PROJECT IN PRACTICE

Before getting started on writing my poetry, which I only have ever done before for fun, I mapped out a rough outline of what format I would like to achieve. This helped me visualise some sort of structure on how to layout my poem. This also can be seen as a first step into connecting my poetry to my visual images.

The name generation feminist was the first line I had before getting started on writing my poetry. The name derived from the term Generation Z, which describes all individuals born between around 1996 to 2015, although the year blur and vary by whoever is asked to define them. As the 21st-century feminists are often associated with radical and extreme GenZ's, I thought it was fitting and a good indicator, what direction the poem will go in. 

The next step saw me brainstorming ideas and topics, as well as related terms to use within my poetry. This then evolved into creating poetry over a time frame of several weeks, as the process did not come easy to me. Every other day I picked up what I had written so far to revise and improve it. Reading the poem out loud to myself helped immensely in deciding what sounds good and what does not. 

After finalising the poem, I  created a rough storyboard of mages to indicate the visual images that would need to go along with the verses. This helped with getting a grasp on the list of footage I would need to shoot and any stock footage I would need to collect. Taking the last group crit session into consideration I decided to not only use collected footage, as this would take away from the vulnerable and intimate impact the self-written poetry would show. The storyboard was a good tool in aiding me to organise all my shots and stay on top of my work.

The changing transition at the start of my short film can be interpreted in relation to the corresponding verse of the poem. The protagonist can be seen changing and trying on different shirts, which are related to feminism or women in some aspect. She soon realises that nothing really seems to fit right and it all feels off. In the end, she covers her shirt with a jumper, therefore covering and hiding her feminism. This sequence is shown during a verse mentioning being judged for being a feminist. The visual image helps emphasise this feeling of trying to hide your feminism in order to not be laughed at because of it. This sequence is also filmed through a mirror, to show, that this is how outsiders perseive the protagonist and her feminism. 

The newspaper was used to showcase some article headlines, talking about certain issues mentioned in the poem, such  as the  pay gap, men in positions of power and individuals without a  uterus deciding on abortion laws. The newspaper symbolises, that these issues should be in the past for us we are living in the 21st century. Everything else shown in the short film, such as Instagram clips of women celebrating or protesting, were shown in a  digital version. This emphasises the weight of the issues we are currently facing. 

The protagonist checks out her reflection on her phone screen after declining the call from her mother. In the meantime, the poem talks about being raised with a level of beauty standards, like always making sure you look appealing and attractive to men. As this is something many feminists deal with, it was important to me, to add this aspect into my project.

While the poem talks about reaching the protagonists end goal and fulfilling the duty as her mother's daughter, we can see a playground in the background. This symbolises the duty of securing a well-off husband, as well as bearing children to further the bloodline. The protagonist then turns away from the children playing on the playground and starts walking towards a different direction. This indicates her wish for a different path in life, that doesn't include children. However, she is too afraid to tell her mother, who made very clear to her growing up, that starting a family should always be the top priority.

Throughout the editing process, it became clear to me how much this project has actually changed over the last couple of months of developing it. My initial outcome was supposed be a newspaper, which was quickly changed to a short film/documentary type of medium. I chose this to be able to utulise both visual components as well as audio sections. 

I chose poetry, as I feel it is impactful in getting the message across to the audience, as it leaves a stronger impression, than simply reading out written words yourself. Utilising repetition within my poem ensures, that the message is more likely  to stay with the viewer even after clicking away from the short/film. 

While editing, I also tried to stick with the comments and improvements I received through my group crits. I made sure I use an equal level of self-shot footage in comparison to any stock footage. I initially wanted to alternate clack and white clips with coloured sequences to make the contrast bigger. However,  this was planned for having other people participate within my project, which coudln;t go ahead due the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

This also goes for the plan of using voice layering throughout the voiceover to build up on a climax towards the end, where the poem shift to talking about more general problems, such as intersectionality. I tried achieving this by having friends record themselves reading out the verses, and later sending them to me.  However, as I was editing them together, it became apparent to me, that due to me not being able to be present for the recordings, the outcome of the voice layering sounded too chaotic. I therefore stuck with one single voiceover to make sure the  message doesn't get lost.