Key Highlights and Weaknesses
Highlights –
1. The techniques I have developed definitely seem innovative (to me at least)
The techniques I have developed this far all seem to be somewhat unique. I have found some other work that has explored similar themes of memory and relation to a place that have used interesting techniques for this – Sky Hopinka’s work and Ashes (2012) in particular – and while I do think that I will end up taking some techniques directly from these influences later on, the doubling up of images and experiments with frame rate for example, the section of the film I submitted as my excerpt definitely feels like quite new techniques – the shrinking frame rate, fade to black, white, and grey, swooping and unstable camera work and the evocative and unclear score and voice-over combination.
2. The techniques seem to have a grounding in the theory
As well as these techniques being somewhat unique, quite engaging and relating quite nicely to the subject matter they have also got quite a lot to do with the theories I have been focusing on in my critical reflection – especially Debord’s theory of derive and the ‘static derive’. This basis in theory has been a good way for me to think outside of what looks ‘best’ or ‘most interesting’.
3. I think I will come out of this project in a good position for other projects
While thinking about how the skills, methods and techniques I am developing in this project could be applied to other projects I have also been thinking about what I could do next, and I have had quite a few ideas which I think would all be worth pursuing. I am quite interesting in more work about JHQ, especially with the demolition starting to begin, footage of houses being destroyed would definitely make for a different film than the film that is coming from the empty houses. I am also quite interested to explore other abandoned spaces in a similar way and to hopefully work with collaborators, one possible location would be Lake Vyrnwy and the drowned village of Llanwddyn, which was flooded to make the reservoir which provides water to Liverpool, I am also quite interested in working with someone who can actually write the poetic style of voice-over I am always attempting to write and explore a location together in a combination of poetry and film.
Weaknesses –
1. Nothing that I have done is really repeatable
As strong as I feel this first section is, I worry that none of it is repeatable. The rest of the film needs to be comprised of different techniques which work with the initial effects but keep it fresh and engaging to avoid the film becoming predictable, which would go against my aims to make a film exploring the theory of derive, but would also just be quite boring to watch.
2. The rest of my footage isn’t what I wanted it to be
On my second trip to JHQ I didn’t manage to film any of the stuff I wanted to film, the locations I felt would be central to the film such as the cinema, the school and my old house were all impossible for me to get too, whether it was the fences and guards or myself holding me back is up for debate, but I couldn’t do it either way. Instead I just filmed in a further 4 houses, all in the same way I shot the first house. I think it is possible to make a film that does what I want my film to do with this footage, but it will be a challenge to keep it engaging. I could go back and shoot more stuff to try and solve this problem, but I think that it would just go the same way as all my other trips and would be a waste of the time I have left, so instead I am going to work this limitation and un-ability to get to the locations I really wanted to get to into the film.
3. It is currently going to run too long
I have put the footage I intend to use and some gaps for where I intend to feature other clips I haven’t yet secured into a timeline and it is currently coming out to around 30 minutes – I do think that it would be quite boring to watch for a full 30 minutes so trimming it down will definitely benefit the film, but I don’t know what I should cut just yet and am quite attached to all the stuff I do have, also due to the nature of the shots being long and in motion they are quite difficult to cut up and trim – but this should be an interesting challenge, again it could be easily solved by going back and shooting different footage but I think I would rather try and work with what I have.
Conor McBride 