Quo Grab #01

BACKGROUND This work explores how mobile devices can be used to create playful, personal and experimental films that use the documentation of everyday moments to create meaning in creative practice. Leo Berkeley (2014) writes how mobile devices are ideal for creating personal essay films, however these devices can also be used for more experimental practices, with Gerda Cammaer (2012) pointing to the use of home movies in experimental film towards the creation of new narratives. Questions arise around the relationship between home movies and social media video, especially pertaining to issues of self-representation and the multi-layered nature of work in the creative economy. CONTRIBUTION Quo Grab #01 explored ideas surrounding the implications of using the documentation of everyday moments for personal, creative, and social media use. Using Berkeley's contention of the smartphone being ideal for personal filmmaking and Cammaer's work on home movies for new experimental narratives, this film demonstrates that personal videos can be re-edited to create new meanings. In particular, the film's use of social media video and screen recordings depicting social platforms (such as Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat), show that the use of these platforms as part of the creative process raises questions about how they function as types of home movies, and how their use fits into a wider creative economy. SIGNIFICANCE Smartphone filmmaking practices often demonstrate the significance of using portable devices for the creation personal narratives that explore issues in the modern world. Working within this context, this film seeks to highlight the role of social media platforms as part of creative work, the depiction of the self in work concerning wider cultural experiences, and the playfulness often inherent in smartphone filmmaking. The film was commissioned by MARS Gallery for their exhibition at Melbourne Central Art Loop, Series Three: Issues of Tomorrow (1 June-1 Sept '17).