In that, this week starts off super sad but gets amazing by the end!
On Monday, as I was (attempting) to edit the interview we had done with Ayelign, I ran into Lindsay, who was editing the footage collected from the community center the previous week. He came in and saw the trainwreck I was in the process of editing, and we again had a conversation about whether or not we would be able to actually complete this task. I wish I had recorded it because it was a lot more interesting than the actual work we had. He showed me the footage he’d collected on Friday and… oh my goodness…
The center was empty.
Deserted.
No one was there.
Luckily we had our check in the next day with Kerrie from the museum and THE John Hughes, (not the) creator of The Breakfast Club, so this was a completely calm and helpful time for this all to happen!
Seeing everybody else’s progress reports was also not at all stressful and concerning. The fact that their work was ridiculously professional and beautiful and interesting did not make me silently weep.
Kerrie and John were actually very helpful when we explained our situation. People liked the idea of moving our documentary from typical “this is a place we’re going to explore” to “we are people who are going to explore a place”, or from expository to reflexive (and maybe a little performative).
I recorded our next conversation, in which we decided to try to find the real community center, or the center of the community, in Altona. We would film as much as we could and let the people answer that question instead. In this conversation, I was incredibly inspired by Darren Hercher’s Somewhere Special, one of the documentaries we watched early on that I felt pulled towards. We already had a similar arc, we went to find something but were unable to find what we were looking for in time, so we’ll now go back to finish the job.
On the Thursday, we all went out to Altona Circle, as suggested by Kerrie, to find some people to get vox pops from on what they consider the center of community to be.
Something incredible happened on this shoot.
As we were turning on our cameras, getting test shots, and working out our plan of attack, a man came out of the store we were standing in front of. He started organising to fruit to look more attractive for the camera. He basically pulled us into his store, an international grocery, and had us meet everyone and set up an interview with his friend. We immediately felt warmed and welcomed. While there, we got two interviews, one with an older guy and one with a young guy who was friends with one of our group members.
We went around the corner and ran into a white guy we asked to interview. Something fascinating was how different a response he had to the west than the men we had spoken to previously. He felt it was a hole, that nothing good came from or to there. The men in the shop loved it, they felt a strong sense of community and friendship and never wanted to leave.
The only disappointment of the day was the unprofessional behaviour of one of my group members. I was shocked and embarrassed by their behaviour, and it completely changed my opinion of them. They should not have come if they were unable to, and our job in editing became much harder as a result of this. On the day, we were concerned that a camera would break and that is not something that we should have been worried about.
But, to end on a high note, we now know how to move forward with our project. Next week, we’ll tackle Yarraville to see what kind of Western diversity we find.
There’s a very fascinating mathematical theory out there called Zeno’s Paradox. Achille’s has to run from point A to point B. He runs half the distance, then half the remaining distance, and so on. He is never able to reach point B because there is an infinite number of halves remaining. While this theory has been disproven by modern mathematics, I like to imagine that it still exists in its original form.
Because that’s where we are now.
We try to stay optimistic, the finish line is so close we can basically touch it. Yet with every canceled interview, with every deserted visit, with every cold shoulder, our distance is halved again and again. We’re not getting any closer to completing this documentary. I’ve been fielding messages from group members in crisis, thinking that this project won’t possibly work the way we want it to, and I reassure and sooth, but I’m just as scared as they are.
We were allowed some time in class to just write!, a concept we know I am VERY fond of. This is what I ended up with at the end of the 5-15 minutes (what is time?):
The aesthetic choices made in a documentary inform the audience what the documentary is trying to say. If a documentary is serious, it is more likely to have a slew of aesthetic choices that inform that; ie using darker colours, non-comical sounds, people looking serious directly into frame. The relationship between the choices in my project will hopefully provide the audience with a feeling of safety and happiness. The bright colour palette, maximallist shots, and bright conversation will give the feeling of happiness, while the slow, flowy movement of the shots and the exhibition showcase set up with provide the audience with a sense of calm and tranquility, lulling them into a feeling of safety. These combined bring forth the community sense that we hope for. If we were to overdo the bright elements, the piece would seem like too much of an ‘event’ and not a fixed place. It may also come off as too comedic for the documentary we are hoping to make. If we were to overdo the softer, flowy elements, the piece may, quite literally, put people to sleep. The balance between the two will give both heart and soul to our piece. The audio will interact with these visual elements in many ways between the pieces. In some, it will inform the greater story, in others, it will merely add to the ambiance and, in that way, still inform the greater story. If we were to, for example, only use “horror movie” music, the piece would take on an entirely new story, despite the fact that the visuals remain the same. Audio is, perhaps, the most important aesthetic element. If we were to change to shots from a horror movie, people would still be likely to listen to the audio and interpret the shots through that lens. By keeping the audio bright and lively, or soft and heartfelt, we are able to manipulate the audience into how they should interpret our shots. A shot of a tree blowing in the wind over audio of a person talking about how happy they are to be dancing would be interpreted one way, whereas if we were to put it over audio of the same person talking about their isolation, it would be far different. It’s like the Kuleshov effect but probably with a different name. I want the audience to engage with the project as much as they would like. The way we plan to use sound and visual means that the story will hopefully get across in either form individually. For some videos, such as the mothers group, the audio will provide the story in the plainest sense of the word, while the visual will provide the feeling surrounding the story; safety, belonging, and comfort. For others, such as the cultural dance event, sound and visuals will work together, but seeing just the imagery or hearing just the live sounds would provide the same story: community, excitement, liveliness. In the exhibition space, we have planned our project to be shown in a way that provides as much or as little engagement as the audience would like. The flowing sheet been projected on will give a sense of the homemade, which will hopefully coincide with our sense of safety and peace. The space we set up will be in the kitchen, an area that people tend to flock to naturally. The kitchen is a hub of community and conversation and food and drink and excitement. This vibe is perfect for our films. The combined outcome of the sheet and the kitchen will give off the same vibes one feels when they step into Walker Close Community Center for the first time.
I was unfortunately away on Friday, but my team members went to the community centre and I don’t want to say ‘boy oh boy’ for the 90th time this semester but boy oh boy did they return with a doozy of a video! Unfortunately, as the video was not edited until the following Monday I am not permitted to discuss it here.
Form and medium: What form will it take? Where will it be shown/experienced? How long do you estimate it to be? Several (3-5) short documentaries, posted onto a video streaming service (Vimeo or YouTube) and onto the Media Factory blog and the Living Museum of the West website. Approximately 5 min per video, 15-25 min in total.
Short synopsis: The Walker Close Community Centre has been providing the Western region with an incredible amount of support without any recognition. Join us, as we shed light on the stories of people who found their community within the Walker Close Community Centre.
Longer synopsis: The Walker Close Community Centre was started in 2004, and has been supporting thousands of people since. Providing services for people of diverse locales, educational levels, and socio-economic backgrounds, they have been able to grow their resources to be able to help hundreds of people every day.
Starting with an introduction to the centre manager, Mr Ayelign, we will journey through several of the centre’s many resources and hear the stories of people who the centre has been able to help. Through their individual stories, the audience will get a sense of the greater scope of the centre and how many more lives they have touched.
FILM 1: Introduction Mr Ayelign, centre manager, talks briefly about the centres beginnings, as well as the story of a man who was helped by the centre. We get to see how caring he is and important he finds his work, as he gives the filmmakers advice for their own education and future careers. The centre is full of colour and life.
FILM 2: Karate George Irevski tells the story of one of his past students who came from a troubled background but found discipline, ambition, and friendship through the not-for-profit karate lessons provided by the centre. We see how far this child could go, as the senior class performs incredible feats of athleticism.
FILM 3: Mothers Group An anonymous new mother tells the story of her pregnancy and birth. This beautiful and moving tale shows the isolation and fear facing young mothers, but shows what a difference support and friendship can make on the experience. The centre is empty, but the toys, medical rooms, and support group set up tell a tale in and of itself.
FILM 4: Migration Services The story begins with community members receiving professional advice and guidance on migration matters. This simple premise then evolves to a beautiful montage of belonging and togetherness. The film tells a tale of a small group of people who are seeking to learn of ways that they can best help their family and friends to join them in their life in the west of Melbourne.
FILM 5: Cultures and beliefs: diverse community group In this wordless piece, people from many different cultural groups get together to celebrate life! Dancing, singing, and food galore, the entire centre is alight with movement and excitement. There is a mix of languages, ages, and means, but in this moment, everyone is together and is the same.
What is your individual role or component of this project? Lindsay: Producer
Bridie: Director
Katia: Post Production
Liam: Site Manager and Casting
Visualisation: What will it look like? Use location shots, archival material, other projects that are similar. Think about what you can achieve and what skills you might need. Location shots of Walker Close Community Centre and Brooklyn Hall. Archival footage not needed. Interview footage used sparingly, with shots of the details within the space and the participants used more. We want to provide a close look at the space and participants to give more information than we could otherwise get. Bright colours and whimsical, flowy movement will be used to give off the feel of the centre.
Rationale: 1-2 sentences outlining the basic premise, philosophy and purpose of the work. What do you want to make it? What should it be made?
Our project is focused on highlighting the positive impact that a community centre is having on the people who interact with it. We want to discover the communities and groups that have formed, and perhaps give some insights on the human condition in 2018.
Archival Material: What do you want to use from the archive? If you are not using anything, what do you want to contribute to the archive? Likely no archival material will be used, however we hope to provide the archive with a new resource of previously untapped potential. Though we will only be providing a few stories, there are thousands that live within those walls that future contributors to the museum could access at any time.
Main participants: briefly describe the participants and what they contribute to the project. If you have yet to locate them, who would you like to include? Mr Ayelign: Centre manager, the “heart” of the centre. He will be the human embodiment of what the centre is. We have interviewed him. George Irevski: Karate instructor, he will provide the story of a past student and explain why a sports and kids focused program is important. We have shot preliminary interviews with him. Anonymous Mother: She will provide us with our third story. Not yet found, we have an access point through Liam’s mum
Setting: briefly describe your locations where you will film, record, shoot etc. Walker Close Community Centre: Colourful main venue that will be the central focus. Brooklyn Hall: Karate video, a simple hall with flags and not much else. But we see it come to life when the people arrive and fill the once empty space with colour and movement.
Research video/photos/audio: provide embedded links with a short description of what they refer to. For example: test footage with one of your interviewees, location footage, editing styles and approaches etc.
Karate Action test shots
We were happy with the action shots we got of the class. A fair bit of this footage will be used in the final cut.
George Interview Raw
In this footage we interview George one of the teachers from the karate class. Due to the interview being conducted during the class George didn’t have much time for us. The lighting wasn’t great and his answers at times are drowned out by the background noise.
Inspiration: provide embedded links with a short description of what they refer to. For example: other documentaries, photo series, journalistic articles, etc
This film takes a seemingly mundane topic and makes it engrossing. We took a great deal of inspiration from this documentary. The characters, the subject and the soundtrack all combine to create an entertaining piece about cataloging guns used in crimes in the USA.
6 Seconds
This short documentary has had a big influence on our project. We want to incorporate the ‘voice over’ format of the interview where we never actually see the interviewee talking to the camera. Instead, the viewers get to enjoy beautiful shots illustrating the character’s story. This approach to documentary making makes for an engaging and captivating experience. It also allows us to explore more artistic non-traditional documentary as well as allows us to steer away from the traditional layout.
Production timeline
Thursday 24.08– visit to the community centre, talked to the manager AU
Friday 31.08– group meeting for the pitch
Monday 3.09– visit to the community centre, filmed the karate lesson
Tuesday 4.09– presentation + group meeting
Wednesday 12.09– visit to the museum, filmed interview with AU and B-roll
Friday 14.09– discussion and planning
Tuesday 18.09– booking the equipement, printing the release forms
Wednesday 19.09– filming the dance lesson
Friday 21.09- booking the equipment, printing the release forms
Saturday 22.09- editing together the rough cut
Monday 24.09- filming the mothers group
Tuesday 25.09– rough cut presentation + booking the equipement, printing the release forms
Wednesday 26.09– filming the immigration services
Friday 28.09- booking the equipement, printing the release forms
Monday 1.10– filming cultures and beliefs: diverse community group
I had an EPIPHANY! Open Space documentary research has come in handy!!!
The mothers’ group at the center has been of major interest to me since the beginning of the project, but it seemed like something we’d never be able to do due to confidentiality and ethics. But, what if, we told the story without the mothers? What if we were able to use a fair use poem or lullaby or even write our own? What if we were able to get an anonymous story and tell it without having the individual it’s about telling it? In moments like this, where my brain strikes gold, I remember why I wanted to be a filmmaker. And though this probably doesn’t make sense right now, it will be so awesome.
I’m going to skip over Tuesday’s class because it really was just a plan-a-thon and I get tired of writing about pre-production quickly.
On Wednesday, we went to interview Mr Ayelign. Honestly, the bulk of the interview is pretty crap. He was telling us what he thought we wanted to hear rather than just speaking from his heart. He was far less animated and excitable than he usually is. But when we began asking more questions, he started to light up a little. He told a really interesting story about a Nigerian man who came to Australia and expected to get a job as a lecturer immediately. He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t getting anywhere, and when the center looked over his CV, they saw that it was literally 10 pages long. He told us that the most important thing the center does is teach people how to live in Australia in their current state.
The true gold mine of the interview, though, came after the interview ended. We had started getting B-roll, just some shots of different things in his office, when he started to talk about how important it is to help young people, and how important we will all be one day. I started recording, and while the camera was a little too zoomed in, and the lighting went off halfway through, it is truly my favourite piece of footage from the day. There is also a bunch of B-roll that has super inspired me and all of a sudden I’ve got ideas about how to make karate beautiful.
Friday was also a bit of a plan-a-thon, though we did figure out how we want to present our documentary at the exhibition. We really want to use a sheet to project onto, as a lot of our imagery is very flowy and beautiful, and we want to emulate that in real life. Kim also suggested that we get photos of the center and put them around, almost as though the things we photograph could be there. I’m 900% here for this idea.
From the assignment feedback, Kim suggested I check out the film Profile by Timur Bekmambetov. I don’t think I’ve ever been so stressed out watching a trailer in my life! I can definitely see the similarities between this film and my previous project. I feel like I’ve been subtly pushed over the past few weeks into using some of the methods I used in that project for this one, but I literally don’t know how. The form seems totally removed from the subject. I don’t want to keep making the same mistakes I made in Assignment 2 (even though, in Open Space documentary, there are no mistakes, only accidental artworks).
From the reading this week, something that stood out to me was the story of Harlan County, USA by Barbara Kopple. If we remove the context of the film for a moment, there is the concept that filming your subject will ultimately change your subject, and, if you’re making a “watch while this unfolds” documentary, probably change the outcome of the film. When cameras are around, no matter what, the truth will change. This course is making me far more existentialist than I think was originally intended.
LOT’S to catch up on so strap yourselves in for a 12 hour long read!
Over the break, my group and I caught up to discuss how we were going to move forward. It was a pretty standard affair and resulted in us planning a shoot for the following Monday at a karate class. Can this day’s Me be honest? I don’t fully understand why we’re shooting the karate class. I feel like there are far more interesting elements to the center and that a karate class is not the best way to start our exploration.
Monday comes along, and boy oh boy do the Karate men not want us there. To be clear: they agreed to have us. They heard about our project, said “yes you can come film and interview us”, let us in the building, and told us to ask if we needed anything. But they were VERY upset that we actually did those things. We had some major camera issues that we tried to solve as quietly as possible as to not further anger the Karate Men. The interview was kind of a disaster. The things Karate Man said were good and helped me understand that this could be a far deeper subject than I originally thought, but there was so much background noise and he only had 2 minutes before he had to get back. The other shots we got could definitely work if we use them in the right context, but I wouldn’t mind going back to reshoot, even if we receive the maximum passive-aggressive rage level from the Karate Men.
On Tuesday we did our pitch to our class, Kerrie, and John (I think??? This name may be incorrect and I apologize profusely if it is). Before we get into Serious Feedback business, we shall all take a moment to gush over how good Katia is at making presentations. Like, who does that??? She made us superheroes!!! She animated it!!! It was so well done!!! I personally believe we should get an HD based solely on that powerpoint, but don’t let me persuade you. Serious Business time: an unexpected win from the presentation was realizing that the museum didn’t actually know who Walker Close is. We are bringing a connection that they hadn’t considered exploring before, and I think that’s pretty neat! There was some important feedback on the project itself. Namely: “Ok but what are you doing?” I think we all thought we addressed it but looking back, there was a lot of stuff we assumed that they would already know or at least infer. We could’ve done better to explain our idea more fully. We also probably should’ve done some more preliminary research into basic things like “When was the center founded?” and “Where does it get its funding?”.
On Friday, we got down into the nitty-gritty of our project: what does it look like, when are we making it, and other important questions. More importantly, we looked over interviewing techniques. I really want to take a more conversationalist approach, but I am also the worlds most uncomfortable person. In this class alone, a space in which I feel quite comfortable, I have accidentally discussed teaching autistic children about socialism and shooting children, so clearly, the 12 years of being a trained stage actor worked. If I’m meeting someone for the first time, I think I’ll naturally take on a more formal approach just because I want to seem like I’m in control and that I Definitely Know What I’m Doing. That said, the documentaries we watched in class really inspired me. Specifically, Somewhere Special by David Hercher and My Favourite Picture of You by TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay. While they didn’t inspire me too hard on this specific project, I now have an idea for a different documentary I want to make, so that’s fun. I really like the casual, on the spot approach and reflective tone of David Hercher’s film and the subject, subject matter, and reflective tone of TJ Martin and Dan Lindsay’s film. Margot Nash’s The Silences is one of my favourite documentaries and I feel like it’s super obvious as to why what with my fear/obsession of the unethical and apparent love of reflection.
I arrived too late to partake in the writing task but I have read other blogs and will steal the questions to complete it because who wouldn’t want more words on this blog post!!!
What is open space documentary- how might it differ from conventional documentary? An open space documentary is a documentary that doesn’t care what you think of it. If you showed an open space documentary the dictionary definition of documentary, it would rip up the dictionary and fly off on a rainbow, because it can probably do that. In fact, it can probably do anything. The entire point of an open space documentary is that it can be anything it wants to be. Do you want to strap a camera to the head of a dog and let it run wild? That can be an open space documentary. Do you want to record the sound of a coin falling to the floor? That can be an open space documentary. In fact, there are so many mediums that cover open space documentary that it nearly doesn’t have a definition. As long as it is telling a story that has some level of truth* to it, it can be an open space documentary.
How can concepts from Open Space be applied to your project? I feel like with our prior shoots, we were stuck in a hole of conventional documentary. The idea of open space means that we don’t have to create the traditional documentary in order to be “successful” in our task or careers. It’s given birth to certain ideas and reminded me of what I loved about past tasks, like the use of poetry in a documentary to tell a story rather than exposition. I think, after our shoot on Monday, I was feeling quite defeated about this task. I didn’t want it to be another film without passion, where I was just following the steps to get a mark. If we use open space techniques and truly let our minds run free, I think I’ll be able to bring a lot more passion to this project which will, in turn, make the project more passionate.
Why are some stories untold? I think most stories are told, just not necessarily through the media lens that we are now taught to look through. The reason some stories remain unspread, however, is probably due to the narrative we’ve been fed by the media for so many years. Not to bring Chimamanda back, but in her TED talk, she described not knowing that she could write a book about girls like her, who lived in Nigeria and who ate mangoes and who had never experienced snow. That doesn’t mean her story was untold before this, it was just unspread. The media favors certain narratives, narratives including “He is the boss”, “She is a slut”, “They are the enemy”, “We are the good guys”, “You are not good enough”. Most of these can be broken down into our good friend’s Capitalism, Patriarchy, and Racism. The reason some stories remain unspread is because of who has the control. Why do we learn about the beginning of Australia as when the first white people arrived? Because white people won that genocide. The stories of Indigenous people are out there and there are more and more each day, but it’s far easier to find stories of white people bringing civilization. We just have to look a little harder to find the stories we think are untold.