Halfway into the semester and with much filming done, it is really good to see the progress that our documentary is making. Despite all of us having our other commitments, I like to think that we have all contributed to our project in one way or another. :)
Individual Objectives:
Through the week, looking back at what I first set out to do, I feel like I have really come a long way. From not knowing much of how to start making a documentary, I have learnt of how to capture the necessary moments of life that makes a good moment in a documentary.
I believed that I have also improved my skills in how to direct a film while working with my other group members. Through the lessons of how to use the cameras more effectively, I have added on to my knowledge of how to better handle a camera. However, I have been using the Sony PD 170 all the time so far. I know that if I choose to use another type of camera, I will have to train myself in how to use that camera again as the different types of cameras might have various functions not found in the older cameras.
I have also learned how to get clear sound more efficiently through trying out the role of a soundman in our numerous shoots that we had. One aspect that I still need to learn more about is that of post-production editing. Leonard is good in this area and I hope to learn more from him. :)
One point that I was really upset with was the fact that despite trying to contact the lady in charge of the printing press studio many times, there was no reply from her. I was really looking forward to getting the printing press studio interview as part of the documentary as the lady that teaches the art of printing books, Carolyn Fraser is the only person I know that is a letterpress printer. It can be said to be a dying art, something like what the Nicholas Building is.
However, looking at how the documentary is currently, I believe that Vali Myers deserves all 4-7 minutes of our project as she is really underappreciated in my own view. How can one as brilliant as her not have been noticed more in Melbourne??? O.o Is it because she did not 'fit in' with the other mainstream artists and hence was denied a place in the pages of history?
Getting back to our documentary, we have unanimously decided to focus our documentary on Vali and hope to present a good documentary on how life was like for her when she was in the Nicholas Building.
Progress so far:
We have gotten loads of footage to work with, eleven tapes in total. One tape has roughly 50 minutes worth of footage. 11 x 50 = 550 minutes worth of footage. We are so screwed in terms of how in the world we are going to condense all our footage into a 7minute short documentary.
Looking on the bright side, we have our promotion video for the Nicholas Building and simply need to finalize what we want to have on our documentary. One of the best interviews that we have right now would be the interview that we had with Ruth Cullen, she made two documentaries on Vali Myers before, "Tightrope Dancer" and "Painted Lady". After watching the two documentaries, we got to know more about how Ruth did her documentaries as well as how Vali Myers was like as a person.
Areas for improvement:
Although we have all contributed to our project, Bree has faced some difficulties in coming for meetings and editing sessions due to her boss being difficult. However, she was here for our first filming session at the building and did the interviews for that day. She has also contributed the soundtrack used for our documentary.
Due to our different timetables, meetings can be hard to organize and it is hard to hold discussions as well. I guess this can't be helped and that we will have to work around it more often in order to keep each other updated as to what is going on. :)
All in all, I am satisfied with our progress so far and should be able to have a solid short documentary due to all the footage that we got. :) Looking forward to our final product. :)
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