1. Turn the camera off at the request of the participant (Rachel Boynton, DOC NYC, 2018).
2. Show the participant the finished film before the public (Rachel Boynton, DOC NYC, 2018).
3. Love the people that you film. (Rachel Boynton, DOC NYC, 2018).

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REFERENCES:

DOC NYC PRO: Casting Case Studies 2016, streaming video, DOC NYC, New York, viewed 18 November 2018, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bndwq27kkjc>.

The collection is about city of Melbourne, which means we can shot anything which can represent Melbourne, like historic building or residents. We went to Yarra river, Melbourne central and chose different kind of people as protagonist in the lens, such as people who chat with friends on the ground; kids with her grandmother; students who through road so on. So, this collection tells us Melbourne’s scenery and history: The unique train in Melbourne is a good sign; Women with scarves represent diversity and inclusiveness in Melbourne; Street art also shows fashion style of Melbourne. Look at the picture above, a man who sit in the café shop and read something. He looked down at the file in his hand and looks like calmness. I guess he had finished his busy morning, so he needed to a cup of coffee to relax. The frame of the picture is great because we put the character in the mid of the lens and the light is suitable. I think the man represents that there are lots of people like him on the streets of Melbourne: sit in the café shop, chatting with friends or dealing with work. It shows Melbourne residents’ leisurely life in the afternoon.

1. Write about what you want from this studio.

 Before the first lesson of this studio, I have read carefully about the content of this studio in the Canvas. My understanding of this studio is limited to the surface, like I know our aims of this studio is that participation in contemporary applications for non-fiction media making and practice production skills for non-fiction stories, such as observational filming and recording interviews. At the same time, we need to develop a reflective practice in order to respond to our work. Also, our assignment includes multiple studies such as a photo essay, an observational montage film, a promotional video and a short documentary and so on. But most of these contents are completely alien to me, I don’t know what is non-fiction media and what is making skill of observational filming and recording interviews. I seem to have rushed into a completely new and challenging field, but I am excited and eager. An unfamiliar environment makes me more motivated to break through obstacles and get ahead.

My greatest wish is to know what is the way to succeed in a movie, it includes lens analysis, shooting skills and editing ways and so on. I want to know how the director can make the audience feel his/her expression. This is a huge and amazing process, and also that’s what I dreamed of. I hope that I can use the next two years to achieve my goal, and get some experiences from filmmakers Frederick Wiseman or Molly Dineen. During the six weeks, I hope I can understand the aim of this studio with practice rather than superficial such as what is non-fiction story. I found that when I watched ‘F For Fake’, I cannot really understand the meaning of this documentary. I tried to connect the questions in the activity one with this documentary, but I cannot answer all the questions. So, this may be a challenge for me. In addition, I am very interested in photography in the next class because the recording is a special way to recall life. Maybe I should have a camera of my own. The first week is a good start, which let me begin to familiarize with the concept of non-fiction. I believe that after the end of this studio, I can use my productions to show what I have learned in these six weeks.

2. Reflect on the class materials in Module 1A

 ‘F for Fake’ is a documentary film in 1973, the film used several different styles and was also described as a typical essay. From the content to the narrative to the form, the product moves between the boundaries of true and false. The story is interspersed with the story. The characters and characters are intertwined. It is not only a new step in the film editing technology but also a new possibility of the documentary. In order to show that opinions persuade identity as the purpose of creation, and to accurately produce the real world as a result of creation, in this sense, the film should belong to the documentary. I think the film belongs to non-fiction and conveyed to us the word ‘fake’, especially forgery art. And the director also mentioned that what is art and the problem about the ownership of works. The strategy to convey this information is through the starring performance, Welles’s voiceover and reveal and letting the audience participation in the fabrication of reality. F for Fake is one of the most singularly poignant examinations of the essence of the medium itself, a dream, a document, a lie that is at times capable of becoming more real than reality, host to a wealth of paradoxes and contradictions, much like life. My expectation for documentaries and non-fiction is that the director can reveal the truth to let the audience know the truth and record complete details.

I watched ‘why doesn’t Cathy eat breakfast’ and ‘anorexia recovery story’, I think these two videos are interviews and self-reports respectively. We can define them from the way they shot. In Cathy’s video, there is a man’s voice kept speculating about Cathy’s ideas and her response to the voice sometimes smiles or shakes her hand. She is a film character in the video. But in the second video, we can see that the protagonist has been telling her own story in front of the camera. Though sometimes she is not in the camera, her voiceover is always explaining to the audience what has happened. These two videos all use some sound effects, such as bell voice, water voice, voiceover, and background music. Also, there are some edits in these two videos, especially the second video. In the second video, there are edit effects about video and picture synchronization editing and audio and video separation. Unlike Cathy’s video which has some simple editing, the editing techniques of the second video seem a little more complicated. In Cathy’s video, we all obsessed with the problem of why she doesn’t eat breakfast. I think this video is a mystery of the original question raised by the Nation Dairy Council, they didn’t give people answer, but let the generations of people think. Maybe the commercial interest of the film is that by asking the audience to connect the question and some dairy products. In my opinion, the second film can be a public welfare project in order to encourage people who have anorexia. These two films all convey the question of appetite. Let us think about the problems that extend from appetites like anorexia or something else. When I watched these two films, I easily associate ourselves with the characters in the films and let the audience have the same feeling or think of the people around us, like me, I don’t eat morning every morning. I think the anorexia film can represent the real world because the film records the mental process of the patient in detail and it’s easy for people to feel the same way.

3. Reflect on the ‘F for Fake’

 ‘F for Fake’——The last complete film of Orson Welles’s life, thus achieving an extremely important position in the history of the “new” documentary, and a classic sample of prose movies. It breaks the traditional documentary style that has been dominated by coherent narrative and calm observation since the 1960s.

Welles is an extremely powerful vocalist in the film. His performances, narration, and dialogue run through the entire film. In the film, he played a role in the field, providing the audience with an omniscient point of view, telling the audience about the details of the counterfeit, the author of the counterfeit, and the behind-the-scenes details, and the unknown truth. Under his well-controlled morphemes, he presented a sense of authority and added trust to the audience. The scenery changes behind Welles, the slow push and pulls of the lens scene, creating the effect that Welles has traveled through different time and space. At the same time, he is also a bystander, reminding the audience not to rely on the media completely, to be vigilant about the information provided by the media. The director used a lot of ways to set the separation effect, reminding the audience not to completely indulge in the film, thus losing judgment. In the film, there are often scenes of life, such as: pulling out from a certain screen, the audience sees the monitor, in fact, the director is watching the playback footage. Work scenes such as this (somewhat similar to what we now call footage) remind the audience of the difference between real life and the life that the media displays. A large number of fixed shots, repeated and repeated, emphasizing the behavior, expressions and so on of these fake authors. The montage of these pictures is also spliced, which has a new meaning. In this way, the audience is reminded to be wary of such post-production methods. Perhaps, the media is using this way to create eye-catching news and guide the audience to understand and imagine.

This is a photo I shot in last semester when we went to an exhibition. The girl who stands in front of a picture is my classmate. I noticed that she was interested in this picture because she stared the picture and description for a long time and keep this posture. So, I took out my camera to record this moment because I thought this scene is very beautiful. The color of her coat is also very matched with the wall and the picture. When I see this picture every time, I always feel relaxed and comfortable.

The second photo is about a drama scene. We can see two characters sit in the chair and express a serious atmosphere from this image. There are some blocks as window and some chairs in the middle of the stage. I remember when the story develops to here, the lights suddenly dimmed and the two characters sit there without saying a word. I use my phone to shoot this moment because they attract me and let me in the plot. Also, this is the first time my best friend has appeared on the stage, I want to record their most dazzling moments.

There are a couple in the picture, and they seem to be discussing. I shot this picture in Victory library when I was required to shot some interesting things in class. I saw the couple sit in the front of the three images and talk about something. I remember they whispered because they are in a very quiet place, the reason I shot this moment is that I think still share ideas with your lover is a very romantic thing when you get old. When I see the picture every time, I always think if I get older and older, I hope I can have a partner who has some same habits with me just like the couple.