Film camera work.
When experimenting with photography it is important to analyse the limitations of a variety of different processes. Perhaps the most common of these is in using the traditional film camera and then developing this with the aid of enlargers. Here one takes the negative image from the film and inserts it into the enlarger. Initially a test must be competed to determine what length of time each image should remain exposed to light to generate the clearest possible rendering. One holds a piece of black card over the image at two second intervals so that the negative, over photographic paper, is exposed to different levels of light; the negative being projected over the top. Once the appropriate clarity is decernable through developing the image in fluid, the photographer can fix this time accordingly to the enlarger. The aperture must be adjusted to ensure absolute clarity of the image, and indeed its brightness. Once this method is established, different processes can be experimented with such as splattering the 'developer' over the picture to reveal only portions of the photograph. Photographers like Timothy Pakron have done this in the past, and although their images are not whole, a viewer can derive a great amount of emotion through them due to the connotations of the fluid marks; implying sadness or lament. Despite the fact that portions of the picture are not present, one can still see a whole narrative in the visual representation of the subject as the photographer, through concealment, forces the audience to fill the gaps themselves, ensuring a visually inciting picture.
The far more personal and physical relationship the photographer has with a developed image is perhaps more intimate than that of digital photography due to the fact that they themselves take great care in composition and creation of said image. The much scarcer nature of the film adds to the image' value and also provides it with a more visceral presence as it is far more real to those who come into contact with it.
When experimenting with photography it is important to analyse the limitations of a variety of different processes. Perhaps the most common of these is in using the traditional film camera and then developing this with the aid of enlargers. Here one takes the negative image from the film and inserts it into the enlarger. Initially a test must be competed to determine what length of time each image should remain exposed to light to generate the clearest possible rendering. One holds a piece of black card over the image at two second intervals so that the negative, over photographic paper, is exposed to different levels of light; the negative being projected over the top. Once the appropriate clarity is decernable through developing the image in fluid, the photographer can fix this time accordingly to the enlarger. The aperture must be adjusted to ensure absolute clarity of the image, and indeed its brightness. Once this method is established, different processes can be experimented with such as splattering the 'developer' over the picture to reveal only portions of the photograph. Photographers like Timothy Pakron have done this in the past, and although their images are not whole, a viewer can derive a great amount of emotion through them due to the connotations of the fluid marks; implying sadness or lament. Despite the fact that portions of the picture are not present, one can still see a whole narrative in the visual representation of the subject as the photographer, through concealment, forces the audience to fill the gaps themselves, ensuring a visually inciting picture.
The far more personal and physical relationship the photographer has with a developed image is perhaps more intimate than that of digital photography due to the fact that they themselves take great care in composition and creation of said image. The much scarcer nature of the film adds to the image' value and also provides it with a more visceral presence as it is far more real to those who come into contact with it.
Working with film camera's not only adds viscerallity and purpose to the image far more than a digital imprint of one, but the process involved is also far more measured and precise as they force a photographer to take much more care over their composition and subject as there are fewer images that can be taken.
When developing an image from a roll of film one must be very careful as the negatives are vulnerable to light. Firstly, the negatives taken must be removed from the camera and fixed so the light wont overexpose them when they are removed. Due to this, the entire process must be done in the dark by loading the film into a tub and sealing it inside. Once this is done, solutions are added. These form the developer, stop and fix, as with photograph images. These must deluge the negatives for 6:30 minutes, 2 minutes and then 6 minutes to ensure maximum clarity of the images, which are then rinsed and dried ready to be enlarged and printed as above.
When developing an image from a roll of film one must be very careful as the negatives are vulnerable to light. Firstly, the negatives taken must be removed from the camera and fixed so the light wont overexpose them when they are removed. Due to this, the entire process must be done in the dark by loading the film into a tub and sealing it inside. Once this is done, solutions are added. These form the developer, stop and fix, as with photograph images. These must deluge the negatives for 6:30 minutes, 2 minutes and then 6 minutes to ensure maximum clarity of the images, which are then rinsed and dried ready to be enlarged and printed as above.
Allotment.
The photographic medium is one of the most beneficial when it comes to capturing a landscape or location. This is because it not only provides a visual representation of said location, and it also, through visual codes and editing, can evoke a corporeal response in relation to the history of the subjects. Particularly with allotment photography, as many artists have found, there is a vast quantity in of life visible when the locale is photographed. Though a public location, the contents are deeply personal as each individual lot is grown by a human being; life from life. Each section of the allotment, though visually similar is very subtly different, emphasising the diversity of each person all with a separate enjoyment of generating a visceral product, much like the appeal of film photography.
Many different photographers have found enjoyment in exposing the elegantly humble and communal experience of an allotment. For example, Andrew Buurman, a Liverpool born photographer, delighted in projecting the image of traditional values, humanity and individuality in his photographic allotment series. The images below depict a selection of his works, all of which emphasise the vibrance and life of the location. Particularly in the high contrast colour and detail of his images and the way his has his subjects hold their produce in their environment, he enables the audience to connect with the people and understand their humble pride at what they have created. A great sense of wholesome community comes across in what is otherwise an extremely digital age. The contrast of this natural reality to the rest of metropolitan society, most of which is not visible or tangible, highlights its importance and emphasises the beauty that it has been preserved.
The photographic medium is one of the most beneficial when it comes to capturing a landscape or location. This is because it not only provides a visual representation of said location, and it also, through visual codes and editing, can evoke a corporeal response in relation to the history of the subjects. Particularly with allotment photography, as many artists have found, there is a vast quantity in of life visible when the locale is photographed. Though a public location, the contents are deeply personal as each individual lot is grown by a human being; life from life. Each section of the allotment, though visually similar is very subtly different, emphasising the diversity of each person all with a separate enjoyment of generating a visceral product, much like the appeal of film photography.
Many different photographers have found enjoyment in exposing the elegantly humble and communal experience of an allotment. For example, Andrew Buurman, a Liverpool born photographer, delighted in projecting the image of traditional values, humanity and individuality in his photographic allotment series. The images below depict a selection of his works, all of which emphasise the vibrance and life of the location. Particularly in the high contrast colour and detail of his images and the way his has his subjects hold their produce in their environment, he enables the audience to connect with the people and understand their humble pride at what they have created. A great sense of wholesome community comes across in what is otherwise an extremely digital age. The contrast of this natural reality to the rest of metropolitan society, most of which is not visible or tangible, highlights its importance and emphasises the beauty that it has been preserved.
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Though both film and digital photography work particularly well, the film photography enables one to think more about the composition of an image. However, the light balance is a little more difficult to control clearly and without a functioning light meter you run the risk of generating extremely pale images. Below are the contact sheets for the digital images created as well as a selection of edited ones. These images in particular expressed the individuality of the people who own the allotments,and, despite the fact that only one included a real person, a real soul comes across in each.
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A Journey.
This series was taken to practice storytelling capabilities through photography. It constitutes a short trip from Finsbury Park to The BFI in London. What was perhaps most exciting about this journey was the beautiful architecture of the tube stations which I wish to explore further in my work, and also the importance of subject. In this case the subject (named Maya) helped the audience to follow the, while thin, still present narrative that flowed throughout the images. This meant that she could interact with the landscape as the audience would and gives a familiar consistency throughout the series. The success of these images lay in these aspects, however there are also issues with the seeming randomness of some of the shots ads it is never entirely clear what one is being invited to see. For the majority of my work I prefer to have an angle or question to explore from the audiences perspective, however that by no means devalues the importance of an image that is purely reveling in saving a moment of aesthetic pleasure.
A Story.
This animation, another aspect if photography I wish to delve into, was created in order to tell a story through Photography. It was inspired by the stop motion animations of 1980's children's television and calls upon current events (the suggested privatization of the NHS)in order to create a moral message. In a slight;y Oliver Postgate meets the Brothers Quay style, I wanted to highlight the childish nature of the issue and show it for what it really was: a childish desire to remain special. I think this animation was effective as it manages to put across what I felt was important about the issue whilst also celebration the nostalgia of what was once children's entertainment that seems to have been somewhat lost in a digital age. (The film also won second prize at the Fresh Face Film Festival in January of 2016).
Documentary.
Observing People: Your World Through My Eyes
For a first attempt at attacking the rooms of the curatorship task, we began with room 2: My world through Your eyes, examining the external world from a personal perspective. Here we looked at a way of forcing the audience to consider the many different angles from which to approach a photograph and the different readings this introduces. Here pictures were taken of the feet of various individuals from around crouch end, London. This concept arose from considering what the iconography was of personal photography, in particular we went with the 'foot shot.' Many people, when first presented with photography are at a loss for what to photograph and thus settle on what they can see as they hold the camera, resulting in (particularly on sites like Instagram) endless images of people's feet in different locations. By creating a series purely of feet, the audience must consider the personal nature of photography, by seeing a documentation of a specific area through he personal lives of the individuals which is also why the final images have been left unedited. Much like the series made by August Sander of the occupations of people of the 20th Century, this series was designed to document the area in which the photographer (me) lived but attacking it from a personal angle to highlight the individual lives that compose the whole, and thus shape the inhabitants perception of their environment. The audience should be able top see the world of the photographer from their own perspective by viewing a series traditionally personal images from a universal perspective.
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These images where hopefully particularly evocative of the differences between the people int he area, not only through heir choice of footwear, but also their surroundings. One can see particularly the difference between many of the individuals in one specific family, all with the same slate backdrop. Here there was a difference between thew women and the men in the family. The women had chosen their shoes carefully, whereas the men had picked the ones nearest to them. The personality of the beings is immediately visible, even through just their feet. In fact one of the children had put their shoes on the wrong feet and hadn't noticed. The differences also clear in the number of images they decided to take, as I asked them each specifically whether they where happy with the pictures. May of them where more perfectionist and repositioned their feet, taking more and more images, whereas others were content with one. There is also a striking similarity between two teenage girls on the street whose shoes are almost exactly the same, making a very interesting comment about, in fact, those most prone to viewing these kinds of images on the internet; they seemed both to be working off the same prototype.
The series was, I feel particularly similar to sander's work as it did indeed document the world at the moment the images were taken. One was forced to think about the personality of the individuals from a 21st century perspective and consider the multitude of different personalities that compose the mass that is Crouch End. While not explicitly about the occupation or even the face of these individuals, the series is still highly relevant to sander's themes of documentary through humanity so, while it cannot be compared on an aesthetic level, the overarching theme links the two. For further development, a portrait series would be interesting to examine, explicitly linking the 20th century to the 21st, and further documenting the workers and inhabitants of the area, but allowing the audience to view it in a less personal way, but from a more explicitly documentarian standpoint.
The series was, I feel particularly similar to sander's work as it did indeed document the world at the moment the images were taken. One was forced to think about the personality of the individuals from a 21st century perspective and consider the multitude of different personalities that compose the mass that is Crouch End. While not explicitly about the occupation or even the face of these individuals, the series is still highly relevant to sander's themes of documentary through humanity so, while it cannot be compared on an aesthetic level, the overarching theme links the two. For further development, a portrait series would be interesting to examine, explicitly linking the 20th century to the 21st, and further documenting the workers and inhabitants of the area, but allowing the audience to view it in a less personal way, but from a more explicitly documentarian standpoint.
To further this strand of thought, I ventured out again and decided to take more portraits of people who work in a certain area. Not only is this similar to the work of August Sander but also to the series 'Exactitudes' by Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek who, intrigued by the different dress codes of social groups, "documented identities" as a record of the ways in which they attempted to distinguish themselves externally. This provides an interesting exploration of the differences between individuals in an area (Rotterdam, Holland), often highlighting not only their own personal identity but also that of the location and indeed the irony that they are all really quite similar.
Exactitudes as a contraction of exact and attitude, almost creates an anthropological record of the types of people who live and work in a certain area to present a visual representation of the cult mindsets that occupy it. Though not personal documentary photography, the series really takes advantage of the camera's capacity to create an objective outlook and thus represents the view of a person outside of a subculture and embodying the theme of their world through another's eyes.
Exactitudes as a contraction of exact and attitude, almost creates an anthropological record of the types of people who live and work in a certain area to present a visual representation of the cult mindsets that occupy it. Though not personal documentary photography, the series really takes advantage of the camera's capacity to create an objective outlook and thus represents the view of a person outside of a subculture and embodying the theme of their world through another's eyes.
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This image provides an interesting insight into cultural signifiers. Particularly due to the unusual nature of the fashion style we can see a sense of individuality in each character separately. However when they are brought together for one image we see how their originality is dulled by the sheer magnitude of individuals with the same style. By positioning each model in the same way the similarities between them are emphasised. The white backdrop also provides an almost seamless frame in which to view the individual so there are no signifiers around them other than their clothes so we are purely focused on them. The choice not to show the whole body of the individuals also retains a sense of closeness with their personality as if they are standing for a headshot, the emphasis entirely thrown onto them directly, so the viewer os not detached from them individuality despite their replication through each other. All the se factors result in an image that s both personal and objective (in the broadest sense of the term) due to the fact that we as viewers have an omnipresent overview of the whole group.
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Unfortunately only one person was willing to be photographed (see right) so I inverted the technique, dressing up one individual as many different characters and exploring way this did to the viewers perception of her. Instead of capturing the typography of one area, the singular model changes to represent many different typographies. Interestingly this had a very similar impact as the initial images though with a different message. The Photographer's set emphasised the similarities of the individuals in a certain area even though they are individually unique. Here the different types of people where explored through one medium, emphasising the way in which individuals are extremely malleable, and the way in which attire changes external perception. From this it is interesting to consider how one's initial perception can be altered through the typography of clothing; how much we assume about an individual through a picture. Through the medium of photography, this is a thought often had due to the fact that it is a way of perceiving and observing the world.
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Artist and Me.
These images where, for the most part, very effective. The similarities between them had to be maintained on the framing and composition in order to get the point across, so there where edited to ensure that that subject stayed in more or less the same point in each frame as it was difficult to maintain her position for each despite the camera being on a tripod. They where also taken on the largest pixel count in case a slight movement was visible and the subject became blurred. In order to emulate a similar feel to the people in the previous set, the images used natural light but where brightened in the edit to make them appear more clean and invite observation of the symbolism present in the clothes rather than take notice of the location. The predominant issue with them is that they do not thoroughly explore the theme of documentary enough to evoke a strong response. Though they do make an observation and a commentary about the different sorts of people often found and the fact that they are really interchangeable in terms of the individual's appearance, they don't show any sort of reality as they where purely fabricated. The fact that all the outfits came from one wardrobe also brings into question the idea of individual personality as so many signifiers within the clothing could represent a character separate form the individual. The audience could therefore consider the extent to which clothing has an impact on our perception of others and perhaps how false that can be. Through may art forms, the artist will attempt to achieve some sort of truth or at least the impression of truth however in this observation that was not fully achieved and thus more depth is needed investigate the theme.
These images where, for the most part, very effective. The similarities between them had to be maintained on the framing and composition in order to get the point across, so there where edited to ensure that that subject stayed in more or less the same point in each frame as it was difficult to maintain her position for each despite the camera being on a tripod. They where also taken on the largest pixel count in case a slight movement was visible and the subject became blurred. In order to emulate a similar feel to the people in the previous set, the images used natural light but where brightened in the edit to make them appear more clean and invite observation of the symbolism present in the clothes rather than take notice of the location. The predominant issue with them is that they do not thoroughly explore the theme of documentary enough to evoke a strong response. Though they do make an observation and a commentary about the different sorts of people often found and the fact that they are really interchangeable in terms of the individual's appearance, they don't show any sort of reality as they where purely fabricated. The fact that all the outfits came from one wardrobe also brings into question the idea of individual personality as so many signifiers within the clothing could represent a character separate form the individual. The audience could therefore consider the extent to which clothing has an impact on our perception of others and perhaps how false that can be. Through may art forms, the artist will attempt to achieve some sort of truth or at least the impression of truth however in this observation that was not fully achieved and thus more depth is needed investigate the theme.
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The following images where taken in response to the photographer Nacho Ormaechea under the heading My world through Your eyes. His works often feature images of individuals in locations who have been removed and replaced with somewhere else in the shape of their silhouette. This was particularly moving as it gives the viewer an impression that this is where they feel they are inside or at least where they would like to be, giving a massive insight into their character. For this set of images, peoples actual habitat's become less of the focus and their dream-scape is implied through their silhouette.
Ormaechea's images are designed to surprise and amaze his audience by giving them something they don't expect. He argues that his education in fine arts and graphic design has enabled him to create more innovative images as well as the freedom provided through freelance photography. He describes his images as visual thinking which creates a very personal attitude to a photograph as if you are looking directly into the photographer's head. This was a perfect theme for personal documentary and meant that an impression of an individual's internal dialogue was visible externally and really sums up the theme of this series.
Ormaechea's images are designed to surprise and amaze his audience by giving them something they don't expect. He argues that his education in fine arts and graphic design has enabled him to create more innovative images as well as the freedom provided through freelance photography. He describes his images as visual thinking which creates a very personal attitude to a photograph as if you are looking directly into the photographer's head. This was a perfect theme for personal documentary and meant that an impression of an individual's internal dialogue was visible externally and really sums up the theme of this series.
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Editing these images was much harder than I expected, as getting the shape of the person accurate needed very precise work; each imperfection becoming more obvious with the colour of the filling. The attempt was also to make the person's inner thoughts visible on the outside, gaining a more in dept interaction with the individual. They where largely effective though a little less ornate then the images of Ormaechea due to the fact that the center images where not specifically designed to provide an interesting pattern, and more just to expound upon feeling. I also decided not to allow the legs to fade into their original tone because I wanted to see the effect of the whole body concealed. This however, takes a lot of the humanity out of the subject and forces that audience to think of them as less of an individual and more as something decorative, therefore these further images where experimented with in the opposite way. However the images did represent the theme of the piece quite well as they expound upon the thoughts and internal dialogue of an area looking at someone else's world from an objective perspective. For example, the image of the beach is directly personal to that individual as it is a place they often visited as a child and indeed have visited every year since then, as are the lyrics of the song 'God Only Knows' by the Beach Boys in the second image. Both these indicate a intimate aspect of the individual's life now made visible to the outside.
Artist and Me.
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The comparison between these two images draws out the very personal differences between them more than it does visual. This is mostly prominent in the choice of texture with which to fill the silhouette. For Ormaechea's images he chose a tangle of docking rope to fill his subject which invites far more interpretation and symbolism than simply an impression of what the subject is thinking. The visual metaphor of the ropes, in particular their slanted angle, projects a sense of entrapment onto the individual; giving the impression that they have been bound and ties, particularly due to their hunched position. The very bleak and grey background draws a lot of attention onto the subject, and indeed, the fact that the subject is using a phone. This suggestion of incarceration, combined with the traditional hunched shoulders associated with phone use could be inviting a satirical reading of the image; one again the overuse of technology in modern culture. Therefore the bleak backdrop cold be a symbolic reference to the empty nature of a society constantly consumed by screens who are now so dependent of devices that they cannot function in an active world. This indication f an ';active world' is furthered by the connotations of the boat ropes, particularly as any ropes could have been used, but here the fishing net is also visible. Therefore the artist draws attention to the incapability of a modern generation by illuminating the fact that they would be stymied by productive tasks and uses the rope as a metaphorical representation of that incapability. In order to improve upon my images, more careful thought needs to go into deciding what fills the silhouette in order to invite a deeper reading of the photograph based on an issue in that area of society. This way the image would not only fulfill the theme 'your world through my eyes' (here the my could be both the subject and the photographer) but also the theme of My world through your eyes (your being audience, My being subject of image) due to the fact that bit invites several different perspectives of individuals in an area. The similar framing of both images however was largely effective, as I attempted to line up the camera with the natural lines of the location. As Ormaechea has done, this draws more attention to the image as an artwork as the audience can accept it in its fixed state: there is no movement in the frame. This would be continued with further attempts at the images as it perfectly reinforces the idea of looking at art ads having meaning and invites a commentary on the subject matter; something which documentary is praised for.
Observing Environments: Your World Through Your Eyes
Moving on from this, observing the different people and indeed architecture of tube stations was very interesting as it provided an interestingly different reality from anything on the surface and yet was something thousands of different types of people share in. For this, I looked to the work of Simon James (actually inspired by Richard Avedon) and his series Mind the Gap. As a frequent user of public transport, James was struck by the wealth of stories he felt could be going untold around the intricacy of the tube tunnels. Through this photography he quite literally bridged 'the gap' between the underground world and the world above. For this series I hope similarly to examine this separate universe almost, that thousands of people experience everyday and capture it as a form of documentation to the manner in which it exists.
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The difference this area has from the rest of reality is quite surprising. Though it is something thousands of people experience on a regular basis, it is always considered temporary; a constant state of flowing life. This is perhaps why it looks so unlike anything else and it is important, I feel, not to overlook the beautiful architecture and design that goes into them that is so frequently passed by.
The images where effective in the sense that they provide a clear understanding of the aesthetic of the realm and are instrumental to understanding the way that reality can be different. They are extremely unfamiliar, but because of the way they are experienced, this alien nature is overlooked. This is a concept I wish to explore more but in the way that peoples realities can appear fabricated from the outside but to them feel perfectly real. There was also an attempt to evoke some symbolism in the images, particularly the reflection of the train in the window in the Aldgate series. This was designed to 'reflect' the attainable nature of the world of the station and the fact that it is something separate from the rest of the world by linking it with the connotations of mirrors. The differences in the series also help to expound upon the difference between the apostatize even thought they are a part of the same world. My particular interest was the Circle Line as that was one in particular that I had experienced the least (and the trains have no compartmentalization so the symmetrical images you can get are truly beautiful). Aesthetically my favorites where tied between Westminster and Baker Street as each perfectly encapsulates the time in which they where built and thus demonstrates the preservation of London's culture, even beneath it. The dark lighting (achieved by lowing the ISO of the camera) in the Baker Street station was done because it reflected the romantic view of the Victorian esque architecture, specifically in the gaping opening of the train tunnel and its visible brick and wire work, evocative of the dark stories of Victorian London such as jack the Ripper. Though this is embedded with modern elements such as the white lights that silhouetted commuters across the platform, the basic structure of the station was very familiar of the original architecture as a testament to this aspect of British history (particularly as Baker Street is synonymous with the famous British icon of fiction, Sherlock Holmes. This had great contrast to the more recent Jubilee line train station, Westminster, named after the queens Diamond Jubilee, hence its grey colour. This architecture was, what must be deliberately, space age and modern, with twisting staircases and corridors, perhaps reminiscent of the early, almost entirely quarry based, episodes of the British television series Doctor Who. This was perhaps so striking due to its contrast to so many of the other stations but also in its similarities. For example, the typical 1920s architectural elements of the ST. James Park station have influenced the art-deco neauonces in the most recent addition to the underground as well as an element of modernism injected by Hopkins architects. The evolution of stations visible in the aesthetics of the stations combined with the similarities of the commutes, unifies these locations under their common use. The way they are used is momentary, though the culture they depict is everlasting.
The images where effective in the sense that they provide a clear understanding of the aesthetic of the realm and are instrumental to understanding the way that reality can be different. They are extremely unfamiliar, but because of the way they are experienced, this alien nature is overlooked. This is a concept I wish to explore more but in the way that peoples realities can appear fabricated from the outside but to them feel perfectly real. There was also an attempt to evoke some symbolism in the images, particularly the reflection of the train in the window in the Aldgate series. This was designed to 'reflect' the attainable nature of the world of the station and the fact that it is something separate from the rest of the world by linking it with the connotations of mirrors. The differences in the series also help to expound upon the difference between the apostatize even thought they are a part of the same world. My particular interest was the Circle Line as that was one in particular that I had experienced the least (and the trains have no compartmentalization so the symmetrical images you can get are truly beautiful). Aesthetically my favorites where tied between Westminster and Baker Street as each perfectly encapsulates the time in which they where built and thus demonstrates the preservation of London's culture, even beneath it. The dark lighting (achieved by lowing the ISO of the camera) in the Baker Street station was done because it reflected the romantic view of the Victorian esque architecture, specifically in the gaping opening of the train tunnel and its visible brick and wire work, evocative of the dark stories of Victorian London such as jack the Ripper. Though this is embedded with modern elements such as the white lights that silhouetted commuters across the platform, the basic structure of the station was very familiar of the original architecture as a testament to this aspect of British history (particularly as Baker Street is synonymous with the famous British icon of fiction, Sherlock Holmes. This had great contrast to the more recent Jubilee line train station, Westminster, named after the queens Diamond Jubilee, hence its grey colour. This architecture was, what must be deliberately, space age and modern, with twisting staircases and corridors, perhaps reminiscent of the early, almost entirely quarry based, episodes of the British television series Doctor Who. This was perhaps so striking due to its contrast to so many of the other stations but also in its similarities. For example, the typical 1920s architectural elements of the ST. James Park station have influenced the art-deco neauonces in the most recent addition to the underground as well as an element of modernism injected by Hopkins architects. The evolution of stations visible in the aesthetics of the stations combined with the similarities of the commutes, unifies these locations under their common use. The way they are used is momentary, though the culture they depict is everlasting.
Moving on from this, I wanted to look at the way people commonly perceive certain locations and present it in a way they wont have seen before and thus alter their perception of it. For this, areas around London where selected and photographed very early in the morning so they would be completely empty. With these sorts of images people often don't quite notice that the area is different, yet it doesn't feel quite right. It is this subtle difference that, when perceived,alters one's perception of the location entirely.
The idea that everything and everyone has a 'true'or permanent state is a myth. This is what makes the theme of documentary so interesting as it has the ability to expose different peoples perceptions of the world. It is very difficult to define 'truth' because of the subjectivity of the world as no one can ever truly view something objectively simply because they too are a subject. In this project what I wanted to examine most was the way that perception alters with every person and every perspective to expose the world for what it 'is' in all states. Here we see an area that looks unlike what people conventionally see, changing what it 'is' within their minds. The individual can therefore consider what the location means outside of its ordinary function as many people assume that the 'true' state is one that is existed in when the subject is alone. This means that this particular series of images come under the heading of 'Your world through My eyes' in that the viewer is looking at something alien and adjusting their traditional perceptions of it. Considering Oxford Street in its alone and empty state can reveal it without the usual concerns of the individual when looking at it in the moment; usually a very busy moment. It is no longer imbibed with the concerns of said moment or the stresses or the capitalist and consumerist culture it so frequently embodies. Now it is something other, much like the way we view memorable locations in disaster movies such as 28 Days Later, in which we can see new York without all its conventional signifiers, in fact in a scenario where it no longer provides the services and therefore meanings it once had.
This kind of photography was also explored by he Artist Jiri Rezac whose work, we could perhaps see, as London naked. His series captured the streets and busy roads of London at night when they were completely empty and gave a haunting feeling to these conventionally full landscapes.
The idea that everything and everyone has a 'true'or permanent state is a myth. This is what makes the theme of documentary so interesting as it has the ability to expose different peoples perceptions of the world. It is very difficult to define 'truth' because of the subjectivity of the world as no one can ever truly view something objectively simply because they too are a subject. In this project what I wanted to examine most was the way that perception alters with every person and every perspective to expose the world for what it 'is' in all states. Here we see an area that looks unlike what people conventionally see, changing what it 'is' within their minds. The individual can therefore consider what the location means outside of its ordinary function as many people assume that the 'true' state is one that is existed in when the subject is alone. This means that this particular series of images come under the heading of 'Your world through My eyes' in that the viewer is looking at something alien and adjusting their traditional perceptions of it. Considering Oxford Street in its alone and empty state can reveal it without the usual concerns of the individual when looking at it in the moment; usually a very busy moment. It is no longer imbibed with the concerns of said moment or the stresses or the capitalist and consumerist culture it so frequently embodies. Now it is something other, much like the way we view memorable locations in disaster movies such as 28 Days Later, in which we can see new York without all its conventional signifiers, in fact in a scenario where it no longer provides the services and therefore meanings it once had.
This kind of photography was also explored by he Artist Jiri Rezac whose work, we could perhaps see, as London naked. His series captured the streets and busy roads of London at night when they were completely empty and gave a haunting feeling to these conventionally full landscapes.
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(Unfortuunately the image is owned privately by Rezac, but can be viewed on his website. See link right)The framing of this image is particularly beautiful. Despite the cultural signifiers of London being the Lions of Trafalgar Square, these are at the back of the depth of field, with the predominant focus of the linage placed on the word 'LOOK' sprawled across the road. This is almost like the photographer is calling to his audience to look at the world around them, to look at his images and analyse what it means to them. Rezac's goal was to display London as it is infrequently seen to provide an image of imagination rather than substance as the individual viewer ill project their own meanings of the hustle and bustle onto the location. He prefaced his series, which took several years, including two christmas Days and many early mornings to create, with the phrase "Enjoy the silence" which truly exemplifies this look of London without its usual signifiers, so that individuals can take in its beauty and meaning in the absence of life.
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These images where largely successful not only because they exposed the nature of these locations as they stand without purpose, but also provides symbolism. This is true of the frequent red lights and stop signs, such as 'DO NOT ENTER,' 'NO ENTRY,' and the red traffic lights. Throughout the series there is a feeling of an area where people are not allowed, giving a sense of the presence of these areas when people are not present as something foreign or unfamiliar. Particularly true to the theme of documentary, we get a sense of the importance people have in the meaning of an object or place as it is only with people that these places retain meaning; these people giving it the meaning it holds. From this we can therefore consider the meanings people imbibe places and things with and thus explore the parameters of personal documentary much further. To improve upon this series however, more care could be taken over location and composition as unfortunately gradually too many people began to enter the locations surprisingly early in the morning for enough scope to be achieved. This meant that they couldn't really embody the atmosphere of the disaster movie. A progression n from these piece could involve placing a singular individual in to the locations to give a sense of personality and authenticity to the images. This would mean that the viewer could see the empty space for what it would mean to an individual as opposed t its meanings purely architecturally.
Moving on from architectural transport, I wanted to examine how different people view moving around London. For this I took a series of images of bus stops and the people at bus stops entitled 'Look Up' in which I examined the usual etiquette of waiting. Here it was interesting to note how many (essentially all)people looked at there phones while they waited. The fact that the public cannot go a moment without being distracted from reality is mildly frightening. That is why I also took a picture of the view from each bus stop in which only a portion of landscape is visible. The interesting patterns and close proximity of the camera to the view meant that not very much is visible and it is hard for a viewer to make sense of what they are seeing. However, this provided a very interesting look at perspective in the fact that each location, in its minute detail, is incredibly different, and without the context surrounding it the location looks highly surrealist. This perspective on the scene, in relation to people merely observing their phones, takes note of the section of the world people missed by not looking up and came from a section of graffiti I saw in front of a bus stop. It said: "the most beautiful things in the world are in front of you, look up". This I found very toughing and highly relevant to the theme of documentary as it is concerned with saving aspects of the world that can so easily be forgotten. What I feel is lacking from these images of landscapes is that they only invoke a personal reaction from viewer and not a specific subject from within the photograph or the context of the photograph. further inspiration into perspectives in documentary photography, I wish to capture peoples individual reactions and aspects of the world they see and remember. Not creating a representation of an emotion as with usual abstract or composed photography, but an accurate representation of thought as an individual sees it, noting how their truth may be different from that of others.
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Observing Thought:My World Through My Eyes
Orbital - The Box from Alcove Entertainment on Vimeo.
Exploring thought as documentary allowed for a lot more creative control. The basic features of documentary concern the questions Who? What? Why? When? and How? Applying these to a stream of thought provides a much more interesting insight into the mind of an individual as you can analyse who they are, what they are doing, why they are doing it, all in the knowledge that it came from their own head and thus giving a much greater insight into their personality by preserving their inside not just their outside.
By beginning to examine surrealism in documentary attention way turned to the music video for 'The Box', starring Tilda Swinton and directed by Luke Losey. This video used stop motion animation with people, making the world look as though it is moving extremely fast with a time lapse quality. This was a really quite touching representation about, or at least it came across this way, the world moving faster than people can cope with. It provided a physical manifestation of a feeling of unsteadiness and a fear of being left behind, particularly with Tilda's makeup-less face, and whimsically exaggerated expressions.
By beginning to examine surrealism in documentary attention way turned to the music video for 'The Box', starring Tilda Swinton and directed by Luke Losey. This video used stop motion animation with people, making the world look as though it is moving extremely fast with a time lapse quality. This was a really quite touching representation about, or at least it came across this way, the world moving faster than people can cope with. It provided a physical manifestation of a feeling of unsteadiness and a fear of being left behind, particularly with Tilda's makeup-less face, and whimsically exaggerated expressions.
Beginning to explore metaphor of stop motion, I first made an animation of a Mannequin being stymied by a staircase. This was more an experimentation with the medium of stop motion. What I would really like to explore is the stories and relationships individual people have with the world around them, and the way perception differs from person to person. However, where this was successful was the timing. I found it useful to convey emotion, even that of an inanimate object (made easier with its familiar human shape), and gained an understanding of one of the major themes of documentary photography; telling a story. This series of images, though largely impersonal, set up a good basis from which one could begin to develop human stop motion and begin to analyse the theme of documentary itself (as an observation of life). I could create a human stop motion which would hopefully encapsulate the theme of documentary. The subject would represent the audience, observing the world as a series of images, from an objective vantage point. However, the danger here would be to forget the personal and therefore subjective opinions of the individual in the images and disregard the very important theme of perspective in photography.
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To continue the theme of perspective, and experiment with the way people can be used in stop motion animation, a short sequence was captured involving an interaction between a time snail and a lamp. This was designed not only to encompass an element of childlike thought in a scene where inanimate objects interact, but also the way that people interact with their surroundings. By using the medium of stop motion animation I was able to remove the usual assumptions that come with film and create an anthropomorphic interaction of live being and inanimate object. By using an object with a moveable 'head', aka: the lamp, I could foster a familial connection with audience and object as they can recognise sadness in the item when it looks downward. By creating small movements, a tentative and timid nature was present, emulating that of a small creature and furthering this childlike sense of inquisitive discovery. Because the child in the film is oblivious to the movements of the objects and interacts with the landscape as one usually would, there is a disconnection at odds with her animated self as she is part of the whimsical dance, though unaware of it. Although, this can be seen to represent the way in which, once something is photographed it becomes malleable to the eye, and by animating the person as well we almost have a representation of audience in the constructed image. However, this does not come across wholly, and also does not fully encapsulate the theme of perspective in documentary photography as the subjects of the image appear to be the lamp and the snail. To further examine the extents of this medium, a further series, exploring individuals in public locations (much like the Orbital video) could be attempted in order to see the fast paced nature of the world through the perspective of a documentary observer.
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Artist and Me.
This work can definitely be improved upon. In regards to the Orbital video, this GIF is lacking in the contemplative observing of the world that the video expresses so well and needs to have more frames so that thew world looks as though it is moving faster, as was done in the Orbital video which was filmed over several days. Furthermore, the quality of the image was attended to far more, and the lighting and scenery was much more pleasing to the eye. What did work well in my work was the interaction and effect the other people in the images had as the majority of them stop to pose or take a photograph of the landscape conveying a certain amount of the gravity of the location and highlighting how slow the subject is moving. It gives the impression that these people seem interested in it in a largely fleeting way, despite the fact that they captured a moment of it on their phone and suggesting how very quickly changeable and transient their lives are as well as the changing state of the location. The way the subject also reaches out to the individual highlights this disconnected yet connected way documentary observers view the work as though they feel a personal connection they cannot touch it as it has already passed. This, though not perfect, does convey the importance of the photography medium for documentary and provides a basis upon which to build.
This work can definitely be improved upon. In regards to the Orbital video, this GIF is lacking in the contemplative observing of the world that the video expresses so well and needs to have more frames so that thew world looks as though it is moving faster, as was done in the Orbital video which was filmed over several days. Furthermore, the quality of the image was attended to far more, and the lighting and scenery was much more pleasing to the eye. What did work well in my work was the interaction and effect the other people in the images had as the majority of them stop to pose or take a photograph of the landscape conveying a certain amount of the gravity of the location and highlighting how slow the subject is moving. It gives the impression that these people seem interested in it in a largely fleeting way, despite the fact that they captured a moment of it on their phone and suggesting how very quickly changeable and transient their lives are as well as the changing state of the location. The way the subject also reaches out to the individual highlights this disconnected yet connected way documentary observers view the work as though they feel a personal connection they cannot touch it as it has already passed. This, though not perfect, does convey the importance of the photography medium for documentary and provides a basis upon which to build.
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Particularly relevant to documentary photography is the work of Eadweard Muybridge, a 'pioneer' of motion capture in the early stages of film. Born in 1830 in England, Muybridge took up professional photography in 1867 and is perhaps most famous for his works in the documentation of moving animals. This is perhaps one of the rawest forms of documentary, as it not only captures their movements of animals (predominantly horses) but also documents the early stages of film and photography. Intrigued by the fact that he could document 'what the eye could not distinguish as separate movements' he perhaps epitomises photography and stop motion; breaking down and observing life from an objective perspective to reveal what cannot be seen in the moment.
In 1872, Muybridge was hired by Leland Stanford to photograph horses. Stanford had made a bet that, when a horse runs, all four of its hooves are momentarily raised off the ground simultaneously. His first attempts taking pictures of horses where unsuccessful due to the low quality of camera's at the time, and he had a brief sabbatical from photography when he shot and killed his wife's lover and subsequently stood trial for his |
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crime. When he came back to photography, he resumed this work this time for his own desire and with much better equipment. This practice involved setting up a series of cameras with tripwires that the horse would knock causing a picture to be taken, settling the bet made fourteen years previously. It can be seen in the image to the right that the photographs are purely documentary , with no expression of personality or feeling due to their labelling, clear formatting, and the scientific intent of the photographer.
This differs from the work I want to do in an obvious respect, however it provides a useful and fascinating insight into the early forms of photography. Furthermore, the scientific connotations of the layout invite a starting point for a way of looking objectively at what I will call 'thought documentary'. From here I can therefore progress to a series of images before creating an animated GIF that take someones thoughts or observations of the world and show them as a scientific perspective rather than a personal one.
This differs from the work I want to do in an obvious respect, however it provides a useful and fascinating insight into the early forms of photography. Furthermore, the scientific connotations of the layout invite a starting point for a way of looking objectively at what I will call 'thought documentary'. From here I can therefore progress to a series of images before creating an animated GIF that take someones thoughts or observations of the world and show them as a scientific perspective rather than a personal one.
Moving away from the stop motion as documentary metaphor (subject in the photograph observing the world from inside the image) these images use the audience to observe the image, by putting them as the objective viewer upon a 'scientific experiment'. This not only throws back to the early forms of photographic practice, but also invites an objective viewing of someone eles observation of the world giving it more credibility as personal truth; a 'truth' so often disregarded if others don feel it.To remain more true to the theme of 'thought as documentary' I began to consider the role of memory in people's perspective and visually exploring this with the methods of Eadweard Muybridge. Here real memories have been animated in order to represent the way they are remembered, even though that may be, in actuality, impossible. What is important about this series is that it documents what is possible through photography which has the power to make things at are impossible in the real world appear visually real. Therefore the implausibility that inanimate objects 'move' is taken as a more realistic practice creating a parigdim and documentation for the power of photography itself as well as a documentation of internal thought.
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Apart from a few issues concerning lighting, this shoot was predominantly a success. The colour tones provided in the editing process sufficiently paralleled the work of Edweard Muybridge, while not exactly mirroring it; so as to provide a unique piece of work. These particular images convey a very early memory of France. The figures in question are found inside a specific kind of Cake called 'Galletes' or epiphany cake, in which a model is concealed inside one slice (the finder of which gets to wear a crown). These were eaten over several years of birthdays and the little figures collected (supposedly to form a story about a prince), and where subsequently animated to emanate the intervention of a childish mind upon a memento, that on the surface means very little. Though the figures cannot actually move, the series was designed to document the idea that they could, and the youthful state of mind the person who collected them had when thy first set eyes on them, enacting a sense of childish glee that would otherwise be lost.
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Artist and Me.
Though Muybridge had a different intention for his images, there are still a few similarities, and of course differences, that bring out the meaning and purpose of my own. For example, the grid remains the same, however this time it is superimposed over the top of my image to draw more attention to it. This would however be more effective if the images in the GIF remained at a stationary framing point as the grid would not appear to move so much, making it more similar to Muybridge's work and the metaphor all the stronger. The creation of images and animations like this is also incredibly time consuming as it editing the grading and colour balance on each individual mage and then placing the grid on top and creating a GIF. However the old fashioned film grainy look the inconsistent lighting gave the animation made it seem moderately more authentic, as if we are observing an old film and reinforcing the call back to early documentation through photography. Hopefully in this series, I have managed to make reference to purely scientific documentary ad in doing so have forced my audience to view these images of memories from an objective documentary perspective. This should not only enable them to consider the purpose of photography in doing just that, but also accept that a memory is a valid form of truth even if it is not seen by the outside world, bringing in this key theme of perspective from my earlier work.
Though Muybridge had a different intention for his images, there are still a few similarities, and of course differences, that bring out the meaning and purpose of my own. For example, the grid remains the same, however this time it is superimposed over the top of my image to draw more attention to it. This would however be more effective if the images in the GIF remained at a stationary framing point as the grid would not appear to move so much, making it more similar to Muybridge's work and the metaphor all the stronger. The creation of images and animations like this is also incredibly time consuming as it editing the grading and colour balance on each individual mage and then placing the grid on top and creating a GIF. However the old fashioned film grainy look the inconsistent lighting gave the animation made it seem moderately more authentic, as if we are observing an old film and reinforcing the call back to early documentation through photography. Hopefully in this series, I have managed to make reference to purely scientific documentary ad in doing so have forced my audience to view these images of memories from an objective documentary perspective. This should not only enable them to consider the purpose of photography in doing just that, but also accept that a memory is a valid form of truth even if it is not seen by the outside world, bringing in this key theme of perspective from my earlier work.
By examining different perspectives as a form of documentary enabled me to analyse the medium of photography itself. People perceive environments in very different ways, just as people perceive photographs of environments in different ways, all because of the previous experiences they have with them an what is visible to them in that moment. However, when the location becomes an image it is transformed into something that is perceived far more fixed. That view point is saved and permanent and what can feel transient in a moment can feel much more real when it is frozen in a photograph. This way a surrealist representation of thought can be displayed as documentary fact even though it was manufactured, meaning that someones internal observations, though subjective to them can appear in an objective way.
In our current climate of social media, the importance and pressure upon people to document their lives has increased. We have, in a way, almost a callback to victorian discovery and obsessive recording of life and movement. Here our necessity to record our lives, to have evidence that they existed has become almost a robotic scientific practice. In this state, people have themselves blurred the line between documentary and personal, and in this series I hope to highlight this confusion by placing a personal memory in a scientific setting, and animating it using the stop motion metaphor for documentary itself; observing the world in a meditated way as an attempt to counter our growing inability to remember and fear of forgetting.
In our current climate of social media, the importance and pressure upon people to document their lives has increased. We have, in a way, almost a callback to victorian discovery and obsessive recording of life and movement. Here our necessity to record our lives, to have evidence that they existed has become almost a robotic scientific practice. In this state, people have themselves blurred the line between documentary and personal, and in this series I hope to highlight this confusion by placing a personal memory in a scientific setting, and animating it using the stop motion metaphor for documentary itself; observing the world in a meditated way as an attempt to counter our growing inability to remember and fear of forgetting.
This preliminary set of images was taken as a precursor to the ideas of personal documentation in my grandparents front room. They, as very sentimental people, have kept a large quantity of images and memento from my, my parents and their own, childhoods such as the collection of every single cracker joke we have ever puled, and a candle snuffer, despite the fact that they no longer light candles. This meant it was the perfect setting, in particular with the image of the clock which they both have physically (now broken) and saved in picture form, being given to my great grandfather. What I wanted to do as well, was to focus of interesting framing for my images; photographing thorough other objects of leaving the subject of the image off centre in order to create the impression that one is only observing them in the periphery; not quite able to see the entire picture. This is because all the components that compose the room, make up a very large part of my grandparents life, however, they are all individually minute moments. This was a very elegant example of what I wanted to do in my final piece. Making note of the obsessive way in which people now document their lives, transforming documentary from what was initially a scientific process to something very personal.
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In preparation for the final piece, GIFs where made of the images being scrunched to see the effect of it in stop motion. For this images where taken of various childhood memories and printed . The difficulty with this is that the materiel they are made of needs to be reshaped for each image, making it difficult to maintain their position in the image. Furthermore, the reshaping process is hard to control in itself as very minute adjustments have to be made which are complicated when using temperamental materials.
From this experiment I discovered the importance of framing due to the fact that the object can so easily shift. Unfortunately the constraints in location mean that the lighting on the original images was less than desirable, however it was my wish to alter it to black and white in order to purely focus on the movement of the object so as to improve for the final piece, as opposed to focusing on colour.
From this experiment I discovered the importance of framing due to the fact that the object can so easily shift. Unfortunately the constraints in location mean that the lighting on the original images was less than desirable, however it was my wish to alter it to black and white in order to purely focus on the movement of the object so as to improve for the final piece, as opposed to focusing on colour.
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My initial reaction to the theme of documentary was very blatant. It involved purely documenting areas but through specific means, such as the people that compose them or the architecture that defines them. The idea of documentary was so changeable and subjective that it could not be expressed purely in location and what you can capture with the camera alone. It was for that reason that I progressed to stop motion as it allowed me to manipulate what the viewer saw, and express a more modern form of documentation that is personal. From seeing my grandparents house and from the preliminary focus on Edweard Muybridge, I combined the two in order to create a metaphor for obsessive documentation and the way that an objective perspective (from the viewer) can make this seem like fact. At the end of the animation the flash edit alludes to a cycle of this documentation that will never end now that photography is so readily available. What I feel my images have been lacking over the course is an attention to aesthetic appeal in the images, as a photograph needs, fundamentally, to draw the eye. In this series much more care was taken in aperture, colour balance and framing, to ensure that the images where also visually interesting. This is much harder to do while making a stop motion animation as the image is not isolated and had to lead on to the subsequent one. The key feature of this is an attempt not to move the camera between picture, as the slightest alteration in frame is very clearly visible once the images are animated.
One final progression for this film was to present it as a narrative; to convey the message without explanation. Therefore the character goes about their daily business experiencing the fear of losing their memories (in stop motion), each image falling out of her head and attempting to cling to all the aspects of her life while going about her day. This creates the impression of the obsessive nature of recording and collecting memories as no one can cling to everything forever.
The film was captured digitally as a film and then edited in order to create the appearance of stop motion. This enabled a fluid camera movement and ensured that the editing process did not become over complicated.
Instead this gave the film a jump-cut, horror effect which tied in very neatly with the fear the protagonist is experiencing at the idea of loosing her memories. However, this did not encompass the stylised feeling that was desired and one final progression, taking the film out of the context of the real world was necessary.
The film was captured digitally as a film and then edited in order to create the appearance of stop motion. This enabled a fluid camera movement and ensured that the editing process did not become over complicated.
Instead this gave the film a jump-cut, horror effect which tied in very neatly with the fear the protagonist is experiencing at the idea of loosing her memories. However, this did not encompass the stylised feeling that was desired and one final progression, taking the film out of the context of the real world was necessary.
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In order to make the final film, a GIF had to be made of each of the sections of the animation. First the colour and grading was edited using colour and white balance functions on photoshop, then the image resized and saved as an animation. This is then uploaded into Adobe Premiere Pro and set in a new project file. Each image was cut down to a manageable size for the software, unfortunately this meant the quality of the image was downgraded but the film was subsequently able to export.
It was very important to me that there was a sense of detachment from her actual character, so that we only see the images through a scientific perspective once she is placing them on the wall; marking her documentation as something less personal than is conventional. However, as she was thinking up the memories, there needed to be a feeling present. This was done through her expressions; happy, sad, even hungry when she thought of the egg cup. The ordering of this was done partly to keep the film moving and to stop it visually being dull, it also to create a sense of growing nostalgia, hence the tear at the end; nostalgia being quite literally 'sadness at something that has passed'. In this sense it was largely very effective, however the predominate issues arose in the editing and lighting, as it was very difficult to maintain the same frame positioning, causing the film to be quite jumpy in places. What did work however was the slightly yellow intonation that gave it the effect of an old home movie, reinforcing this link to obsessive documentation. The still lighting, however, was uncontrollable due to the minimal location options for this shoot. However, with editing in photoshop and in adobe premiere, the visual appearance is much more appealing than from the initial stills and added to the overall jumpy effect that is also synonymous with film reel when combined with the conventional sound that connects this in the mind of the viewer. The whimsically childish intonation that comes with stop motion also enabled me to express the desire to remain young through documenting childhood which was a key focus of this shoot and indeed peoples obsession with documentary.
It was very important to me that there was a sense of detachment from her actual character, so that we only see the images through a scientific perspective once she is placing them on the wall; marking her documentation as something less personal than is conventional. However, as she was thinking up the memories, there needed to be a feeling present. This was done through her expressions; happy, sad, even hungry when she thought of the egg cup. The ordering of this was done partly to keep the film moving and to stop it visually being dull, it also to create a sense of growing nostalgia, hence the tear at the end; nostalgia being quite literally 'sadness at something that has passed'. In this sense it was largely very effective, however the predominate issues arose in the editing and lighting, as it was very difficult to maintain the same frame positioning, causing the film to be quite jumpy in places. What did work however was the slightly yellow intonation that gave it the effect of an old home movie, reinforcing this link to obsessive documentation. The still lighting, however, was uncontrollable due to the minimal location options for this shoot. However, with editing in photoshop and in adobe premiere, the visual appearance is much more appealing than from the initial stills and added to the overall jumpy effect that is also synonymous with film reel when combined with the conventional sound that connects this in the mind of the viewer. The whimsically childish intonation that comes with stop motion also enabled me to express the desire to remain young through documenting childhood which was a key focus of this shoot and indeed peoples obsession with documentary.
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TIMING GIFS
TIMING EACH FRAME
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FADE IN WITH FLASH
SOUND
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EDITING STILLS
To present this video, it would be shown on a small television (VHS), in a replica of a living room. The images from the video (home photographs)would be displayed in the room on shelves, framed so that the viewer can see them in their context next to the film as if we are playing a home movie as well as being able to make a connection between the objects and the images as they are quite difficult to make out in the animation. This brings the objective theme of documentary back to the personal providing a much clearer link for the audience. The walls of the room would have to be built out of wooden board and then wallpapered. This, much like in the series with my grandparents room, was designed to be overtly old fashioned, increasing this sense of sentimentality so that it would juxtapose with the alleged scientific practice of documentary. This is also present in the VHS player and the old quality the film has been given and the framed pictures from the film, not only allowing the audience a closer look, but creating a realistic environment that would be familiar to them.
Though there are many flaws in the execution of this series such as the neatness of the images and the printouts and the constrictions from location, I feel this series has effectively encompassed the two sides of documentary that are so opposed to one another, expressing not only what we used to be and how much we have changed, but also how we really haven't changed at all.
Though there are many flaws in the execution of this series such as the neatness of the images and the printouts and the constrictions from location, I feel this series has effectively encompassed the two sides of documentary that are so opposed to one another, expressing not only what we used to be and how much we have changed, but also how we really haven't changed at all.
