photography completed images

Completed

In response to the brief mentioning we needed to consider the presentation of our work, I wanted to keep it simple and relatable. So took pictures of the most common methods in which we consume and document information in today's day and age and simply just placed the images on top. 

Reflections Leah's response

Brief notes 

• similar to wangechi mutu and ellen gallagher ( artists I need to look at) 
• embrace the ambivalence
• composites of aspirations  
• problem with text 

 Leah was quite pleased with my photography images, I highlighted my issue with incorporating the use of text in my images, she expressed her understanding with the difficulty of using text. I initially intend on having no text on my images mainly because I don't think it will compliment the image, also I don't want to give too much information away I like to keep a bit of ambiguity. Leah also mentioned how my photos remind her of an artist called  wangechi mutu








We began searching for images from this artist to see if they included text and we couldn't find any, so see also suggesting perhaps including a response to each image. Since I done research and gathered information about each person and there memories,  Leah suggested I include a response from questions I asked in each image, so I tried it out 

Here was the test shot I did using text, I mean it looks ok but I really think my Images look a lot better without text.

Reflections photography *5

Progress

 I developed a new imaged which looked at more better, I cropped out the background of each image and revealed more of there faces so it can be identified a lot more 

I decided to continue with this technique and do four more images partnering found images of the subject when they where younger and another more modern and up to date, both containing images and symbols of memories of there childhood and present day aspirations. As part of the briefs objective I now need to consider presentation of the images and also a textual component. 

reflections photography *4

From the brief ...

'In this unit you will explore the theme of memory. This could be through its relationship to the archive – the images, films, objects, documents and traces through which we recall and revisit individual and shared memories and histories. You could also consider or imagine possible futures and how these may link to the present and the past. For example you could choose to examine life cycles: replenishment or regeneration, the old constantly being replaced by the new, or even the young usurping the old. From seed to harvest, a cake baked and eaten, the repurposing of old things into new, the passing of genes to new generations and so on. The possibilities are endless.'

'Each student should produce a set or series of five still images around the themes of the unit. The images could incorporate found images and other media with your own digital stills. The project should also have a textual component and a considered design for presenting the work.'

My Idea

For my photography idea I have decided to convey the aspect of memory by portraying our childhood ambitions in contrast to our present day aspirations. As a child we all have a memory of what we wanted to become as we were older, I just find it interesting to see how peoples ideas and interested change throughout time. So I spoke to a few people and questioned them about there earliest memory of what they wanted to become when they became older, to my surprise the results from the research I conducted demonstrates that hardly anyone has the ambition as a child compared to what occupation they are currently striving for. 

I browsed through many ideas and techniques I could possibly but decided to the method of double exposure. It's an art form I have admired for some time now, artist's such as 

Andre De Freitas Sarah K Bryne who is a particular favorite and also Christoffer Relander.

Andre De Freitas

Sarah K Bryne

Christoffer Relander

The ability to convey more than one piece of information but still molded into the outline of a subject fascinates me and quite frankly looks incredible, so I began doing a few test shots  of myself to try and recreate this technique of double exposure.  

Test

Just for practice I found an image of myself which I then uploaded to Adobe photoshop. (I intend on using images of other people)

To help complete the objective of the brief I wanted to somehow incorporate the memory of a childhood ambition. Personally for me I remember me wanting to become a footballer, so I gathered some images online of a football and attempted to overlay it on to my found image.

Using the blending tool to double expose the image

The end result came out looking quite interesting but not as I had hoped. I then took the image to my peers for their opinion and the response was quite constructive they could not identify the person in the image and questioned the choice of image in consideration with the background and its relevance.  

1 attempt ( young andre)

2nd attempt ( present day andre)

Back to the drawing board

With consideration to the response I got from others I decided to try again think more about the image itself as well as its back ground and also identifying the subject ....

production meeting #4

For this meeting I decided it would be a lot more convenient If we just used a webcam, so we had a quick production meeting using oovoo. 

We briefly just kept each other up to date with what they are doing. Dowan continued hes work with the visual effects and mentioned he's progress with applying effects. Ulysses brought to my attention a few concerns he had regarding sound for certain scenes, and also showed us how he was getting on also with hes sound editing. Unfortunately Diallo and Chloe where unable to attend but they still are continuing there work with editing and typography designs.

Time Art Test Shots

Test Shots

I recorded a few test shots for my film and decided to chooses 3 activities which I moat enjoy doing, playing FIFA listening to music and studying, now I wouldn't say studying is the most enjoyable but it's an activity that I do quite frequently. I started to consider the background and what you see around me (the subject) and how that may compliment the activity and also reflect myself. I watch a lot of Youtuber video's about gamer's and vlogger's and I wanted to do some research and see how they interact in there videos and also how they are positioned in the frame.  

Here are the videos I uploaded, I wanted to make sure that It looks like they are shot in different times of the day, of course referring to the brief with incorporating the essence and element of  'Time'. So I brought the footage to After Effects  and started to experiment with different ways in which I can help emphasize each activity. 

 I initially started with adding a FIFA football video into the screen so it looks more like I'm actually playing, it mskes it look a lot more realistic I also started playing with keyframes and different ways I can introduce text and images.

(using keyframes)

I swiftly came to the conclusion that It would be quite difficult adding this video file onto the image due to the restricted space when the image is cropped.

The use of Text in our Film (post production work)

The style of the text and its purpose 
post production 


When using text it is vital that it helps and compliments the scene. I want the text we use to be an extension of the characters feelings and emotions. So with the use of text I want to ensure that we consider 

Colour 
Size
Texture 
Appearance  

It is vital that when using text the audience can easily understand and interpret the purpose and intention during each scene. We need to make sure that the text is being use the heighten the scenes and not just being as a crutch. I done a bit research with existing videos which use text and it helped me establish an idea of how we can successfully incorporate typography with certain scenes. Also how they consider colour size texture and its appearance.  

Justin Timberlake - Suit & Tie ( lyric video ) 

• I like how the video uses focus really well with the text, which visually looks really good 
• Also how they have animated the text to follow similar movements and actions 
• In terms of colour they consistently follow the theme of gold white red and black
• They have considered the colour of the text in contrast with the colour in each scene well to ensure the text is clearly identifiable.
•  There are scenes where the typographies appearance changes from bold strong colours to a more faint and see through look  
• The text makes quite subtle appearances 
• As the text appears on the screen it animates with movement 

Katy Perry - Roar (Lyric Video)

With this video they utilise the use of symbols  as text to deliver there message, this is also something we to consider with our film.

Anne's review about the film

Anne's comments 

• Be experimental with sound
• Try and help develop the characters emotions through text 
• Visually it looks good and we have considered space for text 
• We are unable to use the music playing in certain scenes unless we contact the Owners permission and get clearance
• We faced an issue with audio that was recorded on top of dialogue so Anne recommended us to think of a creative way of  to still use the scene but create our own audio or record a new wild track 
• Anne was pleased with the footage and stated it has a lot of potential with further development 

Experimental sound Review

Review 

After presenting my findings and ideas to Simon and Joe, they both agreed that I provided good background research and information about the Nighthawks image. However it was evident that I did not decide on a solid Idea to work on, I proposed a few ideas a few narratives that I considered developing further. 

I have decided that for my sound project that I am interpret the image which was set in 1941 into a modern day sound.   

Tutorials 
To help me better understand Adobe Audition and some of its functions I took a look at some tutorials online that I found quite helpful, one in particular from a man called Mike Russell who does online video tutorials about using Adobe Audition.

Time Art #2

Time Art

For my time art project I want to keep it simple so I decided to record different events which take place during my day during different times. All different activities which I personally enjoy doing, I feel like that's a good way of conveying who I am and also acknowledging my interests also. I also want to make sure that I include some affects in After Effects such as track motion key frames and experimenting with effects in 'Affects & Presets'

my activities 

• Playing Fifa/ football with friends 
• Listening to music 
• cooking
• Doing work 
• Watching Films 

With the use of three screens I am going to play three different activities in different times of the day, to help fulfill the guild lines of the brief I going to include the use of text but use track motion to label the activity of each scene.

     example (playing fifa)

Here's an example of how I would like to position each activity when filming. Facing directly towards the camera. I am also considering making the three videos more interactive by creating the illusion that each three characters (myself) on the screen are aware of each others existence. For example the Andre on the far left screen throw something towards the left and then appear in the screen on the far right then react. Which is just an idea I had to add some humor.

(An example of how my Time project will look)

Furthermore I want to include the effect of having static, so I have been looking at a few video tutorials on how to do it.

I then decided to see how it would look like when I apply it to my footage, I wanted to use this technique to begin the film, to make it seem like a tv turning on.

Experimental sound #3

I've had an idea for my experimental sound project where I want to take the listeners on a journey through time. Firstly I want to play sound's you would usually expect to hear in this picture which is set in 1942, then transition into sounds of the modern day world.

I accidentally discovered the sound of what happens when you move headphones too close to the audio recorder and figured its a sound I could possibly use, it reminds me of the sound when your tuning an old radio to find the right station, and the sound of interference.



I also gathered and recorded some audio for atmosphere and environment. I recorded this in the library and I wanted to try and get the sounds of people talking laptops being used and the sound of keyboard's. Luckily in the beginning I got a quick sound of someone receiving a message on there phone which hep's portray the sound of the modern day.






So I opened up Audition and started layering the different audios I recorded to see what it would sound like, I noticed I quite a bit of wind which is something I need to bew

This is an attempt in trying to create a story in which someone is walking in to the diner (Nighthawks)


This did not come out as I would of hoped it would have, when Joe heard this he expressed a very good point which really helped me he said ' when listening to the sound always keep looking back at the image' I would get so caught up the what I want it to sound like that I completely forgot it needs to match the image. This something I must take under consideration and improve upon  

I'n order to be a lot more experimental I'm going to take these audio recording's and attempt to manipulate and distort the sounds. Also I have booked out an audio recorder so I will trying to record a lot more sound and physically creating my own sound to fit different purposes.

Experimental sound Friday 14th March

During Fridays experimental sound lesson we covered compression dynamic range, and exporting sound. 

Single-band Compressor effect

Single-band Compressor effect reduces dynamic range, producing consistent volume levels and increasing perceived loudness. Single-band compression is particularly effective for voice-overs, because it helps the speaker stand out over musical soundtracks and background audio.

During the session I couldn't quite understand some of the topics mentioned so I viewed a few tutorials 

Mixing

By automating mixes, you can change mix settings over time. For example, you can automatically increase volume during a critical musical passage and later reduce the volume in a gradual fade out.

Effects

We also looked how we can apply different effects to our audio.

Experimental sound *2

What you would expect to hear when viewing this image 

Outside

• The sound of cars passing by ( engines, horns, )
• The sound of  pedestrians passing by ( footsteps , conversations )
• Across the road the sound of the shop door opening 
• Atmosphere

Inside 

• Conversations ( The four individuals talking )
• Atmosphere ( The sound of the room )
• Cutlery ( the sound of plates forks and glasses being moved 
• The sound of the door opening ( customers entering and leaving the diner )

For this experimental Sound Project Im going to take the sounds you would typically hear in this scenario and attempt to create a new story from it. 

To Do: 

• Record audio of different sounds that you would expect to hear in this image 
• Upload images to Adobe Audition and manipulate the sound
• create a new story which I can incorporate into the image  

Reflections photography *3 (updated|| Rosie's response)

Rosie's Response 

Taking this under consideration I need to steer away from my idea being more personal and about myself and construct it in a way that can a more 'universal' impact and response. 

Reflections photography project

For this project I want to attempt to apply unconventional methods for my images. Studying a course which based around digital images and and various softwares that can adapt manipulate and enhance images with a click of a button, I want to try and steer away from that route and approach methods and techniques that I have either not used before or lack in experience. 

Influences and Inspirations.

Double exposure photography

Double Exposure Portraits by Sara K Byrne

John stezaker

John Stezaker’s work re-examines the various relationships to the photographic image: as documentation of truth, purveyor of memory, and symbol of modern culture. In his collages, Stezaker appropriates images found in books, magazines, and postcards and uses them as ‘readymades’. Through his elegant juxtapositions, Stezaker adopts the content and contexts of the original images to convey his own witty and poignant meanings. 










Melinda Gibson
Contemporary Art 

















































I think experimenting with this technique of layering different images together can be a great way of incorporating various themes together such as memory.  

Experimental sound ( Analyzing the image )

Analyzing the image

Nighthawks - Edward Hopper (1942)

Edward Hopper said that Nighthawks was inspired by "a restaurant on New York's Greenwich Avenue where two streets meet," but the image, with its carefully constructed composition and lack of narrative, has a timeless quality that transcends its particular locale. One of the best-known images of 20th-century art, the painting depicts an all-night diner in which three customers, all lost in their own thoughts, have congregated. Fluorescent lights had just come into use in the early 1940s, and the all-night diner emits an eerie glow, like a beacon on the dark street corner. Hopper eliminated any reference to an entrance, and the viewer, drawn to the light, is shut out from the scene by a seamless wedge of glass. The four anonymous and uncommunicative night owls seem as separate and remote from the viewer as they are from one another. Reworked and parodied countless times, Nighthawks has become an icon of American culture.

Artist: Edward Hopper

Completion Date: 1942

Style: Social Realism

Genre: cityscape

Technique: oil

Material: canvas

“unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city.” 

The four anonymous and uncommunicative night owls seem as separate and remote from the viewer as they are from one another. The red-haired woman was actually modeled by the artist’s wife, Jo.

A painting of Edward Hooper's Wife Jo

In order to help understand and interpret this image I wanted to look at how other people assess what they see and what they get out of looking at this image, so I found these two video's that I found quite helpful. It helped my get in to the right mind frame of this image and help identify key themes which I could then express through sound, such as loneliness isolation and silence.

Edward Hopper, Nighthawks, 1942

My reaction to viewing the image

When observing the image I gain a sense of mystery and concern, It seems pretty late in the evening and you have these four individuals sitting in what appears to be a diner. What are they talking about? why is the man and the women sitting together and yet the other person is seated further away? These are just a few of many questions which rush through my mind when looking at this Edward Hooper painting. The colors used in this painting create a very dreary and depressing feel to it, perhaps the use of the greens and blues helps set the atmosphere and tone of the scene. And yet in the picture you have this one dash of red which catches your eye, with the young women seated beside you gentlemen wearing the navy suite. Perhaps there is a reason why she is in red, red is the color of fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire, and love. One thing I can definitely say is that this image provokes thought and discussion, It forces you to create an opinion, the lack of information given in the image creates numerous possibilities of what could be happening in that image and why.  

From this I intend experimenting with different sounds which I can incorporate and also explore different possibilities in which sound can manipulate emotion.