Documentary Entry 10

The documentary is finally shot and miraculously doesn't look absolutely awful. After several hours of nervous fidgeting, expenses and being yelled at a lot I can safely it turned out just alright.
I gotta lot of (in my opinion) very good shots of the makeup that was used in the film and transformation process (thanks to Anya(please don't kill me) Patton) who spent the money on it and most of it didn't get used.

A few shots dragged on a bit which is admittedly my fault because I was nervous and unsure about what I should be doing until Anya(fussy mother that she is) told me that I should just let the shot linger rather than just have movement for no reason.

The lighting and the set itself played a central part in how good it turned out so credit has to be given where credit is due to both Aidan for the set decorations and Anya for the lighting.

I'm actually proud of the shots of the set most of all especially of the lights that were used admittedly they don't play a massive part in the documentary but I still like them.

As for the actual interview itself this was a less strenuous experience mainly because time was thankfully not of the essence. Admittedly I got lost on the way there because I have no sense of direction and get lost insanely easy but setbacks are setbacks so they need to be overcome no matter what. 

The interview was very relaxed and I played a minimal part in it as unlike with the shoot the camera had zero movement and Glenn simply had to sit and talked while I made sure the camera didn't slip. It took a while but I also had to get footage of Glenn's hands which I did, a whole 5 minutes of footage. 

Overall I enjoyed working on both the drag shoot and the actual interview they were strenuous at times but I'm satisfied nonetheless.

 

Documentary Entry 9

An alternative title for this entry could be: The Embodiment of Fear: Anya Patton. In the space of 4 hours productivity skyrocketed. Shot list have been drawn up and so have storyboards (something I haven't done in at least two years at this point).
We've made a lot of progress in the last few days and I personally feel more confident about my role in this project as a whole. Most of this confidence was originally fear reshaped. Fear of our producer Anya.

With a better grasp on what was expected of me and I had to admit I was ready for it now more than ever. And I also have a better understanding of the theme of the documentary and am actually proud of a point I raised (Anya will back me up on me saying this):

"As eyes are the windows of the soul, hands are akin to the tools of the soul as we can learn nearly everything about a person from their hands. Their gender, their hygiene, how hard they work etc."

I'm actually reminded of a scene from one of my favourite movies Drive. When the main protagonist the Driver meets the mob boss paying for his racing business he decides against shaking the boss's hand saying his hands are dirty (literally he was wiping oil from a car of his hands) the mob boss replies with:"don't worry. So are mine" it's a good line to show the implications of the mob boss's work as there is a lot of metaphorical blood on his hands.

I found myself pleasantly surprised that I get to keep my philosophical style going in this blog. Most of they is due to my own keen interest in that area of media but also thanks to our producer Anya who has found the perfect motivational balance between friendship and absolute terror.

I'll actually tell a fun story relevant to the documentary. Anya asked me a few days in advance to meet up in Belfast on Saturday to discuss my role and what I need done. I was in work and I was already tired when I heard on the news there was trouble in town. I pondered cancelling when a question hit me in the head: What am I more afraid of, An angry Anya or a group of rioters? For those of you with short term memory the question was rhetorical and the answer was the former.

Overall it's been pretty productive since my last update. The documentary itself is being filmed (more on that later) and despite my nerves I finally feel like I understand all this rather than just following orders without question.

Documentary Entry 8

Rodriguez the Sugarman.
Searching for the Sugarman is a fascinating film that drew me in from the word go. It's well shot, the soundtrack is amazing, the people involved in this film are all likeable and the film as a whole draws you into its world with ease.

The film does something that earns it praise: it makes me want to know more about this man Rodriguez, it makes want to know his story from start to finish, to hear his music, to know where he's been and what he did, the film shows all this but it still leaves me wanting more.
The film treats the mystery man Rodriguez like some sort of folk legend and sells the fact that no one knew anything about this man other than that he was an amazing musician.

The film emphasises that Rodriguez was a champion in South Africa during the days of Apartheid. His music made him a household name to the people. He played his part in a revolution.
His music drew people to him but they knew nothing about the man behind the music. They wanted to know this man but Apartheid's influence made that impossible. They had one record and even then the government scratched up the vinyls simply to block off that one song.

And then things get interesting, well more interesting. The film basically says that Rodriguez is dead via suicide, specifically by setting himself on fire on stage when a performance was going south, or at least that's what the rumours say.

In an amazing plot twist (yes a plot twist in a documentary based on reality) it turns out Rodriguez is alive and well living an ordinary life. That's right, the man this film made a legend is still alive.
Rodriguez as it turns out is a simply man with a wife and kids, does menial labour and whilst the music scene passed him over he holds no grudge and just sees it as a fun part of his life from a long time ago. Heck he doesn't even know about how a big star he is in South Africa!

There is the moment when Rodriguez and his daughters disembarked from their plane at the Cape Town airport, there on the strange invitation to play there after years of considering himself washed up as a musician. As they were walking on the tarmac, they saw group of limousines and naturally thought they were for some dignitary and they tried to get out of the way. They were wrong, those limos, and the reporters and fans, were for them. In the animated sequence, you can get the sheer astonishment going through Rodriguez's mind at seeing a long dead artistic dream has come spectacularly true after all.

To be honest the film is amazingly heartwarming and one of the last bits in the film has the line American Zero South African Hero. And that one line says it all.

And that right there is proof of this films quality it tells us everything we need to know and leaves us wanting to know more. When a film does something like that nothing needs to be said and those that disagree nothing can be said to change their minds.