Reflective Report

Overall I am tremendously pleased with the documentary Conor and I have produced. We set out to create an engaging documentary about pottery and Rory and I feel we have done that.

The original intention was to make it about Rory and then we drifted into thinking about making it about pottery in general, the process and eventually I feel we have managed to make it on both. There was a lot of footage from the interview that we could have used like Rory’s beginnings in pottery and how he arrived to where he is now but we decided not to use them because there was no real need for them, it wasn’t an artist profile.

The message we wanted to get across was what drives Rory to keep coming back. Ceramics isn’t for the weak hearted and you cannot give up, it’s not a career where there is a lot of money. Rory is the only one from his university class still working in clay, the rest couldn’t keep it up. I feel the message we are trying to say comes across clear: Be resilient and stick with it and every project you come to, have the thought that it’s going to be the greatest thing you’ve ever made.

I can’t fault the camerawork at all as it is stunning and definitely helps with the feel of pottery being a delicate and beautiful art, Conor did a great job. If anything, I feel the time management and organising could have been better on our part. There were times where we weren’t entirely sure when we were filming and what we were doing, despite it coming together in the end.

We edited the film in a very short period and I feel it may have suffered as a result. I wanted to get the best possible edit that we could and it is very good, but I just feel with material like this, it warrants a thorough edit. 

If I was to redo this I would definitely manage our time better and stick to a shooting schedule organised well in advance, admittedly several times we couldn’t shot were due to circumstances beyond our control. It felt slightly rushed in the end because we were running out of time and I feel that perhaps it could have been a bit better in the end.

However, for my first foray into documentary I am very pleased with what we have produced. I feel I understand pottery and ceramics to a better degree now and I have a lot of respect for any artist who pursues this as a hobby because they really enjoy it and have stuck with it.

I’m really glad we managed to get the message across and that it doesn’t just apply to potters but to any artist. Even filmmaking, proceed with the belief that whatever you’re working on is the best thing you’ve ever made at this point. The shots are really stunning and really cement the feeling that we were going for with this documentary. I feel very proud to say that I was director on this piece and currently stands among the best work I have ever done.

Editing

After getting all of the footage shot, it was time to start editing.

We used Final Cut Pro X which is a very good piece of editing software, it was a different experience as I had never used it before but would definitely use it again. We thought a lot about how we wanted to edit the documentary and decided that we wanted to get across what Rory thought about pottery and what it means to him.

His interview was really good, especially toward the end because it feels like Rory became more comfortable and was able to say what he really felt without feeling the pressure of the camera.

We decided to build the edit around the interview and highlight the parts of the interview we wanted to use and then blend them with different shots of the process. It was difficult to not get carried away because the cutaways looked very good and it was very tempting to use them too much.

We really honed in on the hobby aspect of the interview. He makes it clear that it isn't a job that you can be financially secure in, you need another job. It's also a hobby that requires a lot of resilience because you have to stick with it. You don't get it right the first time round and each time you create something, you become better. 

Filming Day 2

We finally shot Rory's interview at his home, to give this part a different look and to separate his working condition from his personal. I really liked where we shot because it was were he lived and he touched upon his life and love of pottery in a more personal way.

The interview went on far longer than we expected and we got some really good information and stories from Rory. We have more than enough footage to get a good edit out of and taking parts of the interview and building the edit around it is a good structure. There are a lot of parts to include that will go well with other footage. 

Production Update

Production on the pottery documentary is moving forward but haven't been able to film with the break for Christmas and New Year and Rory has been incredibly busy.

Conor and I have discussed ideas for different shot types and different things we can add to it. We were pretty sure about touching upon an elemental theme in the documentary, that everything is tied to the elements.

We plan to film different landscapes and scenery such as trees, murky forests, rain and sunsets. Blending this with Rory talking and footage of the process will help give the idea that all this is connected together. I think it is a really nice thought.

The interview with Rory will be filmed next and I have questions prepared for it, trying to hone in on what he thinks pottery is about and what it means to him.

I'm unsure of the location we will use for this, maybe the workshop or a more relaxed location.