Found footage <–> Original footage
According to ‘A Dictionary of Film Studies'(2012) found footage is:
‘pre-existing film footage appropriated by a filmmaker and used in a way that was not originally intended’
Until now, I’ve never really considered the use of found footage in anything I create or, for that matter, even really noticed it in the film or television I watch. However, as I think about it now, I’m starting to make more connections. For example, and as I am a big lover of Australian comedy and television, I made a connection to Adam Zwar’s ‘Agony of Life’. Throughout the programme, the found footage is edited together with the interview footage to be relevant and appropriate.
Above is two different shots from The Agony of The Body (2015). This demonstrates the seamless transition from original footage to found footage. Companied with the fact that the entire episode revolved around women’s clothing, the use of found footage is appropriate to the topic.
My aim for the project brief 3 is to create flow when merging the found footage and the original footage. When selecting found footage and material, I want to make sure it’s relevant to the topic and to what my subject is saying.
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Collaboration
This weeks reading came from Keith Sawyer’s Group Genius: The creative power of collaboration. In really short terms, this reading pretty much claims that a collaborative task cannot be achieved by one individual person.
From primary school to now, the dynamics of a group never really change. There’s that one person that listens and nods along and agrees with everyone, pretty much not contributing at all. Then there’s the one that has their opinions but isn’t willing to put in the time. And then there’s the one that picks up everyone’s slack and just does it themselves. The latter is usually me. I usually do prefer to work alone because I trust myself and I think I am dependable, however, this is a media course. We are making and creating products that cannot be made alone. So, I have no objections to group work, but I do agree with Keith Sawyer in saying that it cannot be achieved by one individual.
I’m ready to use my strengths, develop my weaknesses into strengths and become a better filmmaker with the help of a team. Bring it on, Brian.
- Keith Sawyer, 2007, Group Genius: The creative power of collaboration, New York: Basic Books, 2007, pp.39-57.
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation. (2015). The Agony of the Body. [Online Video]. 15 April. Available from: http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/agony/LE1447V001S00