The area of making I focused my research on is the art of drag performance.
Methods I used to learn about this area included watching documentaries, drag performances, TED talks that spoke about observation in a nuanced way, and finally visiting queer spaces for documention and observation.
I really wanted to look at observation in the final piece because it was important in all of my research. While documenting the drag performances, I noticed the reactions people had as they interacted with the space and the drag. What was happening behind the scenes, off camera, and in front of the camera were totally different. But it was important for the experience I wanted to share.
I took out color and made it black and white because it was important in order to focus on the observations. I didn’t want distractions like color to get in the way of the observation. I had a similar reason for removing recorded audio towards the end of the video. Experiencing the performances without recorded sound highlighted other elements I wanted to convey. I also chose a 1:1 aspect ratio because I wanted to convey that it’s only a window into the experience, respecting the community that uses the space weekly. A lot of the audience members had their phones out recording, which is encouraged for lighting, and so I also wanted to correlate the aspect ratio to social media where a lot of the content is shared.
Methods I used to learn about this area included watching documentaries, drag performances, TED talks that spoke about observation in a nuanced way, and finally visiting queer spaces for documention and observation.
I really wanted to look at observation in the final piece because it was important in all of my research. While documenting the drag performances, I noticed the reactions people had as they interacted with the space and the drag. What was happening behind the scenes, off camera, and in front of the camera were totally different. But it was important for the experience I wanted to share.
I took out color and made it black and white because it was important in order to focus on the observations. I didn’t want distractions like color to get in the way of the observation. I had a similar reason for removing recorded audio towards the end of the video. Experiencing the performances without recorded sound highlighted other elements I wanted to convey. I also chose a 1:1 aspect ratio because I wanted to convey that it’s only a window into the experience, respecting the community that uses the space weekly. A lot of the audience members had their phones out recording, which is encouraged for lighting, and so I also wanted to correlate the aspect ratio to social media where a lot of the content is shared.
Full Length version of Queering Space.
Drag History Research
Drag History Research