The work for my a-n professional development bursary has now officially taken longer than expected – it’s probably quite important to document how creative projects are sometimes trickier than anticipated. Other factors can also interrupt play.
I’m still not quite sure how filming a tea set could be so complicated other than that I am learning as I go on so many levels. Also that my bursary arrived in tandem with a new Arts Council funded project, The Museum for Object Research, and this has been exceptionally time consuming. My work in supporting the professional development of other ND artists, and my consultancy on ND funding applications has also taken off. Somehow I’ve acquired a new commission too. As a freelance it’s important to keep things going.
Juggling projects is eased by working with a flexible collaborator. Simon Haynes, my filmmaker is so patient and understanding. It makes it a joy to work together and it’s been good to pick up the pieces from where we left off.
A delay for Jury Service right at the start of things didn’t help, and technical problems dogged our early footage, but we’re back on track with a plan for further filming and editing.
Sometimes on a creative project you need more time and a little more context. We spent some time watching other short films and reviewing the draft video I made using my iPhone and iMovie. It’s been important to receive Simon’s feedback on the video, and to see some examples of his earlier films which I hadn’t yet seen (being familiar with his more recent filmmaking). It’s really helped to shift my perspective and open up new thinking on the creative side.
Collaboration in this case is so much more than simply pressing on with the job. My estimate of when the film would be ready to upload wasn’t unreasonable at all, but it was based on thinking things would be more straightforward than they have been.
I’m now also excited by the need to acquire some new software so that I can consolidate what I learn from Simon, and eventually be able to edit my own work on Final Cut Pro. This will involve some research on laptop speed and external hard drives. A bit of a stretch in terms of my technical understanding. Though I am finding that as I keep working with Simon my tech skills are gradually expanding and I’m gaining so much more confidence in this area.
I’m so very grateful to a-n for the bursary, as the opportunity to self-lead my project has allowed the flexibility I’ve needed in circumstances where complications set in. Knowing that there is more time is allowing this project to breathe. Amen to that!
