Found-footage Manipulation – dilemmas, dilemmas

Over the weekend, I’ve inundated myself with various Experimental Films, the found-footage kind. A Movie by Bruce Conner, aptly named, is a juxtaposed, almost-antithetical use of found footage to demonstrate the destructive nature of man by drawing on two different time periods: the modern-day present and the western-world past.

The film is a conglomeration of all things abstract and at times, ironically comedic, but what I mainly took note of was the sequence of scenes edited together. I previously mentioned in my Caretaker Project that I plan on creating a film that relies less on narrative sequence than spatial representation. What I want to present in my film is the nuances of the place, how the place itself gives the Caretaker his identity as the custodian of the great institution.

As such, I’ve come down to a bit of a conundrum: I do not know exactly how I go about in structuring my scene-by-scenes. I have collected some footage (still more to go) that I believe, represents my purpose and thematic element, but now, I am not quite sure how I could go about in storyboarding this without the narrative thread behind it to reign it in together.

Some questions to ponder:

  • Would a narrative thread help in alleviating the problem of storyboarding? And if so, how could I make it as implied as possible and as ambiguous as possible?
  • Would narration work instead of a narrative thread? And what would it do to the overall thematic of my film?

Hmm, lots to think about before the main shoot this coming weekend!

Experimental Film: Pitch Suggestions

Some post-pitch notes/suggestions thanks to the awesome panel we had last week!

  • Audio (samples): footsteps, keys jangling, creaky footsteps, light shining thorough the door, evoking presence
    Movie to see for inspiration: Gallipoli by Tolga Ornek. A documentary wherein it never shows any battle at all; just the sounds i.e. flatter of dust and some slight movement of the camera
  • Music: 
    • how literal do I want to portray the caretaker will inspire my music choice
    • getting into their character a bit more into what you want
    • subjectivity contrasted with sounds
    • what’s their little space like
    • making some of their work more interesting (images: eg. cleaning tools, where he resides in the courthouse)
  • The Caretaker (as a character) – keeping him invisible, but at the same time, making his presence known throughout the six Acts
    • Another term for caretaker: Custodian – something to think about as an alternative way of calling him/her
    • I’m probably decided on doing a “him” for this one but shall look into it more in my research
    • What does he do as a go-to type of person – research property services or current cleaning services managers of the Old Magistrates Court and of RMIT
  • Finding some employee records: town clerks correspondents at Public Records Office
  • Images/Shot:
    • Payslip – how much they get paid per day is evocative and tells more about how they work and how their home lives are like
      • Are they supporting a family? Where do they live? In a cottage, a small house, etc. What are their motivations?

Going through all my notes and the suggestions above over the weekend, I came up with things to do for this week:

  1. Acts – 6 Acts may be too ambitious so I’m going to have to reduce it. I’m thinking of dividing it up into three Acts instead of six:
    Act I: I am
    – the introduction of the Caretaker as the main character
    Act II:  Gavel
    – life in the court
    Act III: Ghosts
    – hauntings of the presence; what does the place mean, what does it make him feel?
  2. Research – Employee Records
    Abigail Belfrage, a historian who works at the Public Records Office suggested to look into some employee records to see those who have worked at the Old Magistrates’ Court as a historian at its time. She’ll be coming down this Friday so I’ll talk to her about that.
  3. Style – Music
    The general atmospheric theme I want to portray in this piece is sobering, haunting, nostalgic and reverential. I’ll be looking for music that really encapsulates that spirit.

I think that’s all for now. Off we go then, for some found-footage scavenging!