Caeruleus

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to accompany the fifteen minute documentary Caeruleus, which means blue in Latin. The picture gives an insight into what it is like to live within a minute community on the tiny isle of Comino in 2012. This is achieved through exclusive interviews with the four remaining inhabitants of Comino. The production attempts to merge an ethnographic methodology with an artistic approach in presentation. This is achieved through the use of ethnographic practices, which include building rapport, accessing the field and interviewing. The artistic element manifests itself through the communication of the message through the use of visually pleasing footage, including aerial footage of the isle, which is edited creatively to create a dynamic narrative and cut to music creating an engaging experience. With this production I want to show how ethnographic documentaries can be aesthetically pleasing and entertaining. Caeruleus intends to invoke the emotions one experiences when visiting the chosen location. The production aspires at being one of quality both on a theoretical as well as a practical level. This dissertation consists of the journey I have taken in producing the documentary and all the experiences I went through in dealing with the people of Comino between August 2011 and March 2012.