By frag_editorial This comprises brief sections of a Zoom call recorded early in the first lockdown of 2020, during which I shared an archive travelogue about Birmingham with friends and invited their commentary. There was no real plan beyond ‘let’s see what happens and how this looks’, but revisiting the recording five years on I am struck by its resonance as a piece of social history, in addition to the insights into how personal familiarity affects perceptions of on-screen locations. It also functions as an initial experiment into the possibilities of embedding oneself within existing (or self-produced) content.
About the maker
Jemma Saunders is a doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham. Her audio-visual thesis explores how Birmingham is represented in popular film and television, interrogating aesthetics of the city in its role as both narrative setting and filming location, with videographic criticism as a core research methodology. She holds a BA in Medieval & Modern History; MA in History, Film & Television; and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2023 she was nominated as an ‘emerging voice’ in the Sight and Sound best video essays poll, and in 2024 was shortlisted for a Learning on Screen Award.
Contact
Bluesky: @jemsaunders1.bsky.social
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/jemmasaunders