I never like to conclude a project by saying it was ‘great ‘or ‘good’ or even being overly critical, as art is so subjective. I am instead considering if have I enjoyed the project and did it fulfil my intentions. I think that finished work always looks stronger when the maker has had fun and has enjoyed the process. I have enjoyed making this film, especially discovering more about how my running and artistic practices are linked. I experimented a lot at the beginning, but towards the middle of the semester I had a good idea of what I was doing so that made things go smoothly and I didn’t have a mad rush at the end, for this module anyway. My main intentions of bringing to light how it feels to be a runner, to create something immersive and meditative and put people in my shoes in the film came across strongly. I got feedback at the takeover from that hit those key points. The question is always, could I have done more though – been bolder?
What I did well this semester was timing, in lots of different ways: I was more organised with notebooks and doing them on time; I spent proportionate time on each of experimentation, research and reflection as I went along; My timing in my presentations and my presenting skills overall got better, I think. I have learned that my strengths and weaknesses are pretty much the same as always, but I am getting a bit better. My weakness I would say are presentations/speeches, spending too long on a particular thing/being a perfectionist, planning too much and not being bold/experimental enough. Some of those things can be good, it does mean I am good at organising things and I am quite considered with everything, and I am good at analysing. I sometimes think I maybe have the wrong personality and working style to be a ‘proper’ creative.
I thought that my project at the Takeover worked well and my intentions came through. I did think that the sound wasn’t as effective as when I was watching it at home, the low volume of certain bits got lost in the arts centre noise. Next year I can improve by pushing myself more again to be experimental and conceptual. I need to find the right balance between each module as well, as I have really struggled with that since Easter really. When it comes to the future and moving this project on, I am certain that I am going to work on it more on my own over the summer. As Miranda said, art projects never have an ‘ending’ and I think of the Takeover as just a way marker to meet the criteria at the time. What I don’t know is if I am going to carry on with this theme next year at all in IP or even the film module. Time will tell though, but I am tempted to do something different next.