April edits

11/04/21- 

Day one of editing mainly consisted of understanding my editing software. Luckily, my housemate was able to help me understand the basics so that I could start to edit my own work. 

Video one is listed below and is the first draft of my project. I found the editing process challenging to start as I had to re-watch majority of the videos to select the bets sections. I have played around with ideas including shortening clips, merging clips together and organising/ ordering my videos. 

I started by focusing on practising the skills I had learnt rather than instantly putting content together. I found this was the best way to begin as in my next editing session, I could work on putting clips together. 

LINK to video-  

Some questions/ changes I wanted to make after watching the video:

• Do I want to use sound at the start?
• The clips at the start were too fast 
• Can I try a different order? 

After editing this video, I took the time to watch every single video through and note down the most important sections/ sections that linked as well as sections I believed would reinforce identity effectively. I have inserted examples of the process I went through in order to find the best possible clips. 

I watched each clip (all my interviews, dance clips etc) and named them so that when I came to edit, I knew exactly which clip to use.

15/04/21- 

 In my second session of editing, my aim was to include content from my interviews. To start, I found this a challenge as I did not know which section to begin with.

LINK to the video- 

Some questions/ changes I made:

• Made the beginning clips longer
• Added sound to the start of the film where before, it was silent
• Added subtitles- do these need to be smaller? higher up? 
• Not sure whether to have subtitles for every Albanian section? 
• Added a few mask sections, not sure whether there needs to be more or whether it needs to be left minimal 
• added extra shots over the speech 
• Changing the length of some of the clips 

At the end, I have included videos that I wish to include at some point. I have edited them together but am not sure where to place them yet. 

My next steps involve including more footage of me dancing/ identity sections.

28/04/21-

I edited my dance/ identity clips together so that after, they can be intertwined within the interviews. Within this week, I also filmed extra shadow work including: close-ups, red filtered movement, and masked movement. I felt this was the best way to reinforce identity and how sometimes, you can feel alienated/ isolated from yourself and the country you are in. 

Filming Day Five and Six

 For the next part of my footage, I filmed in London. I spent two days filming close-ups and wide shots of movement based around shadows and masks to reinforce identity and the alienation felt when migrating to a new country. 

I used a projector to create the shadowed affect and used a red gel to cover the light to portray the Albanian flag colours. I filmed myself with a mask and without so that I could switch between the two. majority of my shots will be used in my documentary with a mixture of movement and scenic clips from Southend, London and Albania. 

Due to COVID, I was unable to go to Albania to film footage so I asked my cousin to film live in Albania so I can portray it in my documentary. 

Filming- Day Three

My final day in Southend consisted of filming my interviews. I filmed my Mum, Dad and Uncle (mums brother) and interviewed my brother but did not film him. My aim is to 'distort' my brothers voice as this is another way to disguise someone's identity.

I filmed sections with the masks to reinforce alienation, isolation and distance you feel from yourself when you encounter a place you are not comfortable with. I also filmed each individuals talking towards the wall as this is another way people hide their identity from the public. I decided against the shadow idea as I felt I had enough to "hide" their identity. 

I recorded sections in both English and Albanian to show how both languages have played a part in our lives- as well as both cultures. 

I decided to film myself talking about how I have been impacted with migration. Even though I did not experience it first hand, my parents experiences have impacted the way I view myself and therefore, my identity.  

                                                                               Set up^

Filming- Day Two

 Day two consisted of more outside filming. For the first half of the day, we focused on getting close-up footage of me dancing on the beach. Again, the fingerprints were the source of this movement. There were sections with the mask however, I decided that a lot of this part needed to be done without. 

The close-ups were of specific features. For example, close ups of my hands so that we could clearly see the patterns on my palms, footage of my face so that we could see my facial features closely. These are all parts of me that make me who I am today. 

I also filmed sections with the mask. 

Filming- Day One

 For the first day, I started by filming scenes on the beach. I chose Southend because this is where I grew up and is something that signifies with me. 

The beach reinforces the freedom that my parents gave me to find my self and my identity. Even though they were brought up in Albania, they migrated to England with an open mind. They were willing to learn and understand the English culture so that when my brother and I grew up we could then choose sections we wished to maintain and pick out things that we do not want to follow. 

To start, I filmed without the mask, then stayed in the same position and put the mask on. I did this so that when it comes to editing, I can flicker between the two sections without too many changes. I wore the mask in specific sections because I feel that it best displays alienation. Even though I was brought up in Southend there were times that I felt isolated and alienated due to my background. I know that my parents also felt the same as when they chose to migrate, they did not know much about the country or the value it held so therefore, did not fit in instantly. Over time, adaptation became easier which is why the mask starts to come off. I am representing the journey migrants go through specifically focusing on my families experiences. 

We filmed close ups and wide shots so that I have a variety of clips to edit. I also filmed dance sections- the movement was based around the patterns of mine and my parents fingerprints. There were lines, circular patterns, ridges etc so, I tried to translate this into movement. 

This is an example of some of the fingerprints I took from my mum. They are detailed which made the dancing sections a lot easier.