Knowing Me, Knowing You

from MODULE FILE - Professional Practice [January 2021]

Practitioner Research

BRIEF:

From the 2 options available I chose

Conduct an interview with someone not originally from the UK, preferably someone who doesn’t have English as their first language and that has moved to this country from elsewhere. Use the following guide questions as a starting point for the interview:

• Are there any immediate stereotypes or clichés associated with their culture or language that they can identify or have experienced? (e.g. Germans have no sense of humour, the French are rude, Africa is full of hungry people)

• Are there particular words or phrases in their native language that strongly link to a cultural or national identity? (think for example how cockney rhyming slang is seen as typically English or certain Australian phrases like ‘no worries’ suggest a laid back attitude to life) • What are examples of ways design has been used to project their cultural identity? This can be colours, symbols or images and examples can be found in advertising, fashion, film and other forms of media. Consider questions that engage your interviewee with issues around difference, identity, history, gender, social issues, geography (location), relationships with the world, politics, etc.

Produce your findings as either:

A publication that uses text and imagery / 24 pages minimum in length / size, format and stock are up to you.

Or as:

A two minute documentary film piece / to include titles and end credits. (final outcome uploaded to vimeo or brought in on a memory stick)

APPROACH:

First of all I decided that I wanted to make the interview into a film, I have made a few in the past and felt I could capture more on film then I could in a publication.

I thought about who would be the best candidate for the interview based on a few criteria, first of all they obviously needed to have moved to the UK, but also I though it would be better to talk to someone I know so that they would be comfortable working with me, especially in COVID situations, and finally someone who I think can be articulate on camera as I know that it is a skill that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

I have a very close friend called Jeremy who was born in Egypt and has lived in other countries before settling in the UK, and he is also used to performing in bands (with me) so I knew he would be comfortable in front of the camera. Most importantly, he agreed to help me with the interview.

PROCESS:

I formulated some questions and sent them through to him in advance, which gave him a chance to formulate his answers, ask questions and send me his responses ahead of time to look through. We set up a day to shoot the interview and decided that his home would be the best location.

When I arrived we discussed how the interview was going to run. I asked Jeremy to give his answers in a way that included the question so that the film didn’t require the questions on screen (which I find clunky and breaks the flow of the interview, especially when it is so short) and also means I could get better sound quality by not having to record my voice as well.

We set up a space to conduct the interview and went through all questions individually until each was answered in a way that we both felt covered everything.

Next I wanted some extra shots of things around his home that represented his heritage including souvenirs, photos and any examples of Arabic that he had. Questions sent to Jeremy:

• Name, where are you from, how long have you lived in the UK?

• How much does your cultural heritage play a part in how you identify yourself?

• How connected do you feel to that culture?

• Were there any immediate stereotypes or clichés associated with your culture or language that you can identify or have experienced?

• Are there particular words or phrases in your native language that strongly link to a cultural or national identity?

• What are examples of ways design has been used to project your cultural identity? Such as colours, symbols or images or examples found in advertising, fashion, film and other forms of media.

• Did you’re cultural background create barriers or bridges when it came to integrating into your new environment?

• Egypt has had a very turbulent political past, has this in any way shaped your political standpoint?

• I understand that the majority of your family now live in Canada, what are the reasons that you decided to stay in the UK over moving on or returning to Egypt?

• Has the transition from living in

Egypt to the UK changed how you view other countries and the wider world?

PROCESS:

When it came to collating and editing all the shots I had even more material in terms of answers than I thought, even with all excess footage cut out, the interview alone was 8 minutes long so I had to make decisions on what answers to keep and what was left out. Fortunately because I had asked him to give his answers including the questions it made it easier to cut parts out and move them around so that I could get a cohesive narrative without any breaks. I then used the extra footage to cover up any cuts. I had to find extra photos from Jeremy’s Instagram and Facebook as well as the image of the Iron Maiden album to help cover all the edits so the visuals would flow smoothly. I then colour graded the footage so that each shot looked more consistent.

Finally I mixed the audio using plugins that reduce hiss and noise and added a part of the song that Jeremy requested to be the underlying soundtrack.

Before uploading the video I sent it to Jeremy so he could check that he was happy with how he was represented and offer any comments. After a couple of requested edits, I uploaded the video to Vimeo.