Friday, April 18th

It's about time that I wrap up this blog and provide my final reflections on our film and the class in general. I will start by comparing our film in its current state with our treatment that we formulated earlier on in the semester. I will then relate what we have done with the subject matter of Anth 309: Visual Anthropology, in order to situate our work and the course within the trajectory of ethnographic film.

Treatment:
There were a couple things that we had planned on including that we had to replace with different components, and some things that had to be omitted completely. For instance, we did not show any images of Maynard's 9/11 piece, which we originally thought would be relevant to the theme of educating and making connections through art. Due to constraints on our time and on the actual film, however, we decided not to include this piece into the project. We had also hoped to be able to zoom out of the center panel of the piece head on, to both complete and conclude the film, but because we could not shoot the center panel head on without distracting reflections and glares in the glass, we had to abandon this idea. The treatment also states that the third section would be peppered with shots from the installation. Shawn set up a camera while the piece was being installed and got some good footage, but we decided only to use a very small bit of this footage, and instead invoked the sense of progression using the images Maynard had sent us of the piece in various stages of production.

A structural element that we had to rework was the tripartite division of the film to reflect the three panels of the piece. Our interpretation of what each panel meant differed from the explanations Maynard gave us in the interview. So rather than having each section directly invoke a panel, we retained the tripartite structure, but encompassed the discussion of the left and right panels within the second section of the film. We had also planned to incorporate footage of Maynard sketching the original design within the first partof the film, to invoke Maynard's manual process of artistic production. We did have him recreate the piece with paper and pencil, but we predominately used shots of him painting works that were in progress, because they provided vibrant and interesting colours, demonstrated his attention to detail, and most importantly, because that is what Maynard wanted to do. The change was definitely for the better; the footage we obtained of Maynard working on these pieces looks quite nice and really brings something to the first section. We also scrapped the classroom scene and replaced it with just the blackboard map shots to invoke the residential schools. This change was made due to time constraints, and because we decided that the insertion of a classroom scene might not be logical in the overall flow of the narrative.

Our Project in the Trajectory of Ethnographic Film:
One of the top priorities of our group was to accurately and ethically portray Maynard and his work by his own standards. From the very first stages of planning, we would make each decision based on what we thought Maynard would have wanted. It would have been nice to be able to actively involve Maynard in every aspect of film production, but obviously, that was not feasible, nor was it our assignment. The amount of time and input that he gave us was far beyond what we had expected, and we are incredibly grateful for that.

In this vein, our project somewhat descends from Jean Rouch's shared anthropology. Our project is not simply for us or for our public audiences, but for Maynard, the subject of the film. The motivation for us to produce a high quality, respectful, and accurate film was because we understood that what we produced would be a representation of Maynard, and that we would be giving it back to him for his own use and distribution. We had to be reflexive in our consideration of our role as anthropological filmmakers representing an Indigenous artist with his own individual voice and agency, and be mindful of the the potentials for imbalanced power that exist within film production. Similar to Rouch, although perhaps not such an overt fashion, we wanted to leave our audience asking questions; Maynard does not offer up a recipe for reconciliation (nor should he be able to), but his artwork provokes questions of how Indigenous peoples and settlers can move forward along a reconciling path, and how we all must position ourselves within the trajectory of Canadian history in a manner that appreciates the inextricable linkage between colonialism and the present day status quo.

Similar to Asen Balikei, we created our project to be part of a series of educational films. The purpose of the class as a whole and the project in particular was to take the theoretical knowledge we had gained from 309 and utilize it in an applied way. Balikei was highly engaged with the idea that anthropology should be included within classroom curricula, but we took our film even further; our film will be accessible through a QR quote right next to Maynard's piece so that students and anyone viewing the piece can view it and learn more about Maynard.

Unlike Rouch's cinéma vérité, our group explicitly decided that we did not want to be visually present within the film. In this manner, we acted more as the MacDougalls; we thought it would be inappropriate to insert our own reactions and opinions in a film that was ultimately meant to represent Maynard, although it must also be realized that we could not produce a film without bias. Our thoughts did bleed through into the production of the film, in the intertitles, for example, but we are able to reflexively recognize how our visual absence does not equate an objective position. Like the MacDougalls, we were uninterested in making any broad declarative theoretical statements with our film, but rather sought to provide a small insight into Maynard's work and identity.

Ultimately, I hope we did Maynard justice; his work and the effort and meaning he puts into it was very inspiring, and I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with him in this way. 

Monday, April 7th

What a day! Our group spent the entire day in the lab today, and we managed to create a rough but adequate version of our film! It won't be uploaded to the Vimeo account until tomorrow, because I still need to export it, but we managed to accomplish quite a lot today!

Shawn and I figured out how to shoot Maynard's piece without my big head in the reflection. We could shoot the wooden panels head on, but if we wanted to incorporate the glass panel, we had to shoot at an angle. This changes some of our plans in regards to how we exhibit the piece in our film, but it works!

We also shot a scene using the blackboard in the visual lab; I drew maps of Canada and BC with chalk, and then we indicated where the residential schools in BC had been situated. We wanted to capture that school essence by incorporating the blackboard, but also provide information in the process, so we decided the scene would be used to give statistics about BC residential schools.

Maynard had sent us images of the piece in various stages of production, which we also managed to incorporate into the film. Because in the third section he talks a lot about reconciliation and the TRC as a step in the right direction, we thought that by showing images of the piece in stages, this would invoke the sense of progression and accomplishment.

It only took about 10 hours and a pack of Timbits for us to accomplish a great deal in the way of filming and editing. Let's hope that when Michelle and I go to export and upload the film, it all works out well. I'm excited to hear some feedback from my peers in the next few days as well!

Thursday, April 3rd

We had our last film class today :( We got to see the films that the two other groups have made, and because we didn't have a full rough copy of our film prepared, we showed them the introductory section of what we did have. Hopefully, with classes over tomorrow, the group will be able to get together early next week to hammer out a full rough version of our film!

It was very interesting seeing the other groups' films. Because our films are being presented as a series, it was rewarding to see what they had been doing, what we could or should be doing as well, and what they could learn from what we had. The film that the Chris Paul group produced was very high quality; obviously they have quite a bit of experience and skill. It was really cool hearing what lessLIE had to say in his film, because, like Maynard, we had heard him speak in 305, but instead of coming to our lectures, we met lessLIE at the Urban Thunderbirds exhibit. He is such an interesting and clever person, and his art visually reflects these aspects of his personality.

So we'll get some serious work done next week, but for now, it's time for me to practice for my Honours presentation and get to bed!

Friday, March 21st

This past week has been devoted to editing! Most of what we're doing is going through what we actually have a deleting any redundancies or poor quality shots. We have a lot more footage than we anticipated, what with two separate filming sessions, each using two cameras, and we still need to get higher quality footage of the piece! We were also thinking about getting some footage of a classroom; we want to utilize a school setting to invoke the feeling of residential schools, but we may need to figure out a plan B so that we don't run out of time...

One thing we did have to rework today was the over framework of our film. We had wanted to divide the film into three parts, each part reflecting a different panel of Maynard's triptych piece, but I think we misunderstood what each panel signified. The left and right panels actually speak to very similar themes, so we decided that we could retain the tripartite structure of our film, but rather than having each section centered around a different panel of the piece, instead we would show the left and right panels shown in the second section about residential schools, and the center panel shown in the third section about education and making connections. The first section will still be about Maynard as an artist, and will exhibit other pieces of his, as well as much of the interview footage, and the footage of him working on different pieces of art.

Shawn and I have also attempted to shoot the actual piece, which has been installed in Cornett. Unfortunately, we did not anticipate how challenging it would be to obtain footage of it without seeing our own reflections in the glass... There are also bright, glaring lights and NO EXIT signs shining in the glass as well, and we tried covering them up, but with little success. We think that if we could get some kind of studio lights to flush out the reflection, we may be able to shoot the piece; otherwise, we might not be able to get any shots of the glass panel head on.

We put together a mini introduction for Andrea to look at. She seemed fairly pleased with what we had accomplished, and encouraged us to keep pushing forward. I'm really quite happy that she liked the framing of the interview shot, because we spent so many hours trying to find the perfect spot to situate Maynard, and because the pieces he brought luckily worked perfectly to form that grounding triangle. So far, I must say I'm really happy with the team that we have; we all bring something really positive and productive to the work. Amanda is especially shining in the editing department! I'm feeling quite fortunate to have such a dedicated and talented team! 

Saturday, March 15

Last Thursday, we had our second filming session with Maynard. This time around, we filmed him actually working on a few pieces of his art, so that we could get a few shots of his hands and his paint brush. Maynard exhibits great pride in the fact that he only employs manual means of designing his pieces (pencils and paint, rather than computers), and so we wanted to capture that on film for the first section about Maynard as an artist. He is very skilled and attentive to the tiniest details of his art, and we wanted to invoke this attentiveness by utilizing extreme close-ups of his hands and his paintbrush. What he can accomplish with such a thick brush, and the precision that he can obtain is astounding!

For this session, the team didn't arrive to the venue as early as the last time we filmed with Maynard, because we were already fairly familiar with the space and what we could do in the hall. We set up the table in the center of the hall so that we could utilize the lovely sun that was shining that day to light up him and his work. We used two cameras, one to capture the entirety of Maynard and his piece, and the other, propped up on some of my library books, to obtain the extreme close-ups of his hands and his paintbrush that would invoke Maynard's process of manual design. Unfortunately, the second HD camera was not available, so the camera used for the extreme close-ups was not as high quality as we would have hoped. Still, the session was very successful, and we all felt very fortunate to be able to watch Maynard in the process of creating such beautiful pieces of art.

After shooting Maynard painting, we also took some establishing shots of Maynard walking into FPH, just to set the scene of the interview. I also took a shot of Maynard smiling and standing against one of the walls of the hall; everyone thought I it was weird, but I thought it would make a really cool (albeit slightly cheesy) introductory clip for the film.

Now that we have several hours of footage, we will need to start doing some serious editing! Next week, the team will get together for a few intense sessions of watching what we have, removing what we know we won't need, documenting what we do have, and editing the different clips together into the bare bones of our film!

Saturday, March 8th

Last Thursday, we had our first film session with Maynard. It went rather well, I thought! We met a few hours early to scope out our venue, which was in the Ceremonial Hall of the First Peoples House. Maynard was fine with filming in Victoria instead of his home up island, and he thought the First Peoples House would be an appropriate space in which to film him and his work. We arrived at the hall in the morning to figure out the best background and lighting situation for the interview. There was an open panel of glass running down the center of the ceiling, and this provided some good natural lighting. There were also lights set up along the walls, but when we practiced shooting, they were just too bright and distracting, so we opted to not film along the walls themselves. We chose instead to have Maynard sit along the steps with his pieces.

He arrived with several lovely pieces of art, and we formed them into a triangular set up around him, to sort of ground the image in a nice, balanced way. It was decided that I would be the primary camera person, Amanda would be the interviewer, and Shawn and Michelle would oversee the entire process and retrieve the secondary audio, as well as keep track of our schedule. We white balanced (of course!) and filmed for maybe an hour to an hour and a half. Amanda posed the prepped list of questions that we had sent Maynard the day before, and he gave very full answers to each one. He hadn't brought any actual art supplies with him, and we all thought it would be interesting to shoot him as he worked, particularly his hands and the application of colour, so he offered to return next week for another film session. We definitely lucked out; Maynard is easy-going and accommodating, plus he has the best stories (did you know that Snoop Dogg stole his beer in Vegas?!).

Overall, the session was very productive. I definitely think we got something good from the interview, and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish next week as well.

Friday, February 21st

We had our first meeting with Maynard yesterday, who so graciously came down to Victoria to meet with us on campus. We pitched our ideas for the film to him, and he seems on board with everything! He's very open to what we want to do, and he's glad to have us figure everything out in regards to content, but obviously, we still leave the final say with him, because the film is about him and his art. Just from the discussion we had with him, we can already tell that he will have no problem talking on camera about his work and about his role as an educator. We also noticed that he talks with his hands a lot, and moves around in a way that really animates what he is saying, so we'll be sure to shoot him in the interview in a way that encompasses all of this movement. The actual filming should take place in a week or two, and Maynard will bring down some pieces of art that he feels represent him and his process.  Things are happenin' people!

Last night, we also had a little class on editing. We used the footage that we took over Reading Break of Shawn and the rice cakes, and we managed to produce a pretty great project. Amanda seems particularly adept at using the editing program, so she will likely take the lead on this aspect of the project. We managed to incorporate a variety of different types of shots, which demonstrates our understanding of them, and we can use a lot of them in Maynard's film with a great deal of confidence. Besides clip editing, we also practiced using transitions to create different effects in our film as well. Overall, a very productive and educating experience!

Here is the little film that we produced out of our practice. It's kind of a masterpiece... so enjoy!

Wednesday, February 12th

Yesterday, the group got together to film some shots that we can use to practice editing. It was delightfully fun, I must say! We managed to come up with a silly little story line that we can cut together when we edit, and we may even make Shawn internet famous! Even just with this practice, I've already noticed a few things in regards to film technique that we'll need to look out for.

 First of all, white balance!!! It's challenging remembering to white balance each time we move into a different space, but it makes a huge difference. We shot most of our footage in three different settings indoors (the classroom, the hallway, and the lounge), and then I ran outside to take some footage through the window, but forgot to white balance! So when I looked at the film from this part, it was very yellow. Luckily it was about five seconds of footage, so it didn't make a difference in this instance, but if this were to happen during our only filming session with Maynard, we would be hooped!

Another important thing to consider is lighting. We shot our footage at night, so there was absolutely no natural lighting coming in from the windows, making everything darker. Because the lights are spaced apart in the hallways of Cornett, different points have different levels of lighting when no natural light is coming through the windows. We shot one section near one set of garbage cans, and another near a different set, and the difference in lighting was drastic; the second set of footage was incredibly dark. If we had that level of lighting while we were filming Maynard, we wouldn't be able to use our footage. So scoping out our filming space ahead of time and ensuring that the area is properly lit will be vital to our project.

For this practice run, we decided not to bring the tripod along, and boy, does it show! When I was holding the camera, I thought my hands were steady, and watching the footage on the camera screen, it didn't seem so bad. But when we quickly looked at a sample of it on the computer while it was being imported, we saw that it was much shakier than we had anticipated. Obviously for sit-down interviews, we will be using the tripod, but if there are instances where we need to move the camera, have it follow Maynard while he walks or something like that, I will need to figure out the best way to hold the camera so as to ensure the footage is steady.

I can't wait to edit this film together and show the rest of the class! The end product will be hysterical, but of course, we will approach the actual filming of Maynard and his work with the utmost seriousness. This practice has been very useful, and I'm excited to start working with Maynard in the upcoming weeks!

Happy Reading Break/Valentine's Day!

Friday, February 7th

Last Thursday, the team got together to work on the treatment for our film with Maynard. I think we came up with some pretty solid ideas. We thought it would be a good plan to structure our film in the tripartite style of the actual piece Maynard created for Cornett. We would divide the film into three sections; the first would be about Maynard as an artist, and would reflect the right-hand side of the piece, which represents Indigenous people; the second section would be about residential schools and the disastrous impact that they have had on Indigenous peoples and communities, and would reflect the left-hand side of the piece, which represents the Church and the Canadian government; and the third section would represent Maynard's role as an educator, and his ability to reach out and connect people with his artwork, and this would reflect the center portion of the piece, which represents coming together, solving these issues collectively, and working towards a positive future. We thought that the overall theme of the piece should be education and outreach; he teaches students about his artwork in classroom settings, we met Maynard in a classroom, Maynard's piece will be displayed in the school, and it is ultimately about sharing the knowledge of residential schools with audiences and trying to create a better future for both Indigenous people and Canadians. So the education theme just naturally seemed to fit!

We also started planning for our first meeting with Maynard, which will hopefully happen next week, during reading break. We will ask him about shooting the interview in his home, because he doesn't have a studio. We'll also run our ideas by him in regards to the structure and content of the film, and hopefully he approves. This film will be a reflection of Maynard and his work, so obviously we are giving him the final say for anything and everything that we do. We also began to brainstorm some of the interview questions we will pose during our filming session. Maynard is a very enthusiastic and competent speaker, so we are pretty excited to get him on camera talking about his work!

In class yesterday, we had a lecture on the Human Research Ethics Board application, which we don't need to fill out for this project (Andrea has a class-based approval for us), but it is useful to know these things for any future projects we may do. We also were taught the various types of shots that we can utilize in our film with some handy videos that Andrea played for us. These shots include:

• full shot:
• encompasses entire figure
• use for establishing shot (entire story)
• something significant about the entire body
• medium full shot:
• cutting out a bit more of the distracting elements, focusing in more on the character
• still showing almost as much as the full shot
• cowboy shot:
• closer still; very tops of legs and up (like an old-timey cowboy standoff!)
• medium shot:
• at eye level, looking at torso and up
• remember to be mindful of headroom (not too much; just a little above the head)
• also, remembering to keep eyes in third of frame
• close up (CU):
• cutting off the top of head
• getting into "emotions" and facial features of the character
• much more intimate and focused
• where the action takes place; story is being told
• extreme close up (ECU):
• extremely focused in; completely consumed with one spot

We will begin shooting our practice footage on Tuesday and playing around with the different shots. We'll figure out the different positions that each of us will fill as well (camera person, interviewer, organizer, and director). The distribution of labor should go pretty smoothly; everyone in our group is hardworking and dedicated! Our first film session is sure to be tones of fun!

Thursday, January 30th

Hi all! Here are my notes and thoughts about the 409 class held last week on Jan 30! Once again, I'll start with the notes I jotted down in class, and then discuss how I thought the class was relevant to our project.

For this class, our professor Andrea Walsh invited her former student Devin Tepleski, who is very proficient in both film-making and still photography, to talk to us about some of the technical aspects of filming that we should be thinking about for our own projects, and to show us his own student film "Mango Driftwood" that he shot in Ghana. First, I will list the notes I took specifically from watching "Mango Driftwood," and then I will list the notes I obtained from Devin's talk.

Mango Driftwood:

• introductory text (what will we use for ours?)
• using simple sounds, or natural sounds; when using music in another language, display translations at the bottom of the screen
• display chapter names in inter-titles (our project is divided into three sections; name each section and divide by inter-titles?)
• zooming in/out >> cheesy?

Devin's Discussion Notes:

• when filming, leave "handles" on each end of film clip for editing
• lack of control in the field
• do I have what I need?
• are there problems with existing footage?
• obtain extra audio tracks; building sense of the environment
• planning the shoot
• start with introductions (not necessarily on film) to make it feel more relaxed and comfortable
• shoot B-roll first (environmental shots; silent scenes); do it while talking to the person
• when going into the studio, establish how to use the space
• shoot an establishing shot (moving into the studio)
• in crowded room, pay attention to intimate details
• what details can tell you about them
• example: shots of drawing/close ups of hands
• casual vs. formal interview shots
• linking different locations symbolically through objects
• following the person through space (line of action)
• good practice exercise?
• be aware of which side subject left the shot
• B-roll must be information about the art (ex:materials) or the artist
• Rule of Thirds/Diagonals
• being thoughtful of horizontal lines (markers)
• challenges involved with shooting in interior spaces
• triangles; grounded aspect to the image
• headroom and nose room
• starting audio a few seconds before next frame, even with pan shots (leads into next shot; not as jumpy)
• point of perspective; where does eye go to in the distance?
• shots: extreme close up, close up, medium close up (shows part of person, objects), medium shot (waist level), long shot (some background), extreme long shot (mostly background)
• lighting
• be aware of competing colours
• use natural light as much as possible
• adjusting white balance (what camera sees as pure white)
• presets vs. custom (using white card)
• check every time you move location
• stay a little underexposed; better than overexposed (can fix)
• be aware of distracting sounds (ex: fans, music, etc.)

I gained some knowledge of photography when I was an editor for my high school yearbook for three years, so some of this material is not new to me (Rule of Thirds, for example), but I can already see how creating this film will be challenging in terms of producing meaningful shots and capturing motion rather than still images. I definitely know this will be a rewarding experience, and I'm pretty confident that our group will create an amazing film!

Thursday, January 23rd

Hi all! Here are some notes I took during last week's Anth 409 class. We watched a number of films about art, First Nations and otherwise, as well as some films made by former students of the class. Viewing these films gave us an idea of what questions we should be asking Maynard, what types of shots we can use to create meaningful images, and how to effectively use music and narration. The notes are somewhat fragmentary, but I think there is some important information in there that we can use towards our project.

1. Man of Masks film:

• using different media (photos, articles, archives); secondary information that supports what the artist's work is about
• he is asking the questions in his work, the viewer is the one looking for the answers
• theme of "modern"; culture contact
• use of sounds (ex: deer bone rattle); pushes story along, but not necessarily narration
• shaky camera reflecting who he is as an artist (shaking things up)
• showing pieces in context
• using Maynard's shots of pieces in the process of creation
• how are we going to portray residential schools?

2. Expressions film:

• more about the process; none of this discussion with Lawrence Paul (Man of Masks)
• what is important? the process or the product?
• what can we do that captures the process?
• Maynard drawing freehand (no computer)
• does the process say something bigger about who they are as an artist?
• use of extreme close-ups vs. studio shots
• how do you let the image show the idea?
• close up of his head; says "now I'm thinking" (part of the process)
• close up of Maynard redrawing what he did while discussing the making of the piece?
• how does he try to connect with audience?
• who is the audience?
• what does he expect from them?
• over the shoulder shots (dynamic); artist's perspective? (importance of camera placement)

3. Charles Elliot (S'yewe pole) film:

• show raising of the pole, creations of the pole (with voice over)
• telling the story while going up the pole
• consistent head shots (intimacy; portrait of the artist)
• outside working with the log (history of the piece)
• no background music; simple
• portraits driven by images
• narration a negative; takes away from Charles
• be absent from the film
• foggy to focused shot

4. Rachel Whiteread film:

• titling the piece with date at bottom
• first art; then voice
• talking back through pieces, how the first ones came to be
• "what pieces do you want to talk about that speak to your process, what's important, that informs on the new piece?"
• discussing what she wants from the piece rather than from the audience
• "what were your goals of the piece?" vs. "what is the meaning of the piece?"
• be particular in what you're asking the artist
• playing with colours (Maynard's piece: blues, reds, blacks on cedar and glass)

5. Bill Reid film:

• dream-like images; "edge of the world"
• cross dissolve
• how you edit is part of the story
• ex: cross dissolve to show extensive career

6. Vagina Monologues film:

• images on campus of "vagina shapes"

7. "Going Postal" film:

• titles on letter
• intertitle questions

I think we came up with some pretty good ideas after watching these films. We've discussed using newspaper articles in a collage to help set the context of the residential school system, and what shots to use in order to achieve certain effects. I found the film about Charles Elliot to be quite interesting, because, like Maynard, Charles also installed a piece on the UVic campus, and his views about using modern tools and technology to create his art are similar to those expressed by Maynard.

I definitely think we have a pretty great group, and I can't wait to actually start filming!

Introduction

Hi all!

This is a blog dedicated to my Anth 409 - Applied Ethnographic Film class. For this course, I'm teaming up with three awesome fellow students to create a film about the renowned Coast Salish artist, Maynard Johnny Jr., and about the piece that he has created for the UVic campus. We are also required to write reflections on the material from each class, so I'm posting my thoughts and notes on this blog in the hopes that my peers will respond! Thanks!

Amina