PLASTIC // Q&A

Film by Patrick Turnbull

Plastic is a visually stunning and emotionally perturbing view on the impact plastic consumption has on the environment. Identifying the problem from the source, we are shown plastic factories and supermarkets and we watch as consumers senselessly abuse the bags. On the other end of the spectrum, we bare witness to the colossal effect these household items have on our environment as we single handedly poison it.

Click below for a Q&A with the filmmaker.

WHAT WAS YOUR TOPIC FOR THIS FILM?

For Project 4 I had originally planned to work with Ruby and we mulled over a couple of ideas to do with gender representation in specific industry and an idea I had to do with waste and pollution. In the end we stumbled and struggled to find a strong direction to head in and decided to split into individual projects – with Ruby joining another group. I decided to expand upon my initial idea which was a criticism of plastic waste and the over consumption of plastic. Eventually this narrowed onto a direct critique of the use of plastic grocery bags.

As in the previous project this was something that I felt passionate about and also something that I thought would translate well into a poetic documentary. The amount of plastic waste that can be seen throughout the cities and suburbs of Australia was what prompted the idea initially and it was actually during project 3 that I decided to create a film regarding the issue – I didn’t intend for it to end up being part of the course however. When the opportunity arose to utilise the idea in class it was a no brainer as I already had a strong image in my head of how the film would look and feel. It was intended to be a direct follow on of the aesthetic that we utilised in the project 3 task made from our own footage. Perhaps a contributing factor to this aesthetic was a general feeling of melancholy that I was feeling at the time towards a lot of issues as well as a heightened appreciation for visuals and aesthetic. The music I had been listening to at the time also affected the creative process.

ANY DIFFICULTIES FACED DURING PRODUCTION IN YOUR APPLICATION OF ‘EXPERIMENTATION’ / POETICS ?

Poetically speaking, I felt that I had a strong aesthetic in mind so this did not present a struggle initially. Politically it was simply a matter of defining the exact agenda of the film initially, rather than creating an expository piece about plastic. Once I began to shoot the film and collect footage as well as search for music I began to feel as though I was not pushing the experimentation of the film poetically enough and took a number of ideas back to the drawing board and worked through them.

This time around there was no direct interaction with humans of any kind for a good portion of the film. Although I intended to utilise some diegetic sounds throughout the film I eventually settled with having a soundscape constructed purely using guitar tracks. In some ways this was experimenting with the form of the documentary more than I originally intended, and having the ability to write and record a soundtrack with a musician meant that I had complete control over the process and was able to refine my manipulation of the rhythm, tone and general feel of the film.

The film lacked a central character or narrative at all, aside from loosely following the life cycle of a plastic bag from countryside to plastics factory. Although it also followed this pattern in a reverse order, the main experimentation with the form occurred through the way the narrative was progressed. It was done purely through the rhythm of the cuts and shots as well as their interaction with the music.

I also toyed with the idea of running the footage for the entire film backwards from the start of the project based on feedback from Liam. This was an idea that I followed throughout the process and eventually used to develop the ending sequence of the film, where the footage of the supermarket and factory plays in reverse. In a visual sense, this is of course unusual and I felt like it played alongside the overall “narrative” being scripted in reverse. Perhaps the strongest sense it gave me was a sense of undoing and perhaps a glimmer of hope at reversing the damage done.

HOW DID THIS PROJECT CHANGE YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF POLITICAL AND POETIC DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING?

Again this film left me feeling invigorated and full of enthusiasm to produce more content. I enjoyed the aesthetic of the film and the production process and this time round learnt a lot in relation to the intertwining of visuals and music. Being able to work with a musician directly on the soundtrack was a great privilege and opened up a whole new side to documentary filmmaking that I was previously unable to explore – something that I’d like to investigate further in the future.

Politically the film surprised me in the end, as I didn’t expect such a strong message to come through. During the filming it seemed a bit wishy washy and it wasn’t until I incorporated the supermarket and factory sequences that it all tied together nicely. Shot selection and the construction of a shot is the most important thing I can take away from this in the broader sense of pushing an agenda.

Poetically if I had more time I would’ve liked to experiment with some other sounds and construct an experimental soundtrack utilising some diegetic sounds such as birds, supermarkets and plastics. The overall feel of the film would be completely different but it would be a good opportunity to further experiment with the form.

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