After many weeks of planning and negotiating doing Project Brief 3 with a friend of mine, we have decided to call it off. Said friend was debuting at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival earlier in the month with a limited run of shows.
We would have shoot the interview sometime after her shows and I had planned to ask them about the journey of getting to MICF, writing, and testing the set and their take on how the run of shows went. Alternative questions could have been about favourites at this year’s festival, perhaps some inspirations, goals for the future and a message to those who want to try their hand at comedy.
The decision came to be due to their tight schedule and because of the lack of commitment to communicating on a regular basis. Which made it difficult to come to creative decisions – figuring out cutaways, locations, content and when we could shoot. Sure, I could have come up with some of these ideas myself, but I wanted to learn from them as they also worked with video in the past – plus I wanted them to be happy with the content too.
But it was not to be. I was reminded what guest lecturer, Paul Richard tried to convey. Look at everything as a serendipitous opportunity, even when things do not go to plan or people are not as reliable as you had thought, try to think positively and to the task at hand/ahead.
Given that the deadline is looming and I want to leave a decent amount of time to edit. I had to face the decision of who to approach to be the new subject of my interview. I cut the shortlist conveniently down to my housemates, who could both be interesting to work within this context.
There is Shannon, my partner. A fine artist who started at the Victorian College of the Arts this year after beginning her career at Latrobe College of Art and Design two years prior. Her body of work primarily consists of animals typically in comedic and uncanny situations. Though in her practice she also does a great deal of life drawing.
Shannon’s work via Instagram.
Then there is James or, Tapai as we know him – who is a photographer specialising in fine art and club photography. Heavily involved in the LGBTI+ nightlife scene he also occasionally does drag shows under the pseudonym, Ashe St. Claire.
Tapai as Ashe St. Claire via Instagram.
After discussion with them both, I decided to go with Tapai. The footage of clubs and shows at night/in low light would prove challenging and provide interesting footage. Plus, he was a bit more comfortable in front of the camera than Shannon.
Time to come up with a shot list, some questions and get started.
