Upon revisiting the goals of this studio, I have been prompted to consider two questions – has the overall experiment of observational writing been at all successful or instructive? And has our practise of observational writing had any other benefits?

I wish to address the latter first. I’ve been intrigued throughout the course of this semester by how much one has to be open to the experience of an observation in order for a worthwhile observation to be experienced. This openness does not necessarily require one to actively seek out a subject of interest, nor does it demand that someone falsify points of interest for oneself in things observed so that otherwise ordinary experiences may be transformed into inspiration for possible engaging writing. Rather it requires one to be more aware of their surroundings so that they may be more susceptible to potential observations. In turn, observational writing has become a practise of mindfulness and present-mindedness in day-to-day life. The more active engagement in ones surroundings and the disengagement from sources of distraction, including phones and music, which may inhibit someone’s ability to be and remain engaged in their experience of the world is mandated. I have found this to be a worthwhile exercise as an aspect of the practise of observational writing. This increased presence has reminded me of the rich possibility for inspiration which is available in everyday life and the beauty of normal. It has invited me to shift my perception of beauty away from being purely based upon the aesthetic qualities of the world and its photographic potential, and towards a more diverse and well-rounded appreciation for beauty in life that is inclusive of also behavioural and non-visual forms of beauty, such as human interactions. In this, I feel that I have had both personal growth in my general perspective of the world and an artistic growth in the creative sensibilities with which this personal growth is associated. 

Although I am strongly inclined to perceive the effects of this practise as being beneficial, I feel as though I can not label the experiment as being successful on account of the fact that I do not find the observational writing practise which I have developed to be applicable to my film-making practise in a fashion that is I find to be meaningful at this stage. While there are elements to my approach to film-making and my sourcing of inspiration for video work which may be deemed to have an observational quality to them, such as my preference to allow talent to self-direct and behave as they feel most comfortable when photographed and filmed, I feel that my approach to observational writing has little pertinence to my approach to film making. This arises as a consequence of the fact that what is of note to me as an observation typically occurs organically and meaninglessly, while in constructing a film piece I am concerned with the construction of imagery and the meaning which may be ingrained in the construction process. While I acknowledge that making a short film that relates to an observation or has an observational style an exact realism is not mandated and the process is not lacking in the construction of imagery, however I consider the process of writing and the visualisations of my own written pieces to be discordant with my preferred approach to constructing an image. What inspires me to write does not inspire me to film and what inspires me to film is not my own perspective in writing. Thus, the processes of image construction and translating observation into film through writing are essentially mutually exclusive to me at this time. I hope they may be able to assume a more meaningful relationship in the future. I feel that the practise of observational writing is of value to a film-maker, however the path of development which my own practise has assumed over the past months does not facilitate a valuable relationship.