Project on Hold

Just as with this project I am interested in hearing more about what is going on in my environment, my city, and with the people I care about, I am starting a project to document a controversial development of land in Milwaukee county. Visit this to find out more. Here is a link to the site.

Sound Strategy Draft 1

Just as with the light capturing strategy, i hoped not to mislead folks into thinking I'm not recording our conversation, but I guess I want to try and make the experience more like a conversation and not like an interview. I don't want the media to come in between the experience of both of us. I hope to kind of gather and immerse the viewer or audience in what was going on, uncomfortable kinds and all, to kind of see how much of a struggle it is sometimes to make connections. I have to kind of think of a reason I'm there, maybe just to study 7 mile and Jones Island. I know i would like to get some footage of the fisher people, of what it sounds like under that bridge and why folks might want to come there. Close to almost medium distance with the mics. Try to get a good sound of tradition/and history over time in this space, what might that sound like.

Light Capture Strategy Draft 1

I'm not sure how this would pan out, but I want to interview folks in conversation with me on the traditions they have. I have a draw to people, where they come from, how they're shaped. A lot of how folks communicate and draw connections comes from their overall background like what culture, socioeconomic background, and location they happen to inhabit or have inhabited. I'm hoping to devise a way that I can broach the subject of filming their reactions without tainting those reactions with the medium. How can I film the intricacies and capture the aura of the experience without making them feel uncomfortable. Maybe have them film me, maybe put myself under that same light and go through the process of unpacking just as I'm asking them to do.

Draft 1 of Production Strategy

I was tipped off to the idea of being able to capture history over time as it relates to space. Also, I am interested in tradition. My curiosity about spontaneity is what I will use to guide me through this project. There is something that happens around late March and early April here in Milwaukee. The tradition of smelt fishing. I had no idea what a smelt is, why they are fished, how long they are fished, and what ties that fishing has to the people in this city. So! I found a fishing forum online and discovered that most of the smelt fishing in this area happens on Jones Island.

Here is where Jones Island is:



I found out through a little bit of research that there is a rich tradition with smelt as a fish, that some of the tradition is even superstitious and involves one specific ritual. The ritual happens when the first fish is caught. Once the first fish is caught, it is tradition to bite the head off of the fish and throw the body back in the water, as a sort of tribute to the "smelt gods" and also symbolizes a passage of time or rebirth after a long winter.
I just have to find out what that ritual might mean to the current smelt fisherman and see if I could somehow make a connection to them and their ritual even though I really don't like fish and the thought of biting a fish head off really makes me ill... I find this kind of tie to place and time in tradition novel as we live more and more in a timeless, space less world.

How can I convey spontaneous connection with no more than 2 people/events visually and sonically?

Curiosity #3

Curiosity #3: Is fear of difference something inherent or cultural?
Plausible Causes:
Connections made with a language barrier that were more engaging than without that barrier. Difference and deviation is frowned upon, but also revered.

Curiosity #2

Curiosity #2: Is language almost a barrier to communication?
Plausible Causes:
Feelings of disconnect was common, fear of being noticed. A heightened perception by way of engaging with the senses. The less perceived connection, the more promising the outcome.

Curiosity #1

Curiosity #1: Are we allotted spontaneity anymore?
Plausible Causes:
I am curious about this because for some reason I was overwhelmed with how amazing it felt to encounter a family playing hockey, that I would not have had this experience had our worlds not intersected at that time. Emphasis is put on production and results. We are all on a schedule.