Identification and inventorying
Filming/documenting to identify and inventory
Content
IDENTIFICATION AND INVENTORYING
This function includes: the identification of cultural heritage to be safeguarded, its recording, and systematically organising (inventorying) this information.
Filming, or audiovisual documenting, can be used to identify and inventory a craft or heritage element. Being aware of a heritage practice and having systematised information about it, is a first step in safeguarding. These activities further support safeguarding of the heritage or craft practice because, after inventorying, all relevant information will be available and searchable.
As a recording method, film (in comparison to text and photography, for example) can assist the whole documentation process, allowing heritage workers, researchers and heritage communities to jointly determine the content (e.g. the script), production (e.g. the choice of shots in the final edit by comparing the footage) and distribution (e.g. on social media or a show moment) of the film.
HOW TO: OBSERVATIONAL DOCUMENTARY
For purposes of identification and inventorying, you can use the ‘Observational documentary’ filmmaking method. This is a type of documentary filmmaking that aims to record everyday life without intrusion*.
Some of the main characteristics of this observational method include:
- realism (a cinematic strategy grounded in real life implying the representation of a story/phenomena through film as perceived in reality)
- immediacy (direct and instant involvement of a subject)
- handheld shots
- long takes
- little to no voice-over
- no re-enactments
In this way, you will be able to register the basic characteristics of the element you are interested in, and give voice to and present its practitioners in their everyday environment.
*
Be aware that filming and editing are never neutral and that the presence of cameras inevitably influences people’s behaviour. This method advocates for a realistic style best suited for identification and inventorying of knowledge and skills related to living heritage.
TIP! New to filming? Take a look at our ‘step-by-step guide for filming’ to get started!
VIDEOGRAPHER’S RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations are based on the Focus Craftership experience where a professional videographer closely collaborated with heritage professionals and practitioners.
Such an intensive, collaborative filming process implies many working hours and a solid budget.
But of course, if you are not in such an ideal situation, considering the time and/or budget available, you can adjust the recommendations to your own context and possibilities.
01 PREPRODUCTION
Find and map the crafters(hip)
- Locate the different practitioners of the craft or living heritage practice within the targeted geographical area.
- Contact the practitioners to introduce yourself and your intentions: to identify and inventory the craftsmanship/heritage practice by audiovisual means.
- Ask your contacts if they know any other practitioners to see if your mapping is complete.
- Find out where, when, by whom and how the craft/heritage is practised.
Organise all information and communication
- Make a longlist in a spreadsheet with all the information.
- Follow-up and start the collaboration as soon as possible with practitioners who have expressed their availability and can contribute to the specific needs of your project, for example:
- a certain area you wish to focus on
- specific viewpoints you wish to address (such as youngsters’ engagement, …)
- ...
Example of a longlist
Making a longlist is gathering all relevant information (people, locations, ...) in a structured file or catalogue. From this list you can decide with who, where and how to proceed with the filming.
Download our example of a longlist used by PARCUM for filming monastic crafts by clicking the button below.
Plan field visits and collect information
- Visit the location (crafts workshop or another related (public) space) and have a look in situ at the craftsmanship or practice and at the accessibility of the location itself.
- Examine the practitioners’ movement during the working process in situ.
- Be attentive to the light and all the sounds at the filming location, trying to eliminate disturbing ambient noises for the filming process.
- Take reference pictures and bring your video camera to see how your lens(es) cover the location.
Reference photos taken in the 'Ora et Labora' trajectory. © PARCUM
Plan the filming
- Discuss the filming aspect with the practitioner(s) including any limitations to filming: their working space, their appearance in the film, … and if needed, have a dialogue to find a middle ground for both parties' needs.
- Schedule the filming process.
- Plan and prepare the filming based on all the collected information.
Remember!
These recordings are not for the technical transmission of the craft or practice, but for mapping the (various) practitioners of a certain craft or heritage, and how each of them perform this specifically.
02 PRODUCTION
Before filming
- Make a filming schedule and follow it as strictly as possible, but leave a margin for unexpected situations.
- Discuss how the practitioners will work exactly and if there are repeated actions, in order to set up the filming material adequately (see further below).
- Contact everyone involved some days before the actual shooting to confirm if everything can proceed as discussed.
- Start early enough and leave a margin in your schedule for unexpected situations.
During filming
- Pay attention to the sound: if possible, give a wireless tie clip microphone to the practitioners to isolate and cleanly record their voice and set up a directional microphone to record the ambient or surrounding sound.
- Use the repeated actions in order to film long and uninterrupted wide, medium and close shots.
- Only ask questions during the process if the practitioners are able to answer them without interrupting the work and if the answer is clearly audible. Be sure not to interrupt the answers.
03 POSTPRODUCTION
Editing
- Start by making a rough edited sequence for a certain action by isolating and ordering all usable shots in one timeline.
- Repeat this for all actions.
- Combine the sequences of all actions to make an informative edit in a separate master timeline.
Consulting and finalising
- Export a preview file of the finished edit and consult all parties involved to collect feedback before finishing the video.
- Process the comments and finish the video by finalising the sound and image.
INSPIRING EXAMPLE
01 Monastic crafts
Trajectory
PARCUM, the expertise centre for religious art and culture in Flanders, carried out the 'Ora et labora' trajectory about identifying and inventorying monastic crafts in Flanders.
Craftership in monasteries and abbeys is highly diverse: from baking communion wafers or making soap, to making wax figurines, to making cheese or brewing beer. These practices are carried out by monastic orders that live by the Rule of Benedict, where there is a strict daily routine of alternating prayer (ora) and labour (labora).
Context
The full case study consisted of 8 locations (monasteries) and was filmed over a total of 12 production days.
This included field visits, documenting the 8 monastic crafts and 1 interview with Julie Aerts, the PARCUM intangible heritage professional who supervised the process.
In order to use observational filmmaking methodology, it was necessary for the monastics to be as undisturbed as possible in carrying out their practice before and during the filming itself. This is also in line with the beliefs of the monastics themselves: often these orders exist as a secluded community.
Therefore, it was important to prepare the documentation process well and make clear agreements with the heritage community involved: which community was willing to record their practice and which professional knowledge could be documented?
Approach
Julie, PARCUM's intangible heritage professional, first contacted monastic communities after preliminary research.
The information received was put on a longlist which listed:
- which crafts are practised
- at what time of day they are practised
- who exactly practices them
- the corresponding contact details
This made it easy to make decisions on who would be filmed and to plan the filming well in advance.
Each monastery that was willing to participate in the audiovisual documentation process was visited personally to discuss the intention and method of the documentation process. A total of 2 exploratory field visits were made: 1 without and 1 with the filmmaker. Each field visit took one half to one full day.
The location visit is an important step in the process:
- It allows everyone to get quietly acquainted and everyone involved can get used to each other.
- You can take reference photos of the workplaces.
- You can already record outdoor images (e.g. also with a drone):
- This requires a different mindset from the 'real' shooting days
- You can make use of the weather conditions (in good weather)
- You don't disturb the communities (immediately)
You have saved time (often not time on real shooting days)
After completing the longlist, a first selection was made based on the reference photos after the first location visit.
This was followed by further work according to the recommendations mentioned above.
Filmmaker's experience
"Filming closed communities can feel like an intrusive experience for them. This topic came up regularly during the preliminary field visits and made it clear that proper consultation beforehand was necessary. On one occasion, feedback came from the monks after filming that it was felt too intrusive to be filmed up close during prayers/vespers, despite prior consultation. They had expected the camera to keep more distance." (A. Kerkhof, filmmaker)
Recommendations
- Take enough time for location visits and do so as thoroughly as possible!
- Watch out for squeaky shoes! "At Tongerlo Abbey, my shoes made squeaking noises when making contact with the church floor. I could hardly move without disturbing the sound during Vespers." (A. Kerkhof, filmmaker)
- Shooting days can be very intrusive for communities; they may have to 'recover' from each visit. Be sure to take sufficient account of this.
Conclusion
The method of observational filming worked very well for documenting monastic crafts. Wide shots were used to capture the practitioners and their surroundings. Close shots made it possible to get detailed images of the making process.
Above all, thorough preparation was the key to success in this process. It ensured that the further documentation process could proceed clearly and smoothly.
02 Taxidermy
Trajectory
ETWIE (the Center for Industrial Heritage in Flanders) took on 2 of the 10 case studies within the Focus Craftership project. One of them was the craftership of taxidermy.
You used to only see them in a museum or on grandparents' chimneys, but nowadays mounted animals are all the rage again. From a wild boar to a fox and from a marten to a more exotic species. Even immortalising a beloved pet has long since ceased to be an exception.
The underlying craftership evolved with the times. Whereas taxidermists in the 17th century were still advising to regularly pan a stuffed animal to kill pests, today very different techniques are in use.
Context
Taxidermy literally means 'moving the skin'. In practice, it is much more than that. As a taxidermist, you need to have knowledge of anatomy, biology and chemistry. Woodworking, skin sewing, modelling and tanning and sculpting techniques complete the list of essential skills.
In short: craftership from head to tail. Some learn it from an experienced artisan, others follow specialised training. In the absence of long-term training, interested parties flock to the Forest and Fauna Training Centre in the Netherlands.
That is why ETWIE is now working on a video about the versatility of taxidermy and even an escape game. Not a set-up game, but a playful way to discover the technical tricks of the craftership.
The results of this case study will be shared later on.
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