I have written and rewritten the script for the symposium video and it is now in the final stages before recording.
I have found, no, am finding this extremely difficult. It is hard to summarise all I have done and thought into five to six hundred words. Each time I write something, another thought occurs. What is the purpose of the symposium, what is important to say and what to leave out?
I need to give an idea of what the work is about without closing down on interpretations. The script has to read easily and be as light of touch as possible. Each word has its weight and each phrase its meaning. It is a fine line between the literary and the prosaic. How much to I leave to the viewer and how much do I have to explicate? Is what I say engaging, clear, inclusive?
These are all questions that I have wrestled with. I have found it difficult to keep things open and not get bogged down in detail that I think essential as explanation. I know that images are all important and create another layer of understanding, but there also needs to be a sequential sense to them and to not divide the attention between the narration and the imagery and loose focus.
As I write, I try to imagine what is happening on screen. I try not to say things that can be easily infered while including other ideas that enrich the video. I know that someone can replay the video but it is in the first viewing that the impression is made and sense is grasped. Replays merely open up new avenues of thought, but should not create the overall sense. If this is not present in the first viewing, then I have failed.
The video should draw together research done and the emerging practice. How can I do this without coming out with a simple list of, ‘I did this because… and I did that resulting in this…’, and so on. The time during the MA is more than that, it is a building of a new world view expressed in process and outcome leading to an expansion and deeping whilst implying a continual beginning.
I see the symposium as an important synthesis that presents the work and practice as it is now whilst indicating what might be its potential and future. Together with the critical evaluation, it sets a trajectory: it is key that this should be set correctly.
What to leave out, what to say
One of the hardest things I find is how to imply something and not just fill the space with information about my work. It is a learning curve that prepares me for what is to come after the MA.