The Performative Mode

I am using a performative mode of documentary style. By capturing the interrelationships between objects and space, I have attempted to incite emotion by calling on the viewer to reflect on the meaning of blowing things apart for the sake of experimentation.

In putting together the video, I thought about my own feelings about explosive devices,people I know who have had first hand experience of such explosive devices and their effects. I contemplated the act of terrorism, where unsuspecting objects are used to trigger destruction, in this case the balloon. Often what starts out as innocent curiosity, turns to experimentation and finally intent, this is reflected by the actor discovering then playing with the balloon until he finally gets it to lift off and send it into the tunnel to cause an explosion. The final scene is where the actor blows apart a final floating panel, nothing is left to survive ,,, one wonders, as the final shots cause a 'birth' of smaller particles.

My test area was in a tunnel to reflect the idea of being trapped with only 'one way out'. Blowing things up in a tunnel contains and conceals the act and can cause maximum damage as particles are not able to dissipate so easily as in open air. The parts turn over and over inside the tunnel, but outside they rise up and escape from the entrance.

Definition

The performative mode of documentary raises questions about what knowledge is. It sets out to demonstrate how the specificities of personal experience provide entry into an understanding of the more general processes at work in society. It does so by stressing the emotional complexity of experience from the perspective of the film maker. Performative documentaries stress tone and mood, more so than arguments and evidence. These films primarily address the spectator. Performative documentaries call for an emotional responsiveness from us that acknowledges an understanding of an event, more so than asking us to gain knowledge from it.

Ref: http://apwadenius.com/apwadenius.com/INTRO%20TO%20FILM_files/DocuWS.pdf