This vignette is another portrait of sorts. It’s a compilation of a number of things that I got Naomi to participate in, each linked to another vignette (real or possible). I got Ollie and Naomi over on a Friday night and got them to participate in a booth interview each, a portrait and then I attempt another possible vignette.
I had also planned for another couple of friends to come over so that I could explore a group interview format. In particular I was eager to look at how best to shoot a situation in which the centre of focus shifts. The group I had wanted to put together were all good friends and I believe the foursome would have good onscreen chemistry. There was an instance in the evening where I was casually interviewing Naomi and then Ollie interjected and I started to interview him and a dialogue started between the three of us. Unfortunately the topic of discussion was slightly disconnected from my ideas.

One of the things I wanted to explore with Ollie and Naomi was having them watch themselves live on a screen. To do this I set up both and EX-3 and my DSLR so that they could sit side by side with their image on a screen. Unfortunately due to the fact I didn’t have the right cable to connect my DSLR to the screen, the majority of the sequence was shot on my DSLR. However what was being shown on the screen was captured by the EX-3. I initially envisioned that I could potentially cut between the two.
This was very much an improvised exercise so unfortunately there are a lot of aesthetic shortcomings. I hadn’t planned any questions so for most of the video I make stupid remarks and say “umm” and “like” a million times. Also for some reason I cut Naomi off whenever she starts to say something interesting. I’m keen to reshoot in a studio setting, similar to both the portraits and the original booth interviews. With a reshoot I will plan questions and have an aim for a sequence rather than just an experiment in watching peoples reactions. I also captured them watching back what was shot on the EX-3 and that was quite bizarre to watch. You feel as if the person and the recording of them should be synced but it isn’t. The main thing that I took from the exploration was how weird it was when the screen version of Naomi looked over at her physical self (or appeared to anyway).

In the end I used Oliver’s portrait of Naomi, a segment of her interview and a brief snippet of her watching the screen version of herself to assemble a larger portrait. In this vignette a number of sides of Naomi are explored. First audiences are introduced with a third party’s perception of her as a loving individual but also one that is sometimes uncertain of herself. In the second segment this uncertainty is explored with her discussion of her identity. An in the conclusion there is a short sequence narrated by me about her laughing at her image on the screen. I agree with Robin that this particular vignette is looking at youth and adolescence and our often preoccupation with forming an identity. We don’t yet believe we’ve formed a sense of self.