I have been thinking about which of Bill Nichols' six documentary modes to follow. It may be that each section of my work is approached in a different way to complement the nature of the subject matter. I do not necessarily want most of my content to fall under the observational documentary category - I would like to give an insight into life under lockdown for a range of people, and that may include me. I don't intend to talk about my own experiences unless anything noteworthy happens, but I do not feel that involving myself would compromise the integrity of the project in any way as I am also living through the same situation.
I don't intend to focus on the science behind the pandemic, or the political discourse surrounding it, but instead I aim to convey the experiences and emotions of regular people. I want to illustrate both the hardships and the joys we as a people are going through due to the virus and the lockdown. This means a performative documentary approach may be useful for the majority of the project.
Possible ways of presenting content:
Short videos - compiling other sources
Online interviews
Photo galleries
Commentary on a series of images, videos, etc.
Text - stories
Presentation - useful for the symptom diary I have been sent
Ways I can gather information:
Post on Facebook - friends and family
Post on Reddit - strangers (more scope for nationwide/international experiences)
Go out to shoot photos and video
Online interviews - perhaps organised as a result of the social media posts
Watch the news
Other online sources such as news websites, YouTube, etc.
How to categorise content:
C - conversation - collection of people's experiences
O - observation - what I have seen when out exercising/shopping, perhaps symptom diary here?
V - veneration - honouring the NHS, perhaps clapping, inspired by my research
I - inspiration - a collection of inspirational people who are serving their communities
D - dedication - a memorial for people who have died due to the virus
These categories may change depending on the content I am able to create and collate, but I feel that these five groups explore the wide range of experiences we are going through - loss and hope, isolation and community. Including both positive and negative elements will help round out the project and give more a balanced insight into people's experiences.
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