Getting into that mode again

Preparing, once more, for Friday. Save one of us losing multiple limbs, it looks like it's going to be the goer.


We only had one reading to do this week. 'Manipulating Time', by Sheila Bernard. A relatively long read, but a pretty useful one, especially cosndiering how our narrative is going to be structured.

Anyone outside of my tutorial class probably isn't aware of the overriding 'plot' I guess that is going to drive Amazon - him applying his makeup, or 'putting on a face' in preparation of going on stage. Of course, he isn't really going on stage, in fact the only gigs he has in the near future are corporate gigs that us rogue filmmakers are not privy to viewing. Thus, the order in which we ask our questions is going to prove elementally crucial in how this thing comes together. Because the beginning of the piece is going to be more observational before moving into exploratory mode, we need to get the timing exactly right. It usually takes Amazon a good 2-3 hours to apply full drag makeup - right from shaving to putting on the wig. If we ask all our questions at the beginning, the audience isn't going to be able to see his transformation.

The challenge for us is going to be compressing 2-3 hours worth of rushes and synthesising a decent 'story' out of it. The other media we plan to use - past shows and photographs - can help to bridge some of these gaps, but it's going to be bleedingly obvious if you weren't on top of your game during filming.

Moral of the Story: Like Sound, the structuring of time is probably far more crucial in documentary than in drama filmmaking... Given that there is somewhat less room for 'trickery', and every move you make serves to reinforce a particular message about your subject...

3 more sleeps.