There's probably a good reason I didn't post yesterday. I felt distressed about this whole project, even though I received the best kind of encouragement: the AFAC grant that I had only dreamed of getting. I was so happy and relieved to know that my travel expenses are going to be reimbursed for sure. But then I felt more nervous about whether or not I can make a film that was worthy of this grant. Of course this has to do with how problematic the "scene-building" exercise has been for me. I'm aware that making a documentary film will require a process that includes doubt, frustration, and even overall lack of direction (with all the detours along the way). But yesterday I was feeling that I'm making this process ever more difficult for myself, because I had different footage that I'm trying to put together to tell a story. I even considered for a split second not to make this about joyriding, because I was so consumed about everything that is still missing.
I had planned on showing 3 specific scenes (or rather interview selects) from Rakan's 3 different interviews - in addition to selects from Dr. Faisal Al-Mubarak's interview about the development of Riyadh. I had decided to focus on Al-Mubarak's interview, with the intention of seeking feedback on only this. I know I want to incorporate a scene in the film that talks about the city sprawl, so this week I thought about that specific scene. Al-Mubarak talks about the lost mud-town's evolution into the "city of the future" in an academic way. As much as I enjoyed the interview, I wasn't sure how this is going to fit with 2 other narratives (Rakan's and mine). There is a lot that he says that does fit (cars, governance, politics, land, space, etc) but I knew it would be challenging to pick and choose. The interview was almost 2 hours. Thankfully I had already marked the selects, and for this week's exercise, I decided to focus solely on how Al-Mubarak sketches out Riyadh's development. Because I just wanted to know if it's at all interesting or compelling for my cohort audience. I'm making 2 cuts of this film, one for the Santa Cruz audience, and another one for the Arabic-speaking audience. I would definitely not include Al-Mubarak's interview in the cut targeted for the latter, simply because of the language. Before the interview we had a mini debate on whether it should be conducted in English or Arabic, resorting to English. But having seen this footage again and again over the past couple of months, I knew that I wasn't going to use it for the Arabic cut.
I was glad to be receiving the feedback I got today, because in a way it allows me to think less about the 2 different cuts/audiences, and think more about one film, and my own aesthetic. In a sense I feel like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders, and that I am now able to re-embrace my artist self. It feels like I don't have to worry about how I can make the Al-Mubarak interview fit, and rather think creatively about how I can deliver that one scene about the Riyadh sprawl in a less lecture-y way. A map animation could do the trick.
I appreciate everyone's advice that I use my voice, and I like how Irene calls it "voice of synthesis." It's very convincing. It's just that sometimes, the minute I walk out of Kresge 115, everything changes. While it's healthy to be open to different input and consider different approaches, I think that it's also healthy to stop after hearing enough. I think what I need to do now is do more writing to listen to my own voice.
For the first assembly, I'm going to consider my 2 parallel narratives structure that I have adopted for my LIT creative project. Focus on Rakan's interview selects, and then picking out excerpts from my own writing as voice-overs to my Riyadh footage. Specific and simple enough for the task to seem more doable and fun. At least I can say, I tried (with the experts). I can try again, maybe later, but right now I'll adopt tips heard in Kresge 115.
The irony is that the first line of my talk (in the France conference) is: "Leave the experts behind and listen to the poets, for we are in a revolution." It's by an Egyptian activist who wrote about "the dream" during the Tahrir Square 18-days protest. I've used this quote to show how even the experts need to listen to the "graffiti poets." I guess I need to leave the experts behind, for now at least...
No comments:
Post a Comment