Journeys with an Artist: What I've learned This Semester

Wow, It's been quite the semester. Going into advance doc, I wasn't sure how much I was going to learn, but I knew I wanted to make another documentary. Naively, I thought I'd learned almost everything there is to know about doc production in the intro class. Was I ever wrong. This semester has been a lot of fun, but also has been quite challenging as well. When starting on the Benini Doc, I had all these preconceived notions about how the film would look and what it would include. Of course, nothing ever turns out as one expects. I, of all people, should've known this, as one of my doc projects from the previous semester has taken a similar course. I guess part of learning is relearning.

When I realized that Benini wouldn't let us film him painting, I was at a loss for words. An artist documentary without the visual process of creating art - how would this be possible? I knew we were going to have to get creative to pull off any semblance of a documentary. Limitations always force one to be creative. Nonetheless, I enjoyed figuring out how we were going to piece things together. Structure was definitely the most difficult part of the process. Because we had limited footage (Benini wasn't what you'd call the most available subject), we had to use certain shots that weren't ideal. Yet by manipulating parts of the footage, we were able to mask certain flaws and bring out hidden strengths.

While I don't think I'll be doing another artist documentary any time soon, I am truly grateful for the experiences I've had in making this one. The briefness of a semester can always make it difficult to pull off a documentary, even when the subject matter is less abstract/more solidified. Regardless, I'm quite happy with the piece we've put together. Now we just have to wait and see what Benini thinks. Showing a film to one's subjects can be a nerve-racking process, but so far, I've never had a bad experience. Will there be a meeting of the minds? We'll keep y'all posted.  In the mean time, congrats to everyone this semester for some great work!