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.

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