While I didn't choose one particular documentary mode for my work, I found it useful to explore Bill Nichols' ideas. This made me more aware of how important intention and involvement are in factual productions - the way you go about documenting something is very dependant on whether you want to explain, persuade or observe the situation. Whether you are an onlooker or directly involved can have a major impact on the authenticity of the content. My decision to mostly observe and collate information helped me bring together a lot of content that was already available. At times I chose to involve myself and ask for people's stories, and this proved to be vital, as I would not have been able to simply observe people's thoughts and feelings. The combination of these two techniques helped me achieve a well-rounded end product that both showcases events around the world and inspires the reader, and allows the audience to develop a personal connection to the real people who shared their experiences.
Initially, I was apprehensive about the Conversation section. Essentially, I was asking people to bare some potentially quite intimate glimpses into their life, and I was unsure what type of feedback I would get. I was flooded with responses, and every single person encouraged me with this project. From the grieving to the celebrating, this collection of stories successfully gives an insight into the lives of real people during the lockdown. To preserve the integrity of these accounts, I did minimal editing - removing or changing names and places to protect the identity of the authors, and simple spelling correction for ease of reading. It was vital that I didn't alter the way people had shared their experiences with me, because their stories deserve to be heard in the way they were intended. Being honest and open about our struggles and our successes is key to staying mentally healthy, especially during a time of uncertainty and loneliness such as this.
The Observation category centres around a person's Covid-19 symptom diary. I had a little trouble with this at first, because the initial diary was a much larger Word document with more information. With the author's consent, I condensed this down into a smaller PowerPoint presentation, retaining all of the key information. I found this a bit tough because I had been adamant that I didn't want to alter people's words in the previous section. However, it was necessary to keep this account as concise as possible, and I believe I successfully achieved that. I am content with my decision to present this as a PowerPoint, as the reader can go through it at their own pace and not be confronted with a wall of text.
I also wanted to add some of my own photos from the few times I had left the house. Due to being in the vulnerable category, I haven't been out much, so opportunities to shoot photos were limited. I found the social distancing measures put in place for blood donation to be particularly interesting, and I was thrilled when the staff allowed me to take some photos, provided no members of the public were in them. I thought it was important to document that, for many people, work is still going on as close to normal as possible, and that we still need to play our part in keeping the blood banks stocked.
I found Sally Mitchell's Lockdown project to be quite inspiring. It was her images of neighbours clapping for the NHS that encouraged me to pursue a similar idea. When I joined in on the first Thursday evening, I took a moment to be still and listen to the cheers surrounding me. Applause, pots and pans, car horns and singing could be heard echoing through the streets of Camborne, and after feeling so alone in lockdown, I felt a true sense of unity. This is what I wanted to convey in my Veneration category - the coming-together of multitudes for the sole purpose of honouring those on the front lines. Some of the footage I shot myself, but most of it was sent to me by friends. I particularly like the range of clips - from a couple of people outside of their houses to uproarious applause outside major hospitals, we are all in this together. I would have liked to go out to shoot more of it in person around the town, but it would have been inappropriate for me to leave my neighbourhood for this during the lockdown. To bring these clips together, I used my existing skills in Premiere Pro. I didn't want the video to be complicated, but rather, I opted for simplicity to let the message shine through.
Over several weeks, I came across a few videos on YouTube, and I felt that they evoked that same sense of solidarity and appreciation that I experienced in the first Clap for Carers. These music videos and Krasinski's Some Good News show complement the Veneration theme well, showing how we can all come together and pour out our love for our key workers. Similarly, Captain Tom is a symbol of determination and generosity, and he has captured the hearts of the nation. He set out to give a token of his appreciation to the NHS, and ended up being honoured himself by millions.
The idea behind the Inspiration section was very simple: people have been expressing their appreciation for the NHS through some very creative means. Walking around my neighbourhood, I saw rainbows on every other window, and I was, quite simply, inspired. Most of these were drawn or painted by children, and I found the fact that even children took the time and effort to thank our key workers quite touching. I put a post on social media and was overwhelmed with images of people's creative efforts. Over fifty different people sent me their pictures from all around Cornwall. I had to edit a few to crop out identifying features of houses or children at the edge of the picture to protect their privacy.
One of the stories I was sent was particularly emotional - the story of a father and son who had passed away. While they didn't die from the virus, the way the community mourned the loss and celebrated the lives of these men was markedly affected by the lockdown. I thought that this story deserved its own section, in order to emphasise the nature of what we are dealing with. Over 32,000 people have died from the virus in this country alone, in addition to those who have died from other causes. This story of Dedication finishes the series of blog posts in a sombre way, but this is intentional. The reality is that many people will die from Covid-19, both directly and indirectly, and we mustn't lose sight of that. We must not forget why we are in lockdown, and we must not forget those we have lost so far.
The main difficulties I encountered revolved around the lockdown itself. I was unable to leave the house to take photos and shoot footage as much as I had intended, but it was important to put my health first. Also, none of the people who shared stories with me wanted to be interviewed, which led me to alter the way I presented this section. I would have liked to create a video with both interviews and narrated stories, but I feel that having them all written down and put into basic categories has also worked relatively well - it requires the reader to work through a large amount of text, but I have separated the individual stories well for ease of use. Aside from the lack of interviews, I feel that I have successfully achieved my goal of documenting a variety of people's experiences of Covid-19 and the lockdown. I set out not knowing exactly what this blog would look like, but I am happy with the end result.
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