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Reflexive Thoughts

This section of my website looks at my strengths and weaknesses in the filming process and subsequent editing.

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Reflexive commentary

How past experience shaped my filming experience

My filming technique was inspired by Observational Cinema, which is why I do not appear in any of the films footage. However, this does not mean that during the process of filming I was disengaged with my film subject. A feature of Observational Cinema also known is covert filming that involves the filmmaker acting as an objective observer, allowing events and scenes to unfold organically without manipulation. Despite this, if a film is to feature people it needs to adhere to ethical guidelines, which is why I gained informed consent from my mother, which allowed me to film her as my main subject. While I was focused on the movements and interactions of my mother, she did encounter other people and in order to ensure their anonymity whilst maintaining an organic feel to the film, I limited the inclusion of other people to shots of their hands and the sound of their voices. I decided against using background music for any film footage, I was inspired to do this after participating in the filming exercise in the forest. Hearing the sounds of the branches and leaves being crushed beneath peoples feet and the sounds of the birds calling to each other created a greater appreciation for the richness and depth of natural sounds. Which is why I chose to include the voices of flower vendors and other sounds that are native to a marketplace.

The power of hindsight

With hindsight, I regret not making use of the filter lens at an earlier point in my filming process, as many of my earliest shots are too bright and the contrast is too high. A failure to know what my camera needed dependent on the environment it was in, resulted in many of my early photographs are inaccurate representations of the market. However, I do think it is important to include some of these earlier pictures amongst my later film footage (which can be found by clicking the link below). I believe that it is necessary to include these photos to demonstrate my skill development with the camera, the earlier photos are also useful in showing the difference that the filter lens makes. Despite this, I still had complications when using the filter lens as I found it difficult to control and change the focal point of the camera without accidentally changing the amount of light that passes through the filter lens. Nevertheless, I think my inability to remain steady when filming helps to create a portrait of the environment of the market, one that is constantly heaving with people with a number of things happening simultaneously.

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I also do regret not having done more test shoots with the microphone as the last 5 clips in my film footage section do not have sound but I could not leave them out as they're essential to my narrative structure.

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