To reflect on my fashion film in its final form, I must experience my semester in retrograde and remember the moments when my original idea began to shift and metamorphose into something completely different. In the initial weeks of this semester, I had set out on creating a fashion film that would be non-narrative based and well planned. Upon the completion of this semester, I am pleased to say that I was able to produce something of that nature. However, throughout the last 12 weeks, the focus began to shift from what I wanted my final product to be, to how I could produce something that connects people to each other.

My aim was to create a fashion film that worked cohesively both visually and thematically and to work with other creative friends in order to achieve a piece of work that bound us all together as blossoming professionals. When I realised that I wanted to create something with a bit more substance, particular in the fashion department, I decided to approach my friend, and designer, Grace Alateras. Grace’s garments allowed for me to refine my vision, I was provided with thematic devices, and now I was able to analyse how I would use them. I think what really motivated me to collaborate with other people, was the interest that Grace showed in my project. After meeting up with her for coffee a couple of times, I realised I could expand my project a bit more, and I decided to approach my friend Elle and asked her if she would let me use her music for my film. I wanted to include more people because I wanted to create something that we could all use collaboratively. I think it’s extremely important to connect with other creatives, especially in a professional sense, as it helps integrate yourself into the community much more effectively.

A lot of what went well in the shoot was due to my subjects, Rhys and Pat. Rhys and Pat have been friends of mine since I was 15, and working together with them on projects such as this, is always heaps of fun, and effortless. They were great in front of the camera, and took direction extremely well, even when most of the time they did not even need it. They embodied the garments and produced something poignant, playful and pensive and made it look incredibly easy.
I was also extremely lucky with the weather, and the location. I had been struggling for weeks trying to decide where I would film and had tossed up the ideas of Lake Eppalock, The Calder Thunderdome, or the Great Ocean Road. I really liked the idea of a beach setting, but I did not want to use a setting that had been ‘overdone’. When I found out about Red Rock Bluff in Black Rock, I was immediately stunned by the striking visual quality of the location. It was grand, demanded attention, and suited the colour palette of the garments perfectly.

I also enjoyed my time in post production a lot more than I usually would have. I think because I had already found a song that worked well with the content, a lot of the stress of finding audio was detached and therefore allowed me to relax throughout the editing process. That being said, my organisation was notably better this semester than in my previous semesters. I had filmed by the end of week 9 and was editing by week 10, which is incredible for me. The extra time definitely allowed me to explore more ideas, particularly in regards to which part of the song I would use and how long the film would go for altogether. It allowed for me to cut out heaps of meaningless parts, and left me with more considered and visually cohesive shots. I believe I also liked the editing of this film because I had decided to experiment during the filming. I was filming my footage on a frame rate of 50 frames per second. This caused for all my footage to look sped up when played in real time, but after slowing it in Premiere, I was left (mostly) with dreamy, slow visuals which worked well with parts of the song.

However, some aspects of the filming did not go to plan. I had decided to test out a new piece of equipment, a small hand-held camera stabiliser. The aim was to obtain great tracking shots, and capture the movement of the garments; and although I was successful sometimes, a lot of the time I was not. This is due to the amount of wind there was at the location. The wind was so strong that it kept knocking my camera off balance and causing the camera to move too much to be corrected by the stabiliser. In addition to this, one of the lenses I had hired from RMIT did not focus properly, and this caused a lot of my shots to be slightly unfocused. However, I decided to embrace this and try and merge it into my aesthetic, and draw attention to the dreamy moments within the visuals.

If I were to make this film again, I would try to find more models, as I believe that with such a large landscape, there is a lot of space to fill. Although negative space can look great as a contrast, when it is used repeatedly, it can make shots look empty, and the subjects, isolated. I would also want to use more garments, and schedule more than 1 shoot. I would also want to make something a little longer, and perhaps narrative based. Although I tried to avoid narrative based projects this semester, I can appreciate how important issues can be woven into the fabrics of a narrative, and I would like to create something that speaks of issues I feel strongly about.

Ultimately, this studio has marked a pivotal step in the development of my practice. I have learnt not only about fashion film as an art form but also have a more consolidated understanding of the fashion industry. Mostly, I have learnt to appreciate the versatility of the fashion film and its ever-changing aesthetic. I have also learnt that the devolpment of ideas is much more important than the finished product, and although my final piece is different to how I wanted it in the beginning, it reflects something considered.