MOVING IMAGE NAN GOLDIN as a photographer Having done research on the photographer herself, Nan Goldin was a woman more interested in the subculture of New York. Her work explored and documented issues raised in drugs, sex, and the ‘culture of obsession and dependency’. Her work is described as a ‘private journal made public to others’. Analysis of Image under Examination I have noted down on the image itself brief notes of the image under analysis. The the basic mis-en-scene of the image is 2 young looking girls standing in what seems to be a dressing room. There are two big mirrors from what we can see in the room. The reflection of the main girl standing looking at the camera, is reflected from the 2 nd mirror which the 2nd girl is standing against. The room walls are either painted or covered in butterflies. The 2 girls are wearing underwear with a chiffon type material as an overlay so there skin isn’t directly out. In the bottom left corner we can see what appears to be a sink, a lamp and a dispenser of some kind. The lamp resembles that of a French chandelier, and the design on the mirror appears to be old fashioned Celtic with its elongated gothic lines. This evokes a sense of an older era, which to me gives me the impression that these girls may be from of a French/European decent. As they are standing in white/plain/simple/elegant and young looking underwear, I am given a sense of their innocence. The main girl looks very healthy, with her long golden locks, but her stern troubled face gives me the impression her life is of some sort of trouble. I have presumed that these girls are high class prostitutes. Very young and lost, somewhat in need of someone to take care of them I feel they have been misguided into a life of prostitution. This picture also does remind me of the film ‘black swan’ which in my interpretation is about the inner demons of a beautiful looking girl (‘swan’). It references sex, desire, passion and issues within society amongst many others. These girls are very much a conception of that. The fact that they are wearing the same pattern as the walls almost makes them blend into the walls. If I look at that in philosophical terms with regards to society, it almost makes it look like they have become a product of their environment, a pawn to the game. However there is still a depth by the stance and the look in the blonde girls’ eye which makes me as the viewer want to know who she is, what she is doing and why she has done this ect. The blonde girls also looks like the dominating character, not only because she is the main subject of the picture, but because of the way she has her focus on the camera and the other girls focus is on her. Her frowning eyebrows and facial expression almost show her as the figure who has no fear. She looks like the domineering girl between the 2. As in she is the one who teaches and the other one just listens.
TREATMENT This film will be titled ‘beautiful car crash’. It is a one minute film inspired by a photograph taken by Nan Goldin for Carrie Anne Burton & Dorte Limkildes’ fashion line. The picture inspired me to produce a one minute movie about 2 girls who are young high class prostitutes. I will use the picture as a reference point for just a few seconds in the production itself. I will be using Jayme and my sister Natalie as the main girls. Jayme will be walking out of a room with a distressed look on her face, as if to say she has just done something which has upset her. However she remains calm as she walks into the dressing room, where the other girl Natalie is standing. They will exchange a few words, just before the camera pans off and the film ends. I will be taking relatively long cuts for a one minute film, as it’s more of a documentation of the characters, not of the scenery. I will be using quite dim lighting to evoke a sense of darkness, to make the viewer imagine how beautiful these 2 girls would have been before they made a decision to walk into the shadows. Scene 1 The camera is focused on a door which leads to a long corridor. It is a bedroom door which Jayme then walks out of. I will shoot this in 2 ways. One as a long shot of her coming out of the room in distress as she holds her chest, breathes and holds her head down as she walks off. I will do another cut of this as the camera focuses on her feet as she walks out of the room, stands in one position next to the door for a few seconds, and walks down the corridor. Scene 2 The camera is focusing on the delicate parts of Natalies body whilst she is putting on her makeup or playing with her hair. Jayme walks into the room and hold her head down as she quietly and calmly closes it behind her. Natalie doesn’t seem fazed by this at all. It seems all normal to her, almost as if she has been in this profession for a reasonable time to have seem this all before. She then looks in the mirror at the reflection of Jayme, who is standing behind her braced against the wall. Close ups of Jayme’s hands twitching and her fingers twiddling to show her feeling uncomfortable. Close ups of Jaymes facial expressions and a close up of Natalie glimpsing at her whilst she still applies her makeup. Scene 2 ext dialogue Natalie:- ‘don’t think about it’ Jayme looks down but quickly looks back up at her. Natalie stares at her. Natalie:- ‘let them have your body and you can have your soul for a few minutes. Its beautiful. You just don’t see it yet.’ They stare at each other for a few seconds. Natalie then walks over to her and strokes her hair. There is a close up of her finger running through Jaymes hair. Jayme just looks at her. Natalie smiles at her. But Jayme looks very scared, but trusts her at the same time.
The camera then watches Natalie leave the dressing room as she smiles at Jayme. Jayme then is left standing in the dim dressing room, takes one look at herself in the mirror before the camera pans out and fades.