Individual Reflections

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”
– 
Mark Twain

“Witnessing is defined by the Oxford Dictionary of English as having knowledge of (a development) from observation or experience. Over the course of the semester I have come to understand the importance of awareness and experience. Simply offering your time and attention to an issue/story/someone’s experience or being aware of your own experiences allows for further learning in regards to filmmaking and personal engagement with society and the cultures we exist within. Through the construction of our short documentary in addition to other completed tasks I have begin to establish my own creative direction and have reached the end of the studio having learnt a lot.”
– Ella Connoley

 

 

“A man’s face is his autobiography. A woman’s face is her work of fiction.”
– Oscar Wilde

This semester has taught me so much when it comes to filmmaking. But especially non-fiction film making. I have come to enjoy it so much because the ability to have the control of telling a true story seems so powerful. I have learnt the important ‘key tips’ to use when filmmaking that stuck with me throughout the semester, and I even would acknowledge when watching a documentary at home. I’ve learnt how important the correct music is for a documentary, I learnt this both in theory and practically. Never stop an interview until you hear and opening and a closing , eye lines equals engagement, image and voice over is important, language is key, and careful thinking of the framing.”
– Mercedes Kane

 

 

“Every moment happens twice: inside and outside,and they are two different histories.”
–  Zadie Smith

At the beginning of the semester, we were asked to reflect on our own understandings of what it means to witness. I approached the topic of witness as each of our own experiences of our surroundings being unique and how anyone’s perspective on an event can add to our understanding of it. In this way, what we witness can exist outside our own understanding objectively but in viewing it, we are limited by our own perspective. Since then, while nothing above has changed necessarily, I think my understanding of bearing witness has deepened and grown. Understanding multiple perspectives is important since they can fill in the gaps of information and allow us to have more of a whole view and insight. Witness are often called for in court hearing where they give testimony in order to reach justice. While not in a courtroom, I realised that people’s memory and experiences play a wider role in society that allows justice to be brought for others that would otherwise be left unseen.”
– Mairin Angel

 

 

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

When someone bears witness to something they have essentially collected evidence. And as courtrooms dictate, evidence must not be tampered with so that the truth can be sought and order can be restored. I believe we must adopt this approach when making media, being certain that whatever we create with the camera lens is with the utmost accuracy and precision so that when future audiences reflect on such work, they’ll be reminded of past actions that took place and not repeat those troubles in their own lives, ultimately ensuring that humanity can move closer to harmony.”
– Morgan Reinwald

 

 

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”
– Desmond Tutu

The idea of bearing witness to me has always been somewhat political – for me, society as a collective is constantly witnessing the injustices and inequalities many face. Then, it is our choice to decide whether we care enough to engage with what we are witnessing. At the end of the day I wanted to present two stories that reflected what I’d witnessed, and more importantly what they had witnessed and the impact it had on their lives, and I learnt a lot by doing this through Marvin & Ciang. I found that interview in itself is more complex than it seems, you have to ask the right questions at the right time, give your subjects space to settle in, to be open. I’ve also learnt the importance of just letting the camera roll – a lot of our good overlay just came from walking around with our subjects and not really guided, directed movements.”
– Leah Oliveria

 

 

“They say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”
– Andy Warhol

“The description for Witness states that the studio “revolves around the notion of bearing witness” proposing “a relationship between looking and memory where personal remembrance becomes understood as historical knowledge.” As I developed my project I came to understand that the idea of witnessing, or of a ‘witness,’ can be far more complicated than simply seeing something unfold. A lot of what makes a witness, or defines the act of witnessing, relies on memory and experience. The something a witness experiences (experiencing a significant world event, witnessing a crime, a personal revelation, etc.) will effect, or change, that individual in a unique way, informed by their previous knowledge and memories and constructed by what they decide to do about the ‘something’ they have witnessed. In this sense, the information, the truth and the story a witness can hold has amazing power.”
Sam Perryman

 

 

“The Only Thing I Know For Sure Is That I Know Nothing.”
– Socrates

“In the past, Documentary has never really been my first personal preference when it came to watching television or my down time. As a content creator myself, I actually never realised the various forms that can be considered documentary and that I was actually consuming more of it than I had thought. Documentary, to me meant expecting real-live footage and some form of analysation and exploration of realism. I’d never really thought beyond that until this studio. The concept of creating documentary based on the idea of Witnessing and Memory has changed my perspective on not only the genre of documentary, but of content creation itself.
There are many ways of exploring non-fiction filmmaking and I realise it is quite a complex process. I have developed my understanding of storytelling techniques and visual language when constructing documentary throughout the course of this semester.”
– Emma-Eve Haidar-Khalouf

 

 

“I witnessed all kinds of Chinese culture become increasingly popular in Aussie during recent ten years.”
– Carl Chung

“In this witness studio, I understood that witness is people who have experienced an event, a change and a social issue. As a witness, people need to investigate and verify the subjects from their memory. The potential of eyewitness video as a powerful tool to report, monitor, and advocate in this society. After I learnt a lot from the witness studio, I always combine the “witness” and what I have seen in my life. When I walk at streets and meet some homeless people, I even want to know more about their life. Meanwhile, I have learnt some skills to produce a documentary, whatever from planning, preparing, shooting and editing, we need to take care of each detail. Otherwise, I have improve my critical thinking skills during writing a story or script for documentaries.”
Kebby Xie

 

 

“In this witness studio, the most important thing that i learnt about filmmaking is interview. Witness need people memories the change thing in the past to tell others that he witnessed the thing. To be honest, I feel a little bit boring about the studio, but after a few weeks, to shot the documentaries, I became quite enjoy it, using professional equipment and work with group, solve the difficulties, everything happened this semester is very interesting and happy. Furthermore, prepare everything as possible as you can before the shooting is very important, because our group met a lot of huge problem when we shooting without good prepare.”
William Xie

 

 

“To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in being a living mystery. It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.”
– Cardinal Suhard

The first impression of witness is its authenticity to the audience. Especially for a generation like us, the majority of the world’s population now has a camera/phone in their pocket. People everywhere are about turning to video to document and tell stories. The second concept is highly connected with witness is ethic. We are able to identify critical situations and teach those affected by them through the basics of video production, safe and ethical filming techniques, and advocacy strategies.

I have definitely learnt the fundamentals of witness videos’ documenting through the experience in this course this semester. The purpose of documentation is to simply preserve, extend and pass on a memory of some kind. The essence of valuable historic events or a culturally significant issues are more likely to be claimed in a documentary. The focus of a documentary is more about what the writer/author wants to deliver to the public at large, whereas the focus of a fiction is more about what the writer/author believes the target audiences willing to read.”
Melody Wang

 

 

“…one needs for his own salvation to know as exactly as possible who he is and… that he needs to tell it as explicitly as possible to some other people.” – Michel Foucault

Everyone has the innate desire to communicate our experiences. By doing so, through whatever medium of expression, we validate our histories and thus, validate our identities. Through this project, I became an active, bearing witness. It’s more than receiving a story; it’s what you do with it. Upon being aware we have a vital piece which illustrates the bigger his/herstory like the refugee crisis, we made the choice to encourage a call to action within ourselves and the community. Through listening to Barat’s story, we have become second-hand witnesses to the tragedy and by retelling his story, we weave ourselves into this world-wide tapestry of experience, expression and salvation. May those who watch our video do the same.”
Grace Purnamasari

 

 

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
-Evelyn Beatrice Hall about Voltaire

“Being relatively new to Melbourne, I feel like I didn’t really know what was going on before both socially and politically. But after being exposed to numerous topics and people’s perspectives, I feel a bit more in tune with what’s going on now. – A nice start if I’m going to be living in this country for at least another two years.
I also noticed this studio has made me more attentive to the things around me, whether it’s questioning what the gathering outside the library is about, noticing more posters on campus or just observing everything with a little more curiosity.
When watching documentaries, I find myself paying closer attention to the juxtaposition of elements, and how they might contribute to the storytelling, even without meaning to do so. It’s unexpected, but not unwelcome as it’ll simply give me more ideas for what I can do on future film projects.”
– Koh Jen Huei

 

 

“My obsession had been – and is still – the feeling of being there. Not of finding out this and analyzing this or performing some virtuous social act or something. Just what’s it like to be there.”
– Richard Leacock

“I have always associated the word “witness” with experience. When I witnessed something, be it an incident that happened to me personally or something I have witnessed which happened to somebody else, there is always a story to be told from what I have experienced and my point of view. Which comes together with the role of memory as well. If I bear witness to something that had happened, prompting me to recall or remember the incident helps the viewers understand the story better. It helps in describing the environment and emotions that I felt back then. It makes my story more compelling and relatable to others.”
– Khalidah Binte Mohamed Khalid

 

 

Witness is a lesson that I find very interesting. I think it inspired my thoughts and opinions on the documentary. It’s make me thinking, what is my memory? Is my memory correct? In addition, it also makes me more passionate about making videos. I realized that shooting and editing are more interesting than I thought.”
– Jiahui Wang (Karida)