Final Video + Reflection

I am really happy with my final video, especially with the audio and series of clips joined together in the middle to form the "panic". I was going to add some notes around the house, asking what was going on and what was happening to their memory, but I didn't feel like this was necessary as they had no place and looked out of place at any point.

Statement

My project was about the mental illness of dementia and how it significantly affects a person’s life and emotions. I originally was basing my film on my great-grandparents, both of whom are in care homes suffering from dementia. However, due to their health, both mental and physical, I was unable to film without causing a lot of distress and emotional upset. Therefore, I decided to base my film on my Nan, whom suffers from slight forgetfulness, especially with misplacing items.

I spent the day analysing my Nan’s movements and habits, and soon began to notice that she often misplaced her cup of tea and made another one, only to find it again moments later. I decided that this would form a solid base for my film, and reflected a real life situation. My finished product shows early onset dementia with the misplacement of items being a symptom, including the emotions and stress a person must feel when they cannot remember people or places but know that they should.

Overall, I am really happy with how my video turned out. I had used Premiere Pro before for basic editing of files and music videos, but they had always been pre-constructed and only needed slight tweaking to audio and effects that we used to fade clips together. I am really proud of being able to say I produced a product from start to finish. I also learnt how to use a Canon C100 on this project, which is a professional broadcast standard cinema camera used by organisations such as the BBC and ITV. I understand that in the future, this still will be vital if I want to expand my work into the video production industry.

I researched a lot into the work of Keith Arnatt, and originally planned to use small notes and reminders around the video. However, upon reviewing my video after I had added these files, I came to realise that they looked out of place. The notes were filmed at a later date in my own house; so do not match the lighting that was present in my Nan’s house. I wish back when I was filming the main body of footage, I had of followed my storyboard, because I missed out a lot of footage such as the clock and notes, which I had to film at a later date. My research into Christopher Nunn and Phillip Toledano was really helpful in setting up close up shots which were very still such as of eyes and faces. They were really effective when overlaid with the sound of the clock ticking! My first final render contain the sound of the clock ticking in the background, very quietly, but I preferred the silence in-between clips and removed it.

In conclusion, I am happy with my final piece and have gained a lot of knowledge of videographers and filmmakers that I am sure will benefit me in my future studies and blogs. I have also gained experience in filmmaking and editing techniques which will boost my CV should I continue practicing.

Editing Process

I had used Premiere Pro before so I knew how to cut and change between clips and produce a simple video, however, it was a learning curve for me to be able to use video effects.

I began my video very abruptly in the first edit, so I decided to add a cross dissolve on the first clip so it faded in from the black space. This gave the video more of a clean feel and looked professional rather than starting very suddenly.

As you can see, the panic scene on this video has a lot of small, second long cuts that were over layered by the track of the clock ticking. I wanted to use the clock as reference to two features, that the clock shows how much time had been passing whilst she had been making cups of tea, and that that time was short, as well as the reference to how people with dementia are sometimes referred to as a 'ticking time bomb' before they become worse. I thought that this reference was really important to include in my video.

I finally decided to end my video with a fade to black, so again, the ending looked as professional as the beginning.

Second Draft Edit + Points to Consider

1) Get rid of black space in-between clock and third cup of tea

2) Get rid of black space in-between turning of pages and wide angle of photo album

3) Make clock clip in-between panic scenes longer, because it looks like time has stopped

4) Make panic scene a bit longer and add more cuts in-between each clip to make the viewer feel panicked too

5) Add audio of clock ticking sourced from Youtube/web

6) Add notes and paper reminders in-between clips, especially towards the end
7) Add cross dissolves and fades on beginning and end clip to make the video flow better, at the moment it starts very suddenly.

First Draft Edit + Points to Consider

I have finished my first draft of my final video looking into dementia as an illness. I am happy with the beginning of the video but feel that the ending is too rushed. I feel like I need some space and extra footage inbetween the second and third cup of tea, because it seems to have started being made out of nowhere.

Here are the things I wish to change in my next edit:

1) Instrumental music over the beginning or audio of someone stirring a cup of tea/clock ticking

2) Playing with hands before she gets up to make the second cup of tea

3) Remove sound from where she is taking the tea bag out of the second cup of tea

4) Put clips of subject getting out of chair or looking alarmed before the third cup of tea has been made - jumps to quickly without need to

5) Change position of close up flicking through book, doesn't match

6) Add close up eyes after she throws the book to the floor

7) Make black patches smaller and more interesting

8) Add more footage of the clock at certain times paired with kettle clicking

9) Add end credit so that video doesn't come to an abrupt end

Filming

I planned to gain all my footage for my film over the course of two days, one being spent at my Nan's house, and one being set at mine using my clock. I used a C100 as my camera which is designed for filmmaking, and my 17-40mm for wide angle shots and my 100mm macro for close up shots such as eyes and lips.

Upon arriving at my Nan's house, I soon began to realise that filming was going to be more difficult than anticipated. Given my Nan has quite a forgetful memory, but not nearly as bad as dementia, she kept on forgetting about the task in hand and moving items during filming which would have made the film look like it had continuity errors. Therefore, a lot of shots were filmed more than once and a lot of direction had to be made to get the footage I needed. I planned to record sound on the shoot in my Nan's house, but because of all the direction I had to give, the audio is unusable, and I will have to search for stock audio to layer on top of the parts where I am directing.

Storyboarding

Proposal

My project for my moving image piece is about Dementia and memory loss, inspired by the work of Christopher Nunn and Phillip Toledano. I plan to use my Nan who suffers from slight memory loss due to age, and document her doing simple tasks and forgetting about them. The thing she does most is make cups of tea and forget where she places them, therefore, I plan to have her making cups of tea and placing them on the side table, forgetting about them and making more – the end conclusion being the cups of tea stacked on the table half drunk and forgotten about.

I have used the work of Christopher Nunn, Phillip Toledano and Keith Arnatt as my main body of research. Christopher Nunn was my initial research material, due to the fact I found his series based on David Blackburn and his struggle with dementia online. I fell in love with the simplistic shots of items around Blackburn’s home, as well as portraits of Blackburn reading and looking at old photographs, showing how weary he has become. Following on from this research, my tutor told me to look into the work of Phillip Toledano, who created the series “Days with my Father”. The series looks into the heartbreak and stress that people with dementia or severe memory loss go through, as Toledano’s father had no idea where his wife was, even though she was dead. The portrait of Toledano’s father looking in the mirror at his reflection was the photograph that influenced me most, due to the composition and meaning. In my video, I plan to use very still video clips to represent the stillness aspect, whereby the viewer is forced to focus on the facial expressions that the subject is making. It also gives the notion that the person is still because she is thinking. Further from this, I looked into the work of Keith Arnatt, who produced a series of images called “Notes From My Wife”. I wanted to incorporate hand written notes in my video, to help guide the viewer to understand that the video is about dementia and not about someone who just likes tea!

Christopher Nunn

Phillip Toledano

Keith Arnatt

I plan to use two cameras for filming; my boyfriends Canon C100 cine camera to make sure my video is high quality, as well as using my Canon 60D to film the notes that are going to be left around the house. I already know how to use Premiere Pro to a basic level but it will be good to learn more about the program. In terms of technical aspects, I need to make sure that I film with the right settings so I do not have to film more than once, as well as making sure my lighting is adequate and there are no items in the background that could cause continuity errors.

Research: Keith Arnatt

Upon researching into Dementia and how people cope with the illness, I decided to ask my Grandma and Grandad how my great-Grandparents cope with the illness and small things they do. My Grandad commented on the fact that my great-grandfather leaves small notes around the house, much like David Blackburn does in Christopher Nunn's series of images. Therefore, I decided to look into the work of Keith Arnatt. I researched this series of photographs during my college studies when I was looking into memory and love. These notes were left around the house by his late wife, and included in the series "Notes From My Wife"

Martin Parr wrote an article for The Guardian which I am referencing in my research, Parr speaks about Arnatt's early career and he "liked the unpredictable and acts of provocation". The series of images, two of which are shown below, are jottings and reminders (- and sometimes insults!) written by his wife, who was killed by a brain tumour in the early 90's. Parr writes "Taken out of context and blown up, they become surreal. This was Arnatt's strength as a photographer: he understood how the smallest detail or observation could be transformed by the act of isolation"

I like the idea of small notes and reminders being included in my final work, especially ones that express their concern for loss of memory or confusion as to where they are or where people are. I might included small reminders such as these in my video, especially around the central point where the subject becomes more confused by the obvious build up of undrank tea and confusion about where they have come from.

http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2007/may/19/weekend7.weekend4

Research: Gregory Crewdson

After looking into Julia Perione's work on awkward facial expressions in young girls and how photography and video can be used to invade into peoples personal space, I decided to look at the work of Gregory Crewdson as it felt right to do so. A lot of Crewdson's work looks at people sat within their home, and makes it out like they don't know someone is watching. Although staged, I thought it was appropriate to examine his work based on the fact that my film will be staged. Gregory Crewdson works like a film producer, with a massive crew and the whole process taking hours to produce. I like the idea of making a set out of a home, and making certain things look as if they were meant to be there. As part of my video, I will need to "dress" the set of my film, by moving certain object so they are not in frame. For example, at my Nan's house there is a large clock next to the chair I will be using. For continuity reasons, I will need to move this, as having a clock in the back of my frame where the time will be changing significantly in every single shot would be distracting as well as unprofessional.

Research: Julia Perione

I decided to look into the work of Julia Perione and her series of work concentrating on capturing awkward facial expressions in young girls who are concerned about their appearance. After looking into the work of Christopher Nunn, I decided to look more into photographic series that intrude on peoples personal space and lives, because of the nature of my film. My short film is being filmed inside my Nan's home, and I will be using camera angles that invade her personal space, such as close ups of eyes and cropped wide angles of her face.

Research: Phillip Toledano

Day's With My Father is the set of images by Phillip Toledano that follows the journey of his Father's short term memory loss and how he deals with it after his Mother died. Phillip writes "My Mum died suddenly on September 4th, 2006. After she died, I realised how much she'd been shielding me from my father's mental state. He doesn't have alzeimers, but he has no short-term memory, and is often lost. I took him to the funeral, but when we got home, he kept asking me every 15 minutes where my mother was. I had to explain over and over again that she had died. This was shocking news to him. Why had no-one told him? Why hadn't I taken him to the funeral? Why hadn't he visited her in the hospital? He had no memory of these events. After a while, I realised I couldn't keep telling him that his wife had died. He didn't remember, and it was killing both of us, to constantly re-live her death. I decided to tell him she'd gone to Paris, to take care of her brother, who was sick. And thats where she is now. This is a journal. An ongoing record of my father, and our relationship. For whatever days we have left together."

"I asked my father to look in the mirror, while I took his photograph. Now, you have to realise my Dad was very handsome when he was young. When people talk about 'Film star handsome', well, that was my Dad. In fact, he WAS a film star (of sorts), in Hollywood, during the 1930's. So when he looks in the mirror, he sees a man ravaged, a man no longer beautiful, and that upsets him deeply. You see, he's still vain at 98, in fact, his vanity can be quite extraordinary. I tried to take him to the doctor a few months ago, but on the way out, he caught a glimpse of himself in the hall mirror. He was so horrified with his appearance, that he refused to leave the house until I found a 'black pencil' to dye his white hair with."

The above two photographs are the ones that I have found most inspirational. The top one is his father and mother together, I presume from a previous photographic set he produced. It shows the love between them and represents how much it must have hurt and upset him every time Toledano was to repeat the news about his wife's death. The bottom photograph refers to the paragraph I have cited from Toledano's website (www.dayswithmyfather.com), which refers to him vanity and how it upsets him that he is no longer "handsome".

"My father often tells me he wants to die.

He says its time for him to go, thats he's been around too long. It's odd, because part of me wants him to go too. This is no life for him, living in the twilight of half memories. But he is the only really close family I have left."

I love the style of the first image, due to the fact that the light is covering half of his face, maybe relating to the fact that half of his memory is hidden. It could also be referring to the lack of a 'bright' future he has, a kind of opposite meaning. The photograph at the bottom has a bright and warm glow, but means the complete opposite. The photograph refers to the conversation had been Toledano and his father about his wish to die, which obviously is a negative and bleak conversation to be had. You can clearly see the worry and anguish in his eyes, and it saddens me as a viewer to see someone this way, although I have no emotional connection with them.

http://www.dayswithmyfather.com/

Film Research: There's a Difference, Alzheimer's Australia + Advertisements

I watched this 30 second advertisement for National Television that was created my Alzheimer's Australia, that compared forgetfulness to dementia in a simplistic way. They use shots that I am using, inspired by my research into Christopher Nunn, of items left around the house. Here, they use a bag and a set of keys as examples as things people might forget, and alerting people to the fact that losing or misplacing an items many times might be a symptom of early onset dementia.

Other inspirational advertisements

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2zXdWODNyQ&list=PLAwhBH-4GO5gop5nSfNoUo6q-aHoszHVk&index=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blrogSUrjRg&index=3&list=PLAwhBH-4GO5gop5nSfNoUo6q-aHoszHVk

Film Research: "Living With Dementia" - A Short Film/Documentary by Joe Yates

I decided upon researching into different photographic sets of images that looked into the illness of dementia, it would be a good idea and automatic link to then look into other short films created by other filmmakers and see how they tackled the issue.

I screens hotted some scenes that I found particularly inspiring and I am going to comment on them below.

The first scene begins in the bathroom, where the father is looking very confused about who he is and why he is there. In my film, I plan to capture a lot of confused and emotional faces to express the pain and anger people who suffer from dementia must feel inside. On the odd occasion, my great grandfather who suffers from early onset dementia, gets angry at his loss of short and long term memory and pulls confused and saddened faces. I want to express the emotion in my film to make people feel something.

The next scene shows the father taking some pills, which means he has been diagnosed with dementia and the doctor is trying to find a way for him to deal with it. During the duration of my film, I do not want there to be any signs of medication and means of coping with the illness, I want the illness to remain undiagnosed and unknown, making the cause of the woman's forgetfulness less obvious, relating back to my point about not spoon feeding the viewer.

Here, in this scene, the father is watching the television, and trying to change the channel with the landline phone. Then, his daughter walks in with a worried expression and replaces the phone with the remote control. The worried expression of the daughter makes me think about incorporating another character into the film, maybe a relative or neighbour who visits and looks concerned. However, with the short time frame I have to show my film in, between 80 and 240 seconds, it would be too elaborate of a concept to include narrative and conversation, especially without the correct sound recording equipment.

In the final scene, you see the father leave the house, much to the worry of his daughter, and visit what seems to be a local park or woodland area. Here, he becomes more confused and the camera angle makes the character seem erratic and confused. There are close ups of his eyes, which I already plan to include, and wider shots of his face whilst it moves around, trying to gage his location.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7vJP7dcgS8

Research: Alex Ten Napel

I was searching the internet for inspiration for an upcoming personal project and stumbled across the work of Alex Ten Napel who is a portrait photographer. He produced a series of image titled "Portraits of people suffering from Alzeimer's disease". I found these images very inspiration for my own portrait work as well as this project.

http://www.alextennapel.nl/alzheimer.html

Research: Helen Manley

I was looking into Helen Manley's photographic series on dementia which focussed on post-production and how Photoshop can make a series of images have a deeper meaning. Her series, titled "Living In Shadow" looks at several older people who are suffering from dementia and how they deal with the condition. Helen has used books flying off a bookshelf and disappearing to represent loss of memory, which is a really inspiring concept.

http://www.hjimages.co.uk/LivingInShadow.html

Research: Larry Sultan

Larry Sultan produced a series of images titled "Pictures from Home", which concentrated and followed the lives of his parents and documented their daily routine, some including mundane tasks like "Conversation in Driveway". However, because of the voyeuristic view that we are experiencing, where we feel like we are preying on their private lives. I am most inspired by the image where you can see the memories that the father has on his workspace. I plan to use this as research for my video, as I would like to document where my Nan's room in her home, and see what photographs and memories surround her to help her remember the past as well as she can.

http://larrysultan.com/gallery/pictures-from-home/

Research: Christopher Nunn

Falling into the Day is a story about Nunn's friend David Blackburn and how he lives a life with dementia after being an accomplished artist for a number of years. He photographs items are his home between 2009-2011 and then in various care homes he has travelled to and from between 2011 and the present day. Nunn says "what began as a simple character study of an eccentric man and his quiet existence slowly became a story about living with dementia and the subtle deterioration of a creative mind during the last years of self-sufficiency and independence." I found his work to be my main inspiration into my work, as he photographs specific items that would usually jog someones memory, but doesn't jog Blackburn's memory. I plan to use simple shots like this in my video to represent my models loss of memory and how these little reminders can help keep people happy. The props I plan to use for this film are old photographs and a photo album, which both represent the concept of memory and stillness.

http://www.christophernunn.co.uk/fallingintotheday/0ikfafpm6p5f612k0p9gzamd2fzf1t

http://www.active-minds.co.uk/news/post/christopher-nunn-and-david-blackburn-documenting-dementia/#.VDusBa1dXow

Film Research: Dementia (2014) + Ah Kong

I have been doing some research into Dementia and do how it affects people, so I can make an informed video that is accurate and ultimately doesn't offend anyone as a result. I researched into the NHS website and informed myself about what Dementia is. Dementia affects people who are usually 65 or over, and is a group of symptoms that form the disease. They're made up of memory loss, thinking speed, mental ability, language, understanding and judgement. I watched three short films on Dementia to see how people talked such a sensitive subject that could upset people or offend people who know people who suffer from the illness. My Great Grandad suffers from early onset Dementia, and seeing him in a care home, not being able to draw and write like he used to do is upsetting, but makes me more determined to make a really inspiring film about the illness using the theme of "Stillness and Memory".

Firstly I watched a trailer for a film called Dementia made in 2014. This trailer started off well, showing an older lady trying to piece together a jigsaw whilst her daughter watched on. There was speech from the daughter layered over the top narrating what was happening. However, as the trailer went on, I soon began to realise it was a horror movie and that it had no reference to actual dementia as an illness, just a reason to use it as an illness that might cause older people to "see" or "hear" things that aren't actually there. I have dismissed this as a reasonable source of research for my project apart from the use of speech.

Followed after this was a short film called Ah Kong by Royston Tan, which was a documentary inspired film that interview people who knew or used to know the man who had dementia. They spoke about his humour, his kind nature and how he used to be when he was younger. The film then looks at how his Father is now, and how he has deteriorated from the man he used to be. It was such a hard hitting documentary that opened my eyes a lot about the illness a lot. I loved the interview style that was shown, and it gave a real insight into how Dementia can affect people and change them completely. I do not want to execute an interview style of documentary, but more of a creative film that doesn't spoon feed the viewer into instantly believing the film is based on Dementia.