The Creator's Intention vs. The Audience's Perception in Filmmaking

Some of the most productive exercises undertaken in this class were the group critiques of all our multimedia work. The most important lesson I learnt from these sessions is that once a piece of work is released into the public domain the intention of the creator is for the most part disregarded. How we construct our narratives is a serious consideration if we expect to convey our message effectively. If you are presenting to an audience, it is important that their needs and expectations be considered if your message it be conveyed at all- we don’t often create videos to reassure ourselves of our own understandings about the world. The moment your work is left to the interpretation of an audience, the intention of the artist, and his own understanding of the piece must take a back seat to what others get from the work- it has to speak for itself. This sometimes functions to either weaken or strengthen the piece created.

Our classmates were always very receptive and forgiving. They filled in the blanks where our editing, and creative process didn’t or couldn’t. They asked us to clarify things that sometimes should have been clarified in the work, and gave us the benefit of the doubt when we helped them make sense of an inconsistency in the work presented. In the virtual world of the Internet, though, audiences are not always as forgiving. Mediocre work, or work that is based on spurious arguments, are ripped to shreds in the blogosphere and on mainstream media platforms, before the author ever has a chance to share his original intention.

While I was making my final video I never thought much about my audience. I had a story to tell, and I was going to tell it the best way I knew how. Sometimes this is enough, because the story you have to tell is one that others want to hear, but it is never easy to gauge this. Time and time again filmmakers create works that only appeal to niche markets, whose support is sometimes not sufficient to recover all costs spent in creating the project. Commercial filmmakers and producers have to always consider, what is the intended audience? What research is available to suggest that the content of the proposed work would appeal to this audience? Is the argument chosen to be examined the best argument that can be derived from all the footage shot? What length is most suitable for a film of a particular genre?

There are many small details of my film that a non-Jamaican wouldn’t recognize. The scenes depicting everyday life in Jamaica speak to my childhood, and the poverty endured by my family, led by my mom who never finished high school. Few people would understand the significance of this to my life today. The music speaks directly to Jamaicans of my generation and my parent’s generation, as an acknowledgement of the many problems faced by Jamaicans, and the hope we have for the future. There are many proverbs in our language that speaks to the sentiment in these songs- times are hard, but so long as we can breathe we will be thankful. The final videos of the men’s 100m final and the men’s 4 x 100m relay final, two world-record breaking performances, were watched live by most Jamaicans in 2008. Many of us can tell you the winning times, and will remember where we were as we watched the Jamaicans conquer the world.

Was the work successful? I believe it was, but I don’t have any measure- such as ticket sales- to determine how audiences perceived my work. Perhaps we should have been asked to make 30 second trailers, and have each student select five films they desire to watch. Though, I guess we can’t depend solely on audiences for an appraisal of quality; everyone is looking for something different, and may choose based on which films gives the most laughs, for example, as opposed to the film that is best edited and that explores an interesting topic. After all my efforts at creating visual arguments in class, I think it is most important to consider and understand the dynamic relationship between a creator and his audience, as well as to find ways to ensure that purpose and perceived purpose are comparable. As we are often counselled, every creative decision must be deliberate, and every critique should be anticipated.