…Quite a few of our group members have previous experience of either working with video or being the subject of video in the past. One member even brings along his stills camera as his ‘object’. For him it has been a transformative object which allows him to express emotions visually that he might not otherwise approach. Another has been the star of quite a few videos and runs her own YouTube channel. They are a talented bunch.
I am also aware though that they don’t quite know what I have in mind. I try to explain but I’m not sure my fine art aesthetic necessarily comes across so well. This piece was always intended to straddle the conventions of popular narrative and to somehow circumvent expectation a little, whilst attempting to be true to the character of the individuals in the group. It can be a tricky tight rope walk between art and expectation sometimes in these situations but I’m hoping we can make it work.
It’s session two and I have a white paper scoop backdrop in place. I have been filming general discussion as topics have evolved, but I want a more formal arrangement too to hold this piece together. I decide it’s easier to just plough on with this approach rather than explain what and why I’m doing this. Partly because I think they have enough on their plates performing for the camera, and partly because my structure isn’t actually so formed at this point that I can exactly outline how it will work in reality. I just kind of know it will.
All the participants are generous enough to allow me to just run with this. We have lost a couple of the previous weeks attendees but that was always going to be the case. One girl decided it was a little out of her comfort zone, which is a shame as I think she would have really benefited as the project progressed, and gained in self confidence, but we just don’t have the resources to take it slow at this point. This is where we learn and can treat the project as a pilot for something potentially bigger in the future. A longer, possibly gentler evolution, would certainly benefit the less confident if we only had the luxury of more sessions and wider resources.
I am very aware that I am trying to both engage with the participants and film at the same time. Dr Vic is doing her best to act as my sound person; audio was the first to go when the budget was cut. It’s a definite make do and mend approach but one I’m not unfamiliar with. Inevitably not everything will be in perfect focus and there is bound to be some wobbly cam, but it’s a case of get on and do it.
The additional approach of having a more formal setup with tripod and scoop allows me an element of control with lighting and more considered framing. This piece will benefit from an element of formality in the tight graphic sequences and it will also give it the production values I want to project . A glimpse into other lives it may be, but we don’t want it to look off hand and ill considered; plus I want to be able to frame the subject and allow them to talk to camera without distraction.
It turns out some people have brought more than one object. It’s becomes a problem when a song is presented as the subject as a. there are copyright issues and b. it doesn’t really work if you’re hearing impaired! Then there is a piece of brick from the now demolished unemployment office – now that is a truly evocative object once you know what it is.
Aside from group filming we also need to work on some location pairings. The idea is that we do a couple of walkabouts around places that mean something to some of our participants. There will be short, mute pieces in the public thoroughfares for the final installation but I also wanted some longer narrative videos with sound so that the character of our subjects can come alive more. We aren’t attempting full blown social documentary, but more glimpses into lives that you might pass on the street. In this way we hope to offer subtle inroads into narratives that might otherwise be overlooked.
Ideally we would have two pairings out of our larger group who would be featured in this way. Time limitations, practical considerations and other commitments on the part of the group means that we eventually decide on one pairing going to Tynemouth and one single group member going on a trip around Gateshead and Jesmond Dean in Newcastle. His more singular journey in fact works out very well as we are able to counterpoint his poetry reading in a leafy enclave close to the Dean with a much more urban exploration of the back side of Gateshead where he used to sign on.
more updates to come – for locations see:
https://getnorth2018.com/events/the-dog-ate-my-wheelchair/
