinated by those it came so naturally to. It is for these reasons that I developed a vague idea of producing media around surfing. Eventually this was narrowed down to making 30 second exercises based around my perspective of surfing.
Whilst I had planned to have my project be adaptable and change as I went, the shift was slightly more dramatic than I had expected. Many of my plans went out the window as my shot list was unable to be completed with shoots being cancelled. I originally planned to shoot my out-of-water shots with the MC50 and my in-water shots with a Go Pro. However, after struggling to set up a tripod in windy/sandy conditions and hold the equipment to avoid damaging it with sand, I revised my plan. I decided to shoot all of my footage with a Go Pro using various mounts. I directed my subjects to hold the camera in a certain position to capture specific shots. I had one of my subjects use a mouth mount and encouraged him to scan across waves and look down at his board when ducking under waves. One thing I didn’t anticipate was the audio of my subject breathing as he paddled. This actually enhanced the video and gave the POV shots more of an ‘insider’ feel and resulted in the viewer feeling as though they are out in the water. Whilst the image of the Go Pro is shakier and not as crisp as another camera might have been, I appreciated the more intimate feel of the footage that was produced. I wondered at this point how I could amplify this intimacy and remembered that I had initially planned to collect interview audio and raw acoustic guitar. The subject I chose to interview was chosen for his connection to surfing on a deeper and more spiritual level. In one exercise I used my subject’s interview audio and footage of the churning waves to make a sort of recreation for my viewer. All of these occurrences led to my final research statement: ‘An outsider’s perspective of surfing from the inside.’ I attempted to convey this in my final exercises and sometimes I think I achieved this.
Whilst I did encounter some frustrating bumps along the way, overall I did learn a lot about film making, particularly how to cope with the hand you’ve been dealt. I’ve been told time and time again that to operate in the media industry its important to be able to roll with the punches and be adaptable. Whilst I haven’t quite mastered this, I’m getting there and and will hopefully be there by the end of my degree.
Leave a Reply