This has been an incredibly daunting personal task. And throughout storyboarding I've been really aware when my voice isn't quite clear. The problem is I'm never quite sure how to clarify it. It usually takes a lot of internet/youtube/google searches because, normally, what I'll need is a short clip or a slice of audio to allow Sarah say what Sarah needs to say (sorry for the third person).
I've been referring to David Shields' Reality Hunger throughout this process. Somehow, Shields was able to maintain his voice when his voice wasn't even present. I think what it comes down to is canons. What is your personal canon? How do you use it? I've been pulling from own canon for some of the review. Little bits I remember seeing and ways of saying things that I can hear myself saying. This, of course, means I've been scouring my brain for memorable lines from romcoms and chickflicks (my faves), and many tap into the sarcastic/irreverent voice I use, especially when I'm talking about something serious...and need a moment to zoom out.
I also think going back to my original text has been incredibly useful in maintaining my voice. I am much more comfortable expressing a range of emotions and ideas through writing. I'm not as impressionable. In contrast, with film, I've been getting ideas from everywhere, and it's difficult to flesh out what works with my voice versus what I think is cool or might be fun to try. I keep going back to my original notes to remember how I said things (because a lot of the time I liked how I said those things!).
And I keep reflecting on what dance critic Sarah Kaufman told me at the end of our interview. I asked her whether about being the rare voice out of many that didn't like a performance. She said it happens, and to go with your gut. But to always have reasons to back up your gut. I think paying attention to instinct is a really accurate way of knowing when my voice is or isn't present. When my voice is present, I know I'm telling the story I want to tell. For example, I originally started the film storyboards by setting the scene within the O2 arena. I never felt confident about this choice. And admittedly, it was an easy, lazy choice. It was essentially copying what the other written reviews had been doing, and that meant I wasn't adding anything new to the conversation. Describing what the O2 arena looked like wasn't how I'd tell the beginning of this story. It wasn't until I started looking back at all of my weird footage and found a film I had made of a couple of the ballet dancers who did an interview on This Morning. I heard the talkshow host introduce them, and I knew this was how the film needed to begin. Immediately, these dancers, on this show, hosted by this guy was the right way to begin, and it felt like that's how I'd tell the story to someone. That's what was interesting to me. And like Kaufman says, review writing is about being conscious of what interests you.
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