Development

BRAZILIAN JIU JITSU COMMUNITIES

AN INTERACTIVE WEBSITE ABOUT BJJ AND VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

This project and website reflects the original goal of creating a short film. Below outlines and represents some of that process in a direct fashion. This page looks at a symbolic camera and some aspects of the visioning process for filming projects. This page also reflects on the videos used for this website.

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The symbolic camera

The symbolic camera was a task, an arts & craft like activity to help us conceptualise the film project we students were going to make. My arts and crafts skills are second to everyone. The camera survived many reincarnation cycles. The symbolic camera I made, took the shape of an actual camera, however the design and pictures used on the surface reflected my intention for the Visual Anthropology film project. The camera for me has in recent years become a way to engage the world in a specific fashion. Often I have only utilised cameras when travelling, taking pictures of people, places, and objects as a way to create memories when I have been lucky enough to see new countries. The camera became a way for me to look for interesting parts of places, In turn this made me present in the moment. Although some aspect of the camera inherently separates you from the environment on an abstract level, the camera for me was a way to be present. These moments of, some level of presence are captured for me in the pictures I used to cover the symbolic camera.

This relates to my experience training for BJJ, in this environment, I was present. The natural intensity and focus of BJJ encouraged presence and attention, this helped me with life outside of BJJ in a multitude of ways. So this is how my symbolic camera came to represent my desired focus and theme of project. I was hoping to make a film that explored BJJ, its effect on the individual and the community of practitioners. Especially as through conversations with people and listening to podcasts, many people appear to experience this positive effect and more of BJJ. This goal has transitioned through to the content of this sight.

The process

The symbolic camera acted as a great tool in which to direct ideas and begin thinking about the Visual Anthropology project. The symbolic camera could be used as a way to interact with other people about the project. As a tool of visualisation and of self conceptualisation it is

interesting. Asking yourself questions is a key part of creating a film that is meaningful for audiences who view it. Although the film ideas this symbolic camera began to help construct have not been made, it was useful in directing motivations. A large part of the process in the film project was watching documentaries and dissecting what stood out to me. I watched many documentaries with a critical and reflexive lens, attempting to accomplish this. Some of these documentaries have been discussed on this website and I have highlighted what information and moments resonated with me from these productions. In today's world we are lucky to have access to so many great visual creations that all uniquely tell us something about the world we are living in. Within the documentaries I watched, certain themes stood out to me, themes that I would like to touch on in my own work. Many documentaries create an atmosphere or feeling of honesty, subtle camerawork, editing, and nuanced cinematography can bring the viewers guard down. Interviews that bring the audience into the room allowing the ability to listen attentively resonated with me. I watched student film projects from previous years, another theme of documentaries stood out to me in these great films. The focus on people, the focus on individuals and their lives. This form of storytelling has a certain ethnographic authenticity which has the ability to intricately, carefully, and purposefully speak to larger topics of society in meaningful and productive fashions.

This for me was represented in the short documentary, 'Technologically Ill', created and directed by Noemie Degiorgis. This film contemplates the idea that in today's world we are more technologically connected than ever, yet emotionally distance. This is achieved through an intimate look at two people's lifestyles which reflects onto the societal level. The intimacy and honesty of the film really resonated with me. This film influenced the style of project I wanted to complete, an intimate look at individuals which reflects society, this is a very ethnographic idea and reflects a strength of visual anthropological focus, capabilities, and potential. As part of the visioning process for directing my attention for the project, I worked through Director Michael Rabiger's exercises (2004). Many of these exercises are about reflecting on one's life, the purpose of this being to understand oneself to a degree that allows one to be honest with the subjects of a film and reciprocate honesty collaboratively. The exercises throughout this process were revealing, resulting in a collection of focus points. The themes that arose to me through self studies is that I wanted to focus on being present, which is an idea approached by humans in such a variety of multifaceted practices across the world. In terms of the course teachings, one idea of both theoretical and practical inclination was intention. When using a camera or media it is important to ask yourself what is the intention? What is hoped to be achieved in a specific action? This idea is a critical and simultaneously reflexive notion that appears to me as transferable to almost all areas of life. Within an attention to intention is the understanding of when to adapt from original intentions which has been a large part of this website and interactive documentary. I came to believe that my Visual Anthropology and BJJ can be conceptualised as two crafts which share intimate connections in many ways, this idea has been folded into this website.

References:

Rabiger, M. (2004). Directing the Documentary. Routledge.

Degiorgis, N. (2019). Technologically Ill. Link: https://degiorgisnoemie.wixsite.com/mysite

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4 Reflection on header clips

This section looks to reflexively reflect on the header clips. The top three clips on the left, are videos I have collected in which to learn BJJ techniques. There is a large online learning community with BJJ, especially on Youtube and Instagram. These clips have various meanings to me and translate information about BJJ communities and practise.

1-This clip is used on the home page and on the reflexive commentary page. This was intended to create a full circle effect, connecting the beginning and end. The video utilises light beautifully and I feel it draws the viewer in curiously to the complexity of BJJ movements. Also this media was selected because in conversations with people about BJJ, often people would ask me if women participate. All genders and sexes participate in combat sports and martial arts all over the world and again this emphasises the value of equality in BJJ communities. This clip also shows people smiling and having a great time, reflecting the love people have for the practice and in turn, hopefully providing a welcoming entry to the website.

2-This clip has two people wearing the Gi attire, used on the Interview page. This video has a certain energy to it and is two people competitively rolling. This reflects the physicality of BJJ discourse. This clip also has great exposure, at the end they almost crash into the camera, this in some sense adds to the interactive capacity of the website. This clip reflects the dynamic visual movements of BJJ.

3-This clip is used on the Documentaries page. The people in the video are wearing clean aesthetic Gis which hopefully fits in with the design of this site. This scene also reflects the idea that BJJ is a 'game of inches'. There is a closeness between two people rolling, but in the clip, both people escape certain positions due to very slight spaces opening up.

4-This clip's editing creates a great flow. There is a transition between the outside of an MMA cage into the BJJ community. This shot draws the viewer into that BJJ community. The clip also illuminates many BJJ rituals, such as the class clapping in sync when a coach finishes teaching a technique.

All of these clips translate information about BJJ communities and practice in diverse ways. I chose this choice of media for the headers of the site as together they form a dynamic, informative, and exciting picture of BJJ. They speak to the ways in which visual formats convey socio-cultural insights, especially when contextualised with written text, this is an exciting, ethnographic, and essential element of Visual Anthropology.