In this week I finally finished my film, after finishing it I start to reflect that what I learned and improved in this semester and this project. Through this project, I think I’m not only learning and exploring the new editing or making film skills or to finish a assignment, but realising a responsibility as a media maker. As a media maker, in this project I learned that I need to think of the audience and the society, which to consider what your work can bring to them, an emotion or a question for them to think about but not just show your idea. Moreover, I understood that I have to think deeply about the things that I worried, what emotion I want to express exactly and how to present them to cause the concern to the audience, then as a media maker my responsibility is to achieve those aspects.
To make this film I actually got a lot of inspirations from some films shown in class. In week 6’s films introduced the concept of using archival footage to present different meanings, and this formed my film’s main concept which use archival and found footage to make this film. Moreover the contemplation films like Our Daily Bread (2005) and Thirteen Lakes (2004) introduced in week 3 also inspired me to deeply consider the concept and make me focus on showing the emotion and arousing the audience’s own thought in my film.
To make this film I actually got a lot of inspirations from some films shown in class. In week 6’s films introduced the concept of using archival footage to present different meanings, and this formed my film’s main concept which use archival and found footage to make this film. Moreover the contemplation films like Our Daily Bread (2005) and Thirteen Lakes (2004) introduced in week 3 also inspired me to deeply consider the concept and make me focus on showing the emotion and arousing the audience’s own thought in my film.
Due to the coronavirus I could not go out to shoot my own footage, I think this limited my film concept somehow, however the same time it gave me a opportunity to create something creative and new. The Internet gave me a lot of possibilities for my work, but it also limited me because of the copyright issues — the footage which can directly connect to my content usually has the copyright concern. Though there were no much relevant footage, I used archival footage with my own story as the voiceover instead that in some extent could present what I wanted to express, and in this way to navigate the constraints.
In my project this time I think present the concept of water and water pollution well, and I think audience will feel the same emotion with me which is anxious, also arouse their own thoughts about the water. Additionally the sound design is an important part in my film, I think it matches the footage and relaxed or sad emotion properly and helps to control the rhythm of the film. However I would like to explore more concepts like irony and metaphor to deeper the meaning and leave space to make audience consider more on their own. Also I think I could explore more editing skills and shooting ways to create my own footage to combine with the archival to make a film more unique as well.
Reference:
13 lakes. 2004. [film] Directed by J. Benning.
Our Daily Bread. 2005. [film] Directed by N. Geyrhalter abstains.