Metamorphosis
Contents 5  My placement- context is half of the work 6  Project Outline with images 42 Career tools 54 Use of social media
My placement- context is half of the work
The fundamental ideas behind the concept of ‘context is half the work’ in relation to artist placement revolved around new ways of positioning artists outside creative environments. APG, a government funded organisation placed artists in a wide range of establishments such as hospitals, factories, government offices or the transport industry. Their aim was to provide the artists with unfamiliar territories in which they could develop unique creative approaches to their work. Companies who employed artists would benefit by gaining a new perspective of looking at their own organisation. This presented a potential opportunity to implement changes across their operations and to create a library of records that would act as a collection of cultural and corporate identities. While looking for a work placement, I concentrated on specific areas of my personal development as a photographer. I wanted to improve my knowledge of photographic practice in the industry with a particular focus on the use of lighting. My experience of working for advertising agencies (although as part of finance department) gave me a certain advantage. I contacted a formal colleague of mine David Gilligan who now works as an Executive Creative Director for Saatchi & Saatchi in London. He put me in touch with their ‘photographic arm’, a sister company called Firstbase Imaging. Firstbase is a London based creative production company that provides digital imagery for many of the largest advertising agencies. Their portfolio shows examples of photography, retouching and CGI. After a brief interview with the office manager Paul Tobutt, I was offered the chance to work as an assistant to their lead photographer David Rowland who specialises in still-life photography. The clients we worked on included Cadbury, Hiscox Insurance, Powerade, LG handsets, also a fashion shoot for forthcoming fashion book. Due to the fact that the work was produced for clients, I was unable to include these images as part of my project. However, my work placement provided an inspiration for my project Metamorphosis.
Project Outline with images
Spot the difference: During my work placement I was suprised at the amount of retouching I have vitnessed. Demand for perfection was omnipresent and tireless. Here are a few examples I was shown. I have used these as templates for my own project.
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Project
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal’s form or structure through cell growth and differentiation (Wikipedia). The idea for my project came from two different directions. During my work placement at Firstbase Imaging, I was amazed at the vast amount of retouching that went into producing a single photograph. The final image would often be a combination of several images pasted together: a hotel lounge would be given a complete makeover by adding a sofa, changing the colour of vases and flooding the image with ‘sunlight’. Microscopic scratches and specks of dust would be removed from lipsticks; people would disappear at a touch of the eraser brush; models would smile at as with perfect faces absent of wrinkles and tinniest of imperfections. Each photograph was subject to metamorphosis, starting as an ordinary caterpillar, transformed post-production into a beautiful butterfly. At around the same time, I was approached by Tim Andrews, a former lawyer and keen amateur actor. Tim was forced to retire two years ago when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and soon after began the process of documenting his illness through the medium of photography. He has posed for over sixty professional photographers including Rankin and plans to exhibit these photographs in order to raise funds for the Parkinson’s Disease Society. While looking at his extensive portfolio I realised that most of the photographers have worked with Tim on projects that were their own, and did not take into account his situation. I decided to collaborate with Tim and actively include him in my project. We started to look for ways of visually representing the generative effects of his illness and thought that one way of drawing the audience attention to this issues was to (with the assistance of Photoshop) attempt to reverse the process of deterioration.
The foundation of project Metamorphosis is a single portrait of Tim. A second image was produced with the use of extensive retouching. The aim was to create abnormal, digitalised representation of new ‘improved’ face. During my work placement, I have discovered a technique some photographers use while retouching portraits. Only half of the face is retouched and later ‘flipped’. This technique not only saves time but also produces perfectly symmetrical face. Deliberate, systematic and somewhat savage approach was applied in order to mimic the drastic changes that occur during insect metamorphosis. The process of morphing is further simulated by the cropping of both images so that they appear to first shrink into a cocoon shape and later to expand in it’s new form. Kafka’s Metamorphosis tells a story of a young men who becomes a stranger in is own family when he turns into a beetle overnight. My projects draws attention to the disassociation sufferers of Parkinson’s experience as the disease progressively robs them of their physical and mental faculties. They often become confused, do not recognise their environment, family and friends. We can only imagine the feelings of loneliness and fear there are subjected to. Advances in digital technology make it possible to revert the processes of deterioration of human body. Through photography, we achieve a form of immortality. Similarly, technological progress in medicine strives to make us live longer, healthier and in the case of cosmetic surgery more beautiful. The human race mimics the behaviour of instincts and undergoes its own metamorphosis.
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Career tools
DANA MENDONCA Home: 020 7642 9069
wildpixels@gmail.com
Mobile:07958 084217 _________________________________________________________________________________________ A self-motivated and enthusiastic, people orientated team player who enjoys new challenges and problem solving. I am in my second year of BA in Digital Photography at South Bank University and look for an opportunity to gain more experience in photography and graphic design. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Current exhibition: Tate Britain as part of Tate Encounters: Research in Process; Visual Culture, Transmigration and Spectatorship Project ‘Tate’s Collection’: DVD of photographs of Tate’s money collection boxes and an interview with a member of Tate Britain staff offering a contemporary perspective on what can be considered art
Published work: photobook ‘Teenage girls on motherhood’ (Lulu.com) that deals with issues surrounding teenage pregnancy Online portfolio: http://dana.clickgarden.net Key skills: *Working knowledge of Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Illustrator and Rapid Weaver as well as Oracle, DDS, Filemaker, ACT, Reporter, Sage 50, MS Word, Excel and Outlook * Experience in dealing with clients and strong financial background *Ability to work under pressure, to meet deadlines and to prioritise a wide range of duties *Excellent communication and interpersonal skills _________________________________________________________________________________________ Education: London South Bank University
Sep 07-Present
(BA) in Digital Photography
Putney Bridge Computer College: Certificate in Computer Literacy
Sep 00 - Aug 02
Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Power Point Graphics: Corel Draw-8/Photoshop-6, Page Maker-6.5, Internet Technologies
The Chelsea School of English
Sep 98 –Aug 00
University of Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE Cambridge Level 4)
Grade A
University of Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE Cambridge Level 5)
Grade B
The Technical High School of Handlova, Slovakia
Sep 92 – Jun 96
Four Slovak Equivalents to A-levels / High School Diploma
Slovak Language and Literature
Grade B
English Language
Grade A
Engineering
Grade A
Economics
Grade A
General Evaluation: Passed with honors
Work related: Agency Republic
May 07-Sep 07
Media Biller Closely liaising with the media department and client services team, I was responsible for the reconciliation of on-line media campaigns and production of invoices. I was also in charge of creating job numbers for individual campaigns and the monitoring of all costs allocated to individual jobs. It was also imperative that I maintain a good working relationship with our clients while chasing late payments or following up on queries.
Landor Associates Europe PLC
Oct 04-May 00
Accounts Assistant Processing of all payments: cheque runs, staff expenses, inter-company and overseas transfers, supervising the input of supplier invoices, dealing with suppliers. Set up of new suppliers on DSS, Filemaker and later Oracle after the completion of background checks. I was directly involved in the implementation of Oracle at Landor in March 2007.Large part of my role involved the testing the new program and adjusting our existing procedures to fit Oracle. I also conducted inductions of staff to Oracle.
Jacobson Fund Managers Ltd
June 04 – Sep 04
PA to Director of Finance and Compliance Working closely with the Director of Finance and Compliance, I was responsible for scheduling meetings and managing the director’s diary, booking travel and accommodation, creating financial reports, preparing presentations, greeting visitors, ordering stationery, dealing with queries, maintaining filing system.
Use of social media
The success of a photographer relies not only on the creative quality of his work but on his ability to market himself efficiently. Websites are probably the most common tools used in advertising one’s services. In order to beat the competition, many photographers now rely on the assistance of networking sites as such as Facebook or Twitter. They provide an opportunity for creating contacts with other people involved in the creative industry. The appeal of Twitter lies in its structure. Members can communicate through postings of short messages and post their images on Twitpic. They can follow each other’s progress, exchange information and search for topics of interest. Tagging is another useful feature, it allows members to direct their comments to a particular group of Twitters. I used Twitter predominantly as an online diary, sharing my experiences from my work placement. In a space of just a few lines, I recorded the day’s activities and my reflections on the work. This process allowed me to revaluate my progress at Firstbase Imaging. It also enabled me to follow the progress of my fellow students and participate in group discussions. Throughout the unit Twitter provided an important line of communication among our student group and opened new portals of data sharing.
♯PHA09 Doing my work experience at First Base Imaging, a photographic arm of Saatchi & Saatchi. Really friendly bunch of people. Love it!12:43 PM Mar 18th from web Dave, the freelance photographer I’m assisting loves taking pics of everyday objects while introducing a new perspective of looking at them.12:48 PM Mar 18th from web Thursday:I’ve learned that shooting with film can not be discounted, images posses a fantastic grainy texture. Digital provides more detail12:51 PM Mar 18th from web
#PHA09 I’ve spent half the day with the retouchers today. Made me realize just how imperfect my images are. Joined a Photoshop class.6:00 AM Mar 25th from web
PHA09 But it also gave me an idea for my project. Retouch myself as they do models for add campaigns. Need to learn the whole process.6:04 AM Mar 25th from web #pha09 Just hope it won’t make me too aware of my imperfections, haha8:49 AM Mar 25th from web
#pha09 We started shooting for a book about Victorian garments. Beautiful clothes n shoes but very frail. V. interesting and client’s great2:40 PM Mar 26th from web ^6. #pha09 After 8 hours of arranging petticoats n jackets I can get a job window dressing. Victorian women were absolutely tiny, dress size 6.2:46 PM Mar 26th from web ^6. ^6. #pha09 Learned a lot about using lights in order to bring out detail or ‘bleach out’ age old staining. Book will take 4 months to complete!2:50 PM Mar 26th from web ^6. ^6. #pha09 Highlight of the day: Realizing that client was happy with
my arranging skills and Dave w’ my assisting. Giddy with pride, like a kid3:16 PM Mar 26th from web
#pha09 Also managed to get a psd of ‘Charlotte’ from sex n the city series with all the retouching layers. Will do the same w’ my portrait.3:03 PM Mar 26th from web
^6. ^6. #pha09 Had clients today that brought their own art director. He turned up 1.5hrs late with his own assistant (a yes girl). No apology.2:53 PM Mar 30th from web ^6. ^6. #pha09 2 client representatives joined by 1 more person b4 lunch. Small studio-7 people (including me). Cosy is a nice way to describe it.2:58 PM Mar 30th from web ^6. ^6. #pha09 Art director - bit of a (male) diva. 1 photographer working, 5 people busy assessing each shot. Took ages. Me-
admiring Dave’s nerves3:04 PM Mar 30th from web ^6. #pha09 I was quite relieved the art director didn’t demand kittens or puppies at lunch to play with. Dave was cool as a cucumber throughout!3:06 PM Mar 30th from web ^6. #pha09 Clients + art director had a very specific idea of what shots they wanted, left us no room for creativity. A bit boring for me really3:10 PM Mar 30th from web #pha09 In fact, I volunteered to go out and get everyone some lunch, needed the walk to perk up a little. But we got the shots they wanted.3:18 PM Mar 30th from web ^6. ^6. #pha09 Lesson learned: Patience is a virtue! If the client’s happy, we are happy. Not a bad day after all, learned a lot about the industry.3:22 PM Mar 30th from web #pha09 last Thursday we did a shoot for Twister bar, just like creme egg only shaped like a choc bar. needed shots of white+yellow goo.11:14 AM Apr 9th from web ^6. #pha09 had a delivery of 2 massive buckets of goos marked: ‘not for human consumption’. We’ve spent most of the day shaping goo. yummie-not.11:16 AM Apr 9th from web ^6. ^6. ^6. #pha09 realized that I’ll never have a career as a professional goo shaper, my blobs were too fat. Still life photography proved too runny!11:22 AM Apr 9th from web ^6. ^6.
^6. #pha09 Monday proved more demanding, shoot of 4 LG handsets. Client needed lots of interesting angles. Only perfection would do for this one11:24 AM Apr 9th from web ^6. #pha09 we used a lot of diff.lights and screens to give the phones some body and in order to show off
their sleek and sexy design.11:27 AM Apr 9th from web ^6. #pha09 it was a big job and a long day, didn’t finish until 7:30pm. Dave started at 8:30am. By the end we agreed not to rush out and buy LGs11:29 AM Apr 9th from web ^6. ^6. #pha09 I’ve seen how magical light can be when applied perfectly, something I knew just never had a chance to try out in practice. Great day11:32 AM Apr 9th from web
#pha09 not a lot happening today, we did a couple of shots of white paper(not very exiting). Spent some time with the retouchers, left early12:04 PM Apr 9th from web