Though this is a joke I frequently make in reference to bedroom exploits (I have half of my friends convinced I own a deadly, 12 inch strap-on), I can't help but feel that it is an apt call to make in reference to being director.
Being cast in a role where you call all the shots is at once exhiliarating and terrifying. The pressure associated with such an intimate duty of care is enormous, and you know that the failure of anything - on or off the scenes - is likely to be attributed to your own performance. Coming from a project where I had the bar minimum of say in last semester really meant that this was a 360 degree turn for me. At the same time, though, nothing has ever felt so natural.
As fantastic as Deno & Anthony have been over the months with their technical prowess and their willingness to contribute, neither of their interests in film are much concerned with creativity and aesthetics (though Deno does have a very smooth hand for operating a camera). What made this group dynamic work so well was that the visual side of the production was my forte - literally every decision made in post came down to my discretion. Right from the positioning of pictures, footage, transitions, music, etc, to making the end credits. Every cut on action, every smooth progression within the conversation, I oversaw.
And to have had people compliment the work is just the most satisfying experience for me. To literally have seen this idea materialise from a conversation with a friend to a tribute to their career is fairly mind-blowing. Directing is such a personal challenge - and by that I do mean, blood, sweat and tears. But at the end of the day, there's no way more fulfilling to be involved with something.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
'i love an audience.....'
With so many things in the midst, the editing of this project has unfortunately gone on the backburner until next week - and it feels strange having such a gaping creative absence in my academic schedule.
The question we have continually posed ourselves in the making of this project, is "why would anyone care?" or "what have they learnt from watching this?". It is something that has been constantly been at the epicenter of our working 'agendas' if you will - it is the core of what it means to create a documentary.
What we really want is to focus upon the character of Jamie/Amazon and his evolution or metamorphosis from masculine to feminine form. Applying the makeup and getting ready for a show seemed to be the perfect backdrop for revealing the subtleties and nuances surrounding his unique dual personality experience that was shaped by his performing career. What started out as a form of artisitc expression resulted in being completely enveloped by a whole other part of his psyche - the feminine - who was the tough, bold, more indepedent of the two. And this is the story element we have tried to convey more than anything.
It is not so much us making a documentary about Amazon, but rather a documentary for him and people like him. Something that can commemorate the years of hard work and effort he has put in to get to where he is, on both a personal and professional level. It offers a brief insight into life as a performer and then delves into the psychodynamics of being a drag queen and reconciling both elements of the male/female.
The overriding intention was never to educate our audience about being a drag queen - alas, how dull. It was to showcase Amazon's talent and to delve into the depths of his mind. Of course, there is quite a degree of risk involved here as we wanted to approach something relatively 'tired out' with fresh eyes. Remember, even though we crafted our questions, we were essentially filming responses which we wielded little control over. It will make you think and question the ways in which you make your judgments. Take or leave it I guess.
The question we have continually posed ourselves in the making of this project, is "why would anyone care?" or "what have they learnt from watching this?". It is something that has been constantly been at the epicenter of our working 'agendas' if you will - it is the core of what it means to create a documentary.
What we really want is to focus upon the character of Jamie/Amazon and his evolution or metamorphosis from masculine to feminine form. Applying the makeup and getting ready for a show seemed to be the perfect backdrop for revealing the subtleties and nuances surrounding his unique dual personality experience that was shaped by his performing career. What started out as a form of artisitc expression resulted in being completely enveloped by a whole other part of his psyche - the feminine - who was the tough, bold, more indepedent of the two. And this is the story element we have tried to convey more than anything.
It is not so much us making a documentary about Amazon, but rather a documentary for him and people like him. Something that can commemorate the years of hard work and effort he has put in to get to where he is, on both a personal and professional level. It offers a brief insight into life as a performer and then delves into the psychodynamics of being a drag queen and reconciling both elements of the male/female.
The overriding intention was never to educate our audience about being a drag queen - alas, how dull. It was to showcase Amazon's talent and to delve into the depths of his mind. Of course, there is quite a degree of risk involved here as we wanted to approach something relatively 'tired out' with fresh eyes. Remember, even though we crafted our questions, we were essentially filming responses which we wielded little control over. It will make you think and question the ways in which you make your judgments. Take or leave it I guess.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
w13 - bye bye birdie
So, no more pracs, and no more classes - for that matter. Gotta love week 13.. Lucky for some, unlucky for others.
For those of us seasoned veterans, 'Week 13' has come to be synonymous with 'Self-Assessment'. Good old self-assessment. It really drives me bonkers because if you give yourself a shit mark, no-one's really going to argue with you (unless you truly deserve it), but if you give yourself a good mark, people are going to just think you're full of it (in which case, you wonder if you actually are).
As it happens, I chose the path of awarding myself a good mark. I rightfully deducted a mark for the lecture I didn't attend, and was going to deduct one for the tute I had to come late to, 'til I remembered all those times I returned the filming gear on my own, all the running around I did in aid of making our production run as smoothly as possible, all the money that came out of my pocket (petrol, tapes, props) and realised I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't nominate to receive a HD.
Moreso than last semester, I have gone out of my way in tutes to give as much feedback as possible. I am not that ridiculously competitive that I would dream of inhibiting the creative process of other students' work; if I think something can be improved, they deserve to have that brought to their attention. The other 2 groups had real potential with their projects, and for the most part they did really, really well in driving home exactly what it was those projects were about.
And while being on the receiving end of feedback has never been something I've enjoyed, again I've done my best to take everything that other students (and my tutor) suggested on board, and the changes we made were evident in today's screening. For one, the sound has improved in leaps and bounds, and the cuts make more sense than they did in our rough cut. Our work has evolved from something we were cringing at merely 3 or 4 weeks ago, to something we are proud to show off.
There's nothing I wouldn't have done for this subject. It has consistently been prioritised over everything else, and for good reason. This has been my sole creative outlet for the semester, so I have only been 110% willing to get behind it.
Thankfully we also had the privelege of David & Christine working together with us to hone these concepts and guide us towards success. And after seeing how far each group has come, they have certainly done a fantastic job.
For those of us seasoned veterans, 'Week 13' has come to be synonymous with 'Self-Assessment'. Good old self-assessment. It really drives me bonkers because if you give yourself a shit mark, no-one's really going to argue with you (unless you truly deserve it), but if you give yourself a good mark, people are going to just think you're full of it (in which case, you wonder if you actually are).
As it happens, I chose the path of awarding myself a good mark. I rightfully deducted a mark for the lecture I didn't attend, and was going to deduct one for the tute I had to come late to, 'til I remembered all those times I returned the filming gear on my own, all the running around I did in aid of making our production run as smoothly as possible, all the money that came out of my pocket (petrol, tapes, props) and realised I'd be doing myself a disservice if I didn't nominate to receive a HD.
Moreso than last semester, I have gone out of my way in tutes to give as much feedback as possible. I am not that ridiculously competitive that I would dream of inhibiting the creative process of other students' work; if I think something can be improved, they deserve to have that brought to their attention. The other 2 groups had real potential with their projects, and for the most part they did really, really well in driving home exactly what it was those projects were about.
And while being on the receiving end of feedback has never been something I've enjoyed, again I've done my best to take everything that other students (and my tutor) suggested on board, and the changes we made were evident in today's screening. For one, the sound has improved in leaps and bounds, and the cuts make more sense than they did in our rough cut. Our work has evolved from something we were cringing at merely 3 or 4 weeks ago, to something we are proud to show off.
There's nothing I wouldn't have done for this subject. It has consistently been prioritised over everything else, and for good reason. This has been my sole creative outlet for the semester, so I have only been 110% willing to get behind it.
Thankfully we also had the privelege of David & Christine working together with us to hone these concepts and guide us towards success. And after seeing how far each group has come, they have certainly done a fantastic job.
Friday, October 12, 2007
heartened
David described our footage as 'elegaic' in class the other day. He said there was something about the composition, the shots, the tones, etc - that gave the piece a kind of poetic, reflective feel.
His comment made me remember the beginning of the semester and the theoretical grounding of documentary it concerned.
Bill Nichols' ‘genre-categorization’ for documentaries is a particularly useful way to teach students how to understand the sub-genres of documentaries and how they are put together.
His modes can be divided into the following groups:
Expository Documentaries; Observational Documentaries; Interactive Documentaries; Reflexive Documentaries
and the less commonly used (not necessarily his):
Performative Documentaries; Poetic Documentaries
I would have to say that ours is a blend of both expository and poetic. Expository documentaries tend to carry an ethical burden due to its nature to expose people’s lives. As such, they are highly constructed, with a well thought-out storyline that frequently addresses the viewer. They usually propound a strong argument or point of view, via the use of voice-over, narration or titles. From a stylistic perspective, they can be both informative and descriptive (this could apply to the ways in which Amazon describes what he does and how he does it, and recounts his experiences). The narrative itself is then carried forth by a rhetoric that forces an audience to read the images in a certain aesthetic fashion.
Poetic documentaries, on the other hand, are much more abstract in nature, with form taking precedence over content. Paradoxically, this format emerged as a response to the heavily content driven and rhetorical documentaries that were far too reliant upon continuity and the lineal structure of time and space. Coherence was abandoned in favour of more fragmented elements of form, color, and movement, making them far more impressionistic and lyrical in nature than their predecessors.
I think that having a project which corsses and blurs boundaries makes for far more compelling viewing than one that sticks within the limitations of a specific format. Documentary is forumlaic by nature and if it weren't for the innovators and pioneers of the past, it would not be possible for all these different kinds of documentaries to exist. Even with the more recent phenomenon of 'docu-drama' reality TV, this kind of viewing would not be made possible if filmmakers had not taken it upon themselves to appropriate different elements from both genres into the one production. If there is one positive thing to emerge from Big Brother et al, it is the gateway of possibilities that we are now posed with when we go to craft our own works.
His comment made me remember the beginning of the semester and the theoretical grounding of documentary it concerned.
Bill Nichols' ‘genre-categorization’ for documentaries is a particularly useful way to teach students how to understand the sub-genres of documentaries and how they are put together.
His modes can be divided into the following groups:
Expository Documentaries; Observational Documentaries; Interactive Documentaries; Reflexive Documentaries
and the less commonly used (not necessarily his):
Performative Documentaries; Poetic Documentaries
I would have to say that ours is a blend of both expository and poetic. Expository documentaries tend to carry an ethical burden due to its nature to expose people’s lives. As such, they are highly constructed, with a well thought-out storyline that frequently addresses the viewer. They usually propound a strong argument or point of view, via the use of voice-over, narration or titles. From a stylistic perspective, they can be both informative and descriptive (this could apply to the ways in which Amazon describes what he does and how he does it, and recounts his experiences). The narrative itself is then carried forth by a rhetoric that forces an audience to read the images in a certain aesthetic fashion.
Poetic documentaries, on the other hand, are much more abstract in nature, with form taking precedence over content. Paradoxically, this format emerged as a response to the heavily content driven and rhetorical documentaries that were far too reliant upon continuity and the lineal structure of time and space. Coherence was abandoned in favour of more fragmented elements of form, color, and movement, making them far more impressionistic and lyrical in nature than their predecessors.
I think that having a project which corsses and blurs boundaries makes for far more compelling viewing than one that sticks within the limitations of a specific format. Documentary is forumlaic by nature and if it weren't for the innovators and pioneers of the past, it would not be possible for all these different kinds of documentaries to exist. Even with the more recent phenomenon of 'docu-drama' reality TV, this kind of viewing would not be made possible if filmmakers had not taken it upon themselves to appropriate different elements from both genres into the one production. If there is one positive thing to emerge from Big Brother et al, it is the gateway of possibilities that we are now posed with when we go to craft our own works.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
w00t!
Well, we had our tutes 2 hours earlier today and one of our groups forgot! Well not totally, but they were only represented by their director. Crazy times. I guess they are though when you think about it.
Christine was particularly excited at finally getting to see Amazon on the screen - from one Kiwi to another, of course. She was especially glad that we had managed to delve beneath the surface of the subject (as our proposal had stated) as a means of uncovering the duplicit side of his personality - which is what really set us apart from any other media featuring your generic 'drag queen'.
We also got favourable feedback about the sound quality after inserting yesterdays recordings. It's amazing how a few bit of decent sound can dramatically alter the whole thing... And David was totally rapt about us getting the 'tour of Amazon' audio synched up perfectly! The closing sequence looks (AND SOUNDS) totally unreal now.. which is what we want, because the opening is so dramatic - we need this to balance it out!
To have the end of the road in sight is pretty exciting. Next week is when everyone else grades our work, so we've got the suites booked for a few nights between now and next week... Students grading other students are notoriously critical, so we have to give it our all as none of us can really afford to lose marks at this stage.
Dinner time.
Christine was particularly excited at finally getting to see Amazon on the screen - from one Kiwi to another, of course. She was especially glad that we had managed to delve beneath the surface of the subject (as our proposal had stated) as a means of uncovering the duplicit side of his personality - which is what really set us apart from any other media featuring your generic 'drag queen'.
We also got favourable feedback about the sound quality after inserting yesterdays recordings. It's amazing how a few bit of decent sound can dramatically alter the whole thing... And David was totally rapt about us getting the 'tour of Amazon' audio synched up perfectly! The closing sequence looks (AND SOUNDS) totally unreal now.. which is what we want, because the opening is so dramatic - we need this to balance it out!
To have the end of the road in sight is pretty exciting. Next week is when everyone else grades our work, so we've got the suites booked for a few nights between now and next week... Students grading other students are notoriously critical, so we have to give it our all as none of us can really afford to lose marks at this stage.
Dinner time.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Progression
Well, this afternoon was officially 'Day Two' of filming for Project Diva - we just hung around outside the State Library, filmed ourselves an intro, before moving off into one of the rooms to do the few bits of voice recording that we needed.
Here is where we thank our lucky stars that we chose a subject with such extensive experience in the realm of performance. We got lucky. Asking him to re-do his audio was something we could not have avoided, but the fact that we were able to synch up parts of it, as one might within a drama, has made an enormous difference. Yes, the majority of it will need to be used as voice over.. but it kind of works in our favour. As it happens, all the majorly bad sound was woven into the clips where Amazon talks about the way in which the feminine side of his persona came to dominate the rest of his life... and to have that now as clear sound, layered with visuals of him doing other things gives it a much more nostalgic feel.
We stayed back late again so we could get all the new stuff slotted in. I'm looking forward to Wednesday and hearing what everyone else has to say.
Here is where we thank our lucky stars that we chose a subject with such extensive experience in the realm of performance. We got lucky. Asking him to re-do his audio was something we could not have avoided, but the fact that we were able to synch up parts of it, as one might within a drama, has made an enormous difference. Yes, the majority of it will need to be used as voice over.. but it kind of works in our favour. As it happens, all the majorly bad sound was woven into the clips where Amazon talks about the way in which the feminine side of his persona came to dominate the rest of his life... and to have that now as clear sound, layered with visuals of him doing other things gives it a much more nostalgic feel.
We stayed back late again so we could get all the new stuff slotted in. I'm looking forward to Wednesday and hearing what everyone else has to say.
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