Yesterday we had our presentation with Mike, John and Ian. Unfortunately we didn't realise the presentation would be as formal as it was so our actual presentation skills left much to be desired.
I think the tutors were overall pleased with our 'Hidden' theme and covering objects in dust. We explained that we wanted our chosen objects to look as though the had been lost. The had once belonged to someone and had now been left to the elements.
Mike commented that some of the images 'worked' whilst others looked that they belonged in a 'nuclear winter' scene! Also we were informed that our images would be more effective if there was a narrative. The way I interperated this was that basically in one image we'd have all of our objects covered in dust and in another we have the same image with something missing, etc.
Overall I was pleased with our feedback from the presentation. Although it was painful presenting due to our poor preparation and having to improvise I believe that listening to the feedback from Mike about what was good/bad was incredibly helpful.
We need to be aware of our poses, what we talk about, visual examples of our inspirations, 'selling our idea' to the audience rather than talking as though we were in a crit, etc.
Friday 29 January 2010
Thursday 28 January 2010
Thursday 28th January
With our images we made 2 mock-up CD covers and a poster idea for the presentation in the afternoon.
I am pleased with these initial ideas.
I am pleased with these initial ideas.
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Wednesday 27th Jan
Team went to the photography studio and set up our props for the shoot.
We really wanted to experiment more with lighting but struggled to achieve exactly what we wanted. Whether or not that was down to not having all the correct equipment for the lighting I'm not sure.
We wanted to have dust floating in beams of light as though the light was shining through a window or door that was ajar. Unfortunately we couldn't achieve this effect. Reg explained that it was due to the density of our 'homemade dust'. It was probably too heavy to float and linger in the air for any period of time.
An idea I also had was to have multiple beams of light shining down/across to create a forest effect. The beams of light would represent the trunks of the trees. Again, we couldn't achieve this effect which I was really disappointed about. Reg explained the lighting wasn't powerful enough. We are going to have another photo-shoot next week and so I am going to bring a torch and see if i can create this light-beam effect with that. Eventually with achieve an effect that suggested a door was open and light was sneaking in and highlighting certain objects/areas of our scene.
From a narrative point of view I saw this as our 'scene' that had been forgotten about for hundreds of years had finally been rediscovered.
I was very pleased with the images we got.
We really wanted to experiment more with lighting but struggled to achieve exactly what we wanted. Whether or not that was down to not having all the correct equipment for the lighting I'm not sure.We wanted to have dust floating in beams of light as though the light was shining through a window or door that was ajar. Unfortunately we couldn't achieve this effect. Reg explained that it was due to the density of our 'homemade dust'. It was probably too heavy to float and linger in the air for any period of time.
An idea I also had was to have multiple beams of light shining down/across to create a forest effect. The beams of light would represent the trunks of the trees. Again, we couldn't achieve this effect which I was really disappointed about. Reg explained the lighting wasn't powerful enough. We are going to have another photo-shoot next week and so I am going to bring a torch and see if i can create this light-beam effect with that. Eventually with achieve an effect that suggested a door was open and light was sneaking in and highlighting certain objects/areas of our scene.From a narrative point of view I saw this as our 'scene' that had been forgotten about for hundreds of years had finally been rediscovered.
I was very pleased with the images we got.
Monday 25 January 2010
Monday 25th Jan
Met with the team today and we all exchanged ideas that we had generated over the weekend based on our chosen theme: Secrets.
I had example of people camouflaged against walls covered in decorative paint and thought that this would be a very creative and fun and varied path to explore. Although it could prove to be difficult to execute if we used actual people against walls.
Jade brought in little boxes and trinkets/lockets, etc and explained that secrets things could be kept inside.
Sarah brought in various images of vintage wallpapers which would work well with my camouflaged idea.
Lauren had watched the 1993 film The Secret Garden and she showed the team a scene from the film where the lead character wanders around a grand, old and unfamiliar house exploring forgotten rooms where the furniture had been covered with blankets and dust. The little girl snoops into drawers and finds a large key (which turns out to the key to the Secret Garden).
From watching this scene I came about the idea of having dust covering various objects such as Jades little boxes, lockets, etc. I thought this was a variation of the camouflage idea and would represent something that had been locked away and forgotten about like a secret. I thought dust would create rather dark imagery and mystery and perhaps even a sense of magic? The pictured lots of gray and black with dust lingering in the air.
We talked about having a dressing table covered in various items and all covered in dust: mirror, lockets, diary, boxes, tins - keeping it into the theme of 'secrets' where things can be stired safely or hidden. The mirror would be more metaphorical as it witnesses many things, for example. We could perhaps have some sort of imagery created from a reflection.
After our discussion we ventured into town and bought various items for our theme as well as flour and charcoal to create our dust. I suggested we used the dust from my vacuum cleaner but the girls weren't too keen on this idea!
We returned to Uni and proceeded to create a quick mock-up scene of a table top (or some wooden surface) with our items sitting on and have it all covered in our 'dust'.
I had example of people camouflaged against walls covered in decorative paint and thought that this would be a very creative and fun and varied path to explore. Although it could prove to be difficult to execute if we used actual people against walls.
Jade brought in little boxes and trinkets/lockets, etc and explained that secrets things could be kept inside.
Sarah brought in various images of vintage wallpapers which would work well with my camouflaged idea.
Lauren had watched the 1993 film The Secret Garden and she showed the team a scene from the film where the lead character wanders around a grand, old and unfamiliar house exploring forgotten rooms where the furniture had been covered with blankets and dust. The little girl snoops into drawers and finds a large key (which turns out to the key to the Secret Garden).
From watching this scene I came about the idea of having dust covering various objects such as Jades little boxes, lockets, etc. I thought this was a variation of the camouflage idea and would represent something that had been locked away and forgotten about like a secret. I thought dust would create rather dark imagery and mystery and perhaps even a sense of magic? The pictured lots of gray and black with dust lingering in the air.
We talked about having a dressing table covered in various items and all covered in dust: mirror, lockets, diary, boxes, tins - keeping it into the theme of 'secrets' where things can be stired safely or hidden. The mirror would be more metaphorical as it witnesses many things, for example. We could perhaps have some sort of imagery created from a reflection.
After our discussion we ventured into town and bought various items for our theme as well as flour and charcoal to create our dust. I suggested we used the dust from my vacuum cleaner but the girls weren't too keen on this idea!
We returned to Uni and proceeded to create a quick mock-up scene of a table top (or some wooden surface) with our items sitting on and have it all covered in our 'dust'.
Friday 22 January 2010
Friday 22nd Jan
I've just come back from Berlin and I met the group to discuss where things were up to. They explained that they had a meeting with Ian and he bashed their idea for 'forest/trees' images which I was a bit confused about as I was sure that a week earlier we had already ditched having trees.
Anyway, Lauren explained that we needed to have a theme and based on what we already know about Laura Groves and the Blue Roses Lauren, Jade and Sarah decided that we should have 'secrets' as our theme which I was happy with.
My initial ideas/thoughts based on Secrecy were: things that we hidden, skin deep, white lies, near surface, childhood things,
Lauren mentioned the film The Secret Garden. I haven't seen it but I intend to. I thought of the Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe which although isn't primarily about secrets i just liked the idea of having something secret that you find as a child and it opens up this magical place that only you and your friends know about.
Also, I recall the film 'In the Mood for Love' where the film ends in Cambodia and the lead character Chow is seen visiting the Angkor Wat. He whispers several years worth of secrets into a hole in a wall, before plugging the hole with mud - a method he states a secret can be kept, whilst once dining with a friend in Singapore.
\
The film is also full of sublime imagery and is gorgeous to watch and is also quite quirky in places.
I found the trailer for the film:
Anyway, Lauren explained that we needed to have a theme and based on what we already know about Laura Groves and the Blue Roses Lauren, Jade and Sarah decided that we should have 'secrets' as our theme which I was happy with.
My initial ideas/thoughts based on Secrecy were: things that we hidden, skin deep, white lies, near surface, childhood things,
Lauren mentioned the film The Secret Garden. I haven't seen it but I intend to. I thought of the Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe which although isn't primarily about secrets i just liked the idea of having something secret that you find as a child and it opens up this magical place that only you and your friends know about.
Also, I recall the film 'In the Mood for Love' where the film ends in Cambodia and the lead character Chow is seen visiting the Angkor Wat. He whispers several years worth of secrets into a hole in a wall, before plugging the hole with mud - a method he states a secret can be kept, whilst once dining with a friend in Singapore.
\
The film is also full of sublime imagery and is gorgeous to watch and is also quite quirky in places.
I found the trailer for the film:
Sunday 17 January 2010
Folk Coves I Like
Here are a collection of 'folky' album covers that I like. I like them because they are different from what you would expect from classic folk styles and aren't just imitating the style of old: having a picture of the singer/songwriter looking innocent in the forest or by a lake, or having them holding a guitar, or have the imagery looking old and retro with over saturated colours or torn edges, folds, worn corner, etc.
GRIZZLY BEAR
Other
Friday 15 January 2010
Friday 15th January 2010
Lauren brought in a diarama that she had made for a previous project and we all loved it and thought it'd be a great idea for perhaps a CD or vinyl. As it extends outward we could possibly incorporate a story or a variety of images and styles and perhaps not be so restricted.
Yesterday we talked about CD covers, materials, etc and today we thought it would be more important to talk about the actual style we want to achieve for The Blue Roses.
We looked at other folk singers, images we liked and thought would be relevant, etc.
I talked about the 2009 film Antichrist. It is set in a forest and has some truly beautiful imagery that is mysterious, dark, melancholy.
Yesterday we talked about CD covers, materials, etc and today we thought it would be more important to talk about the actual style we want to achieve for The Blue Roses.
We looked at other folk singers, images we liked and thought would be relevant, etc.
I talked about the 2009 film Antichrist. It is set in a forest and has some truly beautiful imagery that is mysterious, dark, melancholy.
I showed the group excerts from the film and they seemed to be impressed with what they saw front a visual perspective.
At first we talked about myself and Jade going out and finding woodland and forests and taking pictures Sarah and I talked about how we didn't want to put all of the focus on a 'forest scene'. Sarah had an idea for having a 'stage' with puppets/strings, etc and I wanted to explore the darker side of the 'white picket fence'.
The opening scene from David Lycch's Blue Velvet was something I was inspired by and I wanted to capture the mood and feel of it in our work:
I think Lauren wants to create a forest scene out of paper and various materials and I think this would work great with Sarah's stage idea and the theme/style that I want to explore. It'll be interesting exploring and combining different media and materials.
At first we talked about myself and Jade going out and finding woodland and forests and taking pictures Sarah and I talked about how we didn't want to put all of the focus on a 'forest scene'. Sarah had an idea for having a 'stage' with puppets/strings, etc and I wanted to explore the darker side of the 'white picket fence'.
The opening scene from David Lycch's Blue Velvet was something I was inspired by and I wanted to capture the mood and feel of it in our work:
I think Lauren wants to create a forest scene out of paper and various materials and I think this would work great with Sarah's stage idea and the theme/style that I want to explore. It'll be interesting exploring and combining different media and materials.
Thursday 14 January 2010
First Team Meeting
We met today and shared our initial ideas. Jade and Lauren brought books in: PAPERCRAFT & MUSIKRAPHICS.
The Papercraft books was all about making things out of paper like trees, typography, characters, etc and how you can use them effectively making the most of their characteristics. Paper is bendy, thin, can easily be manipulated, etc. We discussed how we could make trees and forests using similar techniques.
I showed the group some images of the limited edition DVD of The Wicker Man. The DVD is housed inside a wooden box and on the box cover is the title and image that has been 'burnt' in. Inside the box set as well as the DVD is a booklet, collector's cards, etc. I thought this would be a great idea for The Blue Roses as I think that many of the Wicker Man themes and the styles of the Wicker Man are present in the band. The film has has a lot of traditional/folk music.
Wednesday 13 January 2010
Initial Ideas and Research
I met with Jade in the Mac suite wit Jade and we began some research into Laura Groves and her band The Blue Roses. Jade said that she had watched the film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me the previous night based on Laura's thoughts and ideas. I too have seen the film and Jade and I discussed how the film was weird, surreal, bizarre, etc. For me certain elements of the film reminded me of David Lynch's earlier film Blue Velvet in that the story was set in this peaceful, idyllic little town where everyone knows everyone and people help their neighbours. But a horrid event takes place that exposes a dark side that lies just beneath this glossy surface. In Blue Velvet we had the white picket fences and in Twin Peaks we have the tall pine trees.
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