MSTA

Barbour, Karen."Sustainable dance making: Dancers and choreographers in collaboration." (2008).

In an article written by Karen N. Barbour, titled “Sustainable dance making:Dancers and choreographers in collaboration”, the process of collaboration within the dance industry is broken down by the experiences of dancers within the field and her own recollection (2008). Barbour mentions that collaboration is often new for both professional and community dancers and offers its own challenges. Barbour writes

“As a consequence of the newness of the process of collaboration, more time was required than typically expected for the development and production of a performance work. Time allowed for relationships to developed, processes to be negotiated and trust between those involved to be nurtured.” (47)

After writing this Barbour mentions that the relationship between collaborators and the idea of personal growth within individuals was necessary to the process of collaboration (47). As seen in Barbour’s work, analyzing past experiences and looking critically at collaborations in this way can provide a basis of reason and understanding for common industry practices surrounding collaboration.

In context of my research project,Barbour’s writing provides an understanding of the processes of collaboration on individuals and how it affects each person within the dance industry. Betaking note from Barbour’s writing, I can frame my documentary around the good and the bad that can come from collaboration. Instead of trying to prove the point that “collaboration is good for artists”, my research can address the benefits alongside the issues of collaboration in such an interdisciplinary industry.

Bell, Jill Sinclair. “Narrative Inquiry: More Than Just Telling Stories.” TESOL Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 2, 2002, pp.207–213. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3588331.

The legitimacy of narrative inquiry as a research methodology is proven within this journal article written by York University faculty, Jill Sinclair Bell.

Constructing a narrative comes with a set of ethical challenges as well. How narrative is used is an important subject that my research takes into consideration. Jill Sinclair Bell talks about the formation of narratives and their overall purpose in their journal article “Narrative Inquiry: More Than Just Telling Stories” (2002). Bell states, “Narratives allow researchers to present experience holistically in all its complexity and richness. They are therefore powerful constructions, which can function as instruments of social control (Mumby, 1993) as well as valuable teaching tools (Egan, 1988)” (209).

In Bell’s writing, the importance of a well-constructed narrative is emphasized and demonstrates the possibilities of how narrative inquiry can be used to convey a particular narrative on a subject. Bell also writes that narrative inquiry is a key method in understanding the experiences and cultures that exist within groups and challenge one’s own assumptions by understanding stories told by others. The article also mentions the use of narrative inquiry in a practice beyond just storytelling and how narrative inquiry can be used for analytical examination in order to gather information from any underlying insights within stories that are told (Bell 208).

 In the case of my research project, my narrative is primarily a learning tool, providing useful insight into collaboration. It is less about swaying the viewer to believe collaboration is good for creative individuals, but more to show the realities of collaboration(both positive and negative) and its effect on the collaborators.

Levine,John M., et al. “Newcomer Innovation in Work Teams.” Group Creativity:Innovation through Collaboration, by Paul B. Paulus and Bernard Arjan Nijstad, Oxford University Press, 2003, pp. 202–202.

As mentioned by Paul B. Paulus and Bernard Arjan Nijstad in the chapter “Group Creativity: Innovation through Collaboration”, teamwork and co-creation provide an opportunity for innovation in organizations (23). Paulus and Nijstad state that innovation and collaboration harbor a few challenges. Among these challenges is the relationship between the “newcomer” and the organization.

This article discusses the importance of challenging hierarchical structures within companies and how organizations within creative fields require innovation which can be achieved primarily through newcomers. This article also mentions the importance of social and group factors that influence the creative process, which is important within the context of how we document artists and creatives (instead of documenting just one artists, we should be documenting the groups behind artists as well)(3).

In a broader scope, this article provides a basis of understanding for how to conduct research on creativity within group settings and how to analyze group dynamics and their influence on the areas of problem-solving, innovation and success within collectives.

In the context of my research project, this chapter discusses how collaboration can be effective for organizations (23), which has helped me formulate relevant interview questions to dig deeper into how new ideas have helped shaped innovation within the collectives I am interviewing. I found that understanding the hierarchical structures within collectives can help me frame my research around the different internal group interactions and how more established collectives perform against less established collectives, in terms of innovation and success.

Sawyer, R. Keith, and Stacy Dezutter. “Distributed Creativity: How Collective Creations Emerge from Collaboration.” Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, vol. 3, no. 2, 2009, pp. 81–92.,doi:10.1037/a0013282.

In the process of conducting interviews, I noticed the necessity for interactional analysis, a form of analysis talked about in Keith and Dezutter’s article “Distributed Creativity: How Collective Creations Emerge from Collaboration” (2009). Interactional analysis consists of understanding the dynamics of collaborations and the collaborative processes that occur within groups (81). By analyzing a “non-individualistic”creative process this article is able to touch upon how creativity is handled in a collective experience. The term “distributed creativity” is coined within this article as it analyzes the process of shared creativity and problem-solving. The overall aim of this article is to draw a clear correlation between collaboration and creativity and how collaboration plays a role in the effectiveness of creativity.

Drawing from this article, I have found it necessary for my narrative to be constructed in a way that further showcases these collaborative processes by remaining aware of group dynamics and hierarchical structures within teams. I also found this article to be especially helpful when deciding how to approach my interview questions, whether to focus solely on individuals within the group or to focus on group answers only. I took influence from this article by framing the structure of my documentary in a way that provided both shared experiences and answers (group interviews) as well as having individuals share their experiences in solo interviews.

Perry, Sondra, director. IT’S IN THE GAME ‘17. IT’S IN THE GAME ‘17, 2017, www.sondraperry.com/IT-S-IN-THE-GAME-17-at-ICA-Philadelphia.

Sondra Perry’s “IT'S IN THE GAME '17” is a great example of a project that utilizes film and narrative inquiry to describe the issue surrounding the corporate exploitation of Black American men and their likeness for basketball video games. Narrative inquiry is used in this project through stories told from her brother, who’s appearance and likeness was exploited by Electronic Arts (EA) and used within a video game released by them. Her brother was included in a class action lawsuit against EA and this inspired Sondra Perry’s project. The information gained from her brother’s stories is the direct influence for the visuals that accompany the story told by her brother.

In one segment in particular, Sondra has a screen that displays legal forms that are talked about in the video essay and on another screen she has her brother exploring spaces such as museums with showcases of African art adding to the commentary of the exploitation of Black bodies in a broader scope. This project is a good example of letting the issue you are trying to address tell the story and have visuals only serve to aid the progression of the narrative you wish to tell.

Within context of my research project, Sondra Perry’s video installation provides a dynamic way of incorporating visual storytelling with audio narrative. I found her work especially useful when identifying the key points of my documentary that I wanted to have strong visual representation in. I found that identifying significant points within the stories I gathered through my interviews I could construct a narrative that had relevant and attention grabbing visuals that allow for the viewer to remain engaged to both the audio and visual segments of my documentary.

Kunuk , Zacharias and Ian Mauro, directors. Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change. IsumaTV,2010, www.isuma.tv/inuit-knowledge-and-climate-change/movie.

Zacharias Kunuk and Ian Mauro’s 2010 documentary film “Qapirangajuq: Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change” uses narrative inquiry as a means of explaining the effects of climate change through the eyes of Canadian Inuit people. By interviewing Inuit people, the documentary addresses the effects of climate change on their livelihood and how evident climate change has become for them.

This documentary film emphasizes the importance of storytelling and knowledge transfer as a cultural aspect for the Inuit people. In regards to climate change, storytelling from Elders revealed how information about the climate could be gathered from particular aspects of Inuit life. In a segment of the documentary, the Inuit are speaking on how they could tell the climate was changing based on the thickness and feel of the fur on a seal. This is a great example of the knowledge transfer that a narrative inquiry methodology provides. There is a lot of data that can be extracted from stories and experiences and only by engaging in dialogue would this knowledge be able to be passed on.

This project has served as a guide for the kind of responses I hoped to evoke with my interviews. I gained insight from the interviews I conducted and like this film, my research plays a role in the transferring of knowledge that can only be gained by using narrative inquiry as a methodology. Through understanding the experiences of creatives within collaborations my documentary film provides an insight into cultures that exist within collectives.

NOISEY Bompton: Growing up with Kendrick Lamar, YouTube, 16 Feb. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA1EmLFi4OA.

In this documentary by NOISEY Bompton, the life and music of rapper and hip-hop artist, Kendrick Lamar, is told through his account. Through interviews with Kendrick Lamar and his neighborhood friends, Kendrick’s purpose behind his music is told and insight is given into the reality that surrounds the influence behind his music.Growing up in the West side of Compton, California, Kendrick Lamar experienced the challenges of being affiliated with the gang lifestyle within his city. As a means of escaping this lifestyle, Kendrick turned to music to provide a message for his people and himself that could influence people to engage in a lifestyle greater than violence and poverty. In later segments of the documentary,Kendrick Lamar’s friends and family are interviewed and given the opportunity to comment on aspects of his life growing up in Compton and their experiences with him as well.

This documentary film does a great job of telling a straightforward narrative that engages users with stunning visuals and engaging music. The interview portions of this documentary provide genuine accounts from the interviewee and allow for the interviewee to have the stage. This documentary does a great job at setting the scene as well, showcasing the environment in which Kendrick Lamar grew up, allowing for the visuals to depict the reality that is behind the messages in his music.

This documentary style is important to my research project because it encompasses real life accounts from the people being documented. It provides room for storytelling, visuals and clear narrative construction. The clear linear construction of the documentary provides an easy-to-follow guide through the flow of the film. This is something that is especially important when creating a short documentary film (30 minutes or under).

6IX RISING: Toronto’s Rap Ascendance, YouTube, 20 Nov. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmEfBgESjKk.

In this documentary by NOISEY, titled “6IX RISING: Toronto’s Rap Ascendance”, Toronto’s rap scene is highlighted and documented in a full length film. Toronto rappers, Big Lean, CMDWN, Friyie, Jazz Cartier, Pressa and Prime Boys are interviewed and given the opportunity to share their experiences in the rap scene in Toronto. Through narrative inquiry and in-depth interviewing, this documentary provides the viewer with information necessary to answer the question “What makes Toronto’s rap scene so special?”. This documentary provides enough basis for viewers to understand the time, effort and motivation that backs the music these artists create and does an excellent job of showcasing this. Like other NOISEY documentaries, the style is very on-par with their branding and follows a similar aesthetic as their other documentary films. The narrative construction of this film is also similar to their other films, such as “NOISEY Bompton: Growing up with Kendrick Lamar”, following a linear narrative.

In relevance to my research project, this documentary provides a simple structure to follow when interviewing multiple groups. The editing of this film provides a clear direct narrative that focuses on one group at a time. When thinking of the structuring of my film this documentary played an important role in helping me understand the easiest way to group my interviews within the overall narrative. Structuring the documentary in sequence by the groups being interviewed allows for focus to be had on the groups rather than the questions being asked.