Wednesday 27 June 2007

Learning to let go

Hi MAVAs....I wanted to give a little update and share some advice that I have been given that I think is quite lovely and pertinent. My project has been quite up and down, I was finding it very hard to feel enthused about my subject when I first arrived, and was regretting not choosing something more exciting that would have provided more of an adventure. Things really picked up for me when I filmed the wiccan winter solstice at the stonehenge - something I was so apprehensive about beforehand that I didn't sleep a wink the night before. We were blessed with clear (but windy) weather despite a howling storm all night, and the ceremony was lovely and because of relationship building in the days leading up to it I was granted special permisison to go within the circle and film details of the ritual that other photographers present weren't permitted to do. The day was brilliant and re-kindled my interest and confidence. The following day filming also went well, but I missed a couple of key moments when I switched the camera off (intentionally), thinking what was happening was not important, and that was sad, its hard to let go of what you know you missed. But even worse, when I watched the solstice footage several days later, I discovered that for at least 5mins I must have turned the camera to standby by accident, right when I was filming lovely details of the fire, holly leaves being passed around and other things that would really lift the film from just people standing around which the majority of my film seems to be, plus a very interesting in situ interview. I've been feeling rather devastated and very despondent about my filmmaking skills ever since, but my friend Kate has sent this advice that I think is useful for anyone who is having probs, as I'm sure I'm not alone (although not with not hitting rec, I'm sure you're all more competent than that!) :

Come on Ana - remember Nanook!

When Flaherty lost a year's worth of filming in a fire, he just got back on that sledge to the Arctic and staged it again! [NB I'M NOT ENDORSING STAGING ALTHOUGH I'VE HAD SEVERAL OFFERS FROM FRIENDS TO DRESS UP AS PAGANS AND LIGHT A FIRE!)

Of course you must suffer adversity - this is the way plenty of great art (and scholarship) is reached.


Anyway, I'm not suggesting I'm making great art at this stage, far far from it, but it is good to remember if we are feeling challenged, that this is still a learning experience and does not have to be perfection.

Friday 22 June 2007

Fieldwork update

Hello. I arrived in Portland a week ago, and started shooting almost immediately off the plane. I was tired, jet-lagged, and managed not to get the footage that would be the beginning of the scene. It's a pretty good middle and end, though. I was getting a bit bored with my topic after talking about it since January, but meeting the women reminded me why I am here. While they seem to be little more than average suburban moms, they are incredibly thoughtful about the changes that have taken place in women's lives over the past two generations. I'm am glad that they are able to take the time to reflect on their incredibly busy and sometimes contradictory lives for the sake of my camera. They gather, knowing they are capable of much more "success" and social recognition, but reassuring each other that they are doing the right thing by placing more value on the lives and upbringing of their children. Still, it's a conflict that is as rich as it is seemingly mundane.

Sunday 17 June 2007

Fieldwork updates?

Howdy all. Just thought I could follow up on Kelly's post and that we could use the MAVA blog to share things, like updates or ideas or techniques or anything like that. I'm still kicking around in Manchester. I leave the UK on the 29 June (hopefully) after I will have gotten my Russian and Kazakhstani visas. Route is as follows: bus London to Krakow (26 hrs), then trains Krakow to Kiev, Kiev to Moscow, Moscow to Astana (capital of KZ), Astana to Almaty--5 days in all. Hey, Paul suggested that I emphasise the 'journey' aspect of it, so I'm doing it all by land.

I just went to Prague last weekend, where I learned how to walk backwards, uphill through the city centre, dodging tourists. It was so bloody difficult to keep the camera steady. My Kazakh subjects were rapping. I wasn't too sure of the quality of the sound or image (if it can stand on its own as a scene), so I had the main guy repeat the rap the next day in an interview in case I need that to cover my wobbly observational camera-work.

In the meantime, I'm now filming a cool homeless guy I met today named Danny. I asked about his situation, and when he heard that I do film, he asked if I could make a film about him. He's definitely one of the most interesting people I've met in a very long time SO I'll be spending a night or two on the streets with him later this week... seeing as I'm getting chucked out of Moberly. It will hopefully be a piece of somewhat shared anthropology where we'll both contribute to setting up scenes and scenarios where he will, essentially, act out his daily life.

That's my update. Who else would like to share how things are going so far?

Monday 11 June 2007

Save the blog!

Hey everyone. I'm not quite away on fieldwork, yet, but I know some of you are. How's it going?

The palace is being packed and cleaned and I can't help but comment on how quickly time has passed. I'll be uploading lots of photos as soon as I'm a bit more settled and will post links here. Can't wait to hear from you!