In the chapter Documentary Modes of Representation, Bill Nichols discusses an element of participatory documentary; “textual authority shifts toward the social actors recruited: their comments and responses provide a central part of the film’s argument” (Nichols, B 1991). It was important to make a start on developing a relationship with subjects straight away. After the compiling of potential concepts, I thought, if I wait to be inspired off my seat, I may not get going anytime soon. None of my ideas were really inspiring however I knew once I started on a specific subject group, it would take form in some way it was just a matter of how I was going to approach it to make the exploration as authentic to the people in the documentary as possible. For me, that’s what making media is all about. It’s about story and people. Authentic storytelling and representations of people of difference, everyday people, extraordinary people, every person has been somewhere and some of them know how to tell a story. You just have to find the right one! Once I have found the subject, it is my job (as a participatory documentary filmmaker), to extract the story, then edit it in a way that’s expressive, engaging and true to the subject. Errol Morris has said “”It’s the people that inhabit the film that makes the story not the story itself. People want to tell their story. If you let people talk and don’t interrupt them, they will eventually reveal to you who they really are. It’s the power of connection between people”. The participatory approach I set out to test, involved me finding a space where a community spirit existed, where subjects with character and history existed and which had an appeal to a wider audience (appealed to someone other than me). One of my ideas, The people of Camberwell Market. Now, I’m not a market groupie. I have a healthy relationship to market places. But I know that people with specific interests and hobbies visit and trade at Camberwell. It’s easily accessible, possesses a friendly community spirit, encourages artistic ventures and is an open energy space where people converse with each other. For the purpose of this university project, it was a perfect site.

The first thing I needed to find to include in my project, engaging and interesting participants. I needed to know that I had a group of people who were willing to speak openly about themselves. There was a certain kind of personality I was on the look for, the kind who’s passionate, quirky, fixated on a hobby, colorful and over 60. I find older people are wonderful subjects because most of the time they don’t put on any façade. They are genuine, authentic and don’t get unsettled by the presence of a camera.

I did three trips to Camberwell markets before we shot there. I believe for this kind of project, it’s really important to engage with the space and understand the kinds of people you’re dealing with. I wanted to talk to them first a) to see if they would make for interesting subject matter, b) that they were available on the day we planned to shoot there and c) to find out what about them I was going to talk about in front of the camera. I realized on those first two trips, that talking about their back story, their history, their personal lives, wasn’t going to be as interesting as talking about their passions and hobbies in relation to their stalls and the objects they were selling. Honestly? I wanted to know what made them excited, and then let them do all the talking. For most subjects, their hoarding habits, their antiques or their collections was enough to get them going. My goal was to set them off on a naturally provoked tangent where I didn’t have to ask too many questions. I wanted the participants to bring what they wanted to bring to the table, to talk about anything that interested them. A passionate person makes for passionate viewing. And if this is cut and edited well, it can be great subject matter.

“Editing operates to maintain a logical continuity between individual viewpoints, usually without benefit of an overarching commentary, the logic of which shifts to the relationship between the more fragmentary statements of subjects in interviews or -the conversational exchange be- tween filmmaker and social actors (Nichols, B 1991)”. Another extract from Bill Nichols Chapter that expresses the quality or emphasis on the voice of the social actors and participants over the filmmaker. There is a conversational exchange that happens between the filmmaker and the subject, but ultimately it is to extract the voice of the subject. The filmmaker should be able to edit themselves right out of the equation, which is what I tried to do. Unfortunately, on the day, I was too in shot and too vocal! If only I had done a test shoot I would have realized that I talk at every opportunity. The next shoot day, I will be careful not to laugh loudly, comment or respond with “yeeeah”, “totally”, any audible affirmative expressions I didn’t realize totally interrupt the flow of audio. Also there is a television quality when the filmmaker is present either audibly or visibly in the final product. I prefer the look without the filmmaker present (in my case).

This piece has developed quite naturally. This draft is structured in 4 parts, each reflecting a different participant. I used different editing styles for each one to experiment with evoking some quality of the subject’s energy or personality. For example, Peter I wanted to include a sentimental and mysterious quality, a knowingness and wisdom. Bill was playful and fun, Barry was energetic and full of enthusiasm. Lee was a little harder to work out. I’d like to develop each of these portraits into a more refined piece or series of portraits. I also have other interviews with participants but these four were the ones that I chose to put forward for this project brief. I realize they are all men, that wasn’t my intention, I did interview women. I’d like to return to Camberwell markets for another shoot. I would interview the same participants altering my style of interviewing. I would capture more pick up footage, more cut-aways, and more originally composed audio tracks.

I have enough material to work with but I will be returning over the next few weeks to capture more material for a more refined edit. I’d also like to visit other spaces where hobbyists and collectors barter and trade. I believe the relationship between people and the objects in their collections is a really interesting one.