Reflections

Well this is it, I'm afraid! We've come to the end of the project, the following is a reflective essay on my experiences.

I've learned more about documentary over the course of the past couple of months than I could have ever imagined. From watching a range of famous and obscure documentaries to implementing their striking techniques into my own work, it's been a wonderful experience. We began the year discussing concepts for our projects and watching documentaries that our Tutor had brought in for us. Two of the documentaries I liked the most were "Searching for Sugar Man" (dir. Malik Bendjelloul)  and "Stories We Tell" (dir. Sarah Polley). Both share stories of searching for something that is lost while venturing off into little 'anecdotes' to flesh the story out more. We hear accounts of the subjects (Rodriguez and Polley's Mother respectively) that further elude to the mystery, really engrossing the viewer and drawing them in.
Aside from the factual points of both films, they employed a performative approach to certain scenes, more so in "Stories" where professional actors are brought in to play Polley's parents in mock-up archive footage. I kept this in mind when approaching the studio because from the beginning, I wanted the studio part of the film to have an over-the-top, campy and colourful vibe to it to contrast the normality of the interview.
Looking back on the overall project, I've made a film that is almost completely different from what I set out to do. Initially I intended to make a documentary about the life of a drag queen, and dove straight into my research and looking for a subject. The latter was the main reason we had to make a lot of changes, as I underestimated how difficult it can be to pin someone down, especially a drag queen. We were offered the opportunity to film a drag competition outside of town but unfortunately had to decline due to time and money restraints. My group and I began to come up with solutions and alternatives, more-or-less having to rethink the entire piece. Anya, my assistant director suggested that we dress her friend up and ask him questions about gender-related issues and topics. I was slightly dubious at the thought, but it worked fantastically and we ended up with some stunning footage and interesting chat.
I felt the shoot was very much a collaboration between myself, Anya and Scott. Anya took charge of Glenn's (our subject) costume and makeup while I decorated the set and set up lights, and Scott was on camera. After the colour and madness of the studio shoot, it was an interesting change to shoot the interview. We shot at Anya's lovely Grandmother's house and recorded an interview with Glenn, myself and Anya acting as interviewers. At this point, our documentary had turned into an observation on gender roles in society and how the media portrays gender and sexual stereotypes. It was interesting hearing a straight man who had only just tried dressing in drag talk about these topics and issues, bringing up some very good points and examples, such as Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford not fitting the 'gay' stereotype fed to us by the media.
Getting stuck into the edit was tricky and I was struggling to meet deadlines having been faced with a number of personal problems, but I believe what I produced is a good, clean and topical piece that I'm very proud of. During the shoot I insisted on the camera rolling at all times, even when there isn't any action, it was to record any banter of behind the scenes madness that was going on. Adding those behind-the-scenes banter and chatting clips gave my piece a very candid feel at times which I felt broke up the camp and glamourous side of things while easing very well into the interview segments.
Overall, I am very pleased with my piece. I enjoyed the documentary unit immensely, both theory and practice. Before this unit I would not have likely been interested in filming a documentary, but I feel inspired by the films I have watched, in and out of class, and by the process of my own work.

(Word Count 677 words)