This week has been tough. Had a few blocks where i achieved very little. But i did transcribe all the recordings and laid down some structure using Reaper. Sometimes i get very excited as little bits hint at how good this could be. But then other times i get very deflated at something not quite turning out the way i want and being unable to find a workaround. For example, i had a load of great conversational snippets which i couldn't integrate into the audio. There are often bits i need to cut out because he talks about something too personal to share, the background noise is too disruptive, or because my voice features. Even once those are discarded, i have to make further cuts due to certain conversational pieces- which look great on paper- being incompatible due to changes in intonation. I'm opting to separate different bits of conversation using sound effects, and right now i have the sound of cars passing, but i'll diversify this in time.
Spent a few hours trying to get video footage to put over the audio, which has led to me feeling a bit down about the prospects. I'm using a cameraphone borrowed from my girlfriend, and no matter how much i try to hold it still or tape it to something heavier, the movements i'm making result in any edit looking really cheap and crappy. So i'm going to have to buy a tripod for the phone, and/or rent a video camera. I've also come to the conclusion that only showing bits of his flat with a voice over probably wont be good enough for this to be in any way effective. There simply isn't enough material, and i really think the overall vid would suffer if i'm not able to video him going about his daily business. I think it would struggle to hold someone's interest. I'm a bit nervous about broaching this subject, as i know he'll shut me down very quickly. I dont want to put him beyond his comfort zone, but at the same time it really would be sooooo helpful if he allowed me to just get 15 or so mins of him doing various stuff with his back turned. I do have a little hope he can be persuaded.
Made some enquiries about getting his work professionally photographed. With some high res photos i was hoping to crack on with making contact with various galleries and critics, either via email, or turning up armed with prints of his work and letters outlining my plans. Not sure which is best. I figured it's good to show enthusiasm in person, but i'm also weary of mumbling and sounding unsure about what it is i want and what i hope to achieve. I can't deliver a verbal pitch to save my life. But this too has raised some problems. Namely that my grandfather has got very defensive about the idea of letting someone into his flat to take photographs. This would need to be a home visit, as he certainly wouldn't allow me to take them away somewhere, and the paintings i want to make copies of are too big to carry. I might manage to shoulder 1 by myself, but considering the expense involved i'd really like to get a few done at the same time if possible.