This research is an attempt to define ”presentness” in documentary film. Presentness is a term I have borrowed from performance studies where it describes a feeling when actors are unusually present. I use it here to describe moments of intense focus, uncertainty, a connection or an unexpectedness between the people I film, and myself. Considering myself a ”social actor”, I apply Goffman’s work on performance in everyday life to help me understand the performances taking place in front of and behind the camera. As method, I have created ”retroscripts”, transcripts of recordings I made for a film where I talk to my friends about growing up in a multicultural society. I analyse these encounters, trying to understand when and why moments can lead to a feeling of presentness. Diary entries contribute a biographical element, charting my own interest and awareness of my performance as a filmmaker. This practise-based research develops previous discussions on performance by using the transcripts to place theory in the real world of filmmaking. It connects conversations on identity by Hall, which are closely related to the subject matter of the recordings themselves, with performance theory as developed by Fischer-Lichte. It approaches theory as a way of interpreting what takes place and as a practical tool for becoming a better filmmaker. The research engages with the work of other filmmakers with an interest in performance (Asquith, McAllister), through their films and theoretical contributions. Documentary filmmakers are split in their attitudes towards performance. Some try to get beneath the ’mask’, others examine the mask itself to see what it tells us about the image we project of ourselves. Inspired by Goffman, I focus on the cracks in between, when the mask comes on or off, believing these moments to contain a spark of now and a potential for presentness. I draw parallels with different acting techniques and propose that filmmakers can benefit from learning from the preparation of actors. While acknowledging that presentness in film is a subjective experience and its perception by an audience is dependent on context, my research suggests a better understanding of the performance of a filmmaker can help her create the conditions for presentness to occur in the creation of filmic material.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uniarts-1266 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | D'Arcy, Matthew |
| Publisher | Stockholms konstnärliga högskola, Institutionen för film och media |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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