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  • Writer's pictureEllie

Symbolic camera

Updated: Apr 29, 2018

Week 2 of the Project and Mike presents us with a new challenge: make a camera that relates to your project and to you by next week. Not the most simple thing considering I was still unsure as to what my film was actually going to be about, and considering I have limited materials to make something that could even remotely resemble a camera.


Sat on my bedroom floor surrounded by boxes and paper and an empty pot once filled with little chocolate drops, I decided a split camera would best resemble the kind of thing I was interested in. This split intended to show the reality that some people are faced with, compared to what everyone hopes and dreams for: a home filled with safety, love and comfort. The paperclips sticking out of the box resemble the spiky obstacles of society that have to be climbed over in reaching the cotton wool fluffy safety and colourful fabrication of dreams. Making this camera helped make me think about what was important and channel my thoughts more into what I wanted to make a film about.



I kept thinking about my own lucky position in life surrounded by love and support and the many other people that don’t have this. This encouraged me to want to highlight issues faced by many, that may not be so much in the forefront of people’s minds, but also show the ways in which people show solidarity and give a voice to those that may not easily be heard, to give hope and encourage the audience too.


Taking this camera around campus and asking people if I could take a photo of them helped me realise others interpret things differently and the need for me to be aware of this in the future. I felt quite shy to begin with and it was quite tricky getting my intentions across, it was also evident some people were wary and acted differently with the suggestion of being filmed. Keeping my intentions clear and out in the open is evidently extremely important in making people feel more at ease and willing to participate in my film. I've also learnt that being able to adapt and alter the way I talk about things or ask questions is going to be important, and not be stuck in my ways- rather be ready to learn and adapt to different situations.


In all, it does resemble a 4 year old's art efforts, but it was a reflexive experience that has been beneficial in helping me channel my thoughts more deeply into what is important to me and what my film should be about.

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