Reggie Watts

I first heard of Reggie Watts a couple of years ago when he played at the Sydney Festival. He's absolutely brilliant. He looks and sounds original and has great talent and charisma on stage. His style? Well according to Wikipedia he's a 'multidisciplinary comedic performer' he sings, raps, samples, beat-boxes and makes you laugh. His big personality oozes through his songs and he puts on a great show. What makes him so remarkable? He is remarkable. Never heard anything quite like it.

He's playing at the Metro in Sydney next month if anyone's interested. I say go and enjoy.

Documentary Film Making

I decided last month that I would learn something new and with a passion for making things and having ideas I thought I'd explore film as a new medium for storytelling (having previously fondled with photography, art, drama, film editing and radio once upon a time, I thought this could tie these together nicely).

Documentary filmmakers, no less than dramatic screenwriters, strive to tell strong, often character-driven stories that have a beginning, middle and end, with something at risk, rising tension, and a narrative arc that keeps viewers actively engaged. In fact, my lecturer said he could tell from the first frame whether a film maker has got it right or whether he's going to bore the audience to tears over the course of the film.

So what I learned yesterday was actually quite fascinating albeit simple.

What makes an amazing documentary idea?

1.Strong Idea / Subject
The subject is not the idea. The idea is broader akin to a theme rather than a subject. This is a hard concept to abide too when creating ideas but here's an example for my project:
Idea: Survival
Subject: Living on the streets of Surry Hills

2. Tell a story
This apparently helps a lot. Have a story in mind that can be broken in to 3 sentences. The first; how the story starts, the second; what happens in the middle, the third; how it ends/what the event is. Unlike dramatists, documentary filmmakers can’t create characters, plots and story lines, but must instead find them in the raw material of real life. Hence, a story which doesn't culminate to anything, isn't much of a story.

A good way to look at the parts to the story is:

1. The Tease
2. The Body
3. The Conclusion

3. Ensure its meant for this medium
A good story needn't be told via a documentary film. Ensure that there's something unique about the piece that merits film. Ensure there's visual insight which can be accompanied by music. Otherwise you might be better off writing an article or a book.

4. Remember the artists voice
You're the artist. What is your opinion? What is your aim? Why are you best equipped to create this documentary? What makes you an expert? This is where research comes in to play about why this documentary is being made.

Something I also learned, is that without the passion for the subject, you will struggle. This passion and drive will keep you focused in the small hours and keep you committed to finishing the piece whether it takes months or years to complete.

5. Illuminate
What story needs to be told? A documentary serves to inform and illuminate, quite simply to illustrate an element of life that has not been shown before.

And so there's the starting point. Its a little harder than it looks and there's a lot more to come but I think this a great approach to have when creating something in order to tell a story.

My next lesson? Treatments...

A helpful presentation on documentary storytelling below.

The Mechanics of Documentary Storytelling

View more presentations from acarvin.

My Holga and I.

The Holga.

Hong Kong 1982. The manufacturing and production hub of the world is burning at a full flame. As with their neighbors in Japan and China, photography is an intense national hobby and obsession. New camera designs and productions are churned out daily, feeding the huge domestic and import markets. From within this world of manic creation and innovation comes the Holga, a distinctly un-modern and somewhat prehistoric throwback to the early days of camera mechanics.

The concept is simple - a minimal and inexpensive camera using medium format 120 film. It would contain only the bare necessities for photo mechanisms, and provide a cheap and accessible alternative for students and enthusiasts to dip their toes into the otherwise very expensive world of medium format photography. Reflecting the shining landscape around them, this new camera is named after the term "ho gwong," meaning "very bright." After throwing a European spin onto this phrase, the moniker "HOLGA" is minted. This dead simple camera is met with a warm welcome, establishing a strong yet small base of Holga aficionados. Birth, death, celebration, ritual, and everything in-between is caught on lo-fi medium-format emulsions - amplified and focused through the plastic lens of this bare bones, oversized camera.

The Holga Cult Following.

Over the next 10 years, Holga enjoys a popularity explosion. A global community of photographers, students, creative types, and generally fabulous individuals see the simplicity and ability of Holga, and fully embrace it. This cult following organises around the Holga, praising its insane characteristics, unpredictable effects, and stunning results. Teachers and professors actively employ the Holga as a training tool - simultaneously teaching their students the fundamentals of photography while opening their minds to new and unexpected techniques. The very features that many would consider to be fatal defects in a "normal" camera have become the most treasured assets of the Holga new school.

Today, the Holga movement is expanding every single minute, with new devotees, organisations, and online sites spreading like wildfire. Photographic exhibitions are held in some of the most prestigious galleries on the planet; showcasing the work of one of the most unlikely artistic tools ever employed. Competitions, interactions, and communication are tossed around the online & offline communities, encouraging and amplifying the excellent work of the Holga obsessed. Ironically, as camera design becomes more technical, automatic, and sophisticated, Holga's low-tech appeal grows stronger and stronger for us; those who relish its quirky and unpredictable nature. While designers around the world are racking their brains to create increasingly more advanced and complex cameras; the Holga will continue to grow as a steadfast counterculture item, taking away the complications of technology and simplifying the equation to four critical elements - your eye, the lens, the film, and your subject.

And so, here I am, riding around Sydney on my push bike taking random snapshots of the city whilst fulfilling a few things I enjoy in life; exercise, creation and a dabble in to counterculture.

Today I picked up my photo's from my first batch.

(Note: My first! This means that things can only get better.)

Enjoy.

James Jean

Here are some of my favourite pieces from James Jean's 'Kindling' collection. James Jean is a Taiwanese-American award winning artist and illustrator living in LA. He's been working in comics since 2001, but over that time he has certainly made his mark on the industry.

His clients include Time Magazine, The new York Times, Rolling Stone, Spin, Target, Prada and more. He has also illustrated covers for the comic book series Fables and The Umbrella Academy, for which he has won six Eisner Awards for "Best Cover Artist"

If you're in Sydney, you can find some of his magnificent prints at Disrupt store in Surry Hills.