The Trinket Man
Personal Credits:
CO-DIRECTOR, EDITOR, COLORIST
A documentary project about David Pinnock, a father who collects many different ‘trinkets’. This film gives an insight into his habits, and why he still collects to this day.
Reflection
The Trinket Man is a film that successfully tells David’s story in a compelling and memorable way. The film’s pacing allows the audience to engage deeply with the narrative, providing space to reflect between key moments. During editing, one of my biggest challenges was selecting the most impactful and emotionally resonant sections from an hour of interview footage. As this was my first experience editing a documentary, distilling the content to preserve its core themes while maintaining brevity and freshness was a significant undertaking. Ultimately, I believe I achieved this balance.
During a preview screening, I received feedback that I found valuable. To create a more thematically cohesive film, I would have opted to shoot more with a tripod. While the handheld approach lends a certain authenticity, it can also convey an unintended amateurish quality. I experimented with warp stabilisation in post-production, but found the results disorienting at times, so I chose not to alter the movement further. If given more time, I would have reshot certain sections, like the tracking shots of David entering charity shops, using a tripod instead of a shoulder rig to achieve a smoother and more polished look.
Additionally, the indoor scenes in the charity shops were shot at too warm a temperature, resulting in David’s skin tones appearing overly pink/red. At the time, my limited experience with colour correction hindered my ability to fully correct this in-camera issue. With more advanced knowledge, I would have addressed this more effectively. Below are photos illustrating the progression of the colour correction over time:
Any questions about the film?