Genius of Moving Image: Pt 3

1. How did Bjork and Chris Cunningham collaborate on the ‘All is Full of Love’ video?

Bjork originally gave Chris Cunningham a specific concept requirement for the feel and the look of the video, then after showing her the storyboard idea Chris did the production process himself before the end so she could see the results before the release.

2. What techniques were used on the ‘Portishead’ video to create the unusual slow motion effects?

To create the ‘Other Worldly’ look of the video, the actors and musician were shot in water tanks, it was in post-production when the careful process of removing the air bubbles took place. Then the footage was taken into the shot of the ‘dark alley’.

3. What other music video directors have gone on to direct feature films they have made?

Ø  Film Director and producer Michael Bay had worked at ‘Propaganda Films’ directing commercials and music videos, Bay’s  success in music video’s gained a lot of attention which eventually led to him directing his first feature film ‘Bad Boys’ and went onto becoming a famous director with well known feature films like ‘Transformers’ and ‘Armageddon’.

Ø  Another music director is David Fincher, who was set on a directing career also joined the video production company ‘Propaganda Films’ ,and started off directing music videos and commercials which also led to his feature Debut ‘Alien 3’  and other successful movies such as ‘The Panic Room’ and The’ Social Network’.

4. Which famous sci-fi film did Chris Cunningham work on before he became a director?

Cunningham had worked for over a year on the film A.I. before leaving to pursue  a career as a director working under the name of Chris Halls.

5. What makes his work different or original compared to other similar directors?

I believe his background in the film industry as a special effects artist gives him an option on things when it comes to creating ideas, he said that after being in the industry he wanted to improve on his drawing which led to graphic novels which came useful when creating storyboards and planning. The most major quality that he has is that he creates his visual imagery from listening to the music rather than the other way of approaching the music with a fresh new idea.

Genius of Photography: Pt 6

1. How many photographs are taken in a year?

80 billion photographs will be taken this year alone. Today photography is not only worth bidding for, it’s worth fighting for. It’s also worth faking for, the medium has never been more widely appreciated or more eagerly exploited and questions how much a photograph is worth these days.

2. What is Gregory Crewdson ‘modus operandi’?

It looks like a movie sounds like a movie and smells like a movie but it isn’t, all the activity portrayed in Gregory Crewdson work is to make a single photograph, Crewdson uses cinematic lighting to create one single perfect moment, and he is his own camera operator and director of photography. He has a strange disconnection to photography, he doesn’t like holding a camera and he doesn’t take the actual picture images Is what he is truly interested in and that the camera is just a necessary instrument. Over an eleven day shoot in a variety of locations, Crewdson team will make a series of multiple exposures which will be digitally combined to make 6 final images; he’ll produce an addition of 6 final prints of each image priced at approximately 60 thousand dollars.

3. Which prints command the highest price and what are they called?

Prints that command the highest price tags are usually the ones made the photographer themselves; closest to the times the actual picture was taken. Like fine wines these prints are known as vintage.

4. What is a fake photograph? Give an example and explain how and why it is fake.

The image of John Kerry and Jane Fonda at a anti-war rally is an example of a fake photograph, the photograph shows john Kerry and Jane Fonda standing together at a podium during a 1970’s anti- war rally was a hoax. As the original unaltered photo of Kerry taken In June 13 1970 documents the Vietnam war, veteran was sitting alone prior to giving a speech at an outdoor rally, and Fonda was photo shopped in at a later date tells about the troublesome combination of Photoshop and the internet than it does about the prospective  democratic candidate for president.

5. Who is Li Zhensheng and what is he famous for?

Li Zhensheng was red army news soldier, he was a photojournalist who in the 1960’s and early 70’s found himself covering the Cultural Revolution.

6. What is the photographers ‘holy of holies?

 In 1994 British photographer Martin Parr applied to join photojournalism agency Magnum, a prestigious agency, but Parr had to battle long and hard to bring his distinctive brand of photography into photojournalism’s holy of holies. Parr’s work was very different to Magnum, his photo’s have been said to be meaningless but Magnum has developed a reputation which has become known as the holy of holies of famous photographers such as Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier Bresson.

7. How does Ben Lewis see Jeff Walls photography?

Ben Lewis thinks that Jeff Wall didn’t invent photography but he took photography back to the 19^th century to painting where everything is creative everything is constructed for a meaning, He fed in a lot of contemporary theoretical concerns , concerns about gender, about how men and women look at each other concerns about racial stereotyping.

8. Which famous photograph was taken by Frank Mustard?

French photographer Camille Silvy created the seemingly realistic photograph called ‘The River France’; it offers master class in 19^th century photographic manipulation. Silvy arranged where the people should stand so the working class people were in the common land on the right of the picture with an artificial sky that he added. But the actual photograph was not taken by Silvy it was taken by Frank Mustard.

Genius of Photography: Pt 5

1.Who said ‘The camera gave me the license to strip away what you want people to know about you, to reveal what you can’t help people knowing about you’ and when was it said?

In the early 60’s Dianne Arbus roamed the streets although charming and quietly spoken, Arbus quoted this statement. She spoke openly of photography’s power both to steal and exploit other people’s faces and lives, but in taking her pictures she tried in her own words, to be good. Arbus was drawn to society’s marginal characters prowling the side streets and the back alleys of the city in search of the fantastic.

2. Do photographers tend to prey on vulnerable people?

Photographers have always sought out some kind of marginalized subjects; it has been a controversy in recent years of the scholarship of photography whether or not photographers tend to prey on vulnerable people, people who are exposed socially, economically, culturally in some way because photographers could get access to these people if they were out on the streets. Their faces reveal the emotions that we feel when someone wants to take our picture. However the person behind the camera can either feel compassion for the subject or are simply driven by their hungry eye.

3. Who is Colin Wood?

In 1962, Arbus took a picture of a skinny 7 year old boy Colin Wood in Central Park, an image that is once funny, tragic and ghastly, she took many pictures of him that day but chose the one shot in which he clutches a toy hand grenade in one of his tense claw like hands as if seeming to have answered a decade of crazed violence in America. He was a curiosity for her, and captured an aspect of his life when his parents had divorced, but for Arbus she was merely seeking a reflection of herself in the pictures which was her genius.

4. Why do you think Diane Arbus committed suicide?

 Arbus photographed those who showed a genuine awe of those she often referred to as freaks but sometimes called them aristocrats people who in her estimation had already passed their test in life. She was not threatening she was curious her real native curiosity, or her awe of their original individuality that loosened them up to be present for her. She was articulate and poetic her work is unique and is all about her, her work tied into her mood which came along later, and she desperately wanted to be anybody but herself by trying on everybody else’s skin emphasizing the degree of empathy which was rare in any art and described that there was seriously something wrong with our culture. But I think Arbus had gotten too involved with the subject and who she was photographing that her work had portrayed her anxieties and vulnerabilities in her life .Arbus was herself connected to the many of the cities important tastemakers at the time but not everyone was behind her or agreed with her which could have had an effect on her death as well.

5. Why and how did Larry Clark shoot Tulsa?

Larry Clark first published his book ‘Tulsa’ in 1971; his took pictures of his own life which involved drugs, sex and violence of his life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He was an insider kind of like a photojournalist, in his hands photography became personal as confessional as a written diary because he was one of them not one of us he had opened up a whole new impolite genre.

6. Try to explain the concept of ‘confessional photography’ and ‘what is the impolite genre’?

Confessional photography is about the truth of real life and the misunderstandings of the world, intimate scenes that people ignore and don’t want to know about. Whereas impolite genre relates to photographs that are rude, descriptive and exposing that not everyone feels comfortable looking at as well as taking a photograph in that light and in that certain way. That is often disturbing and shocking at times.

7. What will Araki not photograph, and why?

Araki is a promiscuous photographer snapping everything around him, exploiting intimate detailed pictures of his daily life. Araki shoots photography to remember things as it helps you remember, he has come to use photography only to photograph things he wants to remember.

 8. What is the premise of Postmodernism?

The premise of postmodernism is that we now live in a culture so saturated with media imagery and media models of how people live that our initial idea of how one lives one’s life and who one is, is made up of that kind of media myth. In a sense it contradicts the idea of portraiture because the idea that you can dress up and go to a studio and somehow reveal your strength of character or your inherent humanity when that’s not the case. As we don’t have an inherent humanity in the post- modernist analysis of things as we are all these composites of a lot of myths or in other words narratives that are written by other people.

Genius of Moving Image: Pt 2

1. What is the role of the cinematographer in filmmaking?

A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist, moving in the audience through a movie from here to there and so forth making you as ‘the viewer’ to think the way a cinematographer wants you to think. Where it tells you as the viewer where to look through the control and understanding of light, to compose and create movement these are the 3 elements of cinematography. The cinematographer is the author of light in the film and how it takes part in the story. Where you delve deep into the it, and become part of your subconscious to help develop an idea of how you visually represent a story.

2. Why did director Roman Polanski insist on using hand-held camera in the film China Town?

Polanski used a hand- held camera to shoot the film because it created an intimate and spur-of-the-moment response from the actors. With hand held he was able to get shots that would have had to be done on stages and moving walls. The extreme closeness of the camera towards the actors provides the viewer with an intense voyeurism perspective which was the intended response from Polanski.

3. Name two films which use color in a very symbolic way, and describe what they suggest.

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939) - It differentiates the two universes as Dorothy’s world is shot in black and white where as the world of Oz is shot in Technicolor. It shows major contrast between the two worlds and with this transition the world of color it became an unreal world, a happy place, a fantasy and in that sense Kansas became more real for Dorothy. Color conveys subjective states of perception or time, the metaphors of the everyday human world versus idealized worlds are not consistent.

2. Blue Velvet (1986)- Light had contributed a lot to the story, and the theme of the film was the idea of a polarized world, this theme is especially evident throughout the film which utilizes shadowy and dark cinematography portrayed in the film,  to depict some of the unseen aspects lurching behind the Utopic façade of the town. The use of color imagery throughout the film helps evoke the fakeness conveyed by the suburban town that it is in fact a wonderful place to live without a dark side.

4. In the film ‘Raging Bulls’ why was the fight scene filmed at different speeds?

By using different frame speeds in the fight scene the director was able to control the audience’s emotions towards the film drawing their feelings at a pace intended. The fight was filmed in real time which kept a pace to the action but the ‘over- crank’ side of ring shots were filmed in a much slower and dramatic way, drawing you into the role of the character by stepping into the characters shoes before being flung back into the action.

5. Who is the cinematographer for the film Apocalypse Now and what is his philosophy?

Vittorio Storara is the cinematographer for the film Apocalypse Now; he believes cinematography is a ‘community’ art not an art form. Unlike photography which he believes is a to be a ‘single’ art form like a painting or writing, his idea of working with light is that it is a group effort with the director leading the way.

Genius of Photography: Pt 4

1. Why did Gary Winogrand take photographs?
American photographer Gary Winogrand took photographs to see what the world looked liked photographed. As well as many other photographers believe, they have always had this as their mission statement.

2. Why did citizens evolve from blurs to solid flesh?

The street had always been an interesting place for photographers but approved to be surreal and was able to record the architecture/landscape because it kept still, where as the life of the street moved too fast for the long exposure times. The first street scenes showed artfully staged setups, but eventually the technology caught up citizens evolved from blurs to all to solid flesh and gradually a visual language left a blurs and grains that is unique to photography.

3. What was/ is the much misunderstood theory?

Henri Cartier Bresson’s much misunderstood theory was the decisive moment it was explored in photography that once you get the drift of it, the feel the energy of it you want to go back again and again because it’s where life seems to be going. Out on the street being in this river of humanity and seeing unexpected incidents occur makes you grab the moment and put meaning behind it.

4. Who was the Godfather of street photography in the USA?

Gary Winogrand became a pack leader of hungry young street photographers he was driven and he was a nervous energy and things responded to this energy, things were always happening when he was around.

5. Who was Paul Martin and what did he do?

Paul Martin was a British photographer, in 1896 he went to Great Yarmouth seaside using a camera that he disguised as a brown paper parcel the pictures he took show the magic of the beach at work.

6. Who said ‘When I was growing up photographers were either nerds or pornographers’?

Edward Ruseha had stated that photographers were nerds or pornographers as there was no redeeming social value to somebody who has a camera who takes pictures. They were about things rather than people, surface rather than soul and not the human drama of the street but the taken for granted backdrop against which the drama plays out.

7. Why does William Eggleston photograph in color?

Eggleston took color at face down, because pictures need to be structured but structuring a colored picture is different because color is more dominant. Color can twist the whole content of the picture.

8. What is William Eggleston about?

William Eggleston’s pictures contain all the acute observation of a mater street photographer like Winogrand but the brightly colored surfaces made them unreadable. Eggleston was a man of few words; he called his pictures democratic adding that he was at war with the obvious. Wherever he goes the world travels with him.

Genius of Photography: Pt3

1. What is described as one of the most familiar concepts in photography?
In 1933 something was captured in Paris by Henri Cartier Bresson armed with a revolutionary new camera, he had shot a moment that took only a fraction of a second to shoot but came to be known as a ‘decisive moment’ that is the most familiar concept in all of photography. It has become a strategy that has illuminated photography’s potential for everyone. His decisive moments transformed the faces of photography.

2. Should you trust a photograph?
Trusting a photograph was probably a huge mistake from the beginning, however people still believe photographs.

3.  What was revolutionary about the Leica in 1925?
The Leica was a revolutionary development in camera technology launched in Germany in 1925,  it was a compact, quiet with the latest lens and technology it gave birth to a whole new style of instant photography and allowed you to be present in the moment as well as glide through the moment.

4. What did George Bernard Shaw say about all the paintings of Christ?
People believe the pictures it’s the photograph that’s in your passport not a painting because paintings are less visually expressive than the actual photographs. As for George Bernard Shaw he  said that he would exchange every painting of Christ for one snapshot which is what the power of photography is.

5. Why were Tony Vaccaro’s negatives destroyed by the army censors?
The ten roles that Vaccaro developed were destroyed by the army censor as they had contained images of dead GI’s that were decisive moments that the world wasn’t yet ready to accept during that time.

6. Who was Heinryk Ross and what was his job?
Heinryk Ross along with a 160 Polish Jews had works at the site of the infamous ghetto in Woodge, Poland. It was incarcerated for 4 years until the ghetto was shut down in 1944, Ross was a photographer who kept a unique record of what happened there. Among his many duties as the ghetto’s official propaganda photographers Ross had to document the production of goods by the inhabitants of Woodge sold to make money for their captors.

7. Which show was a ‘Sticking plaster for the wounds of the war’, how many people saw it? And what cliché did it end on?
The ‘Family of Man’ was an exhibition held in New York in 1955; it was a public statement on behalf of humanity and was photography’s big response to a world rapidly moving from hot to cold war. The show was comprised of over 500 images that were selected from millions of images, from 273 photographers both amateur and professional. The show had over 9 million visitors by 1964; it was a sticking plaster for the wounds of war and represented everything photojournalism’s deity Henri Cartier Bresson stood for. It had concluded with an optimistic cliché that it was the beginning of the sentimental journey through life.

8. Why did Joel Meyerowitz photograph ground zero in color?
Joel Meyerowitz photographed ground zero in color because photographing it in black of white would have kept it as a tragedy because it had a tragic element in photographing not war per se but the collapse of it, but only resulted in destruction. Our human hard drive creates a series of still photographs within our brains, if they were domestic, international or of family of birth or of death but what Meyerowitz was trying to achieve was to record history as it is too important not to and that making direct contact with the human hard drive helped record for all time a sense of what happened during 9/11. Shooting in color helped show how the destruction and chaos was at the time.

Genius of Moving Image: Pt 1

1. List two specific key relationships between Sam Taylor Wood's photography and film work.
Sam –Taylor Wood’s work expresses a juxtaposition of photography and moving image, her work purely consists of people and the emotions that people and the state of being. The photographs she produces examine through the highly emotional scenarios, and the social or psychological conditions in terms of a split between being and appearance.
2. How does the use of multi-screen installation in her work reflect narrative?
The use of multi screen installation in her work reflects narrative in a way that shows it is constructed rather than one that is being dictated to you. By piecing it together it can result in dysfunctional narratives that sometimes don’t work, but film is highly influential in her work as her influence is based on idea that film makes you feel as if you are entering a magical mystery tour of someone’s mind, which is what she interprets in her work.

What other photograaphers use film as an integral part of their work? List two with examples.

Gregory Crewdson an American photographer who makes images in small town America, he is best known for elaborately staged scenes which are quite dramatic and cinematic, although his work doesn’t consist of moving image, his photographs filmic settings that feature often disturbing but surreal events.

Another photographer who recently integrates film as part of his work is my favorite Fashion photographer Tim Walker; he brings all the fancy and intricate scene-making so fundamental to his renowned fashion photography. His first short film ‘The Lost Explorer’ is an exception to his creative work.

Research three video artists and explain their working philosophy.

1. Tim Burton an American filmmaker and artist, is famous for his dark, quirky themed movies such as Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate factory and Alice in Wonderland. Burton’s work is expressed through artistic visualization which he had discovered in his childhood, through his sketches and photographs Burton brought together all forms of art and cinematic ephemera to his films. His strength lies in his unique style of thematic fantasy life and emotional core that is captured in his work, it creates a sense of feeling of being in a dreamscape or in someone’ s mind is his visual theory that is integrated in his work.

2. Another filmmaker is James Cameron, who from early childhood had a huge interest in science fiction stories and fantasized about the making of motion pictures. This is what his main focus to the day is. He integrated his interests of science and art into his work which makes his work unique and effective, his films create a sense of a dreamscape of a world that revolves around science fiction, and his films like Terminator, Titanic and Avatar explore his unique interest.

‘I love the idea of being in another world and anything that transports me to another world is what I’m interested in’- (James Cameron).

3. Guillermo Del Toro is a director, producer, novelist, screenwriter and designer. He is best known for his creative fims such as Hellboy and Blade, his films draw heavily on sources as diverse as weird fiction, fantasy and war. He has always had persistant interest in fantasy and drawing monsters from his imagination. He has made action hero comic book adaptation to historical fantasy and horror films. His interpretations of mythological creatures and monsters is higly influenced within his films he believes monsters have multiple values and how you use them determines how they are portrayed as symbols of great power. He believes that all creatures, like angels and demons, vampires etc are characters that are living breathing metaphors which he has created from his own personal beliefs and values on life and religion.
As a screenwriter Toro beleives that 50 percent of narrative is the audio/visual storytelling, screenplay is the basis of it all but doesn't tell the movie it tells the story but doesn't tell the movie it tells the story but doesn't tell the whole movie. A lot of the narrative is in the details. Also he thinks:

Fairy tales tell the truth, not organised politics, religion or economics, those things destroy the soul, that is the idea from Pan's Labyrinth and surfaces to some degree in all my films'.

Show an example of a specific gallery space or a site specific location where a video artist or filmmaker has created work specifically for that space and been influenced by it.

An example of a specific location is Alnwick Castle, it has been used in number of film and tv programs including the book adaptation films of Harry Potter by author J.K. Rowling and producer David Heyman. It is probably best known as being the location of Hogwarts, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The exterior of the castle is used for the exterior of Hogwarts shots, the famous Quidditch match and the broomstick lessons is set within the ramparts portrayed in scenes from the harry potter movies. It has also been used for other featured productions such as Elizabeth Taylor and Robin Hood the Prince of Thieves. It's an imposing place and can help you imagine the area around to be considered the famous town of Hogsmeade.

Genius of Photography: Pt 2

1. What are Typologies?
Typologies refer to a methodical image- making approach that summarizes a group of images in retrospect by anticipating the style that a given artist will utilize to record a particular subject. It can be compared to earlier photographs or a type of subject matter that an artist would be likely to portray; it’s used so that a viewer can get to know something better if it is compared to something else. Typologies discipline photography’s tendencies in order to create pure documents, just the facts and nothing else.

2. What was the 'Face of the Times'?
August Sander a commercial portrait photographer sis a typology of people, when he became a modernist in 1929, he published a selection of his portraits onto the all encompassing title ‘The Face of the Times’. By collecting people and fitted them into a frame but photographed them using a method of placing them in various social types such as Farmers, young farmers etc.

3. Which magazine did Rodchenko design?

Rodchenko designed the photography magazine called the USS en construction; it was a showcase of political propaganda glorifying the achievements of the soviet system that portrays radical photographic styled work combined with cutting- edge graphics.

4. What is photomontage?
Photo- montage is a graphic technique that took its cue from cinema montage, mastered by Rodchenko who had treated photographs as royal footage, suppressing their individuality collectivizing their energies. By cutting, pasting, retouching, and re- photographing them to conjure up dizzying visions of the future. Photomontage shows photographs for what they really are, mute documents whose meaning remains fluid.

5. Why did Eugene Atget use albumen prints in the 1920's?

Eugene Atget another commercial portrait photographer had created albumen prints during the 1800’s and all the way throughout to the 1920’s because he was skillful in it but found difficulty in using modern materials for photographs as he didn’t know how to use them.

6. What is Solarization? and how was it discovered?
Solarization was discovered by Man Ray in the late 1920’s, the use of it was through placing objects in a darkroom onto photographic paper and exposing it briefly to create interesting and unique patterns on the paper. H e had made the people look as though they’re faces are made of aluminum  which gave it a sleek and metallic look that portrayed them as super people slightly inhuman and robotic. Dark areas appear light or light areas appear darks suggesting that the photographic print is wholly or partially reversed in tone.

7. What was the relationship between Bernice Abbott and Eugene Atget?
Bernice Abbott was a young American photographer and one of Man-rays many assistants, who pictured Atget as a kind, living, breathing found object in 1927. Abbott became the largest collector of Atget’s work when she purchased his estate, bringing 5000 of Atget’s negatives to America popularizing the work Eugene Atget.

8. Why was Walker Evans fired from the FSA?
Walker Evans had been commissioned to produce propaganda images for the Farms Security Agency set up to the ease of the effects of depression in rural America. Evans’s understanding of documented photography was much more complex, but when Evans readily molded reality to fit his personal vision he couldn’t make that vision conform to the propaganda requirements of the FSA in 1937 and was sacked.

ITAP 2 : Genius of Photography- Pt 1

1. What is photography's 'true genius'?

Photography has intrigued us by showing the secret strangeness that lies beneath the world of appearances; it has showed images in different forms using various processes that made photography possible today. It has pleased, outraged, and often disappointed its viewers which is the reason why it makes it photography’s true genius.

2. Name a proto- photographer.

A proto- photographer that experimented with photographic processes was Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of calotype process associated in the 19^th century, who made major contributions to photography as an artistic medium before the well-known Louis Degaurre the inventor of the degaurretype process which is also associated with the term ‘Mirror with a Memory’, or referred as ‘Mirror of Nature’ that signifies how one sees oneself in a mirror.

3. In the 19th century what term was associated with the daguerreotype?

French photographer Andre Disderi inventor of small photographs usually eight on one large photographic plate, given the term of ‘Carte De Visite’. An albumen print or photograph mounted in a stiff piece of card that frequently revealed portraits of celebrities of that time.

4. What is the vernacular?

The Vernacular contains some of photography’s greatest naturally occurring riches, merely as a gift of the medium itself rather than a product of the genius of the individual photographer. It was associated with any type such as keepsakes, advertising, forensics, documentation for records, passport photo’s, postcards etc every kind of photography that wasn’t intended as art or a piece of art form.

5.How do you 'Fix the Shadows'?
Fixing the shadows was a high purpose, in the 1830's it was found that certain chemcials were light sensitive, chemicals for e.g. silver salts, silver chloride and silver nitrate. To fix the shadows you had to be able to stop carrying the exposure which was troublsome. Henry Fox Talbot's use of fixing the shadows was through camera obscurer, with a mouse-trap camera that held the negative and carrying the paper but to be only exposed for a certain amount of time. Louis Deguerre attempted this also, but started in the early 1800's whose method was the creation of the deguerreotype to fix the shadows using a mirrored metal plate to fix his images.
6. What is the 'Carte de visite'?
The 'Carte de Visite' was a photograph mounted on a stiff piece of card measuring 11.4x 6.3cm, It was introduced in the mid- 1850's by Andre Disderi. These cards frequently  portrayed portraits of celebrities of the day for collection into home albums also known as albumen prints.

7. Who was Nadar and why was he so successful?
Another photographer of the 18^th-19^th century was Gaspard Felix Tournachon also referred to as Nadar who photographed up and coming stars in a style that rewrote the rules of photography which made his style unique and original. Photographing celebrities as equals, his portraits of artists unrivaled by the character of the person with them just standing in his studio as themselves. His photography presented a likeness and authenticity about them.

8. What is pictorialism?
Pictorialism an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the 19^th century, it was photography at its most po-faced, as it merely created an image rather than simply recording it. Imitating printmaking and drawings the mean, moody and occasionally magnificent Pictorialism. 

Image and Text!

A Brief History of Production and The Experts!

The key to becoming an expert is merely through practice, most experts can consider themselves because of specific qualifications and hard work, sometimes its not only the case except for hard work, hard work is expected as it helps a practitioner become an expert, but most importantly it has to do with skill and technique with that the practice can be perfect. Experts are considered to have an intense ongoing experience in what they do in order to push the boundaries of obvious mindsets a creative must work hard and expect challenges along the way. In some cases perfection isn’t the most important factor to be considered most experts are best at their profession because of skill and technique this helps an expert create their own style and own techniques and methods within that particular profession whether it is photography, graphics, or illustration. As a photography student it is natural to get inspiration and ideas from other photographers and visual communicators in the field in order to create my own style of work.

Being a photography student I have come across various photographers but one in particular that inspired me the most for his spectacular and marvelous black and white photography is Ansel Adams, best known for his black and white photographs, Adams had developed the zone system as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print. The resulting image and depth characterized his photographs. From childhood Adams had appreciation for nature, which would become his primary source of photographic inspiration. He was a visionary figure in nature photography and wilderness preservation. He Inspires me as he produced images of nature which some people take for granted and don’t’ appreciate as much as they should. Adams primarily used large format camera’s despite their size, weight, setup time and film cost, because of the high resolution helped ensue sharpness in his images. Adams photographs are reproduced on calendars, posters and in books making his photographs widely distributed, this skill and preservation is unique in this world of photography today which demonstrates how his skills and techniques is what made him an expert.

From doing research on the history of production I found it interesting at how the first book in Europe was printed , During the 1300’s printing was first printed on cloth, it was in the 1400’s that Johannes Guttenberg a German printer and publisher had designed the Guttenberg Bible also known as the 42-line Bible. It was the first book printed with movable type in the west and the first major book produced on a printing press anywhere in the world. He had used oil ink and a wooden printing press similar to the screw press and production of movable type to produce the printed version of the bible. It is said Guttenberg had created the bible traditionally using metal alloy and hand mould for casting type.

Story Development: Film and a Hero's Journey!

The Hero’s Journey relies on some variation of the three act structure. There are a number of ways to recognise this particular narrative structure the three act structure can help construct the story into three acts that the audience can familiarize with as initial beginning middle and end in some cases it doesn’t have to be in that particular order argues Jean-Luc –Godard.

" Every movie needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order."

Jean- Luc- Godard.

Demonstrating the three act structure from a most recent film such as Twilight: Breaking Dawn seems rather easy but explains the hero’s quest to freedom, the story consists of the three act structure to be useful in terms of describing the protagonists story, for example most narratives consists of an exposition or in other words an equilibrium of the story this suggests the normality of the beginning, for e.g. The wedding of Bella and Edward and following the journey to the honeymoon, at this point in the narrative the equilibrium is established and act 1 has occurred and the protagonist makes a commitment which leads to the main action of the movie. Enter Act 2 which suggests how the equilibrium changes due to some sort of conflict or complication which disturbs the equilibrium and this happens to create a sequence of events, for instance Bella finds out that she is pregnant with Edward the vampire’s baby this immediately changes the path of the protagonist and it results in conflict with Edward who doesn’t want to keep the baby if it means losing Bella.

The protagonists journey gradually changes through many obstacles such as romance, pain and conflict which results in the protagonist in danger of this creates a new equilibrium and follows through to act 3 which is the resolution and to amend the disturbance in hope to find a better and new equilibrium such as the protagonist character Bella gives birth to the half-vampire half-human child and dies and overcome the threats and the danger that followed which ends in a new equilibrium where Bella turns into a vampire and this helps create a cliff-hanger that makes the audience to want to watch more, and have pleasure in finding out what happens in the end.

The Hero’s journey is about someone in this case the protagonist sheltered in some way, who receives a call to adventure- Bella and Edwards’s magical wedding. This protagonist must leave the comfort of her world she has always known and set forth on a dangerous quest. Gaining allies and learning new things along the way, the protagonist faces many challenges and barely escapes death all to gain insight or freedom. Joseph Campbell demonstrates the different stages of the hero’s journey that are familiar to the audience. This helps the audience identify the situation or dilemma and ultimately engage within the story and follow the hero’s journey till the end. The three act structure helps dominate the narrative in a structured plan that enlightens the audience on the journey and taps into an archetypal pattern.

Production and Outcomes: Interpretation and Delivery!

It is considered important when looking at a creative consisting on its zeitgeist of their time, and how it has value over its messages, the content and the interpretations of the piece, researching the content of a piece can have its influence on you as a practitioner. Many designers interpret zeitgeist with many communication whether it is in photographic format or illustrative format, both formats have a similar interpretation, for example Alice in Wonderland is demonstrated in many shapes and forms over the years each era demonstrated the character of Alice in a different way but interpreted similar elements of Alice whether it is photography or a film or illustration. Time and place has a massive effect on the production whether it is on the content or the making of the piece.

 For instance the interpretation of Cinderella has been demonstrated in many ways in time, each era shows the character blossom from a servant to a princess but the interpretation of the character in its time shows a great deal of inspiration from the story, To demonstrate the poster of the 1950’S Cinderella is shown in an animated content which shows the illustration of the character’s appearance the poster shows the posture and the style of the character to be less complex and illustrative to suit the time it was originally created. Whereas the poster of the 1997’s Rodger and Hammerstein’s Cinderella is somewhat different in race and color, but also interprets the similarities and likability of the Cinderella character for example the costume and posture of the appearance is somewhat similar to how the character of Cinderella is portrayed giving a sense of archetypal value and also fits in with the zeitgeist of its era.

Furthermore through the years and the time and place in which Cinderella was initially created shows how the story and character has improved and inspired other creative’s to interpret its message. For example looking at photographer Annie Lebovitz reminisce in Disney dreams,  has captured that spirit in time and interpreted it to create a sense of inspiration as well as merely a use for fashion photography such as the beautiful blue gown, which is a stereotypical view of the characters appearance and costume.  Cinderella has been inspiring to different creative’s during their time, portrayed in platforms such as movies and books etc. It also comes to show that most inspirations come from other creative’s but the interpretation points out that the initial piece lives on throughout time and place of its production, reminding the audience of its key marketing ploys behind the making of the piece and the use of platforms that help deliver the message to the audience.

Lebigiblity and Tone of Voice!

Legibility consists on how a visual communication is portrayed whether it is clear or unclear. However the most prevalent uses of visual imagery can be shown in many types of forms using numerous elements and sometimes half of those images are often seen as illegible, on the other hand it is not often the case that a visual piece is completely illegible as there are always two sides to each story. A piece can be artistically illegible intentionally, for example a photograph that is shown out of focus can be seen as a blurry image but also can have a concept behind it. Tone of voice can also be often used in this particular practice, for example looking closely at Steve McCurry’s photography which consists on documentary photography can often have an intentional illegibility towards it but can also portray its message that it sends across, This Steve McCurry image initially portrayed an image of an Afghanistan girl but can also encode many messages including the ideologies behind the photograph, the typography in the image is encrypted over the poster to have a blurry effect but also demonstrates what the content illustrates.

Tone of Voice can be very effective when illustrated in a visual communication it becomes of great importance when delivering a message to a particular audience by the use of color, layout and style of typography which all contribute to the overall tone of a piece.  Typography tells a lot about the tone of voice of a creative as it demonstrates how the message is put across and has suitable factor about it for example when seeing a the word shout written you initially think of it being portrayed in a big bold type to specify the word and bring the meaning of the word in motion for example SHOUT, this shows the density of the typography to have tone of voice on the type.

Typography is shown in many different formats and various colors the layout structure of a type is highly recognized in specifying a tone of voice as it can suggest a meaning to the audience, For example my personal interest in all things 60’s helps me to recognize its style from either creative practices for example this illustration of a concert/gig poster is designed in a 60’s style this is recognizable by its use of bright colors such as green, purple and orange these three colors are used for different purposes within the layout for instance the purple color is used for the background of the poster and the to highlight the key elements within the image such as the key image and the artists name this suggests the layout structure is portrayed in a 60’s style for either signifying the identity of artist/event or to create a sense of a retro style of a psychedelic concert poster. Alternatively this suggests that legibility and tone of voice of a creative piece is highly valued when inspiring or informing an audience.

Practice discovered through Research and Inspiration!

Practice is commenced through gathering research from different forms of elements and media that are found inspiring to you as a creative practitioner. Through the use of taking advantage of the tools and things that surround you influence you to broaden your minds as to finding raw materials to generate a creative outcome. Looking at the technical and conceptual side of things helps you to respond to the emotional and the appreciative sides from these influential materials that inspire your constant creative thinking, and the work you produce. Research is a fundamental aspect of design practice and an essential part of problem solving, research can be carried out through many forms of materials and media, collecting, drawing and images. By surrounding yourself with things that inspire you is the key to basic primary research and brings you one step closer to being a creative practitioner.

Secondary research is a method of which I tend to use when coming up with an initial idea, through this preference I choose to explore, examine and digest numerous things, people and different forms of media that surround me this supports my way of creative thinking and analyzing. Exploring and analyzing these interests and themes makes me capable of contributing to a deeper and in-depth understanding of the subject. By demonstrating this particular way of practicing is by recording these ideas in your own personal reflective journal.  Taking pictures, scanning, and Photoshop them is what helps me to imitate my idea’s and inspirations through experimenting and manipulating with images, my preferences and interests are what describes my own personal visual vocabulary and this helps me to generate new and fresh idea’s and use it as a source material, and helps me to challenge myself to create an ongoing creative process of enquiry.

Many creative designers find inspiration and idea’s from collecting, observation, drawing and other forms of techniques, by relating and understanding how visual communicators work and produce one is capable to progress and advance one’s own practice. The significance of a person’s practice is to be knowledgeable of other people’s practices and question how they come up with idea’s and generate a creative outcome through various resources and preferences. Assess other artists and how they challenge their mindsets to follow through their creative process. Inspiration is around us collecting helps stimulate things and reignite our thinking of fresher ideas and help us to work hard to gain the role of a practitioner.

“The ability to think visually and the development of a personal visual language comes from learning the basics, being open-minded, hard work, sustained practice and taking risks”

Mark Wigan - Thinking Visually 2006

Through the research and observing your surroundings and finding inspiration echo’s your practice and your fundamental thinking. Fundamental practice is seen through inspirational materials that are recorded and manipulated in your own style. Don’t recycle but invent in stuff and interpret your own designs and ideas. Being aware of your surroundings support the process of fresh new ideas. Recording in your RVJ that are relevant to your work represents your practice and understanding of where your inspiration and ideas come from. .. For instance i have used Andy Warhol as my inspiration as he produced the visual Movement through Pop Art which has influenced me over the years. His influence of bright printmaking skills has inspired my magazine work and helped me develop new ideas and learn new skills along the way.

Bricolage and its use in contemporary culture and Notions of Originality

Learning the historical background of any medium or artwork affects the way the meaning can be approached. Although recreating a contextual reference requires a narrative of initial intention of the reconstruction, it signifies a piece to be shown in depth and refined quality. Many designers use bricolage to come up with innovative and unique ideas and is an important aspect in visual communication. Through the acceptance of bricolage the remake of existing ideas or imagery can suggest a lack of originality, but the intention and meaning behind it can be used as an inspirational reference or an established theme which can lead to the development of a new concept or imagery. The use of bricolage in photography is prevalent in original imagery.

 For example Rankin’s interpretation of Richard Avedon’s Dovima with Elephants shows its true intention of how images changed the fashion expression. This shows its use of appreciated photography and suggests the in depth intention of the content and the use of originality in the promotion of the theme of the reference. The idea initially is conceptually different only to reference the meaning recreated for different purpose of imagery. It can also suggest a pastiche reference through being put across as superficial, however the original content and the initial intention can help create new meaning’s and inspirational focus to uncovering unique talent through appreciated conceptual reference. By appreciating past reference can you development of thought occur in any idea.

To get the zest of recreating contemporary imagery, the notion of originality should be explored. The lack of conceptually originality can be justified by referring to the inspirations and utilize it effectively, this shows that their intended meanings differ substantially. Referring to the ideologies behind the idea acknowledges the use of the concept or image for your own purpose supports your knowledge of contextual art. The inspirations noticed and the personal proximity to it creates originality. As the population evolves and changes the more practitioners can digest historical context and interpret into unique and sophisticated styles and ideas. Therefore the analysis of bricolage imagery and the notion of originality tie together and create a new kind of visualization that differ the initial idea to something original.

Overcoming Mindsets whilst Managing a Creative Environment

Creativity is more than a way of thinking.  It encourages you to broaden your minds and assist you to explore your general curiosity of coming up with fresh new idea’s that create an element of surprise,  than giving into our traditional way of doing things. This supports a creative practitioner to challenge their initial connections or idea’s we would typically make when problem solving. When being creative one must overcome negative attitudes towards creative thinking, overcoming mindsets helps you to tackle your everyday problems, social life and relationships. By a conventional approach to avoid habitual thinking. It serves a purpose to support a person to go beyond the predictable and easy road and find u- turns to help broaden the mind to all possibilities and be given the opportunity for true creative expression.

To be creative is to take risks and learn from our mistakes and being able to get out of our comfort zone.  Being safe with an idea prevents the skillful and spontaneous thinking that most negative people lack, to avoid thinking of the bad things, prevents an individual to take risks and be crazy and enthusiastic in their work, which will help them gain creative results. Limitation prevents the true creative expression of a brilliant idea. To truly become a creative practitioner within the creative industry you must overcome negative attitudes towards things and let go of perfectionism. To challenge oneself to produce a creative art piece is to have the desire to be inspired by it. As students we are encouraged to cross boundaries and break rules to remove ourselves from familiarity and to work towards originality.

A working environment influences you to experiment and work creatively. The availability of a stable working environment assists in the production of coming up with creative idea’s and your development of creativity and originality. A stimulating place can allow creative individuals to interact and broaden their minds.  Culture is an important part of our lives it motivates unique and creative idea’s and helps us to keep up with changes in society and our lifestyle. For example Popular Culture not specifically art in western societies are coming up with new ideas and inventions that stimulate our environment, to reveal what is around you helps you to see things in life from a creative perspective and is centered on freedom of expression. Collecting helps you to appreciate and be passionate about a subject. It can help you to reflect your own interests within your idea’s and be inspired by your surroundings, for example my working environment helps stimulate a secure space to experiment and bring new and fresh idea’s to the table challenging typical mindsets.

Utilise Creative Brain and Drawing in Visual Communication!

Being creative is a way of thinking, and a way of thinking is drawing. Drawing is an essential part of creating and developing idea's as it allows us to visualize them; this enables us to generate an initial intention and theme of an idea. It helps us to see the advantages and disadvantages and create visual solutions of further development to improve on them. It is an entirely different process of thinking in words or drawing with the simple materials like a pencil and paper.  

When working creatively it is significant to make use of both sides of your brain, as it supports your intentions of generating ideas, and to reach your full potential by aiming towards your goal. Both inputs allow you to progress your creative side that is linked with the logical side and helps narrow down the evaluation process and be open to improvements to help produce new solutions. 

This helps identify the problems with the design/idea, and encourages us to play and organize; with the input of both sides of the brain it enables us to visualize the problem by planning ahead using your RVJ. Planning your idea’s across the page gives you a chance to explore and experiment ways in which to present your design in forms of different angles. This compliments where the focus of the design is, and points to how to solve the design problem. It encourages opening your mind to the possibilities and using the pages in your reflective visual journal to plan big in the open space given rather than plan your idea’s small that won’t be seen. For example, for my magazine project we had experimented different ways as to prepresent facts about birmingham here i have illustrated all of the Bullring Shops within the shape of the bull.

Both sides of the brain work together in order to produce an apparent solution to the problem which conveys your initial idea, both sides compliment one another by working together as it supports your problem by pointing towards the solution. Having general awareness of when these modes occur supports how effective the creative process will develop. This is shown by creating your ideas with connotations of the use of the design this helps you to pinpoint the solution and evaluate again.  It supports your visual vocabulary to develop further and helps you to reflect your initial idea with more idea’s and helps you to improve your creative thinking.

Working by hand helps you to engage a connection with your creative right brain, and helps you to convey idea’s visually. Although in various cases drawing emerges by means of working by hand. When visually exploring idea’s it enables your creative side to explore beyond the initial barrier’s and store your ideas, drawings and experimentations using all kinds of elements and forms of mixed media across the pages of your reflective visual journal. Numerous individuals have negative behaviours towards drawing; this limits their ability to work to their full potential. The RVJ provides a safe environment, as it allows you to take risks and work beyond your comfort zone. It guides you to explore ways of challenging your skills in mark making into developing ideas further.