Fabiana Weiner

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My focus this semester was to explore how to capture the essence of a subject/character, location or feeling and represent it as it exists without constructing anything on top of it before it was captured. Rather than form an idea and a plan of how I was going to shoot something, I set out and captured a whole lot of footage of my subject, audio and abstract location shots and assessed it in post before deciding what my next investigation on my subject would be.

Initially this was a project revolving around my subject Penelope Irvine and her relationship to her music and her past. The more footage I gathered related and non-related to her, the more my project also became something that reflected my experience of making my first short film. I tried to not get too heavily influenced by classic narrative forms or carried away by the pressure to entertain or do something dramatic for dramatic sake.

The initial investigations shooting Penelope and locations where supposed to be as uncontrived as possible, shooting something as I see it without putting it in any particular sequence in post. I chose this method rather than deciding what I was going to do before hand and directing and organizing a scenario or a scene. I did this because I wanted to experience what could happen cinematically to people, places and things and how they spoke to an audience as they are. I think when there is the compulsion to make something we decide what it is first without finding out what things mean and allowing them to speak to their full potential.

We automatically layer things with meaning before we even start shooting. I’m glad I chose this way of working as a method of investigation for my first film because I ended up capturing a lot of location and outdoor footage (because it was easy to access, there’s a lot of it) that speaks pages without me adding or changing anything about it. I used a lot of location and abstract footage to enhance my audio and the experiences and music Penelope was offering in our sessions.

My subject Penelope was a girl I knew who has now become a close friend of mine. I believed she carried a uniqueness and intrigue that would translate well on film. Her musicality and desire to express herself through singing, speaking and playing piano, made her a wonderful subject to work with because the investigations became more like collaborations where I was able to be quite open with her about where I was at throughout certain stages of the project.

Rather than buttering her up or pretending the piece was going to be better than it was, I told her, “this is my first experience in making a short film and I’m not exactly sure what it’s going to be but I hope to make something beautiful and evocative that reflects something about your experience and presence”. I do feel like there are moments where I capture her journey and vulnerability but obviously this is the start and there is a lot of room for me to refine and continue this particular project. I feel like I have only just begun on what this piece could actually be.

From the very beginning, Penelope brought so much to our sessions that immediately kicked me into excitement and fear because I wanted to do her justice. She was offering me stories and memories, originally composted music, singing and private experiences. She bought so much to the table just by being herself and there was really no need for me to instruct or direct her even in the voice recording where I thought I was going to have to direct her pace and tone of speaking to suit the edit. But no, she did this naturally. I think because she is a musician and deeply sensitive and intuitive, allot of this comes naturally to her.

I was hoping I wouldn’t have to direct her because I really just wanted her to exist, as she was, how I see her in real life and to express that through a kind of media portrait. These investigations so far feel like pre-production research for what is to come next depending on whether or not I decide to continue with this concept. It would be a waste to do all this ground work and not follow it through to a final piece that is well refined. I’d like to do that, continue working on this because it is a beautiful way of working. I have really enjoyed getting to know Penelope and finding different ways to represent her sensitivity and musicality through filmmaking.

Production Stills_Subject: Penelope Irvine

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Investigation 1

Investigation 2

Investigation 3

Investigation 4

Investigation 5 (Documentary_Setup)

Investigation 6

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Thanks to film 3 for teaching me loads, and thank you Paul for all your help and patience this semester! x

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