Behind the scenes: Reporter’s Notebook
One of the best parts of working on Black Arts Legacies is being able to create work alongside Tifa Tomb, this project’s videographer. She’s been with BAL since the beginning, crafting excellent video profiles of our stellar subjects.
“The first year, I wasn’t really sure what to expect and how to structure the production of it all. So by this year, I’m a lot more confident in terms of getting the visuals that we need to tell the stories,” Tifa told me recently. “I just try to stay as curious as possible about what they have to say about their lives and their process.”
Even though our final written and filmed artist profiles are different, Tifa and I have similar processes for preparing: tons of background research. But for Tifa, there’s also a visual element.
“We talk [with the artist] about, like, OK, we’re coming to film the interview, but we also would like to get some view of you in your element, whatever that is. We just try to identify what their work is and how we could capture it visually,” Tifa says. “What can we see the person doing that will help tell the story of who they are?”
This year, I had the distinct pleasure of lurking behind the scenes with Tifa and her crew on a few video shoots — and it made me jealous. Writing can be such a solitary process, but when making a video, there are so many more people to talk to and run ideas past. On one shoot for a not-yet-announced BAL artist, Tifa — along with director of photography Neftali Kirkland and gaffer Papa Ibrahima Diop — ran the shoot like a well-oiled machine, framing shots and capturing the essence of the artist with ease. A definite benefit to working with a team versus toiling in front of my computer at home, as I’m wont to do.
As a bonus, Tifa says the project brings her closer to the Black arts community and the city.
“I start to see people and know about other people’s shows because of artists that we’ve profiled, and so it feels like the dots are a lot closer and they connect a lot more,” she reflects.
