Session 1 - What, How, Why?

Piece 1 - House Of Psychedelia

What:

In 2018 I embarked to create a documentary on a man named ‘Royce Wells’ who was facing the eviction from his own home in Adelaide, South Australia of 78 years. Royce’s house included a extensive personal collection of historical artefacts, records and books. Housing authorities deemed the space unsafe and inhabitable, forcing to push Royce from his home in which he was so deeply connected to. The documentary takes a neutral and observational approach, following Royce through his home as he shares stories of its colourful history. Tragically, Royce has since died and the house has been demolished by a developer. The footage now serves as a poignant reminder of a person and place which no longer exists.

How:

Given the fragility and personal approach of this documentary, much of the work was founded upon building an Interpersonal relationship with Royce before filming, as to build trust and realise his most authentic expressions. This period of building a relationship occurred over the period of a month prior to filming. Within these meetings, I would jot down notes and begin to formulate a plan as to how I would film the documentary, as well as establish the questions I would propose.

Why:

The documentary aims to explore the political abuses of power on individual human rights, showing the direct harm it can produce on an individual. The documentary also serves to remember Royce, using the house as a key piece to tell stories of the many people who had passed through it walls. The stance of the documentary has shifted due to its temporal nature. Establishing itself now as more of an archive than a political piece.

Feedback

What:

What is the approach, technical choices, or decision to approach.

What is my position. Were there any other approaches? History of the significance of the archives, more context to as why his story has resonance beyond the personal.

Add more about why he faced eviction, the reasoning behind the eviction, the policy behind it.

Community around the situation.

How:

How did I meet this character, was I looking for a character etc.

How was I connected to the story, how has this affected his responses.

What were the strategies involved to build the relationship.

The eviction itself, how past affects present

Why:

Personal touch, how is it archived? Highlight the separation between archive to political.

Experiments, things that failed or went wrong

How the death has affected the footage

Abuse of power or welfare? Detail on this

Revised Version

What:

In 2018, during a film course, I embarked to create a documentary on a man named ‘Royce Wells’ who was facing the eviction from his own home of 78 years in Adelaide, South Australia. Royce’s house was located within my local area and was always a standout, with its bright and multi coloured facade, becoming known to locals as ‘The House Of Psychedelia’. Royce’s house included an extensive personal collection of artefacts, records and books of significant historical value. Housing authorities deemed the space unsafe and inhabitable, forcing to push Royce from his home in which he was so deeply connected to. Unfortunately, the documentary was cancelled by my tutors due to the unsafe conditions. However, I later revisited the project and edited the footage which I had captured. By this point, Royce had tragically fallen ill and died, and the house demolished by a developer. The remaining footage now serves as a poignant reminder of a person and place which no longer exists.

How:

I became aware of Royce’s situation due to talk within the community. Having never met him, I decided to knock on his door where we then conversed for a few hours. Within our discussion, I proposed the idea of a documentary which he agreed upon. Given the fragility and personal approach of this documentary, much of the work was founded upon building an interpersonal relationship with Royce before filming, as to build trust and realise his most authentic expressions. This period of building a relationship occurred over the period of a month prior to filming. Within these meetings, I would jot down notes and begin to formulate a plan as to how I would film the documentary, as well as establish the questions I would propose. During the three days of filming, I wanted my stance as a filmmaker to be as removed as possible, taking a neutral and observational approach, following Royce through his home as he shared stories of its colourful history.

Why:

The documentary aims to examine the powers of government over individual rights. Whilst Royce’s home was classed as unsafe, is it still his right to live there? In order for the government to protect the welfare of its citizens is it morally correct to use such a power as evicting someone from their own property? Whilst this type of commentary is concerned with politics, the documentary allows the viewers to empathise with the individual at the heart of this circumstance. The stance of the documentary could now seem to have shifted due to its temporal nature. It could also be viewed as a personal memoriam to Royce, his home, and the many who passed through its walls. The documentary now a representation off all things which do not exist anymore, a frozen artefact of a place in time.

Edits 2 - ending seems ambiguous..

Piece 2 -

LC Box

What

How

Why

In collaboration with two colleagues we created an installation for local night club ‘Sugar’ .

The installation consisted of a box which displayed a mirrored video feed of patrons with animated effects using a surveillance camera and video mixer. The box was placed in an area of the club, allowing patrons the opportunity to interact with the installation naturally throughout the night. Affirmative text was placed on the box, and each night recorded, creating an artefact

Firstly the box was constructed out of wood,