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[abutlerdocumentary2020]

Self- Evaluation

Evaluation:

As a whole I’m happy with what I have produced in the circumstances of not being physically present at university. I have improved my organisational skills, within Premier Pro, finding a schedule that works best for me, and collecting footage on a regular basis. My knowledge of experimental film through documentary has grown, and I look forward for this to continue to help me find new ways of creating and experimenting in my own creations. During this project, I have taken inspiration from photographer Spencer murphy, and Film maker, Zachary Epcar. For their compelling narratives within their work.

Looking back at my last piece of the summer term “Stay Alert - Documenting a Pandemic”, there are several things I feel I have successfully represented on the physical and emotional effect the pandemic has had in a rural, quite area of England. Some of these being; the uncertainty of time, where we are being led to, and the dragging effect of a very lenient lockdown. I have also successfully shown the contrast between a sheltered lockdown to the wider concerns of the pandemic and what it means for society in the future. These being from testing, ways to minimize the spread of the virus, and the desperation of the government and businesses to get back to normal. The experience of this is placed as voice overs.

In regard to improving the documentary, I like the mishaps, and illusive areas within the sequence. Since I feel this also shows the disregard and mistakes the government are making in terms of handling the virus. However, there are some moments in the timeline where I would like to improve on.  These being from 01:10 - 01:30 and 02:27 - 02:53. I feel I could have added a few extra-long clips within those moments to give that overall feeling of the days dragging under lockdown. The days which feel mundane at times, being aware of the beauty of the simple things that surround us. A faster bundle of clips; of window, shop signs and inside supermarkets, to highlight the anxiety of being reminded to be careful would have also been great to add.  These little improvements would definitely make the overall feel more real. I look forward to looking into it more, I don’t plan on making this a completed piece just yet, since we are still under lockdown, and a pandemic. I would like to carry on with this project for the near future.

Despite seeing errors, I do believe this is a good thing to be aware of, there is still things to improve and grow on in the coming years. I will go back to this project, tackle the problems that I see, and by the end of it I would like to use my documentary within my website and portfolio.

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

Process

After Effect

As for my title, I’ve decided to use After Effects, to polish on the basics of After Effects. 

“Stay Alert”

The reason for choosing “Stay Alert” as my title is for an ironic take on the “Stay Alert” slogan of the Conservative party, and how my documentary is about being more aware of the every day surroundings of lockdown. 

Process 

Premier Pro

So far I feel the organisation of my files within my project is better than it has been since the beginning of the year, I’ve learnt to really lay it out in a way to help my productivity. Due to the amount of footage I have collected in the last 2 months I still find myself lost with the hundreds of clips available, however I know this has been an easier process, knowing where a particular video stands. 

One thing I can learn for the future is how I can find similar footage in my search engine. I only recently started naming them, since I was beginning to feel overwhelmed with how many clips I had. Something I recently remembered from the classes taught by the technicians. 

I’m sure I can learn from this in the future, remember to name them before starting on my sequence. I can spend a day just sorting through what I want to keep, plan to use, and name them, which will help just ease the pressure from my laptop and time. I know this has increasingly helped despite being late on doing this. 

As for my timeline, everything seems a bit all over the place after the selected area. Choosing and picking which footage works best is still underway.

I’m happy with the beginning of my video so far, which I believe is complete now. As for the middle and end there is still work to be done. 

I feel confident with the end, since I know how I will end it. It’ll be a slow development to show the town clock, with a distorted, short or long ring of the bell. This metaphor is to represent time. Some of the clips will not be of the same day. 

As for the middle, I know what I want to demonstrate. A slowing down, with footage dipping to black frequently (to represent the unknown), long and short clips  (Days feeling long but weeks feeling rapid).

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

LEWIS del MAR | the CEILING

Here is an inspiring music video created by Rubberband, director duo Jason Filmore Sondock + Simon Davis, who I follow and on Vimeo.  Multi media based music video, a creative take on being under lockdown. 

The video doesn’t really have much in relation to my blog, and documentary, but the use in creativity and mediums is inspiring, and opens my eyes to the possibilities to what we can create under these confinements. Reminded me of a piece below which I spoke about: “Residence Inn (2017) - Stephen Broomer”

Facebook - Born in Quarantine

Another video I came across for inspiration on the use of credits and titles is a documentary on giving birth during quarantine. I didn’t find what I was looking for however I did find a good way of capturing a moment in history. 

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

For my documentary I’d like to represent the slowing down of fear, and panic of being in Cornwall, the peak that is presumably subsiding, the lockdown easing and the atmosphere of a Cornish town

To represent this, the beginning will be more chaotic in terms of clips, which gradually subsides into a relaxing ending. 

The middle will show the calm, with subtle clues of a pandemic, since Cornwall feels relatively normal in ways. It feels more peaceful than ever, there is a sense of community, yet there is of course that feeling where something doesn’t feel quite right. We are reminded of a pandemic, by the news, when we see the posters, letters for delivery services on doors, the chalk drawings of our messages to the NHS, the masks and gloves, the 2 metre distant queues and the way people are acting.

At the end I’d like to have a collection of clips that gradually fade in and out, that show the piece of Falmouth and Penryn during a sunny lockdown. 

There will also be a contrasting effect between the soundtrack and the footage within the sequence. The soundtrack will be a collection of conversations and debates on the testing of the Coronavirus. To add that pinch of uncertainty and lack of reassurance.

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

Below are two clips from the beginning of my documentary, where I tested out possible soundtracks. 

The “1. experimenting with sound”, Draft 3, is of a recording on the testing kit, and the new procedure on how to get tested. This was during the time where testing was becoming available to the public. Mostly for key workers and NHS staff. The recording was of BBC radio 4, taken on the 30th April, where the presenter traveled an hour to get tested. 

As for the “ 2. experimenting with sound ”, Draft 2, I used a voice recording of outside my window, when an argument broke out between a woman and a man, I’m not particularly sure what the argument was about, but I think the guy was most likely on something. A group of people started crowding around the woman, to see if she was okay. she was clearly in distress. I thought this was pretty fitting, considering there has been a rise in domestic violence, and drug and alcohol misuse during lockdown. 

1. Experimenting with sound

   2. Experimenting with sound

3. Experimenting with sound

As for the last draft “3. Experimenting with sound”, I experimented with both possible sound tracks, but feel it is a little over kill.

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

Artist Reseacrch

Flagged up content that has no adult/sensitive content

I feel like people can be unfairly flagged up, and within a degree based blog that will be graded, it does worry me. This was flagged up just as I had a crit, which made me think; “how about if this happened during the grading of our project?” There’s a sense of uncertainty when it comes to using Tumblr for a degree. 

Posted May 7th

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

Commentaries

GRACE

gbestdocumentary2020.tumblr.com

I liked the way you over voiced your videochat to the calm imagery of your time during lockdown. There was a feeling as though we’re living the moment, and not really being sure where we’re being led. But accepting that. It was also strangely comforting listening to the conversation, while exploring moments of nature outside the realms of what’s happening in the streets. Your work so far reminded me of the saying that has been circulating lately “we’re alone together”. I also noticed that your videos are of the outside only, will you focus purely on your surroundings outside? If so, is there a reason for this?

Your photo on your last post, there really is a sense of solitude. I thought the ripples of the water would be interesting to add within your documentary too. Felt like there’s a metaphor within that. The ripple effect: how the government are dealing with the pandemic, how people are behaving, and how being under lockdown will affect the future. The repetitive, ripples of the water = the repetition of being stuck in one area, a day to day life of being on lockdown.  

I noticed your post on mental health, will you add something in relation to that in your documentary, if so, how?

HAMZA

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/hjuppdocumentary2020

I saw a post mentioning William Blake and his portrayal of dreams, could you explain more about his work and what inspires you about his work.  

I like your idea on dreams during the pandemic and lockdown, that dreams reveal more than they conceal. I’ve had conversations with a couple friends about how strange their dreams have been since lockdown, so would be cool to see what you come up with, and what people have dreamt about lately. How and what will you use as visuals?

REGAN

rashmandocumentary2020.tumblr.com

I liked your idea on the super 8, it might be interesting to have a complexity of time; the now and then. If you use it, have you thought of adding a voice over related to the old tapes, and/or current moments of what’s happening globally or within your family? I think it would be interesting to know what it was like 50 years ago.

I noticed you like the concept of the past and the present. You might like Gonzalo Egurza’s work; “O’DONELL 86” . You can find him on vimeo. Egurza’s work seems to focus on diary like films, old footage, and super 8.

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

First Draft

My first draft, exploring the effects of the pandemic within Penryn and Falmouth, Cornwall.

There’s still a lot of footage to go through, and to experiment with, as well as the sound. I deliberately didn’t change the sound since I feel it might add to the atmosphere of lockdown. However I do plan on muting most of the original sound footage, and adding a VoiceOver of phone calls.

At the beginning you might be aware of a cat meowing..that was an accident, with a footage I decided to delete, which left the sound link within the sequence, however, after listening to it a few times, I think it could work within.

I feel most clips are too quick however, something I really need to work on. Or there needs to be a balance of long clips within.  

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

My first draft, exploring the effects of the pandemic within Penryn and Falmouth, Cornwall.

There’s still a lot of footage to go through, and to experiment with, as well as the sound. I deliberately didn’t change the sound since I feel it might add to the atmosphere of lockdown. However I do plan on muting most of the original sound footage, and adding a VoiceOver of phone calls.

At the beginning you might be aware of a cat meowing..that was an accident, with a footage I decided to delete, which left the sound link within the sequence, however, after listening to it a few times, I think it could work within.

I feel most clips are too quick however, something I really need to work on. Or there needs to be a balance of long clips within.  

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

Post production

((write about process so far))

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

A few stills during my walks on documenting the pandemic. 

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

Coronavirus what?

Saturday 16th May

Penryn feels like a normal day, as though there’s no pandemic. The only give aways are the signs on the windows, the scattered gloves on the roads, and the distance between people at the fish and chip shop. 

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

artist research

Chris Marker 

“ La Jetée (1962), the most celebrated work of French writer and artist Chris Marker, has influenced Hollywood directors as diverse as James Cameron and Terry Gilliam. ” - The Guardian

“Nine years before Hollis Frampton’s Nostalgia and Poetic Justice used still images to examine the question of cinema temporality, Chris Marker composed La Jetee (1962) almost entirely of still shots. Both films share the themes of time, memory, and perception, but unlike Nostalgia which abandons narrative in favor of structure, La Jetee tells an elaborate science fiction story, which ultimately deals with the perceived illusion of cinematic movement. “The human brain forgets the cuts,” Michel Gondry said about film. And just like Michael Haneke calls the 24 frames in each cinema second “24 lies,” Chris Marker emphasizes the false perception of film movement  by simply slowing down the pace of the still images.” 

- filmslie.com

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

[abutlerdocumentary2020]

Documentary Project

Friday 15th of May 

Style:

Video Diary like film, documenting a week to week, month to month overview of life under lockdown in Cornwall. These will probably not be in a linear fashion, instead it will be muddled up within the sequence. 

What am I trying to portray:

Life under lockdown sometimes feels as though time has slowed down, and our usual routine of life has been compressed. We have isolated ourselves in our personal bubbles. We also have no idea what is to come for the near future, or even the future for that matter. So I want to show that feeling of life standing still, not knowing where we stand in the coming weeks, months and years. 

We have been under lockdown since March 23rd, and it’s already the 15th of May. Even though the days can seem very long, at the same time, it has already been 50 days. It’s as though the last 7 weeks have merged into one. 

In some way or another the majority of the populations lives have been shaken up from this virus, we listen to our circle of friends and family, to see where they stand in this life changing event, yet we are living our lives, completely oblivious to the reality of witnessing events happening outside our bubble. We see what we see on social media, and the internet, but we are not experiencing it ourselves. I want to be able to put that into my documentary. 

How would I express this within the documentary:

We are all facing a pandemic together, yet we are experiencing it differently. I’d like to show this through recordings of friends and family over the phone. This will be placed as a voice over. 

With the view point of how lockdown is effecting friends and family witnessing and experiencing the effects differently, wherever they may be, I think it’s also important to highlight what the difference between our worlds can look like. Some people are experiencing lockdown in a huge house, with a swimming pool,  acres of land, some are experiencing lock down under a one bedroom house, or studio apartment. Some are stuck in a city, some aren't.

How will I portray this:

Close ups, evidence of the season, 

Negative effects to nature: disposable gloves scattered, and masks thrown away. 

Positive effects: Rainbows in windows, streets, chalk drawings in the roads. 

Not quite showing where I am, a focused point of view.