Long time no see... How have you all been, my loyal followers? I apologize for my prolonged leave of absence, but rest assured I forgot you not! I have been hard at work over these trepid months, crammed over my desk and camera to deliver my squadron with only the best quality work!
This past month, I devoted most of my waking hours to working on crafting a documentary for class. This was a project which I had been well aware of since last year, and eagerly awaiting. Knowing that we could work in pairs, I immediately chose my classmate Virginia as my partner. Now, I wanted to work with Virginia for a couple of reasons: not only is she an incredibly creative mind with strong technical skills (being in CBTV's Aftershock), but she is also my best friend. Virginia and I got to planning quickly, but after realizing that our original idea about the sex work industry was too ambitious, we began to plan our documentary to be about imaginary friends. We planned to interview three people of varying age groups who have had imaginary friends, and how they impacted their social interaction and creativity.
Vir and I had gotten pretty far in planning this - even having some of the interviews scheduled - when we both came to the realization that this idea really did not speak to us. At this point, with only a few minutes of class left, and an entire outline to submit by midnight, we began to fear for the integrity of the documentary we had been so excited to make. With time running out, Vir and I got on a call and brainstormed ideas as if we were discussing our master plan for an Oceans 11-level heist. When we sat back and observed our work, we had come up with the outline for what had the potential to be a beautiful piece on art, art-making, and our friendship.
Virginia is a screenwriter who makes films, whereas I am a more traditional visual artist. Art is a very important aspect of both of our lives, and something that both unites and differentiates us from each other. With this in mind, we decided that Virginia would make half of the documentary on me, expressing my experiences with making art, showcasing art, and living as an art-maker, and I would do the same for her. Then, we would unite both halves in hopes to make a cohesive piece. Immediately, we knew that this piece was risky. Making both parts of the documentary separately (and secretly) could lead to a plethora of inconsistencies. Regardless, we went in with blind trust in each other, and began by documenting each other at work.
I filmed Virginia as she worked on her Aftershock segment, and recorded candid interviews as she set up the camera and light kit. We found that this form of "guerilla interviewing," as we called it, served to create a sense of connection and added realism. Thus, Virginia did the same with me as I worked on my art piece for class. I also recorded 40-minute interviews with Matthew and Ren, two of Virginia's friends who also do film, the latter of which is Virginia's creative partner. To stay consistent, Virginia interviewed my friend Isa, who I have known for years and is also a skilled traditional artist. To finalize, we recorded indirect interviews of each other.
Afterward, we had to tackle the monster that was editing. With over 3 hours worth of interviews and a seemingly endless amount of b-roll, we got to work, each editing our respective pieces. Already, transferring the footage was nightmarish enough, as it took hours to transfer and three different USB attempts. Yet, after having it all uploaded, we got to work combing through the footage and pricing out which parts we found to be the most meaningful. After this, we could start the process of piecing the clips together - a task made so incredibly overwhelming due to our lack of structure/direction which would be present with any scripted piece. However, I quickly made an outline using the clips that I had selected previously and began piecing them together in a way that would make sense to viewers. This was by far the most difficult part, as I also had to be extremely conscious of the time limit as well. Finally, I settled on making it around 5 minutes and 30 seconds long, which, although it exceeded the limit I had in mind, I was satisfied with. I then sent this to Virginia to edit, where she pieced both parts together.
This was an extremely long and stressful project, and we suffered several complications and setbacks which we are aware of, and plan to change in order to submit to film festivals. However, our creation is finally done, and I'm extremely content with what our hard work has turned into. With that in mind, what do you think of the documentary?
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