The studio brief for More Than Fabric quoted fashion films to be “the intersection of art and commerce, between form and function”. These four qualities were are constant presence throughout the planning and development of our own content. The correlation between art and commerce was a balance I tried to direct in our models and in our filming, something we as a group had to be conscious of as we advanced our ideas and our story. The relationship between form and function was something that I developed as I began to understand and immerse myself in the genre of fashion films, it was something that as a collective we were then able to use to inform our choices and final decisions. This studio has progressed my advancements as a media practitioner as its ideas have become further sources for my individual creative practise.
One of the most important thing I have learnt was the direct process of creating a fashion film. I entered this studio with little previous knowledge of the genre and leave with invaluable comprehension having formed my own polished piece. Early readings such a Bill Nichols Introduction to Documentary and examples of fashion films such as The September Issue all provided the bases for introduction through which I was then able to build research of my own. This mainly involved looking at films I had already seen with the ability to now label them a Fashion Film. Only once I was able to attach this label could I see the depths and array of these types of films and the presence of them in media industry. This solidified to me the broadness of the genre and allowed me to begin to look at my own approach more creatively. Without the introduction and research given at the beginning of this studio, I think that my final piece would have been very one dimensional. My developing understanding of the genre enabled me to develop more complex ideas and approaches to our final assessment.
Our original intentions were to work with a fashion student or label and to concentrate on the connection between commercial fashion and the resulting film, however as we waited to form this collaboration we began to talk to potential models and subjects. From here we thought it might be best to structure our film around something more unconventional and use fashion as an accompanying element. It was decided to look at the profiles of women and look at how fashion inspires them and allows them to be themselves. We decided to use a subject and film them in their own clothes and a location of their choosing. I think that this idea is very reflective of my own experience with fashion being a choice and a representation. Mimi, Asha and I were each able to draw on our own practical knowledge and style, using each to create a larger collective vision for our film.
As suspected, the actual process of our fashion piece provided a wealth of learning experiences. We shot across multiple locations and multiple subjects which created a lesson in coordination and planning. I think we were quite successful in finding a balance between order and flexibility, allowing us to meet brief deadlines we set for ourselves when we had the means to do so. We did find many challenges in scheduling as our group of three meant we all have to be available at the same time as our four models. Coordinating seven people’s timetables ensured an experience of pliability and adaption. For example, we decided to each shoot a location to maximize our time in each environment. This worked well as we had no means to rush through a session and were able to give ourselves meaningful space to capture. I found allowing myself time at a location result in better quality footage as reflected in my sequence of shooting. The earlier shots I took were quite rushed but the latter footage was more relaxed and often more artist. Allowing the extra time in environment made me more comfortable and knowledgeable of what worked on camera and what didn’t. I think through this process we were able to better capture a location and thus better access our subjects style and present such in our film.
Although we were worked efficiently with our time organisation, we did experience moments of difficulties. Working with a green screen was challenging in that it was new for all of us, though I think that it allowed us to further develop our shooting abilities and editing skills. In the studio, Christina talked about coverage and ensuring we filmed a location and our subjects in their entirety. This proved extremely useful in this challenges we faced as if some footage was unusable, it ensured there was other footage to use. For example when shooting the group shots I forgot to hit record on one of the takes. This would have been costly had we not done multiple shots of the same scene. Instead of needed to reshoot, we were simply able to use other footage. To me this highlighted the importance of process and pre-production as these skills we learnt proved to be directly practical to the outcome of our final film.
Our content works well as of piece of individuality and a reflection of our own personal learning throughout the semester. As a collective, I think our group was able to combine each of our own skills to create a better outcome. To me this highlights the importance of distinctiveness in a similar manner to our models clothing. Their fashion and style choices are derivative of their uniqueness and together they form a stronger image of female youth. Our empowerment as practitioners is in finding and developing our own individual style and determining its place and worth in this world.