I think I have a constant sense of transience as a vital element of much of my work and writing. Certainly much of my journalism is not documenting the now - it's very much a product of the current culture of news and of reportage as well as of the subjects I find. Part of the transience is the fact that I work for daily and weekly papers, which are archived but tend to be seen more as artifacts of the time - things to be documented rather than documentaries themselves.
I'm starting to blog, boo and use images to document life and process around that reportage at the moment - and finding it immensely valuable as a reflection and in the engagement that comes as part of opening the "back door" so that people who would normally be readers for the finished work become involved with the process of creation too. It's all a big experiment for me at present, which I hope will become a useful document/documentary across multiple media.
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm subscribing in itunes so your boo's come to my phone.
To carry on from what you were saying. I like to blog stuff just as much for the 'long tail' as for the moment. I think we should be documenting the now for the listeners and viewers that may come across our work in 10/20/30 years or more. I often have this in mind when documenting. If the publication you write for does not do this. Keep your copy and archive it in a way it will still be valuable in years to come. It makes the work you put in now so much more worth it.
As well as this 'long tail' for me much of the 'value' comes from the act of documenting itself. The lessons learned, the interaction and connection, the moment.
I think I have a constant sense of transience as a vital element of much of my work and writing. Certainly much of my journalism is not documenting the now - it's very much a product of the current culture of news and of reportage as well as of the subjects I find. Part of the transience is the fact that I work for daily and weekly papers, which are archived but tend to be seen more as artifacts of the time - things to be documented rather than documentaries themselves.
I'm starting to blog, boo and use images to document life and process around that reportage at the moment - and finding it immensely valuable as a reflection and in the engagement that comes as part of opening the "back door" so that people who would normally be readers for the finished work become involved with the process of creation too. It's all a big experiment for me at present, which I hope will become a useful document/documentary across multiple media.
To carry on from what you were saying. I like to blog stuff just as much for the 'long tail' as for the moment. I think we should be documenting the now for the listeners and viewers that may come across our work in 10/20/30 years or more. I often have this in mind when documenting. If the publication you write for does not do this. Keep your copy and archive it in a way it will still be valuable in years to come. It makes the work you put in now so much more worth it.
As well as this 'long tail' for me much of the 'value' comes from the act of documenting itself. The lessons learned, the interaction and connection, the moment.