This semester I undertook the Capturing Creativity studio and it was my best experience with a studio yet. When I initially learned that we’d be collaborating with an artist, I was a little nervous but very excited about the prospect of creating a video portrait with a professional artist. There was a time however, when we were uncertain if we’d be working with our own individual artist at all (due to issues with the gallery). This hiccup however, turned out to be a very positive thing, as we all received well renowned artists who were more than happy to give their time to some media students. This taught me that if your first plan fails, there’s always an alternative that could turn out better than expected. When I first looked at my artist’s (Megan Evans) website and found out that she’d been practising for over 30 years, I was delighted and slightly intimidated by the task at hand. When I had my first phone call with Megan I was in awe of her as she was so incredibly passionate about her work and well spoken. Although the thing the struck me most, was how much meaning and history her art work had behind it. For her, it was so much more than just creating something beautiful for people to look at. She was also so incredibly kind to me, being very understanding as I nervously stumbled through my questions on the phone. In the weeks that followed I prepared for meeting and interviewing Megan as we continued to learn about the equipment in class. These sessions were incredibly helpful as refreshers and also in terms of learning correct protocols. One of the most valuable things I learnt was the three point lighting set-up and how this worked to create dimension on the face of a subject. I also learnt about new equipment such a lapel mics. When booking the equipment for my shoot I was worried that I might have forgotten something. I wish I had run through my list with my group as I did forgot something very important. Eager to use the lapel mics, I forgot to book a zoom to attach them to. In light of this mistake, I now know that if I’m in doubt, I should ask for a second opinion. Despite this hiccup with the sound, the shoot was very successful. My crew were amazing and got some very creative shots and Megan was willing to work on one of her pieces in progress on camera. For my lightning set-up I did use the three point structure but in a bit of an unconventional way. I used the light of a larger window in the studio as a back light, the light from some sliding doors as the fill light and an LED panel as my key light. Whilst this did work quite well at the time, I realised whilst editing, that the light does change from shot to shot. Now I know not to make use of natural light on a partly cloudy day.

Editing my footage was no easy task, whatsoever. I don’t entirely consider myself to be very competent with editing and there were times that this was very much the case. Editing to me, can be like trying to clean the house of a hoarder. I just don’t know where to begin and usually feel overwhelmed by it. It took me a lot of three hour sessions in the suits to just cut down the interview to three minutes and find a narrative arc. However, once I got over that hurdle, I did have a bit more clarity. One thing I did learn from making this video portrait is where to find free archive photos. The two photos I included in my video portrait were very telling of the impact colonisation has had on the original inhabitants of Australia. Through including stills in my work I also learnt how to fit them to the size of the screen. At one point I had my settings at 50% resolution without knowing it and couldn’t figure out why my images appeared so grainy. Thankfully, a helpful classmate showed me how to change the resolution.

Overall I am content with my final product but of course there are things I am slightly unsure about. Altogether I do think my film project was a success and that it paints an accurate portrait of my artist. Whilst it was very difficult to carve out a narrative arc, I think I found a nice balance between my artist’s background, their previous major artworks, what they’re trying to convey through their work and their current work in progress. One helpful piece of advice I was given when trying to find the narrative was that I didn’t need to tell the whole story, I had to choose only a part of it and present it. I cannot be more grateful for the advice I received in this studio and the opportunity to connect with such a wonderful artist. I was incredibly fortunate to be partnered with such an understanding, intelligent and incredibly talented artist whom I have come to admire greatly.