REFLEXIVE ESSAY

Reflection

When creating this film I set out intending for it to be primarily a audio visual experience, in which the main way the message is conveyed is through non verbal means. I found however on reflection that for an individual with no prior interest in martial arts or fighting they were going to need some kind of emotional connection to the subjects. In order to achieve this I decided to conduct a series of interviews with fighters and non fighters. Each section of the film is split into 5 sections: earth, water, fire, air and void. Each of these sections is based on a chapter of Miyamoto Musashi's book 'The Five Rings' with covers martial arts and philosophy in the 15th century. I chose to use this book as it added structure to the film and made naturally gave it a narrative.

Each section of the film includes an interview on the topic of fighting and its roots in the mind of the people that do it and those that watch it. I chose to interview non fighters on the basis that I needed a fresh perspective. I found too many of the fighters were discussing the technicalities of their craft, and while this kind of expressiveness was interesting to me as an expert, I realised that the average on looker would need another perspective to give their internal thoughts a voice. 

While preparing the film I used Barbash and Taylors 1997 writings of sound when preparing the film as I intended to create a natural foliage of the fighting and the physical combat being displayed. While working on the film I found that closeups as described in Thompsons 1998  piece on film making helped to create an air of intamacy with the viewer. By using extreme close ups of the fighters grappling it allowed the view (who may have no experience of fighting themselves) to in some way feel the actual conflict happening on film. I strived to maintain this feeling of intimacy throughout the film with frequent close ups and heavy use of powerful sounds to show the physicality inherent in fighting. 

While making the film I wanted to show my own passion for the sport and to show the feelings and abilities of my peers that also take part. I decided to end on a musical note so as to express the speed and rhythm that is inherent to fighting, and hopefuly a montage (while an outdated concept) will convey how I feel when I am competing in martial arts.

​

One issue I found while filming was a great difference in the behaviour of participants when being filmed in contrast to when they were not being filmed. This I found greatly frustrating at first but later I came to the conclusion that they were simply projecting an image of themselves that was still valuable image for the camera. As Macdougal described in his piece 'beyond observational cinema' there can still be value in some ones portrait of themselvs on camera, and in many ways they are presenting a more accurate version of themselves than other forms of observation, such as a crush or a parent. 

​

Ultimately this project has been a real journey for me, as it allowed me to gain a greater insight into people perspectives of something that takes up so much of my mind space, as well as allowing me to grapple with technical concepts that I have always struggled with. It may sound corny but creating a website only a few months ago was a very foreign concept to me, and the project has allowed me to come to terms with my technical ability. 

​

​