My name is Joanna Danielle, I’m a 3rd year student in RMIT studying Communication (Media) and this semester I’m in the studio “Food on Film” by Kim Munro!
When I saw the list of studios available to choose from this semester and saw one that will focus on food, I put it on top of my preference without hesitating. I am an avid foodie so I truly love food and basically everything related to it. In all honesty, I have only watched a few documentaries in my life, and some of it about food. Thus, my exposure on documentary, what it is, its potential and its relation to food made me choose this studio.
If I have to choose a food issue I’m interested in, I’d have to say food practice, particularly vegetarianism and veganism. My sister is a vegetarian herself and it was a choice of her own since 2 years ago, and also the fact that this practice is becoming a trend especially here in Australia where more and more vegetarian and vegan eateries and products are being born. Thus, I’d like to dig deeper into this particular practice on food and by the end of this semester, make an interesting documentary out of it.
As I have only made a short and simple documentary on my friend being an international student here in Melbourne, in this studio I’d like to bring myself up another level and produce a documentary much more polished, informational and obviously better prepared. This studio focuses on documentaries, so I hope to get out of my comfort zone and actually implement what I’ll be learning into my works.
Since studio is a highly interactive space where we all show and watch each others’ works, I hope to get feedback from my peers and of course Kim herself on mine. I’d love to know what aspect I could improve on and how to make my work better, sharing ideas and giving constructive feedback. Aside from that, I’d love to have fun with everyone in class and not be too serious about assignments and just having a healthy but productive relationship with each other. What I really like from studios is the fact that people actually interact with one another as opposed to just being focused on their own thing and listen to the teacher speak.
Lastly, at the end of this week, I’d like to ask one question: With my limited experience, budget and time, how am I to make a food documentary that will surprise myself?