The Producer
(followed by associated research)
Jacob Gottlieb
Jacob is the Producer of Shelf Life. He struggles to write bis own bio because he is secretly insecure he doesn't have enough to write about. Sometimes he writes screenplays, but as previously mentioned, he is now producing. When he is not producing short documentaries, he is producing carbon-dioxide (from oxygen).
Logline & Synopsis
Logline:
As local community businesses struggle in beachside Manly, one bookstore is kept alive by a small group of friends who’s one and only focus is bringing locals together to create, perform, and connect.
Synopsis:
The documentary is roughly split into 3 sections. In each section we aim to focus on a separate layer that constitutes the “space” of the bookshop. Each layer is a distinct facet of the function and focus of the bookshop and those that frequent it.
We open on the facade of the bookstore. This serves an introduction to the subject, and acknowledges the physical space that it occupies. We continue the introduction inside the shop, quick shots familiarise us with its interior layout.
We are introduced to Dom. He is one of the owners of the shop, and one of two owners that will be appearing in the film. He is interviewed to camera, and on the fly as he walks around the shop. Dom talks us through his conflicting feelings about running the shop; on the one hand he loves his community and talking art/philosophy/literature/music with those that come into the shop, on the other hand he hates running a shop. We see some customers browsing the shelves and exploring rows of vinyl throughout Dom’s interview.
We are then introduced to Julia. She is interviewed to camera. Julia talks to us about a time in her life, before she became owner, that she would frequent the bookshop to read and relax as she processed the end of a relationship. She confides in us that she developed a special affinity for the shop, and an insight into what it could be for other people. Julia’s interview is intercut with scenes of customers who utilise the bookstore as a place to socialise, or escape to.
Julia and Dom are then interviewed together. They discuss the value and purpose of the work they do in the shop. Specifically they talk to us about the monthly open-mic night, where locals convene to perform music, stories, poems, and more for one another. As they discuss this we see scenes from an open-mic. Some of the performers tell us what the open-mic and the space provided by the shop means to them.
We conclude with the same introductory shots. This time the shots are darker. It is night time.
We hear the applause of the open-mic.
Scholarly Research
In his discussion of space, geographer Nigel Thrift (2009) identifies four different types of spaces.
Empirical space refers to physical objects or structures, their dimensions, and their relation to other empirical spaces. Thrift (2009) notes that empirical space is socio-economically constituted, and gives measurements (i.e. cm, km) as an example of how such empirical spaces are taken for granted as they are the product of slow progressive standardisation. (pp.86-88).
Flow space refers to the movements between spaces. It consequently refers to the regulation of movement by borders and boundaries. It can similarly refer to economics in the sense that economy is the flow and regulation of currency. Furthermore it can refer to the behaviour of certain groups as regulated by their surroundings (Thrift, 2009 pp.88-90).
Image space is concerned with the subjective space of representation and association. It refers to the notion that any given image is an image in and of itself as well as a representation of a web of disparate spaces. Thrift (2009) notes that twenty-first century image space is characterised by saturation and competition between images for our attention (pp.90-91).
Place space is a space that is considered more appropriate or equipped for a human being to live in. This too is a socio-economically constituted space, as the terms ‘human being’, and ‘live’ are subjective in this context. Place space thus refers to spaces that are created by the ways in which we live (Thrift, 2009 pp.91-93).
This four-facet understanding of space is the conceptual framework through which we hope to explore space in Shelf Life.
We acknowledge empirical space in showing the full facade of the shop, and juxtaposing it to shots of surrounding Manly.
We explore flow space as we show the shop operating as a business. We show Dom’s movements throughout the shop as hear of his ‘movements’ through life, and as we see the movement of customers in, around, and out of the shop.
We explore image space as we hear Julia’s personal associations with the shop and what she hopes it could represent for locals. Similarly, we see flashes of Julia’s hopes coming true as customers interact; we see also these interactions represented in short tableau-shots of spaces within the shop, the arrangements of which suggests how the space was being used.
Finally, we try to show that the way in which the shop navigates and utilises the first three facets of space creates a place space that attracts corresponding types of people that are all interested in a corresponding types of interaction.
Reference:
Thrift, N. (2009). ‘Space: The fundamental stuff of geography’ Ch.5 in Key Concepts in Geography. Clifford, N. J. London: SAGE. pp. 85-96.