I have been researching and thinking a lot about the Siblings and Poetic Love pieces especially as the deadline looms for the research project and I have been looking a lot more in-depth at the nature of documentary.
My concerns to date have been trying too hard with the Siblings piece and imposing style for the sake of it. I will also need to be careful of this in the Love documentary with my Grandmother too. The images and style and playful approach to creating avant grade and fictional documentaries and playing with style codes and conventions. The "ecstatic truth" as mentioned by Hertzog and Grierson's documentary being the "creative treatment of reality" are great ideas BUT I must remember one of my original aims and that content, character and narrative are as if not more important than style. These are the thoughts I have been looking into to try and help me see the way forward. I must make sure I do not shoehorn and impose my stylistic ideas too far so they supersede the content. It will be a fine balancing act to make sure that the techniques are interesting, stretching, challenging and hopefully a little pioneering BUT that the empathy with story, character and subject do not get swallowed up in it.
The Subversive & Uncanny
Is possibly best delivered subtly. The twisting the everyday and creating new interpretations, readings and atmospheres. The uncanny is something that interests me especially the playing with the everyday. As well as in art I feel that the uncanny can be used to play with everyday codes and conventions of documentary therefore crossing over to the subversive. Lip synching voices of adults out of my sons mouth's, breaking of the 4th wall a documentary no go are examples of this. It is an avenue I wish to explore further as I feel it is a great way to highlight points and arguments to an audience. http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/uncanny-startlingly-real/
Documentary Form
Playing with and subverting documentary form. Play with conventions but put a spin on them but not to the detriment of the narrative, character and subject matter. Enhance not steamroller. Look even more at Nichols documentary modes and twist and manipulate them more.
Skills Levels
I need to develop my skills level in a few key areas so i can experiment more. This is especially in the technology involved in creating large screen projected installations. Also to rekindle and polish up and eve love my basic Adobe After Effects skills. Finally my all round knowledge of sound is OK but does need developing in Audition and possibly to start to work in Pro Tools.
Create More! Do More Practical Work!
I have been working to develop the Siblings piece but I need to find more time to be creating and evolving my physical practice. I must be shooting more, cutting more, working in After Effects and with sound to evolve these skills. Possibly set some smaller less all embracing tasks that can be knocked out as tests and experimentation rather than focussing solely on the long term. This skill development will obviously help me out in the long term.
Archive Footage
I really want to evolve my use of archive materials (clips, stills etc)in my work as this is something I have avoided a little due to the fact it is a really traditional documentary technique. However due to this it is ripe to be experimented with and subverted to create meaning. Some of the key works that have inspired me The Kid Stays in the Picture and The Filth and The Fury have used archive materials to great effect. With "fair usage" of clips" now established and the ease of sourcing clips it is an avenue to investigate more.
New Methods of Exhibition and Dissemination
I need to start looking into these more. Installation work for galleries is a new venture for me but interactive, online and even VR documentary/factual pieces all need more investigation
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