CHLOE WILTSHIRE FASHION COMMUNICATION MODULE 1 RESEARCH FILE
CHLOE WILTSHIRE FASHION COMMUNICATION MODULE 1 PREPARATION FOR EXTENDED STUDY IN FASHION COMMUNICATION UADAKD-30-3 INSTAGRAM: chloecomm
WEDS 26TH SEPT LECTURE
WILL ROBSON-SCOTT IN DOGS WE TRUST “Since dogs were first domesticated, and an affinity has developed between them and their owners; not only do they frequently resemble each other. They even share personality traits and mirror each other’s behaviour. Dogs can be deliberately used for this purpose of conveying whatever the owner finds desirable. Often the affinity is less conscious, the master is unaware how much he looks like his dog.”
I looked at this series of photos as through my summer work and developing ideas and interests for third year, I discovered I had an interest in photography of similarities, especially between people. Something I wanted to look at was couples who looked similar.
There has always been a joke around the idea of pets and owners looking alike and in some of these photos this becomes very evident. There is also a strange atmosphere between owner and pet in these images. In none are they looking lovingly or have a strong sense of ownership to the animals, instead thy almost appear next to eachother in the photos as you would if you were having a photo with your sibling or friend.
I like these photos for the idea they are presenting and the interesting way they are composed i.e placement of person and dog in relation to one another. Despite this I feel there is something missing from the photos, not necessarily a back story as such but maybe it would be interesting to see how and if the photos look different if the person was placed in a more natural position with the dog and they were interacting with one another how they would normally.
LAW MAGAZINE DOCUMENTATION OF ITEMS BANKERS SHOES
PLASTIC BAGS
I found these images in LAW magazine really interesting. They are not all necessarily great quality photos, the composition isn’t perfect in every one, and in the second hand car photos it looks as though they were taken on a phone camera. But despite of this I feel this style of photography suits the images. Almost as though they are saying, these are basic everyday items, why try and elevate them to something they’re not. But then this is idea of them being everyday things and there for not important is then contrasted by someone deciding they are worthy of photographing and putting into a magazine. I personally find images of everyday things the most interesting as they are relatable but make the viewer consider them more as they are out of context in this frame of an image.
ROADSIDE CAFÈ’S
SECOND HAND CARS
TAKEAWAY LIGHT SIGNS
DASH
GILLIAN LAUB
Gillian Laub’s work is extremely interesting to me as it has this strange staged yet candid feel to it similar to that of Larry Sultan. The lighting within the images looks false and the composition of the people and what they are doing looks created yet it believable to be candid. This gives the images an almost surreal feeling, which is quite hard to capture. This staged / candid idea is something I explored slightly at the end of my second year and is still something that interests me now. I think I would like to experiment further with this idea but potentially with objects as the subject rather than people, create scenes and take objects out of context etc.
NATALIA PONIATOWSKA
Natalia Poniatowska’s work interested me because of it’s strange absence of life. Her photos feel almost empty because they often lack emotion, faces or people in general, but at the same time have a very strong narrative. I like how a lot of her photos focus on the same items and portray them in different settings and moods.
MIRANDA BARNES
Miranda Barnes’ work on siblings has a very warm and light hearted aesthetic. The photos although appear stages to a certain extent, have a very natural family feel to them, like she’s not forcing them to look and pose that way. Inspired by her own family and culture, these photos reflect her view on how siblings, and in-particular, twins, interact and appear together.
WILL DOHRN THE COLOURS OF IRIS
The Colours of Iris is one of the most beautiful short documentaries I think I’ve ever seen. It’s simplistic, heart warming narrative and clever use of scenery shots helps to build the mood and aesthetic. I like the mix of ambient sound and recorded voice over/interview used throughout as again this helps to build narrative and set a mood. The use of ambient sound and scenery shots allows the viewer to be transported to that time in that place and you start to become more involved with the story. I think the order in which the shots are show throughout the video is really effective as it slowly builds layers to the story as it goes on.
The use of the very simple and mundane backgrounds work perfectly for the shots as not only does it allow the main focus of the documentary shine, but it also is the most relatable setting for the subject as it is where Iris herself is from and where she suits, it would look strange if the background was trying to imitate the foreground and wouldn’t be the same story that we are presented here.
CREATIVE DIRECTORS VERONICA DITTING “Veronica Ditting is art director of The Gentlewoman. A graduate of the notoriously demanding Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam, Veronica has won several awards including the Best Dutch Book Designs and D&AD (British Design & Art Direction). Her work has also been nominated for the Design Museum (London)’s Designs of the Year 2013, the Dutch Design Awards and the Aica Awards. Individuals and institutions to benefit from Veronica’s exacting expertise include COS, Pollini, Selfridges, the White Cube, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam and the artists Barbara Visser, Dana Lixenberg and Lernert & Sander. A multi-linguist (she speaks five languages), Veronica is also a guest lecturer at esteemed design schools such as École cantonale d’art de Lausanne, the Willem de Kooning Academy and the Bauhaus Universität.”
JOSEPH PRINCE Joseph Prince is the creative director of LAW magazine, a media platform documenting the undercurrent and an inspiration for the next generation. Prior to this he has worked as a freelance illustrator and a graphic designer for Time Based Arts (a visual effects company).
DAVID STEWART
David Stewart’s photos are interesting as they have a studio like feel to them through his use of lighting and placement of people within the frame. It is quite apparent that the images are staged in as such the people are placed in a certain way and props are incorporated to set a scene. My favourite images of his are the two on the left, the group of 5 girls that he took an image of and then recreated this image a few years later. The details with these two photos are the things that really make them, showing the change between the two, not just the obvious things like what they wear and how they look, but things such as the phones that are on the table, what they’re eating/drinking.
LARRY SULTAN
Larry Sultan’s images of his parents are still some of my favourite images and I felt had strong relevancy to this project so I wanted to revisit his work after looking at it in my final 2nd year project. The things i like about these photos are still the same, the staged candidness of them, the aesthetics and the narrative. This time I am looking at them for not just the placement of people within the images but also the objects and general locations. A family home, a bedroom, a dining room, a television, a light etc. And how these objects and locations are also chosen and are as important to the narrative as the people in the images
LUKE STEPHENSON
Luke Stephenson’s work is very creative in his way of thinking about the objects he’s photographing. For instance, with the ice cream photos above he takes a photo of where he got the ice cream, and then takes it away from this location and places them all on the same background. This means they can be viewed separately from the appearance of the place they were purchased from but when the photos are placed alongside one another, you start to make connections and comparisons between the ice cream and where it was from. I like this idea of taking the item away from their “natural habitat” as it allows them to be viewed differently and potentially considered more
MARTIN PARR Martin Parr is obviously well known for his documentary photography but mainly for his highly saturated photos of things such as people and food. I wanted to look at some of his documentary work that is not only more realistic and looks like an actual documentation of things but also his photos of things which aren’t necessarily as “interesting” as the things in his most popular photos.
His photos here have affect as they are viewed as a group, looking at just one of these photos on their own wouldn’t have the same effect as it would seem a bit out of the blue and random but a collection of images of the same thing starts to build a narrative and give the photos more direction and place. This documentation of items is something I would like to experiment with myself, taking multiple images of the same thing and presenting the images as a group. I think it would be valuable to me to think about what sort of things I would like to take photos of and why.
COS MAGAZINE A/W 18 - BUILDING
COS magazine has consistently been one of my favourite publications for it’s imagery, layout, and general aesthetic. Something I found through my research which was interesting is the creative director of another of my favourite publications, The Gentlewoman, also contributes to COS magazine and I feel this is very apparent when you compare the two. Something I specifically liked throughout this issue of COS magazine was their use of this neon yellow page to display a series of images spread throughout the publication. The specific work that was on this page was also very interesting; they had visited multiple museums and had only taken photos of the door handles there. Something that has a sort of irony/humour as they visit places which house things of such monetary and cultural value and only capture something so small, simple and to some, irrelevant, as a door handle.
The imagery within COS magazine isn’t necessarily imagery that I am most interested in creating myself at this moment in time but I think they are a great brand to look at in terms of keeping up their aesthetic throughout everything they do. Everything from their stores, clothes, photoshoots, and publications, has the same aesthetic running throughout. I also have a great appreciation for their imagery because of its use of detail, interesting and different ways of shooting and the photo composition. Although the images I want to create won’t have the same aesthetic as these, I want to consider all the details as much as these images have.
FASHION FILM LECTURE
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHOTOGRAPHY
The British Journal of photography obviously present a lot of different photorgaphers work but these are some images that really stood out to me when I was looking through their publication, most of these come from the Portrait of Britain photos. The top left image I thought was interesting due to the way it is presented, the collection of images of random objects and how placing them together creates a different narrative. The top right image I thought was interesting and related well with my research about collectors and found the composition of the image interesting. The two bottom images on the left stood out to me for my theme I’m exploring of similarities
ZINES
I really like the idea of this small zine and the. I think the postcards work well for the concept of the work and the way it’s been displayed has been done really well, i.e choice of paper stocks and printing etc. I do feel though that because this design is constant throughout the zine that it can get a bit repetitive and boring for the reader and you may have the tendency to skip a page or not look at the images in as much detail as you normally would.
This black and white / neon colour theme runs throughout this zine. I think this can be a very effective and visually pleasing design tool when used with the right theme. This is definitely something I would like to consider with my design but I do feel it works a lot better with black and white images and I want my images to be in colour.
Image on left: I liked the cover for this zine as I like the consideration of printing the title on the front, I imagine through screen print, onto the textured paper which shows up in the ink. Two images below: This zine had a very strong aesthetic that not only suited the concept and theme of the work but also was clear and constant throughout which I think makes a publication look a lot more professional and it’s overall appearance is a lot more impactful. The use of tracing paper is something that I have considered before and think it is a very effective paper stock choice. This is something I would consider using for my publication is relevant to my theme and design.
I like the use of the inner mini publication within this zine as I think its a good way to break up sections or even to add something that is relevant within a section without having to obstruct imagery.
This design, although I think is more relevant to something such as a flyer or hand-out, is a clever way of considering different ways of cutting/ binding a publication to make it more interesting and effective.
CINDY SHERMAN BUS RIDERS
This series of images by Cindy Sherman is really interesting as it plays with the idea of taking an everyday action out of context. Would you know that these are meant to be images of people sat on a bus if the series of images wasn’t called bus riders? As soon as we are told that is what the images are it makes sense but without that it just looks like people sat on a chair in a room. Recreating everyday scenes plays with the idea of what is real and what isn’t and also makes you look at things in a different way and potentially in more detail.
THURS 18TH OCT ALFIE ALLEN TALK - Worked at CRACK for 6 years - Recent work – publication for Ace & Tate Bristol launch - collab with Dean - Ace & Tate – BS-ME – project that uses culture as a way into fashion - CRACK – more creative control as you’re not controlled by a specific brand / company - When working with certain photographers you don’t always have as much control over shoots as they would always hope as photographers can have strong vision and want to lead shoot - Macro/micro aesthetics – contrasting pages within pagination – when printing on thin paper – ensure colour pages back onto colour and white pages onto white BUILDING A PUBLICATION TYPOGRAPHY – Hierarchy – organizing the data you are typing through importance of type used – i.e titles at top of hierarchy – title, subtitle, body / Consistency – pattern throughout publication / Fonts – different fonts create a different aesthetic and tell a different story – know where the fonts have come from and if that is relevant to your publication and your choosing of it FORMAT – Pagination – a pace to the publication so there is a balance between bold/busy and moments of relief / Narrative – why are you choosing these formats? How do they relate to the narrative of your project? – images are worked with not against / Composition – Getting the most out of the images – start with a large amount of images and then narrow and choose which ones are key images – which present the narrative best etc CATALOGUE DESIGN – Research PRODUCTION – Printing – can enhance a project – think about how this can fit with your narrative – what is appropriate – Binding look at some traditional techniques – what can you do yourself? / Colour/Scanning – especially for photography – consider colouring of images
THURS 18TH OCT ALFIE ALLEN + DEAN TUTORIAL FEEDBACK General Project feedback - Dean: - Mushpit Magazine - fake adverts - Take photos of birds at Grandad’s out of context - Development of own ideas through idea testing - own reactions / Why these things? Why take them out of context? - Take moving images of still images - Provide own inspiration through generating own imagery - What do you like and what don’t you like? - Show production element of photo shoots to highlight focus on creative direction create decs / moodboards - Physically layout publication - cut out images and stick them into layouts - play with different paper stocks and how printing on these different papers looks - Kessel Kremmer - interesting comical publications - Toilet paper magazine Layout feedback - Alfie: - Create different chapters throughout book to define different sections and themes - clear sections and create a journey for the reader - Create pocket in back of book to insert printed images + negatives like photo envelopes from printers - Mini book of polaroids - Clementine Schneider - Wolfgang Tillman - Research and work in books - nicely presented - visual journals - development work in front and nicer/final work in back - Create clear sections - Generation press - different sized paper/publications in one to differentiate between sections
KESSELSKRAMER
I love the idea behind these Kesselskramer photos. Documenting one simple everyday thing and arranging these images together elevates the images and makes them have more of an impact.
ANDREA ARTEMISIO
Andrea Artemisio’s work has really inspired my studio shoot I am planning, taking everyday items and things out of context. I love how these images are so clean and obviously ‘studio’ like but have a sense of humour and a kind of candid / uncanny feel. Some of the images appear as though she scooped people up from a place and plonked them down in the studio. I think this level of professionalism and quality within the images is something that would be quite hard to recreate as they are so effective but this concept is definitely something I would like to experiment with in my imagery.
CHINESE TWINS - RECREATING CHILDHOOD MOMENTS
I think these images had the potential to come across with a feeling of mocking them or just be quite corny but I feel the way the shoot has been executed is very effective and they have a feel of authenticity and personal-ness to them. I looked at these images to try and inspire something I had considered looking into at the very beginning of the project with the theme of similarities. I think this ‘uncanny’ feeling you see within these images is something that can be felt within a lot of the images I’ve been looking at. The difference being that with other imagery, it’s the images that remind you of something whereas these images are more obvious.
i-D - COUPLES
Again I wanted to look at this series of images because of some original ideas I had at the start of the project for similarities. One thing that interested me is couples who look very similar to one another. I found this shoot interesting because it was nothing to do with how couples looked similar but I think in a lot of the images you can see strong similarities between the two people and that kind of uncanny feeling is very evident.
TEST IMAGERY EXPLORING EVERYDAY ITEMS OUT OF CONTEXT
These photos are an experimentation process of the idea of taking everyday objects and situations out of their context. These images are slightly uncomfortable to look at and this is something that I quite like. I definitely think this is something I would like to experiment further with in the future.
PRODUCT ADVERTS
I wanted to look at some adverts for evertday objects to see how the objects are portrayed in them. With the majority of produt adverts, they are shot in studios so the objects as much as they are usually used for their purpose, are in a different context and surrounding than they would be in day to day life. This gives the images a sort of false look which I think is quite an interesting feel and would like to try and recreate this with my images.
MUSHPIT MAGAZINE
These ‘mock mickey-take adverts’ from Mushpit magazine are a comical and interesting way of portraying objects. They take the “mick” of adverts for everyday objects and the slogans that go alongside them. This “corny” style of adverts and photography of objects that Mushpit has created are very everyday and mundane but with the comical input make them more interesting. I think with some of my images I would like to experiment with this comical attitude.
TOILETPAPER MAGAZINE
Toiletpaper Mag has been a big inspiration for me throughout this project. I love how their images play with these everyday objects and scenarios and create scenes that are slightly repulsive but really interesting and intriguing. They images created are really different to things I’ve seen before, their thinking is quite outside the box and they put objects with actions that are polar opposites. I think this extreme opposites and way of thinking is really interesting and definitely something i would like to try. I also feel that the editing after the images is very key and their high saturation adds to the over-the-top falseness of the images.
GENERATION PRESS
Generation Press create some really professional looking publications that consider everything from paper stock, graphic design, font, layout etc. I want to be this specific for my publication to ensure everything that I have chosen is relevant for the theme and the images and publication. I like this example to the left, with the idea of having separate publications connected together. This could be a good idea for my publication linking the research side to the final images.
COLOUR PRINTING SCANS
MEDIUM FORMAT PHOTO EDITING BEFORE AND AFTER
For the editing of these medium format images I wanted to keep it quite simplistic and natural as I wanted the images to be very true of what the location looked like. The colouring I only changed slightly but that was only if images were slightly too colour cast with magenta or greens etc. I am really happy with the images especially for a first try shooting medium format. I really enjoyed the process and I love the quality of image you get from it. I do feel that these particular images have a very happy colouring and feel to them which although is nice, doesn’t necessarily represent the place as how it is in my mind which is quite grey, overcast and dull. I think that for me makes the photos slightly more interesting as from the images the location seems to be quite pleasant which contrasts my vision of it. I feel this could also be quite interesting to see what other people, who don’t know the location, think of it from these images.
RICHARD WENTWORTH
Richard Wentworth’s work is interesting to me as he often works with very ordinary objects and things but creates something really interesting and different. I like how the images are quite simplistic but really effective. He also experiments with these objects in quite everyday locations almost as though they’re just things he’s stumbled on rather than actually created himself.
THURS 25TH NOV ANTHONY AND DEAN TUTORIAL FEEDBACK - Acne - Look at their magazine - not directly selling items - Ideas for shoots - contrast scenery with a person i.e scenery of home estate with someone dressed in over the top party clothes - Contrast styling to location - In the film element of the project it would benefit with some interaction with people - Use a tripod - Community hall - event with family - film and take photos - who owns the community hall? speak to them! - Mock up publication ASAP - Consider paper quality within publication to elevate the work and these ideas of relatable - Experiment with colour, paper, and imagery - printing on different coloured paper and having a colour theme running throughout - Think more broadly - not just my experience of these places and things - why am I looking at this? Where are the ideas coming from? - Same aged people are working and influencing as the people who are creating the work so it is relevant to them as it is something they can relate to - Get different peoples views on the work - different backgrounds / ages / demographics Questions to Consider : Why? What are people seeing? What are they going to get from it? Why would people want to look at it now?
DRAFT PROPOSAL / IDEAS FOR WHY PROJECT IS RELEVANT
Why is it relevant to me? My project looks at a few ideas, the everyday, collecting objects, family/home etc. And all these themes have a strong relevancy to me because in a lot of my work I’ve been looking at objects, things, people and places that are similar to or are my home, my family, and the things I’ve had surrounding me in life so far, particularly my childhood. Moving away from home allows you to look back at it with a different lens and think differently about it than you did before. As much as I don’t particularly have amazing fond memories of my childhood home, I do look at home as a more positive place since not living there. I think this then gives the work I am creating a different appearance than it would have before, it also gives it a sense of absence as, as much as these places things and people are all where I am from, I don’t live there now and don’t really have anything of mine there anymore, the only things that remain are things of my early childhood that are stored away in the attic and old family photos. I also feel that this project Why is it relevant to others? People often are more interested in work or are more likely to look at things they can relate to. Something that is uncanny or reminds you of something is sometimes more likely to catch your eye, especially when this thing is in a different context than what you are used to. There is currently also a large interest in nostalgia, especially within different mediums and areas of interest. For example, within photography, film photography has become popular with previous work coming back into spotlight and new work being created in the format of film. The reasons for this could be because of the age of people who are now influencing and creating content. Photographers who are getting big now probably grew up around film photography and use it as a way to connect their work to them on a personal level. This trend of reusing old styles is extremely common within fashion, and something that is constantly being re-interpreted within fashion currently is 90’s trends, this again is because the people who are desiring and influencing fashion currently are probably from or grew up through the 90’s.
RESEARCH INTO DIFFERENT PEOPLES OPINIONS OF MY IMAGERY I wanted to get information on other peoples opinions of my images I have recently taken of my Grandad’s house and my home estate to see if different people had a different relationship to the images than I did. For instance, someone who is from a rural area similar to me, grew up around the same sort of time in a similar looking area, would probably have a similar connection to the images that I do. Whereas in contrast, someone who grew up in the city, is younger than I am, and had a more wealthy family, would have a different relationship to the images that I do.
Response 1: Male / 21 / Surrey (urban/rural) I feel like the images definitely evoke a sense of nostalgia as the colours are similar to that of an old photograph, representing a memory. I feel like the mood is definitely achieved through the editing as there is a warm edit to them. I feel like they have a really nice interest about them as they are very well connected with people and are very suggestive of human contact but don’t actually include any movement or people. I definitely have strong family ties to the images as they make me think about all the elements of my life growing up. I like how the images are very autumnal and almost suggest and end to summer and the end of good times, almost reminiscing back on good times. I think I would look at these images, especially if it was lead by the images of the birds and that definitely starts off the story well. Response 2: Female / 22 / Oxfordshire These images remind me a lot of the town I went to school in (Abingdon, Oxfordshire). The image of someone’s house (with the mobility scooter) is very similar to a friend of mines house, where I spent a lot of time as a teenager. The collection of owls remind me of my nan’s house, she used to have cabinets filled with small trinkets and collectibles (although they were a variety of things). I would definitely stop and look at these images, as they make me feel nostalgic. They make time think about growing up in suburbia, walking around with friends (and getting into trouble with them). Response 3: Female / 54 / Somerset The image that tapped into any sense of nostalgia for me was the picture of the garages. I think the reason behind this is that the picture appears timeless. So my head started to conjure up images of kids in flares and tank tops riding round on choppers or shoppers. In the seventies this location would have been a perfect place for meeting up and just riding round. And yet I did not ride round garages myself when I was a child, it was an empty car park for me. So I think the picture is tapping into a generic image of the seventies and not a personal one. This was my first impulse thought though. These rows of garages will soon be a thing of the past. Looking at them was kind of comforting, if that makes sense, to take me back, for a moment, to an innocent, safe and happy childhood.
PAPER SAMPLES PRINTING REVIEW I printed all three samples on silk paper as I decided I wanted my book to be a very professional feeling photo book similar to one you’d find in the library with thick glossy paper. 120 GSM SILK This was the weight of paper I was recommended when I presented an example that I liked. As much as i do like how this looks visually, with the glossy sheen on the images, I feel this thinner weight paper feels slightly cheap and makes you think of a gossip magazine which is definitely not the feel I am after. I also found that this paper slightly bubbled and creased after being printed on and the ink drying, this makes it look quite unprofessional and not the aesthetic I was trying to gain. 140 GSM SILK. I unfortunately didn’t get anything printed onto this weight paper double-sided to see how this affects the paper but this is something I will definitely need to do now. Despite this I think this weight of paper is a lot more suitable for what I’m wanting to use as it has that higher quality, professional feel and look that I am after. I think the silk paper works well for the photos as it brings at the highpoints in the photos nicely and makes the colours look more vivid.
CATHERINE LOSING
Catherine Losing’s set design work and her use of objects within this is really interesting. She often uses very everyday and almost boring objects but her choice of objects that go together and how she displays them elevates the objects to appear like something you would see in “high art” sculptures. I think her choice of objects and colours makes them look something different to what the are. Her creations almost look like elaborate window displays for something like a hardware shop. Her clean finished designs are very different to my style of working I have been developed so far but definitely something to consider in the future.
SIAN BONNEL Sian Bonnel’s work has been a big inspiration for my shoot of taking everyday things out of context. I feel she really thinks outside the box with her ideas which is something quite crucial for a concept such as this. Her images are really effective and I like how they’re not really trying to say anything it’s simply just images to make you think or look twice.
PUBLICATION DESIGN FRONT COVER
For the cover of the book I decided to use these scans of some colour printing paper that I accidentally light exposed. When I was colour printing a while back into the project, I accidentally left the box of paper open, turned on the light and left the room for about 10 minutes. I then exposed my next print and the paper came out completely red. I then put two pieces of paper through without exposing an image onto them and this is how they came out. I thought these were very relevant to my project as they are something that people would most likely just chuck in the bin but there are actually really interesting. They are also relevant for the nostalgia part of my project as they are part of the film photography process which is quite a nostalgic thing.
8TH NOV WILL DOHRN LECTURE
GREENWAY AND SURROUNDING AREA FACEBOOK + YOUTUBE COMMENTS I wanted to look at these Facebook and Youtube comments from groups and videos of Greenway and the surrounding area as I was inspired by the Bicep video and it made me think of all the weird and mad things people put in these things. I definitely think there are a lot of ideas and inspiration I could take from something like this and develop a project from it. I think this isn’t necessarily right for the idea for the film I currently have at the moment but it’s definitely something to take forward maybe into future projects.
STUDIO SHOOT EDITING BEFORE AND AFTER
STUDIO SHOOT REVIEW
The studio shoot was something that I was really excited to do and had spent a lot of time planning and preparing for. I spent a whole day in the studio just trying to get really experimentative with what I was doing and playing around with different things in the shot and angles etc and when I looked through all 900 of the photos at the end of the day I felt really deflated and disappointed. I felt the images looked really unprofessional and did not communicate what I wanted them to. After speaking to lecturers I decided to spend some time working with the photos and editing them to try and make them look more interesting. My approach with editing the photos was to crop them in to make them look a bit more interesting. Sometimes if it’s not 100% clear what’s going on in the image it makes it more interesting, especially with these images as I felt they really benefited from the detail in them being more obvious. I then edited the colouring a bit particularly using saturation, vibrancy and contrast to make the colours really pop and give the images that really over the top false feel I had been seeing in my research imagery. I think doing this kind of shoot in a studio setting is definitely something I would need and want to work on more as I feel you can definitely create some really interesting, clean and professional looking images similar to those of Andrea Artemisio. I am definitely more happy with the photos since editing them but the more time I spend with them the more they annoy me and I pick out things I don’t like or would change. I think model casting is something that really affects photos so in future I would probably try to contact an actual model rather than just using a friend. I think this would help to make the photos look more professional. I also feel trying different props and taking photos at different angles is something that would help elevate the images. As much as this shoot was quite disheartening at first, studio shoots are definitely something I would like to experiment with more in my 60 credit module as I feel some really editorial looking studio shoots are a great skill to have and look really nice against more location / documentary shoots.
EMPTY FILM SCANS
I had the idea to scan in some film that I had shot at the beginning of the project that I had come out blank to use as a page within my publication, maybe something such as a feature page before the intro. I felt that not only was this relevant to my project because the physical material of film is quite a mundane object that has a nostalgic side because of it’s historic use. But also that this was obviously a mistake and a set back which is something that can happen often to anybody and it’s often where people can find the most inspiration.
WOLFGANG TILLMANS: MANUAL
Wolfgang Tillmans book “manual” has really inspired my layout for my final publication. I like the way he’s managed to incorporate research, found imagery and cut outs, within the layouts and make them align well with his finished work in the publication. His layouts effectively elevate his research work and his own work and make it mesh well together. I really like his idea of the “tables” series where he photographs research and found imagery , this way of laying it out elevates the work and make it more coherent with one another. I also really like the use of scans of negatives and what appears to be film stills within the publication. These are all techniques and ideas that I plan to incorporate into my publication as I feel the research part of this project has been a very key part especially because of the purpose of this project being experimenting with creative direction.
12TH NOV LECTURE
PUBLICATION LAYOUTS
Throughout the publication I have tried to follow a pattern with my layouts to keep a theme running throughout but not have every page the same so’s as not to make it boring for the reader. Here on the left you can see an example of one of the patterns. Double page spreads tends to be followed by a blank page before the next image. This is to help break up images as use of white space is very important. After seeing a full bleed image it’s good for your eyes to see blank space before seeing another image so they can adjust again. Like smelling coffee beans when trying perfumes to cleanse your nose.
On the left here you can see another example of the patterns my publication follows. When I was shooting the flat lay research/found imagery photos I tried to group the imagery in themes and sections of what inspired what mini project etc. Here you can see the flat lay image mainly has a lot of imagery relating to the mini hat project I have done, this is then followed by one of the found images of myself as a child. This is also example of another theme in the book, if there is an image on the large flat lay DPS that I feel is important, I have tried to follow this with a larger view of just that one image.
This image on the left is an example of a theme in the publication where certain images, mainly portraits, are put on the page within the 10mm boarders I have set on the pages. This works especially well for the medium format images as they are square so don’t fit into the B4 pages without cropping a lot of the image out.
The image below is an example of how majority of double page full bleeds are shown in the book. They tend to have an area of white space at the bottom of around 20mm. This is a decision I made as I like the affect of full bleed DPS for showing a lot of detail but sometimes I feel they can be a bit too much for the eye to take in so breaking this up with some white space makes them a bit easier to look at.
ROUGH-CUT FILM ANALYSIS https://youtu.be/wACsT0B3iXM?fbclid=IwAR1ZlyYEJyaB3el3VQ5m jqh3dIS1DuvO-KRSjFQ7AL_YBMXM_ljuOHsxZo
For the rough-cut of the film we tried to start to piece together the clips and the audio so they built a story, starting from the outskirts of the village and estate and moving in to the heart of the estate in the second half of the film. I think this has worked really well and definitely helps to build a narrative and takes the viewer on a journey which makes the it more of a full sensory experience.
PUBLICATION ANALYSIS The cover of this book I designed almost by accident. When I was colour printing in the dark room I accidentally left the box of light sensitive paper open and turned the light on, when I then put the paper through the processor it came out looking like this. I then scanned the two sheets in and put them together and this was the result. I decided to use this as a cover as I felt it was very relevant to my project due to it being an accident and it’s an everyday thing that people would normally just chuck away.
FRONT
BACK
For the inside sheet of paper I decided to use off white sugar paper as I wanted something that was kind of textured and off white to break up the pure white satin paper that the rest of the book was printed on. I do feel I should of spent more time trying to find a suitable paper as uni didn’t have many paper options in an off white in the right GSM and as much as the sugar paper is nearly there it’s not 100% right and I could of found a more professional looking paper.
The book was perfect bound and then I also drilled and sewed the book to strengthen it so no pages would rip out etc as it is quite a heavy book. I also decided not to give the book a title as I couldn’t really find a word to sum it up and didn’t think it was necessary. I did decide to use a subtle serif font and put my name on the first page as I thought this was a good place to put it.
The first page is followed by these two. The scan of the empty film from the beginning of the project and the intro to my book. The intro I wanted to keep quite succinct and to the point and I feel I have done this.
These are some examples of some of the layouts in the book, I have tried to always follow full bleed DPS with blank pages for breaks and the layout follows a pattern of repeating layouts throughout the book.
At the back of the book I wanted to insert this pocket I was experimenting with in my research as a reference to old photo envelopes that used to contain your prints and the negatives they’d developed for me. I do still think this idea is really effective and very relevant to the concept and the book but I do feel I should of experimented with different paper stocks as I don’t know if the crisp white paper is 100% right. The design of the font is very similar to the font on the old envelopes I found during my research.
FINAL FILM STILLS
FILM LINK: https://vimeo.com/303168231 PASSWORD: module1
FINAL FILM ANALYSIS The final film I believe is very true to the original concept that was proposed in the treatment. I think the audio works really well alongside the footage and as a whole definitely creates the right mood and atmosphere I was aiming for. In future the only things I would potentially change are; have more shots where the camera is still and things are going on in front of it as I feel these are the some of the most effective shots within the film. I would try with the audio to ask questions to people where they say the question in the answer so the voice over is more coherent as in the editing of the film there was a lot of audio we couldn’t use as it didn’t make sense without my voice asking the questions. I also would potentially try shooting on a film on a format where the quality is slightly higher and the shots are more detailed and clear as I feel this would benefit the scenery a lot. I also feel this film would work well as a longer film as there was definitely more shots we could’ve got and a lot more information from the residents talking. I think for a short two minute film it does exactly what I wanted it to, it isn’t a homage to the area , nor does it paint it in a negative light, it is very middle, everyday and mundane. The suggestion from Will Dohrn to add this audio of people over the video was definitely beneficial and I’m glad I chose the people I did as I feel they worked best for the film and really sum up the area for me. Over all I am really happy with the film and I really enjoyed looking at the treatment I created and watching the final cut as I think you can really see how effective the planning was.
BEAUTY PAPERS Beauty Papers is a magazine I discovered over Summer when visiting an exhibition at Somerset House and fell in love with the imagery they produce straight away. I feel at one stage in my career I would like my work to reach an point of interest where I could feature it in or create ideas for a magazine such as Beauty Paper. I think they’re ideas are always new and different and ugly but extremely beautiful at the same time. Being a shoot producer or creative director for a company such as Beauty Papers is where I see my work and my ideas aligning with in the future.
OVERALL PROJECT REVIEW
This project for me has been a labour of love. I said from the beginning that I didn’t want to corner myself into choosing one theme or one outcome etc and I am glad I did that as it has let this project develop naturally and come to it’s own points. To this day, the final day before the hand in, I still don’t completely know what this project is about or how it got to this point but I am proud of the outcomes I have produced as part of it and the different styles of work I have experimented with. As this project has been such a long one, it’s almost hard for me to say what I feel my favourite or even the best bits of the project were and what were the least strong areas. I definitely enjoyed creating the size and type of book that I did. It was a lot of work and time but I think personally it’s really impressive having that size and structure of book as a final outcome for a project. I feel the outcomes I am creating are slowly starting to become more of an industry standard and that is something I love to see in my work. Areas to work on: - Brand alignment - where do I see my work / would I like to see my work in the future - Primary research from a wider range of sources - look at unusual sources of inspiration Take forward to the next project: - Where I see my work going in the future - think about maybe creating some fake “live briefs” and create a project for a specific company / brand and outcomes with the intent for that brand - Use of medium format photography - this is something I really enjoyed doing and I loved the outcome of it so this is definitely a medium I would like to experiment with more - Studio photography - I always see really interesting studio shoots that look really professional but can never seem to execute them to the same level of standard - this is something I’d definitely like to work on and experiment with more - As creative direction / shoot production is an area of interest for me I would really like to focus on this in the next project - maybe with the idea of doing short live briefs I can use this to really focus on the production side of things
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