Claire

Moving on from 'A day in the life of Claire' - I knew I wanted to film something that was a bit more individual.  From my trial films, I think the video of her leaving to go to band was most interesting.  I wanted to have her band (The Nonsense) in full set up (unlike the practise session I attended which was in a different location to usual), however over the past few weeks this was not possible, due to a variety of factors - illness, holiday, unable to get the practise room and Claire having other commitments.  I wanted to stick to the music element, as it is something that my sister is passionate about and very talented. 

I filmed a session of her practising in her room, and made it into a short film.  I started it using the morphed photographs as trialled in my previous film.  Ideally I would have liked to have her then leaving for band, and playing these 2 songs in full band set up however this was not possible.  

I would display these 2 films on different screens in the studio - ideally in the same room, both playing at exactly the same time, so that when people came across them they would think that they have already seen it - until they look a bit closer.  I like how the films leave a small element of mystery, tricking the viewer into wondering who is who.   

Simulating Expereince - Final Film

(with sound)

Claire                                                                          

or Claire?

Double Screen:

A day in the life of Claire

I took onboard the feedback from the tutorial & tried to develop the idea of being Claire's clone.  I filmed Clare's typical day and tried to re-enact this myself and edit it together so it is confusing for the viewer to work out whether it is the same person or different people.  I tried to incorporate everything from a normal day - getting up, leaving the house, arriving home, going for a run & doing lesson plans.  Unfortunately I was not able to go into work with her, as this would really have added to the simulation.  

A day in the life of Claire

I like how I started this film morphing an image of Claire into myself.  However, I don't feel that the video was very interesting, and wanted to focus more on something that is individual to Claire.

I tried to take a few images next to Claire similar to those of Monette & Mady by Photographer Maja Daniels.

Being Claire when Claire was not there

Since deciding to continue the idea of becoming my sister, I struggled at times to get hold of her!  As she is near completion of her PGCE she is very busy with lesson plans, as well as having to complete her masters essay, be the stage manager at the school production, and play in her band.

During this time I was wondering where Claire was, I decided to become her - think like her & do what I imagine her to be doing.

I wore her clothes, played her guitar, took over her laptop - replied to Facebook messages, and had a look in to work she does for her PGCE.

I created a lesson plan - very similar to the format Claire needs to use, but instead of doing GCSE Chemistry - I took my own focus on it and made a year 2/3 Art lesson:

The Marx Brothers & Maja Daniels

The Marx Brothers

During the group tutorial, I was lead to look at the Marx Brothers.  5 brothers in a family comedy act, originally from New York, enjoyed success in broadway and motion pictures from 1900 to the 1950s.  Each of them talented and unique, they made their way into singing and then into comedy.

From my time as 'cloning' my sister Claire, I felt there were similarities that linked to the Marx brothers mirror scene in their movie "Duck Soup".  The way I became my sister - adapting her mannerisms, clothing, attitude etc.

Maja Daniels

"Sometimes they don’t quite understand why I want to document their everyday life. Its an interesting challenge to make them understand how fascinated I am by this symbiotic existence that is so natural to them."

Whilst at the Sony World  Photography Awards at Somerset House, London, I came across a photographer Maja Daniels.  I was really fascinated by her photos of Monette & Mady, identical twins who are inseparable and have lived their whole lives closely together.  After further research into the photographer and this long-term project documenting the lives of Monette & Mady, the images become as much about sociology as they do about photography.

They refer to themselves as "I" and not "we", and often finish each others sentences.  Neither Mady nor Monette are married or have children. They live their lives closely together and they have created an image as one.  They act, dance and model as a couple, and Paris is their stage.

“If we ever go out dressed in different outfits people will come up to us wondering why we are arguing. Perhaps it has become even more important for them to see us dressed identically than it is for us.”

http://majadaniels.com/projects/monette-mady/

I also had a look into a National Geographic Article about twins which was published in January 2012, which explored not only the common factors of being a twin, but also some startling differences between twins - wether through separation, environment or DNA.  This article was also accompanied with some amazing photographs.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/01/twins/miller-text

Diana Bozza comforts her identical twin, Deborah Faraday, at an assisted living facility in Front Royal, Virginia. Diagnosed eight years ago with early onset Alzheimer's disease, Deborah is now completely disabled, while Diana shows no symptoms of the illness.

Juan Barbachano (right) and his identical twin, Liana Hoemke, hold a photo of them as little girls with their baby brother.   Juan, born Juanita, says that from an early age he felt like a male trapped in a female's body.  Ten years ago, at 32, Juan began treatments to change gender.  

Board Game Development 2

After the group tutorial, general feedback was that I should continue to try and develop the film of being my sister's clone.  I intend to film further aspects of her day - a Day in the life of Claire Hunter - and try and make these clips as similar as possible.

People in the tutorial still liked the board game idea and so I thought maybe I should try and incorporate it into the filming.  I continued to complete the board game - box and game cards included.  

Adobe Illustrator board game development:

The Game Board

The Box (Top)

The Box (Base)

Game Card Holder

Playing card
Domino (family dog)
Arthritis hits back legs
- Miss a Go - 

Playing card
Domino
Yummy toast crusts
- Move forward 1 space -

Playing card
Dad
Post Office release special
commemorative stamps
- Roll again - 

Playing card
Dad
Badminton partner injured
call off the game
- Move back 1 space - 

Playing card
Dani
Body combat class at the gym
- Move forward 2 spaces - 

Playing Card
Dani
Get stuck in an art project
- Miss a Go - 

Playing card
Mum
Zumba time
- Move forward 1 space - 

Playing card
Mum
Phone rings  - Blackburn again
- Miss a Go - 

Playing card
Claire
New series of Dr Who
- Roll again - 

Playing card
Claire
The Nonsense get a gig
- Move forward 1 space -