Yesterday Bronte and I conducted our first interview, which was with Rachelle from Share the Dignity. Fortunately, despite being based in Brisbane, she was travelling down to Melbourne for the weekend for an event and had the time to squeeze us in for an interview.
We did have to improvise our set, as we filmed in her hotel room which was small and quite limited in terms of lighting and furniture. Thankfully, we were able to place her next to a big window where the light was coming in nicely. There was also a big arm chair for her to sit on so I think, all in all, the composition of the shot should look quite good. (Below is a shot that illustrates the composition and lighting of the shot).
One thing that I took from the interview was how impassioned and genuine about these issues Rachelle is and I think that translated well on to the screen. She is also quite well media trained and so little direction on our behalf was required. Retrospectively, having looked back at the footage, there were two main things that Bronte and I could have done differently that we’ll really have to keep in mind for next time.
Firstly, we weren’t quite clear on where she needed to keep her eye gaze and so this changes throughout the interview. Hopefully, when edit it down, it won’t be too obvious. In addition to this, there are sections where I would agree or speak when she was speaking. Obviously this is problematic when we’re not doing a participatory documentary in the sense that Bronte or I are going to be in it directly. Yet, with twenty-two minutes of footage, I’m sure we’ll be able to get around this. Something Bronte and I are also cautious of is not turning the footage into a promotional piece for Share the Dignity, as important as what they do is.
In terms of where Bronte have to go from here, we’ve arranged two more interviews which, alongside vox pops, narration and found footage, should be enough for the project. In two weeks we’ll be interviewing Zoe from Cottons, which has a close association with Share The Dignity. Essentially, we’ll be talking to her about that associations and why it exists, while speaking to the broader issues the film hopes to address. We’ve also secured an interview with Green’s Senator, Janet Rice, in several weeks upon her return from Canberra.
As well as this, we’ll be compiling together vox pops from various locations around the city (probably around Smith Street, Fitzroy) and shoot additional footage of looking at old web articles about the tampon tax. I have organised to use old footage from Q&A, which shows Joe Hockey essentially agreeing that tampons and sanitary items shouldn’t retain their status as “luxury” items. As well as this, I’ve been permitted permission to use parody clips, also looking at the issue of the “tampon tax”, from a more humorous and unique perspective.
